East St. Louis native Nichole McHenry is the head of diversity initiatives for the National Park Service in the Midwest. She worked her way up from park ranger. Now based in St. Louis, McHenry advocates for people of color to engage with national parks in urban and park settings.
Following Governor Mike Parson's 2020 State of the State address, host Sarah Fenske digs into its main themes and a few surprises with St. Louis Public Radio's Jaclyn Driscoll and Julie O'Donoghue.
A few weeks ago on the show, we learned about a brand new medical device that allows users to measure nutritional ketosis with a breathalyzer. Nutritionists say they’ve witnessed the reemergence of the keto diet as a means for weight loss in the past few years. Both during and after that segment aired, we received a lot of questions about the keto diet, as well as some concern that this may be an unhealthy choice for some people. In this conversation, we dive into what the research says about keto with several nutritionists.
In the past two years, gunmen have killed dozens of people inside U.S. churches and synagogues. In response, some religious leaders in St. Louis have fortified their buildings, hired armed security guards and even encouraged congregants to bring guns to services. Others say guns have no place inside houses of worship.
St. Louis on the Air host Sarah Fenske talks with St. Louis Public Radio reporters Jaclyn Driscoll and Jason Rosenbaum during this broadcast of Gov. Mike Parson's 2020 speech.
Vast wildfires in Australia, California and elsewhere continue to have wide-sweeping impacts, testing the limits of firefighters on the front lines and presenting new challenges for experts in all sorts of sectors. At St. Louis University’s Geospatial Institute, also known as GeoSLU, researchers are using remotely sensed images and spatial analysis to extend our understanding of these disasters and others. The geospatial technology helps them predict wildfires as well as map the extent and severity of wildfires after they have occurred. In this segment, host Sarah Fenske leads a conversation about the difference this research can make. She talks with Ness Sandoval, associate professor of sociology at St. Louis University and an associate director of the Geospatial Institute, and with Shawn Steadman, director of SLU’s emergency management program.
Lots of things set St. Louis apart from other Missouri municipalities, from its fixation with the high school question to bread-sliced bagels. So the fact that the city of St. Louis is one of few municipalities in the state with a residency requirement for most of its government employees is hardly its most defining. But right now, it might be the most hotly contested. After the Board of Aldermen rejected last fall Mayor Lyda Krewson’s plan to put the issue to voters — and have city residents decide whether to continue requiring city workers to live within the city limits — Krewson is now pushing for the legislature to take up her cause. House leadership seems on board. In this episode of St. Louis on the Air, host Sarah Fenske talks with longtime local journalist Ray Hartmann, who has a column in this week’s Riverfront Times on this subject. Also joining the discussion is St. Louis Public Radio reporter Rachel Lippmann.
The St. Louis County Council has a new chairwoman. Lisa Clancy moves into the role as the County faces significant challenges. That includes a $20 million verdict awarded to a gay police officer for employment discrimination.
Lifelong pals Schober and Findlay are funnier than any roomful of humans put together. KDHX fans will recall their weekly escapade avalanche, St. Louis Brain Sandwich, where a Branschweiger Hut, cheeseballs, The Good Fathers, and timeless tunes like "Never Swat a Fly" helped fix the uniqueness bar for this station from our on-the-fly get-go.
When their conjoined brain left (a yawping hole in) the KDHX airwaves in 2015, a new weekly meetup spawned literary ambitions, drenched in laughs. We Never Got To Be Zombies - Fifty-One Years of Fiddling with Fateis the new memoir output of this duo's commitment to making life lighter.
Their curlique'd CV covers time in the military (can you say "Discipline?"), the movies, on the verge of Catholic priesthood, St. Louis Chase Park Plaza's professional wrestling ring and many more looney niches.
How is this environmental podcast content? How Not! Who can't use a hearty ha-ha to lube the works that keep one doing Green Stuff in this era of humankind (sic). THANKS, Jim and Jay!
Earthworms favorite number from the Colin Sphinctor Band: River Des Peres Song. gives you an earful of Jim Findlay. Jean Ponzi lives in the R des P watershed; this is my neighborhood river.
Music: Agnes Polka, performed live at KDHX by Chia Band
THANKS to Jon Valley, engineering this Earthworms edition Related Earthworms Conversations:
In the woods of west St. Louis County, a haven for birds of prey has been healing injured raptors and forging bird-to-human bonds of caring since 1986. World Bird Sanctuary is one of North America's largest facilities for the conservation of birds.
