It’s Midday Culture Connection with Dr. Sheri Parks of the University of Maryland. Today, a conversation about the Neo Soul movement. Neo Soul has evolved into something much more than a music genre. Today, the term Neo Soul suggests a lifestyle that's premised on spirituality, self-care, and diet, and that favors beauty-care products made with natural ingredients.

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Today, a conversation about the Neo Soul movement.

On our latest installment of Midday with the Afro, a rally was held in Baltimore support of Stephon Clark, the young man who died at the hands of police in Sacramento, CA. The bills concerning black ownership of medical marijuana licenses are coming down to the wire. Also, Nathaniel Oakes, the Senator from the 41st district is out of office, but he is on the ballot in the June Primary. And there has been a leadership change in the MD Legislative Black Caucus..Kamau High is Managing Editor of The Afro American Newspapers. He joins Tom live in Studio A.

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Today, another installment in our series of Conversations with the Candidates. Joining Tom in Studio A is former Maryland House Delegate and public school teacher John Olszewski, Jr. Known as “Johnny O,” he represented the County’s 6th district for two terms in the Maryland General Assembly, and spent nine years teaching in several Baltimore County public schools. In June of 2017, he took leave from his position with a local software company to launch himself back into politics. Olszewski is one of four Democrats vying to be their party's primary pick for the office of Baltimore County Executive. Maryland primary elections will be held on June 26th.The county executive manages a $3.5 billion annual budget. A recent report expressed concern about the fiscal condition of Maryland’s third largest jurisdiction. Several development projects in the County have become political lightning rods, as has the need to relieve overcrowding in county schools. Today, Tom asks Johnny O about his vision for the county he has always called home.The conversation with John Olszewski, Jr., was streamed live on WYPR's Facebook page. You can view the video here.

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Tom's guest is Democrat John Olszewski, Jr., candidate for Baltimore County Executive

Today, Tom's guest is Krish Vignarajah, a Democratic candidate for Governor -- as we continue our series of Conversations with the Candidates who will be on the June 26th primary ballot here in MD. She is one of nine Democrats on the ballot in June. The winner will go up against Republican Gov. Larry Hogan in the general election in November. Several candidates have chosen women as their Lt. Governor running mates, but Ms. Vignarajah is the only woman running for the top job. Her running mate is Sharon Blake, the former head of the Baltimore Teacher’s Union.Krish Vignarajah served as Policy Director to First Lady Michelle Obama. She was also a senior advisor at the State Department for Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. Before working in the Obama administration, she was a consultant at McKinsey ---- Company. She is a Yale and Oxford educated lawyer who practiced law in Washington, DC. She clerked for Chief Judge Michael Boudin on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and she taught as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. She is 38 years old. She and her husband, Collin O’Mara, who is the President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, live in Gaithersburg with their baby daughter.We broadcast a livestream of this conversation on the WYPR Facebook page. Want to watch that video? Click here.

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Tom's guest is Krish Vignarajah, a Democratic candidate for Maryland Governor.

Theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck joins us with her weekly review of one of the region's many thespian offerings. Today, it's Aubergine, the new play by Julia Cho that's on stage at Baltimore's Everyman Theatre. Aubergine is a story about the complexity of family relationships and the emotional power of food. The play centers on a Korean family that's struggling to bridge generational and cultural divides, and the foods and culinary traditions that help the family members find each other across those divides.Produced in association with Olney Theatre Center and directed by Everyman's founding artistic director, Vincent Lancisi, Aubergine features Tony Nam (as Ray); Glenn Kubota (Ray's father); Song Kim (Ray's uncle); Jefferson Russell (Lucien); Eunice Bae (Cornelia); and Megan Anderson (Diane/hospital worker).Aubergine continues at Everyman Theatre through Sunday, April 15th.

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Theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck reviews"Aubergine" at Everyman Theatre

Today, a preview of a powerful new film about the last three years in the life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the civil rights leader who was assassinated 50 years ago next week, on April 4, 1968.The renowned historian Taylor Branch is an executive producer of the HBO documentary, King in the Wilderness, a compendium of reflections by King’s closest friends, interwoven with archival footage, about a period that was one of the most tumultuous in American history, and one of the most personally challenging and difficult for the iconic civil rights leader, as he struggled to confront racism, poverty and militarism, and the increasing danger to his own life. Taylor Branch joins Tom in Studio A to talk about the film, and its subject.King in the Wilderness will be screened tonight at 7pm the Parkway Theater. The film airs Monday April 2nd at 8pm on HBO.

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