Midday

It's time for another visit with Midday theater critic J. Wynn. Rousuck, who joins us today with her review of William Shakespeare's Adventures of Pericles, in a new production by the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, performing live-on-stage "In the Ruins" at the PFI Historical Park in Ellicott City.

Directed by Matthew R. Wilson, with scenic design by Dan O'Brien and costumes by Kristina Lambdin, the Bard's seldom-produced play follows Pericles on a series of fantastic journeys, encountering kings, pirates and shipwrecks along the way. It's a tale of separation, reunion, and renewal, conveyed with energy and broad humor by the eight-member cast, led by CSC resident company member Jose Guzman in the title role.The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company's production of The Adventures of Pericles continues at the PFI Historical Park in Ellicott City through August 1st. Follow the CSC link for more information

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It’s Midday on the Environment. Today, a conversation about the Chesapeake Bay.

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States, extending 200 miles from its northern headwaters in the Susquehanna River to its outlet in the Atlantic Ocean. It’s fed by more than 150 major rivers and streams and it encompasses parts of six states and the District of Columbia.The number of people living and working in this vast watershed has grown exponentially over the decades and the health of the Chesapeake Bay has suffered badly. Farm runoff has degraded the habitat for blue crabs, rockfish and oysters, which are also at risk because of over-harvesting. And, climate change is eroding coastal areas, and further stressing the marine ecosystem.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation was formed in 1967 to educate people about the Bay and to promote conservation programs . The first Bay health monitoring and restoration programs began in the 1980s. They continue to this day.

The University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science issues an annual report card for the Bay. This year’s report showed little improvement from recent years.

Tom's guest today is Will Baker. He has been the president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation since 1982. He’s announced his intention to retire at the end of this year.

Will Baker joins us on Zoom from his home in Baltimore.

Our listeners join us as well…

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

"This year, the Fourth of July is a day of special celebration, for we are emerging from the darkness of a year of pandemic and isolation, a year of pain, fear and heartbreaking loss. Just think back to where this nation was a year ago, think back to where YOU were a year ago, and think about how far we've come.”

— President Joe Biden, speaking at the White House on Sunday, July 4.

Maryland is one of only 20 states to reach President Biden’s goal of vaccinating 70% of adults with at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine by last weekend. Nationally, fewer than half of Americans have been inoculated. And states where vaccination rates are lower are experiencing a surge in cases, as the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus takes hold and continues to infect unvaccinated people.

Data from Johns Hopkins shows that the Delta variant, a mutant strain of COVID-19 that is twice as transmissible as the original virus, has led to almost three times as many new COVID cases in states where vaccination rates are low.Is it time to start requiring people to be inoculated against SARS CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19?

Today, Tom welcomes back Dr. Leana Wen for the Midday Healthwatch. Dr. Wen is an emergency physician and former Baltimore City Health Commissioner. She teaches at the George Washington University School of Public Health; She’s also a columnist for the Washington Post, a medical analyst for CNN, and the author of the forthcoming book, Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health.

Dr. Leana Wen joins us on Skype…and we'll be taking your questions and comments.

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

Today, it’s Midday on Politics, and a look back at last year’s chaotic and unpredictable Presidential election cycle.

In a new, comprehensive analysis of the 2020 race for the Democratic nomination, journalist Edward-Isaac Dovere reports that after losses in early primaries in the beginning of 2020, a despondent Joe Biden thought that his dream of becoming president was once again slipping away.His campaign was broke and in disarray, and he appeared unable to navigate the chaos of the crowded candidate field. But then, with a boost from Congressman James Clyburn, he won the South Carolina primary, the first primary he had won in three tries for the Presidency, a victory that propelled him to the nomination.

In the general election, even though Biden was facing off against a candidate with a lengthy list of well-known negatives, one Democratic operative described Biden as “a rowboat with 7 holes in it. We’ve got to hold on tight and hope he gets across the ocean.”Why did Biden prevail and why did so many others falter? And even more importantly, is this the best way to choose a President?

Edward-Isaac Dovere is a staff writer and lead political correspondent for The Atlantic. He has written a sharp and terrific book about the 2020 campaign. It’s replete with great reporting and vivid descriptions of the machinations that took place behind the scenes and insights into how each campaign handled the unprecedented vagaries of this unusual race.

The book is called Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats’ Campaigns to Defeat Trump.

Edward-Isaac Dovere joins us on our digital line from Washington, DC.

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

(This conversations was originally broadcast on July 3, 2020)

Welcome back to this archive edition of Midday. Tom's next guest is Madison Smartt Bell. He’s the author of a dozen novels, and he’s perhaps best known for his award-winning trilogy of books on the Haitian Revolution and its iconic leader, the 18th century general, Toussaint Louverture.

