Episodes
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Corby Kummer: Prince Edward Island "Spudpocalypse" an Opening for Local Farmers
Concern is growing over what the Boston Globe is calling a potential “spudpocalypse” threatening Massachusetts’ potato supply. Award-winning food writer Corby Kummer joined Boston Public Radio on Wednesday to explain whether Massachusetts residents might see a drop in potato stock at their local grocery stores. The spuds most at-risk are grown on Prince Edward Island (PEI), where farmers ship between 250 million to 300 million pounds of potatoes to the U.S. annually. According to the Globe, “Massachusetts residents consume an average of 75 million pounds of PEI potatoes each year, second only to Puerto Rico.” Lately, potato crops on Prince Edward Island have been decimated by potato wart, a fungus that poses no threat to humans but produces spores and appendages on potatoes. “It's been very bad for the [Prince Edward Island] potato industry; not all that bad for the Massachusetts potato supply,” Kummer said. “We have to be worried about Prince Edward Island farmers and their access to markets. They're hoping that Puerto Rico is going to reopen the market soon.” While potatoes from the island popularly known as the home of Anne of Green Gables may be harder to find in Massachusetts, local farmers should be keeping grocery store shelves full. “Western Mass has potato farms,” Kummer said. “So it's an opening for local potato growers.” Kummer is the 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: Testing, Testing
Today on Boston Public Radio: We open the show by asking listeners for their thoughts on the “Freedom Convoy” of truckers and conspiracy theorists protesting COVID-19 precautions and vaccine mandates. Art Caplan shares his thoughts on a recent neo-Nazi demonstration outside Brigham and Women’s Hospital that targeted two physicians for their efforts to make healthcare more equitable, as reported on by GBH senior investigative reporter Phillip Martin. 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. Juliette Kayyem discusses the “Freedom Convoy” protests against vaccine mandates, and Senator Mitch McConnell’s pushback on the Republican National Committee labeling the Jan. 6 Capitol riots as “legitimate political discourse.” Kayyem is former assistant secretary for homeland security under President Barack Obama, and the faculty chair of the homeland-security program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Corby Kummer talks about the potato shortage that could hit New England, and the large restaurant chains that received federal pandemic assistance from the Small Business Administration. Kummer is the 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. Michael Curry shares his thoughts on Gov. Charlie Baker’s decision to lift a statewide school mask mandate on Feb. 28. Curry is president and CEO of the Mass. League of Community Health Centers. He’s also a Member of the National NAACP Board of Directors, where he serves as chair of the Board’s Advocacy & Policy Committee. Abbie Richards talks about her work combating misinformation on TikTok, and how conspiracy theories run rampant on platforms with little-to-no content moderation. Richards is currently working on her masters in climate studies, and is a co-founder of EcoTok, an environmental TikTok collective that specializes in social media-based climate communication. To wrap up the show, we ask listeners whether they’ve been rapid-testing before going on dates or meeting up with friends. -
BPR Full Show: Who Died and Made You Boss?
