Midday

Today, it’s another in our series, Midday on Higher Education.

Tom’s guest in Studio A is Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels. There is no institution that is more integrally connected to Baltimore than Hopkins. With its Homewood Campus on North Charles Street, its medical campus in East Baltimore, and the Peabody Institute in Mt. Vernon, it’s hard to overstate Hopkins’ singular impact on our city.  

Hopkins is the largest employer in the state of Maryland, with more than 17,000 Baltimore City residents on its payroll.  The Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, the School for Advanced International Studies in Washington, its programs in Europe and Asia and its work in public health around the world make the Hopkins’ imprint global.

Johns Hopkins claims to be America’s first research university. And for decades, Hopkins has spent more on R&D – on everything from infectious disease to space exploration and nuclear weapons– than Harvard and Stanford combined.

Last year, as violent crime continued to spike in Baltimore, Hopkins successfully lobbied the legislature in Annapolis for permission to create its own private police force, matching security measures long employed by public universities in the area. Welcomed by many, that decision remains controversial among some members of the Hopkins faculty and local residents.

We begin today with a conversation about hunger in Maryland.  Elliot Jaspin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has written a multipart series for the online news journal Maryland Matters about the scope of the problem, which persists not just in poor neighborhoods in Baltimore City, but in places like Anne Arundel County. 

Jaspin points out that Anne Arundel is one of the richest counties in our state, which is itself the richest state in the country.  Yet the number of children in Anne Arundel County who are eligible for a free school lunch has skyrocketed in the last 10 years, up 81%.  Jaspin looked into why that is, and the result is a revelatory and assiduously reported series, which you can read here.  

Elliot Jaspin joins Tom in Studio A.    Also joining us is Michael J. Wilson, the director of Maryland Hunger Solutions, a not-for-profit organization advocating in the Maryland General Assembly for legislative remedies to the problem of hunger.

We live-streamed this conversation on WYPR's Facebook page.  Watch the video here.

Today, acclaimed French-Dominican jazz vocalist Cyrille Aimee joins Tom live in Studio A, for a preview of her 5-show engagement this weekend at Baltimore's Keystone Korner jazz club.

The popular cabaret and recording star, who makes her home today in New Orleans, is renowned for her graceful improvisations, a gypsy-jazz vocal styling she says she learned as a young girl singing at Roma encampments in her native France.  Aimée has gone from singing on street corners in Europe to headlining at some of the world’s most prestigious jazz festivals. 

Hailed by The Wall Street Journal as "one of the most promising jazz singers of her generation" and called a “rising star in the galaxy of jazz singers” by the New York Times, Aimee's latest CD is called Move On: a Sondheim Adventure.

This Valentine's Day weekend (Feb. 14-16), Cyrille Aimee will perform five shows, Friday night through Sunday evening, at Keystone Korner jazz club in Harbor East. For more information, go to the club's website.

It's Thursday, and time to welcome back our theater critic, J. Wynn Rousuck, for another of her weekly reviews of the Maryland stage.  Today, she tells us about the new production of We Are Proud to Present, the powerful 2012 work by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury, now on stage at Baltimore's ArtsCentric organization.

The full title of Drury's play is We Are Proud to Present: A Presentation About the Herero of Namibia (Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, from the German SudwestAfrika) Between the Years 1884-1915.  It does indeed present the story of the nearly forgotten Herero and Namaqua genocide that took place in what is today the southwest African nation of Namibia between 1904 and 1907, when the region was a German colony.  After Germany confiscated tribal lands and the Herero people rebelled, German soldiers carried out harsh retributions that resulted in more than 65,000 deaths. The play spotlights this tragedy by creating a play within-a-play, in which present-day actors making the "presentation" also respond emotionally to the historic horrors during their first "rehearsal," and make that history resonate with today's racial realities.

Co-directed for ArtsCentric by Kevin McAllister and Terrence Fleming, the play's cast includes Lauren Erica Jackson, Jonathan Jacobs, Allison K. Bradbury, Martin Kasey, Ryan Gholson, and Mike Smith.

We Are Proud to Present...continues at ArtsCentric's new home at 2600 North Howard Street in Baltimore, Maryland, through Sunday, February 16.  

