We first met the guys at Barbara’s Groceries back in 2015 on the 4700 block of Liberty Heights Avenue. This episode, we reunite with them, we listen back together to their original recordings, and we ask them, “How’s life changed in the past six years?” Plus, Aaron & Wendel bid a fond farewell to listeners as Out of the Blocks comes to a close.

Out of the Blocks

Barbara's Groceries, Then & Now

This episode, we reconnect with Traci ‘B-Love’ Bartlow, who runs a boutique hotel on the ground floor of her home in West Oakland’s Lower Bottoms neighborhood. She tells us how her life and her business have changed over the past few years. We also check back in at a day shelter that helps families in crisis in the St Louis neighborhood of The Ville. Director Kelli Braggs talks about how the organization is bearing up under the strain of the pandemic.

B Love & Bridge of Hope, Then & Now

We first met Antonio McDuffy and Pat & Andrea Wills on the 400 block of E Patapsco Avenue back in 2015. This episode, we reunite with them, we listen back together to their original recordings, and we ask them, “How’s life changed in the past six years?”

Antonio & Pat & Andrea, Then & Now

We first met Wayne Brewton & Pastor Aaron Hannah on the 600 block of Cherry Hill Road back in 2017. This episode, we reunite with Wayne & Aaron, we listen back together to their original recordings, and we ask them, “How’s life changed in the past four years?”

Wayne & Aaron, Then & Now

We first met Okhui ‘Sissy’ Benlein & Shaniqua McCready on the 1900 block of Pennsylvania Avenue back in 2018. This episode, we reunite with Sissy & Shaniqua, we listen back together to their original recordings, and we ask them, “How’s life changed in the past three years?”

Sissy & Shaniqua, Then & Now

We first met Gus Zissimos & George Anagnostou on the 4700 block of Eastern Avenue back in 2015. This episode, we reunite with George & Gus, we listen back together to their original recordings, and we ask them, “How’s life changed in the past six years?”

George & Gus, Then & Now

We reconnect with Arlo Iron Cloud, our partner at KILI Radio, The Voice of the Lakota Nation, on the Pine Ridge Reservation. He tells us how life has changed for him and his family over the past few years. We also check back in with Lei Ann Shiramizu in Seattle’s Chinatown International District to hear how she and her neighbors have coped with the pressures of the pandemic.

Arlo & Lei Ann, Then & Now

We first met Gregory Hill (AKA Foots) and Lateef Aderomilehin on the 2100 block of Edmondson Avenue back in 2017. This episode, we reunite with Foots & Lateef, we listen back together to their original recordings, and we ask them, “How’s life changed in the past four years?”

Foots & Lateef, Then & Now

We first met Tymekia Spellman and Will Jackson on the 4700 block of Liberty Heights Avenue back in 2015. This episode, we reunite with Tymekia & Will, we listen back together to their original recordings, and we ask them, “What’s changed in your life in the past six years?”

Tymekia & Will, Then & Now

We first met James Carter and Theresa Marable on the 3300 block of Greenmount Avenue in back 2012, in the very first episode of Out of the Blocks. This episode, we reunite with James and Theresa, we listen back together to their original recordings, and we ask them, “What’s changed in your life in the past nine years?”

James & Theresa, Then & Now

Have you ever been a mentor to someone? Maybe you had a mentor of your own? How did it change your life? January is National Mentoring Month, and this episode we turn our attention to the voices and the stories of some young Baltimoreans we met through a network called Maryland MENTOR. They’re young, but they’ve got life-lessons for a willing ear of any age.   

Young Wisdom

This pandemic’s been a tough time for musicians. Clubs are closed, and gigs are cancelled. But our friends at Baltimore’s Creative Alliance had a lightbulb moment. They thought: These musicians that we usually book on our stage, what if we start booking them on stoops and porches? They’d be outdoors, the crowds would be small, just the neighbors on the block. People would be masked up and socially distant. But it’d be a little moment of community, and it’d give these musicians some work. They called the series, Sidewalk Serenades. And it ended up bringing little spontaneous moments of genuine joy to Baltimore neighborhoods during a really dark time. Out of the Blocks decided to book some of these Sidewalk Serenades on different blocks around the city. And we recorded them for this special episode.  Mask up & head out with us for some great live music and neighborhood togetherness!

Sidewalk Serenades

They have access to the collected astronomical data of the world’s most powerful space telescopes, and they’re stuck at home in quarantine.  Here’s what they’re doing:  Scientists Jenn Kotler, Clara Brasseur, and Scott Fleming have been using their time in isolation to design a radically new way of understanding the dynamics of the cosmos.  Inspired by a blind colleague halfway around the planet, Australian astrophysicist Garry Foran, they’re pioneering a new method to study the motion of the universe, through sound. Curious to learn more about their work? Check out this link and this link

Space Sonification

This episode is about a virtual block that makes up the current world of one fascinating and unusual young man. His name is James Burrows. He’s a musical genius, and he’s autistic. This week, he’s graduating from high school in the midst of a pandemic. What might James be able to teach the rest of us about living in the shared social isolation of the moment? NOTE:  All the music in this episode was composed and produced by James. Check him out on SoundCloud.

James' Block: An Outlier

Well, this long-overdue episode wasn’t originally intended to be an audio time-capsule, but, you know… life.  Here’s a final look back at a venerable city market that’s now temporarily closed to the public, and partly demolished.

Lexington Market, part 3: On a Humble

Out of the Blocks is a uniquely immersive listening experience that emerges from a mosaic of voices and soundscapes on the streets of Baltimore. A custom-tailored score colors and connects this tapestry of stories hidden in plain sight.

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Out of the Blocks

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