Boston Public Radio Podcast

We opened the phone lines to check in with listeners one day after Trump’s arraignment and the announcement of his 34 felony charges. Then, medical ethicist Art Caplan weighed in on MIT scientists who are calling for a pause in AI development, and a legal challenge to Obamacare in Texas that imperils the availability of HIV drugs, cancer screenings and other preventative care without copays. National security expert Juliette Kayyem discussed Harvard University’s police response to a hoax emergency call, Finland joining NATO and the arrest of a WSJ journalist in Russia. GBH’s Jared Bowen discussed the Elliot Norton Award nominees and a production of Coriolanus at the Actors’ Shakespeare Project. Comedian Aida Rodriguez joined us before her show at the City Winery Boston on April 12. Food policy analyst Corby Kummer discussed big dairy’s all-out push to bring Gen-Z back from nut-milk nirvana; and the rise in popularity of turbot. A new analysis based on 40 years of the research was published in JAMA, finding that even mild drinking has negative impacts. We asked listeners, will this new research impact their behavior? Or, do the stress relief and social aspects of drinking provide enough cover for them to rationalize any negative health impacts?

Today former President Donald Trump was arraigned in Manhattan. No video cameras were allowed in the courtroom. We asked listeners whether they thought the public should be able to view the proceedings. NBC Sports Boston’s Trenni Casey gave a rundown of the NCAA basketball title games, plus insights on the new Major League Baseball rules. ACLU of Massachusetts executive director Carol Rose discussed the Trump arraignment and a SCOTUS immigration case that centers on free speech. Martin Smith of Frontline discussed the new three-part series titled "America and the Taliban". Part one airs tonight on PBS. Lee Pelton, president and CEO of the Boston Foundation discussed the upcoming report that examines Black wealth in Boston. As Trump entered the courthouse, we broadcasted live to hear from Michael Curry, former federal judge Nancy Gertner and Ron Sullivan, the faculty director of the Harvard Criminal Justice Institute and the Harvard Trial Advocacy Workshop.

Today on Boston Public Radio: There’s history in the making with former president Trump being indicted. But is the media going overboard with too much Trump coverage? We opened the lines for listeners to let us know how they’re keeping afloat. Harvard labor lawyer Terri Gerstein discussed child labor laws being rolled back throughout the country. Charlie Sennott joined from Belfast to fill us in on the Good Friday Agreement, the WSJ journalist arrested for espionage in Russia, and the consequences of a "Trump revival" for foreign leaders.  E.J. Dionne discussed some of his latest columns on Biden's presidential legacy, being stuck in a "Trump world", and the departure of the chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. The Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett G. Price III on to discuss Pope Francis' illness (and announcement that he's "Still Alive"), Mel King's influence on Boston leadership and whether DeSantis can break Trump's hold on the religious right.  Film critic Odie Henderson will discuss Affleck and Damon's new movie "Air", the dungeons & dragons movie, "John Wick: Chapter 4" and the new Reggie Jackson documentary, "Reggie". We ended the show on a peculiar note — Turkeys. April is mating season for the creatures and we wanted to know about the encounters people have had with turkeys.

Jared Bowen filled in for Jim Braude at the Boston Public Library. Turns out Jim was too busy taking photos of Trump supporters outside of Mar-A-Lago. Last night the news broke about Trump’s indictment by a Manhattan grand jury. We started the show by hearing from former federal judge Nancy Gertner with her reactions and legal analysis. Then we opened the phone lines to hear from listeners. What were their reactions to the news, and what does the indictment mean for next year’s presidential election? Sue O’Connell discussed the transphobia surrounding the Tennessee mass shooting. On the lighter side, she celebrated the one-year anniversary of Wordle, and ancient artifacts that may or may not be sex toys. Corby Kummer joined to discuss the James Beard Award nominees, a meatball made from mammoth DNA and the state of food insecurity in Massachusetts. Journalist Andrea Bernstein from WNYC and co-host of the Peabody winning podcast Trump, Inc. joined to discuss Trump’s indictment. Will Dailey, a local singer/songwriter, joined for Live Music Friday. He performed two songs and spoke to Margery and Jared about his new podcast called Sound of Our Town.

Chuck Todd on the latest out of D.C., and his contentious interview last Sunday with Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina. Then we opened the phone and text lines to get listener’s take on Red Sox Opening Day. Does this mean it’s officially spring? Turns out, we have many nature-loving listeners who depend on the sound of spring peepers to signal the new season, not the ump’s call. Andrea Cabral on Chat-GPT making its way to Indian courtroom. She also discussed an indictment charge for the man who drove his car into a Hingham Apple store, the skiing trial of Gwyneth Paltrow and Adnan Syed (of “Serial” fame) getting his murder conviction reinstated. Michael Curry on accusations of racism in Wayland after a Black superintendent was placed on leave, and how some members of the NAACP are looking to get a travel advisory for Florida. He also touched on a few medical stories, including over the counter Narcan and a nursing home COVID outbreak. Elie Honig is a former federal prosecutor turned podcaster. The latest season of his show Up Against the Mob focuses on organized crime in Springfield. He joined to discuss. Kara Baskin is on to discuss some of her latest parenting/advice columns. This week it’s how to talk to your kids about gun violence, navigating perimenopause, bracing for college admissions season as a parent, and navigating a breakup/divorce during March (the month to do it, apparently). We continued the college admissions discussion by hearing from listeners. What advice would they give to parents or young kids about college?