Bernie Sanders clinches a narrow win in the New Hampshire primary.  Will the Vermont senator carry that momentum and his full campaign coffers to victory in Nevada, South Carolina and beyond? 

Mara Liasson, national political correspondent for NPR, and Stephanie Murray, reporter, and author of the POLITICO "Massachussetts Playbook" share their take.

In Washington, four federal prosecutors have resigned after the DOJ overrules them on sentencing recommendations for convicted Trump advisor, Roger Stone.  Associated Press White House reporter, Darlene Superville, joins Tom with the latest. 

In the race for Mayor of Baltimore, most of the major candidates have promised to spur economic development and expand the footprint of development to include historically neglected neighborhoods.  Several high profile locations, like Harborplace downtown and Cross Keys in north Baltimore are in need of a facelift.

A redeveloped State Center complex remains a dream for adjacent neighborhood associations who have been waiting for something to happen for more than a decade.  In Poppleton, on the city’s west side, an $800 million dollar project near the University of MD Bio Park has been stalled for just as long. 

The fortunes of Under Armour have changed substantially since the Port Covington deal was signed nearly four years ago.  Founder Kevin Plank’s role has been reduced, and the share price of Under Armour stock is down.  Will this in any way affect the $5 and a half billion dollar Port Covington project?

Towson, on the other hand, is awash in construction cranes.  The new projects there have thrilled some business owners, and made others nervous about increased traffic and other problems that can attend residential and retail development. 

Scott Shane, Pulitzer Prize winning author and former New York Times journalist, joins Midday to discuss the ways in which Amazon can change the economic landscape of a city, using Baltimore as a case study of this phenomenon.  

Shane has written for the New York Times since 2004, where he reported primarily on national security and intelligence issues. His 2017 coverage of Russia’s hacking earned him a Pulitzer Prize. You can read more about Scott Shane's coverage of Amazon in Baltimore with one of his most recent pieces in the Times, “Prime Mover: How Amazon Wove Itself Into the Life of an American City.” 

In their new book, which currently tops the New York Times best seller list, Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker show us that amid the daily chaos, there are discernable patterns in the behavior of Mr. Trump and those in his inner circle. This timely and probing work provides a fascinating window into how the White House has operated over the last three years under Mr. Trump's unorthodox leadership. 

Carol Leonnig and Phil Rucker joined us from the studios of NPR in Washington DC. 

It's the February edition of Midday at the Movies, our monthly feature about films and filmmaking! 

Joining Tom to consider which great films and actors have the best chance of winning an Oscar this Sunday (and which contenders should win) are two of our favorite film fans: Washington Post film critic Ann Hornaday, who is also the author of Talking Pictures: How to Watch Movies; and Maryland Film Festival founder Jed Dietz.

This edition of Midday at the Movies is Web-only, since Midday was preempted today by NPR’s live coverage of President Trump’s speech  from the White House.

It's Thursday, and time to welcome theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck back with another of her weekly reviews of the Maryland stage.

Because Midday was preempted today by special NPR programming, Judy joins Tom in this Web-only edition with her take on Safe Space, by award-winning playwright R. Eric Thomas. The production, by Single Carrot Theatre, is now on stage at Baltimore's Clifton Mansion.

Safe Space is a Clue!-inspired farce that suggests that unlocking the past can be a dangerous thing. When white non-profit executive Helen discovers a locked door in the property she has inherited, black locksmith Courtney comes to her rescue, and that’s where the trouble begins.

Add to the mix Charlotte, the ghost of a formerly enslaved person, and Ryan, Helen’s MAGA-loving brother, and contention in the house is about to boil over.

Safe Space is directed by Ben Kleymeyer, with performances by  Tina Canady as Charlotte/Hazzie, Dominic Gladden as Courtney, Alix Fenhagen as Helen, Aaron Hancock as Bill, Daniela Hernandez-Fujigaki as Nadeen and Matthew Shea as Ryan. 

The Single Carrot Theatre production of Safe Space continues at Baltimore's Clifton Mansion through Sunday, February 23. More info here.

