BPR Full Show: There's Something in the Sky

Today on Boston Public Radio:

We begin the show by talking with listeners about the labor shortages hotels and restaurants are facing as the U.S. reopens.

Jonathan Gruber talks about Congress’ Lower Drug Costs Now Act, and shares his thoughts on possible solutions to lowering the cost of prescription drugs. Gruber is the Ford Professor of 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."

Juliette Kayyem discusses a new report that found that the Department of Homeland Security failed to analyze intelligence prior to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. She also talks about Colonial Pipeline’s decision to meet hackers’ ransom, and the Army’s prioritization of climate change as a security threat. 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.

Bina Venkataraman goes over the latest Boston Globe editorial positions, from calls to dismantle the blue wall of silence in the wake of domestic violence allegations against Dennis White, to the argument that Massachusetts is exporting gun violence through Springfield-based Smith & Wesson. 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 shares his thoughts on the Supreme Court’s agreement to review a Mississippi abortion law that bans abortions after 15 weeks, and explains how it could impact Roe v. Wade. He also talks about Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, and the organization’s updated mask guidelines. Caplan is director of the Division of Medical Ethics at the New York University School of Medicine.

Jared Bowen talks about Merrimack Repertory Theatre’s streaming of the play “A Woman of the World,” and the Huntington Theatre Company’s “Black Beans Project.” He also previewed this week’s episode of Open Studio. Bowen is GBH’s executive arts editor and the host of Open Studio.

We end the show by talking with listeners about the Pentagon’s acknowledgement of UFOs.