St. Louis On The Air

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe wants voters to decide whether or not to phase out the state income tax. How will that affect your financial situation — and funding for state services? Two tax experts answer those questions and discuss how the elimination of state income tax has played out in other states.

Many often associate frostbite with outdoor sports and mountain climbers with blackened fingers and faces. But advocates in St. Louis say the issue is also commonly seen in people closer to ground level — people experiencing homelessness or who otherwise lack a stable place to stay in freezing temperatures. STLPR reporter Sarah Fentem shares insights from her recent reporting on the suffering and challenges facing homeless people during the recent streak of bitter cold. We also hear from Kevin Roberts, a resident of an encampment who lost two toes to frostbite last winter; and Dr. Josh Fernelius, a volunteer with Street Med STL, who shares his experience treating frostbite among St. Louis’ homeless population.

For professional wrestling fans, the theme music that ushers a grappler into the ring is almost as memorable as a finishing move or signature pose. But Florissant resident Paul Morad has taken the recollection of pro wrestling entrance music to a new level: He was recently recognized as the Guinness world record holder for identifying the most WWE entrance songs in 60 seconds. Morad sits down with STLPR reporter (and admitted wrestling fan) Jason Rosenbaum to explore the meaning behind wrestling’s greatest hits. For the special “main event,” Rosenbaum offers Morad the chance to demonstrate his prodigious talent for recall.

Naltrexone is an FDA-approved drug that helps people beat addiction by blocking the effects of opioids and alcohol. Yet it’s not as widely known, or used, as the emergency overdose reversal drug naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan. St. Louis journalist Ben Westhoff’s new documentary “Antagonist” explores why. Westhoff and Assisted Recovery Centers of America President Percy Menzies join us to discuss why naltrexone is so effective at treating opioid and alcohol misuse and how the drug got sidelined by big money interests.

The community radio station 88.1 KDHX was a lifeline for eclectic, locally curated music in the St. Louis area — until it was torn apart by battles over diversity, accountability and the essence of the station’s identity. It went off the air and its broadcast license was sold to the highest bidder in 2025. In Part 2 of our special report “KDHX: How a radio station unravelled,” we examine how KDHX leaders pushed through a controversial sale in the face of widespread community opposition — and what lessons can be learned from the differing public reactions to the station’s 2019 and 2023 controversies. We also witness the birth of "a new era for music in St. Louis."

The community radio station 88.1 KDHX was a lifeline for eclectic, locally curated music in the St. Louis area — until it was torn apart by battles over diversity, accountability and the essence of the station’s identity. It went off the air and its broadcast license was sold to the highest bidder in 2025. In Part 1 of our special report “KDHX: How a radio station unraveled,” we examine charges of racism and sexual harassment in 2019 and the start of a DJ revolt four years later, after station leaders fired one of their own for bullying and harassment.

Last year, Donna Baringer became St. Louis’ first new comptroller in roughly 30 years. And during the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, the citywide official talks about how she’s eased into the powerful office that oversees the city’s finances – and provides her take on tornado relief efforts and regional consolidation.

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway says the state could benefit if the federal government doesn’t count certain immigrants in the Census. During an appearance on the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, Hanaway talks why she’s bringing this case forward – and whether the federal judiciary will be more favorable to excluding certain immigrants than they were earlier in the decade.

For the past year, expanded federal immigration enforcement – and two fatal shootings of protesters by federal agents in Minnesota – have sent ripples of anxiety throughout the country. While the St. Louis area hasn’t seen the kind of large-scale enforcement actions that have occurred elsewhere, local community leaders, educators and small-business owners say fear and misinformation are shaping daily life. STLPR journalists Brian Munoz and Hiba Ahmad discuss their reporting on this topic.

Even in tiny amounts, lead can be dangerous. In St. Louis, centuries of plumbing run for miles beneath our feet, delivering water to homes through 113,000 service lines. But even after testing tens of thousands of those lines for lead, city officials say 50,000 remain unidentified. In this episode, we go behind those numbers with Spencer Gould, special assistant to St. Louis City’s water commissioner. Gould explains why lead runs through some parts of the city's water infrastructure and how a new rule issued by the EPA 2024 started a 10-year race to identify and replace those pipes.

