A preview of the 2018 MD General Assembly. Paid sick leave, off-setting the effect of the federal tax overhaul, health insurance for children, and what party would be complete without marijuana and craft beer on the menu? Baltimore Sun Annapolis Bureau Chief Erin Cox and WYPR’s Rachel Baye on what to expect in this election year edition of the session.

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When the sweeping Republican tax bill was pushed through and voted into law just before Christmas, critics ripped into it as a gift for the wealthy. Many of them focused on the benefits that it will bestow upon the wealthiest of all -- the top 1% — and especially the top 0.1%. Critics worry that the ultra rich are becoming wealthier, while incomes for most other Americans are stagnant.Today's guest, Richard Reeves, says that the gap that poses the greatest threat to our culture isn’t the one between the insanely rich and the rest of us, but rather, it’s the gap between most people and the so-called Upper Middle Class, the top 20% of Americans, by wealth. That gap, Reeves says, is changing how families are structured and it’s informing our political and personal attitudes about everything. Richard Reeves joins Tom live from the studios of NPR in Washington, DC.

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Baltimore-based classical guitarists Jorge Amaral and Mia Pomerantz-Amaral joined Tom in studio to give us a fabulous preview of their concert this weekend.Duo Amaral will be performing a program of Latin American music this Sunday, Jan. 7, at 3 p.m., in Columbia, Maryland, as part of the Sundays at Three Chamber Music Series. Click here for more information and tickets.

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On this week's edition of the Midday News Wrap: The Labor Department announced that the economy added 148,000 jobs last month, fewer than expected. The stock market is at record levels. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1%. Very few other things appeared steady this week. Steve Bannon’s list of BFFs is considerably smaller this week. President Trump says Bannon has lost his mind. People at Breitbart News think Bannon may soon lose his job. The President tweeted about the size of his nuclear button. A new bombshell book by a journalistic flame thrower suggests that many in Trump’s circle question the President’s basic competence for his job, confirming the impression held by about 70 million voters in 2016. And President Trump dissolved the Voter Fraud Commission.The New York Times reported last night that Special Counsel Robert Mueller appears to be investigating false statements made by the President and inquiries made by the Attorney General as a matter of possible obstruction of justice. And two new Democratic senators were sworn in this week: Doug Jones, the first Democrat to represent Alabama in 25 years, and Tina Smith, who replaces Al Franken as the junior Senator from Minnesota. The Senate now includes a record high 22 women in its ranks, and the Republican majority has been shaved to one.In Baltimore, sub-zero temperatures have exposed sub-par performance by city and state officials, as classrooms in nearly one third of schools in Baltimore had heating problems. And the FBI made the stunning decision to refuse to accommodate Police Commissioner Kevin Davis’ request that it take over the investigation into the death of Detective Sean Suiter.Joining Tom in Studio A to discuss this week's news: Julie Bykowicz covers national politics for the Wall Street Journal. Before joining the Journal, she covered the Trump White House for the Associated Press. Michael Fletcher is a senior writer at The Undefeated, the on-line platform of ESPN. He was for many years a national reporter for The Washington Post, where he covered economics and the White House.

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It's Thursday, and that means it's time for theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck to bring us her weekly review of one of the Baltimore-Washington region's thespian offerings, and this week it's First Date, a musical comedy now on stage at Spotlighter's Theatre. The minimalist romp finds blind-date novice Aaron (played by Reed DeLisle) set up with serial-dater Casey (Lindsey Litka), and their casual drink at a busy New York restaurant soon turns into a complex and comedic dinner for two that involves a suprisingly large cast of characters.First Date is stage-directed by Fuzz Roark, with book by Austin Winsberg, music and lyrics by Alan Zachary and Michael Weine, and musical direction by Michael Tan.First Date continues at Spotlighter's Theatre through Sunday January 21. For ticket info, click here.(Adult Language and Situations - Parental Guidance Necessary.)

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On this month's edition of Midday at the Movies, Tom is joined by our regular movie maven Jed Dietz, the founding director of the Maryland Film Festival, and by special guest Max Weiss, the managing editor and film critic at Baltimore Magazine, who also writes about culture at Vulture.com, the entertainment website of New York Magazine.Awards season is underway, and our guests weigh in on some of the films in contention for the year's first major awards presentation: the 75th annual Golden Globes, which happen this Sunday (January 7th at 8PM ET on NBC). They'll talk about a few interesting omissions from the roster of nominees…and a couple of new biopics: one about Britain's World War II-era prime minister Winston Churchill, called Darkest Hour, and a second, which opens tomorrow night, about another legendary figure, of a different sort: 1994 Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding, whose gritty backstory is the focus of I, Tonya.And we field your calls, emails and tweets about the movies on your mind...

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Baltimore City council members Kristefer Burnett of the 8th district and Robert Stokes Sr. of the 12th district join me to discuss the issues before the council in 2018. The city ended 2017 with a record number of homicides. We’ll talk about ongoing efforts to curb violence and plans for the Associated Black Charities to administer the city’s new, 12 million dollar youth fund.

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The #metoo movement has shined a light on the pervasiveness of predatory behavior in our culture. On the next Midday: A conversation about what some scholars call the “pornifcation” of America. How do hypersexualized images of women in the media affect the way women are treated in society? Dr. Sheri Parks, along with scholars Gail Dines and Shanita Hubbard join me for Culture Connections.

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Some scholars call is the pornifcation of America.

Tom’s guest today is Alice McDermott, the New York Times best-selling author of eight novels. Three of them, After This, At Weddings and Wakes and That Night, were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. Another novel, Charming Billy, won the National Book Award in 1998.Her eighth novel, The Ninth Hour, published last September, is a profound and moving contemplation on the big issues: love, family, faith, religion and bringing meaning to one’s life. The story is told with tenderness and compassion, by an artist at the height of her creative and literary powers. Time Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times, NPR and others have named The Ninth Hour one of the best novels of 2017. Listen to this archive edition of Midday, and you'll understand why.*This program originally aired on October 24, 2017.

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