St. Louis on the Air St. Louis Public Radio

Visitors to the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis can experience New York artist Paul Chan’s exhibition “Breathers,” which relies upon air and wind to create kinetic movement and evoke an emotional response that reminds us to inhale and exhale with greater intention. Associate curator Misa Jefferies and artist Simiya Sudduth reflect on what air and breath look like both in art and in healing —- and why taking a ‘breather’ is necessary.

Last month at Washington University, police arrested over 100 people who attempted to set up a Gaza solidarity encampment on campus grounds. WashU junior Andrew de las Alas and senior lecturer Michael Allen were arrested and temporarily suspended for their involvement with the April 27 campus protest. They talk about the protest on Wash U’s campus and dealing with its aftermath. Shanti Parikh, Chair of the African and African American Studies department and professor of anthropology at WashU, discusses how faculty are trying to support those who were arrested.

More than one in three young adults, ages 18-24, report zero income. Depression rates in that age group are also comparatively high. And feelings about financial stability vary notably by race. Senior St. Louis Fed researcher Ana Hernandez Kent talks through those and other findings from the 2024 State of Economic Equity report, with notes about how research can inform better support for economically disconnected youth.

Katie McGrath founded Immigrant Song as a response to the increase in race, culture and religion-based domestic hate crimes in the U.S. since 2016. Alongside the concert series’ music director Larry Pry, and performers Chuck Flowers and Anu French, she reflects on the power of music and storytelling as a way to combat hate and divisiveness. The nonprofit organization’s next concert is this Sunday, May 12.

University City resident Nichole Angieri recently discovered that her neighborhood is being used as a police training ground. It's the latest update in the aftermath of a $190 million Costco development in University City that's left residents feeling unheard, stranded in their homes, and left to fend for themselves. In this episode, we hear from Angieri and from producer Danny Wicentowski.

Metro Transit, a service of Bi-State Development, may tighten its Call-A-Ride reservations window. Disability rights advocates say that would make existing service gaps even worse. Taulby Roach, President and CEO of Bi-State Development talks about the proposed policy change. Jeanette Mott Oxford, Paraquad Public Policy & Advocacy Manager, and Seyoon Choi, former Parquad Public Policy Intern, also join the conversation to discuss what a local advocacy group has recommended instead.