Midday

Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott was scheduled to join us today but at the last mintute was called away to respond to a violent incident in West Baltimore where five young men had been shot.

Midday host Tom Hall opens the phones to discuss with listeners one of Baltimore's biggest challenges for the new year: curbing the city's relentless rates of homicide and other violent crime.

What do you think of the mayor's efforts to reduce the violence and improve public safety?

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

Republicans on Capitol Hill regain control of the House of Representatives today. The GOP holds a small, four-vote majority, which includes George Santos, a newly elected Republican from New York who fabricated virtually everything about his life history. He is facing multiple calls to resign, and several investigations.

An internecine battle for Speaker of the House is underway at this hour. The GOP four-vote majority isn’t enough to overcome the block of five Republicans who have vowed not to support Kevin McCarthy. As many as 15 more may not support McCarthy’s bid as well. Over the last several weeks, and up to last night and this morning, the California Republican has made more and more promises intended to appease his opponents. If Republicans can’t agree on McCarthy on a first ballot, it would be only the second time since the Civil War that multiple ballots would be cast for the office that is third in line for the Presidency.

We will see how this all plays out. Stay tuned for continuing coverage on Here and Now and later today on All Things Considered. 

Today on Midday on Politics, as Maryland Governor-Elect Wes Moore prepares to take charge in Annapolis, a conversation about the legacy of Larry Hogan, the popular two-term Republican governor who will hand over the reins of state government to Mr. Moore two weeks from tomorrow.

Joining Tom for the hour are two reporters who have been covering the Hogan Administration: Pamela Wood is the politics and government reporter for our partner news organization, The Baltimore Banner. And Bryan Sears is a veteran Annapolis reporter who covers government affairs for Maryland's The Daily Record…

Pamela Wood and Bryan Sears join us on Zoom.

Bryan Sears will host the annual "Eye on Annapolis” conversation with Governor Elect Wes Moore, Senate President Bill Ferguson and Speaker of the House Adrienne Jones a week from tomorrow (Wed., January 11), in Annapolis, on the first day of the 2023 General Assembly Session. For more info, click the event link above.

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

Happy New Year! It’s the Midday Healthwatch with Dr. Leana Wen, our monthly conversation about important current issues in public health.

Rates of RSV and influenza (flu) are beginning to fall, but COVID-19 numbers are up around the country. The Maryland Health Department reported more than 1,500 new COVID cases in the last 24 hours, and that number is almost surely an undercount. Thirteen people died from COVID-related disease in the past 24 hours.

Lots of people are opting for masks again, but not many are opting for the bivalent booster to protect against the latest strains of the Omicron variant.

Leana Wen is with us for the hour today to talk about these and other developments in public health.

As always, we welcome your questions and comments about public health.

Dr. Wen is one of America’s most trusted and knowledgeable public health experts. She is an emergency physician and a former health commissioner of Baltimore. She teaches at the George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health. She writes a column for the Washington Post.  She’s a medical analyst for CNN, a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and the author of Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health.

Dr. Leana Wen joins us on Zoom…

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

(This conversation was originally broadcast on November 16, 2022)

Tom's guest today is an artist who defies categorization and whose creative outlets span a number of genres. Dessa is a rapper, a composer, a poet, a writer, and the host of Deeply Human, a podcast about science. She has given TED talks and speeches about entrepreneurship and art and other topics. She’s the author of a memoir in essays called My Own Devices.  Her latest book is a collection of poetry with a wild title, called Tits on the Moon.

On this archive edition of Midday, let’s listen to a conversation Tom had with Dessa in November when she was in town serving as an artist in residence at Johns Hopkins University, and giving a concert at the Ottobar in Baltimore.

Dessa joined us in Studio A.

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

(This conversation was originally broadcast on November 29, 2022)

The elections last month produced historic results as regards representation of African Americans in the electoral hierarchy of Baltimore City and the state of Maryland. The governor, attorney general, state superintendent of schools and state treasurer are all accomplished Black men. Here in Baltimore City, Black male leaders include the Mayor, the City Council President, the comptroller, the city state’s attorney and the police commissioner.

This is not to say that Black women have not also risen to positions in which they have shaped the trajectory of Baltimore and the state. The Speaker of the House in Annapolis, Del. Adrienne Jones and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks’ endorsements of Wes Moore for Governor were considered a considerable boost to his nascent political career. Not too long ago, the Mayor of Baltimore, the State’s Attorney, the City Council President, even the head of the Enoch Pratt Library were prominent African American women.

