Midday

Ayesha Rascoe is the host of Weekend Edition Sunday on NPR. She also hosts the Saturday episodes of the NPR Podcast, Up First.  She is also a proud graduate of Howard University, known in some quarters as the Harvard of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Rascoe has collected and edited a collection of poignant essays from a wide range of HBCU graduate who explain the importance of their educations and institutions. The book is called HBCU Made: A Celebration of the Black College Experience. 

She will be speaking about the book tonight at the Enoch Pratt Library.

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

In today’s installment in our series of Conversations with the Candidates, Tom talks with Shannon Sneed. She is a former Baltimore City Council member who is running in the Democratic primary for City Council President.

With the Mayor and the Comptroller, the City Council President holds one of three city-wide offices in Baltimore government. Many Council Presidents have been elected as Mayor after serving as the Chief Legislative Officer of the City.

Shannon Sneed served one term on the City Council from 2016-2020, representing the 13th District. She also ran in 2022 in the Democratic Primary for Lt. Governor on the ticket with Tom Perez.

She is a graduate of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and she holds a master’s degree in communications from Morgan State University. Shannon Sneed is 42 years old. She lives in Reservoir Hill with her husband and daughter.

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What’s the best way to deal with kids who commit crimes? In recent years, the Maryland General Assembly passed several juvenile justice reform measures. Some of those measures are being reconsidered this year, after questions raised by law enforcement officials.

Members of the Maryland Youth Justice Coalition joins us to discuss what should be done.

Alice Wilkerson is the Executive Director of Advance Maryland, a nonprofit assisting other nonprofits with advocacy efforts.

Emily Virgin is the Director of Advocacy and Government Relations for Human Rights for Kids, an organization focused on children’s rights.

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

A new documentary investigates the Christian Nationalist movement in the United States and its involvement in the attack on the Capitol in 2021.

Dr. Matthew Taylor joins us to talk about the film, "Spiritual Warriors: Decoding Christian Nationalism at the Capitol Riot."

Taylor is the Protestant Scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies in Baltimore. He is also the author of an upcoming book, "The Violent Take it By Force: The Christian Movement That is Threatening Our Democracy."

"Spiritual Warriors: Decoding Christian Nationalism at the Capitol Riot" is set to premiere on Wednesday night at the Senator Theater. A panel discussion with Taylor, fellow filmmaker Michael Ivan Schwarz and two other religious scholars is scheduled to follow the screening.

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It's time for another visit with Midday theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck, who joins us each week with her reviews of the Maryland, DC and Virginia regional stage.

Iron Crow Theatre’s production of “Rent” continues at the Theatre Project through February 4, 2024. This production of “Rent” has been described as re-envisioned. What kind of changes has Iron Crow made?

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Today is Midday on the Law. Former President Donald Trump testified briefly in a Manhattan Federal courtroom yesterday in the defamation trial with the writer E. Jean Carroll.

As for the other four cases in which Trump has been indicted on 91 counts, the Supreme Court may eventually consider the issue of Presidential immunity and ballot eligibility, but a case involving a rioter charged in the Jan. 6 insurrection may also have a big impact on the charges brought against Trump by Special Counsel Jack Smith.

Fani Willis, the prosecutor in the Georgia election interference case, has come under scrutiny for potential conflict of interest and Hunter Biden has been indicted for tax evasion, as he continues sparring with the House Oversight Committee about testifying in its investigation.

For perspective and analysis on these legal issues, we turn to University of Baltimore Law Professor Kim Wehle. She is the author of three books, including How to Read the Constitution, and Why. Kim is also a legal analyst for ABC News, a contributor to The Atlantic, POLITICO, The Bulwark and The Hill, and the host of Simple Politics on Instagram.

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

The Baltimore Ravens take on the defending super bowl champions in the AFC Conference Championship at M&T Bank Stadium.

If you are not a football fan, we suggest you become one by Sunday; or at least fake that you’re a fan if you run into any other local human being.

If you are already a Ravens fan, give us a call or drop us a note to weigh-in on the big game. How do you think we’ll do? Do you have tickets? How did you get them? And, of course, are you a "Swifty", and how will that color your feelings about the entire endeavor?

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A couple of weeks ago, Sen. Chris Van Hollen was part of a Congressional delegation that traveled to Egypt and Jordan to explore solutions to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Congressman Hollen joins us on today's program.

The Senator is a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, which is chaired by MD’s Senior Senator, Ben Cardin.

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Last spring, Maryland's senior Senator Ben Cardin, announced he would retire next January at the end of his third term. In today’s installment in our series of Conversations with the Candidates, Tom talks with one of the leading candidates in the Democratic Primary to succeed Senator Cardin.

Since 2018, Rep. David Trone has represented the 6th Congressional District, which includes all or part of Montgomery, Frederick, Garrett, Allegany and Washington Counties. He speaks with Tom about his campaign to succeed Senator Cardin.

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

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, Jr. joins us today. Violent crime was down in the County last year, as it was in Baltimore city, and in jurisdictions around the country. Funding for transportation projects will be down this year, which was a concern of the County Executive when he appeared before legislators in Annapolis recently.

Olszewski has proposed a new regulatory process for mixed use development in the County, and efforts to build affordable housing in an historically Black neighborhood are met with resistance from some residents.

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