On The Record

The primary election was mostly by mail--Maryland’s first--but thousands showed up to vote in person, making for long lines at many voting places. Just a fraction of the votes have been counted. WYPR’s Nathan Sterner walks us through what’s known about the primary election. Then, a survey reveals that the pandemic has hit child care centers hard. Many have been unable to pay employees, and half sa...

Scores of U.S.cities are shaken by protests, some of them violent, of how police treat African Americans. In the shadow of centuries of slavery, oppression and inequity, we ask Larell Smith-Bacon, the the head of the conflict-resolution effort Restorative Response Baltimore--what message the demonstrations are meant to send to white people. And activist J.C. Faulk, who for decades has created dial...

We think of species taking a long time to adapt to changes in their surroundings. Not necessarily, says evolutionary biologist and ecologist Menno Schilthuizen. In his new book, "Darwin Comes to Town: How the Urban Jungle Drives Evolution" he asserts we can find evidence right in our own back yard. Schilthuizen says plants and animals can adapt quickly to survive. Things like mating preferences an...

Treasured rewards for the hard work of high school--the prom, senior week, graduation--have all been canceled, postponed, or reworked to keep students and families at a social distance. Five recent or soon-to-be graduates from across Maryland share how the coronavirus upended their senior year, and how it’s affecting their goals and plans. Aliyah Abid, who will graduate from Baltimore City College...

When deaths from Covid-19 began adding up two months ago, and schools and businesses closed and jobs started to evaporate, did all the stress trigger a surge in calls to mental- health providers? Dr. Anthony Massey, founder of Gladstone Psychiatry and Wellness, says he saw just the opposite ... but Massey agrees with those who say a wave of mental-health problems is coming. Where will people turn...

A diverse mix of trees, shrubs, and flowers provide a buffet of food for insects and birds, while absorbing the greenhouse gases that warm our planet. Erin Reed Miller of the Patterson Park Audubon Center describes how native plants support local birds by providing shelter and food for the thousands of caterpillars on which hatchlings feast. And Charles Murphy of TreeBaltimore tells how efforts to...

Health issues still dog Baltimore -- food deserts … addiction to opioids ... disparities in the health of babies and new mothers ... diabetes ... asthma. Now such chronic diseases often complicate recovering from the coronavirus. The White House said last week that Baltimore is near the top of cities whose residents test positive for Covid-19. City health commissioner Dr. Letitia Dzirasa said test...

After assuming the role of mayor amid the Health Holly scandal, Bernard C. "Jack" Young has led Baltimore through a ransomware attack, persistent gun violence, and the coronavirus pandemic. Now he is asking voters for support as he runs in next week’s Democratic primary for mayor. We ask about the hard hit the city’s budget has taken, the path to reopening, and relief for low-income renters. Do yo...

Here’s a Stoop Story from Baltimore mystery writer Sujata Massey about an ill-fated move and a haunted home. You can hear her story and many others at stoopstorytelling.com, as well as the Stoop podcast. Tune in to WYPR on Tuesday evening at 8 pm to hear the ‘Virtual Stoop Mayoral Show’: candidates to be Baltimore’s next mayor sharing personal tales on the theme “Overcoming Adversity.” Do you have...

Author and critic Marion Winik opens our eyes to some fresh fiction -- like a new view of Hampden from Baltimore’s own Ann Tyler. Winik also recommends “Miss Aluminum”, a revealing memoir of 1970s Hollywood by Susanna Moore, who often--but not always--looked more glamorous than she felt. Hear more of Winik's picks on The Weekly Reader. Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea...

Thousands of low-income families are making it through the pandemic without a computer or reliable Internet access. For students, that means distance learning without a screen big enough to see or a keyboard big enough to type. For adults who have lost their jobs, it means it’s hard to apply for work or unemployment. John Horrigan recaps the Abell Foundation report he wrote on the digital divide i...

Governor Hogan’s decision to relax some restrictions and partly open commerce in the state has been met with elation … and confusion. Ashley Duckman from the Maryland Chamber of Commerce tells us about its ‘ReNEW Maryland’’ proposal, a policy road map to assist business owners and customers through the ‘great reopening.’ And Caryn York, C-E-O of the Job Opportunities Task Force, says the opening m...

