Boston Public Radio Podcast

Food writer Corby Kummer spoke with Boston Public Radio on Tuesday about the different approaches to outdoor dining tenting. “New York says if you have outdoor tenting, then 50% of the wall space has to be open,” he said. “That seems absolutely right, at the minimum, so two of the sides have to be open to the fresh air.” However many restaurants aren’t abiding by these guidelines, Kummer noted. “What we’re seeing is the equivalent to giant igloos or tents, that are deathtraps,” he said. “There is no circulation at all, and that’s a clear violation of what any city should be doing.” The larger picture is that safe outdoor dining is the best way to dine, Kummer added. “That is what restaurants should be investing in.” 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.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Rufus Gifford, deputy campaign manager for President-elect Joe Biden, discussed Biden’s weekend victory, and reflected on the president-elect's message of unity in the face of a concession refusal from President Trump.  Next, we opened our lines to hear your thoughts on Joe Biden’s presidential victory, after days of election uncertainty.  Charlie Chieppo and Shannon O’Brien returned to the show for a politics roundtable, discussing Joe Biden’s victory and President Trump’s repeated allegations of wide-scale voter fraud. Chieppo is principal of Chieppo Strategies, a senior fellow at the Pioneer Institute, and Adjunct professor at Suffolk University. O’Brien is former state treasurer and Democratic nominee for governor of Mass. Jonathan Alter discussed the lasting impact of former President Jimmy Carter, in a conversation about his new biography, “His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life." Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett Price, hosts of GBH’s All Rev’d Up podcast, talked about the challenge for President-elect Joe Biden in unifying a deeply divided America, and discussed the racial breakdowns of the American electorate.  GBH News analyst and GroundTruth Project Charlie Sennott talked about the impact of President-elect Joe Biden’s presidential win on America’s role on the world stage, and the hesitation from autocratic world leaders like Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in acknowledging his victory. TV guru Bob Thompson remembered the widely beloved “Jeopardy” host Alex Trebek, who died on Sunday.  We closed our show by reopening lines to talk with listeners about the outcome of the 2020 election.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened the show to talk with listeners about the latest results of the 2020 presidential election, as former Vice President Joe Biden appeared close to a victory.  Beat the Press host Emily Rooney talked about the move by several TV news outlets to cut away from President Trump's Thursday press conference, after he repeated false claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election. She also discussed news that former Red Sox manager Alex Cora is returning to manage the Red Sox after January’s cheating scandal, and read her weekly list of fixations and fulminations. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh called in for our monthly edition of “Ask the Mayor.” He talked about the state of the 2020 presidential race, COVID testing in Boston, whether he plans to run for reelection, and what he thinks about the return of Alex Cora to the Red Sox. As always, Walsh also responded to questions and comments from callers.  Under the Radar host Callie Crossley talked about Joe Biden's razor-thin lead in the Georgia presidential race, and the role that former Georgia House minority leader Stacey Abrams in the state's election. She also weighed in on the possibility of election-related violence, and recent writing by Monica Hess in the Washington Post about the unique advantages of having women in positions of power. We finished out our show by returning to callers to talk about the state of the 2020 presidential race.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Robert Tsai talked about the state of the presidential race as of Thursday morning, and weighed in on the President’s litany of lawsuits against states over ballot counting. Tsai is a professor of Law at Boston university. His latest book is "Practical Equality: Forging justice in a Divided Nation.”  Next, we turned to callers to get your thoughts on the ongoing election count, and what you make of the President’s lawsuits.  Former Suffolk County sheriff and secretary of public safety Andrea Cabral discussed the impact of voter suppression in the 2020 presidential race, and the persistent, unwavering faith that Trump supporters have in their president. Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed the limits of President Trump's authority over his top infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci, and the impact of Trump rallies on surging coronavirus cases throughout the U.S. In our last hour, we opened the lines to hear your thoughts on how election 2020 is playing out.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened Wednesday’s show by turning to callers, to hear your thoughts on Tuesday’s presidential election.  Rosa Brooks talked about her work over the summer with the Transition Integrity Project, and weighed in on how Tuesday’s results compare with some of the exercise's worst-case scenarios. Brooks is the co-organizer of the Transition Integrity Project, a former Pentagon official under the Obama administration, and the Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law and Policy at Georgetown University Law Center. Her forthcoming book is “Tangled Up in Blue: Policing the American City.”  CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem gave her analysis of Tuesday’s election results, and explained why she expects former Vice President Joe Biden will breach 270 electoral votes before the end of the week. 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.  Washington Post columnist and Brookings Institute senior fellow EJ Dionne talked about what we can gauge from the tallied votes of Tuesday’s election, with respect to both the White House and the Senate. He also discussed the road ahead on issues like climate change, racial equity, and political division in the U.S.  Closing out our final hour, we opened our lines to hear your thoughts on everything related to election 2020.