When Kweisi Mfume resigned from Congress in 1996, a four-term Maryland Delegate named Elijah Cummings won a crowded special primary and special election to complete Mfume’s term.  Cummings, who went on to become one of the most respected leaders in the Democratic Party, died in October. 

Last night, Mfume won a crowded special primary to succeed Cummings in MD’s 7th District. He will face-off in a special general election against first-time Republican candidate Kimberly Klacik, an occasional commentator on Fox News from Middle River. She has promised to move to the district if she is elected. 

Joining Tom with analysis of the election is WBAL-TV’s lead investigative reporter, Jayne Miller.

In other election news: The Open Society Institute is holding a Mayoral Forum tonight at 7pm at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture.  It is sponsored by the  Open Society Institute, and 24 of the 32 candidates running for Mayor of Baltimore are set to attend.

Tom Hall will serve as moderator of that event with Lisa Snowden McCray of the Baltimore Beat and the Real News Network.  Click here for more information.

Last night, in Washington, on the eve of a likely acquittal vote in his Senate impeachment trial, President Donald Trump delivered his annual State of the Union address.

E.J. Dionne joins us now to discuss the speech.

He’s a columnist for The Washington Post, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and the author of several best-selling books. His latest book,  just out yesterday, is called Code Red: How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite to Save Our Country.

By midday Tuesday, the Iowa Democratic Party had still not released any results from Monday evening's statewide Democratic presidential caucuses, citing problems with the new mobile software it had deployed to precinct managers to speed their reporting of caucus data.  IDP officials said they hope to release at least some of the results by 5pm Eastern time Tuesday. 

Despite the disastrous delay and lingering questions about the technical glitches that made the 2020 Iowa Caucus process so dissatisfying, voters in the mostly white, largely rural midwestern state did cast the first votes of the 2020 Presidential primary season last night.  Voters in New Hampshire will have their say next Tuesday. 

To help explain what happened in Iowa and what it might mean for the Democratic presidential candidates going forward, Tom is joined by two astute - and very busy - political reporters on the scene  in Iowa. 

Tom is joined in the studio by Erricka Bridgeford, co-organizer of Baltimore Ceasefire 365.  Since August 2017, her grass-roots group has organized hundreds of events to bring people together to reduce lethal violence in Baltimore. It is calling for another Ceasefire this coming weekend, from Friday, February 7 through Sunday, February 9, during which it encourages community actions aimed at “promoting peacefulness and celebrating life.” 

A big part of Bridgeford's work is standing in witness and comforting both victims and perpetrators of violence, as well as their families and friends.

Every week here on Midday we also make it a point to remember those who were killed, and their families and friends in their hour of grief.

We get their names from Ellen Worthing, who compiles a list of Baltimore homicide victims. We also consult the Baltimore Sun’s list of homicides, and victim identifications posted on the Baltimore Police Department’s Facebook page.

Today is Brexit day.  At midnight, the United Kingdom will formally leave the European Union.   

But as the door to Europe closes, Britain has opened the door to a new deal with a Chinese telecom giant, Huawei.  NPR Correspondent Frank Langfitt joins us with the latest from London.   

In Annapolis, the MD General Assembly has votes to override 5 vetoes by Gov. Larry Hogan.  Baltimore Sun State House reporter Pamela Wood has an update.

Classical guitar virtuoso Irina Kulikova, 37, grew up in an artistic Russian family: her mother is a cellist and a now-retired music teacher; her father is a photographer. Irina got her first guitar at age five. By the time she was eight, she’d had her first public performance.  At 12, she was a child star playing all across Russia and at festivals in Europe. When she was 14, her name appeared in Maurice Summerfield’s esteemed reference book, The Classical Guitar: Its Evolution, Players and Personalities Since 1800.

Today, Irina Kulikova tours internationally at leading festivals in Europe, North America, and Asia, and at many of the world’s great concert hall.  She has received over 30 awards for her artistry, and has recorded four solo CDs, three of them distributed worldwide on the Naxos label.

The Russian guitar virtuoso will be performing Saturday, February 1 at 8pm at the Earl and Darielle Linehan Concert Hall at UMBC, one of a series of concerts sponsored by the Baltimore Classical Guitar Society.

