Boston Public Radio Podcast

Today on Boston Public Radio: Anti-death penalty Sister Helen Prejean talked about President Trump’s last-minute string of federal executions, and her life-long effort to change public perception around the death penalty. Medical ethicist Art Caplan broke down the latest headlines around a COVID-19 vaccine, from new distribution guidelines from the CDC, to the U.K.’s emergency authorization of the Pfizer vaccine. He also weighed in on whether the U.S. ought to offer financial incentives for vaccinations, and talked about ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks in the NFL. Ali Noorani, President and CEO of the National Immigrant Forum, offered his thoughts on how President-elect Joe Biden can use the stories of immigrants to heal and unite the country. He also touched on Biden’s pick of Cuban-born Alejandro Mayorkas to lead the Department of Homeland Security, and other immigration headlines. Elizabeth Matos, executive director of the nonprofit Prisoners’ Legal Services, explained the factors exacerbating the spread of coronavirus in prisons across the Commonwealth, and weighed in on why the Department of Corrections isn’t releasing inmates to home confinement, per a June recommendation by the Supreme Judicial Court. Hosts Margery Eagan and Jared Bowen talked for a few minutes about what’s in the Mass. police reform bill, which is currently sitting before Gov. Charlie Baker. The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Thomas Wilkins explained BSO Now, the organiation’s virtual concert platform, and talked about what it’s like to conduct a socially-distant orchestra with no audience. He also touched on some other virtual events going on at the BSO, available for audiences to stream at BSO.org. Emerson College President Lee Pelton talked about the work of The Boston Foundation, and what he’s hoping to accomplish as he takes over as president and CEO in June of 2021. He also reflected on his decade-long tenure as the president of Emerson College, and discussed how they're dealing with pandemic-era learning.  Closing out Wednesday's show, we opened our lines to talk with listeners about your experiences navigating Fall semester of college during the pandemic. 

During a Wednesday interview on Boston Public Radio, Sister Helen Prejean condemned a string of executions green-lit by President Trump in his final weeks in office. If Justice Department plans proceed, President Trump will have overseen 12 federal executions during his four-year term, the most since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who served 12-years. “We have to begin to heal, to listen to each other,” Prejean said, reflecting on the politically divisive four years under Trump. “Not to see people as an enemy who disagrees with us, or belongs to a different political party – that’s healing. Killing killers is not part of healing, it’s just imitating and continuing the violence.” Prejean has been instrumental in sparking national dialogue on capital punishment and shaping the Catholic Church’s vigorous opposition to executions. Her latest book is “River of Fire: My Spiritual Journey.” To learn more, go to SisterHelen.org.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Boston Globe editor Brian McGrory talked about the President Trump’s sustained effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election, stalled stimulus talks in Washington, and other national headlines. He also discussed the Globe series "Behind the Shield" and "A Beautiful Resistance." NBC Sports Boston reporter and anchor Trenni Kusnierek discussed news of Vanderbilt soccer player Sarah Fuller becoming the first woman to play in a Power 5 college football game, and the NFL’s stumbles in mitigating the spread of coronavirus among players and staff. Carol Rose, Executive Director of the ACLU of Mass., broke down the details of a newly-released police reform bill from the State House, and weighed in on whether the proposed reforms would bring meaningful change to policing in the Commonwealth. We opened our lines to talk with listeners about the COVID-19 pandemic, and how you’re feeling about quarantine as we transition into winter. Food writer Corby Kummer discussed the end of a Mass. law allowing restaurants to use public space for outdoor dining, poor worker condition for restaurant delivery drivers, and other major food headlines of the week. NHPR reporter and producer Jason Moon talked about season one of the NHPR podcast “Document,” titled “The List,” which delves into New Hampshire's secret blacklist of police officers and the legal battle to make it public. We ended the show by returning to listeners, this time to ask: is Mass. doing enough to support its restaurants through the pandemic?

Food writer Corby Kummer spoke to Boston Public Radio on Tuesday about community fridges popping up around Boston. “If you have extra food that is perishable and needs a refrigerator, different communities have set up community fridges,” he said. “They’re actually plugged into outdoor outlets, and have shelves where you can put in pantry food-bank-style donations.” Kummer is a senior editor at The Atlantic, an award-winning food writer, and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition and Policy.

Dr. Ken Duckworth, senior medical director for behavioral health at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mass. and national medical director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, talked about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on mental health during the holiday season. He also took time to fielding questions and comments from listeners. Next, we opened our lines up to ask: with winter encroaching, are you ready to answer the call of the great outdoors? GBH investigative reporter Chris Burrell discussed growing momentum in the State House around legislation that would allow undocumented immigrants to register for drivers licenses. He also discussed the latest news around Mass.’ purported investments in minority-owned businesses. Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett Price, host of GBH’s All Rev’d Up podcast, weighed in on President-elect Joe Biden’s Catholic faith, and debated the real impact it might have on his presidency. They also discussed Wilton Gregory, who became the first-ever Black-American cardinal this past weekend. TV expert Bob Thompson reviewed NOVA’s “Saving Notre Dame,” and talked about the onslaught of welcome holiday content from country legend Dolly Parton. He also offered a belated review of Netflix’s hit show “The Queen’s Gambit." We closed out Monday's show by reopening our lines to talk with listeners about “The Queen’s Gambit,” and ask: have got you gotten swept up in this current chess craze?

