On The Record

How does Tribe 55, a group of Black Women artists aged 55+ amplify its message? With their new exhibit ‘ Seen. Heard. Common Ground .’ It opens at JELMA on Morgan State Campus. Dr. Schroeder Cherry , curator, and Stacey Cruise , Tribe 55 member give us a preview. Plus, Baltimore Beat ’s arts and culture editor Teri Henderson offers her picks in music and art!  Links: JELMA , Seen. Heard. Common Gr...

Stuffy nose? Watery eyes? Allergy season seems worse than usual and that may be due to climate change. We speak with  Dr. Jean Kim , associate professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.  Read:  “Climate change, the environment, and rhinologic disease.” Then, warming temperatures threaten native plants. Sara Tangren , coordinator of the Nationa...

David Ross shares a Stoop Story about the childhood lessons he learned from his grandmother, and his changing views on those lessons as he grew up. You can find his 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 Senio...

Each year, 20 middle and high school students from across Baltimore come together to create, edit and assembly writing about the experiences of local young people. CHARM: Voices of Baltimore Youth was founded by a group of teachers and their students in 2013. The students who join the CHARM team work together to create a range of different online and in-print publications. They also help design th...

American Indians are the smallest population in the US, yet sexual violence against Indigenous women is ten times the national average. Why? Kerry Hawk Lessard of Native American Lifelines talks about the Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. A vigil will honor the memories of Tiffany Jones and Yasmine Wilson , whose mother, Saundra Waddell , still fights for her ju...

WYPR reporter John Lee guest-hosts this conversation with Robert McCullough , Baltimore County's new chief of police. Last month, McCullough became the first African-American leader of the agency . How will the 35-year department veteran improve morale on the force and address the public perception of rising crime? Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On...

At age 42, Michelle Paris was plunged into a role she’d never imagined: she became a widow. The grief and disorientation knocked her for a loop, but she found a path forward and now has written a darkly funny novel about a widow much like her. We talk with her about her debut novel, New Normal . Links: Speaking event 5.6.23 at Ellicott City Barnes and Noble.   Do you have a question or comment abo...

Eating disorders are not uncommon, but they are often invisible. The Renfrew Center works to raise awareness about how to recognize if you, or someone you know, is struggling -- and how to get help. Primary therapist  Yosan Gebre Ab  talks us through it. Plus, a recovery story from  Lola Morales , who found help just in time. Links:  Renfrew Center . Do you have a question or comment about a show...

Here's a Stoop Story from Day Al-Mohamed about why being blind needn’t stop someone from doing whatever they set out to do. You can hear her story and others, and get information about 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/he...

The events at the ‘See Beyond Festival’ hosted by Maryland School for the Blind give the public a taste of what blind students experience -- the power of adapting to challenges without the use of sight. We get a preview from Rob Hair , Superintendent and CEO. Links: Maryland School for the Blind , See Beyond Festival , A Guide to Rehabilitation Services and Resources for Individuals who are Blind...

How is Maryland working to protect children? A staggering report revealed extensive abuse perpetrated by Catholic priests and covered up by church leaders. Then, two weeks ago, Governor Moore signed into law a measure making it easier for victims to sue their abusers, no matter how long ago the abuse occurred.  What can keep kids safe? We ask Adam Rosenberg, vice president of Violence Intervention...

Eight years ago, Baltimore erupted in protest after Freddie Gray’s funeral. His death sparked calls for police reform and for investment in areas long neglected. What's changed? What concerns do young people have about the future? We speak with a trio devoted to their community: husband and wife, Elder C. W. Harris and Amelia Harris , and musician Todd Marcus. They are all co-founders of Intersect...

The University of Maryland, Baltimore’s new Center for Violence Prevention is a multidisciplinary initiative tasked with reducing violence in the city. The program draws on multiple departments within the university, including the medical school, law school and the school of social work. So far this year, Baltimore has seen at least 86 homicides; a majority killed by guns. Recently, several teenag...

