St. Louis on the Air

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St. Louis Symphony Orchestra To Feature Women, 2 World Premieres In 2020-21 Season Feb 07, 2020

Show notes

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is in the midst of its first season with music director Stéphane Denève at the helm, but the organization is already looking ahead. Earlier this week, the symphony announced the lineup for Denève’s second season. It begins this fall, and it focuses on the theme of “music inspired by and written by women.”

Late Board Member's $45 Million Donation Will Boost Opera Theatre Of St. Louis Feb 07, 2020

Show notes

Opera Theatre of St. Louis just got the biggest gift in the organization’s history -- $45 million. In this segment, Sarah Fenske talks about this very nice surprise with the general director of Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Andrew Jorgensen.

St. Louis Theater Circle Announces 2020 Nominees, Celebrates 8 Years Of Awards Feb 07, 2020

Show notes

Every year, the St. Louis Theater Circle honors the best of local professional theater, voted on by local critics. In this segment, Calvin Wilson, theater critic for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and Tina Farmer, theater reviewer for KDHX, join host Sarah Fenske to release the 2020 award nominees and discuss some of the highlights. St. Louis Theater Circle asserts that this year's nominations represent the most competitive field in the eight years of the awards.

Luminary Collaborates With ArchCity Defenders For ‘America's Mythic Time’ Exhibit Feb 06, 2020

Show notes

Artists are no strangers to political activism. Through captivating installations, they’re able to visualize complex themes that resonate with movements and social causes. A new exhibit at the Luminary Center for the Arts, “America’s Mythic Time,” takes it to the next level with an unusual partner — ArchCity Defenders. But the collaboration isn’t really that far-out. The two organizations have worked together closely for years, co-sharing spaces and political expertise. Host Sarah Fenske discusses how social justice issues such as mass incarceration and debtors’ prisons and initiatives like Close the Workhouse can be translated in a way that reaches gallery visitors. Z Gorley, ArchCity Defenders’ communications director, joins the conversation, as well as Kevin McCoy, one of the featured artists in the exhibit.

St. Louis Fire Department Officials Field Questions About Working With 'Live Rescue' TV Show Feb 06, 2020

Show notes

News crews haven’t had a monopoly on live footage of breaking news and emergency situations in quite some time. Among other innovations, the proliferation of cellphone video — especially video taken by bystanders during first-responder interactions with citizens — has been a game changer in recent years for the public’s understanding of such events. Production companies including Big Fish Entertainment have also turned their cameras toward the real-life drama. And in “Live Rescue,” a Big Fish show currently airing on the A&E Network, St. Louisans are finding themselves in the spotlight. Last April, the St. Louis Fire Department entered into an agreement with Big Fish to allow the company access to record the activity that surrounds calls for help and various crises that department personnel respond to on an everyday basis. As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Erin Heffernan reported earlier this week, the department does not receive any money in exchange. But Captain Garon Mosby, public information officer for the department, is deeply involved with the production of “Live Rescue,” regularly traveling to New York City on Big Fish’s dime to help produce the Monday evening broadcast. In this segment, Mosby and St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson offer a closer look at the collaboration.

‘St. Louis Superman’ Producers Head To The Oscars With Bruce Franks Jr. Feb 06, 2020

Show notes

The directors and subject of “St. Louis Superman,” the documentary film showcasing the story of former Missouri state Rep. Bruce Franks Jr., will be in Los Angeles for this Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony. The film has been nominated for a Best Documentary Short Subject Oscar. The documentary follows Franks’ journey as a lawmaker and his push for a proposal to recognize youth violence as a public health epidemic. In this interview, we hear from the film’s directors, Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan.

Adia Harvey Wingfield On The Intersection Of Workplace Status, Perceptions Of Racial Discrimination Feb 05, 2020

Show notes

Washington University’s Adia Harvey Wingfield, who is a professor of sociology, has long been interested in the ways that race, class and gender influence everyday workplace structures and interactions. Her most recent book, “Flatlining: Race, Work, and Health Care in the New Economy,” looks closely at the experiences of black workers in health care — as does a new study of which she is the co-author. Focused around 60 in-depth interviews with black doctors, nurses and technicians, the study suggests that among people of color, one’s professional status within an organizational hierarchy has a significant effect on how one perceives instances of racial discrimination. In this segment, Harvey Wingfield joins host Sarah Fenske to discuss the implications of this research for the health care industry and beyond.

Meet James Biko, CAM's New DJ-In-Residence Feb 05, 2020

Show notes

Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis recently announced its latest multidisciplinary artist patrons can expect to see at the space during its First Fridays and other CAM events. James Biko is an East St. Louis-born and St. Louis-based artist prominent in the local hip-hop and soul scene. He’s been on the radar of music aficionados in the city, and is a ten-time Riverfront Times Music Award winner. He also co-hosts the “Rawthentic” radio program, with Cleo Jones on KDHX, which plays hip-hop, R&B and soul on Thursday evenings. Besides the local recognition, Biko has also performed at national and international music festivals. On Wednesday’s St. Louis on the Air, Biko joins host Sarah Fenske to talk about his new residency and musical process.

Shipping-Container Markets Along MetroLink Await Bi-State Decision Feb 05, 2020

Show notes

In January, St. Louis’ regional transit agency considered taking on operation of the embattled Loop Trolley — and ultimately declined to do so. At this month’s meeting of the Bi-State Development board, a totally different project’s future will come before the agency: the two shipping-container-sized grocery stores located along MetroLink in north St. Louis County. The stores are operated by a nonprofit subcontractor, Link Market, which formed about two years ago. They were funded by a grant Bi-State was awarded from the Missouri Foundation for Health and meant to be a pilot project addressing the region’s food deserts. But this past summer, as reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Tony Messenger, Link Market founder Dr. Jeremy Goss learned Bi-State had concerns about their financial viability. After a meeting of various parties in St. Louis County Executive Sam Page’s office, the shipping-container markets got an extension from Bi-State. And as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Andrew Nguyen explains in this segment in conversation with Goss and host Sarah Fenske, Bi-State’s board should vote Feb. 21 on a proposal to donate the shipping containers to the Link Market.

St. Louis Booksellers, Wash U Prof And Community Members Reflect On ‘American Dirt’ Controversy Feb 04, 2020

Show notes

After Left Bank Books cancelled a planned event late last month with bestselling author Jeanine Cummins in the wake of outcry about her new novel, the independent bookstore met with waves of feedback from every corner, some of it very angry. In this segment, the St. Louis on the Air team seeks to take the conversation that the situation has sparked and push it forward in productive ways. Host Sarah Fenske talks with Kleindienst and with Ignacio Sánchez Prado, a professor of Spanish, Latin American Studies and Film and Media Studies at Washington University who was born in Mexico. Also joining the discussion is Kelly Von Plonski, owner of Subterranean Books. The segment also includes brief comments from Christina Rios and Alicia Hernandez, who are both members of the local Latinx community. Rios was until recently the longtime artistic director of R-S Theatrics, and Hernandez is a local community organizer working on immigration issues.

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