Stories from a Dominican barbershop, a tattoo parlor, a lawyer’s office, a coffee counter, and a collaborative arts hub, all neighbors in the melting pot that is Eastern Avenue in Baltimore’s Highlandtown neighborhood. 

In this episode: The perfectly nice lady behind one of the most menacing overdubs in television history, the tireless purveyor of Baltimore’s most famous pizza, two barbers who’ve paid their dues to learn their trade, the operators of a make-it-from-scratch ice cream shop, and a tenacious entrepreneur for whom failure is not an option.

A therapist plumbs his own psychology by creating artistic collages, a Central American kitchen staff cooks the menu at a Peruvian chicken restaurant, a general store sells everything from microwaves to original artwork, a neighborhood handyman makes his living out of a Radio Flyer wagon, a marketing firm gets caffeinated, and high school sweethearts get married, open up a wine shop, and stay in love.

A visit with a Chilkat Ravenstail weaver, a rain-forest hike in search of Devil’s Club, the tale of a rudely awakened Black Bear, an afternoon with a fishing boat captain, a mountain jog with a champion ultra-runner, hair and make-up tips with a renowned drag queen, a sound-check at the home-studio of a Juneau-based hip hop musician, and a window into the life of a local poet and her 10-year-old son.

Special thanks this episode to Juneau field producer MK MacNaughton and the National Endowment for the Arts.

A game hunter consults his conscience, a Native Rights advocate remembers being separated from her heritage, a local chef plays host to TV personality Gordon Ramsay, a widow remembers her late husband’s grace and humor, a Native Youth Olympics coach connects kids to culture through athletics, plus an artist, a musician, a cross-country bicyclist, two roller-derby girls, and a family in a half-built cabin on an island in the wilderness

Special thanks this episode to Juneau field producer MK MacNaughton and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Tales of camaraderie, mentorship, second chances, prosperity, and style, from barbershops in Baltimore and beyond.  Have a seat, grab a newspaper, and make yourself comfortable… the next available barber will take you shortly.

We take the show to Charleston West Virginia’s West Side neighborhood to visit a family barbecue joint, a country music jamboree, a faith-based after-school program, a women’s drug recovery house, and a bustling Goodwill headquarters. Plus, conversations with an activist preacher, a vacant-home rehabber, an open-eared neighborhood planner, and a retired theater technician who’s projected more than 50 years of movie history.

Special thanks this episode to Maryland State Folklorist Emily Hilliard, The West Virginia Folklife Program at the West Virginia Humanities Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Our audio tour through Charleston’s West Side continues with a community gardener, an antique collector, a symphony clarinetist, a deli owner, and a retired pro basketball player. Plus, a visit to a local auto shop, a barbershop, a Girl Scout meeting, and Mary C Snow West Side Elementary.

Special thanks this episode to West Virginia State Folklorist Emily Hilliard, The West Virginia Folklife Program at the West Virginia Humanities Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

We love it on this podcast when we meet people who are natural storytellers. And it’s an extra bonus when they happen to be talented musicians or poets, too.  This episode, we celebrate some of our favorite musical and lyrical moments from Out of the Blocks.

Change is knocking on the door of Baltimore’s iconic Lexington Market. Ground has been broken on a new market building, and local vendors are wondering if they’ll have a place in the much-hyped new structure. In this episode, merchants, artisans, security officers, and custodians reflect on their lives and the uncertain future of the market they call home.

Conversations with vendors & market-goers about the past & present of Lexington Market, a look at hopes for (and doubts about) the market’s future, and a talk with the idealistic developer responsible for the big changes that lay ahead.

We’re working through how to best proceed on near-future episodes of the show, and we want to invite you into the conversation. Got an interesting online ‘block’? Hit us up on Instagram @outoftheblocks1 or on twitter @outoftheblocks1

Well, this long-overdue episode wasn’t originally intended to be an audio time-capsule, but, you know… life.  Here’s a final look back at a venerable city market that’s now temporarily closed to the public, and partly demolished.

