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450 refugees are expected to resettle in St. Louis this year, compared to more than 1,100 in 2016

6 years 11 months ago
This year, the International Institute estimates the arrival of only 450 refugees arriving to St. Louis. That’s a sharp decline compared to the amount of refugee resettlement in previous years – 659 refugees in 2017 and 1135 refugees in 2016. On Wednesday’s St. Louis on the Air , host Don Marsh addressed the decline of refugees arriving to St. Louis over the past couple of years. Joining him for the discussion was Betsy Cohen, executive director of the St. Louis Mosaic Project and Anna Crosslin, president and CEO of the International Institute of St. Louis. Crosslin said initiatives at the White House last year resulted in the sharp decline of refugees resettled nationally and in St. Louis. Refugees are part of a subset of immigrants arriving to the United States, who are admitted due to well-founded fears of persecution in their native countries. The president’s executive orders and various travel bans heavily impacted the International Institute’s refugee clients, where family

'Take more breaks', 4 other facts about author Daniel Pink's scientific secrets of perfect timing

6 years 11 months ago
Author Daniel Pink researched the science of timing to see how time of day affects what we do and how we do it. On Wednesday’s St. Louis on the Air , host Don Marsh talked to Pink about his latest book, “When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing,” where the bestselling author drew on research from psychology, biology and economics to reveal how to live and work efficiently. Time of day influences our performance “Chronobiology” is the study of time in living organisms and their adaptation to solar and lunar-related rhythms. Understanding your “chronotype” (biological rhythm) is the first step to understanding what you should do, and the time of day to do it. Time of day explains 20 percent of the variants in human performance on brain power tasks at work. For example, handwashing in hospitals deteriorates significantly during the afternoon and physicians are more likely to prescribe necessary antibiotics in the afternoon and anesthesia errors are four times more likely to occur at

Beekeeping Workshop 2018 - Honey of an Opportunity

6 years 11 months ago

The ancient flow of love between Homo sapiens and Apis mellifera keeps food in our bellies, flowers blooming around us, and repairs the whacks we continue to take at nature's balance.

Maybe it's only a bit, one beekeeper, one hive at a time. Yet this relationship embodies the best of how our kind can interact with another species - in this case with a bug - to produce cascading benefits for whole biodiverse environments.

          
Eastern Missouri Beekeepers spreads this love, in an annual intensive workshop and cooperative-learning events year-round. The all-day Beekeeping Workshop, coming up February 10, brings nationally respected beekeeping experts to St. Louis to teach beginning and experienced beekeeping, alongside local pollinator advocates.

This Earthworms conversation draws on beekeeping savvy of Bob Sears, president of Eastern MO Beekeepers; Kate Smith, ardent beekeeper (3 years plus family heritage); and Becky Masterman, program manager for the University of Minnesota's acclaimed Bee Squad, who'll join EMBA members as workshop guest faculty.

Earthworms loves to talk Bees!

Music: Magic 9, performed live at KDHX by Infamous Stringdusters

THANKS to Anna Holland, engineering Earthworms bee-youtifully

Related Earthworms Conversations:
Wild Bees and Native Plants with Heather Holm - March, 2017

Vanishing Bees: Science, Politics and Honeybee Health (Jan 2017)

Honeybee Democracy - Dr. Tom Seely is WILD About Bees (Feb 2016)

 

St. Louisan John McDaniel, Londoner Barb Jungr collaborate to perform the Beatles

6 years 11 months ago
St. Louis native John McDaniel is a Grammy and Emmy award-winning musician. For years he performed as the band leader of The Rosie O’Donnell Show. Londoner Barb Jungr is known for her pop music, theater and cabaret performances. McDaniel and Jungr will perform together at Kranzberg Arts Center later this month. On Tuesday’s St. Louis on the Air , host Don Marsh talked with McDaniel and Jungr about their upcoming performance “Come Together,” which features music by the Beatles. Growing up not too far from Liverpool, the birthplace of the iconic band, Jungr had always avoided listening to their music until McDaniel arranged their song, “In My Life,” for her to perform. She loved the arrangement and the two decided to feature their take on the group’s music for their next album. The musical duo will give the familiar sound of the Beatles something new. They will take the music apart and reconstruct it to give the audience a different type of presentation. “We will take a song and have a

How and when to help children understand people’s differences effectively

6 years 11 months ago
How can children learn to respect other people’s identities and differences in the world? On Tuesday’s St. Louis on the Air , host Don Marsh talked about how parents, grandparents, other relatives and caregivers can help young children understand and appreciate differences in other human beings, families and communities. Joining the discussion were Tabari Coleman, project director of the Anti-Defamation League’s A World of Difference Institute, and Stephen Zwolak, CEO of LUME Institute and executive director of the University City Children’s Center. Zwolak said concepts of understanding start imbedding at infancy. Coleman said understanding doesn’t mean ignoring another’s differences, but rather recognizing and accepting them. “Be matter of fact with a child, [do not] avoid the situation,” Coleman said. “When we don’t have an honest conversation, what we do is we prepare them to avoid those conversations when they get older.” Zwolak said the role of schools is more influential than

