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
Baltimore’s public schools start the new year in just 25 days … and the system is still looking to hire hundreds of teachers for vacancies. How will classrooms be affected and what’s being done to get educators in place?
The schools’ chief of staff, Alison Perkins-Cohen, says the system has been recruiting energetically and still is. But, she warns Baltimore and Maryland are not alone in the teacher deficit:
“All of us need to be thinking nationally about how do we solve this problem and how do we make teaching more attractive to young people as such the important job that it is in terms of really shaping the future.”
Plus Baltimore Teachers Union officer Cristina Duncan Evans … explains teachers are excited for the new school year but the effects of burnout are real.
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
While people in state prison come from all over Maryland, new Census data reveal the lopsided burden on some communities - the southern Eastern Shore, Hagerstown, and most acutely, Baltimore City.
The report, produced by the Justice Policy Institute and the Prison Policy Initiative, is titled, "Where people come from: The geography of mass incarceration in Maryland."
Keith Wallington of the Justice Policy Institute says the findings cast doubt on what is being done to prevent incarceration and reduce recidivism, "In many cases, individuals are going back to these same neighborhoods they come from, which are neighborhoods that have seen sustained investments in the justice system at the expense of other investments."
Check out data on the number of people in prison in 2020 from each Maryland county and from Baltimore City neighborhoods.
Then, Michael Harris of the Baltimore re-entry program, Face Inc. - Freedom Advocates Celebrating Ex-Offenders - talks about the challenges that confront returning citizens. Harris is a recipient of a 2022 Weaver Award. Learn more 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
Divorce is hard for adults. Children are more fragile. The National Family Resiliency Center holds a special place to protect the mental and emotional well-being of kids, and works to keep whole families communicating and supportive through transitions.
Executive Director Risa Garon describes how parents, lawyers, therapists and judges work together to make that happen. And Meg Sreenivas, a client turned peer counselor, describes how, when she was 12 -year-old, adrift, the center made all the difference.
The NFRC will host a series of educational programs for teens beginning next month, and in October, the organization will hold therapy groups for teens in high school. These programs are designed to help teens deal with stress associated with school, peers, family and social media. More information here.
Original air-date: June 20, 2022.
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
D. Watkins is tired of the lies. Lies about being tough, about not feeling pain … or loss … or rejection.
In his latest book, ‘Black Boy Smile: A Memoir in Moments,’ Watkins shows how he learned to face those lies and push through to the truth. He hopes everyone, especially young Black men and boys, find that strength from his stories:
“I want them to understand that we all have the power to write our own scripts. I want them to understand that even if you’re from a rough environment, you still deserve a happy ending, you deserve to be loved, you deserve people to care about you and you deserve to care about other people.”(15 sec)
Plus, how reading set his life on a whole different path.
D. Watkins is part of the Writers LIVE! series at Enoch Pratt Central Library on Wed. Aug. 3 at 7pm. More details here. He'll also be signing copies of "Where Tomorrows Aren't Promised" with Carmelo Anthony at Urban Reads on Saturday Aug. 6 at 2pm. More info 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
Andy Lowrie wants you to wear his sculptural works of art, and also to think about how they are made. His exhibit, titled “Fulfillment,” now up at the Baltimore Jewelry Center, plays upon several interpretations of that word.
For instance, choosing a piece of jewelry is personally fulfilling, he says. It’s a mode of self-expression and self identity:
“It’s also the word that is used for having goods shipped to us. So that idea, to me, was really interesting: how are we fulfilled, are we really being fulfilled by the things that are meant to be fulfilling us … What is fulfillment, in a sense.”
Links: Baltimore Jewelry Center, Station North Art Walk, Fulfillment exhibit at BJC, Artist's Talk at BJC.
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
Here’s a Stoop Story from Julie MacDonald about a friendly rat companion … and the power of magical thinking. You can hear her story and others 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
Twenty thousand Baltimore children have a parent behind bars or on parole or probation. A new program called B’More Reconnects aims to solidify the bonds between a parent and child and reduce trauma.
Kate Sweeney co-directs the Parent, Infant, Early Childhood Program at the Institute for Innovation and Implementation at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. She describes B’More Reconnects’ group parenting classes, which will start pre-release and continue for six months after.
Then Deputy Mayor Faith Leach shares her connection to this initiative. After her mother was released from prison, they rebuilt their relationship, and Leach saw her mother return to college, "My mom’s story is the illustration of why we can’t ever - and let me repeat that - we can’t ever give up on our neighbors that are returning home."
And Kimberly Haven,executive director of Reproductive Justice Inside, talks about her experience as a mother in prison.
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
Heat waves, wildfires, air-quality alerts… Undeniably we’re hit with more of these--and people where there’s limited investment are hit harder.
We hear from Professor Sacoby Wilson, co-founder of the University of Maryland’s ‘Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health’, about the need to work from the bottom up to equitably and efficiently fight climate change:
“We have to focus on the most vulnerable populations. Those who are socially vulnerable, economically vulnerable those who don’t have health-care access. We then make sure our climate policies emphasize protecting them. If we do that, I think we’ll be able to protect everybody from climate change.”
Plus, Shashawnda Campbell from the South Baltimore Community Land Trust, on why she’s educating and mobilizing neighbors … and is in it for the long game.
Links: South Baltimore Land Trust, The Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health, University of Maryland Symposium on Environmental Justice and Health Disparities, Aug. 11-13.
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
Votes from the primary election are still being counted, but the trend lines are so clear that Democrat Wes Moore claimed victory in the race to carry his party’s banner in the race for governor. He drew a sharp contrast between himself and Republican nominee Dan Cox, saying, "It’s a choice between unity and division. It’s a choice between a future built on hope and optimism versus a future built on cynical policies of conspiracy theories and fear.”
Baltimore Banner politics reporter Pamela Wood joins us to talk about the dynamics behind who won and who lost, and how things are shaping up for the November election. Plus, we ask former Lieutenant Gov. Michael Steele, a Republican, about where his party is heading in the Free State.
Find more election reporting by WYPR and the Baltimore Banner.
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
About 24 hours into counting mail-in ballots cast in the primary election, we speak with WYPR Baltimore County reporter John Lee. We’ll ask: what’s the latest in the contests for County executive and council, as well as the extremely tight race to be Democratic nominee for state’s attorney -- where progressive Robbie Leonard is challenging four-term incumbent Scott Shellenberger. And we talk through the logistics of canvassing thousands of mail-in ballots. Lee spoke with Ruie LaVoie, Baltimore County Elections director, who said, "We're going to process and scan 6 to 8,000 a day because I did the math and if we do that we're going to certify July 29th."
Find more election coverage from the WYPR newsroom. Listen to John Lee's latest story 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
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
