WYPR: The Signal Podcast

This week (12.28.12 & 12.29.12) on The Signal, special coproduction with Maryland Traditions folklorist Cliff Murphy: “West African Griots in America – Three Generations, Three Stories,” with Cheick Hamala Diabate, Baba Baile McKnight, and Amadou Kouyate

12.21.12 on The Signal: We witness the venerable holiday tradition of “Maryland Beaten Biscuits”; Rafael Alvarez shares his holiday story, “Aunt Lola’s kitchen”; and Therese Lynch recounts the miraculous Christmas legend of Wedgie the Parakeet.

December 14th & 15th, 2012, on The Signal: A visit to the rowhouse-basement factory of Rheb’s Candies; a home-improvement nightmare story from Ron Tanner; the doll-shopping odyssey of Susan Muaddi Darraj; and a tour of Baltimore’s Union Craft Brewing.

This week (12.7.12 & 12.8.12) on The Signal: During the Vietnam War, Jim Karantonis worked in the psych ward at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and he reflects on what he learned from his patients; Been Ray of Atomic Books shares holiday reading picks; Esther Weiner gives a lesson in latkes; and Rafael Alvarez reads his story, “An Alley Most Narrow”

11.30 & 12.1 on the Signal: Fifty years, two generations, a father and mother, a daughter and son, and a circle of friends… The Signal and Maryland Traditions bring us the story of a bluegrass dynasty known as The Carroll County Ramblers.

11.23 & 11.24 on The Signal: Charlie Wilhelm was a loan shark, a drug dealer, and a bookmaker. But when he was ordered to murder two friends, he turned informant, wearing a wire and testifying against his former partners in crime. Charlie Wilhelm shares his reflections on crime, loyalty, and redemption this week on The Signal.

This week (11.16.12 & 11.17.12) on The Signal: A walk through the cemetery – and the hidden history – of Crownsville State Hospital; Dan Fesperman on his novel, “The Double Game”; and Nancy Heneson’s memoir, “American Apothecaries”

This week (11.9.12 & 11.10.12) on The Signal: music and conversation with Sierra Leonean kondi player Sorie Kondi; a preview of Baltimore RetroCineFest; Justin Sirois on his novel, “So Say the Waiters”’ and a paean to pills, by Rupert Wondolowski.

This week on The Signal: Tonier Cain travels the country running workshops for service providers at women’s correctional facilities. What she has to teach, she’s learned from long years of experience. Tonier has been arrested 83 times for crimes including prostitution, theft, and drug possession. Behind her criminal record was a childhood kept locked in a dark corner of her mind for most of her life. Tonier was finally able to confront the abuse she suffered during her early years, and since that revelation she’s been on what she calls a boundless ‘upward spiral.’

This week (10.26.12 & 10.27.12) on The Signal: a tour of the photo exhibition, “Growing up Afro: Snapshots of Black Childhood from the Afro-American Newspapers”; a preview of Stillpointe Theatre Initiative’s “Arsenic & Old Lace”; a sneak peek at Centerstage’s “The Completely Fictional – Utterly True – Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe”; Tony Tsendeas reads “The Raven”; and a Stoop story from Baltimore City Police Officer Edward Doyle-Gillespie.

This week (10.19.12 & 10.20.12) on The Signal: We visit with the cast and director of ‘for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf’; a preview of the Baltimore Folk Festival; Amy Sens at The Stoop, and the winners of the Baltimore Senior Citizens’ Poetry Contest.

This week (10.12.12 & 10.13.12) on The Signal: From blood flow to train commutes, library books to alternative currency, traffic lights to bike paths… a special collection of stories on the theme of ‘circulation.’

This week (10.05.12 & 10.06.12) on The Signal: We meet the minds behind “1814! The Rock Opera!”; we hit the streets with Baltimore Bike Party; Janice Greene shares a folktale; Leslie F Miller tackles writer’s block; and we listen back to the late poet, Chris Toll.

This week (09.28.12 & 09.29.12) on The Signal: A special Stoop story showcase, with true tales of romance, envy, family, war, and love, all told live without a script.

This week (09.21.12 & 09.22.12) on The Signal: Full Circle Dance Company explores the link between writing and choreography; Tim Kreider discusses his book, “We Learn Nothing”; and John Roemer reflects on his life as a political activist and history teacher