
Boston Public Radio Podcast
Join hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan for a smart local conversation with leaders and thinkers shaping Boston and New England. We feature our favorite conversation from each show. To hear the full show, please visit wgbhnews.org/bpr To share your opinion, email bpr@wgbh.org or call or text 877-301-8970 during the live broadcast from 11AM-2PM Monday through Friday.
Latest episodes

Apr 16, 2025 • 2h 41min
BPR Full Show 4/16: ICE Agents & Smashed Windows
Michael Curry joins via zoom to discuss the federal funding freeze impacts on medical research and healthcare in Mass, and Healey's budget request for cuts to mental health.Juliette Kayyem discusses the attack on PA Gov Josh Shapiro, and normalized violence; Harvard's defiance; plus, DHS staffers given lie detector tests over alleged leaks.Christopher Kimball discusses Milk Street's latest Italian cookbook "Backroads Italy"Boston Globe's Shirley Leung discusses the threats to Boston's biotech industry under Trump 2.0; and the families on child-care vouchers waiting more than a year for care.

Apr 15, 2025 • 41min
Best Of BPR 4/15: Black Business Owners Warn Of Recession & Ken Burns On The American Revolution
Today:We check back in with local Black entrepreneurs Rose Staram and Ricardo Pierre Louis on today's environment for BIPOC-owned businesses -- both had secured major contracts two years ago when Boston hosted the NAACP’s national convention. And, legendary filmmakers Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein discuss their six-part, 12 hour docu-series coming this fall: “The American Revolution"

Apr 15, 2025 • 2h 42min
BPR Full Show 4/15: Harvard Will Not Comply
Filmmakers Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein join to discuss their American Revolution series, premiering later this year.We check back in with Rose Staram (RoseMark Production) and Ricardo Pierre Louis (Prive Parking) two local business owners we've spoken with since the NAACP convention in Boston around the city's contracting policies as it relates to people of color.Sports authority Trenni Casey zooms in to discuss Rory McIlroy winning the Masters, the Boston Marathon field, NBA playoffs.CNN's John King zooms in for the latest national political headlines.

Apr 14, 2025 • 28min
Best Of BPR 4/14: Another Oval Office Stunt & Harvard Says They Will Not Comply
Today:Retired federal judge Nancy Gertner discusses the Trump administration’s defiance of a court order to return the wrongfully deported Abrego Garcia – still locked up in a mega prison in El Salvador. Meanwhile, in the Oval Office, Trump welcomed El Salvadoran president Bukele with open arms.And, Princeton’s Khalil Gribran Muhammad discusses which schools are standing up and which schools are rolling over for Trump, while news breaks of Harvard's intention to defy Trump's demands.

Apr 14, 2025 • 2h 33min
BPR Full Show 4/14: We Have New Music
Food policy analyst Corby Kummer discusses the hollowing out of middle-class restaurant and how local restaurants are grappling with tariffs.Retired federal judge Nancy Gertner discusses the legal battle over the mistakenly deported man Kilmar Abrego Garcia.Boston Globe travel writer Christopher Muther discusses the sexy clowns of Montreal and the growing number of Americans applying for dual citizenship.Princeton professor Khalil Gibran Muhammad discusses Trump's attack on the Smithsonian as an attempt to erase Black history, and the latest on Harvard University vs. the Trump Administration.

Apr 11, 2025 • 2h 30min
BPR Full Show 4/11: We Love A Terrier
It's Live Music Friday with the Music Inclusion Ensemble, ahead of their year-end show at the Berklee Performance Center. We talk with founder Adrian Anantawan, singer/songwriter/disability rights advocate Gaelynn Lea and violist Connor Valcy.NBC Boston's Sue O’Connell on the second Karen Read trial jury selection and the toxic online discourse that still surrounds the case.Lyndia Downie of the Pine Street Inn joins to celebrate the opening of a new affordable housing center aptly named… “The Lyndia.” She's joined by the building's architect, Eric Robinson, to talk about Beacon Hill’s latest efforts to boost the shelter system and combat homelessness as federal funds dry up.BU disinformation researcher Joan Donovan talks about how billionaires like Zuckerberg and Musk are laying the groundwork for oligarchy, AI’s promise and pitfalls and her role in recent peaceful Tesla protests.

Apr 11, 2025 • 2h 40min
BPR Full Show 4/10: AITA For Not Sharing My Location?
BPR Full Show 4/10: AITA For Not Sharing My Location?

Apr 9, 2025 • 31min
Best Of BPR 4/09: Juliette Kayyem's Risk Assessment For Travel Abroad & Auditor DiZoglio Is Still Singing Her Tune
Today:National security expert Juliette Kayyem offers a risk assessment for international college students – and anyone planning on traveling outside the country – as the Trump administration ramps up visa revocations. Plus, auditor Diana DiZoglio is still trying to deliver on the overwhelmingly voter-supported legislation that would authorize her to audit the legislature.

Apr 9, 2025 • 2h 32min
BPR Full Show 4/09: Primitive Lemon Squeezers
GBH executive arts editor Jared Bowen discusses "It's A Motherf**king Pleasure" at ArtsEmerson and "Don't Eat The Mangos" at the Huntington. Harvard national security expert Juliette Kayyem discusses the Supreme Court's ruling on Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport migrants and the crusade against free speech concerning Palestinian support on college campuses.It's a Passover panel with Mamaleh's co-founders Rachel Miller-Munzer and Rachel Sundet, plus Lehrhaus co-founder Rabbi Charlie Schwartz.State auditor Diana DiZoglio discusses constitutional concerns about the voter-backed legislation that would let her office audit the legislature.

Apr 8, 2025 • 2h 32min
BPR Full Show 4/08: Ask The Mayor with Michelle Wu
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu joins for Ask The Mayor.Then NBC Sports Boston anchor/reporter Trenni Casey discusses an NCAA $2.8 billion settlement, the Red Sox Mookie Betts trade getting Trump's attention and the Women's Final Four. CNN's John King zooms in for the latest national political headlines.Plus, Andris Nelsons & Chad Smith of the Boston Symphony Orchestra join ahead of a Friday Yo-Yo Ma performance of the works of Shostakovich.
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