Boston Public Radio Podcast

Today on Boston Public Radio, live from the Boston Public Library: We opened the phone lines to hear from listeners about the future of automation and what it means for their careers and livelihoods. Nancy Gertner gave us the rundown on the latest legal headlines, including the Supreme Court’s opinion on student loans, and a case on whether the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is constitutional. Judge Gertner also reflected on a recent Texas judge’s ruling on abortion pills. Gov. Maura Healey joined live from the Boston Public Library for “Ask the Governor.” She answered questions on her new tax plan & budget, housing, Massachusetts State Police reform, transparency, the new Black Empowerment Council, plus climate & MBTA dysfunction. Alison King & Shira Stoll from NBC News talked about their series “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of New Hampshire.” President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden recently dined at The Red Hen in DC and ordered the same meal. Is this weird to order the exact same meal at a restaurant as your dining partner? We had listeners weigh in.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Reuters recently documented 220 instances of death threats and harassment against school board members. We opened the lines to hear thoughts from teachers, students, and everyone in between. Juliette Kayyem discuss her latest column on how Musk destroyed “disaster response Twitter” and clears up the facts surrounding the COVID lab leak theory. She also touched on Murdoch's acknowledgement on Fox News hosts endorsing election fraud lies. Kayyem was former assistant secretary for homeland security under President Barack Obama, and is faculty chair of the homeland-security program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. For the remainder of the show, we were on tape replaying some of our favorite recent conversations with Satirist Andy Borowitz; Drag queen Nina West – also known as Andrew Levitt; Elle Simone Scott from America’s Test Kitchen and Ray Angry, keyboardist for the legendary Roots.

It’s official! Jim and Margery have been on the GBH airwaves for 10 years. To celebrate their tin anniversary, we’re publishing their first-ever show as hosts of Boston Public Radio. Take a listen to see how much has changed – and how much hasn’t – with guests Rep. Stephen Lynch, political analysts Peter Kadzis and Todd Domke, Harvard’s Daniel Shrag, GBH’s Jared Bowen and culture reporter Joyce Kulhawik. An enormous thank-you to all you listeners who’ve with us over the last decade! Looking at you, John in Gardner.

Today on Boston Public Radio, live from the Boston Public Library: The Supreme Court heard arguments this week from a handful of Republican states wishing to invalidate President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. We opened the lines to get listeners’ thoughts on the plan. NBC Sports’ Trenni Casey discussed baseball’s new pitch clock rules, Tom Brady’s news gig at Fox Sports, an unbelievable ‘ice mile’ swim in Boston’s Pleasure Bay and the Fur Rendezvous winter festival in Alaska. Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers’ Michael Curry joined us — fresh off a red-eye flight — to discuss the 2023 NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles, Gov. Maura Healey’s new advisory council on Black empowerment and the nursing home crisis in Massachusetts. GBH News’ Worcester reporter Sam Turken and Worcester resident Dave Vespucci joined Jim and Margery at the Boston Public Library to discuss Sam’s latest piece for GBH News’ Priced Out series, a story that detailed Vespucci’s long search for a new home in Worcester. GBH News Executive Arts Editor Jared Bowen shared stories from his recent trip to the South, where he visited the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, sites associated with Emmett Till’s murder and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. CNN’s John King discussed the latest national political headlines, including actions by Fox News executives during the Jan. 6 insurrection, the state attorneys general leading the student loan forgiveness lawsuits and the future of the Republican Party. We opened the lines to hear from listeners about pickleball. Do they have a loved one with symptoms of the made-up “Pickleball Derangement Syndrome,” or are they the ones spending all their time playing the noisy sport?

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened the show talking with parents about navigating screen time for teenagers. Vsevolod Petriv and Tetiana Litus reflect on the one-year anniversary since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Petriv is president of the Boston Branch of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.  Angelo Carusone discussed Kevin McCarthy sharing security footage from the January 6th insurrection to Fox News' Tucker Carlson. He also touched on Fox News' attitude towards Marjorie Taylor Greene messaging on a "national divorce" and Fox's latest hire of Curt Schilling.  Corby Kummer discussed a new restaurant gallery opening in Allston and weighs in on the gas vs. electric stove heated debate. He also discussed the union efforts at an upscale NY restaurant where servers push for higher pay and adequate equipment. He explains the latest marketing food stunt -- Peeps-flavored Pepsi.  Richard Blanco read poetry to highlight Black History month. Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett Price discussed rural Idaho seeing more right leaning Christians settling and what it means for Seattle to become the first city in the U.S. to ban caste discrimination. They also discussed Kung Fu Nuns in Nepal and addressed the 'Dilbert' comic strip that was dropped from numerous newspapers after the creator's racist remarks. We opening phone and text lines to talk about the phone call, and phone call etiquette.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened the lines to hear from listeners about the dismissal of Canadian news anchor Lisa LaFlemme after letting her hair go gray. Is there a double standard when it comes to women, hair and age? Amber Payne joined Jim and Margery to discuss racial equity in the United States and commemorate the one-year anniversary of The Boston Globe’s relaunch of The Emancipator. The GroundTruth Project’s Charlie Sennott discussed the legacy of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the difficulties facing Ukrainian journalists and President Joe Biden’s visit to Kyiv. GBH Kids Executive Producers Marisa Wolsky and Marcy Gunther spoke about the latest show from GBH and PBS, Work It Out Wombats. Zeke, the youngest wombat character, made an appearance at the library. GBH’s Callie Crossley discussed the sentencing of Harvey Weinstein and R. Kelly for sex crimes, and a new technique to detect bruises on Black skin. Gerami Groover Flores, executive director of the Hamilton Garrett Center for Music & Arts, was joined by Rev. Emmett G. Price III to talk about their upcoming fundraiser “Make them Hear You.” Student drumline players from Hamilton Garrett school performed for Live Music Friday. We opened the lines to hear from listeners about how they like their coffee. Does a hot cup of joe bring them happiness, or do they think Starbucks’ new olive oil marketing gimmick is worth a try?

