St. Louis on the Air

Your immune system has a "memory," which can be both a good and bad thing. When it comes to COVID boosters, scientists like Washington University's Dr. Michael Diamond found that our body doesn't just "remember" its previous vaccines – it uses that memory to fight viruses it hasn't even met yet. How does the immune system "remember" a brand-new virus? What makes COVID vaccines different from the flu vaccine? And what does this mean for COVID vaccines in the future? Dr. Diamond, lead author of a new study in Nature, explains.

Cicadas are a nutritional boon to birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians — and yes, even humans. With the St. Louis region estimated to have about 1 to 1.5 million periodical cicadas per acre for the next few weeks — and nymphs continuing to crawl out of the ground — there is still time to take advantage of this once-in-every-13-years culinary event. We get tips and tricks for catching, preparing and cooking cicadas. We also discuss the growing interest in cricket powder, an ingredient suitable for the most squeamish of interested eaters.

The Solid Sound Collective, a music project of the St. Louis nonprofit Action Art Collaborative, celebrates the long and living legacy of community activism. Three of its producers and musicians – Colin McLaughlin, Ryan Marquez, and Alicia Revé – talk about original songs commissioned for the project and the role of interviews in creating music that addresses social and economic inequities. The collective premieres its music at an event on June 2 at Work & Leisure in Midtown St. Louis.

Once strong and tight-knit, Clayton’s Black community was almost entirely wiped out by urban renewal policies that drove Black families away during the 1950s and 60s. A new historical marker commemorates those who were pushed out. Historian and retired Clayton High School teacher Donna Rogers-Beard discusses the history of the community, which dates back to the 1880s. Derek Novel recalls his memories of growing up in Clayton and how displacement changed the community.

Mayor Tishaura Jones says she has set the city of St. Louis on a course to be “safer, stronger and healthier” than it is today. Jones highlighted accomplishments at her State of the City speech last Tuesday. She also launched her re-election bid last week. STLPR reporter Rachel Lippmann joins the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air to discuss this news.

In a rare instance of triumph for Missouri Democrats, an effort to raise the bar to amend the state constitution — a central GOP priority — was defeated. Infighting among Republicans was a highlight of this year’s Missouri legislative session that ended Friday. STLPR statehouse and politics reporter Sarah Kellogg joins the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air. We also open up our mailbag and answer listener and reader questions about the session and political process.

Kirkwood-raised musician David Sanborn died earlier this week after an extended battle with prostate cancer. He won six Grammy awards and sold millions of albums across a more than 50-year career. Known for his warm sound on alto saxophone, Sanborn won acclaim as a solo artist and as a collaborator with a long list of stars in the worlds of jazz, rock and pop. Earlier this year, Jazz St. Louis honored Sanborn with its first lifetime achievement award. We listen back to his conversation with STLPR’s Jeremy D. Goodwin.

St. Louis’ juvenile justice system is supposed to rehabilitate youth but it often makes things worse. That’s the topic of a recently published article written by Taylor Tiamoyo Harris and commissioned by the River City Journalism Fund. Taylor is a St. Louis-based journalist and recently began a job as investigative fellow for the New York Times. Harris discusses her recent reporting on juvenile justice.

Civil rights attorney and former South Carolina state lawmaker Bakari Sellers says national police reform is currently dead, but there is hope through voting to change the makeup of Congress. STLPR reporter Andrea Henderson recently spoke with Sellers when he was in St. Louis to talk about his new book, “The Moment: Thoughts on the Race Reckoning That Wasn't and How We All Can Move Forward Now.”

A St. Louis judge on Tuesday will hear arguments as to why the 1991 murder conviction of Chris Dunn should be vacated. Dunn has spent more than 30 years in prison. Two witnesses who identified him as the killer have recanted and two St. Louis prosecutors, Kim Gardner and Gabe Gore, believe that he is innocent. After Gore announced earlier this spring he would file a motion to vacate Dunn’s conviction, producer Danny Wicentowski spoke with Dunn from the South Central Correctional Center in Licking, Missouri, about his reaction.