Podcasts about st louisans

KMOX's Maria Keena talks about the health issues facing St Louisans in 2025 with City Health Director Dr. Matifadza (Mati) Hlatshwayo Davis.

In 2024, we said goodbye to a number of remarkable people who lived and worked in the St. Louis region. In this episode, we honor those we lost this year by listening back to conversations with them or by hearing from those who knew them well.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture is helping Black St. Louisans trace their roots as far back as possible. As St. Louis Public Radio's Andrea Henderson reports, Black St. Louisans want to help the next generation better understand their ancestry.

After more than two years of work, the Tiny House project in St. Louis' Benton Park West neighborhood is complete. We hear from Dwayne Tiggs, the architect and craftsman behind the Tiny House, and his partner and project gardener Rikki Watts. They share their story of the home's completion and what it means to build a home while also building community.

Aerospace Industry Analyst Richard Aboulafia and Michael Calhoun discuss the concerns over Boeing's future in St Louis. Credit: © PA Images/Alamy Images

SLU/Chaifetz School of Business Jerome Katz joins Megan Lynch and Tom Ackerman with details on Boeing and True Value. Credit: © Chrissy Suttles/Beaver County Times/USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This week, we take a little different tack and explore a time-worn Missouri rivalry: Kansas City vs St Louis. I invite two born-and-raised St Louisans, Abby Newsham and Jason Carter-Solomon to explore what is working and what is not with these two cities and metros. These two regions dominate this part of the Midwest, but have entirely different cultures and growth trajectories. If you go back far enough to Joel Garreau's “Nine Nations of North America” you may remember that he labeled Kansas City as the capital of the “Breadbasket” region, and had St Louis as a border city between the Breadbasket and “Dixie.” Today, Kansas City is growing with sizeable numbers for a Midwestern city, and St Louis is fairly stagnant. What gives? Why is this so, since St Louis has such obvious assets? We explore this, as well as the horror that is St Louis-style pizza.Find more content on The Messy City on Kevin's Substack page.Music notes: all songs by low standards, ca. 2010. Videos here. If you'd like a CD for low standards, message me and you can have one for only $5.Intro: “Why Be Friends”Outro: “Fairweather Friend” Get full access to The Messy City at kevinklinkenberg.substack.com/subscribe

Radio personality and media veteran Tammie Holland passed away July 20, 2024 at the age of 53 after a three-year fight against cancer. Her long time friends and former colleagues Arika Parr and Tony Scott reflect on Holland's legacy, career, and impact on St. Louis.

Most conversations about race and identity in the St. Louis region focus on Black and white residents, a binary that excludes one of the fastest growing populations in the area: the Asian and Asian American community. The Japanese American Citizens League - St. Louis and the St. Louis Pan Asian Collective have curated, “InVISIBLE: A Reclamation of the Asian Gaze,” a visual and literary arts exhibition that's focused on sharing the diverse stories and experiences of those community members.

The FDA recently approved two cell-based gene therapy treatments for the blood disorder. Doctors and advocates believe the therapy could bring relief to the nearly 2,000 St. Louisans living with the disease. However, many are questioning the accessibility, their costs and risks.

After decades of disinvestment and a lack of engagement by city leadership, many Black St. Louisans report feelings of hopelessness, unsure of what to do or who to turn to. When problems like crumbling infrastructure and food deserts remain unresolved, people become less interested in local government, and in turn, the work of elected officials goes unchecked. Kelly McGowan believes that civics education is the answer to solving many problems the city faces, and that's what she aims to provide via her nonprofit Transform 314.

Celebrating Lunar New Year is a longstanding tradition for Vietnamese St. Louisans. Kris Le and Tila Nguyen speak to the history of the nonprofit St. Louis Vietnamese Community, its place among other AANHPI organizations in the region, and what's planned for two Vietnamese Lunar New Year events happening this February.

After months of crowdsourcing recipes that reflect the cultural and culinary diversity of St. Louis, the Global Foods Market Cookbook is published and available for purchase at the grocer's storefront in Kirkwood. Shayn Prapaisilp, chief operating officer of Global Foods Market, Inc. shares a sample of the recipes featured in the Global Foods Market Cookbook, as well as personal stories from the chefs themselves.

There are few hairstyles more divisive than the mullet. The hairdo has historically been scoffed at by the mainstream yet has thrived in its fringes. The mullet — known by some as "the Missouri Compromise" — has been associated with professional or aspiring hockey stars, 80s pro wrestlers and hair metal rockers. Barber Sir Carrawell and hairstylist Onawa Brown share their thoughts on the retro hairdo and why they think it's made it from the fringe back into pop culture.

