Baltimore’s Laura Lippman has been publishing tales of suspense, and winning awards for them, for a quarter century. She doesn’t take for granted the devious characters and puckered plots that shape her stories.

"I keep trying to make this harder on myself. I think the scariest thing for me would be to sit at my computer and think: ‘This is easy, I know how to do this.’ I want to be kind of terrified.”

We readers are kind of terrified, too, as we make our way through the twelve short stories in Lippman’s latest offering, a collection titled Seasonal Work. Healthy walks in Leakin Park. Common-wall brick houses on the west edge of town. Such common places, such ordinary things. And so many murders.

Links: Thurs. Jan 6: Laura Lippman: Seasonal Work Virtual Launch And 25 Years In Publishing Celebration (In Conversation With John Searles) hosted by Ivy Bookshop and Poetry and Prose, A Likely Story event on (info to come).

Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his [email protected] 410-235-1472

Since he was a kid, Conor McDowell had wanted to defend his country. He was proud to be a Marine, but the risks started to worry him. In 2019, his father, Michael McDowell, and mother, Susan Flanigan, got the awful news their only son had been killed: the light armored vehicle he commanded rolled over, crushing him. The investigation the McDowells pushed for counted hundreds of similar accidents in the last decade, many-preventable. We talk to the McDowells, and to Maryland Congressman Anthony Brown, about changes that could save lives. Read about the GAO report on military vehicle deaths.Original air date: October 25, 2021.

Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his [email protected] 410-235-1472

Here is a Stoop Story from Michelle Becote-Jackson about how her grandmother kept the Christmas spirit alive, even in tough times.The next live Stoop event comes up in two weeks--January 13th at the Ottobar in Baltimore. The theme is “Something for Everyone: Stories about the Baltimore Music Scene.”

Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his [email protected] 410-235-1472

Two decades ago, just a few months shy of high school graduation, Sherise Holden learned she was pregnant. Today, she leads a nonprofit called SheRises, that connects teen moms to resources and mentors. Holden says this work is valuable, "I can help so many other young mothers rise, just by giving them a word of encouragement and giving them sort of like a sneak peek to the other wise of the window, like, you know what, your life isn’t over. There’s so many things that you can do, there're so many ways that you can accomplish goals."We hear about love and perseverance from Sherise and her daughter, Autumn. Find out how to get involved here.

Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his [email protected] 410-235-1472

A report by the nonprofit Climate Central maps the risk of flooding along the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway in Dorchester County.We speak with one of the report’s authors, Kelly Van Baalen, and local guide Alex Green, who operates Harriet Tubman Tours.Then, Julie Schablitsky, chief archaeologist at the state Department of Transportation, describes discovering the site where Tubman’s father lived. Schablitsky says the location is under siege, "If we step away overnight and come back the next morning, we have an inundated hole. That level of water is rising up into excavation units, stopping us from being able to recover scientifically this information." Listen to more about Ben Ross' home-site in this Midday interview.Original air date: November 4, 2021.

Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his [email protected] 410-235-1472

George Washington was not destined to be great. He was the middle son of a middling Virginia family; he had land but seldom much cash. As a young militia leader, he did not win often.What he had, writes David O. Stewart in an astute biography, was ambition and the will to study the political skills of listening and compromise.Late in life, Washington focused on the horrors of slavery--yet never spoke against it publicly during eight years as America’s first president.Stewart will be talking about the book in a virtual event with the National Archives on February 8 at 1 p.m. His most recent book is historical fiction--the first of a planned trilogy about German settlers in Maine in the 1750’s. It’s called The New Land.Original air date: September 8, 2021.

Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his [email protected] 410-235-1472

Thomas Hochla shares a Stoop Story about how his family sings in the new year. Listen to more Stoop Stories and check out the Stoop podcast here.

Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his [email protected] 410-235-1472

Can’t decide what to watch?Baltimore Magazine editor-in-chief Max Weiss gives us the low-down on the top films of 2021. From a documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival to a Japanese drama about grief and connection, we hear about can’t-miss movies. Find a write-up of Weiss' top 15 films here. Find her individual movie and television reviews here.

Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his [email protected] 410-235-1472

You are what you eat … so when you eat healthy, you become healthy. That’s the message from a new program called FoodRx at Medstar Health. We talk with Angela Roberson (ROBE-ur-son) a registered dietician for the Collaborative Care Program at Good Samaritan Hospital, and the lead dietician for FoodRx. Giving patients access to nutrition education as well as full meals has made a marked difference in her work.

Roberson BB CLIP: “It’s really been a game changer. FoodRx is really the first of its kind in this region, and it’s saving lives.”

Plus, we hear from Nekeisia Booyer, Senior vice president of programs at the Maryland Food Bank,one of FoodRx’s partners, about why teaming up with healthcare systems to regularly deliver healthy food to patients is all part of its mission.

Links: FoodRx, Maryland Food Bank, Hungry Harvest

Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his [email protected] 410-235-1472

Pumpkin spice latte, roasting turkey, butter-drenched stuffing ... Holiday smells conjure memories. But for people experiencing side effects of Covid-19, a sense of smell can suddenly be non-existent, or even repulsive.

Dr. Danielle Reed of the ‘Monell Chemical Senses Center’ describes how smell works, why it affects taste and what can go awry.

Then we meet Kim Minton and Cristen Scifo. They’ve been coping with loss or distortion of smell and taste for more than a year. Its effects can be frustrating, depressing and confounding. Cristen says:

“The cravings for food don’t go away. I crave Chinese food like once or twice a week. Can I have it? No absolutely not. Because I take one smell of it, and it’s repulsive. And that’s something I used to love.”

Original airdate: 11.22.21

Links: Monell Chemical Senses Center, Anosmia recipes. AJ+ video describing loss of smell.

Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his [email protected] 410-235-1472