Midday

Tom's guest for the hour is the journalist and best-selling political author, Thomas Frank.

In his provocative new book, "The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism," Mr. Frank contends that most of our notions about populism are wrong. Today “populism” is a term used to describe the racist and illiberal philosophies of Donald Trump and far right extremists in America and Europe.

But the real story of populism, says Mr. Frank, is rooted in a more enlightened and hopeful world view. In 1936, as the Great Depression ravaged American communities from coast to coast, the poet and Lincoln biographer Carl Sandburg published a book called "The People, Yes." Thomas Frank describes Sandburg’s mostly forgotten 300-page poem as “a full-throated celebration of ordinariness,” and “the most eloquent evocation of Depression-era populism.” Mr. Frank’s latest book is a full-throated defense of the wisdom of the common man and woman, and a sharp attack on those who have, since the 19th century, opposed and discredited Populism.

Anti-populism has created some strange bedfellows through the ages; Frank describes how the Robber Barons of the late 19th century's Gilded Age and liberal intellectuals of the present day share a disdain for populism. That disdain comes from what Mr. Frank calls “the Democracy Scare,” where elites with education, wealth and social standing believe that elections are too important and too complex to be decided by "unwashed" and "uninformed" masses. As Thomas Frank argues, the story of populism is the story of America's evolving, and expanding, democracy.

Thomas Frank is the author of nine books, including "Listen, Liberal;" "Pity the Billionaire;" "The Wrecking Crew;" and "What's the Matter with Kansas?" A former columnist for The Wall Street Journal and Harper's, Frank is the founding editor of The Baffler and writes regularly for The Guardian. He lives outside Washington, D.C.

Thomas Frank joins us today via Zoom.

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

And now, a conversation about housing in Baltimore City. A new Abell Foundation report examined why the rate of homeownership in Baltimore has fallen over the last decade, and the barriers for homeownership, particularly in communities of color. That report's co-author, UMBC researcher Sally Scott, joins Tom.

Another Abell report looks at who is leaving Baltimore, and who’s moving in, and examines perceptions of gentrification. Alan Mallach did that study. He is a senior fellow at the Center for Community Progress in Washington DC, and he also joins us.

Jody Landers is also here. He was commissioned by a network of neighborhood organizations called Healthy Neighborhoods to do a market survey of home sales in so-called “middle neighborhoods.”

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We begin today with former Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, who served as the city’s top cop from 2015-2018.
Mr. Davis recently wrote an opinion piece in The Baltimore Sun that pushes back against the idea of defunding the police, and which offers a suggestion for a national approach to police reform, including creating a cabinet-level position of national secretary of police.

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Coming up at the end of the program today, we remember Congressman John Lewis, who died Friday at the age of 80. In an excerpt from a 2013 Time Magazine interview, the civil rights leader remembers the speech he delivered at the historic March on Washington in August 1963.

But first, it’s Midday on the Law. Tom is joined by two legal scholars for a conversation about the recently completed term of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Last week, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital for a couple days of for treatment of a gall bladder infection. On Friday, she announced that she has had a recurrence of cancer, and that she has been undergoing chemo therapy since May. At 87, she is the court’s oldest member. In a statement, she said that she remains fully able to remain a member of the court.

In the past few weeks, the court released opinions involving election law, President Trump’s tax returns, abortion and birth control, the fate of Dreamers, and employment discrimination. Chief Justice John Roberts surprised many court watchers; a conservative appointee, he delighted liberals in two important cases.

For perspective on these decisions, Tom welcomes back to Midday two highly respected legal scholars.

Amy Howe was a reporter and editor at SCOTUSBlog until 2016. She has argued cases before the Supreme Court, and taught law at Stanford and Harvard. She still contributes to SCOTUS Blog, and she covers the court and the judiciary on her blog, Howe on the Court.

Kim Wehle is a member of the faculty of the University of Baltimore School of Law. She’s the author of two books, How to Read the Constitution and Why, as well as What You Need to Know About Voting, And Why. She’s also a legal commentator for CBS News.

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

Tom's Newsmaker guest today is the former Solicitor of Baltimore City, Andre Davis.

In 2017, Judge Davis left his seat on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and answered then-Mayor Catherine Pugh's call for him to serve as his hometown’s top lawyer. He was front and center in efforts to recruit Michael Harrison as the city’s police commissioner after Daryl De Sousa resigned amid scandal. When Mayor Pugh was forced to resign by her own corruption scandal, Davis was a stabilizing force in a city hall rocked by crisis.

