Aisha Sultan
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writing columns & features @stltoday, making films, teaching, speaking. would rather be reading.
Articles by Aisha Sultan
Sultan: Why this election felt so personal
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... A racist social media post by an obscure Texas politician about South Asian students at a college football game should have just rolled off the back of a political junkie like me. It was just another openly prejudiced message slung by a proudly bigoted Republican running for office in Texas, the state where I grew up. When your faith has been used as a slur, and your community has been attacked and vilified for years, you develop a thick skin.
Sultan: Why this midterm election felt so personal
New subscriber benefit! Copied to clipboard Out of gifts for the month Unfortunately you've used all of your gifts this month. Your counter will reset on the first day of next month. Share this article paywall-free Email Copy Link Prefer us on Google Facebook Twitter Bluesky WhatsApp SMS Email Print Save A racist social media post about South Asian students at a college football game by an obscure Texas politician should have rolled off the back of a political junkie like me.
St. Louis filmmaker explores fallout of Bengal tiger attacks in Sundarbans
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WashU student launches hair care vending machine on campus
New subscriber benefit! Copied to clipboard Out of gifts for the month Unfortunately you've used all of your gifts this month. Your counter will reset on the first day of next month. Share this article paywall-free Email Copy Link Prefer us on Google Facebook Twitter Bluesky WhatsApp SMS Email Print Save Imagine having to explain the need for products young Black women use for textured hair to a roomful of older white men with little to no hair.
Parents talk back: Who's to blame for the high cost of everything?
On the way to the airport, my Lyft driver told me that he recently used to drive a commercial truck. When diesel fuel prices rose above $6 a gallon, he put his truck in storage. In the Midwest, the price of diesel has skyrocketed more than 80% since January. The cost of filling up his truck weekly had gone up to $1,100, he said. Truckers who are owner-operators pay for their own fuel, and he just couldn't make the numbers work.
Think of these women when you vote
Aisha Sultan, St. Louis Post Dispatch
Who’s to blame for the high cost of everything?
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By Aisha Sultan On the way to the airport, my Lyft driver told me that he recently used to drive a commercial truck. When diesel fuel prices rose above $6 a gallon, he put his truck in storage. In the Midwest, the price of diesel has skyrocketed more than 80% since January. The cost of filling up his truck weekly had gone up to $1,100, he said. Truckers who are owner-operators pay for their own fuel, and he just couldn’t make the numbers work.
Sultan: Who’s to blame for the higher cost of everything?
New subscriber benefit! Copied to clipboard Out of gifts for the month Unfortunately you've used all of your gifts this month. Your counter will reset on the first day of next month. Share this article paywall-free Email Copy Link Prefer us on Google Facebook Twitter Bluesky WhatsApp SMS Email Print Save On the way to the airport, my Lyft driver told me that he recently used to drive a commercial truck. kAm(96? 5:6D6= 7F6= AC:46D C@D6 23@G6 Se 2 82==@?[ 96 AFE 9:D ECF4< :? DE@C286]k^Am kAmx?
Sultan - Think of these women
When I went to the polls to cast an early ballot in the midterm elections, I thought about our country’s dead pregnant women. Amber Nicole Thurman, 28, of Georgia, a state that bans abortion at six weeks, was forced to travel out of state in 2022 to receive abortion medication. She developed an infection. Doctors waited 20 hours before performing the D&C needed to clear her uterus. Her organs failed. Georgia’s maternal-mortality committee later determined that her death was preventable.
Sultan: Think of these women when you vote
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By Aisha Sultan When I went to the polls to cast an early ballot in the midterm elections, I thought about our country’s dead pregnant women. Amber Nicole Thurman, 28, of Georgia, a state that bans abortion at six weeks, was forced to travel out of state in 2022 to receive abortion medication. She developed an infection. Doctors waited 20 hours before performing the D&C needed to clear her uterus. Her organs failed.
Parents talk back: Think of these women when you vote
When I went to the polls to cast an early ballot in the midterm elections, I thought about our country's dead pregnant women. Amber Nicole Thurman, 28, of Georgia, a state that bans abortion at six weeks, was forced to travel out of state in 2022 to receive abortion medication. She developed an infection. Doctors waited 20 hours before performing the D&C needed to clear her uterus. Her organs failed. Georgia's maternal-mortality committee later determined that her death was preventable.
COLUMNIST: Think of These Women When You Vote
When I went to the polls to cast an early ballot in the midterm elections, I thought about our country’s dead pregnant women. Amber Nicole Thurman, 28, of Georgia, a state that bans abortion at six weeks, was forced to travel out of state in 2022 to receive abortion medication. She developed an infection. Doctors waited 20 hours before performing the D&C needed to clear her uterus. Her organs failed. Georgia’s maternal-mortality committee later determined that her death was preventable.
