Boston Public Radio Podcast

Today on Boston Public Radio: EJ Dionne weighs in on what the infrastructure bill, the Virginia mayoral race and the status of voting rights and the filibuster all mean for Democrats in 2022. 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." Then, we ask listeners about whether they have hope in the U.S. political system, or if the country is doomed to political silos. Acting Mayor Kim Janey reflects on her time as the first woman and first person of color to lead the city, how she brought her lived experiences to the job and what’s next for her after mayor-elect Michelle Wu takes office. Janey is acting mayor of Boston. Michael Curry discusses the state of the pandemic, including the availability of COVID-19 treatment pills, and a push from legislators to save local hospitals. Curry is the president and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and a member of Gov. Charlie Baker’s COVID Vaccine Advisory Group. He’s also a member of the National NAACP Board of Directors and chair of the board’s advocacy and policy committee. Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett G. Price III argue that medical professionals need to go into churches to promote the COVID-19 vaccine, and talk about the role of white women in elections. Monroe is a syndicated religion columnist, the Boston voice for Detour’s African American Heritage Trail and co-host of the All Rev’d Up podcast. Price is the founding pastor of Community of Love Christian Fellowship in Allston, the Inaugural Dean of Africana Studies at Berklee College of Music and co-host of the All Rev’d Up podcast. Ali Noorani talks about cycles of anger towards immigrants, why it is so hard to unite the country around immigration issues and how to ease the Green Card backlog. Noorani is the president and chief executive officer of the National Immigration Forum. His forthcoming book is “Crossing Borders: The Reconciliation of a Nation of Immigrants.” We end the show by asking listeners if their opinions towards marijuana have changed after five years of legalization.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Shirley Leung discusses what Mayor-elect Michelle Wu’s win means for the Asian American community, and her latest piece on how female entrepreneurs secure venture funding in a male-dominated industry. Leung is a business columnist for The Boston Globe and a Boston Public Radio contributor. Then, we ask listeners about whether they plan to vaccinate their children aged 5-11. Callie Crossley talks about Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers lying about his vaccination status following his COVID-19 diagnosis. She also critiques the omnipresence of pink products for breast cancer awareness, as a form of “pinkwashing” in which companies fail to actually contribute to breast cancer research. Crossley hosts GBH’s Under the Radar and Basic Black. Andy Ihnatko criticizes Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook’s rebranding as Meta, and tells listeners how to proactively maximize their phone’s emergency features. Ihnatko is a tech writer and blogger, posting at Ihnatko.com. Sue O’Connell discusses Katie Couric’s memoir “Going There,” and the Senate confirmation of Justice Beth Robinson, the first openly LGBTQ+ woman to serve on any federal district court. O’Connell is the co-publisher of Bay Windows and the South End News, as well as NECN's political commentator and explainer-in-chief. Thato Mwosa previews her latest film, “Memoirs of a Black Girl,” a coming of age story about a Black girl growing up in Roxbury up for a city-wide scholarship, and the decisions she must make to survive high school. Mwosa is an award-winning illustrator, screenwriter, playwright, filmmaker, and film teacher at Brookline High. “Memoirs of a Black Girl,” is available to stream online through Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play and other video on demand services. We end the show by asking listeners their opinions on daylight savings time, as clocks turn back an hour this Sunday.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Chuck Todd begins the show by unpacking Tuesday’s election, including what Glenn Youngkin’s win for Virginia mayor means for Democrats and the role of education as a dividing issue. Todd is the moderator of “Meet the Press,” host of “Meet the Press Daily” on MSNBC and the political director for NBC News. Then, we ask listeners about their reactions to the election, including Youngkin’s win and Boston Mayor-elect Michelle Wu’s win. Andrea Cabral talks about why only one Black juror was chosen in the trial of Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael and William Bryan, who shot Ahmaud Arbery in February 2020. Cabral is the former Suffolk County sheriff and the former Massachusetts secretary of public safety. She is currently the CEO of the cannabis company Ascend. Paul Reville weighs in on why he maintains hope following Tuesday’s election, and his thoughts on Wu’s education plan. Reville is the former Massachusetts secretary of education and a professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, where he also heads the Education Redesign Lab. His latest book, co-authored with Lynne Sacks, is “Collaborative Action for Equity and Opportunity: A Practical Guide for School and Community Leaders.” Tori Bedford discusses her recent reporting on Mass. and Cass following Acting Mayor Kim Janey’s executive order, including the state of arrests, tent clearings, and proceedings at a makeshift courthouse in the Suffolk County House of Correction. Bedford covers Boston’s neighborhoods, including Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan for GBH. Jon Gruber draws parallels between the government in the hit Korean show “Squid Game” and the United States, including who viewers and voters find culpable for poverty and why rich countries fail to care for their poor. Gruber teaches economics at MIT. He was instrumental in creating both the Massachusetts health-care reform and the Affordable Care Act, and his latest book is “Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth