Roughly Speaking

In another in a series of interviews with candidates in June's primary, Baltimore State's Attorney candidate Ivan Bates promises to recruit experienced lawyers to prosecute repeat violent offenders who, he says, have been getting off too easy during the tenure of incumbent Marilyn Mosby. Bates says the failures of Mosby's office have contributed to Baltimore's increase in violence, a surge now in its fourth year. The city recorded its 100th homicide of the year this week.Bates, a defense attorney and former prosecutor, says Mosby's office has been depleted of prosecutorial talent, makes too many plea deals and loses too many prosecutions of violent offenders. He also says he wants to emphasize fighting crime at its roots — among juvenile offenders, and in the communities hardest hit by violence.Links:http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-youth-violence-20180509-story.htmlhttp://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-100-homicides-20180509-story.html

Episode 385 featured an interview with Kevin Kamenetz, the Baltimore County executive and Democratic candidate for governor in next month’s primary election — and his running mate, Valerie Ervin. They visited us last week. So you can imagine my shock to get a tip at 4:37 am this morning that Kevin Kamenetz had died. We confirmed the county executive’s death about an hour later, and that is today’s lead story in the Sun. Having interviewed Kevin several times over the years, I got to know him and admired his commitment to public service and his efforts at good government in Baltimore County. In answer to the question, why should Maryland Democrats vote for you in the primary: Kevin Kamenetz defended his long record in politics and public service, and he rejected the idea that being a career politician is a bad thing.In an age of increasing cynicism about politics and distrust of government, it’s easy to become suspicious of the the motives of people, like Kamenetz, who hold office over many years. But the fina

Producer's note: Kamenetz died of cardiac arrest on May 10.Why should Maryland Democrats select Kevin Kamenetz over other candidates in a crowded field of experienced politicians and first-time office-seekers hoping to become the next governor? With the candidates agreeing on most of the issues, why Kamenetz?The Baltimore County executive, hoping to win the June 26 primary to face incumbent Republican Larry Hogan in November, answers that question on today's show.And we meet the woman he chose for a running mate, former Montgomery County Council member Valerie Ervin.Links:https://elections2018.news.baltimoresun.com/governor/kevin-kamenetz/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-kamenetz-running-mate-20180221-story.htmlhttp://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/dan-rodricks/bal-roughly-speaking-2018-gubernatorial-candidates-storygallery.html

Featured in this episode: An infectious disease specialist talks about Bill Gates' repeated warnings that the U.S. and the world are not sufficiently prepared for the possibility of a pandemic that could kill millions. But before we get to that:Book critic Paula Gallagher recommends a new non-fiction title, ----The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession and the Natural History Heist of the Century,---- by Kirk Wallace Johnson.Baltimore County executive Kevin Kamenetz, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor of Maryland, and his running mate, Valerie Ervin, talk about the opioid epidemic. Kamenetz announced Wednesday that the county would open a 70-bed on-demand treatment facility in Owings Mills.Michael Reisch, professor of social justice at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, gives his take on the sturdy Trump base -- why people who might be hurt by the president's policies stick with him.Dr. John Cmar, an expert in infectious disease on the staff of Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, gives

Baltimore might be considered a sanctuary for immigrants — a position that puts the city at odds with the Trump administration's crackdown on undocumented immigrants — but it's also in the midst of a long battle with violent crime. Should the U.S. Justice Department lend a hand? U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen recently got a concession from Attorney General Jeff Sessions to reconsider why Baltimore was excluded from a multimillion-dollar federal program aimed at cities struggling with violent crime.Also on today's show: Van Hollen talks about an array of other topics in Trump's Washington — from the tax cuts passed by the GOP-led Congress to the administration's hard line on the Iran nuclear deal.Links:http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-baltimore-no-crime-grants-20180425-story.htmlhttp://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-sessions-urban-crime-20170620-story.htmlhttp://www.newsweek.com/republican-tax-plan-donald-trump-cbo-884129

2:03: Paula Gallagher, librarian and book critic, makes her weekly recommendation: ----The New Farm: Our Ten Years on the Front Lines of the Good Food Revolution,---- by Brent Preston.5:23: Roy T. Meyers, professor of political science at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, talks about the GOP tax cuts and the latest increase in federal spending — a combination that will send government deficits into the trillions, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Meyers, who once worked for the CBO, is an expert in the federal budget process. He provides a 30-minute history on recent deficits and how, rising to new levels, they could affect the nation's economy.Links:https://thenewfarm.ca/book/https://userpages.umbc.edu/!!!_meyers/index.html

