On The Record

Should Maryland raise its minimum wage to $15 dollars per hour? As lawmakers debate, dozens of business owners and workers have testified about the potential impact of a wage boost. Lawrence A. Richardson Jr. of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce lays out the concerns of small business owners across the state - will they be forced to cut jobs or hours? Will they relocate to bordering states? - while...

Growing up in East Baltimore, the son of Catholic immigrants, Jim Cabezas felt called to serve and protect. But as a rookie Baltimore City police officer in 1970s, he witnessed rampant racism and abuse by fellow officers. In his memoir, “Eyes of Justice,” written with Joan Jacobson, Jim Cabezas details his lengthy career in law enforcement, including high-profile investigations of corrupt politici...

What is the glue that holds a community together? For St. Francis Neighborhood Center, it is the attitude that it takes a village to build a better future. St. Francis Neighborhood Center is located at Whitelock Street and Linden Avenue in Baltimore’s Reservoir Hill community. Its mission is to end generational poverty through education. To meet that goal, the nonprofit offers free resources for f...

The United States is most dangerous place in the developed world to give birth--and the mothers most at risk … are African Americans. This afternoon Johns Hopkins is convening a dozen experts for ideas that could change that picture. The symposium also honors Shalon Irving, an black alumna who worked to eliminate health disparities. Still, three weeks after she gave birth, high blood pressure took...

Here is a Stoop Story from Sharon Gorenstein about getting her “happily ever after” without the castle. You can hear her story and many others at stoopstorytelling.com. 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 mg...

Decades after Esther Nisenthal Krinitz lost her family in the Holocaust, she began stitching together childhood memories, using thread and fabric to detail life in their Polish village, and trauma of World War II. It was an avocation she took up while running a clothing store in downtown Frederick. Now dozens of her embroidered panels are coming to the American Visionary Art Museum, part of an exh...

We all know there’s no place like home. But what ‘home’ looks like ... depends upon our perspective. We get two perspectives today. LaQuida Chancey, founder of Smalltimore Homes, tells us how she hopes to eradicate homelessness by developing ‘micro shelter’ communities. Then, we visit Baltimore’s Inner harbor to learn why some people choose to live aboard year round. For Joe Fleischman, it’s about...

What do you have in common with a fish? Dr. Steven Farber, from the Carnegie Institution for Science, has a good idea: turns out, it goes clear down to the genes. He tells us about his research on heart disease using--of all things--the tiny zebrafish. He’s also created a short beginners’ genetics curriculum based on fish development -- called BioEYES. We also visit Mt. Washington School and meet...

As acting Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison enters his second week on the job, we hear from community leaders David Troy of the group Baltimore City Voters and Rev. Dr. S. Todd Yeary of Douglas memorial Community Church about their first impressions. And Fern Shen of the Baltimore Brew tells us what’s expected in his confirmation process. Do you have a question or comment about a show...

Does a city shape its inhabitants ... or is it the other way around? And … how much does location influence commerce? Deborah Weiner explores these questions in the book she co-wrote: “On Middle Ground: A History of the Jews of Baltimore.” It draws on Baltimore’s unique geography, politics and racial diversity -- not to mention a host of colorful characters -- to walk the reader through the develo...

Gather your bait and cast your line! Milton Price of the Pasadena Sportfishing Group tells us about their mission to pass a love of fishing on to the next generation. The group will be holding their 27th Annual Expo tomorrow and Sunday at the Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company - 161 Ritchie Hwy Severna Park, MD. More information here. Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story...

Here's a Stoop Story from Rosemary Raun about roughing it in the not-so-great outdoors. You can listen to more stories and and the Stoop Podcast at stoopstorytelling.com. 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...

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...

The play “Everything is Wonderful” at Everyman Theater makes us think anew about what it means to forgive, and what it takes to do it. Director Noah Himmelstein contrasts the mercy an Amish family shows a man whose driving took their son’s lives … with their sternness toward their free-spirited daughter. And we meet Mark and Sandy Laken, inspired by the play to search for the driver who might have...

Americans are doing more and more of their shopping online -- but part of what distinguishes Baltimore are the brick-and-mortar businesses that have thrived for more than a century. The nonprofit ‘Baltimore Heritage’ has a new project recognizing the owners of 100-year legacy businesses, and project researcher Richard Messick and executive director Johns Hopkins tell us all about it. Then we hear...

FDR’s New Deal shaped Democratic politics for generations. But the roots of the coalition that made it happen stretch back further. We speak to historian Robert Chiles about his new book, ----The Revolution of ’28: Al Smith, American Progressivism, and the Coming of the New Deal----. Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervisi...

Here is a Stoop Story from Barbara Treasure about Akira Kurosawa's ----Seven Samurai----. Check out more Stoop Stories, and the Stoop podcast, here. 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...

From the cutting-room floors of Blockbuster and Video Americain … has emerged Beyond Video. The new nonprofit video rental shop in Baltimore’s Remington neighborhood is a temple to film, with thousands of independent, foreign, and hard-to-find titles...and volunteers ready with recommendations. Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senio...

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...

When financial affairs have spun out of control, filing bankruptcy is an option … but typically a last resort. Recent research published as ‘Graying of U.S. Bankruptcy: Fallout from Life in a Risk Society,’ reveals that a growing number of adults 65 and older are choosing bankruptcy as their best option. Professor Deborah Thorne is a principal investigator for the ‘Consumer Bankruptcy Project.’ Th...

We are all better than our worst decision. That’s the message of “The Master Plan,” a memoir by Chris Wilson. At 17, Wilson was sentenced for murder, to life in prison. Behind bars, he reflected on his troubled upbringing and focused on building a positive future. Wilson details his improbable path to freedom and the challenges he’s faced since returning home. Do you have a question or comment abo...

What impacts can we expect from the new policy of the Baltimore City State’s Attorney not to prosecute possession of marijuana? Former police detective Debbie Ramsay, now part of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, urges prosecutors and police not to square off in opposition, but together to listen to how citizens want marijuana laws enforced. Sonia Kumar, staff attorney for the A.C.L.U. of Ma...

Get a good night’s sleep, avoid sugar, exercise - we hear this advice all the time, but how does following it affect how we age? Internist Dr. Stephen Schimpff, says adopting positive habits-- especially at a young age--can prevent the onset of chronic diseases. He points to regions around the globe with concentrations of people 100 years or older. These communities shun processed food, stay activ...

Here’s a Stoop Story from Natalie Sokoloff about the challenges of recovering after a severe fall and fighting to get her mobility back. 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 Produc...

As Nazi power spread in the 1930’s and Jews in Europe struggled to escape, many countries closed their borders to Jewish refugees. An exception was the international city of Shanghai, China, which required no visa. Thousands of Jews made their way across continents to shelter in Shanghai. Marvin Pinkert, director of the Jewish Museum of Maryland, explains how the early welcome the refugees receive...