As a  family grieves the daughter it lost, its love for the daughter still there twists and chafes, and she looks for ways to escape. We talk with Jaclyn Paul, aka Lena George, about her debut novel that takes us deep inside the family's dynamic. Plus Diana Emerson of Waverly Main Street and Kate Khatib , a worker-owner at Red Emma's gives us a preview of the Waverly Book Festival! Links: Jaclyn P...

Community artist Ashley Minner Jones tells of growing up in Dundalk, surrounded by family. Her bond with her grandmother was special. Minner Jones is a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and an artist, scholar and historian. She researched and created a walking tour of Baltimore’s Lumbee Community. There’s an accompanying website and a phone app for self-guided tours , too. She also crea...

The Left Bank Jazz Society brought some of the biggest names in jazz to Baltimore, including Duke Ellington, Freddie Hubbard and Carmen McRae. Hundreds of performances in the 1960s and 70s were hosted by the Left Bank Jazz Society in The Famous Ballroom—now the site of the expanded Charles Theatre in the Station North arts and entertainment district. Recordings from its hallowed stage are set to b...

Buildings are responsible for about 30 percent of all CO2 emissions in the United States, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration . In American cities , energy-use in buildings is often the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Housing experts say electrification, retrofitting and upgrading the state’s housing stock is crucial in order to meet the ambitious goals passed by Ma...

There are about 28-thousand organ transplants annually in the US. How does organ donation work? Dr. Kathryn Smith , a Johns Hopkins pediatric transplantation doctor who received liver transplants as a teen, talks about her unique perspective. Then we hear from Carmen Blake , mother of organ donor Tim Blake, and Phyllis Weissblum, who received Tim's heart in November, 2019 . The two women have forg...

Founded in 2012, the American Prison Writing Archive contains more than 3,000 essays by people incarcerated in the U.S. Last year, the APWA was awarded a grant from the Mellon Foundation and moved from Hamilton College to the Sheridan Libraries at Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins professor Vesla Weaver   describes the purpose and potential of the collection. And Jose DiLenola shares how writ...

Author and journalist Mark Bowden draws on wiretaps, police interviews, rap videos, text messages and interviews to drive the story of his new book, Life Sentence: The Brief and Tragic Career of Baltimore’s Deadliest Gang Leader .  Bowden, who now writes for The Atlantic and other magazines, began his career at the late Baltimore News American and The Philadelphia Inquirer. He is best known for Bl...

Here is Stoop story from Julia Dugan about a mountain trek gone wrong. The next live Stoop show is June 23rd at Howard Community College. The theme is, “ These are the People in our Neighborhood: Stories about community, conflict, culture and coming together. ” Listen to 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 Su...

Five years ago, Adrienne Kilby was looking for a way to make friends and enjoy nature. So, she founded Baltimore Queer Hike . We speak with Kilby and co-organizer Shanae Giles about finding community and celebrating the outdoors. Check out this list of popular hiking trails in Maryland . Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Super...

People with disabilities face challenges everyday in a world that mostly caters to able-bodied folks. For people of color those challenges are multiplied. We hear from three advocates - Crystal Brockington, Janice Jackson and Keyonna Mayo, from the IMAGE Center for People with Disabilities, about their life experiences and what they do to teach empathy and understanding.    Links: IMAGE Center , E...

The poise and self-possession NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly exudes as a cohost on All Things Considered is not always how she feels inside. In Kelly's new book, she shares a very personal tale; a chronicle of her struggle to find time for family and friends as her globetrotting career grasps for every minute. Her new book is ‘ It Goes So Fast: The Year of No Do-Overs .’ As her oldest son prepares for co...

What can we learn from a clay marble and bottle shards pulled from the earth? We ask archeologist Jay Lunze and Sarah Jesse , director of the Academy Art Museum, how they hope to tell more about the history of The Hill one of the first free Black communities in the country, in Easton, Maryland. And we hear from Yvonne Freeman , a descendant of James Freeman, one of the first free African American...