Darryl Diggs Jr. and Howard Fields III, the founders of Black Males in Education St. Louis, talk about how their platform helps educators of color connect, find mentorship and advocate for more Black voices in the classrooms. Diggs and Fields received the 2020 Launchcode Moonshot Challenge award. Diggs is the principal at Hardin Middle School in the City of St. Charles School District, and Fields is the assistant superintendent at Kirkwood School District.
An infectious disease doctor at Washington University had to make a tough choice at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Matifadza Hlatshwayo Davis was about 7 months pregnant and worried about being exposed to the virus. She decided to dial back on work and eventually gave birth to a healthy boy.
Vanika Spencer and Sapna Bhakta are St. Louis transplants, but they’ve made the city their home and are doing their part to shine a light on everything it has to offer. They are the duo behind the Cocoa and Cumin Concert Series. For the past couple of years, Spencer and Bhakta have hosted concerts right from their south St. Louis apartments. The smaller space offers the opportunity for people to connect with the artists in an intimate way, and vice versa. Their goal is to showcase local musicians of color. They join producer Lara Hamdan to talk about the series' growth and what future events will look like.
Health and education leaders in St. Louis County and the city recently released a set of guidelines for schools to use as they decide how to conduct in-person learning in the fall. The list includes things like staggered lunch times, protocols for health screenings upon entry, and guidance on mask usage for students and teachers. In this episode, we talk with Superintendent Art McCoy of the Jennings School District to get his perspective on reopening. We also hear from several parents, including a mother who started the organization, Bridge 2 Hope – St. Louis, in order to elevate parent voices in conversations about education, particularly in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Three Black teenagers who are aspiring police officers share their thoughts on the national conversation about the role of police and their relationship with the Black community.
As the Black Lives Matter movement draws attention around the world to long-entrenched racial injustices of the present day, the past looms large as well. Reckoning with United States history seems critical to any contemporary progress on everything from housing disparities to mass incarceration. Guest host Rachel Lippmann hosts a conversation with educators and historians focused on rethinking the teaching of history. The show will delve into how curriculums have evolved in the past — and still need to change going forward.
The U.S. relies on more than 2 million seasonal workers to cultivate and harvest crops. In the Midwest, workers are now heading out into the fields amid concerns about COVID-19 outbreaks.
Massachusettes vs. EPA. Environmental lawyer, professor and author Richard Lazarus calls this case the watershed equivalent of Brown vs. Board of Education for issues of climate change.
The Rule of Five: Making Climate History at the Supreme Court (Belknap Press of Harvard University, 2020) is the saga of politics, law, strategy, persistence and a dash of fate through which the U.S. Supreme Court defined CO2 as an air pollutant, changing the course of this country's regulatory climate. From the marginal enviro organization lawyer who crafted the petition, to the Bush era's "kneecapping" of climate policy, to the state attorney who defied all criticism to make his case, to the senior Justice whose opinion took a stand - this story is wildly, recently true.
Richard Lazarus has argued cases before the Supreme Court. He's a native of St. Louis, transplanted east. His book is a classic, for the environment and for the law.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration said that it planned to enforce a rule that international students must take in-person classes to be in the country on student visas. That’s even though COVID-19 has many universities adjusting plans for the fall semester. Some are going online-only. Others plan to only partially reopen their campuses. And up to 1 million students could be affected. Joining host Sarah Fenske to talk about what this decision means for students enrolled in local colleges, and for those colleges, is Jim Hacking. He is an attorney who specializes in immigration law. Also joining the conversation was Mark Kamimura-Jiménez. He is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Dean of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion at Washington University in St. Louis. The segment includes comments from Victor Butinier, an international PhD student at Washington University that would have to go back to France if classes go entirely online.
Host Sarah Fenske talks with STLPR reporter Jason Rosenbaum about the four Democratic candidates vying to be St. Louis County Executive: Sam Page, Jake Zimmerman, Mark Mantovani and Jamie Tolliver. During the interview, we hear highlights from the candidates' appearances on the Politically Speaking podcast.
St. Louis County Executive Sam Page is the latest guest on Politically Speaking. The Democrat spoke with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum about why he’s seeking two more years in office.
Page is one of four Democrats running. All four will appear on Politically Speaking in separate episodes released this week. This episode was recorded in late June.
The protest movement condemning police killing Black people is one of the top issues in the contest for St. Louis County Executive. All four Democratic candidates say they are the right person to bridge social, economic and public safety divides.
