(0:00) - St. Louis Public Radio invites residents living along the city-county border for a listening session where they discuss life on the border. (3:29) - Next door neighbors, Miss Dee (city) and Mr. Larry (county), on Garesche Ave. share their stories and their views on the manmade barrier outside of their homes. (16:11) - Deep dive into the Better Together plan of 2019. The most well-funded and well-researched attempt to reunify St. Louis city and county in decades. How it was developed, why it failed, and what it reveals about power, trust, race, and regional identity .Follow us on Instagram @MeetMeSTL | Sign up for the Meet Me newsletter Credits: This episode was written, hosted and produced by Luis Antonio Perez, with story editing by Alex Heuer and Brian Heffernan. Meet Me’s executive producer is Brian Heffernan. Audio mixing by Greg Munteanu. Paola Rodriguez is our engagement producer. Art by Cristina Fletes-Mach. Our theme music is by Kudda & Friends. Special thanks to Jason Rosenbaum, Rachel Lippmann, Chad Davis, Fred Ehrlich, Lara Hamdan, Leslie Davis, Hiba Ahmed, Miya Norfleet and Miah Jermiah. Archival news clips from St. Louis Public Radio, KMOV, and KSDK. Grant support comes from the James S. McDonnell foundation. Support this work at stlpr.org/donate

Follow us on Instagram @meetmestl | Sign up for the Meet Me newsletter.

Credits: This episode was written, hosted and produced by Luis Antonio Perez, with story editing by Alex Heuer and Brian Heffernan, Meet Me’s executive producer. Audio mastering by Greg Munteanu. Paola Rodriguez is our engagement producer. Art by Cristina Fletes-Mach. Our theme music is by Kudda & Friends. Special thanks to Jason Rosenbaum, Rachel Lippmann, Chad Davis, Fred Ehrlich, Brian Moline and the Missouri Historical Society.

Grant support comes from the James S. McDonnell Foundation.

Support this work at stlpr.org/donate.

Correction: A previous version of this podcast misstated the structure of the St. Louis County government in the years immediately preceding the Great Divorce. Representation on the county court included four representatives from the city of St. Louis, two representatives from outlying townships and one at-large representative. This story also has been updated to clarify the motivations that drove the city and county to separate.