St. Louis on the Air

Some St. Louis residents have expressed concerns after demolition permits were issued for a group of historic buildings along the 1900 block of Olive Boulevard. The fate of another building, at 201 S. Jefferson, also has people speaking up. To city resident Catherine Hamacher, who works as an urban planner, both cases are a reminder that, oftentimes, “people have a hard time seeing the ‘what could be.’”

St. Louis Public Radio's Sarah Fentem discusses finding safe ways to connect in yet another unprecedented season, what to keep in mind about the likelihood of significantly more indoor time, and how to approach the prospect of, well, being a bit cold at times in exchange for safer interactions.

In August, Pharrell Williams and Jay-Z released their music video “Entrepreneur” which features Black entrepreneurs from across the country. The video inspired St. Louis’ Jason Wilson, owner and CEO of Northwest Coffee Roasting Company, who collaborated with local director David Kirkman to create an edition of “Entrepreneur” that highlights Black-owned businesses in St. Louis.

Wellston's Trojan Park was recently named one of two winners of 2020's Urban Open Space Award. Landscape architect Chip Crawford joins us to discuss the park's surprising origin story and what makes a great park.

William H. Danforth II died on Wednesday. The former chancellor of Washington University transformed the institution into a top-tier school, and he was the founding chairman of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. We listen back to excerpts from his appearance on the show from February 2008.

“Crime Beat Girl” tells the story of Debbie Bradley, who leaves her journalism job in Washington, D.C., to be closer to family in her native St. Louis. Author Geri L. Dreiling joins us to discuss her new novel.

The co-director of St. Louis County’s public health department, Spring Schmidt, joins to talk about kids and COVID-19, youth sports restrictions, Halloween during a pandemic and the importance of flu shots.

We talk with St. Louis author Vivian Gibson. Her debut book written at the age of 71 is a memoir about growing up in St. Louis neighborhood that no longer exists, “The Last Children of Mill Creek.” This is an encore of an interview that aired in April 2020.

Defunding police departments is a major goal for many Black Lives Matter protesters. But for others, it’s a scary idea — and that’s true for many St. Louis residents. In this episode, we explore what it means to defund the police in a city that struggles with high rates of violent crime. University of Missouri-St. Louis criminologist Richard Rosenfeld joins the discussion. This is an encore of an interview that aired in July 2020.

As many athletes have returned to fields, courts and arenas during the coronavirus pandemic, so have sports protests. More and more professional athletes are kneeling during the national anthem, displaying Black Lives Matter messages on their gametime attire, and speaking out publicly about police brutality and systemic racism. “But there’s at least one place where protesting is still not allowed,” an op-ed piece in the New York Times featuring St. Louis-area native Gwen Berry noted earlier this month: an Olympic podium.