The Director of Health for the City of St. Louis, Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis, came to have a conversation about health equity and her work during the pandemic. What are barriers to optimal health for black and brown residents in St. Louis?

In 2023, we said goodbye to a number of remarkable people who lived and worked in the St. Louis region. In this episode, we honor those we lost this year by listening back to conversations with them or by hearing from those who knew them well.

St. Louis Public Radio's senior environmental reporter Kate Grumke talks with U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley about the next steps now that a proposal compensating St. Louis area residents who became sickened due to radioactive waste exposure isn't in a critical national defense bill.

Have you ever hung out with NELLY... Or any famous St. Louisan for that matter?

The marathon hat trick is a goal that some committed distance runners aim for but few have achieved. To accomplish this feat runners must complete 100 marathons, a marathon in all 50 U.S. states, and a marathon on all seven continents. Fewer than 60 runners have completed the marathon hat trick and only three of them are Black. Two of those three are from St. Louis: Tony Reed and Lisa Davis. A documentary, “We Are Distance Runners: The Marathon Hat Trick,” is about their story and it screens Wednesday evening as part of the St. Louis International Film Festival.

Most of the large public demonstrations in the St. Louis area since the violence erupted have been in support of Palestinians bombarded during Israel's attacks on Hamas targets in heavily populated areas in Gaza. Public responses from elected officials have been largely supportive of Israel and critical of Hamas.

Earlier this summer, a consortium of media agencies dropped a bombshell report: The federal government spent decades downplaying or ignoring the risks of radioactive waste in the St. Louis area. And while the issue has been prominent in places like north St. Louis County and St. Charles County for quite some time, the spotlight on the documents revealed in the media reports — and the work of activists who have sought to bring attention to it — sparked fresh calls for governmental action. U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley has been particularly outspoken on the issue. He managed to get an amendment attached to a critical national defense bill that could compensate people in St. Louis who became sick. Hawley spoke with STLPR's Jason Rosenbaum about the unusual legislative trajectory of his proposal — and whether it can survive tough legislative headwidns.

St. Louis' Office of Violence Prevention partners with several non-profits that tackle the systemic causes behind violence. Among other resources, organizations provide quality mental health services, supportive re-entry for former offenders and harm reduction. Director Wil Pinkney shares how St. Louisans can get involved.

It was another Sunday morning of sometimes heated but always civil political debate on Hancock and Kelley for July 16, 2023.John Hancock, Republican strategist (on the right), and Michael Kelley, Democrat strategist (on the left) took on the following topics:The new push for expanded rest areas for truckers after a Greyhound bus crashed into 3 semis parked along the shoulder at the entrance to an overcrowded rest area near St. Louis, killing 3 and injuring 14.The City of St. Louis is being sued for 911 system failures by the family of a man who says he bled to death because they couldn't get anyone to answer 911 calls from him, his family, and bystanders. The city has failed to address a shortage of 911 dispatchers and an outdated call system for years.Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri joined Democrats, environmental activists, and those who've become ill with cancer and other illnesses in demanding that the U.S. Government establish a fund to help victims of exposure to nuclear waste in St. Louis – dating back nearly 80 years to World War II-era work on atomic weapons.Illinois conservatives rallied against the YMCA's transgender locker room policy after Abbigail Wheeler, 16, objected to transwomen sharing the YMCA women's locker room. She posted a sign reading “biological women only.” YMCA staff said that could be considered hate speech.At a NATO conference, President Biden pledged unwavering support for Ukraine in its defense against invasion from Russia. The president received a rousing reception in Lithuania. He also pumped the brakes on Ukraine's quest to join NATO.Inflation plummeted to just 3% in June. How does that impact President Biden's reelection chances? Is “Bidenomics” working?How in the world can you sneak cocaine into the White House lobby, leave it behind, and not get caught by the U.S. Secret Service?Our Quote of the Week: is the parole of convicted Manson Family killer Leslie Van Houten an argument for the death penalty?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The global music icon who launched her career in St. Louis died yesterday. She became the queen of rock 'n' roll. Fans gathered at Turner's star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame yesterday to pay their respects.

The origins of 420 Day are hazy. The number has been linked to rumored police radio codes that supposedly indicate whether there is marijuana on a suspect and it's also a reference to a popular after school meeting time to smoke, popularized by a group of Californian teens in the 1970s. Either way, 420 Day is becoming a larger holiday as more U.S. states legalize the substance for recreational use. Several St. Louisans told St. Louis on the Air it is high time for Missouri to celebrate legalized recreational cannabis — and that there is still work to be done.