This episode is about a virtual block that makes up the current world of one fascinating and unusual young man. His name is James Burrows. He’s a musical genius, and he’s autistic. This week, he’s graduating from high school in the midst of a pandemic. What might James be able to teach the rest of us about living in the shared social isolation of the moment?

NOTE:  All the music in this episode was composed and produced by James. Check him out on SoundCloud.

They have access to the collected astronomical data of the world’s most powerful space telescopes, and they’re stuck at home in quarantine.  Here’s what they’re doing:  Scientists Jenn Kotler, Clara Brasseur, and Scott Fleming have been using their time in isolation to design a radically new way of understanding the dynamics of the cosmos.  Inspired by a blind colleague halfway around the planet, Australian astrophysicist Garry Foran, they’re pioneering a new method to study the motion of the universe, through sound.

Curious to learn more about their work? Check out this link and this link

Have you ever been a mentor to someone? Maybe you had a mentor of your own? How did it change your life? January is National Mentoring Month, and this episode we turn our attention to the voices and the stories of some young Baltimoreans we met through a network called Maryland MENTOR. They’re young, but they’ve got life-lessons for a willing ear of any age.   

We first met James Carter and Theresa Marable on the 3300 block of Greenmount Avenue in back 2012, in the very first episode of Out of the Blocks. This episode, we reunite with James and Theresa, we listen back together to their original recordings, and we ask them, “What’s changed in your life in the past nine years?”

We first met Tymekia Spellman and Will Jackson on the 4700 block of Liberty Heights Avenue back in 2015. This episode, we reunite with Tymekia & Will, we listen back together to their original recordings, and we ask them, “What’s changed in your life in the past six years?”

We first met Gregory Hill (AKA Foots) and Lateef Aderomilehin on the 2100 block of Edmondson Avenue back in 2017. This episode, we reunite with Foots & Lateef, we listen back together to their original recordings, and we ask them, “How’s life changed in the past four years?”

We reconnect with Arlo Iron Cloud, our partner at KILI Radio, The Voice of the Lakota Nation, on the Pine Ridge Reservation. He tells us how life has changed for him and his family over the past few years. We also check back in with Lei Ann Shiramizu in Seattle’s Chinatown International District to hear how she and her neighbors have coped with the pressures of the pandemic.

We first met Gus Zissimos & George Anagnostou on the 4700 block of Eastern Avenue back in 2015. This episode, we reunite with George & Gus, we listen back together to their original recordings, and we ask them, “How’s life changed in the past six years?”

We first met Okhui ‘Sissy’ Benlein & Shaniqua McCready on the 1900 block of Pennsylvania Avenue back in 2018. This episode, we reunite with Sissy & Shaniqua, we listen back together to their original recordings, and we ask them, “How’s life changed in the past three years?”

We first met Wayne Brewton & Pastor Aaron Hannah on the 600 block of Cherry Hill Road back in 2017. This episode, we reunite with Wayne & Aaron, we listen back together to their original recordings, and we ask them, “How’s life changed in the past four years?”

We first met Antonio McDuffy and Pat & Andrea Wills on the 400 block of E Patapsco Avenue back in 2015. This episode, we reunite with them, we listen back together to their original recordings, and we ask them, “How’s life changed in the past six years?”

This episode, we reconnect with Traci ‘B-Love’ Bartlow, who runs a boutique hotel on the ground floor of her home in West Oakland’s Lower Bottoms neighborhood. She tells us how her life and her business have changed over the past few years. We also check back in at a day shelter that helps families in crisis in the St Louis neighborhood of The Ville. Director Kelli Braggs talks about how the organization is bearing up under the strain of the pandemic.

We first met the guys at Barbara’s Groceries back in 2015 on the 4700 block of Liberty Heights Avenue. This episode, we reunite with them, we listen back together to their original recordings, and we ask them, “How’s life changed in the past six years?” Plus, Aaron & Wendel bid a fond farewell to listeners as Out of the Blocks comes to a close.

"Outlander" is returning with the concluding episodes of its seventh season this month, but its stars have already wrapped official production on the show's eighth and final season.

