Midday

Author Po Bronson explores what compels us to compete, why our culture is driven toward competition, and the hidden factors behind every sort of win and loss — from bringing home Gold in Olympic swimming to bombing the SAT.  Bronson is the co-author of "Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing."

Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Michael Moss surveys the giant processed foods industry and its complicity in the U.S. obesity epidemic, now effecting one in three adults and one in five children.  Moss is the author of  "Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us."

Most locals have heard of some the top restaurants in Baltimore such as Woodberry Kitchen or Cinghaile, but what about the best restaurants in other parts of the state? This hour, longtime Baltimore Sun food critic Richard Gorelick joins husband-and-wife food writers Kathy Wielech and Neal Patterson in listing some of the best eateries throughout Maryland.

A review of top stories of the region with the reporters who covered them. This hour, WYPR’s Karen Hosler has her report from Annapolis, the Baltimore Sun’s Justin Fenton details West Baltimore violence, and the Baltimore Brew’s Mark Reutter talks about Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake’s budget that includes new taxes and fees. Plus a follow-up on our report on Maryland legislation that would establish a container deposit system in the state. 

On an off for the last five years, a handful of homeless people called the encampment near Baltimore’s JFX freeway home. But at the beginning of the month, the city razed the camp to deal with the city’s homelessness problem. The move is just the latest in a series of moves made by the Mayor to deal with homelessness in Baltimore. But many of the city’s advocates say the Mayor’s plan is ill-conceived. And what’s worse—it’s not working. This hour, we look at the problem of homelessness in Baltimore—including what underlying systemic issues are complicating the situation.

Carolyn Jones, author of a beautifully crafted book of photos and essays chronicling the lives of nurses, is traveling across the nation transforming the book into a documentary film. She stops in Baltimore and Studio A to discuss the project with one of the subjects of the book and documentary, Naomi Cross, an obstetrics nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Newly anointed Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer ignited a national debate over the merits of telecommuting after she demanded that her employees work exclusively from the office. We discuss the new Yahoo! Edict, and its implications for workplace culture with Sharon Kim, assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School who specializes in organizational behavior; and Ray Fisman, professor of social enterprise at Columbia Business School, and co-author of The Org: The Underlying Logic of the Office. Also, Rep.

Ohio Senator Rob Portman said Friday that he has a gay son and can no longer justify his opposition to same-sex marriage, making him one of the most prominent Republicans to oppose his party on the issue. In her latest DecodeDC report, former NPR correspondent Andrea Seabrook profiles former Rep. Jim Kolbe, an Arizona Republican who served in Congress from 1985 to 2003, and who came out in 1996.

Today marks the golden anniversary of the Supreme Court decision, Gideon v Wainwright, that affirmed the Sixth Amendment right of all criminal defendants, including the indigent, to counsel. A look back at Gideon and the defense of the poor, plus the effort to provide “civil Gideon” for those who cannot afford a lawyer.

The Justice Policy Institute, a Washington-based organization that supports lowering the nation's incarceration rate, says five states have reduced youth confinement by more than 50 percent over the last decade. What practices did they implement to achieve these results, and what's being done in Maryland? Our guests: Spike Bradford, senior research analyst for the Justice Policy Institute; and Scott Beal, executive director of community services for the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services.