We kick off a Black History month series this morning. For the next two weeks called, ''Living History''  Carol Daniel will focus on nearly two dozen St Louisans who are making history right now. Dr James T. Minor is the first African American to be named Chancellor of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. 

St. Louis animal rights activist Sasha Zemmel made headlines when a recent disruptive protest at a Moolah Shriners meeting ended in her arrest — and her alleging that members of the group physically assaulted her as she tried to exit. Two weeks later, the Moolah Shriners announced they would retire their elephants from their circus. Zemmel discusses the confrontation with the Moolah Shriners and how she considers their decision to retire the elephants a victory for animal rights groups.

In 2022, we said goodbye to a number of remarkable people who lived and worked in the St. Louis region. In this episode, we honor those we lost this year by listening back to conversations with them or by hearing from those who knew them well.

Dwayne Tiggs and Rikki Watts are building their home together literally and figuratively with the help from their community. The couple and their two children are in the process of constructing “the smallest house on the biggest greenspace” in the Benton Park West neighborhood using mostly reclaimed materials. Their home will be 420 square cubic feet (the original plan was just 300 square cubic feet) and will also house their two cats, Nutmeg and Joan. The rest of the 7,000 square feet of land is transforming into a permaculture space where native plants and produce will grow and the community around them to share. Tiggs and Watts want to share the fruits of their labor and teach others how they can, too, can build a home with their own two hands.

Elon Musk's recent acquisition of Twitter has users of the social media platform bracing for the app's downfall. In St. Louis, activists and journalists that have been heavy users of Twitter since the police shooting death of Michael Brown, Jr. are concerned about the future of the app and the potential loss of how everyday people could lose power in social movements. Action St. Louis co-founder and executive director Kayla Reed and New York Times bestselling author Sarah Kendzior discuss how Twitter has shaped the narrative about St. Louis, the Ferguson uprising, and the ways social media impacts policy.

Opal Jones, President and CEO of Doorways joins Carol Daniel and Tom Ackerman about the new state of the art $40 million in St. Louis' Jeff-Vander-Lou Neighborhood. 

Death is scary, uncomfortable, and expensive. More families are looking for alternatives to the conventional method of being buried in a casket and looking toward more cost effective and eco-friendly options. Tim Johnson of Foundation Cremation and Gracie Griffin of Bellefontaine Cemetery discuss these alternatives and the conversations they're having with families as they lay their loved ones to rest.

Can you gain mindfulness from an app? Enlightenment from a smartphone? That may work for some people, but, for Daigaku Rumme, a Zen master and teacher at the Confluence Zen Center in St. Louis, the journey was one measured in decades of study and devotion. After living as a Zen monk in Japan, Rumme says the wisdom of Zen is as relevant today as it ever was. Rumme joins St. Louis on the Air to discuss mindfulness, apps, and tips for staying in the present.

Grab your Local 636 gear here - https://local636.itemorder.com/shop/home/ Follow Us! https://www.instagram.com/local.636/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/334209248578123 Local636.com Angel Magasano, Founder of Little Black Book: Women in Business works with female professionals to connect them to the personal and professional opportunities they seek. Angel is passionate about inspiring, empowering, and supporting women in business through offering numerous networking events, self development workshops , and promotional opportunities for female professionals. In 2022 she introduced BECOME: Women's Day of Inspiration to continue to offer female professionals the opportunity to be in the right room with the right women, and become the best versions of themselves. She has grown the Little Black Book organization to 40 members spanning 9 chapters in the greater St. Louis region. In 2021, LIttle Black Book: Women in Business boasts a $85,075 financial impact through community service and philanthropy. Angel holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication Management from Missouri State University. She currently sits on the Board of Directors for Vision St Charles Leadership, and was recently installed as a Board Member for BackStoppers St. Charles in the spring of 2022. Angel has received numerous awards throughout her career including 2020 Small Business Monthly's “Top 100 St Louisans to Know to Succeed in Business,” 2019 Western St Charles Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year, 2016 Certificate of Recognition issued by the City of Wentzville under Mayor Nick Guccione for services to the City, 2014 The Beyond the Best Top 50 Community Leaders awarded by Streetscape Magazine, Honorable Sponsor of Toys for Tots program given by the US Marine Corps, and the Inspire Award for services to community by the Western St Charles Chamber of Commerce. She enjoys experiencing art, culture, and food through travel in her spare time. Connect with Angel on Facebook or LinkedIN or or via email at angel@womenoflbb.com. Learn more about Little Black Book: Women in Business at www.womenoflbb.com.

