On The Record

It’s not a traditional comic--it uses augmented reality, through a phone app, to bring out the real barbarity of slavery on a Maryland plantation.  And not your traditional comic superhero: this is a 19-year-old enslaved African-American who wins immortal powers. Jupiter Invincible is the concept of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa and graphic artist Ram Devineni . Devineni...

Most of the country is short of nurses; Maryland is no exception. It needs thousands. Charlotte Wood , president of the Maryland Nurses Association , describes the complicated causes of the shortfall and creative ways --like forgiving student loans--to attract more to the field. Learn about Coppin State's nursing program, including its accelerated program, here . Then Kathleen Wisser , dean of nur...

Growing up in Baltimore’s Little Italy, Nancy D’Alesandro never pictured herself running for office. She watched her father campaign for Congress and for mayor; she helped her mother with the nitty-gritty of organizing and keeping track of political favors. Biographer Susan Page says that only after Nancy Pelosi had moved across the country, raised five children, chaired the California...

Holly Arnold , acting head of the Maryland Transit Administration, gives an update on how public transportation is recovering from the pandemic. We hear how MTA plans to reach more jobs in the Baltimore region, and improve on-time performance--about one out of four buses now runs late. Then, a new report identifies Baltimore’s areas of greatest transit need. We speak with Samuel Jordan of th...

Persuasion is what Andres Lares does all day. Actually, most of us spend a big part of our day trying to persuade people to see things our way--but Lares and his colleagues do it full time, in an organized way, at the Shapiro Negotiations Institute. So three of them wrote a book called Persuade , that compresses the skill into four steps. Most people base choices on trust and emotions, Lares says-...

Here is a Stoop Story from Aishah Al Fadhalah about her experiences as an immigrant in the US and how the Mera Kitchen Collective was born.  Some events coming up: Edgar Allan Poe Festival and Awards is happening Oct 2 and 3. It's two days of books, music and art -- all happening at the Edgar Allan Poe house and museum at 203 North Amity St. in Baltimore. And the Center for Neighborhood Innov...

CityLit Project, dedicated to literature, writers, and their audiences, understands how storytelling can promote empathy. Its current  series called ‘Becoming American,” offers proof. CityLit board member Aditya Desai and author/producer Saima Sitwat give us a preview. It features videos and essays of ten women immigrants who now call Maryland home. One of them is Ale Balcazar fro...

When persistent pain invaded Gary Stern’s gut, doctors at two local hospitals focused on the digestive-tract disease he’d had a decade earlier. They didn’t listen to him insist this felt different, and they didn’t order a standard test to check for an ulcer. The misdiagnosis triggered a cascade of surgeries and suffering that took his life. David Black wrote the book Ripped...

Downtown West Baltimore is in the middle of a serious makeover. The Baltimore Development Corporation is working with developers to forge a 21st-century version of the bustling commercial hub that thrived in that area decades ago.  Here’s Colin Tarbert, head of the BDC:  “The vision is to create a whole mix of uses in a fairly small area to recreate that vibrancy.” Then...

COVID-19 delayed trials and motivated judges to order home monitoring. The trade off? The fees charged to defendants for private electronic supervision as they await trial mounted up. A new law to waive fees for low income people went into effect July 1--but fees are still being charged, until early October. We discuss the obstacles to getting started. Guests: Chief Judge John P. Morrissey of the...

From her days growing up in Liberia, through medical training and now heading Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity, Dr. Lisa Cooper has tried to understand and explain the ways race and the stress of discrimination shape health care and health outcomes. She’s distilled her work and ideas into a book Why Are Health Disparities Everyone’s Problem? “Inequality really leads to grea...

Here is a Stoop Story from Susan Ellsberry about a life affirming reunification. Listen to more Stoop Stories here and check out their upcoming live events, including next month's show, "Didn't See That Coming!" 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 410-235-19...

Here is a Stoop Story from Dr. Modupe Mccracken  about putting herself first. Listen to more Stoop Stories here and check out their upcoming live events , including next month's show on shocks, surprises, and real-life plot twists.  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 m...

Growing up in west Baltimore, R. Eric Thomas often felt like an outsider. He was a Black student at a mostly white private school; he was gay in a Baptist family. Thomas’ memoir, "Here For It, or How to Save Your Soul in America," follows humorous and heartfelt detours in his journey of self-acceptance. We hear how R. Eric Thomas got his start with a failed attempt at satire … how cod...

The pressures of the pandemic have been piling up on many people. Some feel anxious, stressed, or overwhelmed; they may have thought of suicide. Quinton Askew , CEO of 211 Maryland, the crisis-call center, says people can now sign up for a weekly phone conversation with a mental-health professional--the first such service in the country.  Then Cheryl Maxwell , program manager for the Black Me...

Restaurant workers took a huge hit during the pandemic. The comeback is steady … but slow. Now a special cookbook, called ‘Back of House,’ is dedicated to them, and to raising funds to lighten their hardships.  Photographer J.M. Giordano tells why he chose to depict the ‘behind the scenes’ hustle in gripping black-and-white. And editor Jess Mayhugh explains what...

COVID infections have risen exponentially among children since July, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. And children under 12 are still not eligible for a COVID vaccine. Dr. Bradley Schlaggar is a pediatric neurologist and the head of Kennedy Krieger Institute. Even if youngsters were not especially vulnerable early in the pandemic, he says, they are now. Plus, the multipronged appro...

A play written more than a century ago comes back to life on a Baltimore stage. Rapid Lemon Productions presents ‘Rachel,’ a story about motherhood, racism, tough life decisions and faith. Playwright  Aladrian Wentzel  describes how she adapted the play to reflect what Black families deal with today. And director Tracie Marie Jiggetts tells us she wants audiences to leave fee...

Here’s a Stoop Story from  Danton Spina  about taking risks … and taking care, too. You can hear 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 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers...

Who is at risk for hunger in Maryland? Where? What help is available? The Maryland Food Bank has done a deep data drive to create a new statewide “ Hunger Map ” that pinpoints areas of need and exposes gaps in assistance. Meg Kimmel , the non-profit’s Executive Vice President, lays out key insights. Plus, we hear how Meals On Wheels provides much more than nutritious food to its...

As The Day of Atonement, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, draws near, we talk with Ilana  Kaufman , executive director of the Jews of Color Initiative . Her nonprofit released findings from a survey called Beyond the Count -- insights from Jews of color across the U.S., to help Jewish communities and organizations reckon more effectively with the racial diversity of American Jewry. The...

The number of Marylanders holding jobs edged up most months this year--but it’s still far below the number who were working in February 2020. Bryan Renbaum of the news site, MarylandReporter.com tells us what some business leaders think it will take to get people back to work, and why many jobless Marylanders are still frustrated with the state’s unemployment system. Then, Janet Glover...

The 2020 Census reveals that Baltimore’s population is at its lowest point in a century. How to reverse the shrinking trend? Seema Iyer oversees the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance , which collects community-level data on hundreds of factors--like income, education, and employment. Iyer blames the slump on lack of access--access to transit, access to the internet, even access to c...

Here is a Stoop Story from Rohaizad Suaidi  about his persevering love for America. Learn more about Stoop Storytelling Series --and check out upcoming 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 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Meli...

What’s next for the tens of thousands of Afghans arriving in the United States? Ruben Chandrasekar leads the International Rescue Committee’s offices in Baltimore and Silver Spring. IRC is one of nine national resettlement agencies tasked with helping Afghan arrivals build new lives and become self-sufficient. We discuss how many newcomers may resettle in Maryland, and how IRC will hel...