On The Record

More than 900 people were shot in Baltimore last year, 301 of them fatally--the deadliest year in the city’s history. The violence has barely abated. So far this year, more than 260 people have been fatally shot in Baltimore. The vast majority of the victims are young black men, and many of them end up at the University of Maryland’s R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. What if there were a way to save more of their lives? A surgeon at Shock Trauma thinks he has found a way. But the technique is both controversial and ethically fraught. Freelance writer Nicola Twilley recently wrote about it for The New Yorker Magazine, in an article titled “Can Hypothermia Save Gunshot Victims?” She joins us. Then, Harriet Washington, a medical ethicist and the author of “Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present” shares her thoughts on the new technique. 

Baltimore City Schools CEO Sonja Santelises announced last week that the school system faces a $129 million deficit in next fiscal year's budget. What might this mean for filling vacancies or upgrading facilities? How might the school board approach a budget deficit of this magnitude? We speak to two former city school board members, David Stone and Kalman “Buzzy” Hettleman.

Jermaine Bell says he found a power in art that he didn’t feel in words. After studying graphic design at the Community College of Baltimore County, and graduating from the Maryland College Institute of Art, Bell entered the world of advertising. Then a few years ago, he turned his sights on a different line of work: supporting Baltimore artists - particularly artists of color - and the institutions that showcase their work. Now Jermaine Bell has been awarded one of this year’s 10 Open Society Institute Baltimore fellowships. Each fellow will receive $60,000 over the next 18 months to fund a local project. The Open Society Institute is a nonprofit that supports efforts to address problems in Baltimore's underserved communities, from violence prevention to food access. You can find Jermaine Bell on Instagram and Twitter at @jtbeezwax.

Fire has been in the news recently, and none of that news has been good. Gatlinburg, Tenn., Oakland, Calif. and even here in Maryland. A spate of smaller home fires in our state has claimed the lives of at least 9 people in recent weeks. Today we’re going to talk about what caused those fires, what we can do to prevent home fires, and what to do if a fire does strike. Deputy State Fire Marshal Bruce Bouch joins us.

We listen to an edited version of a story from Robert Pelrine about his Aunt Jane, a cat named Fluffy, and a catastrophic Christmas. You can listen to more stories, and learn about Stoop shows and The Stoop podcast, all at stoopstorytelling.com.

Jennifer Will Thapa, one of this year’s Open Society Institute Community Fellows, has seen teens struggle to find something productive to do in their free time. That’s why she’s creating The Common Ground Youth Farm Project, to give young people real responsibilities on a working farm. They’ll make decisions about preparing flower beds, planting seeds, mulching, showing up on time, getting along with coworkers, solving conflicts -- and they’ll get paid for their work.

Maryland has laid out a bold goal of cutting greenhouse-gas emissions by 40 percent in the next decade and a half. One tool to get there is participating in the Regional Greenhouse-Gas Initiative, a compact of nine northeastern states that require companies that generate electricity to pay for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit. Maryland joined the compact in 2008.  Over that period of time, carbon dioxide emissions have reduced about 37 percent across the region, the equivalent of taking around three-quarters of a million cars off the road. Professor Sara Via from Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Maryland Energy Secretary Ben Grumbles join us to talk about cleaning up Maryland’s air.

How do you create a path of upward mobility for Latinos in the food industry? How do you encourage corner stores -- those either owned by Latinos or serving mostly Latino customers -- to offer healthier choices? We hear from Katie Miller, who will address these issues as one of this year’s ten Open Society Institute community fellows.

Bright and early on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, you can find Isa Olufemi running with students from East Baltimore’s Dunbar High School. His mission isn’t just to promote physical fitness; he wants to instill lessons that his students can take with them after graduation and give them a dose of college advising. We hear about Isa Olufemi’s goals with the Poet Pride Run Club, as a newly selected Open Society Institute Community Fellow.

50,000 visitors streamed into MGM National Harbor, the newest casino in Maryland, during its first weekend. Awestruck seemed to be the word that described visitors who spoke with reporters -- “Vegas on the Potomac,” is how one woman described the new $1.4 billion-dollar resort and casino. What does this new arrival mean for the five casinos already operating in Maryland, and for the hefty stream of revenue the state has come to count on? We ask Washington Post reporter Michael Rosenwald  and Harford Community College Professor James Karmel: Is there a glut of casinos in Maryland?

