Stay Connected***No longer adding new episodes*** On The Record was co-hosted by Sheilah Kast and Ashley Sterner. Sheilah and shared conversations with audacious artists, intrepid scientists, community leaders and more. And of course, tales from the beloved Stoop Storytelling Series.
On The Record was produced by Melissa Gerr. Jon Ehrens created the theme music. Louis Umerlik designed the logo.
Copyright: © 2024 WYPR Baltimore
The opioid overdose crisis accelerated over the past year, as fentanyl drove deaths. State lawmakers are considering whether ‘overdose prevention sites’ are the answer. We speak with two community outreach coordinators with the Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition. Ricky Morris describes how the pandemic forced changes in on-the-ground activities. Such as, the coalition stopped setting up mock safe sites as demonstrations. But Samantha Kerr says the layout would look similar to vaccination sites.
Learn more about Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition and the BRIDGES Coalition. Read an op-ed on overdose prevention sites published in Maryland Matters and co-authored by Samantha Kerr. Read SB279 and HB396.
Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers mharvie@wypr.org 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers mgerr@wypr.org 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his sbdawes@wypr.org 410-235-1472
Today we meet two Open Society Institute fellows working to make Baltimore healthier and safer in 2021.
Troy Staton is leveraging the trust between barbers and clients, and creating a network of hair salons that will bring health care screenings and other resources to their neighborhoods.
And attorney EV Yost is recruiting L-G-B-T-Q volunteers to staff a hotline and mobile team to respond when members of the queer community experience a crisis. This interview originally aired on January 27, 2021.
Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers mharvie@wypr.org 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers mgerr@wypr.org 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his sbdawes@wypr.org 410-235-1472
That was Stoop Story from Sheila McMenamin about the power of music to set you free. You can hear her story and many others, as well as the Stoop podcast, at stoopstorytelling.com.
Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers mharvie@wypr.org 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers mgerr@wypr.org 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his sbdawes@wypr.org 410-235-1472
Musicians and fans have mourned the loss of that electrifying current that connects performers with audiences during a live concert. An die Musik, the small but mighty performing space in Mount Vernon stepped up during the pandemic to serve as a conduit. Owner Henry Wong describes how they had to pivot quickly to respond:
"Our website is served by instant seats and they’ve never done live streaming before so they have no clue what to do so they said do it on your own”
And singer-songwriter Laura Wortman recounts what the last year has felt like:"It has been an emotional rollercoaster … and a creative rollercoaster.” Links: The Bottom Rung at An die Musik, An die Musik calendar, The Honey Dewdrops.
Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers mharvie@wypr.org 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers mgerr@wypr.org 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his sbdawes@wypr.org 410-235-1472
60 years ago so many members of the Lumbee Indian Tribe migrated from North Carolina to East Baltimore, that the area was known as “the reservation.” Today folklorist Ashley Minner is working to preserve this history and the memories of Lumbee elders. She guides us through the walking tour she’s created, which includes the Baltimore American Indian Center and Heritage Museum.Check out her Google map here. Click on the sites and the images to see more information. Ashley Minner will be sharing a keynote address for Center Stage's Baltimore Butterfly Session on April 5th and speaking at a CCBC Community Book Connection Talk on April 16th.This interview originally aired on October 19, 2020.
Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers mharvie@wypr.org 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers mgerr@wypr.org 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his sbdawes@wypr.org 410-235-1472
Even in pre-school, Jessie Dunleavy’s son Paul struggled to learn. His disabilities forced him to switch schools over and over. He turned to poetry, and eventually, after several mental-health diagnoses, to drugs. After he died of an overdose, his mother found a poem alluding to his addiction as a moral disgrace.In her memoir, "Cover My Dreams In Ink," Dunleavy recounts the sobering lessons she learned from Paul’s life and death. You can check out Dunleavy's blog here. This interview originally aired on January 25, 2021.
Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers mharvie@wypr.org 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers mgerr@wypr.org 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his sbdawes@wypr.org 410-235-1472
The Open Society Institute tackles many inequities for Baltimore City residents -- from making fresh food available or healthcare accessible ... to housing rights and more. Each year its community fellows bring game-changing ideas. We hear from two —James Henderson helps young people in the city find paths toward college and entrepreneurship:“Education and owning businesses is the cornerstone of creating generational wealth.” And Bree Jones creates homebuyer collectives to transform abandoned neighborhoods, a whole city block at a time:“They want to live in historically Black spaces as a means of social justice and as a means of wealth building.Links: Parity Homes, College Tours and Entrepreneurship, Capital Campaign/College Tours and Entrepreneurship.
Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers mharvie@wypr.org 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers mgerr@wypr.org 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his sbdawes@wypr.org 410-235-1472
The news that Laura Lippman’s latest mystery is headed to Apple TV screens is all the motive we need to listen again to Lippman discuss Lady in the Lake, set in Baltimore in the 1960s. The first figure we meet speaks from beyond the grave … apparently the victim of murder. She talks directly and scornfully to the main character, Maddie Schwartz, a housewife turned aspiring reporter. Other characters tell us bits of their stories--and Lippman notes they understand what the ambitious Maddie does not.
Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers mharvie@wypr.org 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers mgerr@wypr.org 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his sbdawes@wypr.org 410-235-1472
Take a listen to this Stoop Story from Rick Wilson about his friend and coworker, Sam the Toucan. Listen to more Stoop Stories here.
Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers mharvie@wypr.org 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers mgerr@wypr.org 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his sbdawes@wypr.org 410-235-1472
Shae McCoy photographed vacant homes and abandoned buildings--capturing their brokenness in vivid color and compiling them into the new book, "West Baltimore Ruins." The book is a time capsule that preserves these buildings before they’re torn down or replaced. What will survive? What will Baltimore lose?
Follow this project on Instagram at west_baltimore_ruins. Check out the virtual exhibit at the UMBC's Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery. Read the BmoreArt interview with McCoy.
Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers mharvie@wypr.org 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers mgerr@wypr.org 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his sbdawes@wypr.org 410-235-1472
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