Boston Public Radio Podcast

Today on Boston Public Radio: WGBH News Political Reporter Adam Reilly and Joanna Weiss of Experience Magazine joined us for a politics roundtable. They discussed the presidential campaign of former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Friday’s impeachment testimony from Marie Yovanovitch, and the method behind President Trump’s use of humor. Charlie Sennott discussed Marie Yovanovitch’s Friday testimony, and the rise of populist nationalism around the globe. Sennott is a WGBH News Analyst and CEO of "The GroundTruth Project." We opened lines to callers to ask: is the Democratic primary moving too far to the left like President Obama has implied, or is big structural change the zeitgeist of the party? Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed a new rule by the Trump administration that aims to increase transparency between hospitals and insurance companies. TV critic Bob Thompson discussed season 3 of Netflix's "The Crown,” and a disclaimer being shown for classic Disney films on Disney+ to denote what the company calls “outdated cultural references.” Tech writer Andy Ihnatko discussed new rules for drone owners, an ongoing lawsuit between Google and software company Oracle, and the state of Black Friday culture in 2019. Authors Tonya and Ben Mezrich spoke about their new children's book, “Charlie Numbers and the Wooly Mammoth."

Today on Boston Public Radio: We aired live audio from Friday's impeachment testimony, and opened our lines to hear impressions from callers.

Today on Boston Public Radio: MSNBC “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd discussed Wednesday’s impeachment hearing, and the addition of Deval Patrick to the 2020 presidential race.  We opened our lines to callers to hear your thoughts on Wednesday’s impeachment hearing.  Former Suffolk County Sheriff and Secretary of Public Safety Andrea Cabral discussed efforts to save Rodney Reed, a Texas man currently facing the death penalty. Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigrant Forum, discussed the Supreme Court’s forthcoming decision on DACA, and its potential implications for the Trump presidency.  Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick phoned in to discuss his newly announced campaign for president.  Paul Reville, former Massachusetts Secretary of Education, spoke about gun violence in the shadow of Wednesday’s shooting at a Santa Clarita high school, as well as the looming $100,000 per year cost of college tuition.  Harvard Business School historian Nancy Koehn discussed the failures of leadership at Boeing in the wake of a botched apology from the company’s CEO over malware that caused two plane crashes. Activist and folk singer Joan Baez, alongside Betsy Siggins, co-founder of Cambridge’s Club Passim, discussed the singer's career and the legacy of the famed folk venue on the eve of its 60th anniversary concert. 

Today on Boston Public Radio: We aired live audio from Wednesday's public hearings in the House impeachment inquiry.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened the lines to hear your thoughts on a potential 2020 presidential run by former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick.  Montana Governor Steve Bullock discussed his own 2020 run, and his views on the future of the Democratic Party. Former Secretary of Transportation James Aloisi and Chris Dempsey, Director of Transportation for Massachusetts, discussed mishaps on MBTA shuttle buses, and the ongoing debate over how aggressively to invest in Massachusetts transportation.  Food writer Corby Kummer spoke about a surge of baguette vending machines in France, and a new study decrying the rise of hyper-palatable foods in the U.S.  NBC Sports Boston Reporter Trenni Kusnierek discussed the New York Times opinion piece by runner Mary Cain, and the firing of former Bruins coach Bob Cherry from “Hockey Night” following his anti-immigrant comments.  CNN’s John King broke down what to expect from the upcoming public impeachment hearings.  Actor Marika Aubrey spoke about the musical “Come From Away,” which is playing at the Citizens Bank Opera House through November 17. 

