St. Louis on the Air

Latest Episodes:

What’s on Missouri’s Aug. 4 primary ballot? A guide to the issues Jul 29, 2026

Show notes

“St. Louis on the Air” executive producer Alex Heuer moderates Voter Guide Live, an in-person panel discussion featuring STLPR political reporters Jason Rosenbaum, Rachel Lippmann and Sarah Kellogg. In this uncut version of the July 14 event held in the station's Community Room, they explain and discuss local and statewide issues Missouri voters will see when they go to the polls on Aug. 4.

What to know about key state and local contests in Missouri’s primary elections Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

Missouri’s contentious primary season is barreling toward its conclusion. In this episode, the STLPR politics team breaks down congressional primaries, state legislative contests and high-level elections throughout St. Louis County. They also discuss why Republicans appear to be running away from an amendment aimed at eliminating the state’s income tax.

In struggle to find housing, trans people in St. Louis turn to mutual aid Jul 27, 2026

Show notes

From changing federal laws to intolerant landlords, trans and gender-nonconfirming people in St. Louis are facing multiple challenges when it comes to housing. Since 2021, the Trans Housing Initiative St. Louis has helped individuals with direct assistance and education. The group says it distributed more than $8,000 this year in rental assistance to 19 people. THISTL executive director Beth Gombos and board president Maxi Glamour talk about the history of the group, the impact of mutual aid programs and why local and federal housing rules pose particular challenges to trans people. Gombos and Glamour share their insight from their years in housing advocacy and research, as well as their own personal experiences with losing and regaining stable housing.

St. Louis Palestinian dance troupe supports autism advocacy in the West Bank Jul 27, 2026

Show notes

St. Louis’ Canaan Wellspring Palestinian dance troupe will present a dabke performance on Saturday to raise funds for Autism Superhero Palestine, a nonprofit supporting autistic children in the West Bank. Coach Hanan Hamed and dancer Sarah Zakarneh discuss the group’s growth, cultural preservation, the need for autism support in conflict zones and what attendees can expect from the upcoming showcase.

With a nationally-watched election approaching, Bush and Bell clash in fiery joint appearance Jul 24, 2026

Show notes

Missouri Congressman Wesley Bell is once again squaring off against fellow Democrat Cori Bush to represent the state’s 1st Congressional District. Bell is banking on St. Louis and St. Louis County voters appreciating how he’s stood up to President Donald Trump. Bush contends that she can provide a more assertive posture to combat Trump. With less than two weeks to go before the primary election, Bell and Bush face off in an intense joint appearance focused on the pair’s Democratic credentials, campaign finances, and issues including tornado recovery, Medicare for All, federal immigration law, and military spending.

In new St. Louis film, the monarch takes a back seat to its food source: Mead’s milkweed Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

Less than 2% of native prairie remains today. That’s a problem for the endangered Mead’s milkweed, which is the main food source of monarch caterpillars. We talk with the creator of the new short film “Intervention,” which follows St. Louis-based scientists into some of the last remaining prairies in North America to undertake the painstaking work of hand-pollinating Mead's milkweed. Conservation geneticist Christy Edwards also joins the discussion to share her passion for this work — exacting labor that comes with long, hot days navigating thorny brush in tick country.

New sci-fi short could be the start – or end – of AI-generated films at Cinema St. Louis festivals Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

Generative AI is just about everywhere. That includes this year’s St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase — in the form of a sci-fi short called “Anomaly” by writer and director Jack Snyder. Ahead of a ticketed July 25 town hall about Cinema St. Louis’s future festival policy regarding AI submissions, Snyder discusses what prompted him to experiment with artificial intelligence and what the experience revealed about the realities of working with AI. He also drew parallels between current debates over AI in filmmaking and resistance to the mid-2000’s move away from 35mm film to digital.

Southern Illinois is now home to one of few university-based Samoan language courses in the U.S. Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

Amid declining use of many Indigenous and Pacific Island languages, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville is helping preserve one of the world’s oldest living Polynesian languages with a Samoan language class. The course is one of just a few in the entire country based at a university. Instructor, Talofa Talk founder and SIUE graduate William Fanene shares how his experiences as a heritage language learner shapes his approach to teaching. He also discusses media’s role in piquing public curiosity about Samoan culture and language, even in parts of the country with relatively small populations of people with direct connections to the Pacific Islands.

Using esports, a St. Louis foundation aims to help gamers score scholarships and careers Jul 22, 2026

Show notes

The world of esports is growing rapidly. Video games have become a multibillion dollar industry in the United States, outpacing the music and film industries by hundreds of billions of dollars. In Missouri, more universities are embracing esports by offering scholarships to athletes for games like Valorant, Overwatch 2, and Super Smash Brothers. Rob Powell, founder and CEO of BGG Foundation, and Fletcher Springfield, a rising Southeast Missouri State freshman, talk about how casual gamers can become esports athletes, and how esports helped them land education and career opportunities.

More than 100 voices in harmony carried a St. Charles barbershop chorus to its 6th championship Jul 22, 2026

Show notes

Ambassadors of Harmony, a barbershop chorus from St. Charles, won its sixth national championship earlier this month at the International Chorus Contest. Brothers and performers Jonny and Blake Moroni share their reactions to the win and the collaborative effort that created the chorus' winning arrangement of "Muskrat Ramble," which adapted a jazz standard into a massive performance involving more than 100 singers. Jonny Moroni also leads a special demonstration of how a championship-winning chorus “builds” a harmony, voice by voice.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected