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Swimming In The Chesapeake

This weekend traditionally marks the start of the swimming and beach season. But if you don’t want to travel all the way to the ocean, where do you go to take a dip in a natural body of water? With the Chesapeake Bay on our door step you would imagine there would be any number of places to swim. But that’s not the case. As more and more of the shore around the Bay has gone into private hands, those who don’t own boats or condos on the water have dwindling options. Then there’s the perception that the water in the Bay is not exactly clean. Carole Coleman reports.

Metro Auditions

In just a few days, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities will tell more than 100 District residents whether they made the cut to be paid to perform in Metro stations. The "Metro Performs" program kicks off next month – an effort by the Transit Authority to structure performances in subway stations throughout much of the year. Artists get a stipend. Commuters get an organized program of musical diversions in the middle of the day and in the evenings. Arts commissions in the District, Prince George's and Montgomery Counties agreed to assemble a pool of local talent for Metro Performs. DC wrapped up its two day auditions earlier this month. Tony Sanders spent two days at Metro headquarters for the auditions and has this report.

Fred Fiske - Memorial Day

Senior commentator Fred Fiske pauses to consider the meaning of Memorial Day, 2007.

Youth Voices - Anthony

We hear so many reports about single parent homes these days - typically where the father is the missing party. But our Youth Voices reporter, Anthony, has a different story to tell. A story of searching for a mother that he hadn’t seen in 14 years.

Our Youth Voices reports are produced by Michael Spikes.

Karen Collins - Inside The Beltway Honky-Tonk

She's been a force on the DC roots music scene for years - as a member of the acoustic quartet, the Blue Moon Cowgirls and the Cajun group, Squeeze Bayou. And now Karen Collins is back with a new solo CD, "Tail Light Blues." Collins and the Backroads Band are playing a show on Friday, May 25th at Chick Hall's Surf Club in Bladensburg, Maryland. We're joined by the band - Karen Collins on guitar, Ira Gitlin also on guitar, Geff King on bass and Rob Howe on drums.

Radio And Television Museum

We visit the Radio and Television Museum in Bowie, Maryland. It's the place to go if you want to immerse yourself in the glory days of radio. We're joined by Jeff Bagato, author of "Mondo DC – An Insider's Guide to Washington DC's Most Unusual Tourist Attractions."

Liam Callanan - Commencement

Graduation season can be a time for mythmaking. But commentator and novelist Liam Callanan says it's high time to dispel some myths about commencement speeches. Myth one: novelists know nothing about speechwriting. Myth two: there's nothing that can be done to improve the dreadful commencement speech tradition. Myth three: none of this has anything to do with dental hygiene. He'll explain.

Liam Callanan’s new novel is called All Saints.