Midday

If you haven’t heard the latest news about the search for Gabby Petito, and the boyfriend with whom she was last seen, that information is not hard to come by. Ms. Petito and her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, embarked on a cross country trip in June. Ms. Petito was in touch with her parents throughout the summer until the end of August, when her communication stopped. Her parents reported her missing on September 11th. Brian Laundrie returned to his parents’ home three days later, without Ms. Petito, and refused to speak with authorities. Ms. Petito’s remains were found in Wyoming on September 19th. Brian Laundrie left his parents’ home on September 14, and his whereabouts remain unknown. The FBI has issued a federal arrest warrant for him.

More than a half a million people were reported missing in 2020. By the end of that year, about 89,000 missing person cases were active, and nearly 45% of those cases were people of color. But naming any of those victims based on news accounts of their fates is nearly impossible. Baltimoreans may remember the case of Phylicia Barnes, a young African American woman from North Carolina who was killed while visiting MD, and a missing Asian American woman, Lauren Cho, has attracted some media attention, but Gabby Petito, Natalee Holloway, Chandra Levy, Laci Peterson and others who have become national household names are White, and the vast majority of women and girls of color who are missing remain far outside the media spotlight.

In 2004, the late PBS News Anchor Gwen Ifill coined the term, “Missing White Woman Syndrome,” referring to the fact that White women who are reported missing are much more likely to have their stories covered. Today on Midday, we’ll examine this phenomenon, and explore why the coverage of missing people of color is so disproportionate.

We begin with two scholars who study this issue. Dr. Danielle Slakoff is an assistant professor of Criminal Justice at Sacramento State University whose research focuses on media and crime. Dr. Slakoff joins us on Zoom from Sacramento.

And Zach Sommers is an attorney with the firm of Kirkland and Ellis. He’s also a criminologist who has studied the nexus of criminal law, race and the news media. He joins us on Zoom from Chicago.

Later in the hour, we're joined by Natalie Wilson, who, along with her sister-in-law, Derrica Wilson, is a co-founder of The Black and Missing Foundation, a DC-based organization that works to bring media attention to cases involving missing persons of color. Natalie Wilson also joins us on Zoom, from Washington DC.

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

Today, Indigenous Peoples Day is being observed in more than a dozen states. Maryland isn’t among them. But the movement to ditch the traditional Columbus Day holiday is growing, in favor of celebrating the unique contributions Native Americans have made, and continue to make to our nation.

Several cities in Maryland have replaced Columbus Day with the holiday to honor Native American history, including Baltimore. Washington DC and more than 130 other cities, counties and school districts across the country have done so as well.

On Friday, President Biden issued the first ever Presidential Proclamation on Indigenous People’s Day, which was widely seen as a major stride towards re-directing the focus of the federal Columbus Day holiday towards recognition of Native Peoples. It said, in part, “our Nation celebrates the invaluable contributions and resilience of Indigenous peoples, recognizes their inherent sovereignty, and commits to honoring the Federal Government's trust and treaty obligations to Tribal Nations.”

Columbus Day is a federal holiday established by Congress. The President also issued a Columbus Day Proclamation, in which he acknowledged “the painful history of wrongs and atrocities that many European explorers inflicted on Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities.

Joining us now is Daisee Francour. She is a member of the Oneida Tribal Nation and serves as Director of Strategic Partnerships and Communications at Cultural Survival, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based non-profit group that helps indigenous communities protect and preserve their cultural traditions.

Daisee Francour connects with us on Zoom from Chicago.

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

In 2026, the United States, Canada and Mexico will share the stage of the largest World Cup Soccer Tournament in history. It’s expected that 16 different North American venues will host matches between an expanded roster of teams from around the globe. Eleven of those venues will be in the United States. And maybe, one of them will be right here in Baltimore.

Baltimore, Maryland is making a bid to be one of the hosts of this global party. Today, we'll talk about what putting our best foot forward looks like.

Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford joins us. Along with Baltimore Mayor, Brandon Scott, he co-chairs the committee that is working to bring the World Cup to Baltimore. Lt. Gov Rutherford joins us on Zoom from Annapolis…

Terry Hasseltine is the Executive Director of Maryland Sports (the state's sports commission), and the Vice President of the Maryland Stadium Authority. Mr. Hasseltine joins us on Zoom as well…

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Tom's guest today is the writer Sarah Ruhl. She is among the top 20 most frequently performed playwrights in the country. She has been nominated for a Tony award and twice been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. She has also published a terrific collection of essays, a book of poems, and a memoir of her friendship with the poet Max Ritvo.

Her new book is a memoir of sorts as well, which chronicles her struggle with Bell’s Palsy, a disease that caused part of her face to freeze.

The book is a delight. Ruhl walks us through some of the most harrowing and difficult times of her life, poignantly and insightfully, sharing discoveries she makes about herself, and about how all of us think about ourselves. It’s called Smile: The Story of a Face.

Sarah Ruhl and Tom recorded their conversation earlier, so we aren’t able to take any calls or comments today.

She joined us on our digital line from her home in Brooklyn, New York.

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

Now, a look at the problem of gerrymandering, or partisan redistricting, the widespread practice in the United States by which the political party in control of a state legislature redraws election-district boundaries to favor the election or re-election of that party's candidates.

The Maryland General Assembly is scheduled to convene a special session in early December to consider a new congressional district map. Maryland law says that General Assembly districts must be re-drawn during the regular session, which begins in January.

Many states have formed commissions intended to take partisanship out of the redistricting process. Here in Maryland, politics are far from out of the process. We have not one, but two commissions, one formed by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, and the other put together by the Democratic controlled legislature.

The Hogan-appointed Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission is holding virtual public meetings every Wednesday night this month to gather input about a draft of how a Congressional district map might look. They have published a draft of a possible map, and have invited comment.

The Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission, convened by Democratic leaders in the General Assembly is holding a series of a dozen meetings for community input through the middle of November. They have opted not to publish any drafts of maps they are considering.

For a big picture look, we turn now to the journalist and author David Daley. He’s a former editor-in-chief of Salon, and the author of two books about gerrymandering, the latest of which is called Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy. He’s also a Senior Fellow at FairVote, a non-profit that advocates for election reform.

Daley published an essay in the NY Times on September 29th that cautioned that partisan politics has not been erased from the redistricting process, even in states that have independent commissions formed to keep partisanship out of it. And he suggests some alternatives that could ensure more fair and democratic elections

Dave Daley joins us on Zoom from Western Massachusetts.

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

Tom's next guest is Maryland Sen. Jim Rosapepe. He represents Prince Georges and Anne Arundel Counties, and he was a longtime friend of former Baltimore County Executive Ted Venetoulis, who passed away yesterday at the age of 87.

Venetoulis served as County Executive from 1974-1978, and ran unsuccessfully in 1978 to be the Democratic nominee for Maryland Governor. But even out of office, Venetoulis was an active and influential player in Maryland's Democratic Party politics.

Sen. Jim Rosapepe join us on Zoom to pay tribute to Ted Venetoulis.

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

Today, it's another edition of Midday with the Mayor, and our monthly conversation with Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott about key issues on the mayor's and the city's agenda.

The Mayor, who has been vaccinated but tested positive for COVID this week (and is working from home during his 10-day quarantine) joins Tom to talk about the progress the city is enjoying in its COVID vaccination efforts.

He also discusses the issues surrounding the city's Inspector General, how the city is planning to spend the $641 million in American Rescue Act funds that have been earmarked for Baltimore, and his continuing efforts to promote transparency in city government.

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

It's time for our weekly visit with Midday theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck, who joins Tom today with her review of Wit, the multi-award-winning one-act play written in 1994 by Margaret Edson that's getting a new, live (and COVID-safe) production at Baltimore's Fells Point Corner Theatre.

