Since the onset of the pandemic, more Americans are uncertain about where their next meal is coming from. The B’More Community Fridge aims to chip away at hunger with a refrigerator and pantry that’s open 24-hours a day. We speak with co-founders Clara Leverenz and Abbey Franklin about bringing the fridge movement to Baltimore, and working with the Greenmount West community to keep it going. Franklin says items are free and available to anyone, without judgement. Check the project out on Instagram. Find the volunteer sign-up 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

Governor Hogan’s move to end enhanced federal unemployment benefits early is on hold until legal arguments are thrashed out in the next couple of weeks.What would the end of the special pandemic benefits mean for the thousands of gig workers in Maryland?Two freelancers--oboist Rick Basehore and writer Wendy Meyeroff--describe bewildering applications and long gaps but say the benefits are crucial. And Rebecca Smith of the National Employment Law Project contends some Maryland workers should be eligible permanently for what they got during the pandemic.

Check out this WYPR News coverage of the legal battle over unemployment benefits in Maryland. Production assistance from Genevieve Montinar.

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

Six years before the American Revolution, a 20-year-old mixed-race woman had had enough of servitude; she disguised herself in boys’ clothes, and escaped from her enslaver from the docks of Baltimore.

She’s one of the STARS of Bowie State historian Karen Cook Bell’s narrative Running from Bondage. Bell says enslaved women were inspired to break free by the talk of liberty leading to the war, incentives from the British, and the chaos of conflict.

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

As Jessica Anya Blau’s latest novel starts, Mary Jane has just turned 14. She’s starting a summer job as a nanny of an endearing five-year-old, just a short walk from her own traditional home in Baltimore’s Roland Park. Mary Jane’s conservative parents think it’s great their daughter will be working for a doctor. They don’t yet know he’s a psychiatrist who has cleared his summer schedule to treat a recovering drug addict who’s a rock star and whose movie-star wife will also spend the summer.

Coming of age .. in Roland Park … in 1975.

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

Though fireworks in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor are cancelled for this year, there will still be a celebration of light!

The new Domino Sugars Sign, restored to all its 70-foot-by-120-foot glory, will be turned on for the first time. We hear some reasons Baltimoreans love it so:

“We’re getting married in two months, and our reception is at the Baltimore Museum of Industry, and we picked that because the Domino Sugar sign will illuminate the dance floor.”

Plus a conversation with pyrotechnic expert John Conkling, who describes how fireworks work ... and why we love them:

“I think it’s something really just psychologically deep in the human soul, to see the sky explode in color, noise, light …”

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

Opioid overdose deaths climbed last year and continue to edge up. So, what happens when a pandemic and an epidemic collide? We ask addiction medicine specialist Dr. Yngvild Olsen. Then, Edgar Wiggins takes stock of 29 years leading Baltimore Crisis Response, Inc. He describes how it works to divert some 9-1-1 calls to mental-health professionals and how showing up to listen can often calm things down.

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

Riding the school bus should be the social, relatively mindless part of a pupil’s day. But a recent study finds that’s not the case for Baltimore City middle- and high-school students, who rely on public transit--not yellow buses--to get safely to and from school.

We hear from the report’s co-author Kwane Wyatt, Program Director of Analysis & Engagement at the Fund for Educational Excellence. Then students Imani Humphries-Torres and Kamri Moses describe some of their personal experiences.

Link: Not In Service: Why Public Transit Must Aim to Serve Students

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 price of insulin is steep, but people who need it risk their health if they skip a dose. The Open Insulin Foundation aims to break the hold pharmaceutical companies exert on the cost, working instead with local labs to develop cheaper versions of insulin. We speak with co-founder Anthony Di Franco and Dr. Lisa Scheifele of the Baltimore Underground Science Space, BUGSS. Scheifele describes how e-coli cells are biohacked to create a fast-acting form of insulin.

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

Are children in America better off now than a decade ago? We ask researcher Nonso Umunna about the latest “Kids Count” report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. It spotlights a range of factors like poverty, school enrollment, and health-insurance coverage. Where did child welfare stand in Maryland before the pandemic, and what resources do families need? Then--school social worker Ashley Woods describes the way the pandemic affected teens’ mental health and the bumpy road ahead as more students return to the classroom this fall.

Check out the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2021 KIDS COUNT Data Book. It ranks Maryland 24th nationally. You can hear more from Nonso Umunna at WYPR’s virtual event on youth mental health, at 3 pm today. We have a link to details, as well as to information about a webinar at 1 pm tomorrow, hosted by Advocates for Children and Youth, titled, “Safety Nets: Stronger and Secure Families.”

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