April 3, 2008
A reason for hope - Beth has survived through depression, homelessness, and rehab. What comes next? She shares her dreams for the future.
April 3, 2008
Graduation Day - Less than two months ago, Keonya was fighting for her life in Shock Trauma after being shot in the abdomen. Today, she reaches a milestone that many had feared she wouldn’t achieve.
April 3, 2008
A walk in West Baltimore - Dante Wilson had devoted his life to trying to save kids from lives of violence and crime. We take a walk with him in his west Baltimore neighborhood.
April 3, 2008
The children of West Baltimore share their dreams, fears - The voices of the young children that live in battered neighborhoods in Baltimore are full of optimism and hope, but also a chilling awareness of the fear and violence all around them.
April 3, 2008
How I became a thug - This is the story of Darryl’s journey into corner life.
April 3, 2008
How six years of prison changed my life - Six years of incarceration inspired Darryl to evolve in surprising way.
April 3, 2008
On being a father - Being a good father has become the most important thing in Darryl's life since being released from prison.
April 3, 2008
Becoming a community activist - Darryl is using his own experiences and his talent at connecting with young people to try and save the lives of boys and girls in the hood.
April 3, 2008
Two stories of rural homelessness - Carla and Donny have each had to live in the woods because they had nowhere else to turn. Their stories challenge stereotypes about how and why people become homeless.
April 3, 2008
Bringing the homeless into her own home - Carla describes how she has opened her home to the homeless. She often has several people living in her house or on her land. Why does she do this?
April 3, 2008
Why men die in the woods in Cecil County - Carla talks about the mental and physical health problems that result from a lack of services for the homeless. She also discusses the recent ACLU lawsuit against the town of Elkton.
April 3, 2008
Why workers at Camden Yards are suffering - Rose Menustik will be going on a hunger strike to protest working and payment conditions for the cleaners at Camden Yards. She talks about her experience as a day laborer in Baltimore.
April 3, 2008
Hunger strike - Why are the people who clean Camden Yards going on a hunger strike? Why did negotiations break down? Rose Menustik tells her side of the story.
April 3, 2008
Murdered son - Has the death of a young black man in Baltimore become irrelevant? This is the story of one mother, Lorraine Mackey, whose son was lost to gang violence.
April 3, 2008
Who is to blame? Lorraine Mackey is trying to make sense of the world in which her son was murdered at eighteen. Lorraine shares her thoughts on who is to blame.
April 3, 2008
What needs to change - Lorraine shares her ideas for systematic changes she thinks could help other people avoid meeting the same fate as her son.
April 3, 2008
The life of an addicted and mentally ill homeless woman - The lives of homeless people who suffer from addiction and mental illness can be grim, especially when state resources are scarce. A young, pregnant woman tells her story.
April 3, 2008
I robbed a woman at gunpoint - Omar is a young black man who narrowly avoided doing years in prison after committing armed robbery. He talks about why he committed this crime and the kind of person he was when he did it.
April 3, 2008
My son changed my life - The birth of his son on New Year’s Eve inspired Omar to make a resolution to change his life. But how? He had no idea which way to turn, until he chanced upon a brochure.
April 3, 2008
Leaving the gang behind - Omar talks about the delicate process of charting a path away from gang life, and shares his first tentative dreams for the future.
April 3, 2008
The 14-year-old drug dealer - Donny was only 14 when he started selling drugs in Baltimore. This is the story of how he became a drug dealer.
April 3, 2008
Me and the juvenile justice system - A few years after he became a drug dealer, Donny was incarcerated in the juvenile system. He talks about his experience in the system and how it changed his relationship with his mother.
April 3, 2008
What I learned about cheese - Donny talks about a program that helped him begin to change his stubborn and angry attitude, and tells a story that inspired him to approach life in a different way.
April 3, 2008
Leaving the gang behind - Omar talks about the delicate process of charting a path away from gang life, and shares his first tentative dreams for the future.
April 3, 2008
Raising two kids on $300 a week - Corrine is a young mother of two who struggles to make ends meet everyday. She talks about the experience of raising her children on a low hourly wage.
April 3, 2008
Reunited with her daughter - Last May, Beth told the story of how she ended up homeless and addicted to drugs, and her fight to get back a normal life. Today, she gives an update on her life.
April 3, 2008
What asbestos has done - This series began with the story of Lucille Robinson, a grandmother responsible for the sole care of several grandchildren. A year later, how is Lucille doing?
April 3, 2008
The Workers Won - We check in with Robert, to find out whether cleaners at Camden Yards were able to secure a living wage.
April 3, 2008
Troubling finding work - Terry, the ex-convict who shared his story in episodes 18-21, talks about his the difficult time he is having finding a job.
April 3, 2008
Feeling bleak about the future - Terry expresses the feelings of hopelessness he feels when he thinks about the future.
March 20, 2008
Nina Noble, Executive Producer for The Wire, spent the past several years doing all the behind the scenes work that is required for a successful show. She joined Marc to share her stories and experiences from the past few years.
March 18, 2008
Major Bunny Colvin was a featured character in season three when he took it upon himself to drastically change drug policy in West Baltimore. He was portrayed by Bob Wisdom, who found time to get on the phone with Marc and discuss the role.
March 7, 2008
We stopped by Clarke's Charles Village rowhome one recent morning to tape this interview. By interview, I mean a laid back conversation around the dining room table, talking about all sorts of things: Baltimore, theater, race, politics, culture, Europe, America, and of course, The Wire and his character, Detective Lester Freamon. Oh, have you heard there are discussions of a Wire movie? Clarke brings it up near the end of the interview. So, sit back, relax, and listen.
March 6, 2008
Bubbles is my favorite character on The Wire. I remember hearing an interview with David Simon before the fifth season premiered in which he promised that at least one character would experience a happy ending and total redemption by the end of the series. I immediately forget all about how much I cared about Dukie, Randy, and all the other kids on the show and found myself hopin' and prayin' for Bubbles to be the one with the happy ending.
March 6, 2008
I have a lot of friends from out of town who love The Wire. I always kind of feel sorry for them because I feel like they aren’t getting the whole picture. Only someone really familiar with Baltimore can get all the inside jokes, references, and cameos that pepper the series. But sometimes the reference is arcane enough that not even Baltimoreans quite get what they are looking at. For example, how many people know that the soup kitchen Bubbles worked at in season five is a real place?
March 5, 2008
Last week Marc sat down with Robert Chew, the Baltimore native who has portrayed the east Baltimore drug lord Proposition Joe for the past several years on the hit HBO series The Wire. Prop Joe, as he came to be known, was an iconic figure that represented a time in Baltimore where the drug trade was less violent and bloody, when word was bond, and “The Game” was something very different than what it is today.
March 4, 2008
Our Wire podcast series continues with a forty minute interview with David Simon! Sunday is getting closer. In the meantime, hear what The Wire's creator has to say about the show.
March 3, 2008
As we promised last week, this week we are bringing you a series of interviews with folks from the hit HBO series The Wire. The series finale of this show is airing on March 9, 2008. Marc is a huge fan of the program, and we know a lot of you are as well. So for our first podcast series we decided to concentrate on this television show and talk to writers, producers, actors, security guards and crew to ask them about their experiences in making The Wire. We wanted to find out what they think the message of the show is. What does it have to teach us about urban America? What lessons can we learn from the five seasons?