Boston Public Radio Podcast

Two animal rights activists charged with stealing two chickens from a truck headed for slaughter have just been acquitted, drawing attention to the cruelty of factory farming in America. According to Vox, the chickens — worth $8.16 each — were both severely ill and struggled to stand: One of the chickens (Ethan) died four days after the rescue, while the other (Jax) recovered after intensive veterinary care and now lives on a farm sanctuary. “Of course they wanted this to be publicized they set it up they wanted to be arrested and they wanted it to be brought to trial,” said Kummer. “It’s great, what the discovery led to in the trial. For example these animals were too sick to be slaughtered, they had bacteria in their systems that could’ve led to human illness.” Corby Kummer is 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

Sports betting is now legal in Massachusetts. We opened the phones to hear listener opinions. Are they concerned about the occasional gambler sliding to addict, or are they all-in on the potential to win big? Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed a company setting up shop in Massachusetts to offer full body scans powered by AI, and how Boston scientists are getting closer to growing human eggs in a lab. National security expert Juliette Kayyem discussed the potential Trump indictment and new reporting out of Uvalde that police feared the shooter’s “battle rifle.” Roger Berkowitz join Jim and Margery in the studio to talk about his new business Roger’s Fish Co., which launched earlier this month. Boston Globe business columnist Shirley Leung discussed the growth of Upham’s Corner, the sale of real estate in Newton forcing the closure of a Catholic school and how some Asian students in Boston Public Schools feel like an afterthought. Food policy writer Corby Kummer discussed the development of an American aperitif and Lunchables making their way from grocery stores into public school lunch offerings. We ended the show by asking listeners whether their town has a "Buy Nothing" group. Are they prolific "buy nothing-ers" and what’s their most interesting find?

The UN climate change report was released on Monday and we opened the lines to get listener’s reactions to impending climate disasters. NBC Sports Boston anchor/reporter Trenni Casey continues to cover March Madness and the slippery slope of placing online bets. Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, discusses various transparency issues in the state, including Healey's pledge to be the most transparent governor, and a Supreme Judicial Court ruling in favor of the right to be rude at public meetings. Arlo Guthrie, folk singer-songwriter, joins via zoom ahead of an event at the Shubert Center April 1. GBH's Executive Arts Editor Jared Bowen discusses Don Quixote at the Boston Ballet, and the Gardner celebrates the 33 year anniversary of their heist by closing down over the weekend because of a climate protest. CNN chief national correspondent John King joins via zoom for a politics segment. We closed the show with the discussion of the city’s proposal of the ban of nips. We wanted to know if our listeners are pro nip or pro ban on the little bottles.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened the lines to ask listeners what their thoughts are surrounding the impending indictment of Former President Donald Trump. A national/local politics panel with Charlie Chieppo of Pioneer Institute and Michael Curry of Mass League of Community Health Centers & NAACP national board A transit panel with former transportation secretary Jim Aloisi & executive director of Livable Streets Stacy Thompson A discussion of the American banking system with Frontline correspondent James Jacoby, on their latest film “Age of Easy Money” All Rev’d Up on BPR, with Revs Irene Monroe and Emmett Price joined us again. Travel guru Rick Steves joins to discussed European travel in 2023, and specifically how the Netherlands is grappling with climate change. We wrapped up our show with discussion of expensive concert tickets and how the live music experience is slowly becoming exclusive to the affluent.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened the lines to ask listeners what their thoughts were on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision’s right to be rude at public meetings. Marty Baron joins us in person to talk about the state of journalism and the legacy behind him. Baron to be editor of the Globe before switching over to lead the Washington Post. He's in town wrapping up a two day fellowship award ceremony at Brandeis and has a book due out in October. Environmentalist Bill McKibben is back to discuss Biden’s approval of the Willow Project, and other climate change headlines. Comedian Fortune Feimster is touring her latest show, “Live Laugh Love!” She’ll be stopping by the Wilbur tonight and tomorrow. Callie Crossley is on to talk about SCOTUS oversight (and lack of it), a lawsuit involving Amazon stores and the collection of face data, “Naatu Naatu” winning best song at the Oscars, and debate over the best fast-food fish sandwich. Folks from Boston’s Metropolitan Chorale and the Celtic outfit Fellswater are joining for a St. Patrick’s-y Live Music Friday, ahead of a joint performance tomorrow night at the JFK Presidential Library. We ended the show by asking listeners if they’re guilty of the Irish goodbye.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Are you a TikTok addict? We opened the lines to ask listeners about their thoughts on the proposed ban on TikTok in the United States. Chuck Todd is for his weekly Washington roundup. Andrea Cabral discuses the fired Boston Police Department officers, plus Biden’s executive order on guns, how Boston’s preparing against white supremacists at the St. Patrick’s Day parade, and the story of an African serval cat who was found with Cocaine in it's system at a traffic stop. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley will join to talk about a letter she’s sending to the FDA about the health risks of hair relaxers. She’ll also talk about the SVB collapse and whether we need to bring back banking regulations, student loan debt relief and more. Shirley Leung will talk mobile sports betting, MBTA/housing law enforcement, SVB closure’s impact on Boston and other business headlines. Jacqueline Novak is a standup comedian and storyteller who’s been on Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers. She's here before her upcoming show at The Wilbur. We ended the show by sharing the announcement that the French Bulldog has become the most popular dog according to the American Kennel Club. We asked listeners to share their favorite dog breed.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Our show began by opening up the lines for our listeners to share if they believe our country is goin backwards as state legislatures fight to roll back trans and gay rights, reproductive rights, and child labor laws. GBH’s Jeremy Siegel and Nicci Kadilak of the Burlington Buzz join to discuss Jeremy’s reporting on local news Medical ethicist Art Caplan discusses the GOP trap of the COVID lab leak theory: He argues we should be talking about lousy security, underfunding, poor pay, etc in labs, not just “zoonotic spillover” Food policy writer Corby Kummer discusses the end of COVID SNAP benefits, and food makers pushing ‘sleep’ snacks (night cereal) Alejandra Caraballo, clinical instructor at Harvard Law’s cyberlaw clinic and a former staff attorney at the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, discusses pushes to roll back trans rights. Nick Quah, Vulture mag’s podcast critic discusses his favorite podcasts of the year so far, and delves into podcasting’s market shift away from big money in new projects. We ended the show by asking listeners to share their thoughts on forming relationships with AI and chatbots.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Boston Mayor Michelle Wu joined for “Ask the Mayor,” discussing the Globe's public records request stating that she does not use text for anything work related and taking listener calls. NBC Sports Boston anchor and reporter Trenni Casey discussed March Madness, online betting’s launch in Mass., and the Natural Selection snowboarding competition. GBH executive arts editor Jared Bowen covered the MFA exhibiting enslaved Black potters’ work in ‘Hear Me Now’, the biggest showing of Vermeer paintings ever at the Rijksmuseum selling out, and U.S. Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally comments on suggestive Instagram photos. Lee Pelton, CEO & President of the Boston Foundation, discussed Boston’s reparations task force, and a new round of funding from TBF from the “Business Equity Fund”, and the high costs of childcare. John King joins for the latest political headlines including Biden's administration approval of The Willow Project. King is CNN’s chief National Correspondent and anchor of "Inside Politics." We closed the show by asking listeners about their experiences during the Nor’easter. Do they still feel confident against freezing weather or have they gotten to used to the warmer weather this season?