Sultan: Think about these women when voting no on Amendment 3
Aisha Sultan | Post-Dispatch Columnist and features writer Author email New subscriber benefit! Copied to clipboard Out of gifts for the month Unfortunately you've used all of your gifts this month. Your counter will reset on the first day of next month.
Halloween in St. Louis has its own rules — jokes and beyond
New subscriber benefit! Copied to clipboard Out of gifts for the month Unfortunately you've used all of your gifts this month. Your counter will reset on the first day of next month. Share this article paywall-free Email Copy Link Prefer us on Google Facebook Twitter Bluesky WhatsApp SMS Email Print Save Twenty years ago, Joselyn Howell got hit with St. Louis Halloween culture shock.
St. Louis-theme jokes for Halloween trick-or-treaters
New subscriber benefit! Copied to clipboard Out of gifts for the month Unfortunately you've used all of your gifts this month. Your counter will reset on the first day of next month. Share this article paywall-free Email Copy Link Prefer us on Google Facebook Twitter Bluesky WhatsApp SMS Email Print Save We scoured the internet for the best St. Louis-themed jokes and wrote a few of our own groan-worthy puns. Any of these deserve candy when shared by trick-or-treaters.
Sultan: What We Get Wrong About the Cornell 7 Case
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By Aisha Sultan When a college student says she was drugged and brutally gang-raped by fraternity members at an Ivy League university, and the consequence faced by two of the defendants is to write “reflection papers,” a decent person’s response is horror and outrage. Jane Doe, a former Cornell University student, filed a civil lawsuit last month against the university, its Chi Phi chapter and seven fraternity members.
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When a college student says she was drugged and brutally gang-raped by fraternity members at an Ivy League university, and the consequence faced by two of the defendants is to
The Post-Dispatch's Aisha Sultan explores Zombie Road
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Parents talk back: What we get wrong about the Cornell 7 case
When a college student says she was drugged and brutally gang-raped by fraternity members at an Ivy League university, and the consequence faced by two of the defendants is to write "reflection papers," a decent person's response is horror and outrage. Jane Doe, a former Cornell University student, filed a civil lawsuit last month against the university, its Chi Phi chapter and seven fraternity members.
COLUMNIST: What We Get Wrong About the Cornell 7 Case
When a college student says she was drugged and brutally gang-raped by fraternity members at an Ivy League university, and the consequence faced by two of the defendants is to write “reflection papers,” a decent person’s response is horror and outrage. Jane Doe, a former Cornell University student, filed a civil lawsuit last month against the university, its Chi Phi chapter and seven fraternity members.
Sultan: South County woman could teach Kelly Clarkson a thing or two
Aisha Sultan | Post-Dispatch Columnist and features writer Author email New subscriber benefit! Copied to clipboard Out of gifts for the month Unfortunately you've used all of your gifts this month. Your counter will reset on the first day of next month. Share this article paywall-free Email Copy Link Prefer us on Google Facebook Twitter Bluesky WhatsApp SMS Email Print Save The strangest news this week is about an online spat between a celebrity, a $15,000 toy bird and shop owner in Brooklyn.
The robots tell us which jobs they are taking
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By Aisha Sultan A mother of a graduating high school senior recently confided that her son wanted to study actuarial science in college, and she was worried about whether AI would end up replacing those jobs. It may seem like an insignificant concern when the big debate recently has been whether AI will wipe out all of humanity in the near future. Why worry about college majors in the face of an existential threat?
What We Get Wrong About the Cornell 7 Case
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By Aisha Sultan When a college student says she was drugged and brutally gang-raped by fraternity members at an Ivy League university, and the consequence faced by two of the defendants is to write “reflection papers,” a decent person’s response is horror and outrage. Jane Doe, a former Cornell University student, filed a civil lawsuit last month against the university, its Chi Phi chapter and seven fraternity members.
Robots tell us which jobs they are taking
A mother of a graduating high school senior recently confided her son wants to study actuarial science in college, and she was worried about whether AI would end up replacing those jobs. It may seem like an insignificant concern when the big debate recently has been whether AI will wipe out all of humanity in the near future. Why worry about college majors in the face of an existential threat?
Sultan - Robots
A mother of a graduating high school senior recently confided that her son wanted to study actuarial science in college, and she was worried about whether AI would end up replacing those jobs. It may seem like an insignificant concern when the big debate recently has been whether AI will wipe out all of humanity in the near future.
Sultan - New voters
A big reason Victoria Turner wanted to become a U.S. citizen was so she could vote. Turner, 64, immediately registered after her naturalization ceremony in St. Louis 22 years ago. "I'd be able to have a say in how the country was run," she said. "It was very important to me." Since then, she has helped dozens of new citizens register for the same right at nearly 100 naturalization ceremonies as part of the League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis, where she serves as co-president.
