11 TV Hill: The Podcast

Fellow podcaster and meteorologist Tony Pann stops in. His journey to Baltimore and back, climate science, and stick around as he ranks the best golfers of WBAL toward the end. Spoiler alert...I'm not on that list. Enjoy!

We go back behind the scenes...this time with 11 News Today traffic anchor Lacee Griffith. Her love of taste tests, her craft, and the bizarre moment that we will forever share that occurred live on TV ...are all included in this episode. Thanks Lacee!

This week we talk to U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams about the country's COVID fight. He weighs in on everything from opening schools to masking up. Also hear from Lauren Stienstra, program director for homeland security & emergency management at the National Governors Association. She lays out what will be needed to distribute an eventual COVID vaccine and the hurdles that remain. Enjoy!

Mask Up! That's the call from Annapolis as coronavirus and hospitalization numbers rise. We spend time with the incoming Deputy State Health Secretary for Public Health Dr. Jinlene Chan. (Apologies for an audio glitch in that interview) We also remember Mo Gabba.

Hearst's consumer guru Jeff Rossen was nice enough to stop through. His current piece is on what school could look like in the fall. We also talk about theme parks and wearing masks...also what happens when your wife is the test subject in a COVID scammer story. Great perspective and fun on this episode.

Classic rock, Prince, Italian food...and journalism. Those are just some of the things that make Andre Hepkins tick. We catch up with him in this behind the scenes episode...with a quick pandemic update from me and Cath.

Professor and author Dr. Kaye Whitehead joins us for a wide-ranging discussion about social justice, how protests have grown worldwide, and the task ahead for future leaders of Baltimore.

Life coach Ericka Sallee discusses having conversations in your own home about recent headlines with family, talking to your kids, and understanding your own feelings in the midst of the George Floyd demonstrations.

The pandemic appears to have a particular hold on the minority community both physically and financially. Jamye Wooten of the group CLLCTIVLY is working to help Baltimore's black-owned businesses stay afloat as many struggle to find loans.

Still unclear about contact tracing? We talk to Johns Hopkins epidemiologist and public health researcher Dr. Emily Gurley about contact tracing. Why is it important? And how you can help in the research. Opening music by: Scheming Weasel (faster version) by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4326-scheming-weasel-faster-version- License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Behind the scene with my co-anchor, fellow cut-up, and friend Mindy Basara. Hear why I was pretty intimidated by her when we first met...her love of history...parenting during a pandemic...her guilty pleasure TV viewing and so much more. This was a lot of fun to make! I hope you enjoy!

We talk to Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Letitia Dzirasa about how the city is responding to COVID-19. She also dispels several myths circulating about the illness...and why it's important to get a breath of fresh air. Also Cal Ripken, Jr. makes an appearance to talk about his Strike Out Hunger program & the possible return of baseball.

We talk to Maddi McLean, a senior a Catonsville High. She exudes positivity in a time that has left many seniors pretty bummed about missing prom and graduation. We discuss how she is able to look on the bright side, but also some of the disappointment. We open with some younger grade-schoolers and their own pros & cons of schooling from home. Opening music credit: Investigations by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3924-investigations License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Occasionally we will visit with our reporters in the field and discuss how covering this pandemic has changed their professional lives...the challenges, the lessons learned, and what they have experienced. This week we spoke to reporter Tim Tooten. He discusses how reporting has been his dream since he was 8 years old. We also talked about how the coronavirus has affected his work in the field...and in the pulpit, as he is also the pastor of his own church.

We talk to Radhika Sule, owner of The Verandah restaurant in Hampden. She discusses how she's trying to keep both her restaurant and her employees afloat. She also talks about the adjustments she will make in the future. The show starts with Dave Seel, head of the Baltimore Restaurant Relief Fund, with a look at where the industry stands now, and how the fund is working to help those affected. Opening music credit: Umbrella Pants by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4559-umbrella-pants License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Occasionally we will visit with our reporters in the field and discuss how covering this pandemic has changed their professional lives...the challenges, the lessons learned, and what they have experienced. We start with WBAL's Megan Pringle. Next week we're back with a topical episode focused on local restaurants. Enjoy.

We spend this episode with the president of the Maryland Nurses Association, Dr. Charlotte Wood. Dr. Wood gives a look at nursing through the lens of a pandemic, the need for supplies, how you can support your local nurses, and what makes health care workers tick in the face of crisis.

We all have or will experience some type of anxiety as we settle into our new normal. Baltimore-based counselor Sarah Spund joins us to discuss how you and your kids can handle the anxiety, why a routine is important, and who you can seek out for help in dealing with it. Sarah is accepting clients. She can be reached at SarahSpundLCPC@gmail.com

Homework packets, graduation, and could school be done for the year? We also toss in a dose of Kirwan Plan in this week's edition of the 11 TV Hill podcast.

We are changing the way we do things with 11 TV Hill: The Podcast. Much of our time will be spent on how Baltimore is navigating the Coronavirus…from schools, to social isolation, to your health.

We talk to an epidemiologist from Johns Hopkins University about the novel coronavirus, how people can protect themselves and their families, and try to ask all of the questions you’d want an expert to answer about the outbreak.

In our first-ever episode, we talk with Dr. Mileah Kromer from Goucher College about the school’s latest poll, what it reveals about the current political landscape in Maryland and the 2020 race, and how happy Marylanders say they are.

Some conversations can’t fit into a 30 minute TV show. That’s why 11 TV Hill host Jason Newton is taking Baltimore’s best public affairs show from the airwaves…to audio.