“Kia Boyz” are trending on social media, and that trend has hit St. Louis' streets. Sgt. Tracy Panus of St. Louis County Police Department joins St. Louis on the Air to provide an update on the official response to the rash of thefts targeting Kia and Hyundai cars. She also shares advice on what motorists can do to protect their property.

People in the St. Louis region are still reeling from the effects of flash flooding last week. In this episode, we hear from those affected. Also, Kayla Reed of Action St. Louis speaks to the lessons learned from the disaster and how best to provide support to those still recovering from flood damage.

St. Louis broke the record for the most rainfall ever recorded in a single day in the city on July 26. One person died. Hundreds of people, including Hazelwood resident Camila Cage, were rescued by first responders Tuesday morning. Cage joined St. Louis on the Air to discuss what she experienced as the waters rose. Also, St. Louis Public Radio reporter Sarah Fentem provided an update on the effects of the storm.

Chris Randall believes that anyone who wants to own a gun should receive proper training. In 2020, Randall founded Raider Defense Group. He's trained about 75 people — particularly Black St. Louisans — how to be a responsible gun owner. Randall, a former police officer and U.S. Marine, joined the show in addition to one of his clients, Erica Alexander.

Citizen scientists are helping biologists monitor our region's bee populations through the Shutterbee initiative. In this encore episode, Nicole Miller-Struttmann talks about how Shutterbee works and the critical roles bees play in our ecosystem.

Matthew Stock and Sid Sivakumar started out talking crossword puzzles and became fast friends. Now, a puzzle they co-wrote has been published in the New York Times. They discuss the joy of puzzle making with host Sarah Fenske.

A new documentary tells the story of the U.S. military's secret Cold War-era experiments in north St. Louis. Director Damien D. Smith says it relates to environmental racism affecting Black St. Louis residents.

Pedestrian deaths have spiked in St. Louis in recent months. Tiffanie Stanfield and Xandi Barrett discuss what they're each doing to prevent such traffic violence.

A two-year-old initiative from the Regional Business Council aims to recruit, train and mentor kids for skilled labor jobs as early as high school. Leader Art McCoy discusses its impetus -- and the big payday for people who participate.

A large crowd and energetic choir came together at the Sheldon Concert Hall on Saturday night for Requiem of Light, a public memorial honoring the thousands of St. Louisans lost to COVID-19. In this episode, we share reflections and musical highlights.

On this week's episode of Questions From The Audience, Tim answers questions from the TMA Fan Page and his email at tmckernan@insidestl.com.   Topics include: -Do St. Louisans lead a more sedentary lifestyle compared to people in other cities? (34:28) -Payola (49:51) -Buying/selling stock of different forms of journalism. (58:40)   Please Support the Sponsors: The Home Loan Expert, Ryan Kelley Mark Hannah – Evergreen Wealth Strategies James Carlton Agency (State Farm) Mungenast Design Aire Heating & Cooling Restoration 1 Follow us on Social Media: @TimMcKernanShow or Facebook.com/TheTimMcKernanShow

On this week's episode of Questions From The Audience, Tim answers questions from the TMA Fan Page and his email at tmckernan@insidestl.com.   Topics include: -Do St. Louisans lead a more sedentary lifestyle compared to people in other cities? (34:28) -Payola (49:51) -Buying/selling stock of different forms of journalism. (58:40)   Please Support the Sponsors: The Home Loan Expert, Ryan Kelley Mark Hannah - Evergreen Wealth Strategies James Carlton Agency (State Farm) Mungenast Design Aire Heating & Cooling Restoration 1 Follow us on Social Media: @TimMcKernanShow or Facebook.com/TheTimMcKernanShow

Brian Hall with Explore St. Louis with the finalists for the first annual Kim Tucci "Heart of St. Louis" award that will be announced at the Explore St. Louis Annual Meeting and Awards event on September 29! Visit their site for more: https://explorestlouis.com/kim-tucci-heart-of-st-louis-award/

St. Louis on the Air's Evie Hemphill and Paola Rodriguez tagged along to document the feat, which is just the latest stunt the Jackson Pianos crew has undertaken in celebration of Make Music Day STL. That's part of a global effort held each year on the summer solstice.

Black people in the region want Juneteenth to be a day to educate people about the Black plight. President Joe Biden has signed a law making it a national holiday.

Last month, Mark Fingerhut set out from his home in St. Louis’ Dogtown neighborhood to see how far his feet could take him over the course of 24 hours. And he convinced 20 fellow St. Louisans to do the same, dubbing the adventure the 24 Hours from Home Challenge.

Many Black Americans continue to struggle with how George Floyd died, even though a Minneapolis jury found former police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murder. Many are suffering from mental anguish after repeatedly watching the justice system allow police officers who kill Black people to escape accountability.

