Missouri Humanities Missouri Humanities

In this episode, we invite you to meet us in St. Louis, Louis, for a conversation about the 1904 World's Fair. Joining our discussion is Adam Kloppe, a public historian with the Missouri Historical Society who worked on the new World's Fair Exhibit at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park, which opened in April 2024.  We discuss both the new perspectives and harsh realities faced when creating the exhibit, as well as the innovation, grandeur, and spectacle of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition that still inspires wonder and awe to this day. 

Our guest for Episode 2 is Dr. Linda Godwin. Selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate in June 1985, Dr. Godwin became an astronaut in July 1986. A veteran of four space flights, Dr. Godwin has logged over 38 days in space, including over 10 EVA hours in two spacewalks. She retired from NASA in 2010 and is now a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Missouri. Our conversation explores humankind's fascination with space, the future of space exploration, and how the Humanities and STEM are more closely linked than one might think.

Space settlement is rapidly becoming ever more likely. Will it look like the utopian vision of Star Trek? Or the dark future of Star Wars? Can our earthly ways thrive in the cosmos? For the first episode of this new season, we are thrilled to be able to share with you a previously recorded program from Missouri Humanities. On Feb 17th, 2024, Missouri Humanities held their Keynote Event for the year’s signature series at the James S McDonnell Planetarium in St Louis, the perfect setting for this conversation featuring St. Louis Public Radio’s Elaine Cha and Dr. Erika Nesvold, astrophysicist and author of "Off Earth: Ethical Questions and Quandaries for Living in Outer Space."

As we conclude our season on the Roots & Routes of Missourians, we bring it back to the beginning to discuss Missouri’s first peoples. Joining our conversation for our final episode is Greg Olson, an independent researcher and author who lives in Columbia, Missouri. Greg talks with us about the vast and complex history of native peoples in this area, as well as the massive undertaking that is writing about roughly 12,000 years of indigenous peoples. 

Dr Gene Chavez is known for documenting the life experiences of Mexican and other immigrants in the Midwest. In this episode, we discuss the impact of hispanic peoples putting down roots in Missouri, as well as Gene's work preserving Hispanic histories and his dedication to lifting up Hispanic voices, bringing awareness to these often untold or under-represented stories in Missouri and beyond.  

Our conversation for this episode features Patrick Murphy, an author and former television producer with 9 PBS in St Louis. He’s penned three books: Candy Men: The Story of Switzer’s Licorice, The Irish in St. Louis: From Shanty to Lace Curtain, and Places to Pray: Holy Sites in Catholic Missouri. We discuss the immigrant experience in Missouri, his inspiration behind writing about people and places, and why it's imperative that we continue to share stories of those who came before us and chose Missouri to put down roots, especially when it wasn’t exactly easy to do so.