WYPR: Maryland Morning with Sheilah Kast Podcast

In three weeks, Marylanders will decide whether to legalize same sex marriage. It's a referendum being watched around the country. We talk with two reporters about strategists...and money... coming into the state. Today is ‘Ada Lovelace Day,’ a day that recognizes women working in science, technology, engineering, and math. We talk with Penny Rheingans, director of the Center for Women in Technology at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, about how to draw more women into tech. It's Mike Birbiglia! You've heard the comedian on This American Life--now you can see him on screen in his new film Sleepwalk with Me--and on stage in his new show My Girlfriend's Boyfriend. Tom Hall talks with him about the transfer from the stage to the airwaves to the silver screen.

Maryland is busy building an online marketplace where people could choose from different options--a “health benefit exchange.” We talk about the progress the state is making with Jay Hancock, and with outgoing Howard County health secretary Peter Beilenson, who's co-op will be competing on the exchange. When you think therapy, you may not think plants--but Cate Murphy does. She's the founder of Talmar Gardens in Baltimore County, which focuses on providing horticultural therapy for people with both mental and physical illnesses. Tom Hall and J. Wynn Rousuck review "Wicked" at the Hippodrome. The social media profiles of millenials are full of adoration for old school products and lifestyles--gardening, fixed gear bicycles...cassette tapes?! We go analog with our social media gurus Nathan Jurgenson and P.J. Rey and try and figure out why the high-tech generation has gone low-tech.

“The Lines Between Us” series continues, with a look at neighborhood diversity. Edmondson Village in the 60s, Patterson Park in the 90s--how neighborhoods change in racial and class demographics. Tom Hall talks with clergy from a white church and a black church who are joining forces to create racial reconcilation and extend "a radical welcome."

A new bill in the City Council would require restaurants and bars to post health inspection grades out front. We talk with the lead sponsor of the bill and a representative from the Health Department about how the grading system might work. A cancer diagnosis means tough decisions about care and treatment. It also means new emotional challenges and a lot of paperwork...at the same time. We'll hear about a Johns Hopkins initiative called "The Fine Print of Cancer" and talk to Laurie Singer, whose husband Leroy Sievers blogged about his own cancer for NPR until his death in 2008. October's here. So's Sascha Wolhandler, to tell you how to make your pumpkins as tasty as your jack-o-lanterns are scary. Treats for aesthetes!

A lawsuit that could change how chickens are raised around the country goes to federal court today. The Waterkeepers Alliance is suing Perdue over uncovered sludge on the Hudson farm on the lower shore. We'll talk about what's at stake with a reporter who's covering the trial. It was 50 years ago that Rachel Carson published Silent Spring – the book that kickstarted the modern environmental movement. She based some of her book on work done at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel. Three retired scientists there tell us about Carson and the eventual ban of DDT. When is it a good idea to seek counseling--and why is it difficult for some people to take that step? Tom Hall talks about this with Baltimore psychiatrist Mark Komrad. It's the subject of his book "You Need Help."

10-8-12: Maryland Morning with Sheilah Kast

How do vacants relate to inequality in the region? In the latest installment of "The Lines Between Us," we hear from residents in neighborhoods with vacants about the problems they cause, and talk to Eric Siegel and Mel Freeman about why some neighborhoods are more affected than others. Producer Stephanie Hughes reports on Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's Vacants to Value program, which hopes to bring homeowners to vacants homes in transitional neighborhoods across the city. Plus, our movie guys, Jed Dietz and Mike Sragow, talk about some of the fall's standout releases, including Paul Thomas Anderson's new psychological drama, The Master.

The community surrounding Patterson Park is rallying against a plan that would add parking and an access road to the park. Acting director of the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks Bill Vondrasek joins us to talk about the controversial plans. Hubble scientists have created a composite image that looks deeper into the universe than we ever have before. We talk with Massimo Stiavelli, an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, about what the image tells us about the universe. Baker Artist Award winner Alex Heilner on an exhibit of his aerial photography at the Baltimore Museum of Art. And treats for aesthetes!

