Time again for a visit with Midday theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck, who joins Tom this week with her review of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company's live production of Mohegan playwright Madeline Sayet's Where We Belong, being presented at Baltimore's Center Stage. Directed by Mei Ann Teo, Where We Belong is a one-woman autobiographical narrative in which playwright Sayet weaves together Shakespeare, self-discovery, and a quest for belonging in today's increasingly complex global society. After its limited engagement in Baltimore, the play begins a national tour. Where We Belong continues at Baltimore Center Stage through October 24th. For showtimes and ticket information, click here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Midday

Rousuck's Review: Madeline Sayet's 'Where We Belong' at Center Stage

Now, we turn our attention to a program at the University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB) that is working to address the lack of diversity in the biomedical field, by inspiring students to pursue STEM-based careers. It’s called the CURE Scholars Program. CURE stands for Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences. Now in its sixth year at UMB, the CURE Scholars Program partners with three West Baltimore public schools, offering mentorship and experiences to kids beginning in middle school. On Monday, October 25th at 9pm, Maryland Public Television will air a documentary film that features students in the program, called 10th and 11th Grade: West Baltimore.  The documentary also is available online at the MPT website, where it streams through November 25th. Tom spoke on Tuesday of this week with Princaya Sanders, a senior at Western High School, and Ivan Lamos-Sanchez, the College and Career Specialist at CURE, who has been helping Princaya with her college applications. We hear their recorded conversation, and then we're joined live by Dr. Gia Grier McGinnis, the executive director of the UMB CURE Scholars Program. She joins us on Zoom. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UMB's CURE Scholars Program spotlighted in a new MPT doc

We begin today with Midday on Politics.  Sean Yoes joins me. He’s a former columnist for the Afro Newspaper, and as he keeps his journalist's eye trained on the local political scene, he's venturing into some independent media projects. He’s now hosting a new podcast called Sean Yoes is Live from West Baltimore. As of tomorrow, you can find that on YouTube. He’s also made a short film called Disruption:  Baltimore’s Highway to Nowhere, available now on YouTube. Sean Yoes joins us on Zoom… See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sean Yoes, talking about Maryland politics and his new media projects

Tom's Newsmaker guest today is Dr. Sonja Santelises, the CEO of the Baltimore City Public Schools. Students and teachers have returned to their classrooms. Teachers and staff are required to be vaccinated, and everybody is wearing masks while indoors. As Liz Bowie reports in the Baltimore Sun, the City School system is the only one in the Baltimore metro region that tests unvaccinated students and staff weekly. It’s an expensive program, but it has turned up dozens of asymptomatic cases, and along with mask mandates, it’s credited with keeping outbreaks to a minimum. While the system copes with the on-going challenges of COVID, the challenges of kids who experienced learning loss when they weren’t able to be in-person last year continue to be a high priority for educators. We discuss these and other issues in the city school system, and welcome listeners' comments and questions, as Dr. Sonja Santelises joins us on Zoom. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Baltimore City Schools Update from CEO Dr. Sonja Santelises

Tom's next guest is Emily Sullivan, WYPR’s City Hall and politics reporter, who joins us with news that less than 20% of the $9.2 million donated to competitive candidates in Baltimore’s 2020 mayoral race came from city residents, according to a new report from Maryland PIRG Foundation. Sullivan says the left-leaning advocacy group found that non-individuals, such as PACs and corporations, had a vast financial role in the Baltimore election: they accounted for just over 9% of the total number of donations, but raised 52% of the money.About a third of the total money raised came from individuals who live outside of Baltimore, while under one fifth came from city residents. Read Emily Sullivan's full report on Md PIRG's findings on the WYPR website. She joins us now on our digital line. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emily Sullivan: Md PIRG report on 2020 Mayoral campaign donors

Jury selection began yesterday in the trial of three White men accused of chasing and killing Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man from Brunswick, Georgia. Video from the incident in February of last year shows two of the men confronting and shooting Mr. Arbery as he was jogging. The men are charged by Georgia authorities with malice and felony murder. They have also been indicted with federal hate crime and attempted kidnapping charges. For years, the number of hate crimes in the US has steadily increased. Now, we’ll explore what effect the addition of hate crime charges to other charges has in legal proceedings.If one is convicted of a violent crime like murder, what is gained by an additional conviction that is premised in that killer’s frame of mind and prejudice? Joining Tom now is Dr. Frank Pezzella, an associate professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, part of the City University of New York. He studies hate crimes, and he’s written two monographs on the subject, including one called Hate Crime Statutes: A Public Policy and Law Enforcement Dilemma. His latest book is called The Measurement of Hate Crimes in America.  Dr. Frank Pezzellajoins us on on our digital line from White Plains, New York. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prosecuting hate crimes: how to overcome the legal challenges

