On The Record

It’s been seven weeks since the Port of Baltimore reopened.  More than 50,000 tons of debris blocked the shipping channel after the cargo ship Dali collided with the Key Bridge on March 26th. Six construction workers died in the bridge’s collapse.  Where is cargo volume today? Has the port been able to retain customers? We ask Jonathan Daniels , executive director of the Maryland Port Administrati...

Completed in 1977, the Francis Scott Key Bridge was an iconic fixture in Baltimore’s horizon. Its collapse at 1:28 a.m. March 26th took the lives of six maintenance-crew workers and tore apart a vital link connecting the region. What will the bridge’s replacement look like? Hayes Gardner is an enterprise reporter for The Baltimore Sun. He’s been covering the Key Bridge collapse and clean-up and th...

For many, the memorable element of the singing group The Mamas and the Papas was Cass Elliot’s clear contralto. Cass Elliot was born Ellen Naomi Cohen in Baltimore in 1941, attended Forest Park High School in Northwest Baltimore, and left high school six weeks before graduation to find her show business fortune in New York. She was 32 when she died of a heart attack in London after a brilliant run...

Here's a Stoop Story from Susan Kim about surviving childhood embarrassment … and living to tell about it! Find more information about the Stoop Storytelling Series - including live events coming soon, and the Stoop podcast - at Stoopstorytelling.com Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/he...

On Sunday, President Biden ended his bid for reelection with just over 100 days until Election Day. His endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris is historic; she is the first Black woman and Asian-American person to lead a major party ticket.  What does this decision mean for President Biden's legacy and the remainder of his term? What do Democrats and Republicans need to do to cement voters' s...

Vice President Kamala Harris is the Democratic party’s likely nominee for president. We speak with Natasha Murphy Chief of Staff for Black Girls Vote, a nonpartisan nonprofit focused on outreach to young Black women. She talks about the wave of renewed momentum by young voters, and some of the concerns Black women have for the potential campaigning ahead. Links: Black Girls Vote , Baltimore Votes...

Do you ever wonder about who produced the food you enjoy each day? Lindsey Jacobs, Ms. Agvocate USA , wants the public to better understand the farmer to table connection. We learn more in a visit to her Church View Farm. Links: Ms. Agvocate USA , Church View Farm , Cow Week on Maryland Public TV. Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Se...

Here's a Stoop Story from Geoffrey Danek,  about the bond that can grow between man and beast. Find more information about the Stoop Storytelling Series -- including live events happening soon, and the Stoop podcast -- at Stoopstorytelling.com   Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/her...

It’s hard to know where to turn for financial advice, and recent changes and challenges to federal student loan forgiveness and repayment programs have added another layer of complexity.  We speak with Tisa Silver Canady , founder of the Maryland Center for Collegiate Financial Wellness . The MCCFW is holding a virtual symposium on July 23rd. Registration information here . Links: Federal Student...

Getting students ready for college or a career is one of five pillars of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future , the ambitious, expensive ten-year project to make the Free State’s public schools as good as any in the world. We get a progress report from chancellor emeritus of the University System of Maryland William ‘Brit’ Kirwan . He led the effort that created the Blueprint and serves as vice cha...

Here's a Stoop Story from Jay Herzog  about surviving the hazards of theater … and still having the career to tell about it! Visit Stoop Storytelling.com for information, including live events and the Stoop podcast. Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers mharvie@wypr.org 410-235-190...

For two decades ArtsCentric has offered their theater audiences storytelling through an African American lens. “The Scottsboro Boys” is their latest: a tumultuous tale of nine Black teens falsely accused of a heinous crime -- told through the power of music. We get a preview from artistic director and director, Kevin McAllister and Angelo Harrington II , who is featured in a leading role as Haywoo...

Making sure every Maryland school teaches reading with a science-backed approach. Holding schools accountable for test scores. Improving transparency. Maryland’s new state superintendent of schools, has big plans to support local school districts. We ask Dr. Carey Wright   about her vision for educational progress. Links: Maryland state schools superintendent Carey Wright starts full four-year ter...

