WYPR: Midday with Dan Rodricks Podcast

The digital revolution marks the biggest change in movie-making since the advent of sound, and anyone who loves movies should know what's at stake. This month's edition of Midday on Film: How digital has affected not only movie-making but the viewing experience, with Linda DeLibero, associate director of film studies at The Johns Hopkins University, and filmmaker Christopher Llewellyn Reed, chair and associate professor of the Department of Film and Video at Stevenson University.

Perspectives on news and trends, interviews with newsmakers and authors, quick takes on some of the week's most interesting regional stories with the Maryland journalists who covered them.

It's a hot topic in the battleground state of Ohio -- the 2008 multibillion-dollar bailout of the automobile industry by the Bush and Obama administrations. An important swing state with 18 electoral votes and thousands of auto workers, Ohio has voted for the winner in every presidential election since 1960. John Davis, the Emmy Award-winning host, executive producer and creator of Maryland Public Television’s MotorWeek, assesses the state of the U.S. automotive industry four years after the bailout initiated by President Bush, expanded by President Obama and criticized by Mitt Romney.

A look at reality television's depiction of rural America with Sheri Parks, associate dean and professor of American studies at the University of Maryland College Park, Maryland.

In this last month of the presidential campaign, an anti-immigration group launched television and radio ads that pit black Americans against immigrant workers in the competition for jobs. The ads have aired in Maryland, where the Dream Act is up for a vote on Election Day. We look at the controversial ads and the claim that immigrants displace African-American workers.

The Maryland Dream Act is one of three controversial items up for a vote on the statewide ballot this November. The act, approved by the General Assembly but petitioned to referendum, would allow undocumented immigrants who have graduated from a Maryland high school to pay in-state tuition rates at Maryland community colleges and universities. Our guests: State Sen. Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City), a supporter of the Dream Act, and Brad Botwin, director of Help Save Maryland, an organization opposed to the new law. Original air date 10/11/12

Why do some students soar in the classroom while others fail? A new generation of researchers believes student success might have more to do with character traits -- perseverance, curiosity, optimism and self-control --than with intelligence. Our guest, author Paul Tough, his latest book, "How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character."

What's ahead for the efforts to address climate change and the Maryland economy after the presidential election? Midday politics with Daraius Irani, economist at Towson University and director of the Regional Economic Studies Institute and Midday science contributor John Monahan.

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Day After the Cuban Missile Crisis. David Coleman, author of “The Fourteenth Day," talks about the remarkable moment when the U.S. and Soviet Union came to the brink of nuclear confrontation and how, in this Cold War battle of wits, the Kennedy administration verified that the Soviets had removed offensive missiles from Cuba.

In July, a gunman with an assault rifle opened fire inside a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and wounding 58 others. It was one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history. Despite that, gun control has been mostly absent from this year’s presidential campaign. But with Election Day approaching, we welcome Daniel Webster, one of the nation's top gun-policy experts and lead author of a new Johns Hopkins prescription for public safety through tougher gun laws.

Restauranteur and wine connoisseur Tony Foreman answers your wine questions.

Perspectives on news and trends, interviews with newsmakers and authors, quick takes on some of the week's most interesting regional stories with the Maryland journalists who covered them. This hour, a look at how Hurricane Sandy could impact Maryland with Rich Foot of Foot's Forecast. Also, ABC2 News reporter Joce Sterman brings us her story on reckless school bus drivers, and Baltimore City Councilmember Mary Pat Clarke explains why she's urging residents to apply for the Homestead Tax Credit. And later, Mike Carter and Julia Dray, authors of "Haunted Annapolis" share stories of hauntings in the state capital.

Our legal affair show with Baltimore attorneys (and husband and wife), Jim Astrachan and Julie Rubin. Today, a discussion of the challenge to Maryland's handgun permit law, and a look at a court challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act. Also, a look at what employers can and cannot check when conducting background research on potential employees.

The Clean Water Act turns 40 this month. Bay Journal staff reporter and Midday on the Bay contributor Rona Kobell examines how the legislation passed in Congress in 1972, its successes, its failures, how it is enforced today, how it suffers from continuous assault and what the November election outcome might mean for its future. Also, an interview with Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Levinson about his newest feature film "The Bay."

How to help a friend or loved one who is exhibiting signs of emotional or behavioral turmoil and who could benefit from professional help. How to step in, without being insensitive, creating conflict or damaging your relationship. Dr. Mark Komrad is an award-winning psychiatrist on the teaching staff of Johns Hopkins, as well as the director of clinical ethics for the Sheppard Pratt Health System, where he teaches psychiatric residents. He is author of “You Need Help! A Step-by-Step Plan to Convince a Loved One to Get Counseling.”