Midday

Change is, literally, in the air. And no, we do not mean the smoke from the Canadian wildfires.

As of next month, the laws around marijuana are set to change. In three weeks, if you are 21 years old or older, the possession and use of small amounts of recreational cannabis will be legal. Voters approved legalization last fall, but it has fallen to legislators and regulators to figure out how the sale and distribution of marijuana is handled.

First Tom is joined by Brenda Wintrode, a reporter for our partner news organization the Baltimore Banner, to discuss Maryland's plans for recreational cannabis. Then he talked with New York Times columnist Ginia Bellafante about New York’s experience with legalized cannabis.

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

A discussion about education in Baltimore on Midday. But first, a note on this show.

Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Mohammed Choudhury accepted an invitation in advance to join for this show. His staff asked for questions and list of topics Tom wanted to discuss. We do not often send specific questions to guests prior to their appearances on our show.

This policy has several of reasons, including the fact that Tom won’t know what he will ask until he is in the conversation. We do, however, often send a list of potential topics that will be of interest to listeners so that if the guest needs to assemble data and information, they will have a chance to do so.

The night before this show, a member of Choudhury's media relations team told Midday he did not want to talk about some of the topics listed.

The State Board of Education is currently considering renewing Mr. Choudhury’s contract, amid some criticism by some former and current employees who have complained about the workplace culture at the state Department of Education, as reported by several news outlets. Leaders of the board have voiced their support for extending Mr. Choudhury’s tenure, while others are calling for his ouster.

We were looking forward to having Mr. Choudhury offer his perspective on several other education-related matters and if needed, correct the record on issues of concern.

But, he declined that opportunity. The invitation for him to join Tom on Midday stands, and we hope he understands that with all due respect, he will be asked to respond to a full range of issues, with no restrictions.

Instead, our conversation on education is joined by two experts who know the topic well, author and education expert Kalman, “Buzzy” Hettleman and journalist Liz Bowie.

Hettleman is a former member of the Baltimore City School Board, a former Baltimore Deputy Mayor, a state secretary of human resources, and a member of the Kirwan Commission, whose recommendations led to the Blueprint that is intended to dramatically improve the quality of education for students in our state.

He is also the author of several books about education, and a frequent presence in the media on the opinion pages.

Bowie is a long-time education reporter, who know works for our news partner, the Baltimore Banner.

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

Last week, when Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott appeared on our show, he touted a 17% decrease in violent crime in our city compared to last year. In fact, as of today, the 120 homicides recorded in Baltimore so far this year is 25 fewer than the 145 recorded at this time last year. That’s a 17% reduction. 21 fewer nonfatal shootings have occurred this year compared to last year, too.

But as the Mayor and other city leaders are quick to point out, the animating force behind the Group Violence Reduction Strategy, or GVRS, is the effort to address the root causes of the violence that has plagued our city for decades: poverty, unstable housing, lack of job opportunities and a street culture in which arguments escalate into violent retribution instead of conflicts being resolved peacefully.

Kurt Palermo, the head of violence interrupter organization Roca, and Nick Wilson, the Senior Director of Gun Violence Prevention at the Center for American Progress join Tom for another episode in Midday's series of conversations about efforts to turn the tide of violence in Baltimore.

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

In April, Dr. Leana Wen published an essay in the Washington Post which bore the headline, “We Should Not Be Celebrating Marijuana Use.” The column engendered more than 5,000 responses, most of which disagreed with her about the dangers of marijuana.

Today on the Healthwatch, let’s talk about marijuana. Even the term “marijuana” is considered in some quarters to be pejorative, with some folks preferring to use the term “cannabis." Polls about the prevalence of cannabis use vary widely.

Recreational cannabis will be legal in Maryland in less than a month. Where do you stand?

Dr. Wen is one of America’s most trusted and knowledgeable public health experts, and we are proud and grateful that she has been a regular guest on our show for many years. In 2019, she was included in Time Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people. An emergency physician, she teaches at the George Washington University School of Public Health. She writes a column for the Washington Post.  She’s a medical analyst for CNN, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and the author of Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health.

Dr. Wen joined us on Zoom.