Catharine Deitch shares a Stoop story about her service in World War II as a Women's Army Auxiliary Corps member.  The next Stoop show is July 18th, with stories of mistaken identity at the Green Room in Baltimore. Check out the Stoop Storytelling Series podcast for more true tales. Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervisin...

In her latest historical novel, "The Last Twelve Miles," Annapolis author Erika Robuck reaches back a hundred years to Prohibition, and traces the struggle between two determined women: a federal codebreaker and the smuggler she aimed to catch. Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers...

The fear of falling can sap a person’s ability to stave off a fall. We talk to Dr. Kelly Westlake from the Claude D. Pepper Center at the University of Maryland School of Medicine who is testing how to reduce the fear. And to Dr. Jason Falvey , director of the Center for Disability Justice, whose research probes the inequities of rehabilitation and how to improve rehab access and support. If you'd...

If you’re banged up in a car crash somewhere in the Free State or if you’re shot on the street, chances are you’ll be transported quickly -- maybe by helicopter -- to the R Adams Cowley Shock-Trauma Center at the University of Maryland . The sixty-five hundred badly injured patients admitted there each year get the highest level of trauma care in the U.S. But even though it’s the heart of Maryland...

Here's a Stoop Story from Jenn Silverman about using data to your benefit AND how to maximize exposure to all of the great meals on offer in Charm City. The next live Stoop event takes place in less than three weeks! On Thursday, July 18 -- with the theme “Mistaken Identity: Stories about Disguises, Spy Games, and Mix-ups!”   Musical guests ‘The Bayberries’ will start at 7:00 pm; the storytellers...

Data is power. And it takes skill to use data effectively and equitably. Bloomberg Philanthropies’ ‘ City Data Alliance’ has trained hundreds of municipal leaders in capturing, sharing and using data. Some are in Baltimore now -- What are they learning and why? James Anderson , head of Government Innovation programming, talks us through the process Do you have a question or comment about a show or...

The pharmaceutical company Allergan will pay the city of Baltimore $45 million dollars to resolve claims surrounding Allergan’s role in the nationwide opioid crisis. The settlement - announced earlier this month - will be paid out in the next two weeks, while litigation continues against other opioid manufacturers.  $5 million of the settlement will be directed to the nonprofit Charm City Care Con...

Baltimore is the overdose capital of the United States , according to detailed reporting by the Baltimore Banner and New York Times .  The death rate from 2018 to 2022 was nearly double that of any other large city in the country. Black men in their mid-50s to early 70s account for nearly one of out every three drug fatalities.  We speak with Alissa Zhu, a Baltimore Banner reporter and a New York...

It’s summer! Temps are high, school is out, pools are open, grills are stoked -- and the earth’s tilt is in place. What does ‘summer solstice’ mean, and is it really the longest day of the year? We ask Kelly Lepo , of Baltimore's Space Telescope Science Institute to break it down for us. Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Super...

Here’s a Stoop Story from Joe Wall about memories of summer camp and learning the truth about what lurks in the woods.   This Sunday, June 23 at 4 pm and 11pm we have a special hour of Stoop Storytelling . The theme is: ‘Turn It All the Way Up! Stories of LGBTQ Pride!’ Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Ma...

Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion. Even prior to the Dobbs decision, access was a challenge for abortion seekers. The Guttmacher Institute , a research organization that supports abortion rights, reports that the proportion of patients traveling out-of-state to obtain an abortion doubled from 2020 to 2023. Nearly one in five patients cross state lines t...

It's been two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and declared that the Constitution does not grant a right to abortion.  Meanwhile, Maryland voters will have a chance in November to enshrine abortion rights through an amendment to the state constitution. And a new statewide program will train more health care professionals to provide abortion care. The $10.6 million state-fu...