On The Record

Television, newspapers and radio are pushing out Coronavirus updates every minute, and it can be tempting to over indulge: "You’re home, you’ve got your snack counter and your junk food cabinet, right there and it's available for you all day and the temptation is to have your hands in there all the time. Same thing with the news, and I’m not sure whether or not that’s healthy.” Host Aaron Henkin t...

Here's a Stoop Story from Charlie Wiener about doing his best to create a Passover seder … a long distance from home, in Malaysia. On Wednesday evening people will gather for their Passover seders from a safe distance -- even using technology -- all doing their best to feel the warmth and love of family and friends. To our listeners who celebrate, pesach sameach. Do you have a question or comment...

The battle against the coronavirus has inspired many Marylanders to pitch in and help. Dr. Julius Ho explains the ‘Baltimore Health Professionals Mutual Aid Cooperative’, which organizes supplies and services for medical staff. And ‘Makers Unite’ is banding together to create hundreds of plastic face shields for healthcare workers nationwide. Organizers Todd Blatt of ‘Custom 3-D Stuff’ and Will Ho...

We’re stuck indoors for weeks, if not months--urgently trying to keep so far apart the coronavirus can’t spread. Even essential businesses are told to pare down to the really essential. But people need help, and their neighbors want to help. All over the country, including here in Baltimore, there’s an explosion of “mutual aid networks,” grassroots community groups connecting people in need with p...

The people who run Maryland’s hospitals and work in them are acutely aware that the crush of patients they’re preparing for may turn out to be bigger than they’ve imagined … and the tools they can get their hands on may not be up to the challenge. We’ll ask Dr. David Marcozzi, leader of the Covid-19 response at the University of Maryland Medical System and Bob Atlas, CEO of the Maryland Hospital A...

The coronavirus has touched every corner of the world. But some populations are all too familiar with ‘pandemic.’ They’re often under- served people in poor countries where global aid already is at work. How are those nonprofits doubling down to communicate accurate information about this fast moving virus … at the same time they keep their own workers safe? We talk with Anta (AHNta) James, who wo...

How do doctors and hospitals make gut-wrenching decisions about who gets potentially lifesaving treatment and who doesn’t? As thousands of ill patients across the country are hospitalized, we discuss the ethical dilemmas of this crisis. Johns Hopkins bioethicist Ruth Faden walks us through the tough calculations physicians must make. Read about the state-wide conversations about ventilator rationi...

Here is a Stoop Story from Mike Ricigliano about a prank gone wrong. Check out the Stoop Storytelling Series website, where you can hear more stories and 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 Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers mharvie@wypr.org 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr s...

Half of Maryland jobs are in small businesses--most now shut down in the pandemic, like the rest of the economy. We talk with Maryland Department of Commerce Secretary Kelly Schulz to hear about loans and grants available to business owners. Plus we check in with Ken Skrzesz, executive director of the Maryland State Arts Commission and Brendan Dorr, president of the Baltimore Bartenders Guild to h...

Take a break from coronavirus cares. Think back to Fred Rogers’ warm smile as he came through the door, sang his cheerful greeting, and shed his professional jacket for a cardigan. What we saw only indirectly was how meticulously Mr. Rogers had planned his Neighborhood … and how intensely he worked to counter the values of many kids’ shows in the 1960s. We ask Hopkins business professor Alexandra...

Our guest this morning is Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein is Associate Dean for Public Health Practice and Training and Professor of the Practice at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He previously served as the Health Commissioner of Baltimore City and the Health Secretary of the State of Maryland. We ask Dr. Sharfstein to dispel myths about the spread of COVID-19, and explain his idea...

To curb the spread of the coronavirus, universities have dispersed their students and are counting on teaching over the internet to keep students learning. The University System of Maryland, comprising a dozen public universities, had started down that road, but this is a big acceleration. How will it work? How will hundreds of professors who have not taught online before learn how to convey their...

