Midday

The Midday Weekly News Review of the region's most interesting stories with the reporters who covered them.

University of Maryland's Sheri Parks, a keen observer of American culture, talks about unplugging and its effect on personal relationships. Could you take a sabbatical from Facebook and your smart-phone? Also taking part in the discussion is Ellen Wartella, Professor of Communication at Northwestern University. She'll talk about her recent study regarding minority youth and the media.

From 9/11-was-an-inside-job to Obama's birth to the vaccine-autism link, Canadian journalist Jonathan Kay explores the vast and paranoid conspiracy underground and how it's damaging the shared reality we rely on as a society in his new book, Among the Truthers: A Journey Through America's Growing Conspiracist Underground.

We’ll talk with Brian Schilpp, project manager for the Back River Restoration Committee.  Brian and his team have been cleaning up one of Maryland’s most polluted rivers. We’ll learn about the return of Back River and what you can do to help restore this natural resource in Baltimore’s backyard. Also taking part in the conversation are Candace Croswell, Baltimore County Project Manager for the Back River Restoration Committee and Rachel Kehs, a student volunteer.

Thirty years after the first reported case of the HIV virus, HIV/AIDS continues to affect Baltimore disproportionately, according to the Baltimore City Health Department. We look at the state of HIV/AIDS, the research at Johns Hopkins, and efforts to address the ongoing epidemic, including National HIV Testing Day on June 27. Our guests include: Dr. Oxiris Barbot, Baltimore City Health Commissioner, Marvin “Doc” Cheatam, Director of the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the National Action Network, Dr.

Seventy-five years after the King of England scandalized an empire by giving up his throne to marry Baltimore socialite Wallis Warfield Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor is still a polarizing figure. Royal Watcher Hugo Vickers describes the sad final chapters of her life in his book Behind Closed Doors: the Tragic Untold Story of the Duchess of Windsor.

An expert in international terrorism, Mitchell Reiss has been recognized for his negotiating skills during the Northern Ireland peace process and North Korean nuclear crisis. He has also written the book Negotiating with Evil: When to Talk to Terrorists. He is now the 27th President of Washington College which U.S. News & World Report ranksas one of the top ten up-and-coming liberal arts colleges.

A look at efforts being made to keep children from losing during the summer much of the learning that took place during the just-concluded school year. We’ll talk about preventing  “summer learning loss” with Ashley Stewart, who directs a Baltimore initiative to advance summer learning; Marc Stein, assistant professor in the Johns Hopkins University School of Education; and Monica Logan, director of SuperKids Camps, the Baltimore-based summer learning program operated by the Parks & People Foundation.

 State Sen. Catherine Pugh wants to cut the city's property tax rate in half over four years. Ms. Pugh, one of a group of Democratic candidates who have lined up to challenge Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake in the September primary,  is our guest this hour.

Midday Friday's culinary experts, Cindy Wolf and Tony Foreman, have just returned from a tour of Italy. From the Campania region in the south and some of the small wine-growing areas near Avellino, to a breathtaking restaurant-hotel on the Bay of Salerno, followed by a swing through Sicily and then a a few days up in Piemonte, we'll hear all about eating well in the provinces. We'll also make a side trip to Rome with Luca Spaghetti. You know that if you were among the millions who read Elizabeth Gilbert'sEat, Pray, Love.  Luca Spaghetti was Gilbert's gastronomical tour guide in Rome.