Today on Boston Public Radio:
Jonathan Gruber weighed in on the debate over President Joe Biden’s pledge to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. Gruber teaches economics at MIT. He was instrumental in creating both 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.”
Next, we opened the phone lines to ask listeners about the absence of office culture during the pandemic.
Art Caplan talked about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as well as the lack of diversity in vaccine trial participants. Caplan is director of the Division of Medical Ethics at the New York Univeristy School of Medicine.
Tanja Bosak discussed NASA’s Perseverance rover, sharing what scientists expect to find on the Mars mission. She also talked about what it was like collaborating on the Perseverance rover in the midst of the pandemic. Bosak is a geobiologist at MIT and a return sample scientist on the Perseverance team.
Bob Thompson reviewed PBS’ “The Black Church” and “Mr. Soul!,” as well as NBC’s “Kenan” and “Young Rock.” He also highlighted films predicted to win Golden Globe awards. Thompson is the founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
Juliette Kayyem shared her thoughts on Tuesday’s Senate hearing on the Jan. 6 Capitol siege. 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.
Richard Blanco marked Black History Month by sharing poems from writers such as Gwendolyn Brooks, Terrance Hayes and Danez Smith. Blanco is the fifth inaugural poet in U.S. history. His new book, “How To Love A Country,” deals with various socio-political issues that shadow America.
