St. Louis on the Air

Statehouse reporter Sarah Kellogg discusses the first week of the 2023 Missouri legislative session and what lawmakers are hoping to focus on in the months ahead.

Just before the start of the new year, the Supreme Court of Illinois halted the implementation of a law that would eliminate the practice of cash bail statewide — hours before the bill was set to take effect. Sarah Staudt of the Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and Alexa Van Brunt of the MacArthur Justice Center discuss the future of the law and how the justice-impacted and their families will be affected in the meantime.

NPR correspondent Brian Mann was involved in a violent car crash while covering the war in Ukraine last year. The driver of his military vehicle lost control while trying to evade Russian surveillance. Mann broke his leg but expects to make a full recovery. He also wants to go back to cover the conflict and to talk more with the Ukrainian people. Last month, STLPR’s Rod Milam talked with Mann about his experiences covering the war. The conversation was part of STLPR’s participation in the American Homefront Project. This episode includes much of that conversation.

As the Metro Trans Umbrella Group approaches their tenth anniversary, they embark on a multi-year plan to develop and implement a community needs assessment for the greater St. Louis region. Interim executive director Michaela Joy Kraemer explains how a community needs assessment will improve their work, and talks about the other social issues the organization plans to address in the coming year.

Missouri gave Rev. Darryl Gray unprecedented access to death row inmate Kevin Johnson. Gray served as his spiritual advisor, even holding Johnson’s shoulder as the lethal injection was administered on November 29. Gray discusses his observations from this unusual connection, what he learned from Johnson’s faith, and what it means to find yourself within a system that you believe should be abolished.

Educators today face a myriad of challenges that have affected teacher recruitment and retention. Ferguson-Florissant School District language arts teacher Kem Smith has responded by sharing advice to fellow educators — from how to accurately and appropriately teach U.S. history to how the pandemic has affected the ways students learn and teachers teach with her column, ‘After the Bell.’

Steven Pursley discusses his experience reconnecting with his roots in Japan, what he learned about the different types of ramen during his time there, and what it’s been like to launch Menya Rui in St. Louis over the past year.

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.

“Neuro Blooms,” a community art exhibition on Cherokee St. in St. Louis brings visibility and awareness to neurodiversity. Artists Con Christeson and Bonita “Bo” Owen share how the project helps break stigma and invites people to talk more openly about mental health.

“In 1998, I nearly lost custody of my three young children. It wasn’t because I was a bad mother. It was because I’m gay.” So begins a recent essay by in the Huffington Post from former St. Louis Public Radio arts and culture reporter Nancy Fowler. Fowler discusses the wrenching decisions she made during the divorce, how Missouri law equated being gay with being an unfit parent, and why she’s speaking out publicly about her experiences now. Nancy’s daughter, Jamie Larson, also shares her perspective on her mother’s perseverance.