Today on Boston Public Radio:
We started the show by opening the phone lines, talking with listeners about the ouster of Rep. Liz Cheney’s, R-Wyo., from House GOP leadership.
Jonathan Gruber weighed in on whether the U.S. should implement a value-added tax to help fund President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda. Gruber is the Ford Professor of Economics at MIT. He was instrumental in creating both the Massachusetts health-care reform and the Affordable Care Act. His latest book is "Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth And The American Dream."
Juliette Kayyem discussed the cyber attack on the Colonial Pipeline and explained how ransomware attacks on private companies are on the rise. She also talked about the crash of a Chinese rocket in the Indian Ocean and the potential for more space debris and rocket parts to fall to earth. 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.
Art Caplan shared his thoughts on the possibility of COVID-19 vaccine mandates in schools and an increase in Americans on diets. Caplan is director of the Division of Medical Ethics at the New York University School of Medicine.
Chuck Wexler explained the nationwide decline in police applicants and discussed changes in police training over the last few decades. Wexler is the executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum and a former member of the Boston Police Department.
Brendan Nyhan talked about his research into misinformation, emphasizing the role digital technology has played in accelerating its spread. Nyhan is a professor in the Department of Government at Dartmouth College and co-founder of Bright Line Watch, which monitors practices of and threats to American democracy.
We ended the show by asking listeners what they thought about Apple’s new AirTag tracking devices.