Researcher Vernon Mitchell Jr. wants to ‘humanize’ MLK in Washington University commemoration

6 years 11 months ago
The impact of Martin Luther King Jr. continues to influence various civil rights movements today. Washington University will commemorate the late civil rights leader at 7 p.m., Monday, in Graham Chapel. On Friday’s St. Louis on the Air, host Don Marsh talked to Vernon Mitchell Jr., curator of Popular American Arts and Culture in the Department of Special Collections at Washington University. Mitchell talked about his research and the message he plans to deliver as part of the university's commemoration. He studies the impact of African-American art and culture on movements and popular culture. In his speech, Mitchell wants to reclaim King. “What I try to do when I teach about Dr. King is I try to humanize him. I try to take him off of the pedestal,” Mitchell said. “Not in a way that is sensational. I try to understand him as a man, as a human being.” Mitchell said that allows students to resonate with the iconic leader. During the civil rights movement, King remained hopeful in spite

Politically Speaking: Taking stock of a startling week in Missouri politics

6 years 11 months ago

On a special edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies talk about Gov. Eric Greitens’ admission of an extramarital affair — and allegations that he blackmailed a woman to prevent her from speaking out.

The startling report from KMOV-TV came out Tuesday after Greitens gave his second State of the State address. The governor admitted to infidelity before he was elected governor. But his attorney is forcefully denying that he took a compromising photo of the woman as a way to make her not reveal the affair.

 

Why did KMOV air Gov. Greitens’ affair story? TV reporter, St. Louis Public Radio editor discuss

6 years 11 months ago
Should the news media have published a story about Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens’ extramarital affair and his alleged blackmail of a woman? On Friday’s Behind the Headlines segment, St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh discussed journalism ethics and the process of reporting the affair with Lauren Trager, KMOV’s investigative reporter who broke the story , and with Shula Neuman, St. Louis Public Radio’s executive editor. The two journalists talked about their varying approaches. Neuman said St. Louis Public Radio decided not to go forward with a story on the affair, partly because the organization did not have on-the-record sources. “If the woman wasn’t willing to tell the story herself, then we didn’t think that it was appropriate to let somebody else tell the story for her ,” Neuman said. The unnamed woman made off-the-record remarks to Trager about the affair. KMOV also concealed the identity of the woman’s ex-husband to protect her identity. Trager said KMOV decided to publish its

Freeman Hrabowski to give MLK speech at UMSL observance

6 years 11 months ago
As part of University of Missouri-St. Louis’ annual Martin Luther King Jr. observance, keynote speaker Freeman A. Hrabowski III will address the impact of the iconic civil rights activist over the last half century. The celebration is at 10 a.m. to noon on Jan. 15 at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. On Friday’s St. Louis on the Air , host Don Marsh talked with Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) about his work in advocating for equal access to education for all. Hrabowski said he’ll draw on his experiences during the Civil Rights Movement and the ongoing fight for civil rights during his speech to look at the progression of education in American families. As a child in 1963, Hrabowski marched under the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr. in Birmingham, Alabama. He said barriers to education for all races remain. ‘Race still matters’ “This has been a 50-year experiment. It’s only been in the past 50 years that we’ve been trying to bring more

Analysis: Alleged blackmail scandal overshadows Greitens' State of the State address

6 years 11 months ago
On Thursday’s St. Louis on the Air , host Don Marsh analyzed the aftermath of Missouri Governor Eric Greitens' 2018 State of the State address. Joining the discussion were St. Louis Public Radio’s statehouse reporter Marshall Griffin, political reporter Jo Mannies and interim political editor Jason Rosenbaum. Hours after Greitens delivered his second State of the State address, he acknowledged his involvement in an extra-marital affair before he launched his campaign for governor in the fall of 2015. Greitens and his wife, Sheena Greitens, issued joint statements through their lawyer after St. Louis television station KMOV-TV (Channel 4) reported on the matter , denying any allegations of blackmail. “It’s as if the State of the State address didn’t happen last night,” Griffin said. “Everything that constitutes the business of government right now is focused on this story that broke last night.” The House convened for five minutes Thursday morning to adjourn the meeting until next week,

Robert Wadlow, tallest man ever, turns 100

6 years 11 months ago
Feb. 22, 2018, marks the centennial of the birth of Robert Wadlow, the tallest man who ever lived, and a lifelong resident of Alton. Wadlow was normal size at birth, but a growth on his pituitary gland caused him to grow rapidly and never stop. By kindergarten, he was 5 feet 4 inches. He grew to 8 feet 11, and 490 pounds, by the time he died at age 22.