Parents talk back: The robots tell us which jobs they are taking
A mother of a graduating high school senior recently confided that her son wanted to study actuarial science in college, and she was worried about whether AI would end up replacing those jobs. It may seem like an insignificant concern when the big debate recently has been whether AI will wipe out all of humanity in the near future. Why worry about college majors in the face of an existential threat?
Sultan: The robots tell me which jobs they’re taking
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... A mother of a graduating high school senior recently confided that her son wanted to study actuarial science in college, and she was worried about whether AI would end up replacing those jobs. It may seem like an insignificant concern when the big debate recently has been whether AI will wipe out all of humanity in the near future. Why worry about college majors in the face of an existential threat?
The robots tell us which jobs they are taking
Aisha Sultan, St. Louis Post Dispatch
Why Make It Harder To Register New Voters?
A big reason Victoria Turner wanted to become a U.S. citizen was so she could vote. Turner, 64, immediately registered after her naturalization ceremony in St. Louis 22 years ago. “I’d be able to have a say in how the country was run,” she said. “It was very important to me.” Since then, she has helped dozens of new citizens register for the same right at nearly 100 naturalization ceremonies as part of the League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis, where she serves as co-president.
Sultan: What we get wrong about the Cornell 7 case
Aisha Sultan | Post-Dispatch Columnist and features writer Author email New subscriber benefit! Copied to clipboard Out of gifts for the month Unfortunately you've used all of your gifts this month. Your counter will reset on the first day of next month.
The robots are telling me which jobs they’re taking
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Aisha Sultan is a St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist. A mother of a graduating high school senior recently confided that her son wanted to study actuarial science in college, and she was worried about whether artificial intelligence would end up replacing those jobs. It may seem like an insignificant concern when the big debate recently has been whether AI will wipe out all of humanity in the near future. Why worry about college majors in the face of an existential threat?
Parents talk back: Why make it harder to register new voters?
A big reason Victoria Turner wanted to become a U.S. citizen was so she could vote. Turner, 64, immediately registered after her naturalization ceremony in St. Louis 22 years ago. "I'd be able to have a say in how the country was run," she said. "It was very important to me." Since then, she has helped dozens of new citizens register for the same right at nearly 100 naturalization ceremonies as part of the League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis, where she serves as co-president.
COLUMNIST: Why Make It Harder To Register New Voters?
A big reason Victoria Turner wanted to become a U.S. citizen was so she could vote. Turner, 64, immediately registered after her naturalization ceremony in St. Louis 22 years ago. “I’d be able to have a say in how the country was run,” she said. “It was very important to me.” Since then, she has helped dozens of new citizens register for the same right at nearly 100 naturalization ceremonies as part of the League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis, where she serves as co-president.
Why make it harder to register new voters?
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By Aisha Sultan A big reason Victoria Turner wanted to become a U.S. citizen was so she could vote. Turner, 64, immediately registered after her naturalization ceremony in St. Louis 22 years ago. “I’d be able to have a say in how the country was run,” she said.
Sultan: The robots tell me which jobs they're taking
Aisha Sultan | Post-Dispatch Columnist and features writer Author email New subscriber benefit! Copied to clipboard Out of gifts for the month Unfortunately you've used all of your gifts this month. Your counter will reset on the first day of next month.
A best-selling author, a Missouri farmer and an unexpected love story
New subscriber benefit! Copied to clipboard Out of gifts for the month Unfortunately you've used all of your gifts this month. Your counter will reset on the first day of next month. Share this article paywall-free Email Copy Link Prefer us on Google Facebook Twitter Bluesky WhatsApp SMS Email Print Save As a 23-year-old business consultant, Soman Chainani knew he was in trouble. He spent most of his time at work hiding in his cubicle, ignoring spreadsheets and writing stories.
A best-selling author, a Missouri farmer and an unexpected love story
New subscriber benefit! Copied to clipboard Out of gifts for the month Unfortunately you've used all of your gifts this month. Your counter will reset on the first day of next month. Share this article paywall-free Email Copy Link Prefer us on Google Facebook Twitter Bluesky WhatsApp SMS Email Print Save As a 23-year-old business consultant, Soman Chainani knew he was in trouble. He spent most of his time at work hiding in his cubicle, ignoring spreadsheets and writing stories.
A wedding ring’s unexpected river journey
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By Aisha Sultan A father and his teenage son hesitated on a rocky ledge, peering at the clear blue water flowing out of a limestone cave into the cold, spring-fed Current River. Michael Hamtil, 55, looked at his 13-year-old son, tilted his head and smiled. They could do this. “OK, ready. One, two, three!” he counted down.
