You're probably sick of hearing it by now. We're sorry about that. But we're only thinking of your well-being when we say it: you really ought to be watching The Wire. The stunningly complex and believable series about Baltimore's drug trade and pervasive institutional decay is only a couple of weeks into its fourth season on HBO, but the plaudits are already here in force. A 98 out of 100 on metacritic should provide some context. This is, at the very least, among the best dramas currently on TV. And now's a great time to get into it: taking a relatively fresh start, this season promises to examine Baltimore's failing school system. We're confident that by the end of it the D.C. educational system will look like the School of Athens by comparison.

Lucky for you, Campus Progress wants to help you discover the show. They'll be hosting a screening of the season's third episode at 7 p.m. this Wednesday at the Mayflower Hotel. Unfortunately, all of the RSVP slots are currently taken — but you should think about getting on the waiting list anyway, because in addition to a chance to catch the new episode early, there'll be a Q&A with creator David Simon and writer Ed Burns immediately after. If this lengthy interview with Simon is any indication, it should be an interesting chat. Besides, they've already changed venues to accomodate the large crowd once. Who knows — by the end of this process, we might all be watching it at RFK.

But if you don't get lucky on the wait list, you should tune in this Sunday anyway. And while you're at it, you might want to check out our interview with novelist and Wire writer George Pelecanos.