St. Louis on the Air

Populations of migratory monarch butterflies have declined by an estimated 90% since the mid-1990s due to the loss of their natural habitat along their migration route. As monarchs fly through St. Louis on their way to Mexico, we hear from a St. Clair, Missouri, resident who is attempting to boost monarch populations by rearing them in enclosures in her backyard. We also talk with an entomologist who is concerned that captive breeding programs may produce weaker, disease-prone butterflies that aren’t equipped to complete the journey. And, a Missouri Botanical Garden botanist shares the best ways to support monarch butterflies, including when to plant milkweed, which is the only host plant on which monarchs lay their eggs.

For years, Americans have been prevented from buying sunscreen with bemotrizinol, a chemical that’s long been an ingredient in sun protection lotions and creams in Europe, Asia, and Australia. This summer, an FDA approval put an end to those restrictions. Dr. Aubriana McEvoy, professor of dermatology and dermatologic surgery at Washington University, explains the skin science behind sunscreen, bemotrizinol and what the FDA’s recent approval means for U.S. suncare products.. She also dispels myths about sunscreen and shares tips for how it should be applied and what to look for in ingredients.

Jessica Page grew up behind the camera, following in her mother’s footsteps as she got older. Now, the portrait photographer has expanded her skillset to include nature photography. Her new book “Silver Lining” features up close photos of plants and plantscapes in Forest Park. Page talks about how her background in portrait photography informs her approach to nature photography and what it was like to capture the “peculiar” parts of Forest Park up close.

Although it was initially planned to open this year, a $45 million 911 dispatch center in St. Louis that will combine fire, police and EMS services will open after it finishes construction in “late fall” 2027. The announcement of the delay comes as the city’s 911 system is under scrutiny. We talk with Jia Lian Yang, communications and storytelling director at Forward Through Ferguson, who authored a recent report that analyzed 1.3 million 911 calls made in St. Louis. This region is far from the only one struggling to improve 911 response times: We also talk with journalist Byard Duncan, who obtained data from 911 systems from some 60 American cities, including St. Louis. He found that St. Louis answered just 78% of its 911 calls by the 15-second standard set by the National Emergency Number Association.

Twin brothers Jeff and Randy Vines have spent 16 years turning St. Louis pride into a business. The co-owners of STL-Style, the Cherokee Street shop known for its St. Louis-themed shirts, hoodies, hats and stickers, are celebrating their Sweet 16 after surviving Amazon, the pandemic, increased competition, tariffs and inflation. The brothers discuss how the business got its start, their love for St. Louis and what they’ve done to keep STL-Style going.

In 1500s England, King Henry VIII was a force of disruption and reform. But in the classroom of UMSL professor Maureen Quigley, the king is a “non-playable character” in a game called Dissolution. Quigley designed the game as a way for players to experience the conflicts and decisions that followed Henry VIII’s decision to marry a new wife by starting a fight with the Catholic Church. Quigley, a professor of art history, shares her insight into designing a “serious game,” and how students who have grown up with video and roleplaying games relate to history, and the connections she sees between St. Louis today and England 500 years ago.

Missouri Botanical Garden’s Peter H. Raven Library is home to roughly 8,000 rare books dating back to 1464, including Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” and Carl Linnaeus’ “Species Plantarum 1st Edition.” In late August, the library added two more rare texts to their collection: the first edition of Mark Catesby’s “The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands etc. 1731-1743.” This work by Catesby, who was the first naturalist to illustrate birds in their natural habitat, represents the science world’s first documentation of the flora and fauna of any part of North America. Peter H. Raven Library director Holly Hubenschmidt shares the scientific, historic and cultural impact of Catesby’s work, and the Garden’s mission to collect books from around the world that capture new plant species.

Three new restaurants have opened in St. Louis’ Grove business district in the last three months, bringing diners Mexican flavors at Chico Bueno and Malo and a taste of the Italian Riviera at Baia. All three restaurants are backed by the same person: Jordan Goodman. STLPR’s Jessica Rogen talks with Goodman about the latest additions to a growing restaurant group that began with Good Company.

Missouri’s redistricting battle took another turn Thursday as the U.S. Supreme Court halted a federal order allowing the state to use a Republican-backed 2025 congressional map, meaning the 2022 map will be used in the November election. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Denny Hoskins faced a contempt hearing before the Missouri Supreme Court over his handling of the competing orders. STLPR politics correspondent Jason Rosenbaum explains the twists and turns of the court proceedings.