Fearful of the deadly epidemic, many people turn to their faith for comfort and connection -- at the very time restrictions to quell the coronavirus have caused churches, mosques and synagogues to close their doors. We hear how Rabbi Daniel Cotzin Burg of Beth Am synagogue is thinking outside the sanctuary walls to create community. And Right Reverend Eugene Taylor Sutton, bishop of the Episcopal...

Here's a Stoop Story from Janet Combs about reclaiming childhood innocence, and what that means when you’re a parent. You can hear her story and many others at Stoopstorytelling.com, as well as 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 S...

The General Assembly has adjourned three weeks early--a remarkable move to reduce legislators’ risk of touching the coronavirus. They hustled through dozens of bills, sometimes suspending rules to pass a state budget, an overhaul of the school system, and a plan to rebuild Pimlico racetrack. We talk to WYPR’s Rachel Baye and Sen. Antonio Hayes, chair of the Baltimore City Demoratic delegation. Fin...

As public schools in Maryland remain closed to slow the spread of COVID-19, families and kids are grappling with boredom and stress. Steve Rohde of the Maryland Family Network, a resource for families and child-care providers, talks about precautions daycare facilities should take to keep the virus from spreading, and gives parents advice on how to reassure their kids. Get help locating child care...

The Dow plunges. Store shelves are picked clean. Thousands of people aren’t going to work, and don’t know how long that will last. Amy Webb, founder of the Future Today Institute, says this time of pandemic uncertainty is exactly when it’s important to make plans .. which is not the same as predictions. As she helps clients imagine responses to good and bad developments, Webb also views the pandem...

In five years the non-profit Turnaround Tuesday, which focuses on workforce development, has helped more than 800 Baltimore residents find work. It calls itself “a second-chance jobs movement.” Director of operations Bri Johnson says success comes partly because people choose to participate. We hear about the new WYPR podcast that goes behind the scenes: “Higher Purpose,” created by Yasmene Mumby....

Here is Jen Antonelli’s Stoop Story about a dog on the run. We have more information about the Stoop Storytelling Series at the OTR page at wypr.org. 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 410-23...

Beaming lighthouses, seascapes with crashing waves, cottages under puffy clouds. It was common in the 1950s for windows in East Baltimore rowhomes to be adorned with painted screens. Now it’s a rare treat. Painted screens grew popular for a practical reason: They block the interior of your home from prying eyes. Folklorist Elaine Eff tells about the origin of this artform, and Highlandtown Gallery...

The 2020 Census is coming. Its results will shape how congressional seats are apportioned, and how federal funding is distributed among states and local jurisdictions. CASA de Maryland Outreach worker Swany Villatoro talks about countering misconceptions and asking people to pledge to complete the Census. And Gaby Roque, CASA’s lead organizer for Central Maryland, says the Census is a chance to ha...

As more Marylanders are tested for Covid-19, the disease from the new coronavirus, we talk to two doctors watching the epidemic closely. Emergency physician Dr. Leana Wen, Baltimore City’s former health commissioner, notes the seasonal flu we’re used to is more widespread than the new disease: Still, Wen says to expect more restrictions on people’s activities, to keep the virus from spreading. And...

Whether it’s the crowd-pleasing Kinetic Sculpture Race … the ‘paws’-a-tively delightful Pet Parade … or the ‘outsider-art’ exhibits curated inside its glittering mosaic tile-covered walls--The American Visionary Art Museum aims to present art as an immersive experience that challenges visitors to think as well as feel. Founder and director Rebecca Hoffberger discusses the current exhibit, ‘The Sec...

Why was the U.S. at war in Iraq? What did the war mean for those who served … or to those at home? Characters created by writer and Marine Veteran Phil Klay work these questions out on the page in his book called Redeployment. We spoke with Klay prior to his humanities-symposium keynote lecture this Thursday at Loyola University Maryland. The book comprises a dozen short stories told from twelve d...

Here is a Stoop Story from Jonathan Theirman about a not-so-romantic date in the emergency room. Click here for more information about the Stoop Storytelling Series - including 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 410-23...