On The Record

It is news no one is prepared to receive. In 2015, artist Marcy Marxer got a call from her doctor. Marxer had breast cancer. The ups and downs of treatment, recovery, plus a lot of funny stuff in between, are captured in a new production called All Wigged Out: The Musical . Marxer and her wife and musical accomplice Cathy Fink take a candid, humorous and lyrical approach to the story of diagnosis,...

Climate change is real. But what do Americans really understand about it -- and about the best actions to combat it? We hear from researchers Prof. Michael Hanmer and Prof. Deb Niemeier about the results from a University of Maryland/Center for Democratic Engagement- Washington Post poll. What they learned may surprise you. Plus, psychotherapist Dr. Heidi Schreiber-Pan draws on the healing powers...

Finding treatment for mental illness or substance abuse is difficult: in-network providers who are accepting new patients are scarce. We ask psychiatrist Dr. Henry Harbin about  how to boost access to behavioral health care. Read the report: Equitable Access to Mental Health and Substance Use Care: An Urgent Need Then, finding drug treatment can be challenging. A community center in Elkton works 2...

Two new books bridge the years since the Civil War. Steve Inskeep , cohost of NPR's Morning Edition, writes of the cunning and affability of Abraham Lincoln. Avoiding the well-tread ground of Lincoln's story, Inskeep instead writes of the President's relationships with friends and family, critics and rivals. The book, Inskeep's fourth, is called in Differ We Must: How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divide...

There is a quiet epidemic sweeping through young people across the nation. By many markers, the mental health for adolescents and young adults is poor and getting worse. Mental health is a problem for many Americans, but we are focusing on the wellbeing of young people, particularly men. What can be done to help them lead happy, healthy lives in society? Andrew Reiner is a lecturer at Towson Unive...

BIG news for the Natural History Society of Maryland -- like, Mammoth-sized news. A Woolly Mammoth skeleton is headed here … with lectures and events preceding its arrival. We ask Prof. Charles Breeze and Prof. Hali Kilbourne about where it came from, and why some researchers hope to revive the species. Links:  Mammoth master classes at NHSM, upcoming Woolly Mammoth events at NHSM, Oct. 5 lecture...

Dance, music, colorful costumes! How is the Mexican folk dance group Bailes de Mi Tierra preserving cultural traditions and passing them onto younger generations? We speak with founder José Reyes.  The group is celebrating its 15th anniversary next month. You can see Bailes de Mi Tierra perform this Saturday at 2 pm at Hereford Public Library on York Road in Baltimore County. Find other performanc...

In her introduction to a 1996 edition of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , the author Toni Morrison wrote of efforts to ban the book from library shelves because of its offensive language. “It struck me as a purist, yet elementary, kind of censorship designed to appease adults rather than educate children," Morrison wrote. "Amputate the problem, band-aid the solution.” Morrison’s own b...

What is ‘Fringe’? Fancy trimmings that sparkle and shimmer? Or something ‘out there’ and edgy? Both concepts fit the Charm City Fringe Festival ! We hear from Fringe Fest lead Zach Michel, and from playwright Josh Wilder, to get a preview! Links: Charm City Fringe Festival, " Who Gave Sylvia the Bottle? " at CCFF, Playwrights Workshop,   Launch party at Le Mondo   Do you have a question or comment...

Orbiting a million miles from earth, The James Webb Space Telescope is humanity’s newest eye onto the cosmos. In its first year of exploration, the Webb telescope captured dazzling images of the universe—cosmic cliffs, ghostly nebulas and stars from the farthest reaches of the universe. What’s in store for the Webb telescope? Astrophysicist Macarena Garcia Marin is European Space Agency Instrument...

Here's a Stoop Story from Julie Mendez about playing the long game for love. You can find more information about the Stoop Storytelling Series - including upcoming live events 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/hers mharvie@wypr.org 410...

Carole Boston Weatherford , and her son, Jeffrey , team up to create an illustrated novel in verse. "Kin: Rooted in Hope," goes deep into a family’s history from slavery into liberty. The poems conjure many voices from as many perspectives--a powerful portrait shaped by enslavement and freedom. Links: Ivy Bookshop event Sat. Sept. 23 .  Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story ide...

