On The Record

Richard Messick reflects on saying, "I do," at Niagara Falls. The next Stoop show is January 11, 2025 at the Green Room in Baltimore. The theme is, “Cons and Catfish: Stories about getting hooked on the wrong line.” If you’ve been duped or deceived, you can submit your story for the show.

The latest exhibit at the American Visionary Art Museum brings arts and athletics together. The exhibit, “Good Sports: The Wisdom & Fun of Fair Play," is on display now through August 2025. We get a preview from Associate Curator and Grants Manager Gage Branda. This interview previously aired on November 1, 2024.

It’s the season of winter celebrations--who doesn’t love a good holiday story? Christmas and Hanukkah practically intersect this year -- and have we got the perfect Stoop stories to share with you! Tales about mall Santas, rabid gerbils and spreading light in dark times.

Happiness. What’s your plan for getting there? For most of us, it’s some form of trial and error. We may think being good to ourselves -- a nice house, or car, or clothes will move us along. Maybe a promotion at work or, for students, terrific grades. Actually, no….. We ask Yale psychology professor Laurie Santos, who hosts “The Happiness Lab” podcast, how science shows the way. This interview ori...

Mosquitoes kill more humans than any other foe. They spread many deadly diseases, including malaria, which each year infects about 250 million people in dozens of countries. And each year 600,000 people die from malaria, most of them children in Africa. What if there were a way to make mosquitoes ineffective with the help of bacteria? Scientists at the Malaria Research Institute at Johns Hopkins B...

Here’s a Stoop Story from Patricia Kirk, a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Emmanuel Monastery, about a Christmas blessing.

In Baltimore, for the past nine years, veterans charged with misdemeanors have had a chance to choose an alternative to sentencing and incarceration called Veterans Treatment Court. Now the Veterans Treatment Court has expanded to four neighboring counties -- Baltimore, Howard, Carroll and Harford. District Court Senior Judge Halee Weinstein shares why she founded the program and the progress she'...

You can’t have dinner without dirt. Soil is where all of our food starts, whether you’re a vegan or a carnivore. There are lots of things that impact the condition of dirt, and the Maryland Board of Soil Stewards is in place to ensure farmers have the tools they need to make soil healthy for the future. We hear from Jordan Bethea, farm manager for BLISS Meadows, a project of Backyard Basecamp, abo...

Maryland is staring at its worst budget crisis in 20 years. Decades ago the General Assembly set up a “Spending Affordability Committee” to track state spending and revenues and ensure spending does not rise faster than the state’s economy is growing. We talk with the Senate co-chair of that committee, Democrat Jim Rosapepe, who represents parts of Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties.

How is a training program expanding access to abortion care in Maryland's rural areas?

A decade ago, state, federal, and local leaders signed the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, setting the goals to restore and protect the Bay and its tributaries. Two years ago, and again last week, the Chesapeake Executive Council acknowledged it wouldn’t meet its 2025 deadline. So, what now? We speak with Hilary Harp Falk, president and CEO of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Rev. Grey Maggiano shares a Stoop story about using art to acknowledge the past and chart a new path forward. Check out a video of the Stoop event when this story was shared. See the painting  here .  Want more Stoop? Check out the Stoop Storytelling Series podcast and website . Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supe...

Before artisans knew of their danger, toxic materials like lead, arsenic, and mercury were used in the creation of illuminated manuscripts. A new exhibit at the Walters Art Museum titled, " If Books Could Kill" spotlights the hidden dangers of these artifacts and describes the scientific methods used to identify toxic materials.  We speak with  Lynley Anne Herbert , the Robert and Nancy...

Dozens of firefighters raced to extinguish a massive blaze in Baltimore Thursday; freezing temps and high winds multiplied the hazards. We ask chief James Wallace how he keeps his department safe, and get winter weather safety tips for everyone. Request a smoke alarm and placement assistance for your home. Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Reco...

Seven years ago, the Maryland judiciary changed the rules about bail, so people charged with a crime would not be held behind bars just because they can’t afford cash for bail. How is that working? We ask Baltimore Beat legal reporter Madeleine O’Neill what she's discovered. Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Superv...

With 200 photos of 85 bands and musicians over eight years, "Scene Seen" shines a light on Baltimore's vibrant local music landscape. We speak with photographer Micah E. Wood and designer Christopher Chester about creating this archive.  Listen to Ami Dang and Infinity Knives and Brian Ennals . Upcoming events: Friday Jan 3 | 7PM Gallery Opening & Book Celebration at Metro Gallery with DJ sets...

More than 150,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer every year. And the average age of people who get them is dropping. The American Cancer Society says the share of colorectal cancer cases among those younger than 55 nearly doubled between 1995 and 2019, rising from 11 percent to 20 percent. Why is this happening? What can people do to reduce their risk of developing colorectal cance...

Here’s a Stoop Story from Baltimore City Comptroller Bill Henry about embracing his nerdy side.  Check out the Stoop Storytelling podcast . Find out about upcoming Stoop events . 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...

Beyond emails and to-do lists and captions on social media…how often are you writing for pleasure? Do you wish that was part of your life? Would it add something you’re missing? The nonprofit Writers in Baltimore Schools guides students as they explore poetry and creative writing through in-school, afterschool, and summer camp programs.  We speak with founder Patrice Hutton , writing instructor  R...

When you live in a city as old as Baltimore, you are always standing on a lot of history. Every single lot in this centuries-old town has decades of stories behind it. We talk with historian Katie Labor , who has been exploring some of those stories in her project called BehindBmoreLots .     Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior...

We talk with medical director Dr. Sarah Schmalzle to hear about the resources University of Maryland Medical Center's THRIVE program provides the community. She also talks about AIDS awareness, prevention and care. In recognition of World AIDS Day , UMMC's THRIVE is offering free HIV, hepatitis, and diabetes screenings. This event will run Dec. 4th from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, at UMMC’s Midtown Campu...

The Latin-script alphabet used for English isn’t the only alphabet in use today. Think, for example, of Greek or Arabic scripts. There are also older alphabets. Until recently, we’d thought the first one was created in ancient Egypt, more than 3800 years ago. But now, it appears that an older alphabet has been discovered , in use 500 years before the Egyptian one.  We speak to Glenn Schwartz , a p...

Back in 2015,  New York Times reporter John Leland set out to spend a year with one of the fastest-growing age groups in America--the oldest old, those 85 and up. He expected the stories that would emerge would be fairly morbid, if not downright depressing. He did not anticipate that he would end up with a book titled, " Happiness Is a Choice You Make. " If you are looking for emotional support, c...

Here's a  Stoop story from Julie MacDonald , who made a rodent friend in Peru.   If you want to hear more stories, take a listen to the Stoop Storytelling podcast . On Tuesday, December 3rd, the Stoop will host its Holiday Hootenanny at the  Senator Theatre in Baltimore. Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer,...

When was the last time you felt delighted? Do you remember what evoked that feeling? Do you ever wonder how to tempt more delight into your life? Poet and writer Ross Gay meditated on these questions and recorded his observations in the 81 essays that make up “ The Book of Delights. ” This interview originally aired on February 14, 2019 .  Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story...