Today on Boston Public Radio: We start the show by opening phone lines, checking in with listeners about how their kids have been faring at school. Trenni Kusnierek talks about a decline in viewership during the Beijing Olympics, and tennis player Peng Shuai’s meeting with International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach. Kusnierek is an anchor and reporter for NBC Sports Boston, and a BPR contributor. Imran Ahmed discusses the spread of misinformation on social media, and explains how social media platforms should combat misinformation online. Ahmed is CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, an international not-for-profit organization working to stop the cycle of online hate and misinformation. Robert Lewis Jr. shares the latest on his community youth outreach work through the BASE. He also talks about his new role as the head of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston. Lewis Jr. is founder of The BASE in Roxbury, which he’s led for the past nine years. In March, he will become president of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston. Elle Simone Scott talks about some of her favorite recipes, and her journey in the traditionally male and white food world. Scott is Executive Editor and Inclusion Leader at America's Test Kitchen. She is also founder of the mentoring organization SheChef. Her forthcoming book, “Boards: Stylish Spreads for Casual Gatherings,” is out in April. John King updates us on the latest political headlines, focusing on the resignation of President Joe Biden’s top science adviser Eric Lander for workplace harassment. King is CNN’s chief national correspondent and host of Inside Politics Monday through Friday at noon. We then ask listeners for their bad boss stories. -
BPR Full Show: Let's Talk About "The Talk"
Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by talking with listeners about the Republican National Committee labeling the Jan. 6 Capitol attacks as “legitimate political discourse.” U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins discusses the decision to dismiss criminal charges against MIT professor Gang Chen, who was accused of hiding ties to China. She also talks about her priority of combatting human trafficking. Rollins is the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, and the former Suffolk County District Attorney. Katie Murphy and Tami Hale talk about the burnout and staffing shortages facing nurses across the state. Murphy is president of the Massachusetts Nurses Association and a nurse at Brigham and Womens. Hale is a school nurse at Gates Lane Elementary School in Worcester. Emily Channell-Justice explains the foreign policy implications behind Russia’s threat to invade Ukraine, and what Ukrainian sovereignty means in the 21st century. Channell-Justice is the director of the Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program at the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard. Their annual conference on Ukraine begins today, examining 30 years of Ukrainian sovereignty. Her study of the Ukrainian people, “Without the State: Self-Organization and Political Activism in Ukraine” is forthcoming. Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett G. Price III share their thoughts on Joe Rogan’s apology for using the N-word in multiple podcast episodes, and racism in the NFL. 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, the Inaugural Dean of Africana Studies at Berklee College of Music. Together, they host GBH’s All Rev’d Up podcast. Kara Baskin talks about her recent column on how and when to have the “talk” with kids about sex. Baskin is a Food & Parenting writer for the Boston Globe, and a humor writer for McSweeney's. We end the show by opening the lines, asking listeners how they’ve had the “talk” with their kids. -
BPR Full Show: Quiz day!
Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by asking listeners their thoughts on whether it’s time for workers to return to the office. Shirley Leung argues that businesses need to bring workers back in person, and discusses self-driving cars doing poorly in Southie. Leung is a business columnist for the Boston Globe. Billy Costa quizzes Jim and Margery on trivia questions, until they turn the tables and quiz Costa himself. Costa co-hosts Kiss 108’s Matty in the Morning, Dining Playbook on NESN and the host of GBH’s High School Quiz Show – season 13 of which will premiere on GBH 2 tomorrow at 6 PM. Andy Ihnatko weighs in on the Spotify controversy with Joe Rogan and Neil Young and other streaming options, and worries about the growing threat of deepfakes. Ihnatko is a tech writer and blogger, posting at Ihnatko.com. Melinda Lopez and Maurice Emmanuel Parent preview their one-man show about an actor who begins working as a teacher. Emmanuel Parent is an actor and the star of the fabulous one-man show Mr. Parent and a teacher at Tufts. Lopez is a playwright, actress and the writer of Mr. Parent. She also teaches theater and playwriting at Boston University and Northeastern University, in addition to being the inaugural Mellon Foundation playwright-in-residence at the Huntington Theatre Company. Sue O'Connell talks about former CNN president Jeff Zucker’s ousting over a secret office relationship, and Whoopi Goldberg’s misinformed comments on the Holocaust that led to her suspension from the View. 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. We end the show by asking listeners their thoughts on office relationships following Zucker’s resignation from CNN. -
