St. Louis on the Air

Several St. Louis streets have given way to gaping holes in the past week, exposing a side of our city's built environment most of us have never seen. But are these sinkholes, or cave-ins? Historian Chris Naffziger goes beneath the surface of these definitions to share some of the stories hiding beneath our feet.

Missouri provided a spark to the abortion rights movement that’s warily monitoring a GOP-controlled federal government, Planned Parenthood President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson said Wednesday at an event in Clayton. STLPR politics correspondent Jason Rosenbaum discusses McGill Johnson’s visit.

Pope Francis, who died Monday at the age of 88, was a trailblazer in many ways. He was the first Latin-American pontiff and the first non-European to lead the Roman Catholic Church in more than 1,000 years. He was also the first Jesuit ever elected pope, a detail that’s often overlooked. That Jesuit background is especially relevant in St. Louis, a city with deep religious and cultural ties to the Catholic Church. The Rev. Thomas Flowers, an assistant professor of Ignatian formation at St. Louis University, discusses how Jesuit traditions influenced Francis’ papacy.

Michael Politte spent 23 years in prison for the murder of his mother — a crime that evidence now suggests he did not commit. He won parole in 2022, but a juror who helped put him in prison won’t rest until his name is cleared. Politte shares what he’s been up to in the three years since his release, and we hear from the juror who’s fighting for his innocence.

Missouri Republican legislators are trying for a second time to prohibit local law enforcement from enforcing federal gun restrictions. Missouri Newsroom investigative reporter Kavahn Mansouri shares the latest development in the saga of the Second Amendment Preservation Act, and why police groups and officials say the law creates the same problems as its predecessor.

The Center for Bosnian Studies has a new home base. Two decades after its founding as the Bosnian Memory Project at Fontbonne University, the Center is in the process of moving artifacts to St. Louis University. The Center’s director Adna Karamahic-Oates, Bosnian Memory Project founder Benjamin Moore and Jennifer Nutefall, dean of libraries and museums at St. Louis University, share what this transfer means for the Center for Bosnian Studies, for SLU and for the legacy of St. Louis’ Bosnian population.

It’s been more than two years since Missouri voters approved the legalization of cannabis for adult recreational use. We explore the two sides of the growing industry — first by checking with several cannabis chefs competing for the approval of hundreds of weed-loving St. Louisans. Then, Missouri Independent cannabis reporter Rebecca Rivas takes us through the latest twists in the state’s embattled program for cannabis microbusiness licensees and a surprise recall of 6,000 products.

Tower Grove Farmers’ Market is now in its 20th season. Chris Geden, known as its Mayor, has been there since its first Saturday back in 2006. He and general manager Bess Kretsinger Heffernan discuss Tower Grove Farmers’ Market’s rich history and development.

St. Louis went through a major transition this week with the inauguration of Cara Spencer as mayor and Donna Baringer as comptroller. 14th Ward Alderman Rasheen Aldridge discusses the latest elections and what leadership change may mean for the city’s future.

For years, the agency that oversees Missouri’s foster care system and investigates instances of child abuse and neglect has struggled with high turnover, massive caseloads, and inconsistent rollouts of some key legislative initiatives. Missouri Children’s Division Director Sara Smith is in her first month leading the agency. She shares her plan to keep her department on the right track — especially with less funding than in previous years.

Tiny Desk Contest launched in 2014 to give unsigned artists a chance to compete for their very own concert at NPR headquarters — and some musicians have entered several years running. Rich Washington, aka Just Rich, and Jorge Valcárcel of Boxcar share their motivations behind entering in the Tiny Desk Contest seven and 11 years, respectively.

The 2025 NPR’S Tiny Desk Contest had 51 entries from musicians in the St. Louis area. Producer Miya Norfleet and STLPR’s Visuals Editor Brian Munoz discuss the local favorites and share their thoughts on the entries.

The Missouri Historical Society has flung open a vault of artifacts it’s been collecting since the 1860s. A new rotating exhibition at the Missouri History Museum gives visitors a chance to experience dozens of self-contained stories behind these objects — from a massive bird-hunting rifle to adorable kids' clothing from the last century. Museum tour manager Ryan Deloach shares his highlights from “Collected.” Also, the historical society’s president, Jody Sowell, reacts to the news of cancelled grants totaling $250,000 after cuts by the Trump Administration to the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Historical, and cultural barriers have contributed to a disproportionate number of Black Americans’ not knowing how to swim. A 2024 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that more than a third of Black adults – compared to 15% of all adults – reported they could not swim; and only one in three Black adults said they’d ever taken a swimming lesson. Youth on the all-Black Makos Swim Team are learning to compete and pushing their parents to take lessons themselves. Coach Terea Goodwin, and Makos moms Randella Randell and Bradlin Jacob-Simms, discuss their personal experiences around swimming, loss or near-loss of loved ones to drowning, and advocacy work that aims to ensure more Black Americans can find joy safely in the water – and reap its health benefits.

When Michelle Dezember moved to St. Louis five years ago, she assumed that the region would have a significant affinity with the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, the two longest rivers in the U.S. She soon realized that many residents don’t engage with them at all despite their cultural and historical relevance. Dezember — who serves as the Director of Learning and Engagement at the Contemporary Art Museum (CAM) — is the co-curator of “Make the River Present,” an exhibit at CAM that explores the relationship between Black Americans, and Native Americans, with the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. Interdisciplinary artist Dail Chambers and writer Galen Gritts joined Dezember to share about their art and experiences with these rivers, too.

Amie Lepsky has always loved baking, but her passion for creating cupcake bouquets is what inspired her to start her own business. She shares the inspiration behind Bakery Blooms, the process of crafting the hyper-realistic flower cupcakes, and the enjoyment that baking for others brings her.

Ten years ago, an intrepid restaurant critic at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch decided to put a hefty meal on his food-writing plate: Listing, and ranking, the top 100 restaurants in St. Louis. That effort is still running a decade later. Food critic Ian Froeb discusses this year’s picks and shares his insight and reflections on the St. Louis food and restaurant industry in 2025.

St. Louis’ downtown has its share of well-documented challenges: large-scale vacancies, companies moving their offices and streets that can feel devoid of activity. The city has made progress on two prominent vacant buildings in its downtown the past year, but rebounding from what the Wall Street Journal has described as a “real estate nightmare” will take many more years. STLPR economic development reporter Eric Schmid talks about efforts to revitalize downtown and recent successes in bringing business and residency to the neighborhood.

The St. Louis Science Center is nationally recognized among museums and STEM institutions. Its new President and CEO physicist Ray Vandiver shared what he’s most excited for now that he’s at the helm of the Science Center in his hometown. He also reflects on a career dedicated to making science fun and accessible to all.

Over a four year period starting in 2021, St. Louis’ use of electronic monitoring for defendants awaiting trial more than doubled. Advocates say it’s a way to prevent overcrowding in jails and keep people from being imprisoned. But opponents say there have been technological mishaps, privacy concerns, and high costs — and that many people who are forced to wear the devices would have otherwise been out on cash bail. Taylor Tiamoyo Harris, a St. Louis-based journalist and investigative fellow for the New York Times, discusses her story on the topic which was co-published by the New York Times and STLPR.