Midday

(This conversation was originally broadcast on July 31, 2023.) For more, visit https://www.wypr.org/show/midday 

Tom's guests on this encore edition of Midday are two authors who have a special bond. Ann Patchett is the best-selling author of nine novels, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and a recipient of the National Humanities Medal. Her new book, which will be released tomorrow, is called Tom Lake. Her protagonist is an actress who ultimately lands in a different line of work. It’s a tender, warm, and wise, meditation on love and family and memory and the stories that shape us.

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Today on Midday, we reflect on the 60th anniversary of one of the most pivotal and important events in American history; the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

August 28 is remembered as the day King ended his speech at the Lincoln Memorial with his immortal “I Have a Dream” soliloquy, an improvised conclusion to an address that galvanized the throngs of people on the mall, and catapulted King into the pantheon of iconic figures.

Today's guests share their thoughts on the march's significance in the civil rights movement and what it meant for King’s fight for poor people.

Two civil rights activists and faith leaders with deep ties to Baltimore, Bishop Donte Hickman and Rev. George Hopkins, join Tom to discuss the future of the civil rights movement in our community.

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

Today on Midday, we reflect on the 60th anniversary of one of the most pivotal and important events in American history; the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

August 28 is remembered as the day King ended his speech at the Lincoln Memorial with his immortal “I Have a Dream” soliloquy, an improvised conclusion to an address that galvanized the throngs of people on the mall, and catapulted King into the pantheon of iconic figures.

Today's guests share their thoughts on the march's significance in the civil rights movement and what it meant for King’s fight for poor people.

We begin with Dr. Frances Murphy Draper. She is the chairman of the board and publisher of the Afro-American Newspaper, which was founded in Baltimore by her great-grandfather in 1892.

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

This week Midday's theater critic, J. Wynn Rousuck, spotlights the 10x10x10 Play Festival at Fells Point Corner Theatre. The event spotlights 10 plays that run 10 minutes long and feature 10 of the area's best actors.

The plays and playwrights featured in the festival include:
A Working Title by Colin Valkenet
Kaylee and Adelyn by Elizabeth Shannon
Monster Mash by Jalice Ortiz-Corral
A Stop On The Road To The City by Kai DonDero
The Wrong Box by Richard Pauli
Birthday Manicure by Ramon Miranda Amaya
Opioid by Corey Jay Johnson
Body Positivity by Alli Hartley-Kong
The Kvetching Tree by Helen Cheng Mao
The Screening by Shakill Jamal

The festival continues until Sunday, August 27, 2023.

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

Today on Midday Tom talks about the first Republican presidential debate for the 2024 campaign season. Last night, eight candidates took the stage in Milwaukee for two-hours as they vied to stand out among a crowded primary field.

Although there was no shortage of fiery remarks and zingers in the debate, it remains to be seen if the needle has been moved at all in a race that former-President Donald Trump leads by nearly 40 points.

The guests for this program include:
Amber Phillips, a national political reporter for the Washington Post.

Jim Burton, a Republican strategist who has worked with Governors Larry Hogan and Bob Ehrlich, North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis and Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly.

Governor Robert Ehrlich, a major force in Maryland politics who served in the House of Delegates and in Congress. In 2003 he was elected governor of Maryland, the first Republican to hold the state’s top job since the 1960s.

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

Labor Day is right around the corner. For many folks, that means a three-day weekend to spend pruning, picking and perfecting our gardens. This is the time of year to start thinking about cold weather crops and there’s never a bad time to think about native plants and pollinators.

In other words, it is a perfect time to head Back to the Garden here on Midday.

Joining Tom to answer all of your gardening questions are Carrie Engel, the Greenhouse Manager atValley View Farms in Cockeysville, and Myeasha Taylor, Farm and Production Manager at the Farm Alliance of Baltimore.

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Tom's guest today is Maryland Secretary of Agriculture Kevin Atticks who was appointed by Governor Wes Moore in January. The Maryland Department of Agriculture reports that agriculture is the state's largest commercial industry with 6,000 full time farmers employing more than 350,000 people. Overall, this industry contributes more than $8 billion dollars per year to the state’s economy.

As summer draws to a close, this is the season to celebrate agriculture, from farmers markets to fairs. The Maryland State Fair starts Thursday, and county fairs in Frederick, Prince George’s and Anne Arundel take place next month.

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Two of Baltimore’s most acclaimed and successful artists, D. Watkins and Devin Allen, are collaborating on a new documentary about the precipitous decline of young people in sports.

D. Watkins, a best-selling author, screenwriter and editor at large for Salon, joins us to talk about the new documentary. The short film is called We Used to Win Here. You can watch the documentary here.

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On any given day, an average of 1,000 workers are on more than 300 construction sites on Maryland’s roadways. What can be done to keep them, and motorists, safe?

Maryland Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller joins Midday today. A civil engineer, she came to office with experience in transportation, including formulating policy to protect roadway workers.

Miller is the first woman of color and the first immigrant to be elected to statewide office in Maryland. Gov. Wes Moore has charged her with a portfolio that includes transportation, mental health and STEM equity, among other areas.

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

Disinformation and misinformation in politics and the public square are not a new feature of American political discourse. But recently, the dissemination of falsehoods are reaching a wider, mainstream audience.

Lee McIntyre, a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University, joins the show today. His books include How to Talk to a Science Denier. His latest book, Disinformation: How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy, explores the subject of disinformation and how to challenge its rise.

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