BPR Full Show: Rep. Ayanna Pressley calls on Biden to cancel student debt

Today on Boston Public Radio:

We begin the show by asking listeners if they think the lies of the 2020 election will repeat themselves in the 2022 midterms and 2024 presidential race.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley calls for President Joe Biden to cancel student loan debt, criticizes Governor Charlie Baker’s pandemic response and pushes for urgent action on voting rights. Pressley is the U.S. Representative for Massachusetts 7th District.

Rep. Mike Connolly weighs in on state debates over rent control, and whether he thinks there is enough momentum to get Mayor Michelle Wu’s housing plan passed. Connolly is a Massachusetts State Representative and co-sponsor of the Tenant Protection Act.

Shirley Leung talks about today’s tent demolitions at Mass. and Cass, and luxury apartment buildings providing access to rapid tests. Leung is a business columnist for The Boston Globe and a Boston Public Radio contributor.

Corby Kummer updates listeners on changes to SNAP benefits that would allow people to purchase hot meals and from restaurants, and Taco Bell’s new subscription service. Kummer is the executive director of the Food and Society policy program at the Aspen Institute, a senior editor at The Atlantic and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.

Art Caplan discusses the first heart transplant using a genetically modified pig heart, and debates over the severity of Omicron. Caplan is director of the division of medical ethics at the New York University School of Medicine.

We end the show by talking with listeners about whether they have attended large events or made other risky pandemic decisions they regret.