Bell has also written several non-fiction books, including a biography of Louverture, and a literary biography of an iconic American author who was also his close friend, Robert Stone. Stone passed away in 2015. Madison Smartt Bell’s biography of this singular and influential American novelist is called Child of Light.Madison Smartt Bell and Tom spoke in June of 2020. Because their conversation was pre-recorded, we aren’t able to take any calls or on-line comments.

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(This conversation was originally broadcast on April 28, 2020)

Welcome to this archive edition of Midday. On our program today, Tom Hall's conversations with two acclaimed authors. Coming up a little later (and posted separately), he speaks with Madison Smartt Bell about his biography of the late American author, Robert Stone.

But we begin with a conversation Tom had in March of 2020 with Louise Erdrich about her latest novel, The Night Watchman, which was awarded the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.From her debut novel, Love Medicine, published more than 35 years ago, through 16 subsequent novels, Erdrich has introduced readers to some of literature’s most fascinating and intriguing characters and dazzled her legions of fans with prose that is consistently distinctive and powerful.

The Night Watchman takes place in rural North Dakota in the 1950s. It chronicles the efforts of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians to thwart the government’s attempt to terminate them, which is to say, end federal recognition of the tribe, and force them off their ancestral land. It’s based on the story of Ms. Erdrich’s grandfather, Patrick Gourneau, who led the Turtle Mountain Band’s fight against what the government called “emancipation.”

Describing the book as "a masterpiece," Tom notes that like the many other Louise Erdrich novels he's had the pleasure of encountering, this one is "transcendent, enchanting, and revelatory."

Tom spoke with the author on March 11th, 2020, when public understanding of the severity of the coronavirus pandemic was in its nascent stage.

On that day, Louise Erdrich was at the end of a 6-city book tour, still flying in full planes. She was in Lawrence, Kansas. Tom and Louise spoke in the afternoon, before her appearance that evening at Haskell Indian Nations University.

A reminder that because this conversation was pre-recorded, we can’t take your calls and comments.

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

It's time for another visit from Midday theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck, who joins Tom today with her review of The Garden, a new drama written by and starring Tony-Award nominated playwright/actor Charlayne Woodard.

Directed by Patricia McGregor and also starring Caroline Stefanie Clay, the play world-premieres tonight (July 2) as a streaming production from Baltimore Center Stage, and will be available to ticketed patrons through July 18. Follow the theater links for more information.

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

It’s another edition of Midday at the Movies, our monthly look at films and filmmaking. With COVID restrictions being lifted as the summer movie season gets underway, we take stock of the re-opening cinema scene and spotlight some of the new summer films that may entice reluctant movie lovers back to theaters for that "silver screen" experience.

Zooming in from hither and yon today are our good friend Ann Hornaday – she’s a film critic for the Washington Post and the author of the bestselling movie-goers’ guide, Talking Pictures: How To Watch Movies. She joins us from Des Moines, Iowa…

...and Jed Dietz, the founding director of the Maryland Film Festival/Parkway, who joins us on Zoom from the salty shores of Martha’s Vineyard…And listeners, from wherever YOU may be listening today….we’d love to hear from you as well...

New flicks getting the spotlight today include:

Zola (Theaters only); No Sudden Move (HBO Max); F9: The Fast Saga (Theaters Only); Summer of Soul (Theaters and Hulu) ; I Carry You With Me (Te Llevo Conmigo)(Charles Theater on July 16); Roadrunner (In Theaters July 16, HBO Max); and Rebel Hearts, (Discovery+)

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

It’s Midday with the Mayor. Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott joins Tom for the hour.Baltimore will receive $640 million in funds from the American Rescue Plan, which President Biden signed into law in March. The City will open an Office of Recovery soon to oversee implementation of the programs that the federal aid will fund. We’ll ask the Mayor what his priorities are for how the money will be used.

Mayor Scott attended a White House event last week focusing attention on the uptick in violent crime that Baltimore and other cities have experienced during the pandemic. How will White House efforts to reduce crime help curb violence in Baltimore in both the short and long term?

Mayor Brandon Scott joins us for the hour to discuss these and other issues on the city's agenda, and to address your questions and comments as well...

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

It’s Midday on Personal Finance. Tom's guest today is the award-winning personal finance syndicated columnist for the Washington Post, Michelle Singletary. Her latest book is a hands-on, step by step guide to navigating out of financial problems when our money plans are upended by unexpected problems like a pandemic, for example. Global medical crises aren’t the only reason people find themselves behind the eight ball. Recessions happen with some regularity, and many people are just one serious illness or one job loss away from potential financial catastrophe.

Michelle Singletary’s book walks us through what to do when bad things happen. It’s called What to Do With Your Money When Crisis Hits: A Survival Guide.Michelle Singletary joins us on our digital line from Washington.

You are welcome to join us as well…

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