You don’t realize how pervasive our phone culture is — and how guarded we can be — until you see people who are behaving so differently. My column on the monks’ Walk for Peace — www.baltimoresun.com/2026/02/16/m...

My Backchannel column this week is on a new front in the very personal struggle between federal workers and President Donald Trump. (gift link). — www.baltimoresun.com/2026/02/08/f...

My Backchannel column for this week: Democrats love the new Springsteen protest song. — But I couldn’t help but wonder: What if you are a Springsteen fan … and a Republican? Can you love the music but disregard the message? www.baltimoresun.com/2026/02/02/m...

Exclusive: Moore campaign accepted, then returned, donations from executive tied to firm seeking state contract. By Jeff Barker. — www.baltimoresun.com/2026/01/29/m...

My latest Backchannel column: What did Earl Weaver write on the photo he signed for Sandy Rosenberg, the longest-serving member of Maryland’s General Assembly?

There's a bill in Montgomery County that will do the same thing. The problem really will be enforcement: will state troopers or MCPD get in between ICE and their victims? So far, they haven't.

Redrawing a congressional district map is like pulling a thread from an old sweater. One small change can have cascading consequences. www.baltimoresun.com/2026/01/21/m...

Maryland's congressional redistricting map encounters divisions, angst and a ticking clock. www.baltimoresun.com/2026/01/21/m...

Maryland enters national debate with ICE mask ban bill testing state’s authority — www.baltimoresun.com/2026/01/18/m...

Good morning. My Backchannel column for this week (gift link). Have you ever attended an event and left with a particular image stuck in your mind? It’s as if your brain has singled out one moment and archived it. These images imprinted on me in 2025. www.baltimoresun.com/2026/01/05/m...

Nancy Pelosi grew up in a rowhome in Baltimore’s Little Italy, the daughter and sister of mayors. I asked her in an interview about her hometown, her very political upbringing, her legacy, and Donald Trump. — www.baltimoresun.com/2025/12/26/n...

My weekly Backchannel column: It’s a piece of an interview I did last week with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

It was hours after President Trump signed an order to protect the American flag from “desecration,” and Jan Carey, an Army combat veteran, decided he wanted to immediately make a point about First Amendment protections. By Jeff Barker. www.baltimoresun.com/2025/12/02/u...

Here’s a teasing, free preview of my weekly political notebook column called Backchannel containing the first item, which is about a congressional district with two souls.

Does it seem risky to allow bettors to wager on whether a pitch will be a ball or strike? It's not just me asking, it was MLB raising the issue to Maryland regulators in 2021. States continued to offer the bet, which can be rigged more easily than others and is now at the center of Guardians case.

Exclusive: MLB cautioned Maryland about ’risky’ bet now at center of Cleveland Guardians scandal. By Jeff Barker www.baltimoresun.com/2025/11/19/m...

Turkey pardon is just weird; Wes Moore’s 'IDGAF' initialism; is Washington joyless? — Good morning. Here’s a teasing, free preview of my political notebook column called Backchannel containing the first item.

Of all the names Baltimore-born and raised Nancy Pelosi has been called —many of them unprintable here —my favorite is “The Prodigal Hon.” — Welcome to Backchannel, my weekly political notes column where we deftly sidestep political spin. — www.baltimoresun.com/2025/11/09/w...

Senators demand answers about Social Security chief’s former role and question ‘his ability to serve’ — www.baltimoresun.com/2025/11/07/s...

Welcome to the latest Backchannel, my political notebook column. What happened to all the stuff during the East Wing demolition? This week we take the mystery apart – like the departed wing itself – bit by bit. —- www.baltimoresun.com/2025/11/03/b...

Maryland-based White House demolition company grapples with PR nightmare — www.baltimoresun.com/2025/10/24/a...

Congressional Democrats investigating Social Security commissioner over debit card contract. By Jeff Barker — www.baltimoresun.com/2025/10/22/c...

Welcome to Backchannel, a weekly feature where we’ll steer completely clear of political talking points and offer exclusive notes from inside Maryland politics. * Today:Shutdown playlist, why Michael Steele is still a Republican, Raskin’s ‘24 Senate flirtation www.baltimoresun.com/2025/10/20/s...

If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. www.baltimoresun.com/2025/10/17/c...

