Boston Public Radio Podcast

Today on Boston Public Radio: MSNBC “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd explained what Americans should expect from Thursday's impeachment proceedings, and previewed next week’s Iowa caucus.  Media maven Sue O’Connell discussed ongoing diversity issues within Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign, and the Gen. Z/Millennial embrace of death positivity.  We opened lines to hear thoughts from callers on the role Chief Justice John Roberts has played so far in the Senate impeachment trial. Former Suffolk County Sheriff and Secretary of Public Safety Andrea Cabral discussed impeachment, and pushback to a decision by Suffolk County D.A. Rachael Rollins to protect a Somali refugee facing deportation.  Former Massachusetts Secretary of Education Paul Reville discussed fallout at Harvard over chemistry department chair Charles Lieber’s undisclosed financial ties to China, and the lone finalist for UMass Boston’s chancellor position.  We aired live audio from Thursday’s impeachment proceedings.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened our lines to talk with callers about a potential witness swap in the Senate impeachment trial.  Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed the latest on the Coronavirus’ spread in the U.S., and new testimony exposing the role of doctors in the CIA’s Guantanamo Bay interrogations. CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem discussed the Trump administration’s approach to the Coronavirus, along with the latest on the Senate impeachment trial.  Boston Globe business columnist Shirley Leung spoke on her recent profile of Mass. Environmental Secretary Kathleen Theoharides, and discussed 99 Ranch Market, a newly opened Asian supermarket in Quincy.  We aired live audio from Wednesday’s impeachment proceedings.

A new food movement in California is attempting to reduce carbon footprints in restaurants and make meals more climate friendly by tacking on a surcharge to fund a pilot called Restore California. Food writer Corby Kummer told Boston Public Radio on Tuesday the program is just one system of numerous programs across the country to help restaurants be more sustainable. "This is saying if every restaurant in the Bay Area … if they could put a one percent surcharge that goes toward regenerative soil, which is caring about making the soil better for future generations, that’s even better than organic, that’s what matters now, so this Restore California 1 percent surcharge, fancy restaurants are going along with it, they’re getting with the program." Kummer said the fine dining restaurants are serving dishes like beef tartare sourced with meat from a ranch affiliated with a program to help fields absorb more carbon, local lavender, and toast created from Kernza, a "perennial grain with deep roots that helps restore prairie land." 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: We opened our lines to talk with callers about impeachment, and whether new revelations from former National Security Advisor John Bolton will have an impact on the Senate trial.  NBC Sports Boston Reporter Trenni Kusnierek discussed the passing of John Altobelli, former head coach of Cape Cod’s Brewster Whitecaps, who died Sunday alongside Kobe Bryant in the Calabasas helicopter crash.  Boston Globe cannabis reporter Dan Adams discussed the bureaucracy holding local marijuana entrepreneurs back, and a new study linking heavy marijuana use as a teenager to impaired driving as an adult, even while sober.   Food writer Corby Kummer discussed the merits of noisy restaurants, and a restaurant surcharge bill in California aimed at fighting climate change.   We aired live audio from Tuesday’s impeachment proceedings.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Michael Curry and Jennifer Braceras discussed revelations in a forthcoming book from former National Security Advisor John Bolton, and what to expect from Monday’s impeachment proceedings. Curry is senior vice president and general counsel at Mass League of Community Health Centers, and a member of the National NAACP Board of Directors. Braceras is a political columnist, senior fellow with the Independent Women’s Forum, and a former Commissioner of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. NBC Sports Boston commentator Trenni Kusnierek spoke on the legacy of Kobe Bryant, who died on Sunday. Journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn discussed their latest book, “Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope.” Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett Price, hosts of WGBH’s All Rev’d Up, discussed the life of Kobe Bryant, and a case before the Supreme Court that could alter the separation of of church and state in the U.S. We aired live audio from Monday’s impeachment proceedings. 

Today on Boston Public Radio: Attorney General Maura Healey stopped by the Boston Public Radio studio for our monthly “Ask the AG” series. Emily Rooney, host of WGBH News' Beat The Press, joined us for her famous list of fixations and fulminations. Under the Radar host Callie Crossley discussed Cambridge becoming the fourth Massachusetts city to ban the use of facial recognition technology, and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries quoting Biggie Smalls in the Senate impeachment trial.

Today on Boston Public Radio: MSNBC “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd discussed impeachment and the 2020 election. Media maven Sue O’Connell recapped Hillary Clinton’s statements on Bernie Sanders, and criticisms of Pete Buttigieg’s campaign from within the LGBTQ community.  We opened our lines to talk with listeners about your thoughts on the Senate impeachment trial.  Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker joined us for our monthly “Ask the Mayor” segment.  We aired live audio from day four of the Senate impeachment trial. 

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened our lines to talk with callers about their thoughts on the ongoing Senate impeachment trial. M.I.T. economist Jon Gruber discussed the economics of paid parental leave, and took questions from callers.  Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed Trump administration rollbacks to Michelle Obama’s school lunch rules, and ICE detainees on hunger strike in Louisiana.   CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem discussed the ongoing impeachment trial, and recapped Monday’s gun-rights rally in Virginia.  We aired live audio from day three of the Senate impeachment trial.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened our lines to talk with callers about impeachment, ahead of Tuesday's Senate trial.  NBC Sports Boston reporter Trenni Kusnierek discussed Tom Brady’s free agent status, the Red Sox’s handling of now ex-manager Alex Cora, and a labor agreement for WNBA players that’s been called “historic.” Former Suffolk County Sheriff and Secretary of Public Safety Andrea Cabral discussed the upcoming impeachment trial, and debated whether inmates ought to be able to document the conditions of prisons.  We aired live audio of Sen. Mitch McConnell’s opening statements in the Senate impeachment trial.  We re-opened lines to talk with listeners about impeachment.  We aired live audio of the Senate impeachment trial. 

Today on Boston Public Radio: John Nucci and Jennifer Horn joined us for a politics round-table, and discussed the impending senate impeachment trial. John Nucci is Vice President of External Affairs at Suffolk University and Jennifer Horn is the former chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party. We opened the lines to hear from listeners about whether they will be tuning into the senate impeachment trial, which is set to start on Tuesday. Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett G Price III joined us to honor the life and legacy of civil rights leader and U.S. Representative John Lewis. Bob Thompson reviewed CNN's problematic handling of the recent Democratic debate, and discussed other TV and entertainment news. Naturalist Sy Montgomery gave an update on the wildfires ravaging Australia's diverse ecosystems, and other headlines from the animal kingdom, including how one tortoise named Diego had so much sex he saved his species from extinction. Tech writer Andy Ihnatko discussed a recent legal win in Massachusetts seeking documents from Facebook regarding their dealings with Cambridge Analytica.