Episodes
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BPR Full Show: “Do you know how it feels to have the president of the United States target you?"
Today on Boston Public Radio: We start the show by asking listeners to respond to the testimony in congress of two election workers in Georgia, Wandrea "Shaye" Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman. Both were targeted by former President Donald Trump and his supporters in attempts to delegitimize the 2020 election. Medical ethicist Arthur Caplan discusses whether doctors should talk to their patients about gun safety. Art Caplan on BPR | June 22, 2022 Keri Blakinger, a Texas-based journalist covering mass incarceration, discusses her new memoir "Corrections in Ink" which traces her journey from the ice rink to a heroin addiction to prison, and getting out and getting clean. Award-winning Boston chef and restaurateur Tiffani Faison dishes on a new Food Network cooking competition show, Beachside Brawls. She also discussed throwing out the first pitch at Fenway Park, and the challenges she and other restaurateurs face amid rising prices. We again open the lines to callers to discuss the impacts of former president Donald Trump and his supporters' threats to election workers after the 2020 election. Sy Montgomery, a naturalist, journalist and author, joins us for another edition of the Afternoon Zoo. She tells us about the plight of Bonaparte, a 100-year-old snapping turtle whose habitat was threatened in Springfield and is about to return to the wetlands thanks to the efforts of the Turtle Rescue League. -
BPR Full Show: Continuing the Jan. 6 Committee hearings
Today on Boston Public Radio: We start the show by asking listeners what they think about the state of Boston’s public transit. Trenni Kusnierek discusses golfer Matthew Fitzpatrick’s dramatic win at the US Open. She also talks about Jayson Tatum’s role in the Celtics’ loss, and Amy Kaufman speaking out as the victim of domestic violence from her ex-husband, sports writer Jonah Keri. Kusnierek is a reporter and anchor for NBC Sports Boston, and a weekly Boston Public Radio contributor. Jared Bowen shares his thoughts on the American Repertory Theater’s revitalized run of “1776,” as well as “The Light” at the Lyric Stage Company, and the “wiild negro is love” exhibition at the Cultural Equity Incubator. Bowen is GBH’s executive arts editor and the host of Open Studio. Bill Burr talks about being the first comedian to perform at Fenway Park. Burr is a comedian, actor and Massachusetts-native, with standup specials including “Paper Tiger,” “Walk Your Way Out,” and “I’m Sorry You Feel That Way,” and roles in Netflix’s “F Is For Family,” Disney+'s “The Mandalorian,” and the film “The King of Staten Island.” He’ll be playing Fenway Park on August 21. We end the show by turning to live coverage of the Jan. 6 hearings. -
BPR Full Show: Taking A Tumble
Today on Boston Public Radio: EJ Dionne shares his thoughts on the latest news from the Jan. 6 committee hearing, and violent threats from the alt-right targeting Republicans in Congress. Dionne is a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution. His latest book is “Code Red: How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite to Save Our Country.” We then open the phone lines, asking listeners if they’re holding back on their summer plans due to rising inflation. Michael Curry discusses the legacy of Juneteenth, and the CDC’s approval of COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5. Curry is chair of the NAACP Advocacy and Policy Committee, and is president and CEO of the Mass League of Community Health Centers. Sally Starr reflects on 50 years of Title IX. Starr is the head field hockey coach at Boston University. She has coached women’s collegiate sports for over 45 years. Next, we talk with listeners about their experiences in school sports in the 50 years since Title IX was enacted. Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett G. Price III weigh in on the federal commemoration of Juneteenth, and potential corporatization of the holiday. Monroe is a syndicated religion columnist and the Boston voice for Detour’s African American Heritage Trail. Price is founding pastor of Community of Love Christian Fellowship in Allston, and the Inaugural Dean of Africana Studies at Berklee College of Music. Together they host the “All Rev’d Up” podcast. Richard Blanco shares his favorite poems for Pride Month. Blanco joins us regularly to lead Village Voice, a conversation about how poetry can help us better understand our lives. He’s the fifth presidential inaugural poet in US history. His latest book, “How to Love a Country,” deals with various socio-political issues that shadow America. We end the show by asking listeners for their most mortifying stories of falling down. -
BPR Full Show: Drag Queen Story Hour and Live Music Fridays
Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by talking with listeners about whether families are being priced out of Boston. Callie Crossley talks about the history and future of Juneteenth, and the Boston bar trolling Stephen and Ayesha Curry. Crossley hosts GBH’s Under the Radar and Basic Black. Patty Bouree and Allison McClaury join us for Drag Queen Story Hour, live at the Boston Public Library. They also talk about LGBTQ+ acceptance in the wake of politicians’ attacks on drag events across the country. Patty Bouree heads Boston’s Branch of Drag Queen Story Hour. MacLaury is the director of education for the Mosesian Center for the Arts. Together, they’re organizing “Let’s Say Gay! A Community Pride Event” at the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown. David Hogg weighs in on the road ahead for gun legislation in Washington. Hogg is a Parkland shooting survivor and a co-founder of March For Our Lives. Sue O’Connell talks about Yellowstone National Park’s “unprecedented” flooding, and the visible ways climate change has impacted the U.S. National Park System. O’Connell is the co-publisher of Bay Windows and the South End News, as well as NECN's political commentator and explainer-in-chief. Jessica Johnson Brock, Annie Rabbat, Patricia Au, and Vera Savage join us for a live performance at the Boston Public Library ahead of this weekend’s Boston Lyric Opera’s Street Stage shows. Johnson Brock is the Senior Director of Artistic Operations at the Boston Lyric Opera. Rabbat, Au, and Savage are members of the Boston Lyric Opera. We end the show by talking with listeners about France’s worker-friendly laws, from 30 days of paid vacation to restrictions on when bosses can text employees. -
BPR Full Show: Jan. 6 hearings continue
