BPR Full Show: Return of the Wooly Mammoth

Today on Boston Public Radio:

First, we talk with listeners about their reactions to yesterday’s mayoral primary, which saw Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu and Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George take the lead for the runoff.

Joseph Allen critiques what he sees as a failure to define the country’s goals for COVID-19 reduction as a major obstacle facing the country. He also discusses how to prevent the spread of the virus indoors in buildings with poor filtration. Allen is the director of the Healthy Buildings program at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Juliette Kayyem talks about George W. Bush’s comparison between extremists in the United States and the 9/11 terrorists, and worries about an upcoming far-right rally protesting the prosecution of people charged after the Jan. 6 riot. Kayyem is an analyst for CNN, former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and faculty chair of the homeland security program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Jim Aloisi and Stacy Thompson update listeners on all things transportation. They weigh in on mayoral primary winners Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George’s platforms on transportation, and what role the mayor’s office should have in governing the city’s transport. Aloisi is the former Massachusetts transportation secretary, a member of the Transit Matters board and a contributor to Commonwealth Magazine. Thompson is executive director of Livable Streets.

Bina Venkataraman talks about her reactions to the mayoral primary and why The Boston Globe endorsed Andrea Campbell for mayor. She also discusses the possibilities presented by safe injection sites and other ideas for improving the city. Venkataraman is the editorial page editor at The Boston Globe. Her latest book is “The Optimist's Telescope: Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age.”

Art Caplan weighs in on efforts to game the system to get a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot, and urges people to start getting their annual flu shot now. He also discusses the ethics of talks of attempts to bring back the now-extinct woolly mammoth. Caplan is the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor and founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU School of Medicine in New York City.

We end the show by asking listeners their thoughts on a $370,000 parking spot listed in Boston’s South End.