In September, the Rev. Kevin Slayton, an activist and preacher who has been involved in politics and policy for years, wrote an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun in which he stated that the representation of African Americans in the halls of power could all be, quote, “the revelation of hopes our ancestors dreamed about.” But for many Black men in America, those dreams are deferred by endemic racism, poverty, and a host of other formidable challenges.

But for many Black men, their dreams are dreams deferred.Dr. Slayton has called for a convening of elected Black officials to explore what can be done to help Black men succeed. What would such a convening look like? What could it accomplish? Tom talked about it last month with Rev. Slayton, the senior pastor at Northwood-Appold United Methodist Church, and an adjunct professor at Lancaster Theological Seminary. He joined Tom in Studio A.

Dr. Lester Spence joined us as well. He’s a professor of Political Science and Africana Studies at Johns Hopkins University, who specializes in the study of black, racial, and urban politics. He spoke with Tom on Zoom.

A little later in the show, Tom spoke via Zoom with Congressman Kweisi Mfume.

This is an encore presentation of Midday.  Because our show was pre-recorded, we aren’t taking any new calls or online comments today. 

Rev. Slayton began our conversation about the possibility of a convening of Black officials with a nod to history.

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

(This conversation was originally broadcast on November 2, 2022)

Today, we’ll revisit a conversation Tom had in November with Brandi Collins-Dexter, a keen observer of politics, race and the cultural landscape.

Historically, voter turnout in American elections is horrible, and turnout in midterm elections is particularly lousy. But the midterms in 2018 set records for turnout, and in some states, turnout in this year’s midterms rivaled the historic participation of four years ago.

Does high turnout favor Democrats? There is conflicting data about that. It does appear to have been the case in the runoff election between Sen. Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker in GA, a race in which Sen. Warnock prevailed by nearly 100,000 votes.

Concerns that Democrats will generally benefit from high turnout elections is why so many GOP-dominated state legislators have passed so many laws that target people of color and restrict access to the polls.

Brandi Collins-Dexter’s book takes a new look at the relationship between Black voters and the Democratic party, an alliance that began during the Civil Rights movement of the mid-20th century. She argues that there are many reasons that old assumptions about that relationship need to be re-examined.

Brandi Collins-Dexter is associate director of research at The Technology and Social Change Project (TaSC), housed in Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. She is the former Senior Campaign Director at Color of Change, a 7 million-member social justice organization. Her new book is a provocative and persuasive collection of essays called Black Skinhead: Reflections on Blackness and Our Political Future. 

Brandi Collins-Dexter was raised in Chicago. After several years in Oakland, CA, she now lives in Baltimore. She joined us on Zoom from Dublin, Ireland, six days before the November, 2022 election. 

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

(This conversation was originally broadcast on November 22, 2022.)

Welcome to Midday. 

In November, Donald Trump announced his third candidacy for US president, amid growing calls from some Republicans to move past Trump and onto a new generation of leaders. If that happens, and we do move into a post-Trump era, will Maryland Governor Larry Hogan impress Republicans as a model for how the GOP can attract a diverse coalition of support?

Tom's guest on this encore edition of Midday explores that hypothesis in a new book by taking a close look at Hogan’s rise in Maryland politics. Dr. Mileah Kromer directs the Sarah T. Hughes Center for Politics at Goucher College, which runs the esteemed Goucher Poll of Maryland public opinion. In her new book, Dr. Kromer examines how Hogan, a Republican in a deeply Democratic state, won two elections, and, over two terms, enjoyed some of the highest approval ratings of any Governor in the country.

Her book is called Blue-State Republican:  How Larry Hogan Won Where Republicans Lose and Lessons for a Future GOP. 

Mileah Kromer joined Tom in Studio A…

The conversation was pre-recorded, so we can’t take any new calls or comments today.

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

(This conversation was originally broadcast on September 30, 2022.)

Welcome back to this encore edition of Midday. 

Tom's next guest is Naima Coster, the author of the New York Times best seller, What’s Mine and Yours, which has been chosen by Maryland Humanities as this year's One Maryland One Book. That’s a program in which Marylanders all over the state read the same book, and have the opportunity to talk about it with other readers, and with the author.

Naima Coster’s novel explores the dynamics of family and community, and the divisions that course through the lives of sisters and their circle, in a story that pivots from North Carolina to California, France, and elsewhere.

