Dan Rodricks

My Sun column today is about corruption – not the political kind, but the kind that infests certain people in positions that allow them to conduct scams. Forty-six years after covering my first fraud trial in federal court in Baltimore, I remain fascinated by the willingness of men and women to steal money from their … Continue reading Corruption by the barrel, and whatever happened to shame?

Five performances of "Baltimore, You Have No Idea" have sold out. Tickets are $27 and still available for the remaining December performance. Thank you to those who purchased tickets, and we look forward to seeing all of you -- and more of you -- at the Meyerhoff Auditorium of the Baltimore Museum of Art. (BMA … Continue reading Five of six performances sold out: Baltimore, You Have No Idea

As mentioned in my Friday Sun column, my family's recent visit to Paris included a stroll through the city's subterranean history via the Musée des Égouts de Paris, or the sewer museum. The sewers of Paris are considered an engineering and architectural marvel because, prior to its elaborate construction, the city was a noxious mess. … Continue reading Photos: Public works and the common good

I first suggested this three mayors ago: Get NBA star Carmelo Anthony, who played at Towson Catholic and has strong Baltimore ties, to make some powerful, visually arresting public service videos imploring an end to the shooting. You say no one will listen? I say it’s never been tried. Baltimore needs a consistent, high-profile anti-violence … Continue reading Can you change someone’s mind in 60 seconds?

I have a long fascination with World War I only because I find it so hideously absurd, one of human history’s foolish and costly eruptions of large-scale violence. It started in 1914 and ended on this date — at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month — in 1918. More than … Continue reading War then, war now: “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.”

I took part in a panel discussion Friday about current events, and the subjects included the ugly rise of antisemitism around the country and particularly on college campuses. After addressing the current rise within the context of the Israel-Hamas War, one of the panelists noted the surge in hate crimes and white nationalism since Trump … Continue reading Yeah, sorry, Trump fans. Your man owns a big piece of the surge in hate crimes. No other modern president comes close.

Maryland was first declared a “Free State” after the legislature abolished slavery in the 19th Century. In the early 20th Century, it was a Baltimore Sun guy, Evening Sun editor Hamilton Owens, who popularized Maryland  as "The Free State" after Congress passed a law prohibiting the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages. Marylanders opposed and … Continue reading A spirited celebration of Maryland history

We chose the Meyerhoff Auditorium -- it really deserves to be called a theater -- for my plays because the stage and house are the right size, the seating is comfortable for patrons, the tech support superb, the piano excellent and because the venue is inside the fabulous Baltimore Museum of Art. Here's a suggestion … Continue reading Visit Baltimore’s great art museum, see my plays

My hometown, East Bridgewater, Mass., celebrates the bicentennial of its incorporation this year, though the old Plymouth County settlement is much older than that. I was asked to write a remembrance of growing up there for a bicentennial book. I was given permission to post it here. The East Bridgewater I knew — population about … Continue reading East Bridgewater, the hometown eternal

When I was new to column writing, a woman contacted me to discuss a legal battle that pretty much consumed her life — the matter of child custody resulting from a bitter divorce. Her ex-husband lived in Florida and wanted full custody of her two children while the woman, of course, had hired a Maryland … Continue reading Child custody: Among the most volatile of court cases