Future City on WYPR

On this month's episode of Future City we are talking about the future of infrastructure. What does infrastructure mean in the 21st century, and how are cities like Baltimore improving today's and building tomorrow's infrastructure?  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this month’s episode of Future City we’re looking at the arts here in Baltimore. Where do the arts, including music, film, photography, poetry, dance and much more, fit into the future of the city, especially after the arts and entertainment industries were hit so hard by COVID-19? And how have artists mobilized to support one another during the pandemic? See omnystudio.com/listener...

On the latest episode of Future City we’re talking about the future of philanthropy. We'll hear about the state of philanthropy in Baltimore and the U.S., how people are responding to critiques of traditional philanthropy, and where land and economic reparations fit into the push for racial and economic justice. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The annual number of homicides in Baltimore surpassed 300 for each year from 2015 to 2020. Young people have been at the forefront of the city’s violence. On this month’s episode of Future City, a rebroadcast from 2019, we discuss violence in Baltimore, how it affects young people in particular, and efforts to end cycles of retaliatory homicide through violence interruption. We also li...

Earlier this month a mostly white mob raided the Capitol, vandalizing the building, threatening to kill members of Congress and then-Vice President Mike Pence, and attacking police officers, killing one. The deadly attack was driven not just by Donald Trump’s lies about a stolen election but by years' worth of misinformation, conspiracy theories, and the increase of white supremacist organiz...

Dante Barksdale, a leader of the violence-prevention program Safe Streets, was shot to death on Sunday in East Baltimore. Barksdale, who was also known as "Tater," dedicated the last decade of his life to mediating conflicts, doing critical neighborhood outreach, and reducing homicides in Baltimore. Here is Future City's 2019 conversation with Dante Barksdale. See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...

COVID-19 has changed the way we gather, moving much of our social, work, and communal lives online. People are using the internet for things like doctors’ appointments and religious services, and countless institutions have had to quickly adapt to deal with the new reality. But getting online isn’t always so easy, especially in a city like Baltimore, where many residents lack access to...

It’s been two weeks since Election Day, when a record breaking number of people voted in the midst of a pandemic. On today’s Future City we assess the national and local races and ask what lessons they can teach us about elections and ballot access moving forward. We discuss how election officials pivoted to create safer voting opportunities, the fight to make voting more accessible for currently...

The affordable housing crisis has wreaked havoc on Baltimoreans for decades, and the economic fallout from the coronavirus has only exacerbated the problem. On this month's episode of Future City we're exploring how COVID-19 is affecting housing in Baltimore and beyond. We discuss the disproportionate impact on Black and Latinx Baltimoreans, including the ways that some immigrants have been left o...

The new school year has started and students, parents, teachers, school staff and administrators across the country are dealing with the uncertainty of education during a global health pandemic. On this month's Future City, we discuss how COVID-19 is shaping education, how schools in Baltimore and around the country are rolling out virtual instruction and how digital and racial inequity are exacer...

The killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor by Minneapolis and Louisville police sparked protests around the globe. A Black-led, multiracial, multicity movement has arisen demanding changes to policing in the U.S. and demanding a recognition that Black lives matter. But what kind of changes are they talking about? What reforms are already underway in cities like Baltimore? Does reform go far e...

This month on Future City we discuss COVID-19. As states like Maryland begin to loosen restrictions and re-open businesses, we check in with public health officials about the implications of that, plus how they rate the responses from Baltimore, Maryland, and the U.S. so far. Plus we hear how other jurisdictions across the globe are reacting to coronavirus, and learn about how volunteers, activist...

Food insecurity is rampant in Baltimore, with nearly a quarter of the city's residents struggling to acquire healthy, affordable food. On this month's episode of Future City, we discuss why food insecurity persists in one of the wealthiest states in the country, and how local urban farmers, religious leaders, and advocates are fighting for food justice in the city. See omnystudio.com/listener for...

We discuss how trauma and PTSD shape people’s lives in Baltimore and beyond, and how activists, service providers, educators, and government agencies are using knowledge of trauma to change the city. We learn about legislation mandating that city agencies use trauma-informed practices when delivering services, find out where trauma fits into peace and reconciliation on an international scale in pl...

Schools in Baltimore City have struggled over the years, and face a potential sixty million dollar budget shortfall in 2021. Meanwhile lawmakers are debating whether or not to fully fund the recommendations of the Kirwan Commission. On this episode of Future City we ask what it’s going to take to make Baltimore City schools the best that they can be and how to pay for changes to Maryland's educati...

In a year when a mayor resigned over an ethics scandal, many in Baltimore are asking if the time is right for institutional changes to how the city government is run. On this episode of Future City, we’re looking at the history of the Baltimore city government and why it looks the way it does today. We explore how governments in other cities are set up differently, talk about the pros and cons of...

Erricka Bridgeford is a co-creator of Baltimore Ceasefire 365, an organization that seeks to end homicides in the city. The group organizes quarterly ceasefire weekends, asking Baltimoreans to handle conflict nonviolently while celebrating life and sharing resources. They also practice healing rituals at the sites of homicides and offer support to the surviving friends and families of homicide vic...

For the fifth year in a row, the annual number of homicides in Baltimore has surpassed 300. Young people have been at the forefront of the city’s violence. On this month’s episode of Future City, we discuss violence in Baltimore, how it affects young people in particular, gangs in the city and efforts to end cycles of retaliatory violence. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Baltimore is at the center of the lead crisis in the U.S., and generations of Baltimoreans have been poisoned by the heavy metal. How did lead exposure become such a drastic problem here in Baltimore? And how can the city deal with lead poisoning in a lasting and comprehensive way? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over 3.4 billion people use social media, but with privacy concerns and accusations of false information – what’s the future of internet use? New social media sites are emerging pitching authenticity and transparency, but are consumers willing to make the switch to new platforms? Wes discusses media, marketing strategies, and the future of the internet on this episode. See omnystudio.com/listener...

Here in Maryland, there are nearly 4,000 children in foster care. With so many children in need, how do we ensure a future where children, parents, and foster parents are all provided with the best possible care? Wes discusses interracial adoption, foster parents, biological parents, and the emotional realities of this complex system. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the highest imprisonment rate in the world, the United States is long overdue to address the issue of mass incarceration. With 2.2 million people behind bars in this country, what have been the effects? Has our prison system worked? We’re looking to examples in Europe to learn more. Many European models focus on rehabilitation rather than retribution. While some here in the U.S. remain skepti...

When many of us think of the modern workplace, we start thinking about the images we’ve seen of Facebook and Google headquarters: open floorplans, fooseball tables, designer beanbag chairs. Maybe we don’t picture an office at all. Instead, we picture someone telecommuting from home in their pajamas. But do either of these images reflect the reality of the modern workplace? And what trends are emer...

We live in a society deeply invested in ownership. It’s been the classic way to gain, sustain, and grow family wealth. It’s been the mark of adulthood and stability. Ownership – of a car, of a house, of a phone, clothes - has been a ‘given’ for most of recent history. But will this remain the case? With the rise of the so-called sharing economy and the popularity of Marie Kondo-style minimalism, o...

The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that Every day, more than 130 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the total ----economic burden---- of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and crimina...