Naima Coster was in Maryland in October, engaging readers across the state about What’s Mine and Yours. She joined Tom on Zoom from New York before her trip.

A reminder that because our show was pre-recorded, we can’t take any new calls or online comments.

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ABOUT THE ONE MARYLAND ONE BOOK PROGRAM

Every fall, Maryland Humanities calls for suggestions from the public, as well as from educators, librarians and book clubs, about what book should be chosen as the year’s One Maryland One Book selection. The books are selected around a particular theme each year.

Past authors whose work has been chosen as the One Maryland One Book selection include Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie, Ross Gay, Lisa See, Mona Hannah-Attisha and Daniel James Brown.

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

(This conversation was originally broadcast on September 30, 2022)

Welcome to this archive edition of Midday. 

Today, we’ll revisit conversations Tom had last September with two novelists who have written books about racial inequality, liberation and integration. They are very different stories, but they are both insightful, provocative, and compelling.

Naima Coster is the author of What’s Mine and Yours.  It was chosen as the 2022 One Maryland, One Book selection by Maryland Humanities. We’ll talk with Naima a little later in the program. (That conversation is posted separately.)

We begin with Dr. Wendy Shaia, who serves on the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Social Work, and as the Executive Director of the Social Work Community Outreach Service. For years, she’s done anti-racism work, and she’s written numerous scholarly articles.

Her first novel is set in Baltimore in the near future. It imagines a secret organization of Black men and women who train and organize for armed resistance to white supremacy. It is part dystopian fiction, and part ripped from the headlines. Part Wakanda and part Consent Decree. Part Black Panther Movement and part Unite the Right.

It's called The Black Cell, and it’s been chosen as a finalist in the 2022 American Fiction Awards.

Wendy Shaia joined Tom on Zoom.

Because our conversation was pre-recorded, we can’t take any new calls or comments today.

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

Hello, and Happy Holidays! Welcome to the Midday Christmas Eve Special, with your host, Tom Hall.

Today, we’ll spend the hour listening to some music and some poetry of the season, plus, a story by Baltimore writer Rafael Alvarez.

Here's a playlist of our selections, in the order you'll hear them in the program:

1. MUSIC: I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In. A carol arranged by Robert Shaw and Alice Parker.(from a 2010 CD recording by the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, "Christmas at America’s First Cathedral," Tom Hall, conducting.)
2. POEM: Ring Out Wild Bells, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (read by former Midday producer Cianna Greaves)
3. MUSIC: A Clean Heart. A motet for a cappella chorus by James Lee, III. He’s on the faculty of Morgan State University, and his music is performed all over the world. This is a setting of a text from the Psalms, Create in Me a Clean Heart. (from "Christmas at America’s First Cathedral.")
4. MUSIC: Ogo ni fun Oluwa, by the great African American composer Rosephanye Powell, sung by the Baltimore Choral Arts Society. This is an African Praise Song, on a text from the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria. The title means "Rejoice! Glory be unto the Lord." (from "Christmas at America’s First Cathedral.")
5. READING: "Aunt Lola," written and read by Baltimore writer Rafael Alvarez.
6. MUSIC: Ring the Bells, by Rosephanye Powell, commissioned by Tom Hall when he was the Music Director of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society. (from "Christmas at America’s First Cathedral.")
7. MUSIC: Have You Seen the Baby Jesus? by Rosephanye Powell, with soprano Janice Chandler Eteme. (from "Christmas at America’s First Cathedral."
8. READING: A Chinese proverb, read by Jamyla Krempel, digital editor at WYPR's partner news organization, the Baltimore Banner.
9. MUSIC: Precious Gifts. Music by Dave Brubeck; text by his wife Iola. Most people know Dave as one of the most iconic pianists in the history of jazz. But Dave was also a frequent composer of choral music, in collaboration with Iola. This is one of their beautiful, a cappella gems, in its world premiere recording, featuring the Baltimore Choral Arts Society.
10. POEM: The Journey of the Magi, by T. S. Eliot. Read by Tom Hall. The poet was born in St. Louis in 1888, but he moved to Britain as a young man and eventually became an English citizen.
11. POEM: "Twas the Night Before Christmas," by Clement Moore; a classic reading by Louis Armstrong.
    
    We hope you enjoy this hour of holiday inspirations. Thanks for listening!
    We wish you all a joyous holiday season, and a happy and healthy New Year!

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