Thiru Vignarajah, challenging incumbent Marilyn Mosby, says the Baltimore state's attorney has ----no idea---- how many criminal cases have been tainted by members of the notorious Gun Trace Task Force. Vignarajah says his survey shows that more than 2,300 cases involved at least one of the eight task-force officers convicted of corruption, and he has a plan for reviewing each one. It's part of Vignarajah's campaign pledge to restore faith in law enforcement after one of biggest scandals in Baltimore police history. In today's episode, Vignarajah also talks about police-involved shootings, holding officers accountable for civil rights violations, and recruiting talented attorneys to prosecute criminal cases in a city experiencing a surge of violence now in its fourth year.Links:https://elections2018.news.baltimoresun.com/baltimore-city/states-attorney/thiru-vignarajah/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bal-baltimore-gun-trace-task-force-coverage-storygallery.htmlhttp://thiruforbaltimore.com/web/p

The latest Goucher Poll puts Maryland's Republican governor, Larry Hogan, in a strong position to win a second term. But while Maryland Democrats, who outnumber Republicans 2-1, widely approve of Hogan's job as governor, whether they vote for him in November remains an open question. Mileah Kromer, director of the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College, talks about the poll results.

A follow-up to Dan’s Sunday column on a new Brookings Institution report, “Renewing America’s economic promise through older industrial cities,” with its lead author, Alan Berube, a Brookings senior fellow and director of its Metropolitan Policy Program.The report argues that Baltimore and other post-industrial American cities, large and small, hold great potential for more inclusive economic growth that benefits their states and regions. Cities are where the best jobs are going, and a new generation of educated and well-trained Americans have a desire to live in cities that are thriving economically and diverse socially and culturally. The report puts Baltimore in one of the strongest positions among 70 of the nation’s older industrial cities. Berube explains why.Links:http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/dan-rodricks-blog/bs-md-rodricks-0422-story.htmlhttps://www.brookings.edu/research/older-industrial-cities/#01073https://www.brookings.edu/experts/alan-berube/

In this extra edition of Roughly Speaking,\u160\uLiz Bowie, the Sun's senior education reporter,\u160\utalks about the Dallas Dance case. Today was the 37th birthday of the former Baltimore County schools superintendent, but it was\u160\uhardly one to celebrate. A judge today\u160\usentenced\u160\uDance\u160\uto six months in jail\u160\ufor failing to disclose nearly $147,000 he earned from part-time consulting jobs.\u160\uDance pleaded guilty last month to four counts of perjury related to the income he earned outside of his role as superintendent for one of Maryland’s largest public school systems.\u160\u

Despite the late-arriving spring (or extended winter) in Appalachia, ramps have started to pop through the ground in western Maryland and West Virginia. The pungent spring onion grows wild in the region and, once harvested, becomes the centerpiece of annual church suppers and festivals.Dan and his foodie guests, John Shields and Henry Hong, speak with Maryland park ranger Caroline Blizzard about the annual ramps cook-off being held at Deep Creek Lake on April 28.John Shields offers a recipe for pickled ramps.Henry Hong tried growing them and wrote this essay about ramps for the City Paper in 2011.(Photo courtesy of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources)Links:http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2003-05-07/news/0305060051_1_ramp-wild-leek-cook-offhttps://wvexplorer.com/recreation/agritourism/ramp-dinners-festivals/http://www.discoverycenterdcl.com/ramp-cookoff/http://www.citypaper.com/bcp-cms-1-1137701-migrated-story-cp-20110427-eatme-20110427-story.htmlhttp://www.trbas.com/media/media/acrobat/2018-04/69859

Evangelicals and Donald Trump -- how the Christian right made a deal to overlook a lot of issues related to Trump’s character to support him, no matter what -- no matter porn star, playmate, nasty tweets, or arguably anti-Christian tax cuts for the rich. According to Newsweek, a new poll suggests that Trump’s base of white evangelical support has not been turned off by allegations of his affairs with Stormy Daniels or a former Playboy bunny. If anything, white evangelicals have come to hold more favorable attitudes towards him. Why?Our guests:Melissa Deckman, chair of the political science department at Washington College, a regular contributor to Roughly Speaking and the author of “Tea Party Women: Mama Grizzlies, Grassroots Leaders, and the Changing Face of the American Right.” Sheri Parks, our American culture commentator, associate dean at the University of Maryland and, starting in June, she will be taking on a new job as vice-president for strategic initiatives at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

1:52: Paula Gallagher has this week’s book recommendation, a new memoir about a young woman who survived a survivalist upbringing to earn a Ph.D. from Cambridge. The title is “Educated,” by Tara Westover.6:05: Allison Galbraith talks about her campaign to become the Democratic candidate to challenge Republican incumbent Andy Harris in Maryland's First District in November. Galbraith gives her position on guns, coastal oil drilling and the development of wind turbines off Ocean City. She first appeared on the podcast in November. Two other candidates, Jesse Colvin and Michael Pullen, also have been heard on the show.19:28: We hear from a former Republican congresswoman, Connie Morella, who served eight terms in Washington representing Maryland’s 8th District. Morella talks about Donald Trump, Paul Ryan and political tribalism -- and what, if anything, can be done to fix the parts of Washington politics that leave so many Americans disgusted and disillusioned. Morella is a member of the ReFormer's Caucus, a gro