Today, Irina Kulikova joins us Live in Studio A with a preview of Saturday's performance.  She plays Frederic Chopin’s Vals No.7; Francisco Tarrega’s gavotte Maria; and Federico Moreno-Torroba’s Allegretto from his Sonatina in A-major.

We live-streamed this segment on WYPR’s Facebook page.  Watch the video here.

Let’s talk nutrition! January is a month that, for many of us, is filled with the best of intentions. We resolve to eat better, maybe lose some weight. How are we doing?

If the mid-winter doldrums have set in, and you’re wondering how to kick-start your resolve to eat better in 2020, fear not. Today, it's Smart Nutrition, with the Nutrition Diva, Monica Reinagel. She’s a licensed nutritionist, the host of the popular “Nutrition Diva” podcast, and the author of several books, including Nutrition Diva’s Secrets for a Healthy Diet. 

Here's a link to a topic we discussed on today's show: Three factors that predict long-term success in weight loss. 

Later in the show, we are joined by Dr. B. Gabriel Smolarz, a physician who treats people who are struggling with obesity and diabetes.

We livestreamed this conversation on the WYPR Facebook page.  Click here to watch the video.  

It's Thursday, and time to welcome back theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck with another of her weekly reviews of the Maryland stage.  Today she joins Tom in Studio A with her take on Be Here Now, the 2018 work by award-winning playwright Deborah Zoe Laufer, now on stage at Baltimore's Everyman Theatre.

Be Here Now follows the transformation of a woman named Bari - a severely depressed, middle-aged misanthrope - who begins to have seizures that produce unaccustomed bouts of ecstasy. Her condition begins to change her view of the world and her relationships, and she is forced to decide whether it’s better to live a short, joyful life, or risk a lifetime of depression.  

A comedic look at what we’re willing to do for love and happiness, Be Here Now is directed at Everyman by the playwright, Deborah Zoe Laufer, with performances by resident company cast members Beth Hylton as Bari and Kyle Prue as Mike Cooper, and featuring Katy Carkuff as Patty Cooper and Shubhangi Kuchibhotla as Luanne Cooper.

Be Here Now continues at Baltimore's Everyman Theatre through Sunday, February 16. More info here.

The Senate Impeachment Trial of President Trump continues today, beginning at 1:00pm EST.  WYPR will be carrying NPR's live coverage of the trial.

The President’s defense team wrapped up its arguments on Tuesday.  The members of the White House team chose to use about 11 hours of their 24 allotted hours.  When they concluded their presentation early, it took at least a few Senators by surprise. 

Today, the trial moved into the Questions phase.  Over the next 16 hours of proceedings, senators will be submitting written questions to Chief Justice John Roberts, who reads them aloud and directs either the House managers or White House counsel to respond.  Sure to be among the topics over the next two days is the possibility of calling witnesses such as former National Security Advisor John Bolton.  On Sunday night, when the New York Times published a story about a book Mr. Bolton has written describing Bolton’s interactions with the President on the subject of withholding aid to Ukraine, the dynamic of the trial changed dramatically. 

For a unique insider's perspective on these historic proceedings, we begin today with Senator Chris Van Hollen.  The junior senator from Maryland spoke with Tom from his office on Capitol Hill about 90 minutes before our live show. 

Now, another perspective on the Senate Impeachment trial of President Trump, which continues today at 1:00.  As always, we will bring you NPR’s live coverage at that time. 

Both the House impeachment managers and the White House defense team have now wrapped up their arguments.  Today, the trial moves into the "Question" phase, with senators afforded a total of 16 hours to submit written questions to Chief Justice John Roberts, who will read them aloud and ask House managers and White House lawyers to respond.  Sure to be among the topics over the next two days is the possibility of calling witnesses like former National Security Advisor John Bolton.  On Sunday night, when the New York Times published a story about a book Mr. Bolton has written describing Bolton’s interactions with the President on the subject of withholding aid to Ukraine, the dynamic of the trial changed dramatically. 