The next step in Richard Worley’s path to being confirmed as Baltimore’s 41st police commissioner comes tonight, when the City Council’s Rules and Legislative Oversight Committee will consider his nomination. We speak with Justin Fenton, an investigative reporter at The Baltimore Banner , about Worley's proposed contract and his predecessor's legacy. Plus, what are residents of Central West Baltim...

Gov. Wes Moore, and several prominent legislators, have signaled that wind energy is an important part of Maryland's renewable energy goals. Last April, Moore signed the POWER Act at Tradepoint Atlantic , where several companies plan to build the parts needed for offshore wind turbines. The POWER Act established one of the nation’s most aggressive offshore wind goals, four times the offshore wind...

It may take years for people who were sexually abused as children to come to grips with what happened and decide how to move forward. Until now, if they were past age 38, Maryland law ruled out suing alleged abusers. What will be the effect of new law that wipes out the statute of limitations? The Child Victims Act of 2023 goes into effect on October 1st.  We speak with Delegate C.T. Wilson , who...

We  Pass the Mic to Diamonté Brown , Baltimore Teachers Union president. She and her guests, education associate Chris Patterson and Chicago Teachers Union president Stacy Davis Gates, discuss what it means to expand teacher advocacy and ‘ bargain for the common good.' What does it look like to bargain for things like better housing and healthcare that will benefit everyone inside and outside the...

Here's a Stoop Story from artist, historian and Lumbee tribe member Ashley Minner Jones about why her grandmother’s spirit stays with her to this day. You can hear her story and others 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/hers mharvie@wypr.org 410-235-1903 Seni...

Charm City is blessed with a vibrant arts and culture scene. Now Baltimore Center stage and Baltimore American Indian Center team up and add to that bounty -- with a gallery to showcase local Indigenous arts. We hear about the inaugural Indigenous Art Gallery exhibit!  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...

A beloved coffee spot in Hampden faced a sudden closure in July, catching both staff and customers by surprise. But that wasn’t the end of Common Ground Bakery Café; its workers are coming together to reopen later this month as a co-op. Co-ops flip the model on the typical business model. So how do they work? Christa Daring is the Executive Director of the Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democra...

Two hundred-nine years ago, Fort McHenry withstood 25 hours of bombing by the British. We speak with Robert Stewart , assistant superintendent for Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, about the African American heroes of Defenders' Day. Join National Park Service rangers and the fifes and drums of the Fort McHenry Guard for a parade on Friday, September 15th at 7 pm through Locust P...

Psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison broke barriers when she wrote three decades ago about her own experience with manic-depressive illness. After many other books, Jamison has now published what she calls a “lovesong” to psychotherapy--how it developed, and why it works, when it works.  Links: Kay Redfield Jamison , Balm in Gilead, a lecture by Prof. Jamison, Fires in the Dark Do you have a question...

The Youth Climate Institute , created by the Howard County Conservancy , is preparing Maryland's next generation of environmental leaders. How does the course cover the science and social ramifications of climate change? We speak with Executive Director Meg Boyd and Jessica Kohout, a former high-school biology teacher and manager of the Youth Climate Institute. Then, two high school students share...

Here is Stoop story from Ellis Marsalis III about trading card commerce.  The next Stoop show is next Thursday, September 14th at Manor Mill. The theme is, " The One That Got Away: Stories of Lost Loves, Fish, and Other Missed Opportunities ."  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...

Poor planning, too few connections in the community, not enough patrolling. An internal “after-action report” says these factors contributed to July’s mass shooting in Brooklyn, which killed two. What will police do to prevent such tragedies? We speak with WYPR reporter Emily Hofstaedter , who’s been closely following the Brooklyn shooting and its aftermath, and Ben Conark , criminal justice repor...

The ready-to-wear clothing industry nearly killed the appetite -- and the need -- for home sewing. At Leona’s Sewing Studio colorful fabrics, humming machines and constant camaraderie have helped create a revival of the nearly lost art. We hear from founder Ireatha Leona Woods and three of her students: Brenda Squirrell, Nichelle Midon and Lori Ferrara. Links: Leona's Sewing Studio, Future Designe...