The St. Louminaries Show offers ephemeral entertainment with a local focus

In the hot months, every second Sunday at ‘ssippi wine bar, you could catch the inaugural season of the St. Louminaries series: An in-person talk show hosted by Kyle Olson. 

The catch is this—it’s not recording. Now hosted at Tschüss bar on Cherokee Street for the cold months, the series sees Olson sit down with a mic and ask St. Louisans to discuss their passions in a David Letterman talk-show format, minus the cameras. If you want to catch it, you have to be there, or be square.

One of Olson’s rules is no academics. Olson himself is a professor of archeology at Washington University, and The St. Louminaries Show is not meant to be an academic affair. “When I’m booking guests,” Olson says, “I often have this funny conversation where people tell me like, ‘Oh, well, I’m not actually an authority on this subject.’ It’s like, that’s not the point. Some people think it’s a panel discussion…and serious. And it’s like, no, no—this is entertainment.”

Show topics range from St. Louis’ undercelebrated culture of Latin dance to the professional and semi-professional cataloguers of St. Louis’ local history. November’s show featured experts in St. Louis politics and grassroots public relations, with a lineup including Civic Graphics Design, Maxi Glamour, and STL PoliticClips.

A self-proclaimed seeker of good conversation, Olson enjoys a bespoke suit and seeks to emulate hosts such as Dick Cavett. A St. Louminaries show might include a raffle, or bingo, but most of all, the experience hinges on the in-person appeal. For Olson, the goal is to host conversations that aren’t happening anywhere else and draw people away from screens, out of the house, and into a big group of people enjoying a Sunday night together. “It stresses a real-world interaction,” says Olson, citing the most recent DJ episode, which discussed the importance of physical media in the war against the AI-ification of music and Spotify.

Another of Olson’s rules is that the show’s theme should revolve around St. Louis specifically, but for December’s show, titled “Heterofatalism, Performative Men, and the Patriarchy,” Olson broke both stipulations. With a lineup featuring writers Eileen G’Sell, Dan DiPiero, and Kennedy Morganfield, the show nonetheless packed Tschüss with an audience eager to discuss gender relations, the pains of dating, and the general mood of isolation and disaffection that plagues romance and love in the 2020s.

To that show, Olson also added a musical compatriot. Jimmy Fallon has The Roots, Conan O’Brien had drummer Max Weinberg; Kyle Olson has Ralph Wrong (formerly poopyknife, also known as MANAK!N), in full Gwar-style costume, hitting a keytar lick to celebrate the mention of feminist philosopher Lauren Berlant. Wrong is most recognizable as the man playing keytar to St. Louis traffic on South Grand, but every second Sunday, he’s Olson’s musical accompaniment.

“Two things are important to me,” Olson says. “One is that the show always be free. And then two, that these guys should get paid.” As of now, Olson collaborates with his venue owners and pays many aspects of the show out of pocket. He hopes some St. Louis cultural benefactors might step in to help pay guests, as well as the crew. “That’s the long-term goal.”

And the shows are doing well. See for yourself in February when the St. Louminaries talk bikes, transportation policy, and cycling culture with July Hampton, Dani Adams, Matt Steward, and Skye Sanders. That’s Sunday, February 8, at Tschuss from 6-8 p.m. to learn more about The Monthly Cycle, BICI Ride, and all the coolest St. Louminaries on two wheels—followed by karaoke hosted by Nancy Eterovic. Said the show announcement on Instagram: “You’ve got better things to do than watch the Super Bowl (tho ofc ✊ Bad Bunny).”