Midday

A Baltimore jury deliberated for 13 hours over the course of four days this week and found a teenager guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the death of Timothy Reynolds, a 48 year old engineer from Hampden, who threatened a group of squeegee workers in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor last summer. WYPR’s  Wambui Kamau  covered the trial and joins Tom to discuss the latest. Email us at midday@wypr.org, twee...

Israel has been rocked by protests and strikes after Monday’s vote in the Knesset that diminished the authority of the Supreme Court.  Many people fear that this will lead to a true constitutional crisis , and the end of checks and balances in Israeli governance. President Joe Biden has criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right government. What will these actions mean...

The Baltimore Orioles have excited fans and lit up Major League baseball with a roster chock-full of terrific young talent. Adam Jones was one of the young talents in the big leagues 20 years ago when he was drafted by the Seattle Mariners. He was a fan favorite during his ten years with the Orioles, even during seasons when the team struggled. Adam Jones joins Tom today along with his co-pilot on...

It's time for another visit with Midday  theater critic   J. Wynn Rousuck , who joins us each week with her reviews of the mid-Atlantic regional stage.“ The Code Switch ,” a Sisters Freehold Production , continues at the Theatre Project through July 30. So, what does the term “code switching” means to this production? Playwright Shakill Jamal uses a range of techniques that depart from conventiona...

Alysia Lee  is a musician and activist who was appointed President of the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund in 2022. The establishment of the fund was championed by Mayor Jack Young eight years ago. In 2016, Baltimore voters passed a referendum calling for three cents of every $100 of assessed property value in the City to be spent on programs for young people. In 2017, a task force was formed to...

More than six and a half million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease, a debilitating and incurable illness. It robs people of their memory and their thinking skills, and ultimately leads to the inability to perform basic tasks. Using the Accelerated Approval Pathway, the Food and Drug Administration approved a drug called lecanemab, sold as Leqembi, which has slowed the progression of the di...

Two members of the Baltimore City Council join Tom to discuss issues affecting our city. Councilmember Eric Costello  represents the 11th District in central west Baltimore, while  Councilmember Phylicia Porter  represents District 10 in south Baltimore. What did the Council learn in its hearing on the city’s response to the mass shooting at the Brooklyn Homes, and what further information do they...

Midday  talks education with guests  Dr. Myriam Yarbrough , the Superintendent of Baltimore County Schools and  Dr. Michael Martirano , the Superintendent of Howard County Schools. School systems across the state and around the country are confronting a teacher shortage, declining test scores, and the challenge of keeping students and teachers safe. We discuss how Baltimore and Howard County are s...

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott  joins Tom to discuss the nomination of Interim Police Chief Richard Worley to be the permanent chief of the BPD. He opted against a national search, instead tapping a local cop with more than two decades of experience in the department. Worley was candid about the failings of the agency in preventing the horrific shooting at the Brooklyn Homes earlier this month. We...

Today on Midday, a musical treat; three vocalists from the acclaimed gospel ensemble, the Legendary Ingramettes . They are giving a concert tonight at the Creative Alliance in Baltimore, and they’ve been kind enough to stop by with preview. Baltimore is one stop on a multi-city tour. In years past, they have performed at some of the most prestigious concert halls in the country, including Lincoln...

It's time again for a visit with Midday theater critic  J. Wynn Rousuck ,  who joins Tom each week with her reviews of Maryland-DC's regional stage. This week, we discuss "What Was Done," showing at Spotlighters Theatre. (Photo from Machpe Photography) Email us at midday@wypr.org, tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.

Today on Midday, a look at foreign affairs. President Joe Biden has been applauded for a successful NATO Summit in Lithuania last week. He secured additional military aid for Ukraine, and negotiated the thorny issue of when Ukraine will be admitted as a member of the Alliance. Sweden took a huge step in the process of becoming a NATO member after Turkey dropped its opposition. Sweden’s inclusion i...