In his book “Hemingway’s St. Louis: How St. Louisans Shaped His Life and Legacy,” Andrew J. Theising argues that many of Ernest Hemingway’s great adventures have roots in St. Louis. He explains how Hemingway's three St. Louis-born wives and their family fortunes helped to launch the novelist.

What’s it like growing up in a Black and white city when you don’t fit neatly in either category? A Chinese American and Thai American share their perspective on life in St. Louis — and the deadly attacks in Atlanta that have galvanized Asian American communities across the U.S.

Advocates for St. Louis' homeless population explain how they came together in a two-week blitz to get people out of the cold -- and the political backdrop that made such efforts necessary.

Black Squares is a new program looking to expand access to chess for low-income and Black and brown youth in north St. Louis. The founders explain how they're planning to make a St. Louis version of Washington Square Park in the Hyde Park neighborhood.

With Sunday's big game looming, Jeremy Housewright and Kendel Beard join host Sarah Fenske to share their perceptions of Chiefs fandom growth in the St. Louis region and what sets the Kansas City team apart.

Matthew Stock and Sid Sivakumar started out talking crossword puzzles and soon became fast friends. Now a puzzle they co-wrote has been published in the New York Times. They discuss the joy of puzzle making with host Sarah Fenske.

The year 2020 changed our world in a multitude of ways — and fueled escalating levels of need in our communities. That the United Way of Greater St. Louis experienced its highest number of 211 calls ever is just one indicator of how many people are struggling.

Last Saturday, along south St. Louis’ lively Cherokee Street, it was almost possible to forget about the coronavirus pandemic for a bit. The sun was shining. The businesses along Antique Row were looking festive. Shop owners carefully handed out cookies to passersby. And right near Whisk bakery sat a white van with a bright yellow piano inside it, along with a pianist: Alexandra Sinclair.

Earlier this year, after being approached by the Great Rivers Environmental Law Center, Karisa Gilman-Hernandez and her colleagues at Dutchtown South Community Corporation added excessive air pollution to the list of things they're no longer willing to see the community they serve just put up with. She offers her perspective to "St. Louis on the Air," and host Sarah Fenske talks with Great Rivers staff attorneys Bob Menees and Sarah Rubenstein about why the pollution burden in the Dutchtown area caught their eye and how their legal efforts there fit in with other issues in their portfolio.

In recent months, as Jessica Hentoff and her Circus Harmony crew began planning the social circus organization’s first performance in a long while, they didn’t have to search too far for the show’s overarching theme. “Circus is always an analogy for life,” Hentoff, artistic/executive director, explains, “but now more than ever.”

For more than 20 years, St. Louis native Leslie Gill has been focused on getting women what they need, whatever that may be. When she worked for Annie Malone Children & Family Services, that could mean shelter, clothing or food. Now, as president of the new nonprofit Rung for Women, it’s about providing what she terms “holistic self-sufficiency.”

Jessica Murray built a St. Louis COVID Memorial website to memorialize the local lives lost to the virus. Murray researches obituaries, listens to family accounts and seeks out additional information online to craft each story — all with her pet cockatoos by her side.

The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis has added a new component to its exhibition of the work of Derek Fordjour: a "microprogram" called After Shelter. The museum is asking patrons to share their oral reflections on Fordjour's art and the pandemic, with the audio to be archived with the national nonprofit StoryCorps. Chief Curator Wassan Al-Khudhairi joined host Sarah Fenske to explain the idea behind the audio project and how it fits with the themes in Fordjour's work. We also played some of the museum patrons' reflections.

After Tower Grove Park removed a statue of Christopher Columbus on June 16, it doesn't look like a new statue will be erected anytime soon due to COVID-19 budget challenges, according to a park official. But that got us wondering who St. Louisans should honor with a statue: Dred Scott, Josephine Baker, someone from the Osage Nation? We got the backstory from Washington University history professor Peter Kastor and architecture historian Chris Naffziger. We also sought listener suggestions.

Most people have become uncomfortable navigating public life in the months since the new coronavirus hit, but things are even more difficult for those who experience the world differently than the majority, like those with blindness or those who are deaf. In this episode, host Sarah Fenske talks with Nick Silver, who is almost completely blind, and Colleen Burdiss, who is hard of hearing, about how they've been getting by in the last few months.