A week from today, the members of the Electoral College will cast their ballots for president. A Hail Mary effort is underway to persuade electors from red states not to vote for Donald Trump. If it works--and it’s a real long shot--the choice would go to the Republican House of Representatives. The House could end up choosing a different Republican candidate. Former Baltimore County Executive Ted Venetoulis, a Democrat and author of a book about times the House has picked the president, says the electoral college was designed as a safeguard. “This is what the framers wanted," he says. "They wanted a couple of firewalls between the public, essentially, who they wanted to vote, and the ultimate decision, because they did not trust a pure democracy.” We also hear from Republican Richard Painter, who was chief ethics counsel to President George W. Bush.

Chrissy Ferrara tells the 2009 tale of her love affair with Starbucks. You can listen to more stories, and learn about Stoop shows and The Stoop podcast, all at stoopstorytelling.com. 

An elegant young woman with a giant teacup. A man holding a whale puppet. Baltimore artist Amy Sherald paints vibrant oil portraits of African-Americans, like characters from a fairy tale. She says she creates an imaginary world for marginalized people who have not always had the luxury of imagination. “There’s places in this world where fantasy just doesn't exist and it doesn't exist in the minds of the people who live in those spaces,” she says. Amy Sherald tells us about her near-death experience, the years of effort, and the major prize she won last spring from the National Portrait Gallery. A show of her work goes up in Baltimore this weekend.

Credit cards, student loans, housing and car payments. Facing a mountain of debt is scary, and something that the local nonprofit Guidewell Financial Solutions believes you don't have to face alone. We meet Devon Hyde, of Guidewell, and Dr. Christine Callahan, a research assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. They’re the social workers behind a new counseling program that aims to address the links between financial and emotional health. We also meet a woman who climbed out from under $50,000 of debt.

75 years ago, December 7, 1941, Americans were stunned by a Japanese aerial attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. More than 2,400 Americans were killed. The next day, December 8, the United States declared war on Japan, propelling America into World War II. We’ll hear from two men who lived through it - one a boy who lived near the naval station, one a young man in Baltimore. And we hear from the son of a World War II soldier who has made it his mission to keep survivors’ stories alive.

In 1989, the environmental activist Bill McKibben wrote a bestseller called “The End of Nature.” It painted an apocalyptic picture of the state of the planet. Nearly three decades later, we take a look at a book of essays by the generation that grew up after McKibben laid out his vision. “They’re the first generation that learned the mantra Reduce, Reuse, Recycle from Sesame Street. They’re the first generation to see really tangible evidence of changes in the environment from garbage islands floating to ice caps melting,” says Susan Cohen, co-editor of “Coming of Age at the End of Nature: A Generation Faces Living on a Changed Planet.” She joins us, along with two young writers who contributed essays to the book, James Orbesen and Emily Schosid. 

Today is Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s last as mayor of Baltimore City. We take a look back at her 7-year tenure with two reporters who have covered her for years. From one of the worst snowstorms in city history to the unrest of April 2015 and the violent crime that surged afterwards, we discuss how Rawlings-Blake fared. Her accomplishments, her failures and her personal style, which some critics came to see as a liability.  A report card on the mayor, with Baltimore Brew reporter Mark Reutter and former Baltimore Sun reporter Julie Scharper.

Today we hear story from Prescott Gaylord, told first in 2012, about growing up as a Scientologist and how this affected his relationship with his father. His story has been edited for brevity. 

Nearly a dozen cities across the country issue municipal identification cards. They’re meant for those who have trouble getting other forms of government-issued ID: Undocumented immigrants or the homeless, for example. But given how easy they are to obtain, how useful are such ID cards? It turns out that in some cities, banks, buses, and law enforcement accept municipal IDs. Could it happen in Baltimore? City Councilman Brandon Scott hopes so. He’s sponsoring legislation to create a municipal ID here.

