On The Record

After World War II hundreds of members of the Lumbee Native American community relocated from North Carolina to Southeast Baltimore, in search of work. Today, the community has dispersed, moving from the city to the county. One tradition that brings them together--chicken and pastry. Rosie Bowen, of Rose’s Bakery in Northeast Market, has made sure to pass this recipe down to her daughter, Adriana...

Here’s a Stoop Story from Susan Ellsberry about a message that changed her life. Learn more about the Stoop Storytelling Series. The next live virtual Stoop show is the "Holiday Hoo-Ha" on December 12th. If you’re digging into your holiday shopping--this is a great time to remember local stores. Check out Baltimore Snap’s profiles of local black-owned stores and Preservation Maryland’s list of Mai...

As we mourn our usual Thanksgiving plans this year, we can find comfort in nature--the changing leaves, the crisp air, the chirping birds. Scott McDaniel leads the Susquehannock Wildlife Society in Harford County. One of his goals is to debunk myths about the Eastern Copperhead snake, far more likely to scurry away than to strike. And biologist Sarah Stellwagon describes how glue and silk conspire...

Though meals will be planned, gifts exchanged, and lights kindled … Many of our loved ones will be missing from around our tables this holiday season. We ask Dr. Aliya Jones, Maryland’s Deputy Health Secretary, what to watch for regarding emotional wellness during this time, and how we can help ourselves and those we care about. Plus, we talk with executive director Rabbi Dena Shaffer and Peer Lea...

When the American republic was only a couple decades old, and more people were held enslaved in Maryland than all but two other states, enslaved people could petition the courts for freedom--if they could show they were descended from a woman who had been free. Before slaveholders got the laws changed, hundreds of enslaved people in Prince George’s County won their independence. Researching this h...

Before March, part of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School’s success formula was to place every student in an internship--one day a week in a business or non-profit where they could observe professionals at work as they learned on-the-job behavior themselves. John Busse is in charge of the internships. The students’ work also paid about a third of their tuition. We ask Busse and seniors Delya White and C...

Days until Thanksgiving, the coronavirus surging, and good Samaritans stuck at home. There may be fewer volunteers but the work is still getting done, and from a distance. We hear from Bea Gaddy Family Centers director Cynthia Brooks, who has devised new ways to provide thousands of people Thanksgiving dinner. And Ashley Pressman, from the Jewish Volunteer Connection tells us about the ‘Casserole...

Here’s a Stoop Story from Ptolemy Slocum about going the distance ... for love. 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 mgerr@wypr.org 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his sbdawes@wypr.org 410-235-1...

With a COVID-19 vaccine on the horizon, we look at the practical and ethical issues of rolling out the vaccine. Epidemiologist Kurt Seetoo leads the Center for Immunization at the Maryland Department of Health. He describes who is likely to be first in line to receive doses, and what’s being done to recruit healthcare workers to administer the vaccine. Then, Hopkins bioethicist Ruth Faden talks ab...

Half of Black business owners in the country have shut down operations during the pandemic, or say they’re likely to do so in the next six months. We talk about the challenges ahead with Debra Keller-Greene, chair of the board of the Greater Baltimore Black Chamber of Commerce. And Takia Ross, founder of the mobile makeup artistry studio Accessmatized, gives us an on-the ground view. Do you have a...

When crime surged in 2015 after the Freddie Gray protests, Baltimore police were more determined than ever to rack up more arrests and seize more illegal guns from the streets. The new book, "I Got A Monster," chronicles how that empowered cops on the ‘Gun Trace Task Force’--some of whom had been planting evidence, making illegal arrests and robbing drug dealers for years--to step up their own ill...

Have you ever faced a problem that seems insurmountable, only to have someone come along, view it from a different perspective and find a solution? That is the business model for the IMAGE Center of Maryland. Executive director Michael Bullis explains how the non-profit connects people with disabilities to solutions to help regain independence in their lives. Plus, we talk with Rhonda Taylor and S...

