St. Louis on the Air
St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis on the Air creates a unique space where guests and listeners can share ideas and opinions with respect and honesty. Whether exploring issues and challenges confronting our region, discussing the latest innovations in science and technology, taking a closer look at our history or talking with authors, artists and musicians, St. Louis on the Air brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 5, 2022 • 34min
Local restaurants fear new COVID wave could push them to the brink
Qui Tran and Jason Sparks, two local restaurant owners, are mentally and physically exhausted from working to stay afloat during the pandemic.
Jan 4, 2022 • 14min
Amtrak service is now speedier from St. Louis to Chicago — but less frequent to Kansas City
Service along the passenger rail line that runs between St. Louis and Kansas City was reduced by 50% earlier this week due to a lack of funding from the state of Missouri. Amtrak’s Marc Magliari explains what’s going on.
Jan 4, 2022 • 24min
St. Louis has yet to open a 'safe haven' homeless shelter this winter, despite federal funds
Local providers and organizers are scrambling to keep a pop-up emergency shelter open during freezing temperatures, while they wait on the city to fund one.
Jan 4, 2022 • 15min
A Colombian immigrant made St. Louis home. Now his dad does too
After Carlos Restrepo became a U.S. citizen in 2015, he kickstarted his father’s journey to the U.S. Carlos and his father, Luis, discuss their journey to St. Louis and the local support they found along the way.
Jan 3, 2022 • 22min
Margaret Hermes’ new novel was inspired by backpacking Europe — and 4 decades of gestation
"The Opposite of Chance" was published 39 years after author Margaret Hermes wrote its first chapters. She explains what took so long, how she overcame the story's complications, and how intense research allowed her to bring characters far different from herself to life.
Jan 3, 2022 • 15min
Red Cross responds to disasters, sounds alarm on ‘dangerously low’ blood supply
The need for blood is on the rise, but the Red Cross is seeing fewer first-time donors — and is down to about one day’s worth of reserves. Joe Zydlo digs into what’s causing the shortfall, and how it plays into the organization’s recent response to tornadoes in Missouri and Arkansas.
Jan 3, 2022 • 16min
State-of-the-art tech helps Wash U researchers better understand shut-ins
By utilizing state-of-the-art technology, Wash U researchers hope to develop a better understanding of how rivers may react to future flooding events. Geomorphologist Claire Masteller joins us to discuss her work studying bedrock river erosion.
Dec 29, 2021 • 52min
In ‘My Fugitive,’ a lawyer’s daughter trains her eye on the FBI’s excesses
In this encore of a one-hour special edition, Nina Gilden Seavey discusses her podcast "My Fugitive," which connects the story of anti-war activist Howard Mechanic with that of another fugitive who spent time in St. Louis: James Earl Ray, who was convicted of killing Martin Luther King Jr.
Dec 28, 2021 • 50min
Areva Martin wants to shift the ‘Lean In’ paradigm: ‘You can't lean into a closed door’
Lawyer and author Areva Martin discusses her book “Awakening: Ladies, Leadership, and the Lies We've Been Told” in this encore episode.
Dec 28, 2021 • 28min
‘Road Diet’ Cuts Hampton Avenue’s 4 Lanes To 3 In Hopes Of Making Road Safer For All
Hampton, a formerly four-lane thoroughfare, now limits traffic to one lane in each direction, with the addition of a center turning lane plus wider parking lanes on the sides. The city has plans for a somewhat similar transformation along Lindell Boulevard by Forest Park.