Today on Boston Public Radio: Several schools throughout the state of Massachusetts went into lockdown after receiving swatting calls. Even though the threats are false, the impact is real. We asked listeners to share their thoughts. Michael Curry, President and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, joined to reflect on longtime Boston political activist Mel King and his legacy. Senator Elizabeth Warren joined to discuss her senate re-election bid and her demands for more oversight of the Federal Reserve. National security expert Juliette Kayyem on the Washington Post piece detailing damage done by AR-15s to young bodies and the significance of Trump at Waco. Medical ethicist Art Caplan discusses Sen. Sanders grilling Moderna for quadrupling COVID vaccine price and Cigna’s penny-pinching practice of having doctors reject claims without reading them. Boston Globe travel writer Christopher Muther talks about his latest column on a Rockport man retracing his grandfather’s path through WWI France and a new cat café in Peabody from an internet cafe in Bogotá. Naturalist Sy Montgomery discusses the battle for your garage space -- Black vs Brown widow spiders; a new study confirming neuroscience research is lacking female mice; and a wiring map of an insect’s brain hinting at vast complexity. We ended our show by going down the rabbit hole of electric cars. They seem great but does the difficulty of charging them turn people off? Listeners texted and called in to let us know.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We started off the show by asking listeners how they are responding to the devastating news of the shooting in Nashville. NBC's Sports Reporter/Anchor Trenni Casey is back and will discuss the ticking clock for Bill Belichick and the March Madness final four field. GBH's Jennifer McKim shares her latest investigative story on a Shattuck hospital surgeon sued at least 20 times for medical malpractice. James Beard award Semifinalist and co-owner of Cicada Coffee Bar Vinh Le joins to share more about his Cambridge shop. He discuss Vietnamese food while Jim and Margery try the famous Vietnamese iced coffee. GBH Executive Arts Editor Jared Bowen discusses the Italian mayor inviting the Florida principal ousted for showing sixth-graders the statue of David and the controversy over the song “Rainbowland” by Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton. Boston Globe business columnist Shirley Leung discusses the implications in Boston of SVB’s failure and more. Are Crocs really that comfortable and stylish? We wrapped up the show by asking listeners to tell us if support the Croc popularity.

Hosts Jim and Margery held a Political Weekend in Review at the top of the show to cover weekend news that caught their eyes and might’ve caught yours. Then, we opened the lines to take calls and texts from listeners to join the conversation. Massachusetts State Auditor Diana DiZoglio joined to discuss her attempt to audit the legislature and her response to Massachusetts House Speaker Ron Mariano rejecting the audit. Inaugural poet Richard Blanco joined to discuss the connection between poetry and civic engagement, how to be a “poet statesman” – he’s just received the National Humanities Medal from the White House earlier this month. Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett Price discussed the rise in antisemitic incidents in Mass last year, and a report that nearly half of LGBTQ Americans are young and claim no religion. Boston Globe Love Letters columnist Meredith Goldstein discussed some of her latest columns, including on Somerville approving an antidiscrimination ordinance to protect people in polyamorous relationships. We ended the show inspired by a piece from the Washington Post. We asked listeners where they put their kitchen goods. Do tomatoes belong in the fridge? What about ketchup?

Today on Boston Public Radio: A principal at Tallahassee Classical School is being forced out after showing sixth grade students Michelangelo’s David without the consent of parents. This isn’t the first time Florida’s made headlines from overly restrictive stunts. We asked listeners if they’re concerned about schools around the country following in Florida’s footsteps. Andy Ihnatko talks about all things AI including chatbots. He unpacks why all of this is the big deal that it is. Callie Crossley discusses Trump’s civil rape case, Chris Curtis’ suspension at WEEI, layoffs at NPR that occurred this week, and the development/future of Nubian Square.   Sue O’Connell on the Giselle Bundchen tell-all in Vanity Fair and Tom Brady’s poetic social media response… she’ll also talk about California lawmakers pushing to make Meta pay newspapers for content on their site, expansion of so-called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation in Florida and the Tallahassee principal ousted over a small feature of Michelangelo’s David. Andrea Campbell for “Ask the AG” talks about programs for the little ones, what she’s doing to enforce multifamily housing laws around MBTA stations, sports betting, Tori’s piece on the Plymouth ICE facility, and more.

We started the show by asking listeners about the future of public beaches. Are private landowners buying up coastline and how can towns protect public beach access?  Chuck Todd gave us the latest out of Washington, including what’s going on with the potential Trump indictment. Andrea Cabral discussed local law & order headlines. This week it’s the anti-vax former cop who has been following Mayor Wu around in a car. There was also the story of worker exploitation by the owner of Stash’s Pizza, some MIT students who rescued a stolen dog and the Trump supporters who are likening his arrest to the crucifixion of Christ. Marcela Garcia weighed in on some of her latest pieces. She talked TikTok bans, teen mental health and Haitian migrants in need of local sponsors. Nancy Gertner brought her judicial background to the Trump indictment story. She also talked about a free speech case involving Jack Daniels and a parody chew-toy, plus the latest in the Fox v. Dominion suit. NPR television reviewer Eric Deggans discussed Succession’s return, Yellowjackets, Lucky Hank, Ted Lasso season 3 and what he makes of the rotating cast of Daily Show hosts. We closed out the show to get listeners feedback on the World Happiness Report. The U.S. ranked 15th. Do listeners agree with this ranking? How do they think the U.S. could bump up happiness?