Episodios

  • After four years of attempts, a bill to automatically expunge crime records moves closer to law

    After four years of attempts, a bill to automatically expunge crime records moves closer to law
    Mar 9 2026
    A proposed Missouri bill would automatically expunge the criminal records of thousands of Missourians convicted of certain non-violent crimes. It's part of a larger, nationwide campaign to pass similar laws. Thirteen states have already passed their own version of the measure, including Illinois. We talk with Empower Missouri Executive Director Mallory Rusch and advocate Patty Berger, president of the St. Louis chapter of All of Us or None, to discuss the four-year effort to help people move on from their past criminal convictions. We also learn about Illinois' successful passage of its own Clean Slate Act with Artinese Myrik, deputy director of Live Free Illinois.
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    21 m
  • What to know about paraquat and Parkinson’s as Missouri lawmakers consider restrictions

    What to know about paraquat and Parkinson’s as Missouri lawmakers consider restrictions
    Mar 9 2026
    For years, Parkinson’s disease was thought to be primarily genetic. And while some cases are rooted in genetic changes, new studies suggest diagnoses of the disorder, which is the world’s fastest-growing brain disease, is largely driven by environmental toxins — specifically, long-term exposure to the herbicide paraquat. Reporter Mike Fitzgerald discusses why agricultural giant Syngenta is halting global production of the herbicide by the end of June 2026. This move follows massive legal pressure from nearly 6,500 lawsuits filed in East St. Louis federal court. Fitzgerald also talks about the growing push for a national paraquat ban, and why an upcoming Missouri statehouse hearing about the weed killer is critical.
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    30 m
  • All eyes on Illinois Democrats as the state’s March 17 primary inches closer

    All eyes on Illinois Democrats as the state’s March 17 primary inches closer
    Mar 6 2026
    With less than two weeks before the Illinois March 17 primary, the three major Democratic contenders to succeed U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin are pulling off all the stops to prevail. St. Louis Public Radio Metro East reporter Will Bauer and Capitol News Illinois statehouse reporter Brenden Moore preview Illinois’ high stakes primary contests on “The Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air."
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    17 m
  • Lack of clarity over Missouri’s congressional map clouds start of 2026 election season

    Lack of clarity over Missouri’s congressional map clouds start of 2026 election season
    Mar 6 2026
    Missouri kicked off its candidate filing period late last month. But there’s a big, unanswered question still lingering: Whether a congressional map from 2022 or one from 2025 will be in place for the election cycle. Rudi Keller, deputy editor for the Missouri Independent, joins "The Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air" to chart out where things stand for the state’s morass of redistricting litigation.
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    17 m
  • Trump’s attack places Missouri and Illinois Republicans in a tough spot

    Trump’s attack places Missouri and Illinois Republicans in a tough spot
    Mar 6 2026
    Missouri and Illinois GOP members of Congress largely adopted the opposition to military intervention that President Donald Trump expressed during his presidential campaign. But now that he’s attacked Iran, Trump is placing some of those lawmakers in a tough spot – including Missouri Sens. Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt. Washington University political science professor Carly Wayne talks about the local political reaction to Trump’s decision on "The Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air.”
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    17 m
  • St. Louis man imprisoned after 2003 arrest by corrupt officers finally tells his story

    St. Louis man imprisoned after 2003 arrest by corrupt officers finally tells his story
    Mar 5 2026
    Michael Holmes spent more than five years in prison after a 2003 drug arrest. But the SLMPD officers who arrested him were later exposed for planting evidence against innocent people to cover their own thefts. For the first time in a media interview, Holmes tells the story of his wrongful arrest and how he survived as an innocent man in prison. Holmes’ attorney, David Owens, also discusses the case, including a 2016 civil rights lawsuit that ended with a jury awarding Holmes $2.5 million. However, the City of St. Louis has yet to pay one dollar of that amount.
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    46 m
  • ‘Resilience’ exhibit in St. Louis examines Japanese American incarceration during WWII

    ‘Resilience’ exhibit in St. Louis examines Japanese American incarceration during WWII
    Mar 4 2026
    The traveling exhibition “Resilience - A Sansei Sense of Legacy” brings an artistic lens to the forced incarceration of an estimated 120,000 Japanese Americans — about two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens — following President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066. Featuring the work of third-generation Japanese American artists, the exhibition explores the effects of that wartime injustice and connects it to the present day. The St. Louis showing of “Resilience” includes pieces by longtime Alton, Illinois resident and SIUE graduate Arthur Towata. To explore local connections to the legacy of WWII Japanese American internment, we speak with Wendy Roll, president of the Japanese American Citizens League - St. Louis; Amy Ozawa, Arthur Towata's niece and executor of his estate; and Kristine Aono, WashU graduate and one of the artists whose work is part of the “Resilience” exhibition’s core collection.
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    30 m
  • ‘Logistics wins wars’: How Scott Air Force Base is supporting military strikes in Iran

    ‘Logistics wins wars’: How Scott Air Force Base is supporting military strikes in Iran
    Mar 4 2026
    U.S. Transportation Command, headquartered at Scott Air Force Base in the Metro East, plays a significant role in moving equipment, personnel and supplies for American military operations worldwide — including the recent strikes in Iran. Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost, the former commander of TRANSCOM who retired in 2024, explains how the combatant command does its work that includes mid-air refueling of stealth bombers, transporting missile defense systems and more.
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    21 m