
Say More
Big ideas and big debates, explained through intimate conversations with the compelling personalities who shape them. AI and biotech. Higher education and health care. Climate and sustainability. Politics and the media. Culture and culture wars. Hosted by Boston Globe columnist Shirley Leung.
Latest episodes

Jun 5, 2025 • 26min
Trump vs. Harvard. How does it end?
With the moving of tassels and tossing of caps, the school year has come to a close at Harvard. And what a tumultuous year it has been. President Donald Trump has gone to war with the nation's most elite university. The White House has canceled a sweeping array of grants and contracts worth billions of dollars with no plans to let up. Then, in late May, Trump moved to prohibit international students from enrolling at Harvard. Harvard has filed lawsuit after lawsuit to stop Trump from destroying what makes the university great, but as we head into summer, the school is at a crossroads with much of its fate hanging in the courts. Globe Higher Education Reporter Hilary Burns joins “Say More” host Shirley Leung to discuss what’s next for Harvard.

May 29, 2025 • 35min
The C-Word: She was 28 when she was diagnosed with cancer. She’s not alone.
When we think about being young, we picture a time of exploration and discovering who we are. What we don't picture? Cancer. But there's a worrying trend in the cancer world with young adults getting cancer at higher rates, and scientists don't know why.
Kelly Spill was 28 years old when she was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. She was pregnant when she first noticed symptoms. Doctor after doctor told her not to worry. When she was finally diagnosed, her cancer was Stage 3.
This week on “Say More,” Kelly’s story of treatment and survival. Later a conversation with Dr. Andrea Cercek, an oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York, who leads the first clinic in the world to specialize in young people with colorectal cancers.

May 22, 2025 • 33min
The C-Word: When cancer runs in the family
For years, journalist Larry Ingrassia thought his family was tragically unlucky. His mother, two sisters, and brother all died of cancer. Later in life, he understood it was no coincidence: threaded throughout his family’s DNA was a hereditary cancer gene, vastly increasing their risk of the deadly disease. In this episode, Shirley talks to Larry about the moment he discovered the cause, the difficult choice of getting himself tested, and how greater knowledge of family history can lead to monitoring that saves lives. Email us at saymore@globe.com.

May 15, 2025 • 32min
The C-Word: She was a cancer doctor. She hid her cancer for 10 years.
Cancer doctor Barrett Rollins only discovered the extent of his wife’s advanced cancer when she collapsed at work, revealing a football sized breast tumor. Barrett’s wife Jane, also a world-class cancer researcher, confounded her entire community when it was revealed that she had hidden her own cancer diagnosis for years, only sharing the truth when it was too late. On this episode of The C-Word: Stories of Cancer, Shirley and Barrett discuss the complex psychology of cancer, why people struggle to face this disease, and the heartbreaking experience of watching a loved one suffer. Email us at saymore@globe.com.

May 8, 2025 • 30min
The C-Word: Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee wrote the book on cancer
Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee became famous with his epic nonfiction book about cancer, “The Emperor of All Maladies.” The book shows that if there’s one constant in cancer research, it’s that it’s always changing. On this episode of “The C-Word: Stories of Cancer,” Shirley talks to Dr. Mukherjee about how his time living and working in Boston changed him as a doctor. They discuss the hopeful progress we’ve made in curing cancer - and the challenges that persist. Email us at saymore@globe.com.

May 1, 2025 • 30min
The C-Word: Let’s talk about cancer – starting with my own.
Boston Globe columnist Shirley Leung is generally open about her personal life. But this is the first time she is talking publicly about her own experience with breast cancer. She was treated in Boston hospitals and underwent a mastectomy. Like so many others, she will spend the rest of her life getting tested to make sure she stays cancer-free. In this first episode of The C-Word: Stories of Cancer, Shirley talks about the things that surprised her about cancer, and the ways the disease changed her. Email us at saymore@globe.com.

Apr 24, 2025 • 29min
Ken Burns tackles the complexities of the Revolutionary War
If it's an important slice of American history, you can bet Ken Burns has made a documentary about it. The list is nearly endless. From baseball to jazz, Mark Twain to Ernest Hemingway, the Civil War to the Dust Bowl. Now, he's going back to the beginning. Burns’s upcoming documentary series, out later this year, will explore the Revolutionary War with a focus on the lesser-known characters of the revolution. Burns tells the Globe’s editorial page editor Jim Dao that this new film is the most important one he’ll ever make. Email us at saymore@globe.com.To read Ken’s essay about his forthcoming series in Boston Globe Ideas, click here. And to read the rest of Globe Opinion’s coverage of the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War, click here.

Apr 17, 2025 • 56min
Introducing ‘Spotlight: Snitch City’
Today, we’re sharing the first episode of the brand new podcast Spotlight: Snitch City, produced by The Boston Globe's award-winning Spotlight team.In this specific episode, you’ll find yourself on the docks of New Bedford, Massachusetts, hearing whispers about a rogue police officer harassing fishermen and stealing drugs, all of which come to a head one late night aboard a scalloping boat. The officer forces his way on board, saying an informant told him there would be drugs on board, and demands some. But when another officer, Mark Raposo, shows up, he thinks his colleague is in the middle of a “drug rip.” Now Raposo is ready to blow the whistle on what he’s seen. And it turns out that this officer’s abuse of the informant system is just the tip of the iceberg in this historic port city.To listen to the rest of the series, follow Spotlight: Snitch City here: https://link.chtbl.com/tTLbVzKf?sid=SayMore

Apr 10, 2025 • 32min
Why cops are addicted to confidential informants: The Globe investigates Snitch City.
When it comes to the war on drugs, you could say the police are addicted to confidential informants. That’s the conclusion of a new Boston Globe Spotlight investigation into the pervasive and shadowy world of this police practice that is widely used and barely regulated. The story starts in New Bedford Massachusetts, where use of informants has had dramatic consequences. This week on Say More, podcast host Jazmin Aguilera speaks to Spotlight reporters Dugan Arnett and Andrew Ryan about their investigation and their new podcast series “Snitch City”. Email us at saymore@globe.com. For links to the Snitch City investigation, click here.

Mar 30, 2025 • 32min
Say More LIVE: Mayor Wu on The Joy and Challenges of Being a Working Mom
Being a working parent can be a rewarding joy, but it’s also an endless challenge. This week, Say More is happy to share its first LIVE show, recorded from the Boston Globe’s inaugural Working Mothers Summit in Boston. In the episode, Shirley talks to Mayor Michelle Wu about her decision to parent in public, even bringing baby Mira on stage. Then, Shirley sits down with state Attorney General Andrea Campbell about her office’s efforts to reign in social media - for the health and safety of kids. Email us at saymore@globe.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.