BPR Full Show: Crucial Area
Today on Boston Public Radio: Chuck Todd talks about former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL, arguing that the league has unfair hiring practices far removed from current corporate standards. Todd is the moderator of “Meet The Press” on NBC, host of “Meet The Press Daily” on MSNBC and the political director for NBC News. Then, we ask listeners about the state of sports following Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL and controversy surrounding the Beijing Olympics. Andrea Cabral discusses the neo-Nazi group that protested outside of Brigham and Women’s Hospital against doctors’ focus on anti-racist medical practices. Cabral is the former Suffolk County sheriff and Massachusetts secretary of public safety. She’s currently the CEO of the cannabis company Ascend. Jared Bowen talks about the Boston Lyric Opera’s “Svadba,” and the Lyric Stage Company’s “Mr. Parent.” He also previews this week’s edition of “Open Studio.” Bowen is GBH’s executive arts editor and the host of Open Studio. Lyndia Downie and John Yazwinski discuss the need for supportive housing to combat homelessness in the Greater Boston Area, and Mayor Michelle Wu’s announcement of $40 million in funding to create and preserve more than 700 units of income-restricted housing. Downey is the President and Executive Director of the Pine Street Inn, one of the largest agencies serving homeless people and developing affordable housing targeted at homeless individuals in New England. Yazwinski is the President and CEO of Father Bill’s and Mainspring, which provides shelter, housing, and homelessness prevention services to individuals and families in Southern Massachusetts. Jon Gruber talks about his recent travels through South America, and how the U.S. compares to South American countries in their responses to COVID-19. Gruber was instrumental in creating both the Massachusetts health care reform and the Affordable Care Act, and his latest book is “Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth And The American Dream.” We end the show by talking with listeners about Wordle, and the other games they’ve played to keep them from doomscrolling. -
BPR Full Show: Early bird gets the worm
Today on Boston Public Radio: Art Caplan weighs in on Denmark getting rid of all COVID restrictions, desires for the U.S. to do the same, and ethical approaches to the metaverse following reports of sexual assault online. Caplan is director of the Division of Medical Ethics at the New York University School of Medicine. Then, we ask listeners their thoughts on whether the U.S. should follow the path of Denmark and ramp down COVID restrictions, or continue fighting the spread. Juliette Kayyem discusses the latest in the Jan. 6 committee news, tensions at the Russia-Ukraine border and a report into Miami’s dangerous condo development history following Surfside. 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. Michelle Singletary prepares listeners for tax season, including tips on how to deal with income through Venmo and Paypal and a racially biased IRS facial recognition software, and her advice when it comes to financial infidelity. Singletary is a nationally syndicated columnist for The Washington Post, whose award-winning column “The Color of Money” provides insight into the world of personal finance. Dr. Julia Brody and Dr. Mary Beth Terry talk about their series, “Cancer and the Environment,” about the link between chemicals and cancer. Brody is the executive director and senior scientist at Silent Spring Institute, a scientific research organization dedicated to uncovering the environmental causes of breast cancer. Terry is a cancer epidemiologist at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. Joanne Chang updates listeners on the challenging state of the restaurant industry amid Omicron and uneven federal aid, and shares her Lunar New Year traditions. Joanne Chang is a James Beard Award-Winning baker and owner of Flour Bakery, as well as the fantastic Myers + Chang with her husband Christopher Myers. We end the show by asking listeners whether they’re early birds or night owls, and why people enjoy the early hours of the morning. -
Corby Kummer on the Restaurateurs Urging Congress to Replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund
