

St. Louis on the Air
St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis on the Air creates a unique space where guests and listeners can share ideas and opinions with respect and honesty. Whether exploring issues and challenges confronting our region, discussing the latest innovations in science and technology, taking a closer look at our history or talking with authors, artists and musicians, St. Louis on the Air brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region.
Episodes
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Sep 3, 2025 • 23min
Inaugural Free 4 All showcase features 100 St. Louis music acts this weekend
The inaugural Free 4 All showcase this weekend features 100 local music acts. Co-founder of Free 4 All Joe Hess joins “St. Louis on the Air” to share the motivations behind curating Free 4 All. He also shares the emerging and well-known artists on the showcase. Hess is joined by hip-hop artist and one of the Free 4 All performers Tamara Dodd, who performs as Bates, to share her experience as an independent musician and what she’s looking forward to during the showcase on Saturday, September 6 and Sunday, September 7.

Sep 2, 2025 • 22min
Modern parenting is exhausting. This St. Louis mom aims to lighten the load
St. Louis mom Amanda Hausmann knows what it feels like to be overwhelmed by the demands of a career and parenthood. It’s why she left her job as an attorney to create MomMoment. The app connects moms who need support tackling everyday household tasks with other parents who are looking for flexible income. Hausmann discusses the demands of modern parenthood and why she believes labels like “stay at home mom” and “working mom” are divisive and insufficient.

Sep 2, 2025 • 28min
The Midwest's only cookbook store is in STL. It's just 6 feet wide
A love of cookbooks inspired Sara Johnson and Stephanie McKinney to found Anchovy Book Co., a bite-sized, brick-and-mortar store on Cherokee Street that's just six feet wide. There are only about 20 cookbook-exclusive stores nationwide. Anchovy, which opened in November, is the first in the Midwest. We explore the store’s origin and the cookbooks that remain beloved by its founders. We also look at cookbook recommendations and local authors with St. Louis Magazine food writer Cheryl Baehr.

Aug 29, 2025 • 21min
‘They Called Me a Sellout’ docuseries centers the importance of Black artists to rock music
Rock music has its roots in Black culture and with his docuseries “They Called Me a Sellout: Being Black in the ‘White’ Rock & Roll Industry”, Chan Maurice Evans explores that history. The series features St. Louis legends like Bernie and Uvee Hayes, Steve Ewing, and rock icons like Ben Kenny of Incubus. The series centers Black artists in the rock genre and their experiences. Evans joins St. Louis on the Air to discuss how, after years of being called a “sellout” for being a Black rock artist, he made it his mission to show Black people that rock is rooted in Black culture.

Aug 29, 2025 • 29min
Mayor Spencer says turmoil at FEMA left St. Louis to respond to deadly tornado alone
More than 100 days ago, an EF3 tornado ripped through St. Louis. In the weeks since, volunteers have stepped up, frustrations have grown over slow recovery efforts and many residents are still struggling. St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer reflects on the past 15 weeks and shares what her administration is doing to help the city move forward.

Aug 28, 2025 • 21min
What congressional redistricting could mean for Missouri and the St. Louis region
GOP leaders across the country are rallying around redistricting efforts at the encouragement of President Donald Trump. Detractors say this move is an attempt to help President Trump avoid accountability and maintain a slim Republican majority. STLPR political correspondent Jason Rosenbaum talked with Representative Bob Onder of Missouri’s third congressional district about the history of redistricting and what redrawing of district lines could mean for Missouri and Onder’s own district in St. Charles.

Aug 27, 2025 • 24min
Filmmakers put their skills to the test for the annual 48Hr Film Project
For the past 24 years, filmmakers from across the world got together for the annual 48Hr Film Project in a race to make the best 5 to 7 minute short film. From amateurs just out for a good time to working professionals in search of a challenge, no one is excluded from the festivities. The event kicked off on August 22nd at Bad Dog Pictures and concluded on Sunday with teams turning in their projects at 7am. The festival’s producer Ria Ruthsatz and 2 time winner Keith Kennedy about the importance of the festival and its global reach.

Aug 27, 2025 • 27min
For 2,000 days, a prisoner's pleas from solitary were ignored. Now Missouri is changing its policy
On August 20, Missouri changed its policies around placing inmates with HIV in solitary confinement. The change stems from a lawsuit filed by Honesty Bishop: In 2015, after she was the target of an attempted sexual assault by her cellmate in a Missouri prison, prison officials deemed Bishop “sexually active” and kept her in isolation for more than 2,000 days. Bishop took her own life before the suit could conclude. Her family took it over after her death. STLPR reporter Kavahn Mansouri and Marshall Project reporter Katie Moore share their insights from reporting on the case, including their interviews with Bishop’s family and analysis of Missouri’s prison policies.

Aug 27, 2025 • 29min
Nikki Glaser’s star power soars — but the comedian still calls St. Louis home
St. Louis comedian Nikki Glaser’s star is on the rise. Her latest comedy special, “Someday You’ll Die,” broke an HBO streaming record, she earned rave reviews for roasting Tom Brady and she made history as the first woman to solo-host the Golden Globes. Glaser joins producer Emily Woodbury to talk about her skyrocketing career, being honored with her own bobblehead at Busch Stadium and why she still calls St. Louis home.

Aug 26, 2025 • 50min
Legal Roundtable: What Missouri could gain from its new AG Catherine Hanaway
Missouri’s newly appointed Attorney General Catherine Hanaway is stepping into a complicated role that includes baggage of her three predecessors — Josh Hawley, Eric Schmitt, and Andrew Bailey — who each left for higher office before finishing a full term. On this episode of the Legal Roundtable, our panel of expert attorneys discusses whether Hanaway can break new ground as AG. The roundtable also talks about the latest developments in the felony charges filed against County Executive Sam Page; a series of recent lawsuits targeting St. Louis businesses whose websites are allegedly not accessible to blind people; and a lawyer’s argument that Washington University police are not actually “law enforcement officers.”


