History

Do you know which U.S. president witnessed the decapitation of his 11-year-old son? Or what president was the source of the colloquialism “OK”? This hour, in honor of the President’s Day holiday, author Kenneth C. Davis tells us about some of the least-known presidents of all-time from James Polk, the only speaker of the House of Representatives ever to be elected president, to William McKinley, the third of four presidents to die at the hands of an assassin. Davis is the best-selling author of “Don’t Know Much About The American Presidents.”

Maryland Morning senior producer Lawrence Lanahan looks at income inequality numbers for Maryland--and explains why our series "The Lines Between Us" has taken four months to start examining income inequality. We look at why affluent families are fleeing middle class neighborhoods and what can entice them to stay. We examine income segregation with researcher Sean Reardon and Patterson Park resident Jennifer Arndt Robinson. We also ask two residents: city Bureau of Solid Waste worker Demetric Farmer, and Glenham-Belhar Community Association president Sheila Ebelein.

February 15, 2013

January 22 marked the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which affirmed a woman's right to an abortion. Journalist Josh Prager tells the fascinating story of Norma McCorvey, who used the legal pseudonym Jane Roe as the plaintiff in the case, and who is now a born-again Christian and fervent pro-life activist. Prager is the author of the February Vanity Fair article, “The Accidental Activist.”

In the summer of 1918, a mysterious new strain of influenza kills millions of people all over the world.

February 5, 2013

1015 Paca St. 633 Sarah Ann St. Dozens of addresses all over Baltimore were once home to Maryland's African-American Civil War veterans. Many of them had been Eastern Shore slaves. Today, we'll hear about a Maryland State Archives project to document their lives, and we'll hear what their experience was like during the war--and after.

February 5, 2013

Former USA Today reporter Maria Goodavage takes war coverage in a different direction by sharing the stories of military dogs and the roles they played over the years in combat. Goodavage is the author of "Soldier Dogs: The Untold Story of America’s Canine Heroes."

January 30, 2013

Lawrence Lanahan