Callie Crossley, host of WGBH's Under the Radar with Callie Crossley, features the voices of our communities each week for discussions on the pressing issues they face. The segment airs every Sunday from 6 to 7 p.m.
Here are our top Under the Radar segments from this year:
1. Celebrating National Poetry Month with Two Poets
It makes sense that in an era of tweets, Instagram and push notifications, poetry would make a comeback. The art of packaging worlds of meaning into succinct turns of phrase is perfect for the age of ever-shortening attention spans. It could be one reason why the number of adults — and young people — reading poetry is higher than it’s been in over 15 years. We celebrated National Poetry Month with Massachusetts Poetry Out Loud champion Rose Hanson and nationally acclaimed poet Kwame Alexander.
2. Gestational Surrogacy Offers A New Path To Building A Family
Mother's Day can be a painful reminder for some, like would-be moms who are unable to become or stay pregnant. These days, however, because of advancements in medical technology and awareness about infertility, more people are turning to so-called third party reproductive methods such as sperm, egg and embryo donors, as well as gestational surrogates.
3. Boston Remembers Puerto Rican Veterans
Since the 1890s, over 200,000 Puerto Ricans have served in the U.S. armed forces. But despite active and long-term service during the last century, Puerto Rican servicemen and women are practically invisible in U.S. military history. Their contributions have not been forgotten in Boston, however, home of the country’s only monument to Puerto Rican veterans.
4. 'The FATHERS Project' Imagines A World Without AIDS
“Looking Back, Loving Forward,” the theme of this year’s Boston Pride celebration, acknowledged advancements in gay rights and commemorated seminal historical events like the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Part of the reflection on LGBTQ history of the last century is the painful absence of what could have been — the blank spaces left by the thousands lost during the AIDS crisis, including trailblazing artists, activists and other cultural icons. The FATHERS Project, a new web series out of San Francisco, is imagining a world in which those people never died.
5. #AsianAugust, One Year Later
Last August, "Crazy Rich Asians" took the box office by storm, raking in more than $170 million in the U.S. alone. The film was one of several big blockbusters to premier last summer featuring all-Asian casts and Asian leads. The phenomenon was dubbed #AsianAugust, and sparked excitement about a turning point for positive representation in Hollywood. A number of films starring Asian casts have since graced the silver screen, but has the momentum of #AsianAugust continued in the way fans and critics had hoped?
