Adopting an anti-racist approach requires more than reading books and marching for justice.

That’s why Govans Presbyterian church has welcomed singer and activist Lea Gilmore as its first ‘Minister for Racial Justice and Multicultural Engagement.’ She and Pastor Tom Harris talk about ways the church’s white congregation is working to engage with the surrounding diverse Baltimore neighborhood.

“Lea has helped us say, no - you all need to do some work. Go and march if you want, go to Annapolis if you want, but to do anti-racism work is deeply personal, internal work within each member of the church and with the congregation as a whole.”

Plus--pediatrician Nicole Rochester on why racism should be viewed as a public health crisis.

Links: Govans Church Racial Justice Ministry Speakers Series, YourGPSdoc

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

It’s not hard to imagine Edgar Allan Poe as obsessive. Consider his passionate poetry, his tales of horror barely tapping reality --not to mention his personal life: his ardent marriage to his cousin and his baffling death on the streets of Baltimore. But--manic about SCIENCE?

In his biography, historian John Tresch shows us a Poe who led his class at West Point in engineering and math, .. wrote about scientific discoveries and plunged into debates about evolution and the origin of the universe in an age when the line between science and quackery was a blur.

Tresch: “My goal is to reframe Poe’s life, and bring out this aspect of it --which is as central as it is neglected,-- which is his lifelong obsession with science.”

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’s a Stoop Story from pediatrician and parent Julie King about the year of “no." Check out more stories from the Stoop Storytelling Series, as well as including upcoming live events and the Stoop podcast.

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

“Women Behaving Badly” is the title of the new Baltimore Museum of Art exhibit that explores how art has been used for centuries to perpetuate gender stereotypes.Senior curator Andaleeb Banta takes us behind the scenes. The exhibit is only display through December 19th.

Learn more about the exhibit:

Behind the Scenes: Curating Women Behaving Badly

Opening Pandora’s Box: Women Behaving Badly at the BMA

This interview originally aired on July 29, 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

African-Americans living free in Baltimore before the Civil War were constantly testing whether the law and courts saw them as citizens, with rights to be respected. In a prize-winning book, Johns Hopkins Professor Martha S. Jones argues the free Blacks of Baltimore shaped the idea of birthright citizenship that made it into the U.S. constitution … and that their struggle still carries meaning for today’s immigrants.

“People had been permitted to labor in this country, to build families, communities, vocations. And yet they lived with a profound uncertainty about whether they would be permitted to stay, whether they had rights under the law.”

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

After a devastating motorcycle accident, Hopkins bioethicist Travis Rieder was prescribed high doses of opioids to stave off pain. When he began to taper off the drugs, he was immediately thrown into withdrawal.The advice Reider got from his doctors was to go back on opioids. His medical team had no plan for weaning him from the drugs.Reider’s book, “In Pain,” explores the history of opioids, why they are so addictive and how the medical system should be changed. Check out his Ted Talk here.This interview originally aired July 2, 2019.

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 small piece of cloth continues to spark big debate in the U.S. Some Americans believe mandates to wear a mask infringe on their personal freedoms. Turns out, this has happened before.

Marian Moser Jones, formerly of the University of Maryland’s School of Public Health, tells us about the ‘anti-mask league of 1918.’

Jones admits that today’s mask-wearing mandates can feel inconvenient, but says we can learn from the Spanish Flu pandemic:

“The flu tells us, and the response to the flu tells us, that the more restrictions you have for longer periods of time, the lesser the mortality and the morbidity is going to be.”

Plus, how did that deadly flu play out in Baltimore?

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

What sounds are deemed ‘Black’ or ‘White’? What values do we assign these judgments? How far back can these ideas be traced?We discuss the cultural politics of sound with English professor Jennifer Lynn Stoever of Binghamton University, author of “The Sonic Color Line.” She has sifted through slave narratives, music, and radio dramas to dissect the connection society makes between race and sound.We discuss efforts by White listeners to limit black voices, along with examples of Black resistance, and how the sonic color line affects Black and White lives today.Check out the Sounding Out! blog.

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 Alex and Erin about how, with a helping hand, you can conquer mountains. Plus, a stoop story from Elliot Wagenheim (Wagonhyme), about going the extra mile, even at a great altitude, for his son. You can hear more stoop stories at Stoopstorytelling dot com.

And tomorrow you can mark Women’s Equality Day--we’re still in the centennial of women getting the right to vote. In parks across the state, women and their families can celebrate with food, family-friendly festivities, networking, exhibits and information on healthcare, voting rights and the arts scene. In Baltimore, the event runs from 5 to 8 p.m. at Druid Hill Park. It’s free. Bring your own potluck, or buy from women-owned food trucks.

Links: Women’s Equality Day Celebration across Maryland.

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

The National Park Service turned 105 this week! What better way to celebrate than visiting one of the dozens of local natural areas around Maryland. National, state and local parks across the country have seen record numbers of visitors during the pandemic, but there is still room for Americans to roam.

National Park Ranger Katie LYEming offers tips for those planning to spend time outside during the upcoming Labor Day Holiday:

“It has been a busy summer in local national parks and in national parks across the country. So it is more important than ever for visitors to plan ahead before they visit a national park.”

Links: Maryland National Parks and Historic Sites

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