Future City

In this episode, Wes looks into the issue of pretrial justice in Baltimore and the problem of money bail. Wes looks to the examples of bail-reform models in Washington, DC, and Louisville, Kentucky, two cities that have radically changed how they deal with people awaiting trial.

In this episode, Wes explores initiatives that are helping to improve how police respond to people in mental distress. Across the country, a growing number of cities are investing in ‘Crisis Intervention Team’ training for law enforcement officers and other first responders. This month, Wes looks to San Antonio, Texas, which grew that idea into an innovative collaboration that's made a huge difference over the past decade.

Despite a White House initiative, and major reductions in cities across the nation, veteran homelessness is still a problem in Baltimore. Wes looks at what we might learn from Riverside, California, a city that effectively eliminated veteran homelessness two years ago – and is well on its way to reaching “net zero” homelessness overall. 

Guests on this episode include:

America's relationship with pot today is a lot like it was with alcohol at the end of Prohibition: Awkward, and enshrined in a patchwork of changing laws that contradict each other. At the federal level, pot is illegal and a major focus of the War on Drugs. At the same time, states and cities across the U.S. are making it legal for medical use, and increasingly, for recreational use as well. Denver did that two years ago, and much has changed in that city as a result. Wes looks at what Baltimore (where the drug is still mostly illegal) can learn from Denver's path to marijuana legalization.

In the 1990's, Cincinnati's schools were so bad that Ohio's Supreme Court deemed them unconstitutional and demanded a radical overhaul.  The city answered the call with a remarkable innovation:  They   converted the schools into community learning centers, where healthcare, dental care and daycare could all happen in the building, right alongside academics.  Wes looks at how community schools changed life in Cincinnati, and how Baltimore has begun to embrace the trend, as well.