Roughly Speaking with Dan Rodricks

Episode 402: Black Lives Matter activist Darnell Moore on Trump's America

Writer and activist Darnell L. Moore on Trump and immigrants, the Bible and politicians, and growing up black and gay.

Rodricks: Real-time buses, asphalt aspirations, unconventional wisdom
Nobody asked me, but it’s marvelous that real-time tracking has finally come to more than 750 Maryland Transit Administration buses. Now, using the Transit app, we can know exactly when buses are coming, and I won’t ever again be left on the sidewalk, a block and a half from my bus stop, breathlessly...
The bad economics of Trump's bad immigration policy
The Trump-produced horror show at the U.S. border represents the rock-bottom of American responses to the challenge of immigration — a cruel and immoral abuse of children for midterm political gain by a cynical president — but it comes at the end of a long, tortured road. For 30 years, since President...

Rodricks: Kurtis Williams and 'a Baltimore thing'
At the age of 35, Kurtis Williams has spent half of his life in prison. He went in at 17 for second-degree murder. He came out four months ago with the clothes on his back and a manila envelope containing his identification card, his parole papers, a medical report and $50 cash. After spending...
Sessions at odds with his church on immigrants
Attorney General Jeff Sessions appears determined to inflict as much pain as possible in his efforts to deter immigrants from gaining entrance into the country. He supports the practice of separating asylum-seeking parents from their children, and this week he eliminated fear of gangs and fear...
Rodricks: Wind resistance in Ocean City is ludicrous
The resistance by the mayor and other municipal leaders in Ocean City to the prospect of a wind farm 14 to 17 miles offshore makes me think of Larry Vaughn from “Jaws.” Vaughn was the jittery mayor of the fictional resort of Amity, puffing cigarettes, sporting amazing polyester jackets, telling...

Rodricks: The two ways Baltimore voters will judge Marilyn Mosby
When it comes to deciding whether Marilyn Mosby should get a second term, Baltimore voters will have two things on their minds — the cases she brought against six police officers in the death of Freddie Gray and the appalling rate of violence that has occurred across our city since Mosby took office...
Biff Poggi responds to critics of St. Frances football
After announcing a national schedule, the coach answers questions about his motives and his recruitment of players.
The Poggi Way: Transforming lives and winning football games
According to a quote tracker, it was either the legendary basketball coach John Wooden or the sartorially eccentric commentator Heywood Hale Broun who gave the world this: “Sports don’t build character; they reveal it.” That is one fine, easy-to-remember, tempting-to-invoke expression. It is also...