Today on Boston Public Radio: Judge Nancy Gertner shares her thoughts on the Jan. 6 hearings so far, including Ginni Thomas’ emails, and the possibility of former President Donald Trump being indicted. Gertner is a retired federal judge, and is now a senior lecturer at Harvard Law School. Then, we ask listeners if they’re struggling to give the Jan. 6 hearings adequate attention given the overwhelming state of the news. Andrea Cabral talks about the Jan. 6 hearings, a the thwarted white supremacist riot plot on a pride event in Idaho, and the ruling that a Bronx Zoo elephant named Happy is not a legal person. Cabral is the former Suffolk County sheriff and secretary of public safety, and former CEO of the cannabis company Ascend. Judd Legum discusses his reporting on the pledges corporations made about not funding politicians who voted to overturn the 2020 election. Legum writes the newsletter Popular Information. He was the founder and editor of ThinkProgress, Hillary Clinton’s Research Director for her 2008 presidential campaign and a Democratic nominee for State Delegate in Maryland in 2010. We then carry live coverage of the Jan. 6 hearings. -
Corby Kummer on Eating Alone
During a segment of Tuesday’s Boston Public Radio, award-winning food writer Corby Kummer chimed in on hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan’s debate over eating alone. “Eating alone at a bar is one of life's most satisfying occupations,” Kummer told Boston Public Radio. “I was in a lot of Boston restaurants over the weekend, and the number of people I saw either happily with a book or sitting at a bar alone and looking like there was nothing else they would rather be doing I found really striking.” “[There was a] level of contentment — not artificially looking up as if they have a friend coming — there was none of that,” Kummer added. “There was ‘I'm happy to be here by myself.’ This is a great thing.” Kummer is executive director of the Food and Society policy program at the Aspen Institute, a senior editor at The Atlantic and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. -
BPR Full Show: Love in the Bread Aisle
Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by talking with listeners about rising costs amid inflation. Art Caplan discusses the World Health Organization’s (WHO) upcoming assessment of monkeypox as a potential global health emergency. Caplan is the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor and founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU School of Medicine in New York City. Shirley Leung talks about efforts to build greenspace in Boston’s Seaport neighborhood, and the potential for safe consumption sites in Mass. Leung is a business columnist for the Boston Globe. Miles Howard shares his 25-mile Boston trail map, which connects green spaces across more than a dozen neighborhoods. Howard is a Boston-based journalist and author of the “Mind the Moss,” a newsletter about hiking. Then, we talk with listeners about their favorite hiking trails in the Boston area. Mitra Kalita discusses the role of the diversity officer in corporate spaces, and the transition of diversity, equity, and inclusion from human resources to the C-suite. Kalita is the co-founder and CEO of URL Media, a network of Black and Brown news and information outlets. Andy Ihnatko updates us on the latest tech headlines, focusing on the Google engineer claiming that Google’s AI language model is sentient. Ihnatko is a tech writer and blogger, posting at Ihnatko.com. We wrap up the show by asking listeners about the regional fascination with Market Basket. -
BPR Full Show: On the bright side....
Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by asking listeners if they’re feeling positive about the state of current events. Trenni Kusnierek talks about last night’s Celtics loss, the suspension of several players from the PGA and Amy Schneider throwing the first pitch at the Giants-Dodgers game. Kusnierek is a reporter and anchor for NBC Sports Boston, and a weekly Boston Public Radio contributor. Juliette Kayyem reacts to the Jan. 6 hearings and the Senate’s potential gun deal. 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. Quincy Roberts Sr. explains his new role as Executive Director of LGBTQ+ Advancement, and his past experiences and advocacy in Boston. Roberts is is the inaugural Executive Director for the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Advancement in Boston and co-founder of the Hispanic Black Gay Coalition. Then, we ask listeners to debate the merits of eating alone. Corby Kummer discusses the James Beard awards and their efforts to diversify, obstacles facing young farmers and Rhode Island becoming a restaurant hotspot. Kummer is executive director of the Food and Society policy program at the Aspen Institute, a senior editor at The Atlantic and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. John King shares his insights about the Jan. 6 hearings and Joe Biden’s potential 2024 run. King is CNN’s chief national correspondent and anchor of "Inside Politics,” which airs weekdays and Sunday mornings at 8 a.m. We end the show by continuing the conversation about eating alone. -
BPR Full Show: The hearings, day two
Today on Boston Public Radio: Juliette Kayyem previews day two of the January 6 hearings. 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. Then, we air the House Select Committee Hearings on the Jan. 6 insurrection. Andrea Cabral shares her reactions to the proceedings. Cabral is the former Suffolk County sheriff and secretary of public safety, and former CEO of the cannabis company Ascend. Michael Curry discusses whether he thinks former president Donald Trump will be prosecuted, and how he thinks Trump supporters will react to the hearings. Curry is chair of the NAACP Advocacy and Policy Committee, and is president and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers. We end the show by taking calls from listeners on their reactions to the hearings. -
Corby Kummer: Free School Lunches Set to Expire June 30
Pandemic-era federal waivers that expanded children’s access to food through year-round, free school lunches are set to expire this month, after Congress failed to extend the waivers past their June 30 deadline. A cumulative 4.3 billion meals were distributed through the program over the last two summers. “Now parents have to go back to filling in humiliating applications saying, ‘Here's what money we make and why we need help from the school lunch,’” Kummer told Boston Public Radio on Friday. “What parent has time to do that, let alone wants the stigma of their kid asking for this kind of assistance?” Kummer is executive director of the Food and Society policy program at the Aspen Institute, a senior editor at The Atlantic and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
