The Signal

Friday 7-8pm
Saturday 1-2pm

The Signal, a weekly radio magazine produced by WYPR, is devoted to exploring Maryland's thriving artistic and cultural scene.

The Signal, hosted by veteran WYPR personality Andy Bienstock, promises to transport listeners to the region's cultural back roads: the studios, recital halls and basement workshops where art is conceived and brought to life.

The minds behind The Signal senior producers Aaron Henkin and Lisa Morgan, as well as Bienstock -- share an abiding love for the tradition of radio storytelling. Every program is crafted like a book of short stories, a radio quilt sewn together with thoughtful narrative transitions and embroidered with contemplative musical interludes.

Thanks to our Sponsor Contemporary Museum CM%20LogoSmaller_0.jpg

Program Days:

Friday

Saturday

Short Program:

Only Archive

The Signal, 10.07.11 & 10.08.11, Lafayette Gilchrist, Joe Challmes at The Stoop, The Baltimore Mandolin Orchestra, Marion Winik, and the problem with superluminal neutrinos

You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly.

October 7th & 8th, 2011, on The Signal…

Before he ever tickled the ivories, Lafayette Gilchrist used to lace up the boxing gloves. We talk with the pianist and composer about his years as a fighter and the musical inspiration he’s taken from the sweet science.

From The Stoop - Joe Challmes made a promise to himself last year, the day he lost his leg. We’ll hear what it took to keep that promise.

This weekend, the Baltimore Mandolin Orchestra hosts a concert featuring 130 mandolin players on stage at the same time, and we’ll hear from members of the orchestra about why the instrument is uniquely suited to such a performance.

Marion Winik shares her secret recipe for the perfect dinner party.

And astrophysicist Mario Livio says he’ll eat his hat if neutrinos are actually traveling faster than the speed of light.

Download

The Signal, 09.30.11 & 10.01.11, “Vox Ukulele Cello,” “The Middle Passage: A Love Story,” and Dan Deacon’s Excellent Adventure

You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly.

September 30th & October 1st, 2011, on The Signal…

Local singer, songwriter, and ukulele enthusiast Victoria Vox stops by to preview her new CD, “Vox Ukelele Cello,” a harmonious blend of serious songwriting and playful instrumentation.

It took ten years of his life, but Joseph Norman has just completed an epic-scale mural project called “The Middle Passage: A Love Story.” We take a step back with the artist as he considers what he’s accomplished.

Plus: From Signal contributor Erin Gleeson, Baltimore DIY music legend Dan Deacon tells the tale of an early tour that tested his mettle – he went it alone, with only his instruments, a bag full of canned food, and a well-worn Greyhound Bus pass.

Download

The Signal, 09.23.11 & 09.24.11, Free Speech in the Digital Age: A Constitution Day Symposium

You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly.

September 23rd & 24th, 2011, on The Signal…

“In the past, personal and political liberty depended to a considerable extent on government inefficiency. The spirit of tyranny was always willing, but its organization and equipment were generally weak. Progressive science and technology have changed all that completely.”

-Aldous Huxley, 1948

Little could Mr. Huxley have imagined today’s internet and the digital apparatus that surrounds us all – cell phones, GPS, and ‘smart’ devices of all sorts, and so this week we ask: Are we better off with these tools, or are they making tools of us?

This episode of The Signal is a collection of highlights from the 2011 Constitution Day symposium, “Free Speech in the Digital Age,” organized by MICA and the Maryland ACLU and recorded in front of a live audience on September 17th at MICA’s Brown Center. The panel included ACLU policy analyst Jay Stanley, artist Trevor Paglin, and blogger Andrew Sullivan of The Daily Dish.

Download

The Signal, 09.16.11 & 09.17.11, Montford Pont Marine Charles Wells, ‘Partners' Portraits, jazz-man Carl Grubbs, and the Google Search as modern-day Father Confessor.

You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly.

September 16th & 17th, 2011, on The Signal…

World War II veteran Charles Wells served our country as one of the first African-Americans enlisted in the US Marine Corps. The Corps was segregated at the time, and Mr. Wells shares his memories of training at a remote outpost for black recruits called Camp Montford Point.

Katherine Meredith paints portraits in the traditional style of classical realism, but her recent series, Partners, has a distinctly modern twist: All of her subjects happen to be gay couples.

When jazz man Carl Grubbs was growing up, he had an older cousin named John – John Coltrane – and we explore the legend’s impact on his young admirer’s own music.

Plus: Essayist Marion Winik considers the Google Search as a window into the soul.

Download

The Signal, 09.09.11 & 09.10.11, Robert McCoy, 'The Atomic Weight of Secrets,' Erin McKeown, and free speech in the Digital Age

You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly.