This month marks 50 years since the release of one of the most influential and popular films of all time, Stanley Kubrick's ----2001: A Space Odyssey.---- Film critic Linda DeLibero, says, ----It changed my life. It made me realize that cinema was the most important art form.---- She says no science fiction film has topped Kubrick's for its ability to convey the ----limitlessness and terror of space.---- DeLibero and critic Christopher Llewellyn Reed talk about a movie that has been variously described as a milestone and a masterpiece, but also opaque and puzzling and ----the strangest blockbuster in Hollywood history.---- Linda DeLibero is director of film and media studies at Johns Hopkins University. Chris Reed is professor and director of the department of film and moving image at Stevenson University.Links:https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/02/behind-the-scenes-of-2001-a-space-odyssey-50-years-later

Taylor Branch, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian of the American Civil Rights Movement, talks about the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in April, 1968, the riots that broke out in Baltimore and other cities after King's death, and where the movement went after that. This interview comes in advance of ----King In The Wilderness,---- an HBO documentary film for which Branch, who lives in Baltimore, served as executive producer. The film airs on HBO for the first time on Monday, April 2 at 8 pm Eastern. Be sure to read The Sun's coverage of the 50th anniversary of King's death and the riots that ravaged sections of Baltimore in the week following the assassination.Links:http://taylorbranch.com/about-taylor-branch/https://www.hbo.com/documentaries/king-in-the-wilderness

1:25: Librarian and book critic Paula Gallagher recommends, ----Tangerine,---- a debut novel by Christine Magnan.4:59: The Sun's lead baseball writer, Eduardo ----Eddie In The Yard---- Encina, talks about the 2018 Baltimore Orioles, particularly the team's pitching staff. The Orioles open the new season at home on March 29 at against the Minnesota Twins.Links:https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062686664/tangerinehttp://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/

Michael Pullen, a Democratic candidate for congress in Maryland's 1st District, has staked out progressive positions in a bid to win his party's nomination and challenge incumbent Republican Andy Harris. Pullen, who spent 24 years as the attorney for Talbot County, says he supports a federal ban on assault rifles as a way to stem mass shootings. He also supports universal health insurance, or ----Medicare for all.---- Pullen opposes oil drilling off the Maryland coast, but supports the establishment of a wind farm in those waters and full funding for the Chesapeake Bay cleanup. He is one of six Democrats seeking the nomination in Maryland's June 26 primary. Two other candidates, Allison Galbraith and Jesse Colvin, already have given interviews, and those recordings can be found in the Roughly Speaking archive.Links:http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/harford/aegis/ph-ag-harris-town-hall-0307-story.htmlhttp://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-harris-offshore-drilling-20180209-story.htmlht

In what was likely his last recorded conversation, the legendary fly fisherman Lefty Kreh talks about learning to handle a fly rod, his experiences in the outdoors with his son, Larry, and his favorite spot on the Potomac River. Kreh, who died on Wednesday, was a Maryland native who became one of the best-known fly anglers in the world. He taught casting to hundreds of people, including Hollywood luminaries, and he wrote 32 books over a career that included 18 years as outdoors editor of The Sun. Dan visited him at his home in Cockeysville on Feb. 1, 25 days before Kreh's 93rd birthday.Links:http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/outdoors/bs-sp-obit-lefty-kreh-20171113-story.htmlhttp://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/dan-rodricks-blog/bs-md-rodricks-0226-story.html

3:21: If you need help separating fact from fiction, solid news from what Donald J. Trump calls fake news, you can now take a course in discerning one from the other. It’s being offered at Anne Arundel Community College starting next week. David Tengwall, a long-time professor at AACC, will teach an eight-week course called, “Calling Out Bullshit.” It promises to be a fun course, Tengwall says, but the reason for it is serious: Americans have been inundated with BS, in politics and in commerce, and we need help in detecting deceptions. Above all, he says, a well-informed citizenry engaged in critical thinking is vital to democracy.18:03: How calling out BS is actually done:\u160\uVeteran journalist Arnold “Skip” Isaacs shares what he learned when he questioned the Trump administration claim that a lax U.S. immigration system had put Americans at risk by allowing hundreds of foreign-born terrorists into the country. Isaacs says the claim is bogus and he explains why. Isaacs, a former editor and correspondent f

Baltimore restaurateur John Shields joins Dan for a conversation with the Rev. Heber Brown III, pastor at Pleasant Hope Baptist Church, about the Black Church Food Security Network. This is an effort to use churches to influence their members to not only eat healthier foods, but to eat what they grow or what African-American farmers grow. The network, with eight churches, is having its second annual launch event on Saturday, March 17 at New Creation Christian Church. The program hopes to double the number of church gardens in the network this season and to connect neighborhoods that need fresh produce with black farmers in Virginia and North Carolina.Links:http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/bs-hs-faith-communities-health-programs-20170508-story.htmlhttp://www.blackchurchfoodsecurity.net/home.htmlhttp://www.blackchurchfoodsecurity.net/events.html