Before Target and Trader Joe’s in Brentwood – an African-American neighborhood was there

6 years 11 months ago
The shopping center known as the Promenade at Brentwood was once a prominent African American neighborhood. The historic Evens-Howard Place neighborhood in Brentwood was home to generations of middle class African-American families for 90 years. On Wednesday’s St. Louis on the Air , host Don Marsh discussed the history of Evens-Howard Place with local writer Beth Miller, who’s researched the neighborhood. Also joining the discussion were Olivette Thompson, former resident of the neighborhood and Ed Wright, former alderman of the district that included Evens-Howard Place. Miller, who lives six blocks away from the historic neighborhood, decided to research the community after seeing it featured in a Missouri Historical Society picture book. “It’s difficult to describe, but I had a feeling come over me that said, ‘I need to tell this story,’” Miller said. She focused on the neighborhood after she realized many people had forgotten the area’s history. “It was a real tragedy to me that our

Musician Storm Large’s upcoming concert in St. Louis feels like ‘coming home’

6 years 11 months ago
When singer, songwriter and author Storm Large is not with her band Le Bonheur, she fronts Pink Martini and symphony orchestras. Her varied interests include performing music from Broadway, the American songbook, rock music and her own originals. On Wednesday’s St. Louis on the Air , producer Alex Heuer talked with the singer about her career and her performance in St. Louis on Jan.17 .

Reps. Kendrick and Stevens on the lay of the land for Missouri legislative Democrats

6 years 11 months ago

On the latest edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum is pleased to welcome state Reps. Kip Kendrick and Martha Stevens to the program.

Rosenbaum recorded the show with the Columbia Democrats at KBIA’s studios on the University of Missouri-Columbia campus. Both lawmakers represent fairly Democratic-leaning districts that take in portions of the city of Columbia.

Greening Death: Turning a Human Practice Back to Earth

6 years 11 months ago

Suzanne Kelly was deep into Ph.D. work in women's studies in 2000 when her  father died. Her grief and that experience with conventional memorial processes moved her to explore a new movement (ironic, given our age-old traditions) to send our bodies back to Earth. Literally.

                            

Kelly's new book Greening Death - Reclaiming Burial Practices and Restoring Our Tie to Earth - is a scholarly treatment of natural burial. She covers the history of our resource-intensive, toxic and expensive funeral industry, and examines multi-cultural values about dealing with our dead bodies. From the Civil War era innovation of embalming to today's evolving partnership between land conservation and dust-to-dust advocates, her voice on this topic is factual and clear. She also speaks eloquently for our human needs to honor the passage out of life, and to reconnect with Earth.

Whether you are simply curious about these options or actively seeking Green Burial resources for end-of-life planning, this Earthworms conversation can be useful to you. Listen in peace!

THANKS to Anna Holland, engineering for Earthworms this week

Music: Butter II, performed live at KDHX by Ian Ethan Case

 

Comedian, St. Louis native Greg Warren adds family show to Funny Bone appearance

6 years 11 months ago
For many years, comedian and St. Louis native Greg Warren traveled around the country to make people laugh. He’s appeared on CMT Comedy Stage, NBC's Last Comic Standing, Late Night with Seth Meyers and CBS's The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. On Tuesday’s St. Louis on the Air , host Don Marsh talked with Warren about his upcoming appearances at the St. Louis Funny Bone. Friends, family and fans will line up to see the new material he’ll showcase, starting Jan. 11. “We’re also trying something new this year … I’m doing an all ages family show,” Warren said. “I do feel a little pressure there because I haven’t done a whole lot of that before.” The family show is open for kids ages 12 and older. Warren is now based in St. Louis after living in New York. He said often times, it’s hard for people to just sit down and think “what’s funny?” His comedic inspiration draws from a mixture of past experiences and current observations. Warren said he also journals freely in the morning to come

Missouri History Museum commemorates the state’s Emancipation Day

6 years 11 months ago
This Thursday, Jan. 11, marks 153 years since slaves in Missouri were finally freed from bondage. Missouri’s Emancipation Day will be commemorated at the Missouri History Museum, in a collaborative event between the museum and Greenwood Cemetery. On Tuesday’s St. Louis on the Air , host Don Marsh discussed the event at the Missouri History Museum , which will highlight the lives before and after emancipation of six individuals buried in Greenwood Cemetery, located in Hillsdale. Joining the discussion were Shakia Gullette, manager of local history initiatives at Missouri History Museum, Etta Daniels, head historian at Greenwood Cemetery and Marvin-Alonzo Greer, visitor experience lead at Soldiers Memorial Military Museum. Greenwood Cemetery opened in 1874, shortly after the end of the civil war. It opened as the first commercial cemetery dedicated to the burial of African-Americans in the St. Louis area. Since its establishment, Daniels said more than 50,000 people have been buried at

Author Ken McGee gives a glimpse of 19th century St. Louis in ‘The Great Hope of the World’ novel

6 years 11 months ago
The construction of the Eads Bridge a century and a half ago almost made St. Louis one of the most important cities in the country. The steel combined road and railway bridge over the Mississippi River brought rail and other traffic from the east to St. Louis and beyond. The bridge serves as the backstory to St. Louis author Ken McGee’s latest historical novel “The Great Hope of the World.”

St. Louis journalists Casey Nolen, Dick Weiss reflect on their media exchange program in Pakistan

6 years 11 months ago
On Monday’s St. Louis on the Air , host Don Marsh talked to KSDK anchor Casey Nolen and long-time journalist Dick Weiss about their recent two-week visit to Pakistan. They were among a dozen visitors from media and academia who made the trip sponsored by the University Of Oklahoma Gaylord College Of Journalism and Mass Communications and the U.S. State Department.