World Bird takes their talons on the road, generously! For this visit to KDHX, Liberty the Southern Bald Eagle and Jett the Kestral brought along Roger Holloway, WBS Deputy Director, and Field Studies Coordinator Tess Rogers. Liberty didn't have much (that you can hear) to say, yet he contributed splendidly to this Earthworms conversation, focused around our region's annual Eagle Days education events.
Events in Clarksville, MO, and on the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge bring out visitors by the hundreds, despite January cold, but you can enjoy viewing eagles almost anytime during winter months along the Mississippi River. Open water this far south draws Bald Eagles downstream for abundant fishing, giving chill-friendly humans spectacular nature observation time.
Be sure to visit World Bird Sanctuary SOON, and again if it's been awhile. You can catch "Wings Over Water" and other bird shows they provide at events around St. Louis, and beyond.
The year 2020 is still in its infancy, yet it’s already been marked by a slew of troubling events near and far — from gun violence in St. Louis, to devastating wildfires in Australia, to dramatically escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Many Americans may feel far removed from violence and loss in another part of the world, despite direct U.S. involvement, and everyday life goes on. But for those with loved ones based in volatile, vulnerable places, or who have deep cultural ties to a country such as Iran, the latest round of disturbing headlines can carry a lot more weight. In this episode, host Sarah Fenske hears from three local Iranian Americans, Dr. Bahar Bastani and attorney Javad Khazaeli and librarian Jaleh Fazelian, to get their perspectives.
Miranda Popkey’s new novel, “Topics of Conversation,” owes its existence to the MFA program at Washington University in St. Louis. The California native was a student there when she wrote much of it. The novel takes its inspiration from what it’s like to be a young woman in this fraught time. How do we talk about sex and our desires? How do we make sense of our choices, and our lives? In this episode of St. Louis on the Air, Popkey joins host Sarah Fenske to discuss her novel, which was recently named one of January’s 20 “must-read books” by Entertainment Weekly.
State Rep. Cody Smith is the latest guest on the Politically Speaking podcast. The Carthage Republican spoke with St. Louis Public Radio’s Julie O’Donoghue about his role as House budget chairman — and his thoughts on overhauling Missouri’s criminal justice system.
Smith was first elected to the Missouri House in 2016 to a seat encompassing parts of Jasper County in southwest Missouri. He became House budget chairman after his predecessor, Scott Fitzpatrick, was appointed as state treasurer.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, St. Louis was America's second fashion capital behind New York City. Today, the city is revitalizing its historic garment district by expanding manufacturing and building a diverse and inclusive community through incubators like the St. Louis Fashion Fund.
A newly published Riverfront Times piece by Ryan Krull delves into the experiences of various TEH Realty tenants, detailing many miserable living conditions. In this episode, Krull joins host Sarah Fenske to discuss his reporting. Also joining the conversation are St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Jesse Bogan, who has also been following the developments surrounding TEH Realty, and Sunni Hutton, a volunteer grassroots organizer with Homes for All St. Louis.
Kalila Jackson joins host Sarah Fenske to discuss how tenants can exercise their rights without escalating the situation. She’s a staff attorney at the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council, better known as EHOC. Also joining the conversation is Sunni Hutton, a volunteer grassroots organizer with Homes for All St. Louis.
Cara Spencer, who currently represents St. Louis' 20th Ward on the city's Board of Aldermen, announced on today's show that she plans to run for mayor. She talks with host Sarah Fenske about the decision.
St. Louis Public Radio's Jaclyn Driscoll answers the most-asked questions about marijuana laws in both Illinois and Missouri, most especially “can I buy pot in Illinois and bring it home to Missouri?”
Missouri House Rep. Rasheen Aldridge represents the 78th district in St. Louis, which includes Hyde Park, Old North St. Louis, Carr Square, downtown, Soulard, Benton Park and LaSalle. At 25, he's one of the youngest elected officials in the statehouse.
Some of the area’s most buzz-worthy bars are focused on drinks that won’t get you buzzed — drinks that have the rich mouthfeel of a Manhattan without all the booze. That includes Elmwood in Maplewood. In this episode, Sarah Fenske talks with Elmwood beverage director Dave Greteman about how the low and no-proof ABV (alcohol by volume) options on Elmwood’s menu are changing the dynamic at its bar.
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