To help us understand the moving parts in this historic process, we're joined by one of the nation's foremost constitutional scholars.  Kim Wehle is a professor of law at the University of Baltimore, and currently a visiting professor and Fellow at American University's School of Law in Washington, DC. She's also a legal analyst for CBS News, and the author of How to Read the Constitution and Why," published last year by Harper Collins.  She joins Tom from her office at American University.

Today, an expert on infectious disease joins us to address the growing international concerns about the new coronavirus outbreak in China, and how the highly contagious disease could impact public health in the United States, and in particular, in Maryland.

The new pathogen, which epidemiologists are calling 2019 novel coronavirus, or 2019-nCoV, was first identified this past December in Wuhan - the populous capital of Hubei province in central China - where officials say more than 6,000 people have now fallen ill. The contagion has expanded beyond its epicenter in Wuhan, with more than 150 cases reported in Japan, Germany, Taiwan and Vietnam.

So far,  just five cases have been identified in the United States, and just one is under investigation in Maryland.

Across the state, officials in health care, educational and other institutions with highly mobile international populations are taking precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.

Dr. Lisa Maragakis is executive director of the Biocontainment Unit at Johns Hopkins Medicine, and the senior director of Infection Prevention with the Johns Hopkins Health System.  She is also an associate professor of medicine at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She joins Tom to explain what the coronavirus is, and what precautions are being taken -- and must still be taken -- to prevent its spread.

Mary Miller is Tom’s guest today, as our Conversations With The Candidates series continues. She is one of 24 Democratic candidates running for Baltimore mayor.

This is Ms. Miller’s first run for political office, but she is not new to government. In 2009, as the country plunged into recession, Ms. Miller was appointed by President Obama to top jobs at the Treasury Department. After holding several senior leadership positions, she left the Treasury in 2014 as the first woman to serve as the Under Secretary for Domestic Finance.

Before that, she had a long career at T. Rowe Price, here in Baltimore, where she ran the bond division.

For the last few years, she has been a Senior Fellow at Johns Hopkins University where she has worked with the Hopkins 21st Century Cities Initiative.

We livestreamed this conversation on the WYPR Facebook page.  Click here to watch the video. 

  Catalina Byrd was born and raised in Sandtown-Winchester on Baltimore’s West Side.  

Ms. Byrd is a political strategist, community activist, and media personality.  In 2017 she was appointed by former mayor Catherine Pugh to serve on the Community Oversight Task Force.  She currently serves as the Chair of the Domestic Violence Committee of the Women’s Commission of Baltimore City. 

Ms. Byrd mounted unsuccessful campaigns for Judge of the Orphan’s Court and Mayor in 2010 and 2011.  As an unaffiliated candidate, she was unable to procure enough signatures to get on the ballot in both races. 

There are 92 days until the primary elections for Mayor on April 28th.  If you aren’t registered to vote,  you can register on the Baltimore City Board of Elections website.  The deadline to register is April 7th.  

We livestreamed this conversation on WYPR's Facebook page.  Click here to watch.

Pastor Shannon Wright was born in New York.  She is a former Vice President of the Yonkers NAACP; and also served on the New Jersey NAACP state board of directors. 

Ms. Wright relocated to Baltimore in 2013.  In 2016 she was the Republican nominee in the race for City Council President.  She lost in the general election to now incumbent Mayor “Jack” Young.   

There are 92 days until the primary elections for Mayor on April 28th. If you aren't registered to vote, you can register on the Baltimore City Board of Elections website.  The deadline to register is April 7th.  

We livestreamed this conversation on WYPR's Facebook page.  Click here to watch. 

T.J. Smith, the former Baltimore Police Department spokesman, is Tom’s guest today -- part of our Conversations With the Candidates series.  He is one of 19 announced Democratic candidates running for Baltimore mayor.

Mr. Smith joined the police department with the arrival of Commissioner Kevin Davis and served as the chief of communications from 2015 until 2018. After leaving the Police Department, Mr. Smith served as Press Secretary and Communications Advisor to Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, Jr.

Mr. Smith lives in Northwest Baltimore. He grew up in the Dolfield neighborhood, and attended Poly High School before graduating from Woodlawn.