Governor O'Malley supports three controversial referenda on Maryland's ballot: the DREAM Act, expanded gaming, and same-sex marriage. Good luck finding a traditional Democratic constituency that supports all three. We'll talk to St. Mary's College of Maryland political scientist Todd Eberly about political pressure points created by these ballot questions. Some distressed Maryland homeowners are finally seeing relief from $25 billion national robosigning settlement, but mostly in short sales, and not as much in the principal reductions advocated by groups like the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition. We look at the settlement with MCRC executive director Marceline White. Mathematician Alan Turing is known for breaking the Nazi's famous Enigma code--and for being put on trial for homosexuality. Marc Horwitz stars as Turing in a play called Breaking the Code, now at the Performance Workshop Theatre in Baltimore.

Maryland's new state superintendent of schools, Lillian Lowery, has been on the job three months. We ask her about new teacher evaluations, as well as the new common core curriculum being implemented this year. J. Wynn Rousuck reviews the Strand Theater Company's production of "Mother, May I." And no, she did not need to ask permission to do so. A cellist mourns the dead in a city under siege in this year's One Maryland One Book pick.

Today is the premiere of "The Lines Between Us," Maryland Morning's year-long multimedia exploration of inequality in the Baltimore region. We start with an essay from senior producer Lawrence Lanahan. Lawrence came up with the idea for this series; in the essay, he explains why he feels a sustained conversation about inequality in the Baltimore region is necessary. Then, Pikesville resident Sheldon Caplis shares a personal story from 1964, when a family secret came to light and permanently shaped his approach to race relations. Plus, Sheilah explores how residential segregation took root in Baltimore with Antero Pietila, author of Not In My Neighborhood: How Bigotry Shaped a Great American City, and James Crockett, an 87-year-old African-American man from Ashburton who started practicing real estate in the 1950s.

On the November ballot, voters will decide whether to expand gambling in Maryland to include table games--and to add a casino in Prince George's County. Meanwhile, the state is preparing for an increase in gambling addiciton, and is partnering with the University of Maryland to create a new center that trains counselors in gambling addiction. We'll talk with the director of the center, and a gambling counselor in Worcester County, which is the where the new Ocean Downs casino is located. Baltimore native and children's book author Laurel Snyder is returning to Charm City this weekend for the Baltimore Book Festival. We'll find out why she keeps writing about her hometown. A recent study found few nutritional advantages for organic foods over conventional foods. Nutrition Diva Monica Reinagel joins Tom to sort through the controversy that ensued.

Expect a complex ballot in November: Once you finish voting for President, Senator, Congressperson, and multiple referendum questions, then you might have a series of bond issues to vote on. UMBC political scientist Roy Meyers tells you what you need to know when you get there. Then – Members of the local Muslim community respond to the film Innocence of Muslims, which has spurred international outrage and which some say led to the deaths of four Americans in Libya. And – Baltimore native Michael Tucker is known for acting in the film “Diner” and on the television show “L.A. Law.” Now, he comes back to Charm City to read from his first novel, called After Annie.

It's the end of "Urbanite", a free glossy monthly magazine known for its in-depth reporting on city issues. We ask publisher Tracy Ward about her decision to close up shop. Then, we talk with Jason Hardebeck of the Greater Baltimore Technology Council – now known as gb.tc -- about solving the city’s problems by getting government data in the hands of civic-minded techies. And, theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck on “Stop Kiss,” playing now at the Fells Point Corner Theatre. Plus, Caleb Stine drops by to sing some Woody Guthrie tunes with Tom Hall.

Baltimore Fire Chief James Clack has been appointed to a new term, which means he'll lead the city's fire department until at least 2018. But he's received criticism for his decision to close disband several fire companies in the city. We'll talk with him this morning. The University of Maryland is developing a robot to explore the Chesapeake Bay's Dead Zone. We talk with marine science professor Don Boesch, who says it's more like a drone than anything else. Our regular sports analyst Mark Hyman has co-authored a new book called "Concussions and Our Kids." He talks to Tom Hall about head trauma in youth sports.