WYPR: Midday with Dan Rodricks Podcast

Actress Angelina Jolie underwent a double mastectomy after testing positive for a genetic mutation that puts her at higher risk for developing breast and ovarian cancer than the general population. Her stunning announcement increased awareness for preventative genetic testing, but it also raised questions about such expensive, preventative procedures. We examine the issue with Dr. Deborah Armstrong, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center’s Breast and Ovarian Surveillance Service; Dr. Lisa Jacobs, Kimmel Cancer Center surgical oncologist; Jessica Joines, University of Maryland Medical Center genetics counselor; and Dr. Barron Lerner, a medical historian and the author of The Breast Cancer Wars and When Illness Goes Public.

Harvard Business School marketing professor Michael Norton looks at the psychological aspect of spending, and details five principles that can help consumers develop happier money habits. Norton is co-author of Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending.

Last week President Obama unveiled a national plan to combat climate change and prepare for its effects, bypassing a recalcitrant Congress in the process. Can he make a difference? Our guests: Midday on Science contributor John Monahan; Will Baker, president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation; Tommy Landers, director of Environment Maryland; Timothy Wheeler, environmental reporter for The Baltimore Sun; and Zoe Johnson, program manager for Climate Change Policy with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Also: Alec MacGillis of The New Republic talks about his feature on Gov. Martin O’Malley.

Three specialists in infectious diseases discuss the diagnosis and treatment of the tick-born illness, as cases of Lyme disease increase and some of its victims continue to claim mainstream medicine ignores their long-term ailments. Our guests: Dr. John Cmar, Midday contributor and a specialist in infectious diseases; Philip Baker, executive director of the American Lyme Disease Foundation and former research scientist for the National Institutes of Health; and Dr. Paul Auwaerter, clinical director of the division of infectious diseases at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Housing prices continue to rise nationwide, including in Maryland, but does that mean we’re in a seller’s market? A look at national and local housing data with Robbie Whelan, a real estate reporter for the Wall Street Journal; Melody Simmons, real estate and development reporter for The Daily Record; and Jon Coile, chairman of the board for the Mid-Atlantic listing service MRIS. Also, Owen Jarvis, staff attorney with St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center in Baltimore, discusses the sharp increase in statewide foreclosures and its effect on city residents.

Midday film critic Christopher Llewellyn Reed reviews the 2013 summer movie season, including World War Z, Man of Steel, The Internship, and Despicable Me 2, among others. Plus, a tribute to Mel Brooks, who turns 86 today.

Today on the Weekly Review, Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts responds to a staggering 35 shootings and at least 10 deaths in one week of prolific violence in the city. James Karmel, professor of History at Harford Community College discusses the competition between casinos in Maryland and Delaware and the future of gaming in the Mid Atlatntic. And Carnival Cruise Lines is pulling out of the Port of Baltimore, for good. The Sun's Timothy Wheeler fills us in on the reasons why.

The line, “Don’t mess with Texas,” is commonly used to define the spirit of the Lone Star state. Because for many Texans, being from Texas is more than an identity, it’s a way of life. Erica Grieder, senior editor for Texas Monthly, explains the unique character of Texas as an exaggeration of some of America’s most striking virtues and flaws. Grieder is the author of Big, Hot, Cheap and Right: What America Can Learn from the Strange Genius of Texas.

Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland Baltimore County, returns to Midday to discuss the latest news in higher education, including Congressional wrangling over student loans and recent reports that both public and private colleges and universities are leaving behind too many students from low-income households.

In two historic decisions announced just this morning, the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in on gay marriage, declaring the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional, and in a similar decision, allowing for gay couples to marry in California. A panel of local experts examines the rulings, and we take calls from our listeners. Guests include: Mark Scurti, attorney who is an expert in same-sex law; Michael Meyerson, professor of law at the University of Baltimore; and Del. Maggie McIntosh, State House representive for the 43rd District of Baltimore City.

The case of Dr. Nikita Levy, a popular Johns Hopkins gynecologist who committed suicide after being accused of secretly videotaping his patients, raised questions about Maryland’s ability to keep patients safe from dangerous doctors. Our guests: Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, state secretary of health and mental hygiene and Joann Ellison Rodgers, author of an Abell Foundation report on efforts to prevent physician misconduct and malpractice; and WMAR-TV investigative reporter Joce Sterman.

More than 93,000 lives have been lost in the two-year-old civil war in Syria. What, if anything, should the United States do to help end the conflict? We hear from Matthew Van Dyke, the self-described freedom fighter and filmmaker who recently released a short documentary short about the uprising and war; Kimberly Katz, associate professor of history at Towson University and an expert on the Middle East and North Africa; and Shamoo Adil, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and an analyst affiliated with the Institute for Policy Studies think tank.

Did President Obama’s election and re-election represent the advance of a post-racial American society? Michael Higginbotham, the Wilson H. Elkins Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law, says that, despite progress, we still have a very long way to go. Higginbotham is the author of, Ghosts of Jim Crow: Ending Racism in Post-Racial America.

We open the Midday phone lines to our listeners for comments and questions on the Baltimore and Maryland news of the day.

Today on the Midday Weekly Review: WYPR’s P. Kenneth Burns on Baltimore’s $2.4 billion operating budget and the city’s ongoing blight of vacant houses, and Jon Meoli of the Towson Times reports on Towson’s new $300 million development. Also, political columnist Barry Rascovar of politcalmaryland.com discusses the latest political news around the state. And Heather Taylor, a Columbia-based director/producer, visits Studio A to talk about her award-winning documentary, “Breaking Through the Clouds,” which chronicles the first all-female airplane race across the country.