Today on Boston Public Radio: We started off the show by asking listeners about their financial concerns following the U.S. bank failures. Jennifer Nassour & Jesse Mermell joined for a political panel and discussed Sen. Elizabeth Warren's comment on Boston Public Radio that made national headlines regarding her support for President Joe Biden's reelection. When asked if she would support Vice President Kamala Harris on the 2024 ticket, she said, “I really want to defer to what makes Biden comfortable on his team.” Soon after, she told GBH News that she “fully” supports a Biden-Harris ticket. Boston Globe columnist Renée Graham joined to discuss her latest columns, from Fox News and Tucker Carlson’s “big lies” to growing watching and loving the drag character Geraldine Jones played by Flip Wilson. She would even be allowed to stay up past her bedtime to watch this show. Matt Ruskin wrote and directed Hulu’s new movie focused on the two women who broke the Boston Strangler story. He came on Boston Public Radio ahead of the release next week of “Boston Strangler” for a spoiler-free peek into the making of the film. He talks about how he got interested in the story and his respect for journalism. The Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett G. Price III discussed lawmakers reconsidering the secrecy of the confessional, Pope Francis' statement on celibacy requirements and today marking 10 years since Francis was elected to be head of the Catholic Church. Boston Globe’s film critic Odie Henderson talked about the Oscars and getting 16 out of 23 of his predicted winners right. He shares how watching the Oscars brings people together. We wrapped up the show by discussing single-use plastic bags vs reusable tote bags. A new CNN story reports that it takes about 7,100 uses for a reusable bag to be environmentally friendly.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened the lines to hear from listeners three years into COVID-19. Boston Medical Center’s Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett discussed the real-world impact of corporations and big money on our health and wellness. GBH's Callie Crossley, host of Under the Radar with Callie Crossley, discussed the announcement this week from the Justice Department that Louisville Police Department routinely discriminates against Black residents. The Department of Justice investigated the police department in the wake of Breonna Taylor's killing in 2020. Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed the ethics of medical tourism. He’s the Drs. William F and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor and founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU School of Medicine in New York City. Sue O’Connell discussed Tennessee's push to revoke marriage equality. She's the co-publisher of Bay Windows and South End News, and contributor to Current, on NBC L-X and NECN. We heard from the LGBT-centered chorus Coro Allegro for Live Music Friday, and spoke with Artistic Director David Hodgkins and Executive Director Yoshi Campbell. We ended the show by opening the lines to hear from listeners about -- and allow Jim his annual commentary calling for -- permanent Daylight Saving Time.