On The Record

This weekend, the National Mall will be blanketed by the Monument Quilt, a patchwork of thousands of stories from survivors of sexual assault. The project was overseen by the Baltimore artist-activist group, FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture. Kalima Young, part of the project’s leadership team, talks about the quilt’s significance, and E Cadoux, a member of FORCE, describes the healing process. Learn...

In the spirit of Memorial Day, we meet writer, educator and veteran marine Dario DiBattista, who shares his thoughts about military service and his experience writing and teaching writing to war veterans as a form of post-trauma therapy at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Then we visit the Freedom Hills Therapeutic Riding program in Cecil County, and meet participant Don Koss, a Vietn...

Behind the bolts and locks at Jessup Correctional Institution, some prisoners are making a bid for college. An experimental program by the US Department of Education pays their tuition. Andrea Cantora, director of the Second Chance program at the University of Baltimore, describes how college courses work inside the walls. And Marcus Lilly, a participant who has returned home, talks about his goal...

Here’s a Stoop Story from Dana Moore about the importance of identity. 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 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers mgerr...

Ramadan is a time of prayer, fasting, and contemplation. For Mansoor Shams, it’s also a time to connect with people of other faiths. Shams is a veteran. A decade after his military service, he founded Muslim Marine to help combat Islamophobia and intolerance through conversation. He sees his mission as both a religious duty and a service to his country. Do you have a question or comment about a sh...

The approach of summer promises a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables to choose from … But when you pick out those juicy plums or ripe tomatoes from your favorite grocery produce section … do you stop to question where and how they were grown? Amy Webb, founder of the ‘Future Today Institute’, has some ideas about that. She talks about the future of farming -- from genetic editing … to collabora...

The disappearance of the Lyon sisters from a mall in Montgomery County in 1975 shocked the public and mystified police. Four decades later, an overlooked tip led police to a new suspect - Lloyd Welch. Mark Bowden’s latest book, The Last Stone, describes how detectives sorted through Welch’s elaborate explanations. We hear how Bowden covered the story as a rookie reporter for the Baltimore News-Ame...

Decades before Victorine Q. Adams was elected the first African-American woman on the Baltimore City Council--in 1967-- she was a teacher. Then she poured her energies into political education, setting up the “Colored Women’s Democratic Campaign Committee” and other grassroots organizing. Morgan State archivist Ida E. Jones’ new book, Baltimore Civil Rights Leader Victorine Q. Adams: The Power of...

Spring --- when nature flaunts her finest! Birds sing, trees erupt with blossoms that attract busy pollinators. Today we hear about ways to experience the flurry and bustle of the season. Ornithologist Bruce Beehler shares insights on how to become a better -- or beginner -- birder and talks us through his book, Birds of Maryland, Delaware and District of Columbia. Plus, environmentalist Colin Ree...

Here is a Stoop Story from Nikiyah Fayson, about fast-paced life in Baltimore. 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 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/he...

Shawna Potter, lead singer for the punk band, “War on Women,” tackled sexism and harassment in lyrics and on-stage. Then she began leading workshops to educate concert and festival attendees. Now Potter has written a book, a practical guide to help clubs and community spaces create safer environments for marginalized people. It’s called, “Making Spaces Safer: A Guide to Giving Harassment the Boot...

The price of insulin is soaring, and some patients are rationing their dosage and risking death. With millions of American living with diabetes, what can be done to help patients afford this essential drug? Hopkins internist and medical historian Dr. Jeremy Greene describes how innovation has upped the effectiveness of insulin in the 100 years since it was discovered. But that’s come at a steep pr...

There are about seven hundred thousand active podcasts available to anyone with a computer or a smartphone, in more than 100 languages. And people DO listen--at the rate of 62 million people per week, in the US alone. What makes a good podcast? And what do podcasts provide that is different from broadcast media? We pose those questions to WYPR original podcasters, Aaron Henkin, creator of ‘Out of...

The novel, The Satapur Moonstone, opens on tragedy and tension a century ago in India: after the two male rulers have died in obscure accidents, two queens are locked in bitter dispute involving the heir to the throne. Baltimore writer Sujata Massey tells us about the latest assignment of her protagonist, lawyer Perveen Mistry. You can catch Massey at the Ivy Bookshop on Falls Road tomorrow evenin...

Baltimore’s new health commissioner, Dr. Letitia Dzirasa, has been on the job for two months. She oversees an annual budget of $150 million dollars … and initiatives aimed at improving the health of residents young and old. We talk about Dr. Dzirasa’s priorities: from food access to halting the opioid-overdose epidemic. Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Conta...

The Maryland film festival is rolling out its red carpet: for the first time this year they’ll screen a Charm City-centric program, called ‘Balti-shorts.’ It’s a suite of five short films -- fictional and non-fictional -- that focus on Baltimore. We meet writer Shannon Shird and hear about her film, ‘Bodymore’ … based on her experience as an activist. And director-producer Gabe Dinsmoor talks abou...

That was Stoop Story from Geoffrey Danek about how deep his love goes for his kids … Casey and Tacos ... his pet goats. You can hear his story and many others at stoopstorytelling.com, as well as at 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 410-235-1...

There’s no argument that being a mother is one of the most important and most challenging jobs. How is the role influenced by cultural differences … if at all? We’re exploring that idea today, in celebration of mothers everywhere, … as well as reflecting a special yearlong celebration of German-American friendship called, Wunderbar Together! We meet three mothers from those two countries who share...

It seems so simple … but can so easily elude us: noticing the quiet, the surprising, the graceful--the moments of delight--that abound each day. Can we become more aware of delight, with practice? Poet Ross Gay gave himself a year-long task: … each day to fine-tune his ‘radar for delight,’ … to observe the small caretaking gestures that connect us, and to handwrite a short essay. He reads from the...

For many college freshman, the thought of a committing to a PhD is daunting. For students in the Meyerhoff Scholars program at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, it’s a chance to be a leader. With three decades’ of know-how increasing diversity in engineering and the sciences, the scholarship program is now expanding to two universities on the West Coast. We speak to Keith Harmon, direct...

Complex algorithms control why a particular headline or ad appears in your social media feed; they can even determine why someone is detained in airport security. But who is defining those algorithms? Strategic Futurist Amy Webb explains how a small group of powerful people wield enormous control over our everyday experience … and why we should care ... in her latest book: “The Big Nine: How the T...

Catherine Pugh has resigned as mayor of Baltimore amid scrutiny from federal, state and city investigators over deals for her self-published children’s books. As the city moves forward under Mayor Jack Young, who has been at the head of government since Pugh took medical leave a month ago, we ask the Baltimore Sun’s Andy Green and Baltimore Beat’s Lisa Snowden McCray what this changing of the guar...

Where do discoveries about blue crabs, biofuel, and sharks all come together? At the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, scientists study underwater life, searching for ways to combat climate change, restore coasts, and improve the health of marine creatures and humans. Director Russell Hill gives us an overview of projects, --from testing sustainable aquaculture practices to turning...

For fourteen years the nonprofit Thread has identified Baltimore students facing academic and personal challenges … and created a tapestry of support around each ...powered by hundreds of volunteers who stay by their side for years. Many Thread students have spent their lives being told they’re underperformers or not worthwhile. The commitment of consistent and unconditional acceptance can turn li...

More than 700 individuals across 22 states are battling measles, 25 years after officials declared the disease eliminated from the United States. In Maryland, four people have been infected this year; in 2018 and 2017 just one person contracted measles. The virus has no specific medical treatment and carries the risk of deadly complications. Dr. James Campbell, pediatric infectious disease expert...