Kirkwood-raised musician David Sanborn died earlier this week after an extended battle with prostate cancer. He won six Grammy awards and sold millions of albums across a more than 50-year career. Known for his warm sound on alto saxophone, Sanborn won acclaim as a solo artist and as a collaborator with a long list of stars in the worlds of jazz, rock and pop. Earlier this year, Jazz St. Louis honored Sanborn with its first lifetime achievement award. We listen back to his conversation with STLPR’s Jeremy D. Goodwin.

St. Louis’ juvenile justice system is supposed to rehabilitate youth but it often makes things worse. That’s the topic of a recently published article written by Taylor Tiamoyo Harris and commissioned by the River City Journalism Fund. Taylor is a St. Louis-based journalist and recently began a job as investigative fellow for the New York Times. Harris discusses her recent reporting on juvenile justice.

Civil rights attorney and former South Carolina state lawmaker Bakari Sellers says national police reform is currently dead, but there is hope through voting to change the makeup of Congress. STLPR reporter Andrea Henderson recently spoke with Sellers when he was in St. Louis to talk about his new book, “The Moment: Thoughts on the Race Reckoning That Wasn't and How We All Can Move Forward Now.”

A St. Louis judge on Tuesday will hear arguments as to why the 1991 murder conviction of Chris Dunn should be vacated. Dunn has spent more than 30 years in prison. Two witnesses who identified him as the killer have recanted and two St. Louis prosecutors, Kim Gardner and Gabe Gore, believe that he is innocent. After Gore announced earlier this spring he would file a motion to vacate Dunn’s conviction, producer Danny Wicentowski spoke with Dunn from the South Central Correctional Center in Licking, Missouri, about his reaction.

Gardening season is well underway, but it’s not too late to start planting. Local farmer Tosha Phonix is encouraging fellow north St. Louis residents to grow their own food through a new, free zine, “A Guide to Black Farming in North St. Louis.”

Most conversations about race and identity in the St. Louis region focus on Black and white residents, a binary that excludes one of the fastest growing populations in the area: the Asian and Asian American community. The Japanese American Citizens League - St. Louis and the St. Louis Pan Asian Collective have curated, “InVISIBLE: A Reclamation of the Asian Gaze,” a visual and literary arts exhibition that’s focused on sharing the diverse stories and experiences of those community members.

Nadia and Maya Turner grew up eating batches of their mom’s chocolate chip cookies and watching “Shark Tank.” The University City sisters founded Chocolate Girls’ Cookies in 2019, after perfecting the family’s cookie recipe. They share what makes a good chocolate chip cookie, their aspirations for their business, and how they feel about sour cream as a cookie dough ingredient.

The St. Louis metropolitan area is showing troubling signs when it comes to population trends. There are fewer residents than in years past in St. Louis and St. Louis County, and the region isn’t keeping pace with other areas of the country where the population is growing. St. Louis University Professor Ness Sandoval and International Institute of St. Louis CEO and President Arrey Obenson discuss why this is happening and what needs to be done to turn the tide.

As students across many college campuses express solidarity with Palestinians during the latest war in Gaza, the parallels to other student and youth-led protests are apparent — including in St. Louis. St. Louis University history professor and chair of African American Studies Chris Tinson discusses those parallels and how it’s natural students are attuned to social and global issues — and that they congregate and participate in civil-disobedience.

Despite the exorbitant amount of money spent on health care in the U.S., its population is relatively unhealthy. Dr. Alexander Garza, the Chief Community Health Officer at SSM Health, believes that improving health outcomes in the St. Louis community starts well before patients walk through clinic or hospital doors. Alongside his colleague Karen Bradshaw, Garza discusses how SSM Health is partnering with other area hospital systems to complete a federally mandated assessment that identifies community health needs.

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 Jeffereis 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.