Homeland security expert Juliette Kayyem spoke with Boston Public Radio on Wednesday about the current state of the 2020 presidential election. “My biggest fear was a systemic breakdown of voting, such that you would get a real question from both sides that these counts were not legitimate,” she said. “There are huge issues around the post office, and we still have votes to count, but you didn’t see the kind of the thing I would’ve worried about.” One potential threat, currently undetected, was nefarious interference from foreign governments, Kayyem noted. “You didn’t see any activity in particular of foreign activity or disruption,” she said. “My worry was that that would lead to a majority of the population going to the streets demanding our democracy work better.” 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.

Back in June, the bipartisan Transition Integrity Project gamed out a handful of likely outcomes for the 2020 election. On the Wednesday after Election Day, one of the group's co-organizers, Rosa Brooks, called in to Boston Public Radio for a debrief on how Tuesday’s results compared to the project's worst-case scenarios. "Never say never, but I am actually more optimistic now,” she said in reference to the possibility that President Trump might successfully manage to discredit and nullify late-counted election ballots. "The ballots will get counted, and the Trump team will make legal challenges. But I think we’re gonna get through this – I hope we’re gonna get through this – without the level of crisis that some of our exercises got us to." Brooks is the co-organizer of the Transition Integrity Project, a former Pentagon official under the Obama administration, and the Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law and Policy at Georgetown University Law Center. Her forthcoming book is “Tangled Up in Blue: Policing the American City.”

New York Magazine writer-at-larger Frank Rich talked about some worst-case scenarios for Democrats ahead of Tuesday's election tallies, and what he believes might happen to the careers of GOP Trump loyalists if the President loses his reelection bid.  Next, we opened lines to talk with listeners about your feelings on everything related to Tuesday's presidential election. Mass. ACLU Executive Director Carol Rose talked about the work being done by the ACLU to ensure a fair election as day-of voters head to the polls. She also touched on some complaints about long lines and improper ID checks that her organization has already received.  Robert Blair, an assistant professor of political science at Brown University and coordinator of the Democratic Erosion consortium, discussed his recent writing for the Boston Globe on why Democrats should have a plan for how to respond if President Trump loses the election and contests the results.  Jennifer Horn, former Chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party and a co-founder of the Lincoln Project, talked about what her collective of anti-Trump Republicans is doing to encourage fellow conservatives to support former Vice President Joe Biden on Election Day. Historian Allan Lichtman discussed the reasoning behind his prediction that Joe Biden will clinch a victory in the 2020 election, after correctly predicting the winner of every presidential race across the last nine elections with his famous “Keys to the White House." CNN’s John King gave a debrief on the latest political headlines on Election Day, and talked about which Senate races he'll be watching closely as Tuesday night’s results come in.  We closed out Tuesday’s show by returning to callers – including former Secretary of State John Kerry – to hear your thoughts on election 2020.

New York Magazine writer-at-large Frank Rich joined Tuesday’s Boston Public Radio, breaking down a slew of worst-case scenarios ahead of Tuesday’s Election Day vote tallies. "We all have a million fears – I’m speaking now, of course, of those of us who want to see Biden win,” he said. "I’m sure there’s another group of fears on the other side, as it were.” Rich spoke about the possibility of votes not getting counted, partisan court rulings, and the ominous presence of pro-Trump militias popping up the Midwest and elsewhere. He also weighed in on what he thinks might come of the careers of the many Republican Trump loyalists, should the president lose his reelection bid. Rich is writer-at-large for New York Magazine, where he covers politics and culture. He’s also an executive producer of the HBO’s “Succession,” and “Veep."

Today on Boston Public Radio: Washington Week moderator Robert Costa talked about his special report for the program, about the attitudes of Penn. voters ahead of Tuesday’s election, and how they have and haven't changed in the four years since 2016. We opened lines to talk with listeners about your anxieties and hopes ahead of Tuesday’s election. Charlie Chieppo and Shannon O’Brien joined for a politics roundtable, weighing in on where both of the candidates stands on the eve of Election Day. Chieppo is principal of Chieppo Strategies, a senior fellow at the Pioneer Institute, and Adjunct professor at Suffolk University. O’Brien is former state treasurer and Democratic nominee for governor of Mass. Rep. Ayanna Pressley called in as a surrogate for the Biden/Harris ticket, to make her final appeal to voters ahead of Tuesday’s election. She also weighed in on Mass. police reform, and why she believes the U.S. is due for a third Reconstruction. Charles Stewart III talked about the varying outcomes of Tuesday’s election, and how the surge of mail-in voting and other coronavirus precautions might impact when we get election results. Stewart is the Kenan Sahin distinguished professor of political science at MIT. He’s also director of the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, co-director of the Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project, and co-director of the Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project. Irene Monroe and Emmett Price, hosts of GBH’s All Rev’d Up, talked about the latest headlines at the intersect of religion and Tuesday’s election. We closed out the show by returning to listeners to talk about anything and everything related to Tuesday’s presidential election.