St. Louis on the Air

In Forest Park sits the nation’s largest and oldest outdoor theater venue, The Muny. In its 107 seasons, the theater has produced numerous classics – some of which have received a fresh coat of paint to bring them into the modern era. The updated works include “The Wiz”, “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” and “Meet Me in St. Louis”. Mike Isaacson, The Muny’s executive producer and artistic director, discusses the importance of updating these great American musicals and why the Tony Award-winning theater is the perfect place to play with new concepts for outdated shows.

After Robin Proudie learned that 25 of her ancestors were born into enslavement by St. Louis University Jesuit Catholics, she founded Descendants of St. Louis University Enslaved to ensure institutional accountability and commemoration of the enslaved people who helped build the school. Proudie, now a SLU undergrad, provides an update on the group’s work to secure an official public apology from the university, a permanent monument and cash reparations.

2025 was a historic year for the St. Louis region, with issues like tornado recovery and redistricting dominating the headlines. Those issues, and more, will come to shape the news of 2026. On this special reporter roundtable edition of St. Louis on the Air, three STLPR reporters discuss their biggest stories of 2025 and share their thoughts on their ongoing coverage. Economic Development Reporter Kavahn Mansouri, General Assignment Reporter Lacretia Wimbley and Politics Correspondent Jason Rosenbaum take us inside their biggest stories of the past year, from tornado recovery, data centers, jail deaths, and more.

The 2017 slaughterhouse escape of six steers turned "The St. Louis Six" into animal rescue celebrities and inspired an expansion of the California-based nonprofit Gentle Barn to Missouri. But the sanctuary’s abrupt closure in October 2024 left its former volunteers and staff feeling abandoned. In this encore edition of a St. Louis on the Air episode that first aired March 6, producer Danny Wicentowski goes inside the final days of the sanctuary's existence and the aftermath of its closure. The investigation confirms the deaths of five former residents of Missouri's Gentle Barn. We also hear from Gentle Barn co-founder Ellie Laks, who defends the decision to close and addresses the animal deaths at the nonprofit’s Tennessee sanctuary.

In 2025, we said goodbye to a number of remarkable people who lived and worked in the St. Louis region. In this episode, we explore the legacies of beloved journalists including Linda Lockhart; civil rights advocates Anita Lyons Bond and former U.S. Rep. William L. Clay Sr.; and Patrick “PJ” Gannon and Jim Holloran, who, in different ways, were instrumental figures in building up the region’s Irish music scene.

This year brought a deluge of political upheaval in Missouri and Illinois, from Trump-backed congressional redistricting in Missouri and a devastating tornado in St. Louis to major leadership changes, legal battles and clashes over voter-approved initiatives. In this episode of the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, we look back on the defining stories of 2025 with STLPR reporters Will Bauer, Sarah Kellogg and Rachel Lippmann.

After 14 years of recording and performing their unique brand of emo indie rock, the St. Louis-based and internationally acclaimed band Foxing is taking an indefinite hiatus. This comes one year after the release of their self-titled album, which features their single “Hell 99.” Weeks before the band hit the stage for the last time in the foreseeable future, STLPR general assignment and arts reporter Chad Davis sat down with Foxing guitarist and vocalist Eric Hudson.

Every month for the past year we have introduced you to new tracks from St. Louis artists. We want to take a look back at those song selections from all 14 episodes to see which ones stand out as our top picks of the year. Host Elaine Cha, music show originator Miya Norfleet and producer Darrious Varner discuss their top tracks from the over 100 songs featured in this first year of our new music round up. Check out our new music roundup playlist.

A Missouri senator facing accusations of assault. A St. Charles judge hauled before a disciplinary panel to explain why he dressed up as Elvis Presley. In both cases, the public figures at the center of these separate scandals sought secrecy to keep their behavior out of the public eye — however, their legal maneuvers are now in the spotlight. In this December edition of the Legal Roundtable, our panel of expert attorneys discusses St. Charles Judge Matthew Thornhill, State Senator Steven Roberts, and more.

The countdown is on. In just one week, Santa Claus will spread Christmas cheer across the world to those on his Nice list. But in St. Louis, Santa, aka Kris Kringle, performs with his band, the Jolly Jingles, at their annual Christmas Extravaganza. They play a medley of traditional Christmas music — and originals — infused with gospel, rock and roll and ska. Kringle sat down with STLPR’s visuals editor Brian Munoz to discuss his music, his special brand of holiday joy and the band's new single “Egg Nog: North Pole Rock and Roll.”