BPR Full Show: A Lesson In Happiness

Today on Boston Public Radio:

We opened the show by taking our listener’s calls to ask if they miss a traditional New England winter as we experience another season with lower-than-average snow totals.

Dr. Robert Waldinger, a psychiatrist and researcher at Harvard University, came on to discuss the findings from the longest-ever study on happiness. The study found that investment in relationships with friends, partners and coworkers paid dividends for long-term health and happiness.

GBH News' Callie Crossley talked about a GBH News story featuring a man who says that the Worcester police has pulled him over in his car more than 70 times. She also weighed in on the mixed reactions to "The Embrace" statue one week after its unveiling. She also criticized the decision by Florida's state education department to ban the teaching of an Advanced Placement course on African-American history. Crossley is the host of "Under the Radar with Callie Crossley", which you can catch Sunday nights on 89-7 at 6:00p.m. She’s also the host of “Basic Black,” which airs Fridays on TV at 7:30, you can also hear her “Callie Commentaries” on Mondays for GBH’s Morning Edition.

Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez is the comic book artist behind the best-selling series "La Borinqueña", about a Puerto Rican superhero who battles climate doom. He explained the reason for launching her story, and how he broke through some resistance in mainstream publishing to centering stories around characters of color. He also talked about his close friendship with Rosario Dawson. Miranda-Rodriguez's work is now on display at Boston University.

NBC Boston's Sue O’Connell discussed the reports that Republican Congressman used to be a drag queen in Brazil, and how his denial adds to the mountain of his existing lies. She also talked about the prosecutorial strategy behind charging Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly shooting and killing a crew member on set of "Rust"with a prop gun he says he didn't know was loaded with live rounds. Then she commented on the media treatment of New Zealand Prime Minist Jacinda Ardern following her announcment that she won't be seeking reelection.

Patricia-Maria Weinmann and Greg Smucker, the co-artistic directors behind the Boston Opera Collaborative, joined to discuss their new "Opera Bites" series. The prgoram offers seven brand-new 10-minute opera perofrmances to provide an entry-point for people unfamiliar with the medium. Then some members of their company performed a few songs.

Then we ended the show by having a call-in segment where we asked our listeners how they feel about drivers who travel too slowly in the fast lane. The discussion comes as South Carolina considers a law that could raise the financial penalties for people who don't move out of the fast lane.