Nestled inside the whimsy of City Museum, Circus Harmony feels right at home as a space for young people to explore. The acclaimed circus school’s dedication to using the arts to teach essential life skills has been at its core since the start. Guests have marveled at the circus world standout for 25 years, and it’s not slowing down. This year’s full-length production, “Misterioso,” lets the students’ creativity and minds truly shine.

The American dream is often presented as the product of someone "pulling up their bootstraps" to a better life. But that’s just one way of explaining an idea that economists call "economic mobility.” A new project by St. Louis Magazine, the Economic Mobility Lab, is diving into that idea and the research into what it takes for low-income kids to out-earn their parents. To understand economic mobility in St. Louis, we sit down with St. Louis Magazine senior editor Nick Phillips to talk about his latest story, "How one St. Louisan found something rare: upward economic mobility." We also meet Nehemiah Colyer, whose experience after changing schools to Parkway West High School is an example of what economists call "social capital" and “economic connectedness.”

The new year has provided foodies in the St. Louis region with a lot to celebrate. Hamishe Bahrami is back with her signature Persian dishes at Cafe Natasha on South Grand. East Alton has a new, family-run bakery with from-scratch creations like “The Sloppy Irishman.” A new nonprofit bakery in the Delmar Loop empowers people experiencing homelessness through job training and housing resources. We dig into the menus of the top new spots to visit in February, mourn the local favorites that recently closed, talk date night recommendations and discuss how restaurateurs are responding to immigration enforcement actions across the country.

Awards season is in full swing — and that includes St. Louis theater productions. The St. Louis Theater Circle announced its nominations for their 13th annual awards Tuesday, recognizing productions by 20 theater companies in the St. Louis area in 2025. St. Louis Theater Circle members Rosalind Early and Gerry Kowarsky share some of this year’s nominees and an update on the state of local theater productions today.

After last May’s tornado put St. Louis’ emergency response under scrutiny, the City Emergency Management Agency saw its leadership change. In this episode, we listen to STLPR reporter Rachel Lippmann’s conversation with new commissioner Greg Favre about why he returned to city government and how he plans to improve preparedness for future crises.

The Gateway Arch Park Foundation has several irons in the fire — and soon, cranes in the sky. After celebrating 60 years since completion of the Gateway Arch last year, the foundation and its partners have begun reimagining the former Millennium Hotel site, studying changes to Interstate 44 near Gateway Arch National Park and exploring an expansion of the park into East St. Louis. Foundation Executive Director Ryan McClure shared updates on those efforts and his hopes for how they could serve the St. Louis community.

Judges and lawmakers are clashing in Missouri, and it all has to do with a unanimous ruling delivered last week by the state Supreme Court. On this episode of the Legal Roundtable, our panel of legal experts unpacks the drama over the court’s decision to strike down a law that allowed the secretary of state to rewrite ballot summaries. In response, the law’s sponsor called the justices “little kings and queens in their black robes.” In addition to that case, our panel also analyzes major developments in the state’s ban on trangender healthcare, a trial over abortion restrictions, a developer suing over lost profits, and more.

150-years ago, St. Louis chose to split itself in two. The decision, now known as the Great Divorce, created an enduring divide that still shapes the region today. In STLPR’s new podcast, “Meet Me,” host Luis Antonio Perez visits a family whose home sits right on the city-county line and explores the origin of the split with historian Andrew Wanko. Then, host Elaine Cha talks with Perez about his work on the debut episode and what’s to come.

In 1905, Mexican journalist Ricardo Flores Magón escaped the Porfiriato dictatorship and settled in St. Louis, where he launched the newspaper Regeneración. With 20,000 readers throughout Mexico and the U.S., the leftist publication raised awareness of growing wealth inequality, labor exploitation and political corruption in both countries. Historian Francisco Perez shares how Flores Magón connected the struggles of the American working class with that of the Mexican working class, how St. Louis' labor movement shaped Flores Magón’s worldview, and why, more than a century later, the activist’s politics still resonate.

The number of people incarcerated in Missouri prisons is lower than it has been in decades; yet, recent years have seen record-high deaths among those in custody. The deaths reflect an ongoing crisis behind the walls of the state's correctional institutions, say activist ML Smith, founder of the Missouri Justice Coalition, and Rika White, criminal justice policy manager at Empower Missouri. Smith and White take us inside their role in a notable Jan. 14 Missouri House Corrections Committee hearing that featured pointed questions for Trevor Foley, director of the Missouri Department of Corrections, about the state of healthcare inside the state’s 19 prisons.