Reading the headlines of 2020 can be pretty overwhelming. Between a pandemic, an economic crisis and even a much-hyped sighting of “murder hornets” in the Pacific Northwest, it can all leave one feeling pretty helpless about attempting to be a force for good in the world. But on an ecological level, at least one such attempt can take place right in one’s own backyard — and Nicole Miller-Struttmann and bee experts everywhere will be grateful for it. Miller-Struttmann and fellow biologists at Webster University and St. Louis University are launching Shutterbee, a collaborative project powered by citizen scientists. It requires only some sunshine, a camera and completion of a single virtual training session on May 20, 21 or 23. Shutterbee’s organizers are intent on reaching a real scientific goal: to discover how landscape features and land management decisions affect bee diversity and behavior. In this episode of the talk show, Miller-Struttmann joins host Sarah Fenske to talk about how Shutterbee works. She also delves into the critical roles bees play on Earth and some of the threats they face.

As most of us are self-quarantining in the wake of COVID-19, some of us are spending a lot more time with a significant other. In Ernest Hemingway’s case, nearly a century ago, it was with significant others — plural. Hemingway wound up sequestered with both his wife and his lover after his son Bumby was diagnosed with a highly contagious respiratory illness. Host Sarah Fenske talks with acclaimed author Lesley Blume about the whole ordeal.

It’s not the sandwich or the coffee, but the meaning behind donated food. For those working in healthcare like Dr. Tiffany Osborne, a trauma surgeon at Barnes Jewish Hospital, the community support helps them push through even the hardest days during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are dozens of restaurants donating food to hospitals, but two groups, Meals for Meds [https://www.mealsformeds.info/] and Kindness Meals [https://kindnessmealsstl.com/], allow St Louisans to donate money to restaurants who will then deliver meals, helping both the hospitals and the hospitality industry in these tough times. John Perkins, the owner of Juniper in the CWE joined us to talk about Meals for Meds and the adaptions inside their kitchen that have taken place to make them temporarily more a catering business than a restaurant. He also talks to the Meet St Louis podcast about to-go alcohol sales, third party delivery services, and how the adaptations are going to need to keep coming for when they finally do open back up to the public.

As many people are adjusting to working from home, host Sarah Fenske checked in with some who have long-nailed their at-home routines on Monday's "St. Louis on the Air." Fenske asked two guests about what advice they have for staying productive during this shift from office space to home space.

Over the past 13 months, the Loop Trolley regular traveled a 2.2-mile route from the Missouri History Museum to the Delmar Loop and back again several days each week. But on Sunday afternoon, it made its final few laps along those tracks — at least for now — before going out of service indefinitely due to funding problems.

Growing up in Mexico, Lizett Mata spent a lot of time in early November each year at her father’s grave. He died when she was just seven years old, and Mata and her family would annually bring some of his favorite things to the cemetery to celebrate his and other departed loved ones’ lives. They’d spend the whole day there.

Halloween-related celebrations are legion in St. Louis, with wide-ranging revelry options available each year for enthusiasts of every sort. At the Campbell House Museum — located downtown and at the less ghoulish end of the Halloween spectrum — the holiday observance typically involves a lot of history as well as a coffin, leeches and more. This month marks 140 years since the death of the fur trader Robert Campbell, one of early St. Louis’ most prominent citizens and the museum property’s former owner, and on Friday evening members of the Mourning Society of St. Louis will be on hand to oversee this year’s iteration of the Twilight Tours. Three members of the small but active society join St. Louis Public Radio’s Jeremy D. Goodwin on this episode for a preview of the nearly sold-out event — and they talk about their historical reenactment work more broadly as well.

Host Sarah Fenske delves into how municipal boundaries and school district boundaries were drawn to exclude and how local policies and services were weaponized to maintain civic separation. Joining the conversation are: history professor Colin Gordon, author of "Citizen Brown: Race, Democracy, and Inequality in the St. Louis Suburbs," as well as Erica Williams, a North County resident and founder of the nonprofit A Red Circle, and David Dwight, of Forward Through Ferguson.

Women comprise nearly half of the United States’ civilian labor force, according to the Department of Labor’s latest statistics. Yet their annual median earnings — about $42,000 — still fall about $10,000 short of the median paycheck men see each year. And along with the compensation gap, other workforce gender-equity disparities remain common for many industries and employers. The Women’s Foundation of Greater St. Louis aims to measure progress on that front with its Women in the Workplace Employment Scorecard. The voluntary rating system, which is now underway for this year, includes a voluntary employer survey exploring policies, practices and work culture. In this episode, host Sarah Fenske talks with Women’s Foundation Executive Director Lisa Weingarth about the organization’s findings on what makes a company work for women. The conversation also includes Affinia Healthcare's Kendra Holmes and NCADA's Stacie Zellin as well as the perspectives of fellow working women Catherine Brown and Emily Cantwell on what makes a job environment a great one — and what doesn’t.