This week (September 9th & 10th, 2011) on The Signal…

Guitarist Robert McCoy plays solo, but he’s got the whole city of Baltimore as his back-up band. We visit Robert at his favorite musical venue, outdoors under the trees at Wyman Park Dell, and we hear his contribution to the soundtrack of Charm City

Eden Unger Bowditch takes us inside the mysterious world of her young-adult novel, “The Atomic Weight of Secrets”

Singer/songwriter Erin McKeown has earned a national reputation as a riveting live performer, she’s going to be headlining next weekend’s annual Pigtown Festival, and guest producer Alex Ford brings us a profile

Plus: Jay Stanley of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Program on the state of free speech in the Digital Age

Download

The Signal, 09.02.11 & 09.03.11, a Chester River boat cruise with poet Meredith Davies Hadaway, Charm City mother-daughter musical talent, and a profile of Maryland Zoo rhino-wrangler Tanya White.

You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly.

The Chester River has been an important part of life for poet Meredith Davies Hadaway. It’s also been the inspiration for her poetry. This week, the Eastern-Shore writer takes us out in her boat to share the waters that have meant so much to her.

We talk with mother-daughter duo Anne Watts and Posie Lewis about the joy that music brings to their everyday lives and the simple pleasure of performing together.

Plus: When the five-o’clock whistle blows, what happens to the animals at the Maryland Zoo? It’s the job of zookeeper Tanya White to get the creatures inside and safe & sound at the end of the day, and Signal contributor Charles Cohen tags along to watch her wrangle the rhinos.

Download

The Signal, 08.26.11 & 08.27.11, a gay serviceman's career under Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell, 'Divided Voices: Maryland in the Civil War', and the life of Ed McTeer, witch-doctor Sheriff.

You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly.

This week (August 26th & 27th, 2011) on The Signal…

US Navy veteran Jeremy Johnson made the tough decision to come out to his commanding officer after a ten-year military career under the ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ policy. Jeremy talks with us this week about what went into his decision and what the repeal of the policy might mean for the future.

We pay a visit to the Maryland Historical Society for a preview of ‘Divided Voices: Maryland in the Civil War’. The show is the largest exhibition of Civil War artifacts in the society’s 167 year history.

Plus: We talk with author Baynard Woods about his book, ‘Coffin Point: The Strange Cases of Ed McTeer, Witchdoctor Sheriff’ – it’s the true story of an eccentric lawman who kept the peace in his Southern county for 36 years, without ever carrying a gun.

Download

The Signal, 08.19.11 & 08.20.11, Ginny Gong's immigrant experience, getting up-close & personal with farmed animals, and the artwork of Najwa Al-Amin

You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly.

This week (August 19th & 20th, 2011) on The Signal…

Ginny Gong was six years old when she came to the US from China with her family in 1954. She always struggled for balance between her dual roles as an American kid and a Chinese daughter growing up under the roof of her parents’ hand laundry business. Ginny joins us to share her unique experience as a “one-point-five generation” immigrant.

We meet two of the minds behind Ninety-Five, a book of photographs and stories about farmed animals living in sanctuaries and homes across the country.

Plus: we pay a visit to the Baltimore painting studio of Iraqi-born artist Najwa Al-Amin.

Download

The Signal, 08.12.11 & 08.13.11, Orfeia Vocal Ensemble, The Color of Night, and Eliza's Freedom Road

You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly.

This week (August 12th & 13th, 2011) on The Signal…

The members of Orfeia Vocal Ensemble introduce us to the hauntingly dissonant harmonies and intricate rhythms of traditional Bulgarian music.

We talk with Madison Smartt Bell about his novel, “The Color of Night.” The book examines the persistence of violence in American culture and its sinister effect on the mind of a woman who revels in its beauty.

Plus: We head back in time to walk in the shoes of twelve-year-old Eliza, a fictional girl who stole away on the Underground Railroad with the help of Harriet Tubman. Author Jerdine Nolen brings the journey to life in her historical novel for young adults, “Eliza’s Freedom Road: An Underground Railroad Diary”.

Download

The Signal 8.5.11 & 8.6.11 - KS Resmi; Lee Boot; Shiori

You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly.

There’s practice, and then there’s practice… For much of her childhood, South Indian Carnatic singer K S Resmi woke up every day before dawn to begin singing – and she’d keep singing, until after dark. Resmi joins us to share her incredible story, and her equally incredible voice.

We talk with media artist Lee Boot about his project, “Who We Am,” an interactive website that explores how our thoughts and actions shape our culture and influence our everyday interactions.

Plus: Japanese-American poet Shiori came to the US as a young girl in the wake of World War II, and she joins us to share from her book, “The Girl Who Loved Mothra,” a collection of poems about her parents, her childhood, and making the best of two colliding cultures.

Download