St. Louis On The Air

In 1992, Lâm Flamenco opened a Vietnamese restaurant, Truc Lam. The restaurant’s long operation, as well as the dramatic journey its owner took to get to St. Louis, have made it “a fixture of the Tower Grove South neighborhood,” according to food writer Ileana Martinez, who profiled Lâm Flamenco in the latest issue of Sauce Magazine. Martinez shares her impressions from the restaurant's menu, and owner, about what it takes to run a restaurant for more than three decades.

Producer Miya Norfleet shares stories Black women recently shared about their experiences as professionals in various workplaces.

The St. Louis Zoo is part of a team of conservationists that have done what few scientists have ever accomplished: successfully reintroduce an extinct species back to the wild. Zoological manager Kayla Garcia shares how the Patula snail went extinct and was brought back to life in their native South Pacific Island of Moorea.

Much of Missouri’s natural wetlands no longer exist. They were destroyed by agriculture and urban development which is a problem because wetlands filter contaminants and excess nutrients in water. Artificial floating wetlands are becoming a promising alternative that mimic the real thing on a smaller scale. Producer Ulaa Kuziez went to St. Charles County to check out how a new floating wetland installed by the Missouri Department of Conservation helps improve water quality.

The STL Welcome Kit has tools to help you understand the history, culture and ins and outs of St. Louis. STLPR Engagement Editor Lara Hamdan curates articles that explain St. Louis and recommend events and places to explore. Lara discusses the project and previews the STL Welcome Party, a free event from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, that's a resource fair for residents new to the St. Louis metro area, and a great way to learn more about the community.

Missouri has a diverse offering of delicious cuisines from indigenous peoples to German immigrants and descendants of enslaved Africans. Because of Missouri’s unique climate, cattle and crops, traditional dishes have a special twist that you can only find within the state — 70 of those recipes are shared in a new cookbook “Missouri Comfort: Recipes, Places, and Food Traditions in the Show-Me State.” Co-authors Mathew Unger and Porcshe Moran-Murphy share the process behind their collaborative cookbook and some of their favorite recipes.

In 2023 GoDaddy Venture Forward found that Black women make up the fastest growing demographic group to turn to entrepreneurship, but the motivation for many stems from seeking psychologically safe work environments. Jennifer Drake is the organizer behind Black Women at Work, an event meant to connect and support Black women and provide ways to survive and thrive in the workplace.

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell says that Marcellus Williams’ execution on Tuesday showcases two things: That prosecutors should rethink the utility of the death penalty and that a 2021 state law allowing them to try and vacate convictions may need to be changed. Bell discussed the legal twists and turns of Williams’ case.

2023 Illinois Teacher of the Year Briana Morales was in seventh-grade when she had a teacher who changed her life: by instilling a love of writing, a sense of hope — and by inspiring her to become a teacher herself. We hear that story and learn how Briana has impacted her own students’ lives.

Missouri's cannabis industry is still contending with groups hoping to exploit the state's social-equity cannabis program. Missouri Independent cannabis reporter Rebecca Rivas has tracked this story across the country. She shares her findings about the way "predatory contracts" are being used -- and who is benefiting from them.

Members of the St. Lunatics are suing Nelly because they say they weren’t credited or paid for work on the 2000 album “Country Grammar.” The HBO show “Chimp Crazy” showed a St. Louis nurse admitting she lied in federal court. Mission Taco Joint is changing its name to Session Taco after a lawsuit from the maker of Mission-branded tortillas. Those were some of the issues discussed on our monthly Legal Roundtable with attorneys Nicole Gorovsky, Javad Khazaeli and Bevis Schock. The attorneys also discussed this week’s execution of Marcellus Williams, the case of a Honduran national who killed a St. Louis police officer while driving drunk on Sunday, and more.

Journalist Jake Adelstein is known for his reporting on Japanese organized crime and the Yakuza, which inspired a recent HBO series "Tokyo Vice." But this Missouri native's new project, as the host and producer of "Night Shift," tells a story close to his hometown of Columbia -- and to a story that Adelstein's father played a key role in. Jake discusses the podcast, his father's involvement, and why this case still sticks with him decades later.

The Riverfront Times was sold to an undisclosed buyer in May, but the secret may be out. STLPR’s Jessica Rogen reports that an LLC in Texas appears to be the new owner. The investigation involved digging into incorporation documents, lawsuit filings and more — all of which points to RSC Ventures, a company that’s leveraging the RFT’s online reputation to fund a link-farming business involving OnlyFans creators and camgirls.

Bob Putnam, co-owner of the iconic St. Louis artist’s haven the Way Out Club, passed away August 26, 2024. His wife and fellow Way Out Club owner Sherri “Danger” Lucas shares memories of Putnam, who was beloved as a friend, mentor and dedicated supporter of local arts.

Prescription drug monitoring programs — a technology originally designed for law enforcement — have been used by health care systems to combat the opioid crisis since the early 2000s. In her new book “Policing Patients,” St. Louis University Associate Professor Liz Chiarello speaks to the technology’s effects on overdose rates and patient outcomes. She also sheds light on the tool’s effect on doctors, pharmacists, and law enforcement; and what this has meant for patient care.

This past Thursday, producer Danny Wicentowski joined our show to discuss how VP St. Louis has ousted the central figure and namesake of the secret society that runs St. Louis’ Fourth of July Parade — the Veiled Prophet. This episode of STLPR’s podcast “We Live Here” takes a deep dive on the history of the Veiled Prophet and explores how it’s connected to the Ferguson uprising.

Despite not having the most money or the flashiest social media strategy, state Sen. Denny Hoskins emerged as the winner of the crowded GOP primary for secretary of state. Hoskins has a proposal that is alarming elections officials — to hand count ballots. St. Louis County election directors Eric Fey and Rick Stream join the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air to discuss why they think that’s a bad idea.

Neither Missouri or Illinois are competitive in this year’s election cycle. But residents in both states are contributing time and money to campaigns. In this episode of the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, we hear from voters and political consultants in both states about why they’re still involved in presidential politics.

St. Louis County native Gabe Fleisher started a politics newsletter when he was nine years old. Now, the recent Georgetown University graduate has nearly 50,000 people subscribed to his “Wake Up to Politics” newsletter on Substack. Fleisher joins the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air to talk about the evolution of his journalism — and what he’s paying attention to in the home stretch of the presidential race.

After Brad Edwards and his family experienced a massive tragedy — twins lost to stillbirth — he decided to create an opportunity to train dads to better support mothers and be advocates for their birth partners. Edwards’ loss was the catalyst to developing Dads to Doulas which will welcome its first cohort Oct. 2024, an initiative under the media platform Dear Fathers which focuses on Black fatherhood and mental health. Edwards shares what Dads to Doulas training will entail and why it’s important for more men to learn the ins and outs of prenatal and postpartum stages.