Andre Davis worked to reform the Baltimore Police Department, and he took controversial positions about the role of the Civilian Review Board, gag orders for victims of police misconduct, and the city’s liability arising from the scandal of the Gun Trace Task Force.

Today on Midday, Andre Davis reflects on his tenure in city government, politics and public service, and he takes your questions and comments.

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

And now, a conversation about the state of local journalism with C. Fraser Smith, a veteran scribe who spent more than 50 years as an award-winning reporter and columnist.

Fraser Smith spent a good chunk of his career at The Baltimore Sun, as well as right here at WYPR, where he was our senior news analyst and the host of Inside Maryland Politics. He’s also written several books, including a biography of William Donald Schaefer, a book about the history of civil rights in Maryland and an exploration of the death of college basketball star Len Bias. His latest book is a memoir called The Daily Miracle: A Memoir of Newspapering.

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

Tom's next guest is Dr. Charissa Cheah, a professor of psychology at UMBC. She received a National Science Foundation Rapid Response Research Award this spring to research the extent of racism toward the Chinese-American community during the pandemic -- and the effect of that racism on parents and their children.

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

Yesterday afternoon, Gov. Larry Hogan and Maryland Secretary of Labor Tiffany Robinson announced that the state had uncovered a huge fraud scheme involving unemployment insurance.

WYPR State House reporter Rachel Baye joins Tom to discuss the latest regarding what Hogan called a massive identity theft scheme that led to more than 47,500 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims worth more than than $501 million.

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

Today on Midday, perspectives on economic development in Baltimore as businesses deal with the ongoing challenges presented by COVID-19.

Tom’s guests today are Shelonda Stokes and Colin Tarbert.

Stokes is president of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore.

Tarbert is the President and CEO of the Baltimore Development Corporation, the agency that handles economic development for Baltimore City.

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

In the primary elections in Maryland last month, most voters cast their ballots by mail for the first time. For the State Board of Elections and local elections officials, it was the first large-scale effort to hold a vote by mail in Maryland history. The mail-in process was, in the words of The State Board's July 2 report on the June 2 elections submitted to Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, “not without issue."

Today on Midday, a conversation about how we will vote in November, here in Maryland and around the country. Because of the dangers for voters and poll workers associated with in-person polling stations, many elections experts and legislators think that despite the problems we encountered in June, the November election should be conducted largely by mail, with a ballot mailed directly to every registered voter, as was done last month in the primaries. Last week, Governor Hogan rejected that advice, directing the State Board of Elections to plan for an election on November 3rd that will be held using the same basic parameters that were in place when we voted prior to the Coronavirus pandemic. Read the Governor's order here.

That decision has been met with opposition from several groups, including the Maryland Association of Election Officials, Common Cause Maryland, State Attorney-General Bill Frosh and several state legislative leaders. One of those leaders is Tom's first guest today. Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson joins Tom via Zoom.


Later in the hour, Tom talks with Leah C. Aden. She's the Deputy Director of Litigation at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund (LDF). Ms. Aden was a member of the LDF litigation team involved in the Shelby County v. Holder case in which the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013 gutted a critical section of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. She has led efforts in courts across the nation to combat voter suppression, to challenge the barriers that people of color face when it comes to registering and voting, and to ensure that voting is accessible and safe in November for all Americans. Leah Aden joins Tom via Zoom.


Then, Tom speaks with Wendy R. Reiser, a voting rights expert and vice president at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, a nonpartisan think tank and public interest law center. Ms. Weiser directs the Brennan Center's Democracy Program, which focuses on voting rights and elections, money in politics and ethics, redistricting and representation, government dysfunction, rule of law, and fair courts. She was the founding director of the program’s Voting Rights and Elections Project, directing litigation, research, and advocacy efforts to enhance political participation and prevent voter disenfranchisement across the country. Wendy Weiser joins us via Zoom.


An important reminder: tomorrow (Wednesday, July 15) is the deadline to sign up for health insurance on the Maryland Health Connection. If you are uninsured, go to MarylandHealthConnection.gov or download the “Enroll MHC” mobile app. You have until tomorrow night at midnight to enroll in a health insurance plan. If you need assistance, call the Consumer Support Center at 1-855-642-8572. Hours: Monday to Friday 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.

(July 15 is also the deadline for filing your federal and state taxes.)

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