A year ago,  a squeegee worker shot and killed Timothy Reynolds , a motorist from Hampden, after an altercation near the inner harbor in downtown Baltimore. Reynolds is alleged to have confronted a group of squeegee workers with a baseball bat before he was shot, The trial of the alleged assailant, who was a day away from his 15th birthday at the time of the incident, began yesterday. A jury was s...

We started this program with a brief  announcement . Starting in August, Craig Swagler will become the new General Manager and President of Your Public Radio. He joins our organization after 22 years at CBS Audio and Radio. Following this brief announcement, Tom begins a conversation about the future of Social Security and if it is running out of money. Can seniors count on the promise that has be...

It's time for another visit with  Midday  theater critic   J. Wynn Rousuck , who joins us each week with her reviews of the mid-Atlantic regional stage. The Contemporary American Theater festival is at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, W.V., until July 30. This new festival tends to produce tough, edgy plays. Is that the case again this year? Are there any common themes? Email us at midday@wyp...

Two theater artists are attempting to revive something of a summer theater tradition here in Baltimore, Shakespeare’s plays in outdoor venues. The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company  will present the bard’s wonderful comedy, "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" at four Baltimore parks this month in a series they’re calling “Shakespeare Beyond.” Seamus Miller  is the Associate Director of the production.  Annie...

Baltimore is one of a dozen cities across the country that have  re-instated youth curfews as a strategy to reduce crime . As the city discovered two weeks ago at the Brooklyn Homes, enforcing curfews is no easy matter. In what is likely the worst mass shooting in the city’s history at a crowded block party, 11 girls and 9 boys under the age of 18 were injured. 18-year-old Aaliyah Gonzales was kil...

Today on Midday Healthwatch with Dr. Leana Wen, we discuss the latest on the plan for COVID vaccines this fall, the upside of artificial intelligence in health care, and how to be ready for a visit the emergency room. Dr. Wen is one of America’s most trusted and knowledgeable public health experts, and we are grateful that she has been a regular guest on our show for many years. In 2019, she was i...

We begin with the latest in the investigation into the shooting at the Brooklyn Homes over the July 4 weekend that left two people dead and 28 others, mostly teenagers, injured. A 17-year-old is being held without bond in connection to the shooting, after video of him allegedly pulling a gun out of a backpack surfaced on social media. The teenager’s lawyers says the gun was a toy. The Baltimore Su...

Last month, in a landmark case   Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College   the Supreme Court effectively abolished affirmative action in college admissions. Race based consideration in admissions have been illegal in California for decades. Eight other states have also banned race consideration at public universities, but now, it is the law of the entire land...

Something magic has indeed been happening at Camden Yards this season, and in major league parks throughout North America, wherever the Baltimore Orioles are playing. After several long, arduous years of “re-building” the Os have performed like their teams of yesteryear that longtime fans remember with such wistful affection. The O's are in second place, just two games behind the AL East leader, t...

Police investigating the largest mass shooting in Baltimore’s history say there is evidence that as many as 12 different guns were fired in a large crowd that had gathered at the Brooklyn homes early Sunday morning, July 2. One arrest has been made. The 17 year old suspect is being held without bail, but he has not been charged with shooting anybody. 20 year-old Kylis Fagbemi and Aaliyah Gonzalez,...

A controversy is growing over equipment that BGE wants to install around homes throughout Baltimore City that will regulate natural gas pressure. The equipment, which the company has already installed at homes in several Baltimore neighborhoods, is, according to BGE, necessary for safety. In a lawsuit filed against the company, hundreds of area residents disagree. A temporary restraining order hal...

Jane Delury is a local author who garnered prizes for her first novel and many short stories. Her new novel, Hedge , is a pick for summer reading by Oprah Daily and People magazine. Delury is scheduled to speak at Greedy Reads in Remington tomorrow night, in conversation with author Mary Kay Zuravleff. The event starts at 7:00. Email us at midday@wypr.org, tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-...

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 for the Washington  Post. This month they discuss Tom Cruise and the summer blockbuster season, the death of actor Alan Arkin and popular films on streaming services. Also, we discus...