Bill Henry, who has represented Baltimore’s North and Northeast neighborhoods on the City Council for a dozen years, will be sworn in as comptroller next month. One of his priorities? Making it easier to track the Board of Estimates, which approves over half a billion dollars in city government contracts each year. We ask about holding city agencies accountable, improving the accuracy of water bil...

Here’s a Stoop Story from Dan Cole about the one that got away. Check out Stoop Storytelling Series' 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, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers mgerr@wypr.org 410-235-115...

With coronavirus infections on the rise in Maryland, school systems are reevaluating their plans for in-person learning. Baltimore County pressed “pause” on its plan for a staggered reopening. We get an update from Dr. George Roberts, one of the system’s community superintendents. The district's reopening plan is available here. It's health and safety guidelines for COVID-19 are here. Meanwhile, B...

Today we honor veterans. Serving in the military is one part of that identity, returning to civilian life is another -- one that many grapple with. Dario DiBattista, director at the Military and Veterans Center at Towson University, describes how the space provides community and support for student veterans. And Rachel Duff, a participant at MVC, urges people to see herself and her fellow vets mor...

The Maryland Episcopal diocese has made a powerful statement: delegates to the diocesan convention in September voted decisively to commit one million dollars in reparations -- funds to go toward strengthening and expanding programs in African American communities in Baltimore and beyond. The Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton, Bishop of the Maryland Episcopal diocese, talks with us about forgiveness a...

She operated a tower crane at the Bethlehem Steel plant. When the call came one night to cover a coworker’s shift, she had no option for childcare--so she bundled up her infant and kept the baby with her on the tall crane as she worked. That’s just one of the stories, with photos, on big panels along Key Highway that make up the Baltimore Museum of Industry’s first outdoor exhibit “Women of Steel....

As the nation remains glued to the returns in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Arizona, we focus on some of what we can learn from this week’s vote. UMBC political scientist Tom Schaller joins us to talk about why the polls leading up to this week were so wrong, what a potentially divided Congress could mean for coronavirus recovery, and why both parties failed to achieve a decisive...

We spent Election Day morning at the voting center based at the Carver Vocational-Technical High School in West Baltimore. Here is what some people answered when we asked: Why did you vote today? 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, M...

The coronavirus rocked the food industry. An trade survey estimates that one out of six restaurants has faced permanent or long term closure since March. Baltimore Magazine food editor Jane Marion tells us how local eateries are improvising and preparing for an uncertain winter. Read last month's cover issue, "The Great Restaurant Reinvention," here. And Emily Lerman and Aishah Alfadhalah, two of...

In Charm City, almost none of the nail-biting turmoil of the national races: Democrats running to take or hold offices in City Hall made a clean sweep. Fairly early in the evening, Brandon Scott declared victory in the race for mayor, and voters gave Councilman Nick Mosby the nod to step into the job Scott will vacate, president of the City Council. We’ll ask WYPR reporter Emily Sullivan … and Lis...

Throughout Maryland’s history, the Bay’s bounty -- and its access to transatlantic trade -- proved irresistible to pirates. In her book “Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay,” Jamie Goodall explores the role of these legendary rebels. We hear the stories of a free black man who joined a privateering crew and a prolific Quaker ship builder in Fell’s Point. Original air date: July 28, 2020. For election da...

We’re seeing monumental efforts to get out the vote--from letter-writing campaigns and big-name music concerts, to viral social media and more. But don’t forget about the funeral directors -- Dr. Hari P. Close, who owns a funeral business in northeast Baltimore, tells us about “Limos to the Polls." It’s a nationwide endeavor by funeral directors to provide rides to voting centers for seniors and o...

The numbers we had all hoped to see dwindle by now … are rising instead: the number of people infected with Covid-19. The number hospitalized. The number in the ICU. The number who have died. What’s behind this surge, now, and what could tamp it down? Epidemiologist Dr. Lisa Maragakis, senior director of infection prevention for the Johns Hopkins Health System, admits public messages have been mud...