Maryland’s COVID numbers continue to trend in the right direction. The CDC reports that more than 85% of adults in our state have had at least one dose of the COVID vaccine. That’s about six points better than the national average. Our positivity rate is down about 31% since August, and hospitalizations are down since their peak at 65% a few months ago. Our state’s wealthiest jurisdiction, Montgomery County, has a vaccination rate of more than 99%. And while hospitalizations for COVID are down, hospitals still struggle with staff shortages and burnout as medical personnel contend with COVID cases that are largely avoidable because they mostly afflict people who aren’t vaccinated. Tom's first guest today is contending with that dilemma. Dr. Mohan Suntha was appointed the President and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) in 2019. The system employs nearly 29,000 people throughout the state, and it includes a medical school, and a network of community hospitals and other centers at more than 150 different locations. Dr. Mohan Suntha joins us on Zoom from his office in downtown Baltimore. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CEO Dr. Mohan Suntha: How UMMS has coped with the COVID pandemic

Now, it’s Midday on Transportation. Dr. Lawrence Brown of Morgan State University coined the phrase “The Black Butterfly and the White L” to describe the boundaries between Black and White neighborhoods in Baltimore, and the socio-economic disparities between them. A new reporton transit equity shows environmental and public health impacts within those boundaries as well. In short, a poorly designed and poorly functioning mass transit system creates problems that include, but also transcend, people having trouble getting to and from work and school. So, let’s examinewhat those problems are, and how best to address them. Tom's next guests are co-authors of the study that examines transit equity and its correlation to public health in Baltimore. Dr. Megan Weil Latshaw is an associate scientist in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Samuel Jordan is the co-founder and president of the Baltimore Transit Equity Coalition. They both join us on Zoom. We welcome questions ands comments from our listeners. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Baltimore's transit inequities are taking a toll on public health

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell died this morning at the age of 84. In a statement posted on Facebook, his family said that Gen. Powell was fully vaccinated, but he died due to complications from COVID 19.Gen. Powell was the first African American to serve as national security adviser, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and US secretary of state. Joining Tom to reflect on the legacy of Gen. Powell is Sen. Ben Cardin, Maryland’s senior Senator who has served for years on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. Sen. Cardin joined Tom on the phone, in transit. Their conversation was recorded earlier today, so we couldn't take any phone calls. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Colin Powell: Reflections on a man of influence, from Sen. Ben Cardin

Tom's guest today is the acclaimed author, Alice McDermott. She is the winner of a National Book Award. Three of her novels have been finalists for the Pulitzer Prize, and she’s garnered many other prizes and accolades in a career that has spanned 40 years, and counting. She’s an insightful observer of the passing parade and her prose is a delight to encounter. Books like Charming Billy,After This, Someone, or her most recent novel, The Ninth Hour, have afforded readers some of the most enjoyable and enlightening experiences available in contemporary fiction. Alice McDermott has long been revered as a teacher of writing as well, serving for many years on the faculties of the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. Her latest book is a work of non-fiction, in which she proffers what might be dubbed a Bill of Rights for readers, and a how-to guide for writers. It is a celebration of great writing, and an investigation into what makes great writing, great. The book is called What About the Baby?: Some Thoughts on the Art of Fiction.  Alice McDermott joins us on our digital line from her home in Bethesda, Maryland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

'What About the Baby?': Essays by Alice McDermott on writing fiction

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is traditionally one of the biggest shopping days of the year; the kick-off of a shopping frenzy that retailers hope will sustain them for many months. This year, those hopes may be dashed. Supply chain problems are affecting sectors up and down the economy. What can sellers and buyers expect this year? Joining Tom now is Dr. Tinglong Dai, Professor of Operations Management and Business Analytics at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. Dr. Dai joins us on Zoom from Baltimore. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How the global supply chain crisis is impacting the American shopper

In Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan, Oakland, California is held-up as a city that has had significant success in reducing violence. In 2019, the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence published a report entitled A Case Study in Hope: Lessons from Oakland’s Remarkable Reduction in Violence. It documented that between 2012-2019, shootings and homicides were down by almost 50%. Oakland, like many cities, has seen an increase in violence since 2019, but given its prominence in the thinking of the Mayor and others who are working to reduce violence in our city, it would be helpful to examine what Oakland did to achieve that dramatic reduction, at least for a 7-year period, and to see if there are lessons to be learned for Baltimore. Tom's guest is Erica Ford. She co-chaired the Black and Brown Gun Violence Prevention Consortium, one of the co-sponsors of the Oakland report. She is also the CEO And Co-Founder of Life Camp Inc., a peacemaking organization in New York. Erica Ford joins us on Zoom from Queens, NY… See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can Erica Ford's peacemaking help Baltimore reduce its gun violence?

