signal

At one time in his life, Charlie Wilhelm was a loan shark, a drug dealer, and a bookmaker.  He raked in ten thousand dollars a week, cash.  But when he was ordered to murder two friends, he took himself (and all of his information) to the FBI.  Wilhelm turned informant, wearing a wire and later testifying against his former partners in crime, putting them behind bars for years to come.

 We meet Charlie Wilhelm, and we hear his reflections on crime, loyalty, and redemption this week on The Signal.

November 16th & 17th, 2012, on The Signal:  

We visit a nearly forgotten cemetery on the grounds of the now-shuttered Crownsville State Hospital, where patients buried their own.  Historian Janice Hayes-Williams walks us through the gravesite, and tells the story of the institution originally named, ‘The Hospital for the Negro Insane.’  We also talk with Paul Lurz, who worked inside Crownsville for 40 years.

Dan Fesperman talks about his latest book, “The Double Game.” The book has been called a “love letter to the spy novel genre.”

We meet a man who grew up blind in a small village in Sierra Leone.  As a child, he taught himself how to play a rare, traditional instrument called the Kondi.  He adopted the name of his instrument, and today, Sorie Kondi is on an unlikely international tour, thanks to a network of world music fan

October 26th & 27th, 2012, on The Signal:  

We drop in at the Reginald F Lewis Museum for a tour of the photo exhibition, “Growing up Afro:  Snapshots of Black Childhood from the Afro-American Newspapers”

We get a preview of Stillpointe Theatre Initiative’s fantasy retro makeover of the classic, “Arsenic and Old Lace”

We head to Centerstage for a sneak peek at “The Completely Fictional – Utterly True – Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe”

October 19th & 20th, 2012, on The Signal:  

Trezana Beverley won a Tony Award in 1977 for her performance as the Lady in Red in the Broadway production of, ‘for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf.’ This month, Ms. Beverley is back in her hometown, directing that same play at Morgan State University, and we visit with her and her cast.

We preview the Baltimore Folk Fest, a celebration that’s bringing top-notch performers to the Station North Arts District.

October 12th & 13th, 2012, on The Signal:  Stories about ‘circulation’…

We visit a fitness instructor who specializes in training senior citizens.

We ride the MARC train with a commuter who’s turned his hours on the rails into an album of electronic music.

We drop in at the Enoch Pratt Free Library to meet the team that gets all those returned books back on the shelves.

We pedal along with a bicyclist who tags the city streets with digital graffiti.

October 5th & 6th, 2012, on The Signal:  

The War of 1812 is remembered in paintings, legends, and one very famous song, but its story has never been the subject of a rock opera – until now. We meet the minds behind 1814! The Rock Opera! 

We hit the streets with Matt Kelley and 700 of his fellow cyclists to experience the revelry of the monthly Baltimore Bike Party.

Janice Greene of the Griot’s Circle of Maryland joins us with a folktale about the benefits of learning a second language

September 28 & 29, 2012, on The Signal:  

A special hour of true tales told live without a script:

Recovering Facebook addict Marye Isaacs confronts the envy she feels when she stalks her friends’ profile pages.

Mike Lowry pays homage to the dysfunctional family that made him the emotionally healthy man he is today.

World-traveler Julie Hackett reflects on the source of her wanderlust – a childhood spent struggling with homelessness.

Helpless romantic Julie Mendez ponders fate and the magic moment of meeting Mister Right.

September 21 & 22, 2012, on The Signal:  

Can choreography be considered a language?  Full Circle Dance Company will explore that question during an upcoming performance, and we drop in at a rehearsal to check out its aptly titled, “Moving Passages” 

Tim Kreider talks about his latest book, “We Learn Nothing,” a collection of essays and cartoons about love, death, and the people and events that have shaped his life.

September 14 & 15, 2012, on The Signal:  

Street artists Gaia, MOMO, and Michael Owen have been redecorating the city, one public wall at a time.  They usually work alone, but they’ve just come together for an unprecedented collaboration.  We drop in at the gallery where their joint exhibition, “Zim Zum,” is about to open.

Rafael Alvarez talks about his new book, “The Tuerk House,” a chronicle of Baltimore’s pioneering drug and alcohol rehab center, opened in 1970.