Directed by Lindsey R. Barr, and starring Kay-Megan Washington as Dr. Vivian Bearing, the play explores the intersection of two powerful human experiences: dying, and discovering the profound value of friendship.

Other members of the cast include John Dignam, Vanessa Eskridge, Isaiah Mason Harvey, Kylie Miller, Willem Rogers, Kyla Tacopina and Dana Woodson.

Besides winning the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Wit also earned playwright Margaret Edson the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, the Drama Desk Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Lucille Lortel Award, and the Oppenheimer Award.Wit continues live (with no streaming option) at Fells Point Corner Theatre until October 24. Follows the link for information on times and ticketing.

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

Tom's guest today is Richard Antoine White, an extraordinary classical musician with an extraordinary story. It begins in Sandtown-Winchester, on Baltimore’s West Side, in difficult circumstances, and bad, if not impossible odds.

In his new memoir, wryly titled "I'm Possible," Richard chronicles how he beat those odds. How he smashed barriers. How he developed a career full of firsts.

Richard is a graduate of the Baltimore School for the Arts and The Peabody Institute, as well as Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, where he became the first African American in the country to be awarded a doctorate in tuba performance.

Today, Dr. White is in his fifth season as a member of the New Mexico Philharmonic Orchestra. He also teaches at the University of New Mexico, where he is Associate Professor of tuba/euphonium, and Associate Director of the Spirit Marching Band.

His teacher and mentor at Peabody was David Fedderly, the former tubist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. David Fedderly joins us briefly on Zoom from his home in South Carolina.

The full title of Richard Antoine White's memoir is I’m Possible: A Story of Survival, a Tuba, and the Small Miracle of a Big Dream. (Flatiron Books)

Richard Antoine White joins us on Zoom from his home in Albuquerque, NM.

Richard Antoine White will discuss and read selections from his book, in conversation with writer Judith Krummeck, at the Enoch Pratt Library's free Writers Live! series event tomorrow (October 7) at 7pm. For more information and to register, click here.

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

Today, we welcome back to Midday a wonderful friend of the show, Dr. Miho Tanaka. She’s an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine expert who will answer your questions about training and exercise. We call our segments with Dr. Tanaka, What Hurts Today?

If you’ve got something that hurts, feel free to give us a call…

But first, the Baltimore Running Festival is back. On Saturday (October 9), runners will hit the streets in four different events: the 26-mile full marathon, a half marathon, a 10K race (that’s about 6 miles) and a 5K race (that’s about 3 miles). It’s the 20th anniversary of this popular event, which like so many events, took a COVID-related hiatus last year.

Tom's first guest today is Lee Corrigan, the Festival's executive race director and president of Corrigan Sports Enterprises, the Elkridge-based company that organizes this and many other footraces across the region.

After Mr. Corrigan's marathon preview, it’s time for a Midday segment that, like the Baltimore Running Festival, has been absent during the pandemic. It’s a segment we call, with our tongues firmly ensconced in our cheeks, What Hurts Today?

We pose this question because, let’s face it. Something hurts. Your knee. Your shoulder. Your elbow. Your ankle. I ask with all due respect, with genuine concern,and with a shared sense of what it means to have things that hurt. I have things that hurt, and so do you. And what’s more fun than comparing what hurts?

Dr. Miho Tanaka specializes in what hurts. She is an acclaimed orthopedic surgeon and the director of the Women’s Sports Medicine Program at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She is a member of the faculty at the Harvard Medical School. Dr. Tanaka has treated professional athletes and weekend-warriors alike.

Whether or not you are running in one of the races in the Baltimore Running Festival this weekend, or your idea of a good time is hopping on your bike and riding, or leashing up your dog and walking, or playing soccer or tennis or golf or lifting weights; whatever you like to do to keep active and fit, Dr. Tanaka is here to answer questions you may have about how to stay active and injury-free, and to suggest some things to think about if you have an injury you need to address.

Dr. Miho Tanaka joins us on our digital line from Boston.

We welcome your questions and comments.

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