Boston Public Radio Podcast

Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett gave a roundup of recent COVID-19 developments going on across the country, and here in Massachusetts, on Boston Public Radio this Tuesday. “Things are pretty dire across the country - everyday we hear news about states and governors who are finally putting in orders around masks and starting to close indoor dining, bars, and gyms,” she said. “Populations that really didn’t believe COVID-19 was true, or didn’t believe the severity of it, are now getting very ill, some on their death beds resenting this is true.” As for Thanksgiving festivities, Dr. Gergen Barnett asks people to get creative celebrating the holiday remotely. “Increasingly states with very high rates - and in Massachusetts we’re certainly barreling up to high numbers - we’re really asking people to please just have this Thanksgiving be like no other Thanksgiving, be creative, maybe take an outdoor hike with masks on,” she said. “There’s lots of other ways to appreciate gratitude on Thanksgiving besides sitting around a lot of food for a number of hours.” Gergen Barnett is the Vice Chair of Primary Care Innovation and Transformation and the Program Director in the Department of Family Medicine at Boston Medical Center. She is also an assistant professor of Family Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We kicked off Monday’s show by talking with listeners about the disastrous coronavirus surge throughout the U.S., and new developments in the race for a vaccine. Boston Globe political reporter James Pindell discussed GOP efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and weighed in on the slew of issues facing Democrats in the wake of underwhelming Election Day results. Emily Oster, Brown economist and co-author of CovidExplained.org, made her case for why the benefits of moving forward with in-person learning outweigh the risks, and discussed the economic divide between pandemic-era education for wealthy kids versus their less well-off peers. T.V. expert Bob Thompson reviewed the latest episodes of “The Crown” and “SNL,” and talked about the known details of a forthcoming show from Jon Stewart on Apple TV Plus. Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett Price, hosts of GBH’s All Rev’d Up, debated the impact of evangelical voters on the 2020 election, and weighed in on the newly-emerged child sex abuse scandal within the Catholic Church, involving ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. In light of HBO’s “The Undoing” returning to the format of one episode per week, we opened lines to talk with listeners about your feelings on T.V. binging. Inaugural poet Richard Blanco recited some poems about American hope in the face of turmoil.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened the show by talking with listeners about America’s worsening coronavirus crisis, and why you think the United States ended up where it is today.  Filmmaker Frederick Wiseman discussed his new in-depth documentary about Boston Marty Walsh's administration, titled “City Hall.” Beat the Press host Emily Rooney talked about the spread of election misinformation on Fox News, read a COVID-themed list of fixations and fulminations, and previewed Friday’s episode of Beat the Press. Under the Radar and Basic Black host Callie Crossley talked about Rudy Giuliani's chaotic press conference at the Four Seasons Total Landscaping, Stacey Abrams’ efforts ahead of January's runoff election in Georgia, and her excitement about America’s (soon to be) first second gentleman Doug Emhoff. Suffolk County D.A. Rachael Rollins joined for our monthly “Ask the D.A.” series. She talked about her views on the prosecution style of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Netflix's true crime series “Trial 4," about a Boston murder case, and who she'd like to see appointed as A.G. under President-elect Joe Biden.

Today on Boston Public Radio: NBC “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd discussed President Trump’s deluge of lawsuits attempting to delegitimize his election loss, and gave his take President-elect Biden’s leveled reaction. We opened lines to hear your takes on what exactly President Trump is planning, as he spreads false claims about voter fraud and refuses to concede his loss to Present-elect Biden.  Former Suffolk County sheriff and secretary of public safety Andrea Cabral discussed members of the legal community who are actively distancing themselves from President Trump’s effort to litigate his way into a second term. She also reflected on why white American voters have so reliably swung Republican. Sen. Ed Markey talked about the surge of coronavirus throughout the U.S., and why he’s worried about it getting worse in the final months of the Trump administration. He also weighed in on Trump’s refusal to concede defeat, and the actions he hopes President-elect Biden will make to move the U.S. forward on the environment during in his first weeks in office.  Former Mass. education secretary Paul Reville explained why he believes Mass. ought to be better prioritizing in-person learning, and discussed the moves President-elect Joe Biden can make to boost public education in a post-Betsy Devos era. Mike Astrue discussed President Trump’s unprecedented refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election, and reflected on some past presidential transitions that he helped facilitate. He also read a Vietnam War-era poem Richard Wilbur that's relevant for today, called "For the Student Strikers." Astrue served as counsel in both the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, and as commissioner of the Social Security Administration in both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. He also writes and translates poetry under the alias A.M. Juster, and his latest book of poetry is "Wonder and Wrath.” We closed out Thursday’s show by returning to listeners, to hear your thoughts and concerns about traveling college students and this year’s Thanksgiving.

Former Massachusetts education secretary Paul Reville returned to Boston Public Radio on Thursday, lamenting failures in the Commonwealth’s execution of pandemic-era public schooling. Amid news of high remote-learning rates and inefficient virtual classrooms, Reville warned that student learning losses are piling up, “literally day to day now,” and argued that the state needs to do more to prioritize education ahead of services like gyms, restaurants and movie theaters. “I think it needs to be a more urgent national and statewide priority, to put in place conditions in schools that’re going to give both teachers and parents that sense of security that they can send their children back to school safely,” he said. During the interview, Reville also discussed his hopes for the public education priorities of President-elect Joe Biden, and weighed in on the challenge of limiting the spread of COVID-19 as college students head home for Thanksgiving. Reville is a former Mass. Secretary of Education and a professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, where he also runs the Education Redesign Lab. His latest book is "Broader, Bolder, Better: How Schools and Communities Help Students Overcome the Disadvantages of Poverty.”

