Sheilah Kast

Five hundred years ago this month, the German monk Martin Luther challenged the practices of the Roman Catholic church, sparking the Protestant Reformation and shaping how Christians think and worship.

Bishop Denis Madden, of the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, and Rev. Mark Hanson, of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, describe the dialogue aimed at reuniting their denominations.

And we speak to Yu Na Han, who curated an exhibit at the Walters Art Museum about Luther’s life as father, friend, and husband.

That was neurosurgeon Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa telling his stoop story about a special patient who, facing his fight against brain cancer, taught the doctor a important lesson about life. The story was part of a special stoop event: “Hopkins Medicine, A World Inside a City,” in May 2012. More stories at stoopstorytelling.com.

More than 300 million people across the globe don’t see the world with what is considered normal color vision. Today we meet glass scientist Dr. Donald McPherson, who accidentally discovered he could help those people. He’s the mind behind Enchroma glasses, designed to unlock color vision for those with color-deficient sight. We also capture the moment when local illustrator and art educator Jonathon Scott Fuqua tries the glasses for the first time. It changed the way he was used to seeing the world.

Having a successful African-American physician as a father and a white mother who read her the works of Black authors was no barrier against the racism Julie Lythcott-Haims faced growing up in white Wisconsin. In her new book, "Real American: A Memoir", she describes her journey to self-acceptance and insight about what it means to be Black in America.

Julie Lythcott-Haims will be speaking at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, tomorrow at 6:30 pm. Her “opening act,” will be Mohammad Tall, Youth Poet Laureate at Morgan State University, reading from his work.

A show about the power of human connections ... Scott Gottbreht of United Way of Central Maryland tells us how ‘Project Homeless Connect’  breaks barriers and provides urgently needed medical and dental care, and other services for the homeless and poor. It’s a two-day event at the Convention Center this week. 

Academy Award winning documentary filmmaker Susan Hadary, from MedSchool Maryland Productions, talks about connecting with the six teens from the University of Maryland, Baltimore CURE program (Continuing the Umbrella for Research Experiences) in her documentary “From West Baltimore.” Also joining us is Shakeer Franklin, who reflects on life in his neighborhood.

Ever wonder what your favorite authors wrote as kids? Author and creative-writing teacher Elissa Brent Weissman has collected their early writings in a new book titled, "Our Story Begins: Your Favorite Authors and Illustrators Share Fun, Inspiring, and Occasionally Ridiculous Things They Wrote and Drew as Kids".

Weissman and several other local authors, will discuss their new books on Saturday, 11 a.m. at the Barnes & Nobel in Ellicott City.

This Thursday at 4 pm, Gordon Korman, author of the Swindle series, Schooled, Ungifted, and the Everest series, will be speaking at The Children's Bookstore in Roland Park.

The Stoop Storytelling Series has been delighting Baltimore audiences with true, hilarious and heartbreaking tales from ordinary people, since 2006. Stoop founders and hosts, Jessica Myles Henkin and Laura Wexler, join us to talk about themes for the new season. They include senatorial roasts, freaky families, the 1980s and excursions into the unknown. Find more details here!

"No more numbers. Say their names": that’s the motto of a new campaign by the nonprofit Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence.

Behind the Statistics aims to build a personal connection through portraits and essays between the public and those devastated by gun violence. We speak to Jen Pauliukonis, president of the coalition, and Cynthia "KeKe" Collins, a member of Mothers of Murdered Sons and Daughters, whose 22-year-old son was killed in a shooting.

Then: University of Baltimore law professor Michael Meyerson describes the legal challenge facing Maryland’s assault-style weapons ban.