Enoch Pratt Free Library Podcast

Karl Alexander will discuss his book, The Long Shadow, with writer D. Watkins and radio personality Marc Steiner.

For 25 years Karl Alexander, Doris Entwisle and Linda Olson, authors of The Long Shadow, tracked the life progress of 800 predominantly low-income Baltimore school children. Their research dispels the assumptions of a perpetual "urban underclass" and demonstrates the significance of early-life opportunities available to low-income populations.

Karl Alexander recently retired as the John Dewey Professor of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University.

Recorded On: Monday, October 6, 2014

Maryland Church Records, by Jane Thursby

When searching for your family vital records, church records are very important. But what church or more importantly what religion? What were the colonial or State laws that may help find the answers? Where are older church records kept? From the first religious service in the State to present day archives and repositories, Maryland had many firsts when it comes to religions that become important to remember.

Jane Thursby has been working on her own family history for over 20 years. She is the past president and current vice president of the Frederick County Genealogical Society.  Baltimore born and raised, she is also a member of the Baltimore County Genealogical Society, the Howard County Genealogical Society, the Carroll County Genealogical Society, and the Maryland Genealogical Society. She is a speaker on genealogical research in Maryland and on research techniques, especially those to help break down brick walls.

Recorded On: Saturday, October 4, 2014

From his humble beginnings in Sumter, South Carolina, to his prominence as the third highest ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, Congressman Clyburn has led an extraordinary life. In Blessed Experiences, he tells how an African American boy from the Jim Crow-era South beat the odds to achieve great success and become, as President Obama describes him, "one of a handful of people who, when they speak, the entire Congress listens."

Congressman Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland will introduce Congressman Clyburn.

Recorded On: Thursday, October 2, 2014

Charles M. Blow, New York Times op-ed columnist, will join us to talk about his own extraordinary life story -- growing up in segregated, dirt-poor Louisiana. As told in his new memoir, Fire Shut Up in My Bones, he will share his reflections on coming of age in the South.

Shawn Dove, director of the Open Society Foundations' Campaign for Black Male Achievement, will serve as moderator for the discussion.

Talking About Race is presented in partnership with Open Society Institute-Baltimore.

Recorded On: Wednesday, October 1, 2014

From the injuries he suffered as a Marine lieutenant in Vietnam in 1966 to the Iran-Contra affair that he covered as a journalist and which involved his fellow veterans, Robert Timberg's life has been shaped by the Vietnam War. In Blue-Eyed Boy, the former Baltimore Sun White House correspondent looks back on his own struggle to survive and reflects on what that era has meant to the nation as a whole.

Robert Timberg is the author of The Nightingale's Song, John McCain: An American Odyssey, and State of Grace: A Memoir of Twilight Time. He worked at the Baltimore Sun for more than three decades as a reporter, an editor, and White House correspondent.

Recorded On: Tuesday, September 23, 2014