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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 
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It’s hard to imagine downtown Baltimore’s skyline without the warm, neon glow of the Domino Sugars sign. It’s a beloved icon, and as of this month – April 25th to be exact – it’s been shining bright for 62 years. Signal contributor Melissa Gerr brings us a story about the history of that giant sign, and the secret of what really makes it glow.
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Word on the Street is Baltimore’s newest ‘street newspaper.’ It’s an experiment in community collaboration, bringing together homeless writers and photographers, community activists, students from local colleges and universities, and publishing professionals. It gives voice to people who are not often heard from in our community. The publication is available from homeless vendors who share in the profit of each paper they sell. Producer Lisa Morgan shares the story.
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The Journal of Roman Archaeology is hardly light reading. The annual editions of this international academic publication weigh in at around a thousand pages each. The articles and reviews are generally penned by PhD classicists. But if you look in Volume 21 of the journal, you’ll come across an article whose author’s credentials include a Maryland Senior Cosmetologist license. Aaron Henkin reports on what she’s discovered, and how she’s untangled some stubborn academic assumptions.
Check out a video of Janet Stephens recreating the ancient Roman hairstyle, "The Seni Crines"
See what inspired Janet at The Walters Art Museum Roman Gallery
Janet solved her mystery with artifacts from the Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum
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We’ve become a lot more sophisticated in our scientific knowledge about how we impact our environment, but forty years ago, we were like babes in the woods – littering, polluting babes in the woods, blissfully ignorant of the damage we were capable of causing Mother Nature. Monday, April 22nd, is Earth Day, and as the date approaches, we welcome to the program essayist Nancy Heneson, who’s here to share what you might call a ‘cultural history of littering’
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At a Maryland Institute College of Art printmaking studio, the walls are lined with drawers of methodically arranged typesetting blocks, and down the middle of the room is a row of mechanical Vandercook proof presses. In 2010, MICA purchased this venerable set-up for teaching purposes – and in the process, rescued an endangered chapter of Baltimore history: Globe Poster Company. The Signal’s Aaron Henkin brings us the story.
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According to a 2011 US Department of Commerce report, only one in seven engineers are female. Women in this country hold only 25 percent of jobs in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. The percentage of these jobs held by minority women is even lower. But in Baltimore, one group of young women is shifting the gears on that trend: The RoboDoves. Signal contributor Nikki Gamer has the story.
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Milkshake first came together back in 2004, when members of the indie band “Love Riot” found themselves on the verge of parenthood. What began as an experiment – a way to continue playing music together while also beginning to raise families – turned into a long range plan. Nine years and five CDs later, Lisa Mathews and Mikel Gehl of Milkshake join producer Lisa Morgan in studio to share some stories and songs from their new release, “Got a Minute?”
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The bold type and fluorescent images of Baltimore’s Globe Poster Company were great advertising for touring bands back in the heyday of R & B. Now, to the creators’ surprise, they’re considered works of art. The Globe Poster collection has been purchased by MICA, and we’ll drop in there to talk with longtime Globe shop operators Bob & Frank Cicero
Lisa Mathews and Mikel Gehl of Baltimore’s kid –friendly band, Milkshake, share some music and stories from their new CD, “Got a Minute?”
Plus: Signal Contributor Nikki Gamer takes us ringside for a bout of engineering prowess with Western High School’s all-girl robotics team, The RoboDoves
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Elisabeth Dahl’s Genie Wishes tells the story of fifth grader Genie Kunkle as she navigates the tumultuous ground between childhood and adolescence. While dealing with new teachers, new freedoms, and a new student trying to steal her BFF Sarah, Genie is elected to write her class blog. In it, she’s supposed to express the wishes and dreams of her classmates, but expressing her own opinions turns out to be the real challenge. Elisabeth Dahl joins The Signal’s Lisa Morgan with a preview of the book.
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Producer Aaron Henkin takes us on a 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.
   Contact Aaron Henkin or Lisa Morgan |