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

Welcome to Midday at the Movies, our monthly look at films and filmmaking.We're pleased to have two movie mavens join us again. Ann Hornaday is film critic for the Washington Post, Jed Dietz, the founder and former director of the Maryland Film Festival and Parkway Theater.

We discuss the latest movies out in theatres, including You Hurt My Feelings, Master Gardener, Beau Is Afraid and Reality. We also reflect on the 15th anniversary of Iron Man. As Ann Hornaday writes in the Washington Post, the film had an artistic, authentic vision which would eventually lead superhero movies into a new era of corporate, milquetoast blockbusters.

Plus, the latest on the writers' strike in Hollywood. Could directors be the next to join the picket line?

(Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)

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

It's time for another visit with Midday theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck, who joins us each week with her reviews of the mid-Atlantic regional stage.

Today, we discuss "Exclusion," a story about an award-winning historian whose best-selling book about the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 has the chance to become a mini-series by a greedy Hollywood producer.

Exclusion is at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., until June 21.

(Photo by Margot Schulman)

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

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott joins Tom to discuss his plans to keep Baltimore’s youth safe and occupied this summer and his efforts to fill vacancies in some key leadership positions in his administration, including in the Fire Department, the Health Department and the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement.

The city is facing big challenges filling lower level positions, as well. There are 61 openings in the department of emergency medical services, and the Department of Public Works is still understaffed. What can the city do to convince people to join the team?

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

The therapeutic benefits of living with and tending plants are well known—they offer a connection to the natural world that nurtures our mental and physical health. In Living Wild How to Plant Style Your Home & Cultivate Happiness, Hilton Carter shows how to create a lush, stylish space with flourishing plants that bring life to your home and happiness to your life. The best-selling author, design and artist discusses interior design choices—choosing the right color scheme, textures, and materials to showcase gorgeous greenery—then takes a deep dive into styling. From picking the perfect planter to statement plants and taking in centerpieces, living art and hanging planters plus outdoors spaces and plants for kids along the way, Living Wild is packed with interior design and styling ideas that blur the boundary between inside and out. 

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

Last fall, the American Library Association compiled a list of books that have been targets of censorship, challenged for inclusion in the collections of school and public libraries. 1,269 books were challenged in 2022.

Jolie McShane and Jeff McDonald are two of the activists seeking to ban books about sexuality and LGTBQ communities in Baltimore County school libraries.

That’s almost double the number of books that were challenged the year before.

Most of the books are about LGBTQ communities, or are stories and histories centered around people of color.

Republican Presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has made “anti-wokism” a central tenet of his campaign for President, and a central issue in his on-going feud with Disney. Around the country, conservative activists are seeking to limit what kids can access in their classrooms and curriculums.

Today on Midday, a conversation about what criteria teachers, parents, politicians and boards of education are applying in the contentious fights around book censorship.

Tom first speaks to Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the Director of the Office of Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association.

A little later in the program, Tom speaks with Jolie McShane, the President of Republican Women of Baltimore County and Jeffry McDonald, the President of the Patriot Club of America, a group based in Baltimore County.

They have been working to have two books removed from Baltimore County school libraries, “Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison and “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe.

Tom also speaks with George Johnson, the author of “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” another book that is among the most frequently targeted for removal from libraries across the country.

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

Denise Kumani Gantt joined Tom on Zoom. She is the Director of Education and a resident artist with Lyric Baltimore, and one of the prime movers behind the "Dream Big" Contest.

Eight visionaries were named as winners. Students appearing on the show are listed below:

Joshua Adler, 6th Grade, Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle School

Aminah Ebron, 11th Grade, Baltimore School for the Arts

Sha'Miyae Hinton-Knight, 7th Grade, Charm City Virtual Elementary/Middle School

Kayla Tabernero, 11th Grade, Parkville High School

Elias Rigoberto Gomez Zisselsberger, 8th Grade, Hamilton Elementary/Middle School

Three contest winners were not able to participate in the program, they are:

• Teni Adedire, 11th Grade, Eastern Technical High School
• Miles Anderson, 10th Grade, Baltimore City College
• Naima Renee Gordon, 10th Grade, Baltimore City College

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