It's time for another visit with Midday theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck, who joins Tom this week with her review of Everyman Theatre's live (and streamed) production of Flyin' West. Pearl Cleage's 1992 play tells the story of four 19th-century Black women forging a new life, working their own land, and beating the odds as strong-willed homesteaders in the all-Black town of Nicodemus, Kansas. Directed on stage by Everyman's Associate Artistic Director Paige Hernandez, Flyin' West features Aakhu TuahNera Freeman as Miss Leah,Eleasha Gamble as Sophie Washington; Bianca Lipford as Minnie Dove Charles;Calvin McCullough as Frank Charles;Gibson Reeves as Fannie Dove; and Everyman resident company actor Jefferson A. Russell as Will Parish. Flyin' West continues live on stage at Baltimore's Everyman Theatre until October 31. The play also streams for ticketed patrons from October 22 through November 11. For times and ticketing information, click here. Flyin' Westcontains portrayals of physical violence and mature language. Viewer discretion is advised. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rousuck's Review: 'Flyin' West,' a tale of Black pioneers, at Everyman

Today on Midday, it’s Midday on Cars. Tom's guest is John Davis, the creator, producer and host of MotorWeek,the weekly automotive TV magazine that's produced by Maryland Public Television (MPT) and syndicated on PBS stations across the country and on the Velocity Cable Network (now the MotorTrend Network). The 41st season of MotorWeek kicked off last month. You can catch it on MPT at 5:00 on Saturdays. (In other parts of the country, check your local listings.) It’s an interesting time to be in the market for a new set of wheels. Computer chips are still scarce, and that’s affecting the price of both new and used cars. And the old routine of going to a dealership and kicking the tires is giving way to on-line car purchasing. And, when it comes to the kind of car you may want to buy, the choices have never been more plentiful, including an expanding array of hybrid and all-electric cars and trucks. John Davis stays on top of all of it, and today we’ll take your questions and comments about all things automotive. John joins us on our digital line from Owings Mills, Maryland...MPT's and MotorWeek's home base. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MotorWeek's John Davis talks cars as he drives into Season 41 on PBS

If you haven’t heard the latest news about the search for Gabby Petito, and the boyfriend with whom she was last seen, that information is not hard to come by. Ms. Petito and her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, embarked on a cross country trip in June. Ms. Petito was in touch with her parents throughout the summer until the end of August, when her communication stopped. Her parents reported her missing on September 11th. Brian Laundrie returned to his parents’ home three days later, without Ms. Petito, and refused to speak with authorities. Ms. Petito’s remains were found in Wyoming on September 19th. Brian Laundrie left his parents’ home on September 14, and his whereabouts remain unknown. The FBI has issued a federal arrest warrant for him. More than a half a million people were reported missing in 2020. By the end of that year, about 89,000 missing person cases were active, and nearly 45% of those cases were people of color. But naming any of those victims based on news accounts of their fates is nearly impossible. Baltimoreans may remember the case of Phylicia Barnes, a young African American woman from North Carolina who was killed while visiting MD, and a missing Asian American woman, Lauren Cho, has attracted some media attention, but Gabby Petito, Natalee Holloway, Chandra Levy, Laci Peterson and others who have become national household names are White, and the vast majority of women and girls of color who are missing remain far outside the media spotlight. In 2004, the late PBS News Anchor Gwen Ifill coined the term, “Missing White Woman Syndrome,” referring to the fact that White women who are reported missing are much more likely to have their stories covered. Today on Midday, we’ll examine this phenomenon, and explore why the coverage of missing people of color is so disproportionate. We begin with two scholars who study this issue. Dr. Danielle Slakoff is an assistant professor of Criminal Justice at Sacramento State University whose research focuses on media and crime. Dr. Slakoff joins us on Zoom from Sacramento. And Zach Sommers is an attorney with the firm of Kirkland and Ellis. He’s also a criminologist who has studied the nexus of criminal law, race and the news media. He joins us on Zoom from Chicago. Later in the hour, we're joined by Natalie Wilson, who, along with her sister-in-law, Derrica Wilson, is a co-founder of The Black and Missing Foundation, a DC-based organization that works to bring media attention to cases involving missing persons of color. Natalie Wilson also joins us on Zoom, from Washington DC.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Missing White Woman: Race bias in media coverage of missing persons

Monday-Friday from noon-1:00, Tom Hall and his guests are talking about what's on your mind, and what matters most to Marylanders: the latest news, local and national politics, education and the environment, popular culture and the arts, sports and science, race and religion, movies and medicine. We welcome your questions and comments. E-mail us at  midday@wypr.org

hubhopper

Midday

hubhopper