Today on Boston Public Radio: M.I.T. economist Jonathan Gruber explained why he’s (mostly) optimistic about the prospect of a Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, and the Biden administration’s ability to distribute it. He also touched on his thoughts around a case involving the Affordable Care Act that’s currently before the Supreme Court. We opened our lines to hear your thoughts on the word of COVID-19 vaccine, and whether you’d feel confident enough to take it.  CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem weighed in on President Trump’s refusal to concede defeat to President-elect Joe Biden, and the support he’s getting from his staff and GOP congressional leaders. Rep. Seth Moulton talked about the national security risks created by President Trump’s refusal to concede to President-elect Joe Biden, and his pride in helping to create recently-passed legislation to establish a three-digit mental health hotline. He also previewed a Veteran's Day virtual town hall that he'll be co-hosting Wednesday night. We opened lines to ask: with the Trump administration spreading misinformation about the election and refusing to accept the electoral math, are you worried about the possibility of a coup? Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed news around a potential coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer, weighing the impact of President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed on the company’s breakthrough, and talking about the logistics of distribution. GBH Executive Arts Editor Jared Bowen discussed the latest news around the MFA’s delay of a controversial exhibit presenting the works of painter Philip Guston, as well as their new Claude Monet exhibit. He also talked about a new work from playwright Andrei Kureichik about the ongoing pro-democracy protests in Belarus, called “Insulted. Belarus(Sia)."

President Donald Trump has yet to concede to President-elect Joe Biden, stating baseless claims of voting fraud. The Trump administration, along with leading Republicans, have also refused to recognize Biden’s victory. Homeland security expert Juliette Kayyem spoke with Boston Public Radio on Wednesday about the damaging false narrative touted by Trump and his supporters. “Nothing is unexpected in the sense that Trump has built a lifetime into this being his exist; it is clear that this is a charade,” she said. “It’s damaging to our election process and [it shows] the patheticness of the Republican Party, which is in my mind now irredeemable.” 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.

Pfizer announced this week that their COVID-19 vaccine exceeds expectations for effectiveness. So when can Americans expect to see doses in their doctor’s office? Medical ethicist Arthur Caplan told Boston Public Radio some people could receive the vaccine “as early as the end of December.” The vaccine itself needs to pass another milestone before it’s authorized for emergency use: current test subjects need to be monitored for safety issues for a few more weeks. Then, the distribution may be limited by logistics within the supply chain due to refrigeration requirements. Higher risk populations like health care workers and older people will likely be prioritized, but Caplan said the broader population could see the vaccine by spring 2021. “It’s a two-dose vaccine … even if you start administering it in April, you’re probably not going to start seeing benefits until May and June, because it takes that long to work.” Caplan is the Drs. William F and Virginia Connolly Mitty Chair, and director of the Division of Medical Ethics at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Rep. Jim McGovern talked about his Tuesday reelection win against Republican challenger Tracy Lovvorn, who happens a QAnon conspiracy theory proponent. He also touched on the future of further COVID relief, and the food insecurity crisis afflicting the U.S.  NBC Sports Boston reporter and anchor Trenni Kusnierek discussed the return of Red Sox manager Alex Cora, following his sign-stealing scandal, the Patriots’ Monday night win over the New York Jets, and the achievement of Chris Nikic, who became the first person with Down’s syndrome to complete an Ironman.  We opened lines to talk with listeners about President Trump’s refusal to concede defeat to President-elect Biden, and the support his messaging his getting from GOP congressional leaders.  Ali Noorani, President & CEO of the National Immigration Forum, talked about the impact of President Trump’s immigration policies on the decision of voters in last Tuesday’s Presidential election, and why Latinx Americans went for Trump at higher rates than most pollsters expected.  Food writer Corby Kummer talked about the impact of Gov. Charlie Baker’s latest coronavirus restrictions on restaurants in Mass., and a new Trump administration rule freezing wages for immigrant farm workers in the U.S. He also weighed in on the tantalizing prospect of turkey dinner-flavored candy corn.  CNN’s John King talked about his whirlwind election week performance on CNN, and discussed Republican attempts to litigate Joe Biden’s victory. We closed Tuesday’s show by returning to listeners to discuss all things election 2020.

Ali Noorani spoke with Boston Public Radio on Tuesday about how different Latinx communities voted in this year’s presidential election. “The case that the Trump campaign made to Latinos in Texas was saying that the Biden administration is going to take our guns away, and touching on social cultural issues around abortion and gay marriage,” he said. “The Democrats made relatively little effort to engage this sizable block of voters that has traditionally been very Democratic. The Trump campaign didn’t need to win that block of voters they just needed to cut into that margin.” Ali Noorani is Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum. His latest book is There Goes the Neighborhood: How Communities Overcome Prejudice and Meet the Challenge of American Immigration.