On The Record

On the Record reflects on the last nine years of our radio show and the interviews with — and insights from— artists, scientists, community leaders, and others that we spoke with along the way.

Sheilah Kast talks with former UMBC President Dr. Freeman Hrabowski about empathy, dialog, and forgiveness in this fraught political moment.

The Lumbee Indian community has had a longstanding presence in Baltimore. They arrived after World War II when thousands of people came looking for work, migrating up from North Carolina. When they arrived, many of the families centered around East Baltimore Street. Community-based artist and folklorist Ashley Minner Jones, a member of the Lumbee community, has used her talents to preserve, docume...

When you think of Ancient Egypt, what comes to mind? Sand, the Nile, pyramids, the Sphinx? Maybe, even mummies. If you’re thinking about mummies, you’re probably thinking about human mummies. But millions of animals were also mummified; they’ve been found at burial sites across Egypt — cats, dogs, birds and more. Those animal mummies are the focus of 'Soulful Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient E...

If you find “Lawyer Oyer” on TikTok or Instagram, the voice is calm and the demeanor steady. It can feel like a 3-minute tutorial on the law. But listen, and you realize it’s not at all passive. Before Liz Oyer was in charge of pardons at the U.S. Department of Justice, she was a federal public defender in Maryland for ten years. She was fired by the Trump administration six months ago, and starte...

Tense financial times. Since January, 15,000 federal workers in Maryland have lost their jobs, more than in any other state. Looking ahead, policy changes in the federal 'One Big Beautiful Bill' are likely to knock tens of thousands of Marylanders off food assistance or health insurance, or both. A week before the last day of On the Record, Gov. Wes Moore joins us to take stock of where things are...

Part of success is looking back at the path that got you there. On the Record is in its homestretch -- ending October 3. We’re using some of our last shows to listen back to guests from whom we’ve learned a lot, and to talk with them again. Like the acclaimed cellist Amit Peled -- a professor at Johns Hopkins Peabody Institute and founder and conductor of the Mount Vernon Virtuosi. In 2018 Peled t...

On the Record will end October 3. I’m indebted to you, our listeners and to all those who spoke with our small team during these nine years--to all who explained what they’re pouring their energies into and why others in Baltimore and Maryland should listen and care. I wish I could re-interview and catch up with everyone who joined us On the Record. But time is short. Just a few shows left. Sharin...

From before the dawn of recorded history, people have come together to tell stories. Whether it’s the oral traditions and folk tales of yore… or simply folks chatting around the campfire or watercooler… there’s one thing that’s true: everyone has a story. And for nearly 20 years, the Stoop Storytelling Series has featured true stories, told live in Baltimore… on stage, in podcasts, and here on the...

For this week's Stoop Story, we hear from Sophia Garber... about a butterfly named Nathaniel who never got to spread his wings. Information about upcoming live storytelling events , more stories, and the Stoop podcast is at StoopStorytelling.com.

For more than a century, the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center -- called BARC -- has generated scientific discoveries that improved farmers’ productivity, food safety and human nutrition. That would end under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s plan to close BARC and to downsize USDA’s Washington-area staff, sending more than half its 46-hundred employees from the DC region to four other st...

Betsy Fox Tolentino calls her new gig -- heading Maryland’s Department of Juvenile Services -- her dream job. She was named acting secretary in early June after Gov. Moore decided her predecessor, Vincent Schiraldi, wasn’t making progress fast enough. Fox Tolentino already had worked 11 years in leadership roles at DJS, before leaving three years ago to manage juvenile-justice initiatives at the R...

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The Panamanian Golden Frog holds major cultural significance in their native Panama. "They are one of the symbols of Panama, similar to the Bald Eagle in the US," says Ellen Bronson, Senior Director of Animal Health, Conservation, and Research at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. The frogs haven't been seen in the wild since 2009, but the Zoo is working to keep them alive; it was the first institutio...

With other states, Maryland is suing the Trump administration over transportation, healthcare and other cuts. Republicans warn those lawsuits put federal funds for the Key Bridge at risk. We ask Attorney Gen. Anthony Brown.

If you’ve heard of Cory McCray, you’ve most likely picked up that he’s a state senator, from East Baltimore. And maybe you’ve also been told-- and thought: “Huh, that’s kinda surprising ..” -- that McCray is an electrician. What you may not have heard is that a week before his 18th birthday he was charged as an adult with possession of multiple firearms and distribution of narcotics. And that was...

A photograph captures a moment in time, and when you string many of those moments together, it paints a detailed picture of what once was. That is the case of the decades-long work and keen eye of photographer I. Henry Phillips Sr. From the mid to the late twentieth century, he chronicled everyday life in Baltimore’s Black communities for the Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper and as a freelancer....

It’s the biggest verdict ever against a gun dealer in the U.S., Baltimore says: $62 million dollars. In late August a jury sided with the city in its lawsuit alleging an Anne Arundel gun dealer had flooded Baltimore with ghost guns, evading gun laws and wreaking violent destruction. Baltimore plans to use the $62 million in three violence-reduction programs. We talk with JHU Bloomberg professor of...

The National Education Association, the nation’s largest teacher’s union, published a handbook with new guidance that omitted the mention of Jews when teaching Holocaust history. They said they’ve updated the handbook … but it’s still not available on their site. We ask Jeffrey Herf, Distinguished University Professor Emeritus in the University of Maryland College Park Dept of History, what are th...

Labor Day is Monday… and for a bit of an early celebration, we bring you a couple stoop stories about jobs. The first: a tale from Naomi Cross, about her first foray into the working world… the second, from author Laura Lippman, featuring reflections on her final days at the Baltimore Sun. Laura Lippman recently spoke with Sheilah Kast about her latest novel; you can listen to that conversation he...

Several times a year the Natural History Society of Maryland offers folks an opportunity to explore the geology of Baltimore City’s buildings and monuments. The next tour is Sunday, September 14, led by Sam Glasscock, a semi-professional geologist who volunteers for the Natural History Society — he gave us a preview.

Author Laura Lippman's 29th or 30th novel, depending how you count, is 'Murder Takes a Vacation': a cozy mystery that follows a plus-sized Baltimore widow in her late 60s who is breaking out of her shell… at the same time she becomes the target of ruthless international criminals. She spoke with Sheilah Kast about it in June.

Author Rosalia Scalia is out with another collection of short stories. It’s called “Under the Radar” and includes tales that catch people at their most vulnerable. Sometimes, because of death, and loss. Sometimes, it’s just because people are complicated. Complicated characters anchor every story in this book. They’re characters who will not leave your head — including a pig named King Charles who...

Americans buy a lot of clothes. The non-profit Public Interest Research Group estimates that the average consumer bought 53 items of clothing last year, which is four times as much as 25 years ago. A lot of that clothing ends up in the trash - it’s estimated that more than half of clothes get thrown out within a year after being purchased. And in the US, upwards of 17 million tons of textiles get...

School is almost back in session! Kids in Baltimore City and Baltimore County - and several other jurisdictions around the state - are set to hit the books on Monday. Others will start in the coming weeks. In preparation, we bring you a couple school-themed Stories from the Stoop. We start with a memory from Beth Landeau about an embarrassing first day of sixth grade. Then we hear from Bridget Cav...