St. Louis on the Air

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Most domestic violence victims face court alone. A retired judge wants to change that Mar 06, 2024

Show notes

Only 10% of domestic violence victims report their abuser, and of those who do file for orders of protection, only 20-25% are granted the order. Mike Burton knows the real-life implications of these statistics well. As a St. Louis County Circuit Judge, he oversaw countless domestic violence cases — and in doing so, became aware of the many flaws in the system that lead to abusers not being held accountable. Alongside domestic abuse survivor Monique Green, Burton launched St. Louis Survivors Legal Support after retiring to help victims of domestic violence secure adequate legal representation.

Two STL prosecutors say Christopher Dunn is innocent. He’s still in prison. Mar 06, 2024

Show notes

On Feb. 7, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore filed a motion to vacate Chris Dunn’s murder conviction. “The eyewitness recantations alone are enough to show clear and convincing evidence of actual innocence in this case,” Gore said. In an interview from prison, Dunn reflects on what this development means in his decades-long effort to prove his innocence. Also joining the conversation are Dunn's wife, Kira, and Rachel Weston, managing attorney at the Midwest Innocence Project.

How drug monitoring programs route patients out of health care and into the legal system Mar 05, 2024

Show notes

Since the early 2000s, healthcare systems have used technology originally made for law enforcement to combat misuse of prescription meds — yet the opioid epidemic continues to worsen. SLU Associate Professor Liz Chiarello discusses how prescription drug monitoring programs lead to an increase in overdose rates and how such surveillance systems threaten patient privacy.

Remembering Colin Murphy, journalist, mentor and LGBTQ activist Mar 05, 2024

Show notes

Colin Murphy, co-founder of Boom Magazine — a queer publication focusing on the bi-state region — has died after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 53 years old. He is remembered for his positivity and mentorship despite the adversity he faced as a gay man with HIV as well as his passion for providing a news platform by and for queer people in the bi-state region.

Abuse at Kanakuk goes back decades. A new bill would help only some of the victims Mar 04, 2024

Show notes

In 2009, revelations of sexual abuse at one of the largest Christian camps in the country rocked the Branson-based Kanakuk camp. Now, a community of survivors and their supporters are building a path to change — including backing a proposed bill to expand the state’s statute of limitations. To discuss the ongoing legacy, and reckoning, around Kanakuk and Missouri law, we talk with journalist Nancy French, who investigated the camp, and attorney Bobby Thrasher, who represents a former camper who was abused there.

How an expat and a transplant found community through the St. Louis Mosaic Project Mar 01, 2024

Show notes

Moving to a new place comes with a great deal more than an address change. For those who pack up their lives to move to an entirely new country, adjusting to language, systems, and culture that’s very different from what they’ve known can be difficult and lonely. The St. Louis Mosaic Project’s International Mentoring Program pairs immigrants with St. Louisans in order to promote networking opportunities, build friendships and help people new to the U.S. navigate life in the region.

Hundreds compete for $75k Arch Grants. Mentors can make the difference Mar 01, 2024

Show notes

Hundreds of entrepreneurs from St. Louis and beyond apply for the Arch Grants Startup Competition each year, in the hopes of securing a $75,000 grant. The stakes are high, but a free mentorship program at the Olin Business School at Washington University is giving founders valuable feedback to help take their application to the next level.

Legal Roundtable covers Alito criticism, hazing at Eureka HS, Webster University problems, more Feb 29, 2024

Show notes

A case that began with a Missouri prison guard suing the state for workplace discrimination has “concerned” U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. The problem: The possibility that religious people who view homosexuality as a sin will be “labeled as bigots and treated as such.” Attorneys Erin Lueker, Connie McFarland-Butler and Bill Freivogel dive into Alito’s concerns, as well as the art of jury selection. The panel also discusses a case of donors suing Webster University, hazing at Eureka High School, and a Missouri lawyer using AI to write legal briefs.

How a SLU professor honors his family’s civil rights legacy Feb 28, 2024

Show notes

Dr. Travis Threats is a professor and chair of St. Louis University’s Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences. He’s also the grandson of Mae Bertha and Matthew Carter, parents who dared to force Mississippi to recognize the injustice of the state’s “freedom of choice” in 1965 — one year after the passage of the Civil Rights Act. He shares how his grandparents’ fight inspires his work today including his efforts to diversify the field of speech pathology.

My co-worker wrote a memoir about dogs that helped me grieve Feb 28, 2024

Show notes

STLPR politics editor Fred Ehrlich, in 2022, wrote a memoir about his life with dogs. A few weeks ago, he gifted that book to producer Aaron Doerr, who was grieving the loss of his dog, Tallis. In this episode of “St Louis on the Air,” we talk about the close bonds we have with our pets and the healing that comes with saying goodbye.

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