Sen. Elizabeth Warren sat down with Mass Restaurants United and local restaurateurs in Cambridge for a roundtable discussion on Jan. 25 to hear the struggles they’ve faced throughout the pandemic. Chief among them is a call to replenish the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) as restaurateurs enter a third year of uncertainty during the pandemic. Award-winning food writer Corby Kummer joined Boston Public Radio to share his thoughts on the major takeaways from the roundtable, as well as replenishing the RRF. “It was a lot of restaurant people saying, ‘Hey, what is it with this administration? They promised us something,’” Kummer told Boston Public Radio. “But more than just complaining, they're advocating for [an additional] $60 billion in federal aid to the depleted Restaurant Revitalization Fund.” Some participants at the Jan. 25 roundtable shared that their restaurants would not have survived if it weren’t for money received from the RRF; others expressed frustration, either finding out that their restaurants were ineligible or that they had been approved for money and had yet to receive it. Kummer said that while the Small Business Administration had good intentions with the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, a messy rollout led to the fund operating more like a lottery. “The Biden administration wanted to prioritize restaurants owned by women, people of color, [and] veterans. They were supposed to be at the head of the line, and then a bunch of white, non-minority, non-women, males, [had] affirmative action challenges and said, ‘How dare you, I'm a struggling business man too. Give me the money,’” Kummer said. “Unfortunately, the challenges were upheld, but it put the whole thing into disarray and chaos.” “Many of the restaurants that were supposed to be at the end of the line, for some quirk, got put at the head of the line. Suddenly they were in, and the money went out, whereas a lot of restaurants that had been approved were held in limbo, and then the fund ran out of money.” During the wide-ranging interview, Kummer also discussed the Aspen Institute’s Food Is Medicine Initiative, as well as the growing number of restaurants getting rid of their landline phones for orders. Kummer is the 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: Bye Bye Brady
Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by opening phone lines, asking listeners for their thoughts on Tom Brady’s retirement. Trenni Kusnierek weighs in on Tom Brady’s retirement, and Rafael Nadal’s record 21 Grand Slam tennis titles. She also talks about athletes’ COVID-19 precautions at the Beijing Olympics. Kusnierek is a reporter and anchor for NBC Sports Boston, and a weekly Boston Public Radio contributor. Carol Rose shares her analysis of a federal judge rejecting a hate crimes plea-deal for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, and Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement announcement. Rose is the Executive Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. Alexandria Onuoha discusses the crisis of missing Black women and girls in Mass., and calls for increased community and political support to protect Black women and girls. Onuoha is the Director of Political Advocacy for Black Boston, a nonprofit focused on fighting injustice and creating community in Boston’s Black community. Corby Kummer talks about the restaurants ditching their landline phones, and the restaurateurs urging Congress to replenish the Small Business Administration’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund. Kummer is the 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 updates us on the latest political headlines, focusing on former President Donald Trump’s staff drafting versions of an executive order to seize voting machines. King is CNN's Chief National Correspondent and anchor of "Inside Politics,” which airs weekdays and Sunday mornings at 8 a.m. We wrap up today’s show by continuing our conversation with listeners on Tom Brady. -
BPR Full Show: After the Snow
Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by opening phone lines, talking with listeners about youth mental health during the pandemic. John Della Volpe talks about Gen Z’s relationship to political activism, and the events that pushed them to action. Della Volpe is director of polling at Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics and a former Biden campaign adviser. His new book is: “Fight: How Gen Z Is Channeling Their Fear And Passion To Save America.” EJ Dionne discusses a surge in book ban efforts across the country. He also weighs in on the road ahead for President Joe Biden’s first nominee to the Supreme Court. 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.” Dan Adams updates us on the latest headlines from the local marijuana industry, including Gov. Charlie Baker’s filing of the Clardy Law, which would treat driving impairment from alcohol and marijuana the same way. Adams is a cannabis reporter and author of the “This Week in Weed” newsletter for the Boston Globe. Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett G. Price III share their thoughts on the Pope’s statement on COVID-19 information, and the state of the Supreme Court. Rev. Monroe is a syndicated religion columnist and the Boston voice for Detour’s African American Heritage Trail. Rev. Price is founding pastor of Community of Love Christian Fellowship in Allston, the Inaugural Dean of Africana Studies at Berklee College of Music. Together they host the “All Rev’d Up” podcast at GBH. Richard Blanco shares some of his favorite winter-themed poems, including Wallace Stevens’ “The Snowman,” Jay Parini’s “Below Zero,” and Mark Strand’s “Lines for Winter.” 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 how they handled Saturday’s snow storm.