Frank Auerbach, who fled Nazi Germany for Britain as a child and became one of the major artists of the 20th century, has died aged 93.

Nearly two decades ago, My Chemical Romance released their career-defining rock opera, "The Black Parade," cementing their shift from mainstays of the emo scene to mainstream recognition and becoming one of the most inventive bands of the 21st century.

Musician Art Garfunkel recently reunited with on-again/off-again musical partner Paul Simon, looking to reconcile their differences and make amends.

You could say that Ethan Slater's yellow brick road to getting cast in the big screen adaptation of "Wicked" had an element of magic to it.

UCLA will play Baylor and Texas will face Maryland in a women's basketball doubleheader in the inaugural Coretta Scott King Classic in January.

Last season, Maryland beat Indiana so bad that the Hoosiers fired their offensive coordinator less than 24 hours later. How much things can change in just one year, as Indiana is at 4-0 in 2024 as they await the Terrapins on Saturday.

Penalties have been a reoccurring problem for Maryland during the Mike Locksley era, and though the Terrapins tamped them down last season, they are racking up quick again in 2024.

The Washington metro area is a hotbed for basketball talent. You can find all the proof you need of the area's hoops legacy at the Washington D.C. Basketball Hall of Fame.

Maryland has been selected to finish in the middle of the new 18-team pack in this year's unofficial Big Ten men's basketball preseason poll.

With thinner margins in a strengthened and expanded conference along with Maryland's struggle to limit penalties, Friday night's home game with Northwestern is now a keystone to get to bowl eligibility.

There's no such thing as an off week during football season, even when there's not a game on the schedule. For Maryland players and coaches, the goal is to strike a balance between getting away from football and still being connected to football.

Another moribund post-bye week performance under Mike Locksley reared its ugly head for Maryland Friday night against Northwestern in an embarrassing 37-10 loss.

Offering some political speak in a year of election, Maryland coach Mike Locksley laid out a "state of the union" of his program Tuesday, saying internal-yet-unspecified changes have been made after one of the worst losses of his term.

The Maryland Terrapins are used to hoeing a difficult road during the football season. In 2024, however, the difference is a team that has not only failed to reach rather mild expectations, but one that is severely underperforming.

Southern California and Maryland met Saturday for the first time in football and as Big Ten members, but if you didn't know any better, it was as if an old Pac-12 after dark game broke out. Maryland mounted a two touchdown comeback in the fourth quarter, capped by Billy Edwards Jr.'s 3-yard rushing score as the Terrapins beat the Trojans 29-28.

The Terrapins' struggles last season were rooted in the most basic of problems: They couldn't shoot, finishing 320th nationally in field goal percentage (41.3%) and 340th in 3-point percentage (28.9%).

Buoyed by a season-shifting comeback win over Southern California, Maryland now has a pep in its step as it hits the road again in the Big Ten this week.

Maryland is a 'developmental' program, as coach Mike Locksley likes to frequently remind, and it is in the midst of producing the next offensive player with star potential -- Octavian Smith Jr.

Year 1 for Kevin Willard was a supernova streaking through the sky, but year two brought high expectations that quickly crashed back to earth. For year three, the Maryland coach believes he has found the answer to the Terrapins offensive woes via both the transfer portal and one dynamic freshman: Derik Queen.

Last season marked the first time Maryland posted a .500 or better mark in the month of November under Mike Locksley. College football's final month has always been a gauntlet for Locksley's teams, a trend that continues Saturday at No. 1 Oregon.

The new Big Ten truly comes to full bore for Maryland this weekend with its first-ever West Coast conference trip to No. 1 Oregon, bringing with it a host of logistical tweaks and challenges.

Carlos Sainz Jr. won the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday and Lando Norris closed the gap in the Formula 1 championship race after another contentious battle with Max Verstappen.

Tyler Reddick went high and overtook Ryan Blaney on the final turn to win at Homestead-Miami on Sunday to secure a spot in NASCAR's winner-take-all finale in Arizona in two weeks. Reddick led 98 of the 267 laps, the last of them the one that mattered most.