Midday

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott  joins Tom to discuss this year's decrease in homicides, housing initiatives from the city council and plans to reduce stolen vehicles and carjackings. Scott will also address the recent announcement of service suspension on the north-south light rail line. Email us at midday@wypr.org, tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.

It's time for another visit with  Midday  theater critic  J. Wynn Rousuck , who joins us each week with her reviews of the Maryland, DC and Virginia regional stage. We talk about The Hippodrome Theatre's production of  Moulin Rouge , on stage through Dec. 17 Email us at midday@wypr.org, tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.

Today is  Midday at the Movies,  our monthly focus on new films and film-industry trends, with our regular movie aficionados,  Jed Dietz,  founding director of the  Maryland Film Festival ,  and  Ann Hornaday , film critic and author. We discuss Ridley Scott's new historic epic,  Napoleon , as well as a couple topical movies for the holiday season. Email us at midday@wypr.org, tweet us: @MiddayWYP...

Dan Rodricks joins Midday today. He is a familiar face to longtime listeners. Rodricks hosted this show for 7 years, from 2008 to 2015. He joined the Evening Sun in 1979 and became a popular and award-winning reporter and columnist. His writing is insightful and imaginative on issues affecting Baltimore and beyond. Rodricks is also the author of three books, and two plays. The first play is called...

On today's show its Midday with the Mayor of Frederick,  Michael O’Connor . The city of Frederick and Frederick County are growing exponentially. According to analysis of census data by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, Frederick added nearly 13,000 residents between 2010 and 2020, a population increase that is second only to Alexandria, Virginia, during that period. This rapid g...

Midday presents another edition of What Hurts Today? This series is an homage to everyone who gets out there and works out and plays hard and gets moving and sometimes gets in a little trouble when muscles you didn’t know you had start making themselves known the old fashioned way: they hurt. So, we humbly ask, “What hurts today?,” and we encourage you to call us and let us know. And we are deligh...

A new book,  "City of Artists: Baltimore"  celebrates the vibrant, diverse, and multi-pronged literary and artistic community here in Baltimore. The editors of this beautiful and engaging book are  Cara Ober  and  Ed Berlin . Ober is the founder and publisher of  Bmore Art , a semi-annual print magazine and insightful web site that covers all things arts in the Baltimore metro area. Ed Berlin is t...

It is the Midday Healthwatch with Dr. Leana Wen, one of the most respected public health experts in the country. Dr. Leana Wen is a former health commissioner of Baltimore. She is a columnist on health matters for the Washington Post, a medical expert on CNN, a scholar at George Washington University and a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution. On Friday, the CDC issued a warning that “...

It's time for another visit with  Midday  theater critic  J. Wynn Rousuck , who joins Tom Hall each week with her reviews of the Maryland-DC-Virginia regional stage. This week she reviews “ Fat Ham ,” which is based on the Shakespearian classic "Hamlet." This version of the story, however, unfolds at a barbecue in North Carolina. “ Fat Ham ,” continues at the Studio Theatre in Washington through J...

The Poulenc Trio , who is internationally recognized for their classical and contemporary chamber music, dropped by Midday in advance of their upcoming Candlelight Concert performance at The Peale Musuem. Two members of the trio, pianist Irina Kaplan Lande and bassoonist Bryan Young, joined Tom to give a glimpse of what audiences can expect tomorrow. The Poulenc Trio will perform  December 2nd at...

Last week, a ten-year-old Maryland law regarding licensing requirements for handguns was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. On the same day, a judge in Oregon struck down a law that would have prohibited high-capacity magazines in addition to requiring background checks and training to obtain gun permits. What do these rulings indicate for gun regulation...

According to the Federal Reserve, over the last decade, the amount of student debt carried by Americans has jumped up 66% to more than $1.77 trillion. Borrowers in Maryland are estimated to have the highest average amount of debt at nearly $40,000 per person. On October 1, 2023,  a three-year hiatus from loan payment due to the pandemic ended . There is great uncertainty surrounding the new rules...

Today it’s  Midday in the Neighborhood and  we’re going to check-in with our colleagues from  The Baltimore Banner.  First, we talk with Jasmine Vaughn-Hall and Councilwoman Phylicia Porter about development in South Baltimore. Next, we hear from Clara Longo de Freitas and Misty Fae about erosion and storm repair in Herring Run Park. Tom wraps up the show with Daniel Zawodny and his exploration of...