And The American Dream.” We end the show by asking listeners whether they would eat insects, which was proposed as a solution to the environmental effect of farming at the U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by asking listeners about their reactions to the results of election day yesterday. Art Caplan weighs in on how the country should approach vaccinating children aged 5-11, and why even some vaccinated parents might be hesitant to vaccinate their young children. Caplan is 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. Juliette Kayyem breaks down the latest news across the political divide, including the meaning of new Republican catchphrase “let’s go Brandon,” and a QAnon rally in Dallas yesterday, where supporters expected John F. Kennedy Jr. to emerge, despite having died over 20 years ago. Kayyem is an analyst for CNN, former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and faculty chair of the homeland security program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Meredith Goldstein takes questions from listeners on all things love, including on how having a baby changes relationships and how short men can cope with the insecurities of dating apps. Goldstein is an advice columnist and features writer for the Boston Globe. Her advice column, Love Letters, is a daily dispatch of wisdom for the lovelorn that has been running for more than a decade. She also hosts the Love Letters podcast. Jared Bowen previews this weekend’s theater events, including “Macbeth In Stride” at the ART, “Hadestown” at Broadway in Boston, and “WITCH” at the Huntington, as well as tours of two Frank Lloyd Wright houses in New Hampshire. Bowen is GBH’s executive arts editor and the host of Open Studio. We end the show by continuing our conversation with listeners about their reaction to yesterday’s election.

Craigie on Main, The Asgard, Tiger Mama, The Kinsale — these are just a few examples from a long list of Boston-area restaurants that have shuttered during the pandemic. With the end to outdoor dining this winter and uncertainty around the future of COVID, more restaurants could meet the same fate. “It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” Corby Kummer told Boston Public Radio on Tuesday. “There's so many factors, all of them precipitated by the close downs of the pandemic.” Long-term, industry-wide issues, such as low profit margins and low pay for restaurant staff, were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, restaurants are facing new pandemic-era challenges in the high number of staffers leaving the industry and “fights over rent,” as was the case of Eastern Standard and Island Creek Oyster Bar in Kenmore Square. Kummer notes that some restaurants, however, may have closed due to inadequate business planning. “Some very sharp business people are saying [that] there are so many restaurant business people who shouldn’t have been in business in the first place, if they didn’t have three months of reserves or if they didn’t know how to write a business plan,” he said. “That means there should be more assistance to restaurant owners on how to run businesses.” Kummer is the 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: We begin the show by asking listeners about their experiences with election day, and talking with Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George about their final pitches for their candidacy as voters head to the polls. Tenni Kusnierek discuss former Chicago Blackhawks Kyle Beach’s accusations against the team for mishandling his report of sexual assault by former Assistant Coach Brad Aldrich. She also previews the U.S. Curling Team’s journey to the 2022 Winter Olympics. Kusnierek is an anchor and reporter for NBC Sports Boston, as well as a Boston Public Radio contributor. Carol Rose weighs in on the Supreme Court’s consideration of the Texas abortion law, and how she thinks Boston’s government should approach the crisis at Mass. and Cass. Rose is the Executive Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. Then, we talk with listeners about a recent Boston Globe report showing how racial segregation persists in Boston. Corby Kummer update listeners on all things food, including the carbon footprint of coffee and his thoughts on Fluffernutter. Kummer is the 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. John King gives an election day politics update, including the stakes of Virginia’s gubernatorial election, and the fate of President Joe Biden’s spending bill. King is CNN’s chief national correspondent and anchor of “Inside Politics,” which airs weekdays at noon and Sundays at 8 a.m. We end the show by asking listeners whether they love or hate fluffernutter, which Merriam-Webster Dictionary recently made an official word.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Adam Reilly and Saraya Wintersmith give final insights from the Boston mayoral race before tomorrow’s election. Reilly is a reporter for GBH News and co-host of the Scrum politics podcast. Wintersmith covers Boston City Hall for GBH News. They co-host “Election 2021: Boston’s Race Into History” on GBH 2. Then, we ask listeners their thoughts on tomorrow’s mayoral election. Charlie Sennott updates listeners on the state of climate change and statements from leaders at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP62. Sennott is a GBH News analyst and the founder and CEO of The GroundTruth Project. Michelle Singletary talks about the importance of the child tax credit and paid child leave, sharing her experiences facing racism and caring for her brother as a young adult. She also gives tips on how to avoid internet scams. Singletary is a nationally syndicated columnist for The Washington Post, whose award-winning column "The Color of Money" provides insight into the world of personal finance. Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett G. Price III weigh in on a Boston Globe report showing how Black and white people travel to different areas of the city, and persisting reactions to Dave Chappelle Netflix special. Monroe is a syndicated religion columnist, the Boston voice for Detour’s African American Heritage Trail and co-host of the All Rev’d Up podcast. Price is the founding pastor of Community of Love Christian Fellowship in Allston, the Inaugural Dean of Africana Studies at Berklee College of Music and co-host of the All Rev’d Up podcast. Richard Blanco reads fall-themed poetry, including “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost, “The Blower of Leaves” by January Gill O’Neil, “November 2: Día de los muertos” by Alberto Ríos and “Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio” by James Wright. Blanco is the fifth inaugural poet in U.S. history. His latest book, "How To Love A Country," deals with various socio-political issues that shadow America. We end the show by talking with listeners about how they’re adapting their gift-giving plans amid supply chain issues and shortages.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Attorney General Maura Healey answers questions from listeners in this month’s Ask the AG, including queries about fraudulent contractors, electric vehicle rebates, Facebook and more. Maura Healey is the Massachusetts Attorney General. Callie Crossley weighs in on Facebook’s new branding and Republican politicians’ mocking actor Alec Baldwin, after his discharging of a prop gun killed director of photography Halyna Hutchins. Crossley hosts GBH’s Under the Radar and Basic Black. Michael Norton answers questions from listeners about his latest research on friendship and human behavior, which showed that people feel more content when connecting with a wide variety of people, as opposed to a small number of close friends. Norton is a behavioral economist, the Harold M. Brierly Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and a member of Harvard’s Behavioral Insights Group. His latest book is “Happy Money, the Science of Happier Spending.” Ryan Landry calls in as “Helen the Witch” ahead of Halloween, to talk about how Provincetown avoided a COVID-19 disaster and give updates on his life as a canned-tomato influencer. Ryan Landry is a playwright, lyricist, actor and founder of the Gold Dust Orphans theatrical company. His new album is “The Vamps.” Then, we talk to listeners about all things Halloween, including experiences with haunting and opinions on candy corn. 

Today on Boston Public Radio: Shirley Leung weighs in on clashes between activists and the government over clearing tents at Mass. and Cass, and debates over sports betting and a proposed footbridge between Somerville and the Encore Casino in Everett. Leung is a business columnist for The Boston Globe and a Boston Public Radio contributor. Then, we ask listeners about whether President Joe Biden should compromise or call Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema’s bluffs in negotiations over the spending bill. Dr. Trisha Pasricha tells stories of the sexism she has faced in the field of medicine, and emphasizes the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine for pregnant people. Pasricha is a gastroenterologist at Mass General Hospital, a physician at Harvard Medical School and a health contributor at the Washington Post. Andy Ihnatko talks about how to protect technology from storms, in the wake of this week’s nor’easter. Ihnatko is a tech writer and blogger, posting at Ihnatko.com. Arthur Brooks discusses the key to happiness, drawing from his social science work and latest podcast, “How to Build a Happy Life.” He’s the William Henry Bloomberg professor of the practice of public leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School, a professor of management practice at the Harvard Business School, the happiness correspondent at The Atlantic and host of the podcast series How to Build a Happy Life. Jon Gruber talks through proposals to tax billionaires and corporations, and the likelihood that they would pass in Congress. Gruber teaches economics at MIT. He was instrumental in creating both the Massachusetts health-care reform and the Affordable Care Act, and his latest book is “Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth And The American Dream. We end the show by asking listeners about times they have dropped the ball at crucial moments, after a Massachusetts doctor was fined for falling asleep in his car and missing a surgery.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Art Caplan weighs in on Deborah Birx, who helped run the pandemic response under the Trump Administration, testifying to Congress about how many lives could have been saved from COVID-19 had Donald Trump taken preventative measures. Caplan is 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. Then, we ask listeners about their experiences with the ongoing nor’easter, and worsening extreme weather across the world. Juliette Kayyem gives an overview of the recently released Facebook files, and talks about what might happen if the Democrats cannot push through their spending bill. Kayyem is an analyst for CNN, former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and faculty chair of the homeland security program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu talks about her plan to improve housing, address the crisis at Mass. and Cass, support the cannabis industry and require proof of vaccination for restaurants and other indoor venues. Wu is a Boston City Councilor At-Large running for mayor of Boston. Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George discussing her approach to housing, solving Mass. and Cass and improving the MBTA, as well as her identity as Arab American. She also talked about her thoughts on cannabis and her husband’s work as a developer. Essaibi George is Boston City Councilor At Large and a candidate for Boston mayor. Sy Montgomery gives the latest updates from the animal kingdom, including how squirrels store nuts, shark sightings along Cape Cod and why lemurs have rhythm. Montgomery is a journalist, naturalist and a BPR contributor. We end the show by talking with listeners whether or not they think jaywalking should be enforced and how, following propositions to raise fines for jaywalking.