Host Sarah Fenske talks with Western Wear Night ringleaders Ryan Koenig and Lucas Hanner. The segment also takes listeners to the latest iteration of the monthly event at the Whiskey Ring, which in some cases has attracted hundreds of attendees over the course of the evening.

Despite its ever-present vastness along the Missouri-Illinois border, the Mississippi River is easy for locals to take for granted. And all too often, residents completely avoid the river. It’s one thing to drive above it on a highway or eat a meal at a restaurant overlooking the water; relatively few actually travel its meandering length. But the people behind Big Muddy Adventures are aiming to change that, one canoe trip at a time. Host Sarah Fenske talks with the company’s founder and lead guide, Mike Clark, who is better known as “Muddy Mike," and Roo Yawitz, general manager of Big Muddy Adventures. And, producer Evie Hemphill talks with some enthusiastic recent canoe passengers.

Emoji have come a long way in recent years, with smiling faces and simple thumbs up now vastly outnumbered by a wide range of visual expressions available for digital use. As this visual language infuses contemporary forms of communication more and more, emoji present both opportunities and challenges in humans’ abilities to understand each other.

Episode 1 features Eric Heckman, along with series co-host Matt Whitener, noshing and chatting with a table of friends - who also happen to be very influential and successful St Louisans. Guests include Doug Pitt, philanthropist, technology investor and founder of domestic charity Care To Learn; Donn Sorensen, Executive Vice President of Mercy Health; and Orlando Pace, entrepreneur, St. Louis Rams great and NFL Hall of Famer. Episode one discusses philanthropy, community, leadership, cashew chicken, Brad Pitt, and love of St Louis, as the group sips Ozeki Chobei Sake. Heckman, Pitt and Sorensen also share their passion and personal experience with Care to Learn, a Missouri charity that works to meet the emergent needs of students in the areas of health, hunger, and hygiene.

St. Louis-area residents Rachel Webb and Jossalyn Larson come from different walks of life, but they have at least one path in common: They’ve both in recent years developed breast cancer – and have chosen to open up online about their experiences living with it. While they now have intensive treatments and surgeries behind them, their respective journeys are far from over. The two women join guest host Ruth Ezell to discuss some of the surprises and challenges they’ve been encountering lately.

For native St. Louisan Bret Narayan, April was a big month. The first-term 24th Ward Alderman was sworn into office and is believed to be the first Asian Pacific American to serve on the city’s governing board. And with May being Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Narayan is partnering with the Office of the St. Louis City Recorder of Deeds to celebrate the contributions of some of his fellow citizens. He talks with guest host Sharon Stevens alongside Anna Crosslin, president and CEO of the International Institute of St. Louis, and Harold Law, who first came to the United States in 1956 as a Chinese refugee and has since played integral civic roles in the local Asian American community.

Harris-Stowe State University and Missouri Humanities Council are commemorating some of the city’s past residents in a new Civil War panel titled “Long Roads to Freedom.” Delving into the topic's history are Gregory Wolk, Heritage Resources coordinator for Missouri Humanities Council, and Gregory Carr, Instructor in Speech and Theater at Harris Stowe State University.

It’s no secret that St. Louisans love their beer, so much so that some take the matter into their own hands with no intention of ever going pro. Homebrewing is the subject of this month’s Sound Bites segment with Sauce Magazine. Producer Lara Hamdan talks with local homebrewers Suzie Emiliozzi, president of The OG: Women’s Craft Beer Collective, and Troy Meier, president of the STL Hops Homebrew Club. Sauce managing editor Catherine Klene also participated in the discussion.

A new volume co-edited by Harris-Stowe State University's Mark Abbott and Washington University's Catalina Freixas features a variety of locally based conversations, as well as essays by current and former St. Louisans in response to those conversations, reflecting on the experience of segregation in America and ways to address it.

Kevin McKinney, executive director of SLACO – the St. Louis Association of Community Organizations, and local photojournalist Richard Reilly talk to host Don Marsh about how community organizing has evolved in the St. Louis region over the past 40 years.

After looking at Pacquiao-Broner and the weekend in combat sports host Umar Lee gives his take on Covington Catholic, why all St Louisans should root for the Patriots, the MLK assasination and St Louis, and more.

Snow, ice, streets and St. Louis – it all tends to make for a tricky wintry mix, as was evident last weekend when a major snowstorm hit the region. With the potential for additional winter weather now imminent, this episode focuses on why some St. Louisans drive poorly in such conditions – and how residents can better prepare for and deal with future weather events. Joining the discussion are Kent Flake, commissioner of streets for the City of St. Louis, and Mike Right, vice president of public affairs for AAA of Missouri.