Dr. Ken Duckworth spoke to Boston Public Radio on Monday about mental health, teletherapy, and coping support during the pandemic. “Supply [of therapists] was always inadequate to demand,” he said. “But demand has exploded in the context of the pandemic.” More people are experiencing distress, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, addiction relapse, and recurrence of trauma since COVID-19, Duckworth said. “More people are seeking help and I think that really reflects the experience that people are having.” Ken Duckworth is the Senior Medical Director for Behavioral Health at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, and the Medical Director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Today on Boston Public Radio: M.I.T. economist Jon Gruber talked about shifting attitudes around the decriminalization of cannabis, and discussed the economic, public health, and social justice implications of marijuana legalization. We opened up the lines to talk with listeners about this year’s Black Friday, getting your takes on pandemic-era shopping sprees. National security expert Juliette Kayyem dove into the logistics of COVID vaccine distribution, and talked about a "rolling recovery” through the final months of the pandemic. She also talked about questions of presidential pardons during the final months of the Trump administration, and weighed in on President-elect Biden’s latest string of cabinet picks. Behavioral economist Michael Norton broke down his research on why human beings have such a hard time breaking from tradition, ahead of this COVID-era Thanksgiving. He also took some time to respond to questions and comments from listeners on the subject. Former DNC chairman Steve Grossman talked about his work with his organization The Initiative for Competitive Inner City, and their first-ever report ranking concentrated poverty in 450 American cities. He also discussed means of encouraging and stimulating growth in inner city economies, reflecting on the initiatives he'd like to see on a federal and state level. TV expert Bob Thompson discussed news that former Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings is temporarily taking on Jeopardy hosting duties in the wake of Alex Trebek’s passing. He also reviewed the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunion, and HBO’s “Between the World And Me.” We closed out Wednesday’s show by returning to listeners, to talk about the Thanksgiving Day traditions you’re holding onto this year – and maybe some ones you’ve invented in the time of coronavirus.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Filmmaker Michael Kirk discussed his latest film for FRONTLINE, “Battle for the Court,” about Sen. Mitch McConnell’s decades-long effort to transform the Supreme Court. You can catch Kirk’s film on Tuesday night at 10:00 on PBS, or online at PBS.org/Frontline. Next, we opened our lines to get your takes on President-elect Joe Biden’s prospective cabinet picks. Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed the emergence of a third prospective COVID-19 vaccine – this time from biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca – and its global implications for the next future of the coronavirus pandemic. Artist and performer David Byrne spoke about "American Utopia,” his Broadway show, Spike Lee-directed HBO special, and now newly-released book created in collaboration with artist Maira Kalman. He also offered some thoughts on Joe Biden’s 2020 win, and explained why he’s been busy doodling in quarantine. Food writer Corby Kummer gave the latest updates on struggles within Boston’s restaurant industry, cruel worker practices at U.S. slaughterhouses, and other major food headlines. Travel guru Rick Steves weighed in on President-elect Joe Biden’s victory and the handful of ballot wins for cannabis legalization in the 2020 election. He also reflected on mindfulless and the Thanksgiving spirit, and what he's hoping his travel company will be able to achieve in 2021.

On Tuesday, travel guru Rick Steves joined Boston Public Radio for his monthly check-in, where he reflected on the meaning of Thanksgiving, and its particular significance in the bizarre year of 2020. "Every country has harvest festivals,” he said. “When travel and we clink glasses, we realize how beautiful and interconnected the world is, and realize how joy across the sea is just as real as joy across the table at home – and how hunger and suffering across the sea is just as real as sadness and struggles across our own family tables.” He added, “thankfulness to me is really hollow without being mindful about our relative privilege, and the needs of the less fortunate." During the interview, Steves also touched on his feelings about Joe Biden’s 2020 win, and spoke about what he’s hoping to achieve in 2021 with the slow easing of global travel restrictions. Steves is an author, television and radio host, and the owner of “Rick Steves' Europe” tour group. You can catch Rick Steves’ Europe weeknights at 7:30 on GBH 2, and his radio show Travel With Rick Steves Sundays at 4:00 on GBH.

When COVID-19 hit, New Wave musician and former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne was forced to push back the return of his Broadway show, American Utopia. But that didn’t silence the project altogether. In collaboration with artist Maira Kalman, Byrne converted the show into an illustrated book, and on Boston Public Radio Tuesday, he argued for a societal return to hope in the American experiment itself. “(An American utopia) an imaginary ideal, but it’s nice to think that maybe we can get closer to it,” he said. Byrne said he takes inspiration from the writings of Alexis de Toqueville, who wrote “Democracy in America” in the early 1800s. “Obviously as we’ve seen, the experiment continues, it’s still an experiment,” he said. “There’s occasionally some bumps in the road, so far we’re still hanging in there … and can only hope that that kind of malleability that we have, leads us to a better place.” Byrne has kept creating and adapting American Utopia during a pandemic that has affected much of American life as we know it. Touched by a national political discourse that seems more divided than ever, Byrne has also delved into the world of journalism, through a multimedia project called We Are Not Divided. “I’d collect these things for myself, to help convince myself no we’re not necessarily going to hell in a handbasket, there are people doing things that are helpful,” said Byrne. “It really has helped me, when I start to despair, it’s really helped me see no that’s not the only news out there, some of the news is that people are bridging divides, people are doing things that are energy efficient, they’re finding ways to do things that are economically sound and putting us on the right path.”