In the world of public health data is king. A syndrome, a disorder, a disease … must be widely tracked in order to garner the resources and support to eradicate it. The U.S. Native American population is flying under the radar in the Covid 19 toll … being categorized as ‘other.’ Kerry Hawk Lessard, executive director of Native American Lifelines in Baltimore tells us why that could devastate her c...

Baltimore’s next mayor will face the challenge of managing pandemic recovery while addressing gun violence and record unemployment. City Council President Brandon Scott is running in the primary for Baltimore mayor. We ask what he makes of the city’s response to the coronavirus, and what he’ll do to increase accountability to voters. Plus, as opioid overdoses outpace the city’s alarming murder rat...

What does it mean that reported cases of child abuse in Maryland plummeted after the stay at home order in March, and are now edging up again? Adam Rosenberg of the Baltimore Child Abuse Center, says the reality doesn’t match the numbers. Teachers, child-care workers, therapists and others who might normally spot something going on with a child--and have a duty to report it--aren’t close enough th...

In honor of Armed Forces Day tomorrow -- which celebrates all branches of the military -- Here’s a Stoop Story from Clarissa ... about what is possible when you refuse to give up 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/h...

Maryland is starting to build a workforce of contact tracers--people who can talk to someone who has tested positive for Covid-19, persuade them to self-isolate, and ask who they've been in touch with who now may also have the disease. Tracing is as much about giving information and help in finding what someone needs to stay in quarantine … as about sleuthing out friends and connections. Dr. Emily...

The toll of the coronavirus on the African American community is devastating: higher rates of hospitalization and higher rates of death. Dr. Lisa Cooper, director of the Hopkins Center for Health Equity and the Hopkins Urban Health Institute, says it is no surprise. Cooper explains how comprehensive demographic data about testing, hospital use, and death can be used to tailor outreach. She shares...

Use of public transit is down in Baltimore during the Covid-19 lockdown, but not as much as in other cities. Many residents rely on public transit as their main method of getting around and many are essential workers. Brian O’Malley, president of the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, talks about how reduced schedules and physical distancing are affecting riders and operators. And Liz Corni...

As Baltimore residents brace for further consequences from the coronavirus pandemic, they are also looking for the city’s next mayor to lead recovery efforts and interrupt the cycle of gun violence. TJ Smith, former spokesman for the Baltimore Police Department, is a Democratic candidate running for Baltimore mayor. We ask about his long career in law enforcement, his plan for economic recovery fr...

As citizens across the US anxiously await ‘the great reopening’ from Covid-19 lockdowns, many healthcare workers remain steadfastly in place, caring for and comforting those stricken with the disease. Dr. Zackary Berger, a staff physician at Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Esperanza Center Health Clinic, talks about his experience in a Covid-19 ward. He says that alongside the urgency ... it’s a lo...

That was Stoop Story from Susan Ellsberry about her first meeting with her son, whom she gave up for adoption more than three decades before. You can hear her story and others at stoopstorytelling.com or on 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 4...

Until there’s a vaccine against Covid-19, we’ll need to keep our distance, wash our hands a lot, and sustain the other restraints that are sapping the economy--and our social lives. So Gov. Hogan sounded excited to report that the Free State is moving fast, along with several other research institutions, to test a vaccine. Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine are the first...

As Maryland adapts to a new way of life during the coronavirus pandemic, residents will also adapt to a new way of voting. The June 2nd primary election will be held by mail. Advocates Sam Novey, of Baltimore Votes and the National Conference on Citizenship, and Nykidra Robinson, of Black Girls Vote, join us to answer questions about the process. Do you have a question or comment about a show or a...

Four hundred years ago, after Galileo heard rumors that lenses in a tube could bring the planets and the surface of the moon into focus, he made detailed observations with a telescope and laid the groundwork for the scientific method. He also brought on himself the wrath of the greatest power in Europe, the Catholic Church, which called his analysis heretical. In a new biography, astrophysicist Ma...