St. Louis on the Air

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How one St. Louisan shares her Nigerian culture in ‘Jollof Rice with Grandma’ Oct 13, 2023

Show notes

Vanessa Okwuraiwe was born in the United Kingdom, went to school in Nigeria, and moved to St. Louis several years ago for work in the financial services industry. She’s now the author of the new children’s book “Jollof Rice with Grandma,” which focuses on 6-year-old Ada, who learns to make a classic West African dish when her grandparents visit from Nigeria. Okwuraiwe talks about the book, its characters and the diversity among Nigerians in St. Louis.

Disability rights advocates decry Metro Transit’s Call-A-Ride as unreliable Oct 13, 2023

Show notes

People with disabilities in the St. Louis area say recent disruptions to Call-A-Ride service reflect ongoing issues with the transportation service. Etefia Umana, a member of the St. Louis Metropolitan Alliance for Reliable Transit, talks about the challenges he faces using Call-A-Ride. Jeanette Mott Oxford of Paraquad, a local nonprofit dedicated to disability advocacy, discusses the changes advocates want to see put in place.

The Women’s Safe House aims to help abuse victims stay safe by welcoming their pets Oct 12, 2023

Show notes

Seventy-one percent of women in domestic violence shelters report that their abuser threatened, injured or killed a pet. The fear of violence against a beloved animal can make survivors feel trapped. The Women’s Safe House in St. Louis is working to remove that deterrent. The domestic violence shelter is about to become one of only a few in Missouri — and the only emergency shelter in the greater St. Louis area — to welcome pets.

This weekend brings a partial solar eclipse, but the 2024 total eclipse is the real banger Oct 12, 2023

Show notes

Missouri and Illinois residents will be able to witness a partial solar eclipse Saturday morning, October 14 at 10:26 a.m. While this is a must-see celestial event, astronomers, space fanatics and umbraphiles alike say that this is just a warm up to the big show: A total solar eclipse that will cross over parts of Missouri and Illinois on April 8, 2024. Author and eclipse chaser David Baron shares just how special total solar eclipses are.

Introducing ‘A CRISPR Bite’: How gene-editing technology is changing our food Oct 11, 2023

Show notes

The new podcast “A CRISPR Bite” explores how and why biotech companies are looking to use CRISPR technology to change our food. The five-part series was produced by journalist — and former St. Louis Public Radio reporter — Corinne Ruff. It’s hosted by food anthropologist Lauren Crossland-Marr. In its third episode, the St. Louis company Benson Hill takes center stage.

A detective sabotaged his own cases because he didn’t like Kim Gardner. No one stopped him Oct 11, 2023

Show notes

Across the U.S., reform-minded prosecutors have faced pushback from police departments. In St. Louis, issues around police accountability and racial bias were thrown in sharp relief after Michael Brown, Jr. was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer in 2014. ProPublica reporter Jeremy Kohler is co-writer of the new piece, “A Detective Sabotaged His Own Cases Because He Didn’t Like the Prosecutor. The Police Department Did Nothing to Stop Him.” Kohler talks about that story, which focuses on local figures whose conflict reflects what’s happening in other parts of the country.

Musical comedy about breast cancer — ‘All Wigged Out’ — comes to a St. Louis theater Oct 10, 2023

Show notes

About 300,000 Americans will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023. Despite its commonality, the process of fighting the disease is difficult for patients and their loved ones. Musicians and life partners Marcy Marxer and Cathy Fink can attest to this. Both of them experienced receiving breast cancer diagnoses and becoming each other's primary caregiver. Marxer, Fink and Dr. Jovita Oruwari of SSM Health Medical Group discuss the musical “All Wigged Out” in advance of its St. Louis showing.

How competing origin stories of St. Louis’ pork steak tangled Schnucks, Google and Wikipedia Oct 10, 2023

Show notes

It’s undeniable that pork steak was popularized in St. Louis, but the identity of its inventor is sizzling with debate. The local supermarket chain Schnucks claims it deserves the title. Robert Moss, contributing barbecue editor for Southern Living, and restaurant critic for the Post & Courier, says that claim needs to be sent back to the kitchen. Moss investigated the controversy over the origin of the humble pork steak, and he shares why the pork steak is special, where it came from, and why Schnuck's, Google, and Wikipedia struggle to get the history right.

Urban composting is a growing business — but cities like St. Louis are unprepared Oct 10, 2023

Show notes

More than a third of food grown in the U.S. goes uneaten. Food waste takes up space in landfills and produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Harvest Public Media Reporter Eva Tesfaye digs into current zoning laws in places like St. Louis, where urban composting sites are beginning to pop up. The owners of New Earth Farm, John and Stacey Cline, share why they started their composting business in 2020.

Valley Park doubles down on rejecting lynching monument Oct 09, 2023

Show notes

A mob lynched a 24-year-old Black man named John Buckner in 1894. That's not disputed. But it's the location of Buckner's lynching that's creating controversy in Valley Park. Geoff Ward, a professor of African and African American Studies at Washington University and a member of the Reparative Justice Coalition, discusses the killing of John Buckner and how the record shows he was killed in Valley Park. Elizabeth Simons, community program manager for Great Rivers Greenway, describes the group’s plan to install a plaque on the Meramec Greenway.

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