St. Louis on the Air

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In 'Rebel Queen,' a chess grandmaster battles sexism and communist control Mar 13, 2025

Show notes

At four years old, Susan Polgar was already playing chess — and winning. At 15, in the mid-1980s, she was already the top-ranked woman in the world. By 1991, she’d become a grandmaster. The former Webster University chess coach discusses her new memoir, “Rebel Queen: The Cold War, Misogyny, and the Making of a Grandmaster.”

Missourians voted for a higher minimum wage and paid sick leave. Both are under attack Mar 13, 2025

Show notes

The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday challenging the constitutionality of Proposition A, the minimum wage and sick leave law that voters passed with 58% support last November. In this episode, Fran Marion, a longtime fast food restaurant worker, details her support for the measure. Buddy Lahl, CEO of the Missouri Restaurant Association, explains his opposition.

This story was originally featured as part of KCUR’s talk show, Up to Date.

Forest Park's famous owl Charles has a new mate, but don't expect babies this year Mar 12, 2025

Show notes

In the 19 years St. Louis naturalist Mark H.X. Glenshaw has studied Charles the great horned owl, Charles has fathered 27 owlets with seven mates. This year, Glenshaw was waiting to see if Charles would mate with the new lady owl in Forest Park: a one-year-old owl that Glenshaw named May. He shares what Charles and May have been up to and why their “May-December romance” hasn’t yet come to fruition.

Home Gardening 101: Experts share tips for St. Louis growers Mar 12, 2025

Show notes

From tools and materials to varieties of edible and decorative plants, this home gardening conversation offers growers tips for making the most of their yards – and porches and window sills – this spring planting season. Daria McKelvey, home gardening information and outreach supervisor at Missouri Botanical Garden; and Megan Moncure, engagement director for Seed St. Louis, join the show to share advice and respond to listener calls.

How the Annie Malone Parade’s uncertain future sparked renewed interest in the woman for whom its named Mar 11, 2025

Show notes

When organizers of the annual Annie Malone May Day parade in St. Louis announced its cancellation this year, many people — especially in the Black community — were disappointed. Funds for the parade were redirected to support clients who needed shelter and food. But, the outpouring of community support means the parade can forward as planned. The attention also reignited a passion and interest in the woman for whom the parade is named: Annie Malone. Linda Nance, who founded the Annie Malone Historical Society in 2013, discusses Malone’s legacy and why it’s more than “just a parade.”

Chris Dunn was exonerated. Missouri’s Attorney General wants him back in prison Mar 11, 2025

Show notes

Even after Christopher Dunn won his release from prison in July, Missouri's Attorney General is still trying to put him back. It's just one of the consequences of the unique way Missouri law treats claims of "actual innocence.” We discuss the state of Missouri's innocence laws with Saint Louis University criminologist Kenya Brumfield-Young, as well as attorney Charlie Weiss, who has represented five people who were released from prison after being found innocent. Weiss and Brumfield-Young also share their insights into a proposed bill that would expand the scope of who can make a claim of “actual innocence” under current Missouri law.

Student activists prepare for the fight ahead as federal crackdown on protests intensifies Mar 10, 2025

Show notes

Less than a week after President Donald Trump promised to crack down on student protests at colleges and universities, he’s pulled funding to Columbia University in New York City — where students engaged in pro-Palestinian protests against the war in Gaza — and praised U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents for arresting a graduate student who is a permanent U.S. resident for his role in those protests. We hear from St. Louis college student activists who are focused on building community and protections for actions to come, and discuss the implications of the president’s proposal with St. Louis University history professor and chair of African American Studies Chris Tinson.

Aaron Malin filed a Sunshine Law request in 2015. He’s still waiting for the law to catch up Mar 10, 2025

Show notes

Aaron Malin and attorney Dave Roland have spent a decade in a legal battle to unseal the records of Missouri's drug task forces. These multijurisdictional law enforcement groups can seize vast quantities of drugs, money, and property, but they operate in secrecy. Ten years and many lawsuits later, Malin and Roland are upping the stakes with a motion for civil contempt against the Cole County Prosecuting Attorney’s office. Malin and Roland reflect on a decade of fighting government secrecy and the state of Missouri's Sunshine Law.

Missouri lawmakers want to change legislative term limits. Voters may keep them in place Mar 07, 2025

Show notes

Republican Missouri Rep. Peggy McGaugh wants to allow someone to serve up to 16 years in either the House or the Senate. Currently, most legislators can serve up to eight years in the House and eight in the Senate. McGaugh discusses her proposal on the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air. Then, term limits expert Thad Kousser, a political science professor at the University of California-San Diego, discusses the history and trends behind term limits in the U.S.

U.S. Rep. Burlison takes dim view of town halls, pushes for Medicaid reform Mar 07, 2025

Show notes

Some GOP lawmakers have faced angry crowds at town hall meetings, particularly over federal job reductions. That led to one GOP member suggesting an end to in-person town halls. During an appearance on the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Springfield, agreed saying, “I think that the town halls create a dynamic where only political nutjobs show up.” Burlison also discusses why he thinks Medicaid needs major changes.

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