Hold tight to your baguettes - the French countryside is beginning to lose many of its bakeries. Food writer Corby Kummer joined Boston Public Radio *on Tuesday to speak about why modern day consumerism is driving the death of rural bakeries and what this poses for communal camaraderie. "It's why we go to France - for the village bakery in every town," Kummer said. "We want it to be charming when we go to France but [the French] are living in the modern world, and the modern world is not good to artisan bakeries." The increased demand for instant delivery and detached shopping experiences is leading to the closure of many small town bakeries, Kummer said. "People are following the method of ordering Amazon delivery and going to malls because they want convenience - it's happening everywhere." The closing of bakeries also ends the breaking-of-bread camaraderie that community members share, Kummer added. "The bakery, in many of these villages, was the last place you could meet people - it's just a natural mingling place and community organizer as opposed to self-service super markets where you don't really talk to people," he said. "Mayors and various villagers have been trying to reconstitute these [bakeries] because they want a center when they see people in line and meet other villagers." *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: Frank Phillips and Peter Gelzinis discussed the latest political headlines. Phillips is a Boston Globe coorespondent, and Gelzinis is a columnist emeritus for The Boston Herald. Charlie Sennott discussed the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and Boris Johnson’s reelection campaign. Sennott is a WGBH News Analyst and CEO of the GroundTruth Project. We opened our lines to callers to discuss Amy Klobuchar’s recent statements about gender hierarchies and Pete Buttigieg’s qualifications for the presidency. Kelly Wirth, co-founder of climate activist group Mothers Out Front and Saya Ameli Hajebi of the Sunrise Movement discussed the road ahead for environmental activism. Boston Globe columnist Alex Beam discussed the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and a decades-long lobbying effort to install a statue of Ronald Reagan in Berlin. TV critic Bob Thompson discussed James Dean’s CGI likeness being cast in an upcoming Vietnam-era film,  Seth Meyers’ Netflix special, and this rollout of Disney Plus. Military conductors SMSgt. Bill Drury, Lt. Joel Borrelli-Boudreau, and Maj. Rafael Toro-Quiñones joined to discuss the significance of music in the military.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened the lines to callers to discuss former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg potentially entering the 2020 race.  Tech writer Andy Ihnatko discussed ongoing questions regarding Twitter’s ban on political ads, and Google’s new "paper phone." Emily Rooney, host of WGBH News' Beat The Press, joined us for her famous list of fixations and fulminations. Media maven Sue O’Connell discussed growing representation for the LGBTQ community on broadcast TV, and considered whether or not Bruce Springsteen is a gay icon.  Under the Radar host Callie Crossley discussed a study indicating that low-income districts had longer wait times in the 2018 election, and news of Kansas City voters removing Martin Luther King’s name from a boulevard.  Former Senate investigator Daniel J. Jones and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns discussed their new film, “The Report.” Artists Keith Maddy and Ed Stitt joined for our weekly news quiz to promote the upcoming Open Studios event in Fenway. 

Today on Boston Public Radio: MSNBC “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd discussed the written testimony of Ukraine Ambassador Bill Taylor, and the wider implications of Tuesday’s election for the Democratic in 2020.  New York Times writer and “Shrill” author Lindy West discussed her latest book, “The Witches are Coming.” Former Suffolk County Sheriff and Secretary of Public Safety Andrea Cabral spoke about the retirement of Massachusetts State Police Col. Kerry Gilpin, and divides over the death penalty in the Republican Party.  Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett Price, hosts of WGBH’s All Rev’d Up, discussed the prosperity gospel and President Trump’s spiritual advisor, as well as Pete Buttigieg’s relationship to Black voters.  Boston Globe columnist Alex Beam discussed the “okay boomer” meme and how it reflects current generational tensions.  Boston Globe columnist Shirley Leung discussed the significance of a diverse group of new lawmakers elected in Massachusetts on Tuesday.  We opened the lines to callers to ask: how do you feel about the “okay boomer” meme?

Subscribers of Amazon Prime — the e-commerce giant’s membership service for discounted shipping rates and streaming video content — will now receive free membership to the company’s on-demand grocery service, AmazonFresh. According to Corby Kummer, a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Amazon’s move is the latest part of its growing effort to expand into the grocery business. Kummer said the key to Amazon’s strategy is cutting down on staff at Whole Foods, which the company acquired in 2017, to reduce operating costs and fund the delivery service. “While they chop local jobs of people who are at cash registers or people who smile at you when you go to Whole Foods ... they can lose money hand over fist,” Kummer said. “All of your friends who are smiling at you at Whole Foods are going to be gone, because you’re buying into meal delivery.” According to a February report from Bain & Company done in partnership with Google, 3 percent of US grocery shopping occurs online, but analysts expect the amount of online sales to triple within the next decade. Kummer is executive director of the Food and Society policy program at the Aspen Institute and a senior editor at The Atlantic.