WYPR: Maryland Morning with Sheilah Kast Podcast

Racial disparities in juvenile arrests, sentencing, and incarceration have been so stark for so long that Congress has given the federal government the ability to withhold federal funding from states who fail to do something about it. We ask what's happening in Maryland. Poet Paul Muldoon's most recent book is a collection of lyrics written for his rock bands. Tom Hall asks him about editing poetry for The New Yorker and...rocking out. The mystery of the sailor and the nurse finally solved.

Jeff Krulik captured Maryland's mid-80s head-banger culture in his cult classic documentary Heavy Metal Parking Lot. Nathan talks with one of the head-bangers in the film and with Krulik about his Marlyand-based movie. Then-We visit the oldest continually operating blacksmith shop in the country, G. Krug and Son, located in downtown Baltimore. Plus-Tom Hall talks with acclaimed short-story writer George Saunders about his latest collection, Tenth of December.

Today we’ll explore the journeys of Maryland's African-American Civil War soldiers. Adam Goodheart, author of 1861, and Hari Jones, curator of the African-American Civil War museum, tell us about the soldiers’ wartime experience. Then, we’ll learn about the 7th Regiment of the U.S. Colored Troops, who trained in Druid Hill Park, mustered out at Federal Hill, and stuck around to settle Baltimore neighborhoods like Seton Hill. We'll also hear Seton Hill residents' reactions to the veterans’ stories. Plus, the American Visionary Art Museum’s current exhibition is called "The Art of Storytelling." Tom Hall and AVAM’s founder and director Rebecca Hoffberger lead us through the exhibit.

Where did Cab Calloway grow up? What was the only neighborhood with covenants to keep white people from buying homes? We talk to a Morgan State University professor about the history of two African-American neighborhoods in Baltimore: Wilson Park and Morgan Park. Then, J. Wynn Rousuck reviews "Countdown to the Happy Day" at Sojourner-Douglass College. And, a Baltimore organization is helping developmentally disabled artists create and sell their work. We visit their studio and meet an artist. Plus, in our “Flags of Maryland” series, we hear from a Dickeyville resident who flies a Missing-In-Action flag in honor of her dad, who went missing before she was born.

Is class a bigger driver than race in the educational achievement gap? We’ll ask a Stanford professor how the gap is affecting higher education. Then, community leader April Yvonne Garrett and CNN writer John Blake share their own college experiences and give us their takes on the future of race-based affirmative action. Then-Religion, culture, race, class--What do the lines between us look like from the classroom? Tom Hall asks two students who have been recognized for their efforts to spark these conversations and bridge divides.

Bill Bratton has led police departments in Boston, New York, and Los Angeles. Now, he's part of a consulting team hired by Baltimore city to suggest improvements in policing here. We ask him about “stop and frisk,” and what he thinks police here need to fight violent crime. Then, a trip to the new home of the Baltimore Design School. Principal Nathan Burns and MICA President Fred Lazarus, who helped create the school, give Tom Hall a tour of the new space for this public arts middle and high school. And Tom and Anne Raver check on the tomato crop at the Baltimore City School System’s Great Kids Farm in Catonsville.

US Attorney General Eric Holder says he’ll direct federal prosecutors not to charge low-level, non-violent drug offenders with crimes that carry mandatory minimum sentences. We’ll ask former U.S. Attorney Thomas DiBiagio how that’s likely to play out in Maryland. Researchers at Towson are working to provide real-time captioning… For radio. We talk with the psychologist leading the charge. In the late 1930s, Jesuit priest John LaFarge was asked by the pope to write an encyclical condeming the Nazis. But it was never published. Tom Hall talks with Peter Eisner, author of "The Pope's Last Crusade: How an American Jesuit Helped Pope Pius XI's Campaign to Stop Hitler."

Today on "The Lines Between Us," we hear from Baltimore city parents about "the decision." When it comes time, where will they send their young children to school? We'll hear about parochial schools, charter schools, neighborhood schools, and...a decision to pick up and move to another school district.

