Sheilah Kast

Stoop Storyteller Joel Green, astronomy scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, shares how his obsession with science fiction led him to study the formation, birth and destruction of planets. You can hear more stories at stoopstorytelling.com.

A new exhibition at the Baltimore Museum of Art, “From Digital to Damask”, weaves together technology, fish fossils, and 17th-century portraits! Inspired by sewing circles in her native Netherlands, Annet Couwenberg creates art with a fresh take on form and fabric.

Even advocates of removing Baltimore’s four Confederate statues didn’t expect them all to disappear so swiftly. They were symbols of an ideology now repudiated by most Americans. We ask Baltimore Bloc organizer and Morgan State University Professor Lawrence Brown what forces he thinks speeded their departure … and what difference it makes now. Plus we talk to Rachel Glickhouse, a journalist at Pro Publica, the online investigative news source, about their efforts to aggregate hate crimes being reported, in order to develop a database with a clearer picture of how widespread they are. It’s called “Documenting Hate.” And if you've experienced or witnessed a hate crime in Maryland, please document it here to add your information to the national database.

We're joined by Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos, (C) a Johns Hopkins Bayview doctor who co-founded Medicine for the Greater Good -- the organization partners with communities and extends medical personnel into communities to share health literacy and make medical information and resources more available. We also speak with Reverend Ernest King (L) and Imam Hassan Amin, (R) two community leaders who have helped forged the non-profit’s deep connections with people in neighborhoods so they can better understand how medicine works and doctors can understand how their lives work. 

More than seven thousand languages are spoken around the globe, but researchers have picked up on a curious fact: as you move from the Earth’s poles toward the equator, more and more languages are spoken. Why are there so many more languages spoken in the tropics? Dr. Michael Gavin, associate professor of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources at Colorado State University, describes his investigation of language diversity.

Since February, Baltimore has been testing a program that offers individuals stopped for minor drug offenses social services, including mental health and drug treatment, in place of arrest. Baltimore Police Captain James Rhoden of the Central District and Crista Taylor, president of the nonprofit Behavioral Health System Baltimore, describe the preliminary impact of LEAD, Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion.

Mystery writer and former Baltimore Sun reporter Laura Lippman shares a bittersweet tale of how failure played out--and paid out--in her professional life. You can listen to more stories and learn about Stoop shows here.

What do you get when you mix science, business, and a passion for ice cream? Ice Cream University! TIC Gums, which manufactures ingredients for the food and beverage industry, offers this program to Harford County high school students each spring. Tim Andon, TIC Business Development Manager, and Whitney LaRoche, who participated in Ice Cream University and is now studying food science, tell us about developing flavors that appeal to customers’ taste buds.

One of the most powerful impacts of mental illness is isolation, but a local nonprofit is fighting against stigma and encouraging people to leave their diagnosis at the door. Jason Woody, executive director of B’More Clubhouse, and member Tanya Phillips, tell us how the organization builds relationships and gives members a purpose. Plus, Professor William Eaton of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, explains the impact of B’More Clubhouse on health care costs. Original air date: May 23

For decades, the public has been anticipating the total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017. Millions of people are expected to travel to the Path of Totality -- a 70 mile wide swath across the U.S. -- hoping to witness it.  We ask NASA Research Space Scientist Noah Petro, James Webb telescope engineer Nikita Gokhale and local street astronomy #popscope  group organizer Ariel Hicks why it's such a big deal --  and how an event so brief can inspire such awe. Here are some links to view safely and to watch it live above the clouds on the day of the eclipse, as well as how to participate in collecting and sharing data!