How broken is the criminal-justice system? If you are charged, you might have to pay for your own pre-trial supervision, that is, if you can make bail. The cost may be high enough that you take a plea deal even if you are innocent. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Natasha Dartigue, Maryland Public Defender and the new president-elect of the Maryland Bar Association, about pre-trial detention, bail reform, and disproportionate outcomes in state courts. Music by Silver Spring power pop band, The Airport77s.

The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: A new report offers the first real breakdown of the impact of federal cuts and layoffs in Maryland. The neighborhood next to the RFK Stadium wants a community benefits agreement guaranteeing developer commitments. WMATA launches new bus routes next week. Adjunct faculty at Stevenson University, outside Baltimore, unionize. West Virginia University strips voting powers from faculty, students, and staff representatives on its Board of governors. Tips for hunting and fishing based on Maryland’s Natural Resource police blotter. And more. Music by Washington DC art-pop rock band, Catscan!

Frederick County, MD, school board saw escalating tensions between conservative activists and liberal school board leadership over LGBTQ rights in county schools. A newly elected board member attacked trans rights from the board table, a conservative activist tried to forcibly seat herself on at the board, and a man fake-mooned a board meeting. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Frederick Board of Education President Rae Gallagher, and Vice-President Dean Rose about the fight over LGBRTQ rights and its impact on school governance. Music by Silver Spring power pop band, The Airport77s.

Maryland’s first bond issue following Moody’s downgrade of state debt has surprising results. Former Washington DC councilmember and director of the DC Department of Energy and Environment, gets into the fight to claw back the environmental spending cuts proposed by Mayor Bowser. MCPS has new grading regulations and the Student member of the Board of Education is not happy. And more. Music by Washington Dc art-pop rock band, Catscan!

After weeks of protests over firings, grant freezes, and budget cuts, more than 300 scientists and staff from Maryland-based National Institutes of Health issue a public letter of protest called the Bethesda Declaration fashioned after the Great Barrington Declaration, which was co-authored in 2020 as an act of dissent from the scientific orthodoxy on Covid by their current Trump-appointed director Jay Bhattacharya. Sunil Dasgupta talks with three signatories to the letter, NIH staffers Mollie Manier and Ian Morgan, and former staffer Anna Culbertson about the public statement and the relationship between science and politics. Bethesda Declaration: https://www.standupforscience.net/bethesda-declaration The Great Barrington Declaration: https://gbdeclaration.org/ Music by Silver Spring power pop band, The Airport77s.

A new case of religious liberty against MCPS follows the LGBTQ books case already in the Supreme Court. DC Council pauses Initiative 82, a ballot referendum which tried to equalize minimum wage for tipped and non-tipped workers. A tort case in Maryland brings up the persistence of contributory negligence doctrine in a handful of states in the DC region. Prince George’s County holds special elections and we revisit voter turnout issues. And more. Music by Washington Dc art-pop rock band, Catscan!

HOAs and Condo associations have grown to be a big part of the American housing landscape over the last 50 years. In 2025, the Maryland general assembly passed a new law requiring independent third-party elections of HOA/condo boards and the City of Gaithersburg left Montgomery County’s Commission on Common Ownership Communities. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Gaithersburg councilmembers Neil Harris and Yamil Hernandez, themselves experienced HOA officials, about how they are thinking of a new regulatory regime. Music by Silver Spring power pop band, The Airport77s.

Mayor Muriel Bowser in Washington DC offers a budget proposal with cuts and regulatory changes. MCPS has released boundary change options as it plans opening new high schools. Complaints about air quality in Argyle Middle School. MD Public Service Commission asks Baltimore Gas and Electric and Delmarva Power to spread out coming rate increases, watch your electricity bills. A lawsuit challenges closed primaries in the state of Maryland. And more. Music by Washington Dc art-pop rock band, Catscan!