The priest who would become Pope Francis impressed his Jesuit superiors in Argentina from early on, taking on more responsibilities, sure of himself - until it became apparent that he had divided the Jesuit community - and he was sent away to a kind of internal exile that lasted two years. Mark Shriver, nephew of President John F. Kennedy, head of an international lobby network for children, former Maryland state legislator, discusses his new biography of the 266th pope. It's titled, “Pilgrimage: My Search for the Real Pope Francis.”

When you cannot sleep, the middle of the night can be a harrowing spot. Insomnia is all too familiar for many of us. Dr. Emerson Wickwire, director of the insomnia program at the University of Maryland Medical Center, joins us to talk about the causes of this maddening affliction and how best to summon the snooze.

Since Justice Antonin Scalia died last February, the Supreme Court has operated with only eight justices; President Obama nominated a replacement, and Senate Republicans refused to consider him. What’s been the impact of this lasting vacancy? We speak to University of Baltimore law professor Michael Meyerson about the future of the Supreme Court under President Trump, and how extreme political polarization has shaped Americans’ view of the Court. Plus, a preview of some upcoming cases, including one that involves the death penalty -- and one that could involve the Washington Redskins.

Fall is here and the school year is well under way. But some parents don’t have to worry about packing a lunch or getting their kids to the bus stop on time. They are homeschoolers, and nationwide, they’re a growing demographic. In Maryland, there are about 27,000 homeschooled kids. What motivates parents to homeschool? Is homeschooling possible in households with working parents? What are the benefits, and the challenges? 

Time for the next installment in our weekly feature from the Stoop Storytelling Series! Bridget Cavaiola shares a story about nuns, a dead bird, and the value of neighbors. Her story has been edited for brevity. The full version is available here. 

Maryland has too many deer. They cause tens of thousands of car accidents every year and over-browsing by hungry deer damages native ecosystems. The state typically tries to keep the population down through hunting. But some animal-rights advocates believe wildlife managers should explore other methods. 

Time for the next installment in our weekly feature from the Stoop Storytelling Series. Today Congressman Elijah Cummings tells the story of the integration of Riverside Park Pool in south Baltimore, and how the experience affected him. His story has been edited for brevity. This story originally aired on On the Record on October 21, 2016.

Artist Joyce Scott, of Baltimore’s Sandtown neighborhood, crafts jewelry and sculptures that explore issues like racism, sexism, and war. Last month she was awarded a MacArthur Foundation fellowship, also known as a genius grant. We hear her thoughts on politics as performance art and on what this award means to her. “The idea that I could be that girl from two blocks from where Freddie Gray started the end of his life, that I could receive and make art," she says, "That is a giant thing that I must be responsible for.” Original air date: October 21, 2016

The story of comedian Trevor Noah’s illegal birth, the haunted life of horror writer Shirley Jackson, a graphic novel with a deaf heroine. We’ve got books suitable for both the insatiable bibliophile and the reluctant reader in your life, perfect to read over the holidays, to give as gifts, or to share among friends. First up, Deborah Taylor of the Enoch Pratt Free Library and her view of the best books of 2016 for adults. Then Miriam DesHarnais, a research and instruction librarian at Towson University, with picks for young people. 

A nonprofit called the Holistic Life Foundation has been bringing mindfulness, yoga, and meditation into Baltimore public schools for nearly 15 years. Suspensions and detentions appear to have dropped as a result, and some kids have really taken the practice to heart. We hear from the co-founder of the Holistic Life Foundation, a student who has since become a teacher in the program, and a researcher who studies school-based mindfulness programs. 

Last summer, Governor Larry Hogan canceled funding for Baltimore’s long-awaited east-west light rail system, the Red Line. Soon after, he announced the city would instead receive $135 million for a revamped transit system. It’s called BaltimoreLink; it has many components, one of which is a redesign of the entire bus system with 12 new high-frequency routes. That part is called CityLink. In the year since the announcement, the Maryland Transit Administration has released a draft of the bus plan and then revised it based on more than 1,000 suggestions from riders. The new bus system is slated to be completely underway by next summer. Paul Comfort, administrator of the Maryland Transit Administration, joins us to discuss BaltimoreLink.