How a South County playroom owner built a global following
New subscriber benefit! Copied to clipboard Out of gifts for the month Unfortunately you've used all of your gifts this month. Your counter will reset on the first day of next month. Share this article paywall-free Email Copy Link Prefer us on Google Facebook Twitter Bluesky WhatsApp SMS Email Print Save SOUTH COUNTY — A young mom runs a homey, South County playroom for babies and toddlers, and her videos about the business have attracted millions of fans across the world.
COLUMNIST: A Wedding Ring's Unexpected River Journey
A father and his teenage son hesitated on a rocky ledge, peering at the clear blue water flowing out of a limestone cave into the cold, spring-fed Current River. Michael Hamtil, 55, looked at his 13-year-old son, tilted his head and smiled. They could do this. “OK, ready. One, two, three!” he counted down. They threw their arms up, held their noses and jumped into the 56-degree river, which felt even colder with a heat index in the Ozarks above 100 degrees.
A wedding ring's unexpected river journey
A father and his teenage son hesitated on a rocky ledge, peering at the clear blue water flowing out of a limestone cave into the cold, spring-fed Current River. Michael Hamtil, 55, looked at his 13-year-old son, tilted his head and smiled. Click for the latest, full-access Enid News & Eagle headlines | Text Alerts | app downloads ** The News & Eagle has traditionally published personal opinions of writers and readers through editorials, columns and letters to the editor on its Opinion Page.
Aisha Sultan: Making peace with a life of contradictions
ST. LOUIS -- Cynthia Changyit Levin first noticed her mom’s political views shifting in 2008 when Barack Obama won the presidency. Levin lived in Chicago at the time, while her mother, Lazette, lived in Oklahoma. The change surprised Levin. She had grown up in Minnesota, where her mom voted for Walter Mondale in 1984, the only state the Democratic presidential candidate carried in his landslide loss.
Sultan: Why are ads for an abortion ban talking about trans surgeries?
Aisha Sultan | Post-Dispatch Columnist and features writer Author email New subscriber benefit! Copied to clipboard Out of gifts for the month Unfortunately you've used all of your gifts this month. Your counter will reset on the first day of next month.
Sultan: Hockey moms lead effort for accountability
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By Aisha Sultan Hockey moms, lifelong fans and sexual assault survivors say they feel betrayed by the St. Louis Blues’ decision to sign a player previously charged in a violent sexual assault case. Two moms started a petition, which now has more than 8,000 signatures, urging the team to release Dillon Dube, who was acquitted of charges in 2025 along with four other Hockey Canada players by a judge in Ontario.
A wedding ring vanished in the Current River. It meant more than anyone realized.
New subscriber benefit! Copied to clipboard Out of gifts for the month Unfortunately you've used all of your gifts this month. Your counter will reset on the first day of next month. Share this article paywall-free Email Copy Link Prefer us on Google Facebook Twitter Bluesky WhatsApp SMS Email Print Save A father and his teenage son hesitated on a rocky ledge peering at the clear blue water flowing out of a limestone cave into the cold, spring-fed Current River.
COLUMNIST: Hockey Moms lead effort for accountability
Hockey moms, lifelong fans and sexual assault survivors say they feel betrayed by the St. Louis Blues’ decision to sign a player previously charged in a violent sexual assault case. Two moms started a petition, which now has more than 8,000 signatures, urging the team to release Dillon Dube, who was acquitted of charges in 2025 along with four other Hockey Canada players by a judge in Ontario. Bridget Gunn, 43, of Crestwood, says the acquittal doesn’t tell the whole story.
Parents talk back: Hockey moms lead effort for accountability
Hockey moms, lifelong fans and sexual assault survivors say they feel betrayed by the St. Louis Blues' decision to sign a player previously charged in a violent sexual assault case. Two moms started a petition, which now has more than 8,000 signatures, urging the team to release Dillon Dube, who was acquitted of charges in 2025 along with four other Hockey Canada players by a judge in Ontario. Bridget Gunn, 43, of Crestwood, says the acquittal doesn't tell the whole story.
Hockey moms lead effort for accountability
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By Aisha Sultan Hockey moms, lifelong fans and sexual assault survivors say they feel betrayed by the St. Louis Blues’ decision to sign a player previously charged in a violent sexual assault case. Two moms started a petition, which now has more than 8,000 signatures, urging the team to release Dillon Dube, who was acquitted of charges in 2025 along with four other Hockey Canada players by a judge in Ontario.
Sultan: Court should allow League back in to register new voters
Aisha Sultan | Post-Dispatch Columnist and features writer Author email New subscriber benefit! Copied to clipboard Out of gifts for the month Unfortunately you've used all of your gifts this month. Your counter will reset on the first day of next month. Share this article paywall-free Email Copy Link Prefer us on Google Facebook Twitter Bluesky WhatsApp SMS Email Print Save A big reason Victoria Turner wanted to become a U.S. citizen was so she could vote.
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