He holds two master’s degrees — one in Strategic Communication from Washington State University and another in Management and Leadership from Johns Hopkins University, where he also earned his undergraduate degree.

He is 42 years old and the father of a young son. If elected Mayor, Mr. Smith says that he will change what he calls the culture of gun violence in our city — with a crime plan that he says will make a difference on Day One.

We livestreamed this conversation on the WYPR Facebook page.  Click here to watch.  

Today on Midday, a conversation about trucking safety, and efforts to address the serious and persistent problem of fatal truck crashes on America’s highways. Those crashes take the lives of more than 4,000 Americans every year — more than a dozen fatalities every day.  Thousands more are injured.  And thousands more are left to grieve for the victims. 

Brian Kuebler is an  investigative reporter at WMAR Television.  Ten years ago, he covered the story of Ed Slattery, a government economist whose wife Susan was killed on the Ohio Turnpike when a tractor-trailer driver who’d fallen asleep at the wheel slammed his rig into her car at 55mph. 

Slattery’s two young sons, Steven and Matthew, were also in the car and both were severely injured.  Steven fully recovered, but Matthew, the younger boy, sustained permanent brain damage.

It's Thursday, and theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck joins Tom with another review of the Maryland stage. This week, Judy spotlights the North American tour of Cats, currently on stage at the Hippodrome Theater in Baltimore. 

Cats is Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical staging of poet T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. The show opened in London in 1981 and a year later pounced on Broadway, where it ran for a record-breaking eighteen years. The 2016 revival of the Tony Award-winning musical is now on a North American Tour, with original direction by Trevor Nunn and choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler (based on Gillian Lynne’s original choreography); set and costume designs are by John Napier. The cast features Keri Rene Fuller as Grizabella, McGee Maddox as Rum Tum Tugger and Timothy Gulan as Gus.

Cats continues at the Hippodrome through January 26th. Ticket info here.

Just before 2 o'clock this morning, after nearly 12 hours of contentious debate, the Senate approved rules governing the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.  House managers and White House lawyers will each have three days to make their case.  Democrats were unable to get a majority of Senators to guarantee that witnesses would be called and documents would be made available during the course of the trial.

Today, on Midday, analysis of yesterday's historic proceedings with Maryland's former Republican governor, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., NPR White Correspondent Ayesha Rascoe and University of Maryland Regents law professor Mark Graber.

Today is MLK Jr Day, the federal holiday established in 1986 to commemorate the birthday of the slain civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr., who would have turned 91 last Wednesday.  For the past 25 years, the national observance of the MLK holiday has been associated with A Day of Service, a campaign to honor Dr. King's legacy of non-violent struggle for social justice by encouraging people to take part in meaningful volunteer efforts to benefit their community.  As the campaign reminds Americans each MLK Day, "Make it a day on, not a day off."

On Midday today, we meet some  local examplars of that Day of Service ethic who've taken the lead in efforts to make Baltimore a better place to live.

In this first of three conversations, Tom talks with Sandie Nagel, the former Baltimore Jewish Times columnist and community organizer who founded Weekend Backpacks for Homeless Kids five years ago to address the unmet nutritional needs of many of the city's homeless and impoverished public schoolchildren.  Joining Ms. Nagel in the studio is the group's vice president, Leslie Monfred, a retired nurse.

On Midday today, we're marking the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday by meeting some local examplars of the MLK Day of Service ethic, who've taken the lead in efforts to make Baltimore a better place to live.

In the second of three conversations today, Tom talks with Dr. Douglas Robinson, a professor of cell biology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Eleven years ago, Dr. Robinson launched the Initiative for Careers in Science and Medicine (CSM), a program that works to support interest and achievement in STEM fields among low-income students of color, from middle- and high school age through the college years.  Also joining Tom in the studio is Michelle Colbert, a graduate of Arizona State University and now a second-year medical student at Johns Hopkins, who completed a 2-year post-baccalaureate research internship at Hopkins through CSM's Doctoral Diversity Program. 

This conversation was live-streamed on WYPR's Facebook page.  Watch the video here, beginning at 14:08 and continuing until 29:00 into the stream.