On Monday's St. Louis on the Air, host Don Marsh spoke with Cami Thomas, the creator of "Smoke City," a web series that explores a different St. Louis neighborhood in each episode.

Episode 117 of We Eat Stuff and Talk About Things - Stephen and Sara Hale from Schlafly Beer and Fair Shares CCSA! This couple are heavily involved in the food and drink scene of St Louis, both in producing products, and also ensuring St Louisans have good food to eat. Stephen is one of the founding brewers of Schlafly Beer, and his wife Sara is one of the people behind Fair Shares CCSA, and local Combined Community Sponsored Agriculture group. http://thesaintlouisbrewery.com https://fairshares.org As a favor to We Eat Stuff, would you consider giving our podcast a rating and review? It would mean the world to us! That helps get the word out about what we're doing, and help even more people learn about the great stuff going on in St. Louis! We'd also appreciate your support on our Patreon site! Please visit www.patreon.com/weeatstuff to make a financial contribution. Thanks.

Host Don Marsh discusses how individual makers and various communities and cultures are broadening their holiday-shopping horizons in the St. Louis area.

Jeremy Segal-Moss, Tracy Mitchell and Renee Smith discuss the rich St. Louis tradition of blues music in advance of the Big Muddy Blues Festival to take place Labor Day weekend.

Caryn Dugan and James Loomis discuss the benefits of a plant-based diet, leading up to the first plant-based nutrition summit held in St. Louis.

On Monday’s St. Louis on the Air, host Don Marsh talked with Heather Silverman, Jami Dolby and Kara Wurtz, who ran for city council seats in Creve Coeur, Chesterfield and Kirkwood, respectively.

After some 5 months battling brain cancer, DJ Wilson returns to the studio with a friend of the show, Professor Todd Swanstrom. DJ starts his interview by discussing a conversation he had with Swanstrom just hours before the St Louis region learned that there would be no trial for Officer Darren Wilson (no relation), who had killed Mike Brown in Ferguson some three months earlier.  You can read a piece DJ wrote the next day, reflecting on the protests and his recorded conversation with Swanstrom right here. These two old friends go on to speak for about an hour about race, politics, economics, and if St Louisans should feel bad about the state of the region when comparing themselves to other urban areas. Here's a look at how the conversation went: Chapter 1. "Same DJ Wilson as before, just sittin' in a wheelchair." DJ briefly explains his health and jumps into a familiar topic, Ferguson, and whether we've learned or done anything to improve the region since that tragedy and subsequent uprising. (0:00-9:45) Chapter 2.  The poor have been unable to accumulate wealth while the already wealthy have been profiting off of "unearned increments." Thankfully, the professor explains this all very clearly. (9:45-15:30) Chapter 3. DJ asks Swanstrom to take out the metaphorical yardstick to compare St Louis to other cities and regions. Sprawl, Prof Swanstrom explains, is related to segreation and inequality. (15:30-31:30) Chapter 4. Can urban areas improve on their own or is Federal and State intervention and empowerment necessary? Yes. (31:30-39:00) Chapter 5. A look at the political landscape: There's a new police chief in town, we're in the middle of a race for County Executive, Expresscripts has been bought out, and more. (39:00-60:00) Thanks to DJ's family who have been helping him heal and a huge shoutout to Hank Thompson, who has been keeping Wilson's seat warm in the studio these past several months. Look for a new show from Thompson coming out in late March 2018 - right here at Podcasts.KDHX.org.

Gwen Moore joined St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh and two other panelists, Lisa Gates and Terry Jones, at Harris Stowe State University last week for a conversation ­about the community that once existed between 20th Street and Saint Louis University. The same day, HSSU unveiled a new campus mural, commissioned by Wells Fargo, honoring Mill Creek.

We visited some local St Louisans to record their New Years' Food Resolutions for 2017.

Kim Visintine, one of the founding members of the organization, "Cold Water Creek: Just the Facts Please," is the guest on this edition of "Behind the Editor's Curtain" with Don Corrigan. Visintine shares the story of how radioactive waste from Cold Water Creek has been spread throughout North County over the decades. She and a group of childhood friends, who grew up in the Cold Water Creek area in the 1970s and 80s, reconnected years later through social media. After a short time, they discovered that sickness and rare health issues plagued almost everyone they knew, including the passing of some of those health issues genetically to their children. For more information visit http://environmentalecho.com/ Photo provided by Kim Visintine. (from left to right): Laura Puent Reeves, Jenell Rodden Wright, Angela Helbling and Kim Visintine. The photo was taken in 2013 at a Missouri Conservation for the Environment Event where the group received an award.