St. Louis band CaveofSwords promises that its new album is quote “Good Music to Feel Bad to.” That’s a great title, and the songs deliver. Two of its members join host Sarah Fenske to discuss the band’s inspiration and perspiration. In the words of the band, these are “Songs to quote wallow and grieve with your friends, but also dance to." All proceeds from digital sales of "Good Music to Feel Bad to" for the summer of 2020 will go to Arch City Defenders & Action STL.
For a long time, 27-year-old St. Louis native Joseph Puleo mostly associated the city’s iconic Hill neighborhood with a wealth of delicious Italian food and colorful fire hydrants. That changed a couple years ago when a conversation with a fellow Italian American, Rio Vitale, prompted Puleo to begin what would become his first feature-length film. “He was concerned we were losing stories that need to be told,” Puleo says. Within five days of Vitale’s suggestion that he dig into the history of the Hill, Puleo was in longtime residents’ homes. Many dozens of interviews and months of film editing later, “America’s Last Little Italy: The Hill” is making its debut at the 20th Annual — and first virtual — Whitaker St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase. The documentary is one of 15 film programs that will be available for streaming July 10 to 19. Listen as host Sarah Fenske talks with Puleo and with Chris Clark, artistic director for Cinema St. Louis.
St. Louis County Assessor Jake Zimmerman is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where he talked with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum about his bid for county executive.
Zimmerman is one of four Democrats seeking the post. All four candidates will appear on Politically Speaking in separate episodes released this week. This episode was recorded in mid-June.
Many environmental groups consider a recent federal court decision to ban three dicamba herbicides as a big victory. Several farm organizations are criticizing the ruling, which comes in the middle of spraying season. The case is raising questions about the future use of dicamba.
Earthworms remembers a great Great Horned Owl, Charles, whose hoots and habits enlivened conversations on KDHX with Mark H.X. Glenshaw, "the Owl Man of Forest Park." Mark informed readers of his Forest Park Owls blog on July 7, 2020, that he had not seen Charles in any of the habitats he observes since May 14. He has been observing Charles and his mates since 2005. Although Mark says it's possible Charles has relocated to an entirely new habitat, it is likely that he has died.
Charles in the Nest Tree, 2013
Mark is a keen, respectful observer of owls, whoooo he comes to know and love. Earthworms honors this relationship passage!
And as we followed this summer's saga of Bruno, a black bear who walked from Wisconsin down into Missouri, we recalled our conversation Bears! in July 2018 with Laura Conlee, State Furbearer Biologist for MO Dept of Conservation.
MDC Biologist Laura Conlee at work - Bruno in Missouri
Conlee was featured in news reports of MDC deciding to tranquilize Bruno and remove him to the safety of a bear-suitable habitat, after he got backed into a corner of suburban St. Louis roadways - with over 400 people watching him. Bruno became a media sensation. Conlee reminds us to Be Bear Aware - for our safety and especially for well being of the bears!
Summer breeze past your helmet, streets fly beneath your wheels, intriguing sites interpreted by a leader of St. Louis' cycling scene.
Most years, this is one of the annual St. Louis Community Rides, hosted on a specific date by Trailnet, our town's cycling advocacy group. Staying safe and healthy for 2020, Trailnet invites you to ride Placemaking STL anytime July 25 to August 24, taking a new app with your refillable bottle, for cycling with a Scavenger Hunt twist, exploring some of our town's cool plazas.
The app has clues to find ride locales. When you get into site proximity, a lovely virtual human will pop up to interpret the site for you. Fun on two wheels!
Dana Gray, community sustainability advocate and "Plaza-Making" tour guide, joins Trailnet's Mobility Coordinator Joe Windler talking these innovations with Earthworms host Jean Ponzi.
Defunding police departments is a major goal for many Black Lives Matter protesters. But for others, it’s a scary idea — and that’s true for many St. Louis residents. In this episode, we explore what it means to defund the police in a city that struggles with high rates of violent crime. Criminologist Richard Rosenfeld joins the discussion, as well as California-based reporter Abené Clayton. Clayton talks about what’s behind a big drop in violent crime in Oakland and what St. Louis can learn from the West Coast city’s experience.
Gibron Jones had big plans for an industrial kitchen in north St. Louis. The kitchen was located in the city’s Vandeventer neighborhood, just a bit north of Delmar. And his plan was to open a food production incubation space there — the North Sarah Food Hub. He wanted to help St. Louisans start food-based businesses — and bring healthier options to their neighbors. Jones got his city permits finalized in March. Then COVID-19 shut the city down. He found himself making a very unusual pivot. He joins Sarah Fenske to describe what happened — and what comes next for this innovative food hub.
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