Baltimore City Police Commissioner  Richard Worley  joins Midday. He joined the department in 1998, rising in the ranks from patrol officer in the Western District to Sergeant in the Southwest district, Lieutenant and then Captain in the Northern District, to Lt. Colonel. In 2018, Mr. Worley was promoted to the rank of Colonel, and appointed Chief of Patrol. He became Chief of Detectives in 2021,...

Tom's guest is Dr. Joy Buolamwini, her ground-breaking work in the field of artificial intelligence led her to form an organization called the Algorithmic Justice Leage, with which she leads the crusade against the harms of AI.   Dr. Joy has just published a book that tells her remarkable story and elucidates how she came to understand the shortcomings and dangers of AI.   The book is a clarion ca...

On today's show, a conversation about the New York Times, one of the world’s most singular and powerful journalistic enterprises. Adam Nagourney joined the Times in 1996, and served as the chief political correspondent in Washington, D.C., and as the Los Angeles Bureau Chief. He now covers national politics.   Nagourney captures with exquisite detail and insight the triumphs and the tumult of the...

It’s the  What Ya' Got Cookin'?  Thanksgiving edition, a beloved tradition here on  Midday,  going all the way back to 2016. Tom talks with   John Shields, owner of  Gertrude's  at the Baltimore Museum of Art and Damian Mosely of  Blacksauce Kitchen . The two chefs talk with Tom and the Midday callers about cooking tips and food faux pas for folks preparing tomorrow's big meal. We also get a speci...

A Thanksgiving Day nap may be part of your turkey day tradition, but for many people sleep is a challenge. In 2020, the CDC reported that at least 15% of Americans had trouble falling asleep. Today on Midday, we tackle the problem of insomnia. We welcome back  Dr. Jade Wu . She is a board-certified behavioral sleep medicine specialist at the Duke University School of Medicine, and the author of a...

Tom speaks with novelist Alice McDermott about her latest novel, " Absolution ." The story is set in Vietnam in the earliest days of the war and explores the lives of the American military wives. The book places at its center a young woman, newly married, living in an unfamiliar place, submerged in an unfamiliar milieu of military personnel, consultants and contractors. It is an intimate portrait...

It's time for another visit with Midday theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck , who joins Tom Hall each week with her reviews of the Maryland-DC-Virginia regional stage. Today, Judy tells us about the current revival of the Tony Award-winning 1966 Broadway musical, Sweet Charity, brought to The Motor House stage by the new Bmore Broadway Live drama troupe. With book by Neil Simon , music by Cy Coleman an...

A few weeks ago, the Baltimore Orioles and the Maryland Stadium Authority announced a “Memorandum of Understanding” that would extend the team’s lease at Camden Yards and provide state money for redevelopment of the area around the stadium. And, last week, plans to reimagine another Baltimore landmark, Harborplace , were announced by local developer David Bramble of MCB Real Estate. Tom's next gue...

It’s the Midday Newswrap .   Since last spring, when a viral TikTok video showed thieves how to steal Kia and Hyundai cars in less than a minute, the rate of auto thefts in Baltimore has exponentially outpaced neighboring jurisdictions, and cities like Philadelphia and Washington, DC. This week, the Baltimore Banner , the not-for-profit online news platform, has published a series of articles that...

Today on our show, it’s Midday on Pets ! Dr. Lisa Gerity joins us once again with answers to all your concerns about our beloved critters. If you have questions about caring for your cat or dog or any other pet, give us a call at 410.662.8780 , or email us at midday@wypr.org. Dr. Gerity serves as medical director and part-time veterinarian at the Greater Annapolis Veterinary Hospital. She joins us...

Joining Tom now is the wonderful, award-winning poet Grace Cavalieri . She was appointed Maryland's poet laureate in 2018, a post she will leave later this month. And, for more than 40 years, she’s been the host of The Poet and the Poem , first on public radio, now a podcast from the Library of Congress. She has a new collection of poems, some new, and some previously published. It’s called The Lo...

Today, another installment of Midday on Higher Education , our continuing series of conversations with the leaders of Maryland's colleges and universities.   Tom's guest is Dr. Julia Jasken . She came to McDaniel College in Maryland's Carroll County as an English teacher in 2003. In 2021, she was selected as the college’s 10th President, becoming the second woman in MacDaniel's 156-year history to...