Alex Heuer

The 113th U.S. Congress has been in session for 5 weeks.  Host Don Marsh checked in with the St. Louis Beacon’s Washington correspondent Rob Koenig to get an update on the activities of the Missouri and Illinois delegations.

It's the start of Illinois' new legislative session, and Governor Pat Quinn laid out, yesterday, what he wants lawmakers to accomplish.  

In his fifth state of the state address since becoming governor, Quinn laid out a wide-ranging agenda which includes letting same-sex couples get married, raising the minimum wage, and prohibiting the sale of assault weapons.

Host Don Marsh talked with Illinois Public Radio/WUIS statehouse bureau chief Amanda Vinicky about the speech and politics in Illinois.

This year’s Missouri legislative session is well underway.

Among the topics up for consideration in Jefferson City are right-to-work legislation and voter-ID requirements.

Host Don Marsh talked with St. Louis Public Radio statehouse reporter Marshall Griffin about those topics and others.

Heart disease is the number one killer in the world.

It is the cause for roughly every one in four deaths, and because of this, doctors and researchers are struggling to discover early-warning symptoms and preventions.

One of the biggest problems for many suffering from heart disease is that they are not aware they have it. There are several examinations, the most common being stress tests, that can help determine how at risk a patient is for encountering a heart attack, but no such test is foolproof in diagnosing the heart condition and alerting patients of its severity.

Krista Tippett challenges listeners each week to explore the questions at the center of human life with her program “On Being.”  While examining religion, meaning, ethics, and ideas, she talks with a wide variety of guests representing many faiths, cultures and professions.