BPR Full Show: Back to School

Today on Boston Public Radio:

First, we talk with listeners about the school bus driver shortage on back to school day.

Denise Dilanni previews the new series from GBH, “The Future of Work,” about the current transformation of the American workforce brought by automation, the gig economy and COVID-19. The show airs on GBH2 on Sept. 15, the PBS Video app and the PBS Voices YouTube Channel. Dilanni is an executive producer at GBH and the series’ creator.

Ambassador Philippe Etienne talks about the effect of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on Europe, and the impact of our nation’s withdrawal from Afghanistan on European peace efforts in the mid-east country. He also talks about America’s relationship with France under President Joe Biden, and the success of his country’s vaccine “health pass” system. Etienne is the French ambassador to the United States.

Paul Reville discusses the return of Mass. students to classrooms amid the Delta variant and fights over mask mandates, vaccines and school bus shortages. Reville is the former Massachusetts secretary of education and a professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, where he also heads the Education Redesign Lab. His latest book, co-authored with Lynne Sacks, is “Collaborative Action for Equity and Opportunity: A Practical Guide for School and Community Leaders.”

Then, we continue our conversation with listeners about going back to school during the pandemic.

Jon Gruber talks about the connection between a lack of abortion rights and worse lifetime outcomes, in the wake of the new Texas law. Gruber teaches economics at MIT. He was instrumental in creating both the Massachusetts health-care reform and the Affordable Care Act, and his latest book is "Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth And The American Dream."

In light of Boston Globe business columnist Shirley Leung's recent piece about the plight of hotel workers, we open phone lines to ask listeners their thoughts on hotel companies recommending guests forgo daily room cleanings at the expense of staff.