BPR Full Show: Racing to Space

Today on Boston Public Radio:

EJ Dionne talks about the death of former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards. He also weighs in on the Supreme Court’s ruling on two Arizona voting laws, and term limits for Supreme Court justices. Dionne is a columnist for The Washington Post and a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution. His latest book is "Code Red: How Progressives And Moderates Can Unite To Save Our Country.”

Next, we talk with listeners about state Rep. Edward Coppinger’s proposal to add an extra, opt-in year of learning for high school students.

Charlie Sennott discusses the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, and shares his thoughts on Haiti’s calls for U.S. military presence in the wake of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination. Sennott is a GBH News analyst and the founder and CEO of The GroundTruth Project.

Adam Reilly and Saraya Wintersmith update us on the latest news from the Boston mayoral race and Massachusetts governor’s race, from former Boston Police Chief Dennis White’s claims of gender and racial discrimination to republican Geoff Diehl’s gubernatorial campaign launch. Reilly is co-host of GBH’s Politics podcast, “The Scrum.” Saraya Wintersmith covers Boston City Hall for GBH.

Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett G. Price III share their thoughts on the removal of multiple Confederate statues in Charlottesville, and Parents United’s demands for “true diversity of thought” in New England private schools. Monroe is a syndicated religion columnist, the Boston voice for Detour’s African American Heritage Trail, and a visiting researcher in the Religion and Conflict Transformation Program at the Boston University School of Theology. Price is the founding pastor of Community of Love Christian Fellowship in Allston. Together, they host GBH’s All Rev’d Up podcast.

Richard Blanco explains the craft behind the letter poem, and highlights examples of letters as poems. Blanco is the fifth inaugural poet in U.S. history. His new book, "How To Love A Country," deals with various socio-political issues that shadow America.

We wrap up the show by asking listeners how they felt about Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk’s space race.