The Maryland Health Connection, the state’s online insurance marketplace, opens for business in less than eight weeks. Aetna has decided it won't be part of it. We ask two health journalists what that means for Marylanders looking for health insurance. Then-Republican E.J. Pipkin has served in the Maryland State Senate since 2003 as minority leader since 2011. Two days ago he announced his retirement--and an impending move to Texas. We talk with him about the career switch. And-The stampede of more than 6,000 My Little Pony lovers may have left Baltimore, but there is still much to learn about Brony culture. In this reported piece and essay, we learn how the animated series has impacted Bronies' real lives. Plus-the Maryland Morning culture calendar brings us treats for aesthetes!

The Department of Recreation and Parks is developing new plans for Baltimore’s 29 pools. More indoor pools could open, but…most of the city's 13 neighborhood pools could close. We talk to Kate Brower, an urban planner at Recs and Parks leading the planning effort. Then, in the past decade, Cecil and Frederick County residents voted to switch to a charter form of government. We’ll talk to Delegate Leroy Myers, who’s leading a push to bring charter government to Washington County. And a storytelling event this weekend at the Creative Alliance in Southeast Baltimore will address the benefits and challenges growing diversity can bring to a neighborhood. Tom Hall talks to a storyteller and the organizer.

Some of the inequities we’ve talked about in our series The Lines Between Us are concepts and attitudes. Today we’re going into the city to actually see the lines between us. Urban planner Daniel D'Oca will show us a few examples of policies and physical barriers that keep people of different backgrounds apart. Then, in 2010, in Northwest Baltimore, an African-American teenager was assaulted by an Orthodox member of a neighborhood watch group called Shomrim. Three years later, Tom Hall talks with members of each community who are trying to talk across the lines. And it’s one of the best times of year to see a movie. From "Fruitvale Station" to "Drinking Buddies," we hear about the finest films of summer from Jed Dietz and Ann Hornaday.

Last year, Maryland stored more than 85 million images of license plates scanned out on the roads, along with when and where they were scanned. Is the loss of privacy worth the law-enforcement benefits? We'll ask an ACLU lawyer and an assistant U.S. Attorney. Then, Howard County has been sending police around with a trailer full of…sports equipment. We’ll hear from an officer who’s building relationships with young people. And, Kevin Brown tells Tom Hall why he started the ‘James Baldwin Literary Society’ after meeting the legendary writer in Baltimore three decades ago. Plus, the Maryland Morning Culture Calendar!

Governor O'Malley has laid out his plan for combating climate change. But Maryland is just one state—with a lot of coastline, and a lot of neighbors. How much impact can one state make on a global problem? We ask marine scientist Don Boesch of the University of Maryland. Then, 150 years ago this week, the Union Army took action to deal with some of the thousands of Confederate prisoners it had taken less a month earlier at the Battle of Gettysburg: The Union set up a huge prison camp deep in Southern Maryland to hold rebel POWs. We talk about it with Bob Crickenberger, a long-time volunteer ranger at Point Lookout State Park. And, Tom Hall talks with Baltimore musicians Jon Ehrens and Jenn Wasner about their pop album collaboration, "Dungeonesse".

Where you live can make a big difference when you're looking for a liver transplant. Sheilah talks to a wife-and-husband team of mathematician and transplant surgeon who are trying to make the process more fair. Kudzu has taken over the south, and now the kudzu bug has come to Maryland. University of Maryland entomologist William Lamp talks about the bug's arrival in the Old Line State. Maryland Morning theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck and Tom Hall discuss the Community College of Baltimore County's production of Me and My Girl. Baltimore poet Kim Jensen's newest book of poetry pays homage to renowned experimental poet Fanny Howe. She talks about the importance of influence in writing.

Friday, July 26, 2013 Today on "The Lines Between Us", we look at the lasting effects of a 1954 Supreme Court ruling. The Brown v. Board ruling declared school segregation unconstitutional--but how did this landmark decision affect Baltimore schools? Then, Tom Hall pays a visit to one of the vacant homes in Baltimore that a group of artists and activists have turned into a piece of art. Known as the Wall Hunters, the group creates murals on the walls of decrepit properties in order to call out negligent landlords.