St. Louis on the Air

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Missouri officials tout new digital platform verifying social service program income Feb 06, 2025

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The Missouri Department of Social Services last month launched Steady statewide. The online platform aims to help people verify income for Medicaid, food assistance programs and temporary assistance for needy families. NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal is part owner of Steady. He and others talked with STLPR politics correspondent Jason Rosenbaum about the platform.

An orchestral adaptation of David Bowie’s final album will make its Midwest debut Feb 06, 2025

Show notes

British rock legend David Bowie called on saxophonist Donny McCaslin and his band to record Bowie’s album, “Blackstar,” after checking out the jazz group’s performance at the 55 Bar in Greenwich Village. Bowie never had a chance to to perform its songs live because he died two days after the album’s release in 2016. With the backing of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, “Blackstar Symphony” will have its Midwest premiere this Friday at Stifel Theater.

Reporters find people were strapped to chairs for days at Madison County jail Feb 06, 2025

Show notes

An investigation by Illinois Answers into the use, misuse, and abuse of restraint chairs in Illinois county jails found that staff at the jail in Madison County, Illinois, restrained someone in a chair for more than 10 hours in at least 28 incidents from 2019 to 2023. Eight of those incidents exceeded 20 hours, despite the instructions from the chair's manufacturer recommending that detainees not be not be left in a chair for more than two hours. We meet the two reporters behind the investigation, Grace Hauck and Janelle O'Dea, and they discuss what they discovered about the jail's operations, what the people who suffered in restraints said about the experience, and why some extreme incidents were never reported to the state.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis showcases new works chosen by community members Feb 05, 2025

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Welcoming new voices to opera is the core mission of Opera Theatre of St. Louis’ New Works Collective. The initiative provides opportunities for creators and performers like librettist Alicia Reve Like, whose 20-minute opera “Black Coffee” gets its world premiere Feb. 6-8 at COCA. Like and the theatre’s managing director Nicole Freber, discuss the role community engagement has played in bringing new perspectives to the opera stage.

How Great Rivers Greenway aims to include community in development projects Feb 05, 2025

Show notes

Urban development projects are typically marked by groundbreaking ceremonies, months of building and handshakes for a job well done. But it’s often the case that community members are left out of critical discussions of what could make new developments in their neighborhood work for them. Christopher Peoples, equity and economic impact director for Great Rivers Greenway discusses the organization’s commitment to keeping residents in the center of development plans and how gentrification, when done right, does not mean displacing people or erasing a community’s identity.

Federal funding freeze puts beloved Festival of Nations at risk Feb 04, 2025

Show notes

Due to a delay in federal funding for many of its services and programs, the International Institute of St. Louis announced a pause on preparations for this year’s Festival of Nations. The next day, it furloughed more than half of its staff. Despite uncertainties in federal funding, and anti-immigrant actions and rhetoric on a national level, both former and current staff at the institute believe that St. Louis remains a welcoming place for immigrants — and that the St. Louis community can come together to bolster the work of the institute, including its beloved, annual celebration.

Nominations for 2024’s best local theater unveiled by St. Louis Theater Circle Feb 04, 2025

Show notes

St. Louis’ best theater performances of the year are being honored again. The St. Louis Theater Circle announced its nominations for 2024. The Muny is the top contender, with 30 nominations across its seven productions. Approximately 112 productions were considered. St. Louis Theater Circle members Chuck Lavazzi and CB Adams discuss some of this year’s nominations and the state of local theater.

The St. Louis restaurants that opened and closed in January 2025 Feb 04, 2025

Show notes

A number of St. Louis-area restaurants closed their doors in January but a fair number opened too. Among the closures were Peacock Loop Diner in University City and Schlafly Bankside in St. Charles. New restaurants include dart-themed restaurant Flight Club in Clayton and SweetArt Too in City Foundry. STLPR digital editor Jessica Rogen and morning anchor and host of the Gateway podcast Abby Llorico discuss the latest openings and closings.

KDHX ends live broadcasts and dismisses volunteer DJs amid ongoing turmoil Feb 03, 2025

Show notes

Late Friday afternoon, KDHX 88.1 FM announced that it was stopping live broadcasts and letting go of all of its volunteer DJs. The community radio station has experienced turmoil for several years. On this episode, STLPR arts and culture senior reporter Jeremy D. Goodwin and two former KDHX DJs, Caron House and River Reinsch, discuss this news. House hosted “Wax Lyrical” for nearly 11 years until she was let go in September 2023, and Reinsch hosted “Alternative Angle” from March 2024 up until his position was terminated on Friday.

Meet Bobby Carter, the St. Louisan leading NPR's acclaimed Tiny Desk Concerts Jan 31, 2025

Show notes

Bobby Carter was part of a major shift for NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concerts. The St. Louis native (and Riverview Gardens High School alum) emphasized diversity in music genre and representation of race and gender for the viral video series which has gained nearly 11 million subscribers on NPR Music’s YouTube channel alone. On this episode of St. Louis on the Air, Carter, who serves as Tiny Desk’s host, producer and judge for their annual contest shared his music career journey and upbringing in St. Louis with host Elaine Cha.

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