Midday

Midday theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck spotlights 'Santa Claus is Comin': A Motown Christmas Revue' at Baltimore Center Stage through January 4.

Baltimore City Police Commissioner Richard Worley was named the city's top cop in 2023, after many years working in the department.

Pulitzer prize-winning novelist Elizabeth Strout's latest book engages characters both familiar and new, as the author explores human relationships and the value of unnoticed, 'unrecorded' lives.

Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalists Aaron Davis and Carol Leonnig discuss their probe into Trump's decade-long efforts to subvert the DOJ, and the nation's rule of law.

MD Hunger Solution director LaMonika Jones discusses efforts to reduce the disturbingly high rates of poverty and food insecurity in Maryland, one of the nation's wealthiest states.

Student Support Network founder Laurie Mitchell-Taylor describes how the 10-year-old non-profit assists needy Baltimore County students with donated food, clothing, school supplies and other support through programs in 21 schools.

Dr. Leana Wen is former health commissioner for Baltimore City, and is now a regular columnist on health news at the Washington Post.

Midday theatre critic J. Wynn Rousuck joins Tom for another of her weekly reviews of the Baltimore regional stage, and today she tells us about Juxtapose | A Theatrical Shadow Box, the latest offering from the creative ensemble known as Happenstance Theatre, on stage at Baltimore's Theatre Project December 4 – 21. In Juxtapose, the lives of a group of eccentrics co-existing in a magical-realist te...

It's Midday at the Movies, our monthly look at films and filmmaking. Joining Tom in Studio A is our favorite movie maven, Jed Dietz, the founder and former director of the Maryland Film Festival. He and Tom take a look at the current crop of Hollywood releases and consider some of our favorite Christmas-season movies, from It's a Wonderful Life to Elf, and of course, Tom's all-time fave, Love, Act...

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott joins Midday to discuss his 10-year plan for the city's coffers and renewed tensions with State's Attorney Ivan Bates over anti-violence initiatives. Yesterday, Scott released a 10-years Financial Plan for the city that aims to improve delivery of city services, invest in infrastructure, and make its tax rate more competitive with surrounding jurisdictions. From the c...

Funds from the American Rescue Plan Act were intended to keep the economy afloat during the COVID-19 lockdown. Baltimore received 631 million dollars, which could be spent on paying essential workers, disaster relief, infrastructure or in response to other negative consequences of the pandemic. 83 percent of those funds have been spent as of November 2025, according to Mayor's Office of Recovery P...

Big changes are coming to Midday. After hosting the program for the past 10 years, Tom decided it is time to step down from the host chair and transition into a new role here at WYPR. Here is his on-air statement from today's episode: I want to let you know about some changes here at Midday that will take place in the next couple of months. It has been my great honor and privilege to host this pro...

Dr. Michelle Taylor is from Memphis, Tennessee, where she previously ran the region's public health department.

Ivan Bates has long been a critic of MONSE, the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement.

The National Aquarium is approaching a half century on Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Retiring CEO John Racanelli joins us to discuss what comes next.

Ernestina Simmons, Director of the Mayor's Office of Homeless Services, joins us to discuss her agency's efforts to provide shelter and resources for the growing numbers of unhoused in Baltimore.

At President Donald Trump’s insistence, the legal apparatus of the US government has been employed to aggressively pursue his political enemies. James Comey, Letitia James, and John Bolton have been indicted. A judge threw out the charges against the former FBI director and the New York Attorney General, but their legal entanglements with the president are not yet over. Senators Adam Schiff and Ma...

For twenty-five years, an organization started by a former star player for the Baltimore Orioles has been helping individuals with autism and their families. BJ Surhoff played for the Os from 1996–2000 and again from 2003–2005. In 2000, with his wife, Polly, he founded Pathfinders for Autism. Public perceptions of those with autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, have changed over...

John Shields and Damian Mosely, two of Baltimore's most successful chefs, join Tom in Studio A to share favorite Thanksgiving recipes and answer listener questions about fixing the big holiday meal.

We begin today with another Midday on the Environment. The United Nations international climate conference known as COP30 was held earlier this month (Nov. 10-21). Politicians, diplomats, business leaders and climate activists from more than 190 countries met in Belem, Brazil, at the gateway to the Amazon rain forest, and at the end of another year of record heat and extreme weather that scientist...

Tom's next guest is the best-selling Indian-American novelist, Megha Majumdar. Born in Kolkata, India, she moved to the U.S. for her education. She studied at Harvard, and received a graduate degree from Johns Hopkins University. Her first novel, A Burning, was published in 2020. It was nominated for the National Book Award, and several other prestigious awards, and it was chosen as a best book of...

Today on Midday, helping families get along at big holiday gatherings like Thanksgiving and throughout the year. Tom's guest is Dr. Thomas Swisher. He’s an emeritus professor at Stevenson University, a counselor, an attorney, and a mediator who has written a book that explores the ways families operate, and offers tips on coping with conflicts. It’s called Family Dynamics: Transforming the Hidden...

A man between the ages of 30 and 40 was found dead in Frederick County last week, according to news site Maryland Matters . He apparently died of weather-related causes, which marks the first reported cold-related death of the season. Last year, 75 people died because of the cold. According to state data, that is the most in five years. How can you prepare yourself and your loved ones for winter w...

It's time for another of Midday theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck's weekly reviews of the Baltimore regional stage. Earlier this week, she joined Tom in the studio to spotlight the new production of Horton Foote's The Trip to Bountiful, now on stage at Baltimore's Arena Players. The play tells the story of Carrie Watts, an elderly woman living alone in a cramped Houston apartment who nostalgically de...

Midday guest host and WYPR news director Matt Bush turns now turn to the world of Orioles baseball and a head-spinning player trade that occurred earlier this week. Grayson Rodriguez, long considered the team's top pitching prospect, was traded away to the Los Angeles Angels, in return for Angels' outfielder Taylor Ward. The reaction from fans pinged between confusion, disbelief, disappointment an...