On The Record

After his childhood of “shabby gentility,” in Baltimore, Murray Kempton’s New York newspaper columns spanned the 20 century with clear insights about who America was leaving behind. We talk with Andrew Holter, the editor of a new collection of Kempton’s journalism. Holter will speak at Writer's LIVE at Enoch Pratt Library Tuesday April 15, and at the Union Market location of Politics and Prose in...

Several times a year the Natural History Society of Maryland offers folks an opportunity to explore the geology of Baltimore City’s buildings and monuments. The next tour is on Sunday, April 13th, led by Sam Glasscock, a semi-professional geologist who volunteers for the Natural History Society — he gave us a preview.

Laying out his plans for Maryland in a speech two months ago, Gov. Wes Moore called for more focus on what boys and young men are going through. This morning, we’ll try to understand what’s going on with men and boys, by talking with two men who spend a lot of time thinking about it, and trying to improve things. Alex Zequiera is president of Saint Ignatius Loyola Academy, and Andrew Reiner, a sen...

Maryland’s massive budget deficit has loomed over the General Assembly session that’s wrapping up. Today is Sine Die. What taxes are lawmakers raising? What spending do they intend to cut? How are they preparing Maryland for the Trump administration’s changes? We ask Rachel Baye, WYPR senior reporter and editor and Brian Sears of 'Maryland Matters' as the legislature starts its last day.

Jeanette Machen tells us a stoop story about her first grade hero: Jedi Master Yoda. There is a live stoop event is coming up next week! On Wednesday April 9th, the series presents “Battling the Elements: Stories about confronting the forces of nature.” More information about live events and the Stoop podcast is at Stoopstorytelling.com.

This weekend at The Voxel performing arts theater, audiences will step aboard a spaceship, and train their eyes, and ears, on the stars … "Cloud Nebula" is an afro-futuristic cinematic opera produced by Baltimore-based music collective Afro House. We talk with writer Scott Patterson, also co-founder and Artistic Director of Afro House and with Alisha Patterson, co-founder and Managing Director of...

When was the last time you had a lengthy, honest and open conversation with someone you didn’t know well? Or even better -- with someone who you assumed held a whole different world view than your own. The Associated Jewish Federation of Baltimore, the Elijah Cummings Youth Program and Associated Black Charities, are making these conversations happen intentionally, with its ‘Rekindle Fellowship’ p...

Conversations with dozens of authors. Intensive deep dives into how publishing works. A masterclass in mystery writing. One-on-one critique sessions for aspiring writers. A literary marketplace -- there will be SO MANY options at the Lord Baltimore Hotel Saturday when the 22nd CityLit Festival gets underway. Carla DuPree, CityLit Project’s executive director, joins us to share her excitement about...

Transgender people are being targeted by the Trump administration in nearly every sector: from the military, to schools, to healthcare. And the ACLU says more than 500 anti LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures this year alone. What's happening in Maryland? To find out, we talk with Lee Blinder, executive director of Trans Maryland, Charlotte Hoffman, policy director for Trans Mar...

Here's a Stoop Story from Stacey Lee about finding your spark ... and paying it forward. The next live Stoop event happens April 9 at Checkerspot brewing. The theme is Battling the Elements: Stories about confronting the forces of nature.

Light illuminates. And it can affect our moods, how we interpret our surroundings, even how we interact with a space. In the coming months, six Baltimore artists will be creating public works that harness these qualities of light, thanks to one million dollars from the Bloomberg Philanthropies' Public Art Challenge. Baltimore is one of just eight cities across the US to get the funding, which will...

One year ago today, in the very early hours of the morning, the Dali cargo ship left the Port of Baltimore. Minutes later, at 1:28am, the ship struck one of the piers of the Francis Scott Key Bridge as it attempted to make its way to sea. The bridge -- that had stood for decades over the Patapsco -- collapsed in seconds. Eight workers were on the bridge at the time. Two were rescued. The other six...

When the Key Bridge shattered a year ago, the lives of many people shattered with it -- of course, the families of the six men who died working on the bridge. But also people whose livelihoods depended on the bridge. In Dundalk, at the east end of the bridge, jobs disappeared or were impossible to reach. Businesses closed. Lives that were already stressed grew more stressed. Catholic Charities ste...

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States covering about 4-thousand 480 square miles and containing some 15 trillion gallons of brackish water. The Bay is also full of oysters! Maryland saw the lowest oyster harvest ever in the early 2000s, but thanks to the hard work of lots of different groups, oysters are bouncing back. A new plan from the Eastern Bay Oyster Coalition Workg...

President Trump has signed an executive order aimed at banning transgender troops from serving in the military. We hear from Tony Woods, Secretary for the Maryland Department of Veterans and Military Families: “This is playing politics with the military. And I think this policy will eventually fail, and will be looked upon as a shameful period of our country’s history.” Plus he talks about why thi...

More than half of Baltimore’s children live with one parent; many of those families live in poverty. For 51 single mothers here, and their kids, the nonprofit Jeremiah Program offers coaching, community, and financial help to get them to a college degree. We talk to its director, Danielle Staton and Ebony Peacock, a mom with two kids who says the program has provided immeasurable help and support.

Here's a Stoop Story from Rebecca Fielding about her role as a mom, her amazing son Enso, and all that she’s learned from him along the way. The next live Stoop event happens April 9 at Checkerspot Brewing. The theme is ‘Battling the Elements: Stories about confronting the forces of nature.’

Eyes and body language can give big clues about how someone really feels. What about their laugh? That holds hidden truths, too. We talk to University of Baltimore researcher Prof. Sally Farley about her findings -- and why a simple laugh can reveal if someone is newly in love …

Governor Wes Moore is calling on the Maryland General Assembly to impose cuts to the landmark school reform plan known as 'The Blueprint for Maryland's Future'. We talk about the proposals with Liz Bowie, who covers education for our news partner The Baltimore Banner.

Child Care in Maryland is expensive and hard to find. A new report by the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank, ranks Maryland as the eleventh most expensive state for child care. In Annapolis, legislators are considering several bills to make the service more affordable. We asked Chris Peusch of the Maryland State Childcare Association what proposals hold the most hope.

As a special pledge treat for our listeners today, we’re serving up a double scoop of stoop stories! There's one from Dena about a childhood wrapped in rules … and from George Hopkins, about about the importance of being a role model and proudly taking up space. The next live stoop storytelling show happens at Checkerspot Brewing on April 9 at 7pm -- the theme is Battling the Elements: Stories abo...

The world’s failure to deal with the climate crisis is “The Great Derangement,” says award-winning writer Amitav Ghosh. He traces how capitalism and colonization led to more burning of fossil fuels, and why artists and writers, if they chose, could reimagine the future. Ghosh will be speaking at the Loyola Symposium , "The Great Uprooting: Migration and Movement in the Age of Climate Change" on 3....

We talk with evolutionary biologist Dr. Nathan Lents, about his book “The Sexual Evolution: How 500 Million Years of Sex, Gender, and Mating Shape Modern Relationships”. The book explores sex, gender, mating, and more in dozens of species -- from insects, to birds, to fish… to the primates most closely related to us humans. Lents is a Professor of Biology at John Jay College of The City University...

Returning citizens face lots of challenges following incarceration. Healthcare Access Maryland is hoping to eliminate a big one. Their new program aims to ensure people get the continued behavioral and physical care they need. We hear from Traci Kodek, HCAM executive director, to learn how it works.

Here's a Stoop story from Jonathan Thierman about a medical misadventure ... with a happy ending! More information about Stoop Storytelling including live events and the Stoop podcast can be found at Stoopstorytelling.com