Midday

It is the Midday Healthwatch with Dr. Leana Wen, one of the most respected public health experts in the country.

Dr. Leana Wen is a former health commissioner of Baltimore. She is a columnist on health matters for the Washington Post, a medical expert on CNN, a scholar at George Washington University and a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution.

On Friday,the CDC issued a warning that “the US is experiencing elevated RSV activity, particularly among young children.” There has also been a rise in COVID 19 cases especially in the Midwest, and in the mid-Atlantic region. And, fewer people are getting a flu shot than in years past, and there’s been a concurrent increase in flu cases across the country.

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It's time for another visit with Midday theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck, who joins Tom Hall each week with her reviews of the Maryland-DC-Virginia regional stage. This week she reviews “Fat Ham,” which is based on the Shakespearian classic "Hamlet." This version of the story, however, unfolds at a barbecue in North Carolina.

“Fat Ham,” continues at the Studio Theatre in Washington through January 14, 2024.

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The Poulenc Trio, who is internationally recognized for their classical and contemporary chamber music, dropped by Midday in advance of their upcoming Candlelight Concert performance at The Peale Musuem. Two members of the trio, pianist Irina Kaplan Lande and bassoonist Bryan Young, joined Tom to give a glimpse of what audiences can expect tomorrow.

The Poulenc Trio will perform December 2nd at the Peale Museum in Baltimore. The next show in the Candlelight Concert Series is December 10th at Howard County Community College and will feature musicians from the Heifetz International Music Institute.

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Last week, a ten-year-old Maryland law regarding licensing requirements for handguns was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

On the same day, a judge in Oregon struck down a law that would have prohibited high-capacity magazines in addition to requiring background checks and training to obtain gun permits.

What do these rulings indicate for gun regulations and gun safety moving forward? Tom speaks with Eric Tirschwell, the executive director and chief litigation counsel ofEverytown Law about last week's legal news.

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According to the Federal Reserve, over the last decade, the amount of student debt carried by Americans has jumped up 66% to more than $1.77 trillion. Borrowers in Maryland are estimated to have the highest average amount of debt at nearly $40,000 per person.

On October 1, 2023, a three-year hiatus from loan payment due to the pandemic ended. There is great uncertainty surrounding the new rules governing who has to pay and how much they have to pay.

Three guests join the show to help us understand these student loan problems. Washington Post Higher Education Reporter Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, University of the District of Columbia law student Jenaya Moore and Student Loan Justice Founder Alan Collinge.

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Today it’s Midday in the Neighborhood and we’re going to check-in with our colleagues from The Baltimore Banner. 

First, we talk with Jasmine Vaughn-Hall and Councilwoman Phylicia Porter about development in South Baltimore. Next, we hear from Clara Longo de Freitas and Misty Fae about erosion and storm repair in Herring Run Park. Tom wraps up the show with Daniel Zawodny and his exploration of the Howard County school system's bus crisis.

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Baltimore City Police Commissioner Richard Worley joins Midday. He joined the department in 1998, rising in the ranks from patrol officer in the Western District to Sergeant in the Southwest district, Lieutenant and then Captain in the Northern District, to Lt. Colonel.

In 2018, Mr. Worley was promoted to the rank of Colonel, and appointed Chief of Patrol. He became Chief of Detectives in 2021, and last year, working closely with Commissioner Michael Harrison, he was named the Deputy Commissioner of Operations. When Commissioner Harrison resigned in June, Worley became the acting commissioner. He was appointed permanent commissioner last month.

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Tom's guest is Dr. Joy Buolamwini, her ground-breaking work in the field of artificial intelligence led her to form an organization called the Algorithmic Justice Leage, with which she leads the crusade against the harms of AI.

Dr. Joy has just published a book that tells her remarkable story and elucidates how she came to understand the shortcomings and dangers of AI.

The book is a clarion call to world leaders, tech entrepreneurs and scholars to address the deficits in AI and regulate this powerful technology so it cannot be deployed unfairly and illegally.

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On today's show, a conversation about the New York Times, one of the world’s most singular and powerful journalistic enterprises. Adam Nagourney joined the Times in 1996, and served as the chief political correspondent in Washington, D.C., and as the Los Angeles Bureau Chief. He now covers national politics.

Nagourney captures with exquisite detail and insight the triumphs and the tumult of the world’s “paper of record,” between the post-Watergate years in the 1970s through the surprise election of Donald Trump in 2016.

The book is called, The Times: How the Newspaper of Record Survived Scandal, Scorn and the Transformation of Journalism.

Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.

It’s the What Ya' Got Cookin'? Thanksgiving edition, a beloved tradition here on Midday, going all the way back to 2016. Tom talks with John Shields, owner of Gertrude's at the Baltimore Museum of Art and Damian Mosely of Blacksauce Kitchen.

The two chefs talk with Tom and the Midday callers about cooking tips and food faux pas for folks preparing tomorrow's big meal.

We also get a special check-in from Tom's mom, Rosemary Hall.

Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.