WYPR

A visit to the home of the Parsons family to witness an annual tradition that’s been passed down through the generations for more than a century - the making of “Maryland Beaten Biscuits”

Writer Rafael Alvarez shares a holiday story about Aunt Lola’s kitchen, a place where the aroma of fresh-baked cookies evokes memories of Christmas-past

And storyteller Therese Lynch recounts an ill-fated Christmas when her boyfriend met her family for the first time – and everything went as wrong as it possibly could

We tour the rowhouse-basement factory of Rheb’s Candies, a family business that’s been supplying Baltimore with confectionary delights for more than ninety years.

From The Stoop, optimist Ron Tanner buys a condemned frat house and gives himself six months to restore it before inviting his extended family to stay for Christmas.

December 7th & 8th, 2012, on The Signal:  

When he was drafted during the Vietnam War, Jim Karantonis trained to be a medic and he was assigned stateside - in the psych ward at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  The former neuropsychiatric technician joins us to reflect on what he learned from his patients.

Benn Ray of Atomic Books visits with his unique holiday suggestions, including graphic novels, sheet music, a hot new cookbook, and one item that seeks to re-invent the notion of what a book truly is.

Half a century ago in Taneytown, Maryland, a young couple – Dotty and Leroy Eyeler - started a bluegrass band together. Little did they know they’d become the matriarch and patriarch of a musical legacy:  The Carroll County Ramblers.  

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.