Avian flu is on the rise in Maryland. What does that mean for poultry farmers and for the public? We hear from state veterinarian Jennifer Trout, and and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health professor, Meghan Davis.

Anyone who sees sick or dead birds in the wild should not handle or move the birds, but should report them to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service by calling 1-877-463-6497.

Report any unusual bird deaths or sudden increases in very sick birds to the MDA Animal Health Program at 410-841-5810 or after-hours to 410-841-5971. Also contact the USDA at 866-536-7593.

Here is a Stoop Story from Corinne Parks about making connections with our furry, scaled and feathered friends.

The next LIVE stoop event is "More Room in a Broken Heart: Stories About Loving, Losing, and Rebuilding" on February 13th at Checkerspot Brewing Co. with musical guest ‘Outcalls.’

We’re pretty glum here at OTR today: our talented, organized, creative, fearless senior supervising producer, Maureen Harvie is leaving WYPR to join another mission-driven nonprofit in Baltimore. Maureen will do a fabulous job getting their important stories out, and for that we rejoice. At the same time we’re already missing her skills, her clarity of vision, and her beautiful dimpled smile. Maureen, you are welcome back ANY time!

Offered by the Parents' Place of Maryland, Baby LEADers is a free 5-week virtual course for families of children aged 5 and younger who have a diagnosed or suspected disability or developmental delay.

Kristen Paul, director of Early Childhood Programs for the Parents’ Place of Maryland, discusses how the program helps parents understand their rights and how to advocate for their children. LaToyia Newman-Gross, who completed Baby LEADers in 2022, shares her experience finding community among her classmates.

Applications for the next Baby LEADers cohort are due Friday, January 24th.

Baltimore is a city of artists. And every year, the “William G Baker Jr. Memorial Fund” invests in artists AND arts institutions to help support their creative endeavors. It’s the largest private dedicated funder of the arts in the Baltimore Region.

We speak with David London, the new director of the Baker Fund Grants Program, and Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson, who received the 2023 Mary Sawyers Imboden Prize for her work in the literary arts. Learn more about Dickinson's forthcoming book on fashion designer Claire McCardell.

If you’re an artist, you have until 5pm this coming Monday, January 27th, to create or update their Baker Artist Portfolio in order to be considered for this year’s awards.

You’ve probably heard of “news fatigue” – that feeling of exhaustion at the constant flow of information that prompts people to follow the news less closely. Staying engaged can be difficult even for folks who are actively trying to make the world a better place. So, how do you maintain your focus?

For advice, we’re joined by Dara Friedman Wheeler. She’s a licensed clinical psychologist and co-author of the book “Being The Change: A Guide for Advocates and Activists on Staying Healthy, Inspired, and Driven.”

In March, an author event will be held at Snug Books in Lauraville.

Thirty-one years ago, Congress made Martin Luther King Jr. Day a day of service and charged AmeriCorps with leading this effort. MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a National Day of Service.

Today, people across all 50 states will dedicate their time to serving their communities, doing things like delivering school supplies to teachers and students, cleaning-up vacant properties, reading to young people, and more. OTR cohost Ashley Sterner discusses this commitment with Michael D. Smith, the CEO of AmeriCorps.

Here is a Stoop Story from Terri Diener about listening to our pets, what she calls, “the best job in the world.”

The next Stoop show is February 13th at Checkerspot Brewing Company. The theme is, “More Room in a Broken Heart: Stories about loving, losing, and rebuilding.”

When water temperatures drop in the Atlantic Ocean, the chill has a major impact on sea turtles. The cold can stun them, leaving them debilitated in the water or causing them to wash up on the beach. On the Record's Ashley Sterner goes behind the scenes at National Aquarium’s turtle rehabilitation facilities.

The use of psychedelic-assisted therapy to treat trauma and other ailments is on the rise. University of Maryland, Baltimore puts it front and center with an interdisciplinary speaker series across social work, pharmacy, and nursing called Multidisciplinary Perspectives on the Science and Practice of Psychedelic Therapies. We get a preview from Megan Meyer, MSW, PhD, and from Dr. Allison Kelliher, Associate Faculty for Indigenous Knowledge and Practice Systems at the Hopkins School of Nursing and the Center for Indigenous Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Baltimore is rich with history, and the Baltimore City Historical Society wants to make sure people understand just how special and complex it is. For more than 15 years they’ve teamed up with the Village Learning Place to present Baltimore History Evenings, inviting speakers to detail stories that make up Charm City’s past. They happen at 7 pm the third Thursday of each month, beginning Jan. 16, through June.

We talk with historian, author and co-chair of the history evenings committee for BCHS, Deborah Weiner, and with Nicole Fabricant, Anthropology professor at Towson University to get a preview.