For those of you out there who’ve already signed up for every TV streaming service, there’s a new subscription model to sink your money into: restaurants. Corby Kummer discusses with Boston Public Radio the different ways restaurants have reinvented themselves and evolved to stay in business since the start of the pandemic. 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

Today on Boston Public Radio: NBC's Chuck Todd discussed the latest national political headlines, including statements from the Georgia grand jury foreperson about their inquiry into former president Donald Trump's interference in the 2020 election in that state. We opened the lines to hear from listeners about Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene's statements that red states and blue states should engage in a "national divorce," essentially separating the United States into two political factions. Food policy writer Corby Kummer discussed how restaurants have pivoted since the start of the pandemic, like by offering subscriptions to receive certain perks. Tech writer Andy Ihnatko discussed the rollout of Microsoft's revamped Bing search engine, powered by AI. Author Karen Baum Gordon discussed her new book "The Last Letter: A Father’s Struggle, A Daughter's Quest, And The Long Shadow Of The Holocaust.” Sue O'Connell, co-publisher of Bay Windows and South End News, and contributor to Current, on NBC L-X and NECN, discussed the legacy of former president Jimmy Carter, who has entered hospice care at age 98. We opened the lines to hear from listeners about a proposed law in Florida that would prohibit dogs from sticking any part of their bodies out of the window, riding in the driver's lap or on motorcycles.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened the show by hearing from listeners about a Mass. exodus, based on a Boston Globe report that more than 100,000 residents have left the state since the start of the pandemic. Medical ethicist Art Caplan discusses the “pure blood” movement, grown out of anti-vaccine groups who say receiving blood transfusions from people who have had the COVID vaccine contaminates their body. 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. Jim Aloisi and Stacy Thompson joined for a transit panel to discuss slowdowns and service disruptions on the MBTA. Jim Aloisi is former transportation secretary, a member of the Transit Matters Board, and contributor to Commonwealth Magazine. Stacy Thompson is executive director of the Livable Streets. Nadia Alawa and Onur Altindag joined to discuss relief efforts for people affected by the earthquakes along the Syria/Turkey border. Nadia Alawa is the founder of NuDay Syria, which focuses on Syrian women and children. Onur Altindag is a Turkish-American economics professor who’s raising money through the Turkish Philanthropic Funds and has conducted research in Gaziantep. Jenna Schlags, director of finance and operations for Kendall Square's new makerspace The Foundry, joined with Georgia Lyman, executive director of Liars and Believers, a theatre company performing at the Foundry this week. We ended the show by hearing from listeners about the T's dysfunction.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened phone and text lines to check in with parents and teachers about school vacation week, and the struggle balancing work and childcare. Trenni Casey discussed sexual assault allegations raised by local Olympic runner Lynn Jennings against her former coach. She also spoke on Joe Mazulla becoming the Celtics’ new head coach, and blowback to a sexist joke made by golf star Tiger Woods. Jared Bowen reacted to a recently shattered dog balloon sculpture by acclaimed artist Jeff Koons. He also talked about a coffee shop-slash-motorcycle art exhibit in Roxbury, and some other local happenings in the world of arts & culture. Jack Lepiarz spoke about transitioning from the world of radio host to Guinness record-holding whipper and Tik Tok star. He also demonstrated his talents on a piece of pasta held by host Jim Braude. Susan Goldberg spoke about her vision for the future of GBH as a news and public media organization, two months into her tenure as President and CEO. John King discussed Biden’s speech in Warsaw, Poland, marking a year of war in Ukraine. He also spoke about Fox News host Tucker Carlson getting access to hours of January 6th security camera footage. We closed out Tuesday’s show by opening phone and text lines to hear listener’s thoughts on war in Ukraine, one year into the conflict.