Juliana Peralta, 13, kept slipping further from reality —from her parents, her friends, and anything she could actually touch —and into a virtual world where an artificial intelligence chatbot enveloped her with what she mistook for empathy. —- www.baltimoresun.com/2025/10/17/c...

The world of a federal shutdown is a bleak place characterized by hellish hold times, dead-end calls and emails, and partisan messaging. Here’s what some people are encountering: bit.ly/48mTlde

Rebecca Ferguson lost her job as a federal worker. She’s trying to get her termination papers to confirm her status & benefits, but her emails bounce back during the shutdown. She says the government can’t even fire her correctly. bit.ly/48mTlde

'We are alive:' federal workers get hugs, validation in fraught period of shutdown and layoffs www.baltimoresun.com/2025/10/03/w...

Trump's political enemies post could put Maryland’s US attorney on the spot www.baltimoresun.com/2025/09/24/t...

Advocates for retaining a paper Social Security checks option are worried about vulnerable people living on the less-populated side of the digital divide — those lacking smartphones or bank accounts, and using paper currency largely shunned by others. www.baltimoresun.com/2025/09/19/p...

The young male gamblers spoke of sleepless nights, guilt about the shame of keeping it all secret, and yet still clinging to the hope they could outsmart sports-betting apps built to ensure they never do. Their moms believed they could fix it. By Jeff Barker www.baltimoresun.com/2025/09/04/h...

U.S. Rep. David Scott -- an 80-year-old, 12-term congressman -- is battling concerns among Democrats that his age and health are obstacles to reelection. www.ajc.com/politics/202...

Gov. Wes Moore: The president is 'losing sleep over me,' but here's what he should lose sleep over www.baltimoresun.com/2025/08/28/g...

Trump says Gov. Wes Moore told him he’s the “the greatest president of my lifetime.” Moore says it didn’t happen. This sounded familiar. In 2017, Trump said the late Rep. Elijah Cummings proclaimed Trump “would be one of the greatest presidents.” Cummimgs said that’s not what he said.

Hey the current Tesla Model Y service manual, updated Jan. 30, has instructions for removing the T logo service.tesla.com/docs/ModelY/...

Rep. Jamie Raskin: “People say, ‘Why don’t you guys have bipartisan friendships? I tell people who my bipartisan friends are and then they express horror. I mean, who do you want me to be friends with? Abraham Lincoln is no longer in the House.” www.baltimoresun.com/2025/08/05/j...

Outspoken political opposites Jamie Raskin and Lauren Boebert have quietly formed perhaps Washington’s most unlikely friendship built on the shared belief that people aren’t wholly defined by their politics, even in this extremely polarized era. www.baltimoresun.com/2025/08/05/j...

In their choice of Paul Clement,the judges picked an accomplished lawyer who might cool the partisan temperature in Trump’s effort to rein in federal judges who have turned aside executive branch actions they see as without legal merit. By Jeff Barker www.baltimoresun.com/2025/07/19/m...

The People’s Republic of Takoma Park. Granola Park. Berkeley of the East. How and what is Takoma Park in Montgomery County doing in the era of ICE and Trump? I visited the city that memorialized Roscoe, a rooster honored for bringing “joy to our urban lives.” www.baltimoresun.com/2025/07/17/q...

Maryland's Cardin, ex-Foreign Relations chief, says U.S. must stand by Israel following diplomatic 'failure' www.baltimoresun.com/2025/06/13/m...

Rep. Andy Harris and D.C. have a long, personal war over marijuana and he’s not budging www.baltimoresun.com/2025/06/11/r...

U.S. is seeking release of man wrongly sent to El Salvador, but it's not Abrego Garcia, court records show www.baltimoresun.com/2025/06/03/r...

Trump is freezing flood prevention funds in Maryland's most at-risk areas, like Ellicott City, documents show www.baltimoresun.com/2025/05/29/t...

My colleague Julian Sorapuru was reading about the Pope Leo's Creole roots when a picture of Leo's family gravestone appeared -- and it bore Julian's family name. He wondered, were they related? What came next was a winding tale mixed up in the muddiness of race. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/22/n...

“I personally don’t think there should be a public subsidy,” DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson told me. “But I don’t think that position could get through the council.” Here’s what other council members and the city administrator said: — www.baltimoresun.com/2025/05/10/c...

The community in North Central West Virginia is an illustration of how each DOGE cut has a ripple effect, and in this small but bustling area, locals fear the compounding effects from the cuts could threaten their very town. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/09/n...