Midday

Baltimore City is seeing a promising reduction in violence, with the current number of 2024 homicides hovering below 200. Over the past two years, the city has seen a drop in shootings and homicides. Will that trend hold in 2025?

The city agency charged with overseeing Mayor Brandon Scott’s Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan is known as MONSE, the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement.

The agency's director is Stefanie Mavronis. She joins Midday to discuss the reduction in violence and how the city plans to continue anti-violence work in 2025.

Cellist Amit Peled is the founder and artistic director of the Mount Vernon Virtuosi, a string orchestra of young musicians who perform free concerts in churches, synagogues, prisons, hospitals and schools throughout the Baltimore-Washington area.

The Mount Vernon Virtuosi will be presenting their annual Mozart in Jeans concerts tomorrow and Sunday in Baltimore and Rockville.

The Mount Vernon Virtuosi is a WYPR underwriter.

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

Music from Handel’s Messiah is a holiday staple around the world, including here in Baltimore. Nobody has done it annually for as many years in our area as the Handel Choir of Baltimore.

This year the chorus is celebrating their 90th season and will offer Handel’s beloved masterpiece this weekend with shows in Baltimore and Timonium.

Brian Bartoldus, the Choir’s Music Director and Jason Rudy, chair of the Handel Choir’s board and singer in the chorus, join Midday to share more on their holiday shows.

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

In this year-end edition of Midday with Mayor, Brandon Scott talks with Tom about his goals and priorities for the city in his historic second term.

In 2025, how will he move forward on violence reduction, vacant housing and water bills?

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

Dr. Myriam Rogers, the Superintendent of the Baltimore County Schools, received great news when the annual Maryland School Report Card was released earlier this month. Twenty Baltimore County schools received a 5-star rating, the most of any jurisdiction in the state.

Additionally, Dr. Rogers is moving forward to address school safety and budget challenges as the district continues to grow.

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

As Christians celebrate the Christmas holiday this month, churches and parishes in Maryland and across the country are wrestling with a dilemma that has affected every Christian denomination: a marked decrease in the number of people who attend services and say they are affiliated with a church.

Dr. Firmin DeBrabander is a philosophy professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art and he wrote an article appearing in the Fall Issue of The Hedgehog Review called “The Vast Dechurching and the Paradox of Christianity’s Decline.” He joins Midday to explain the changes in American Christianity.

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

Theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck joins Tom to share another weekly review of a local theatrical production. This week's review includes some of her favorite theater actors which are puppets.

'Life of Pi' tells the story of a young man's journey with zoo animals in the ocean after a shipwreck. The production runs through December 14 at the Hippodrome Theatre .

Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

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

Dr. Leana Wen joins Tom for Midday Healthwatch, where they discuss issues affecting the health and well-being of Charm City residents.

Today, Dr. Wen will address your concerns with healthcare coverage, risks of the bird flu and the future of vaccine access.

Dr. Wen is a former health commissioner of Baltimore and columnist for the Washington Post.

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

Should President Biden issue pre-emptive pardons for any people the Trump administration may prosecute when he returns to the White House?

Kim Wehle is a law professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law and her latest book is Pardon Power: How the Pardon System Works-And Why. She joins Midday to tell us more about the pardon process.

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