Episodes
-
BPR Full Show 11/5/20: Waiting Games
Today on Boston Public Radio: Robert Tsai talked about the state of the presidential race as of Thursday morning, and weighed in on the President’s litany of lawsuits against states over ballot counting. Tsai is a professor of Law at Boston university. His latest book is "Practical Equality: Forging justice in a Divided Nation.” Next, we turned to callers to get your thoughts on the ongoing election count, and what you make of the President’s lawsuits. Former Suffolk County sheriff and secretary of public safety Andrea Cabral discussed the impact of voter suppression in the 2020 presidential race, and the persistent, unwavering faith that Trump supporters have in their president. Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed the limits of President Trump's authority over his top infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci, and the impact of Trump rallies on surging coronavirus cases throughout the U.S. In our last hour, we opened the lines to hear your thoughts on how election 2020 is playing out. -
BPR Full Show 11/4/20: Politics, Narrative, & Power
Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened Wednesday’s show by turning to callers, to hear your thoughts on Tuesday’s presidential election. Rosa Brooks talked about her work over the summer with the Transition Integrity Project, and weighed in on how Tuesday’s results compare with some of the exercise's worst-case scenarios. Brooks is the co-organizer of the Transition Integrity Project, a former Pentagon official under the Obama administration, and the Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law and Policy at Georgetown University Law Center. Her forthcoming book is “Tangled Up in Blue: Policing the American City.” CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem gave her analysis of Tuesday’s election results, and explained why she expects former Vice President Joe Biden will breach 270 electoral votes before the end of the week. 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. Washington Post columnist and Brookings Institute senior fellow EJ Dionne talked about what we can gauge from the tallied votes of Tuesday’s election, with respect to both the White House and the Senate. He also discussed the road ahead on issues like climate change, racial equity, and political division in the U.S. Closing out our final hour, we opened our lines to hear your thoughts on everything related to election 2020. -
Juliette Kayyem: No Foreign Activity Detected In US Elections
Homeland security expert Juliette Kayyem spoke with Boston Public Radio on Wednesday about the current state of the 2020 presidential election. “My biggest fear was a systemic breakdown of voting, such that you would get a real question from both sides that these counts were not legitimate,” she said. “There are huge issues around the post office, and we still have votes to count, but you didn’t see the kind of the thing I would’ve worried about.” One potential threat, currently undetected, was nefarious interference from foreign governments, Kayyem noted. “You didn’t see any activity in particular of foreign activity or disruption,” she said. “My worry was that that would lead to a majority of the population going to the streets demanding our democracy work better.” 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. -
Rosa Brooks Offers an ‘Optimistic’ Post-Election Debrief
Back in June, the bipartisan Transition Integrity Project gamed out a handful of likely outcomes for the 2020 election. On the Wednesday after Election Day, one of the group's co-organizers, Rosa Brooks, called in to Boston Public Radio for a debrief on how Tuesday’s results compared to the project's worst-case scenarios. "Never say never, but I am actually more optimistic now,” she said in reference to the possibility that President Trump might successfully manage to discredit and nullify late-counted election ballots. "The ballots will get counted, and the Trump team will make legal challenges. But I think we’re gonna get through this – I hope we’re gonna get through this – without the level of crisis that some of our exercises got us to." Brooks is the co-organizer of the Transition Integrity Project, a former Pentagon official under the Obama administration, and the Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law and Policy at Georgetown University Law Center. Her forthcoming book is “Tangled Up in Blue: Policing the American City.” -
BPR Full Show 11/3/20: Your Premier Election Primer
New York Magazine writer-at-larger Frank Rich talked about some worst-case scenarios for Democrats ahead of Tuesday's election tallies, and what he believes might happen to the careers of GOP Trump loyalists if the President loses his reelection bid. Next, we opened lines to talk with listeners about your feelings on everything related to Tuesday's presidential election. Mass. ACLU Executive Director Carol Rose talked about the work being done by the ACLU to ensure a fair election as day-of voters head to the polls. She also touched on some complaints about long lines and improper ID checks that her organization has already received. Robert Blair, an assistant professor of political science at Brown University and coordinator of the Democratic Erosion consortium, discussed his recent writing for the Boston Globe on why Democrats should have a plan for how to respond if President Trump loses the election and contests the results. Jennifer Horn, former Chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party and a co-founder of the Lincoln Project, talked about what her collective of anti-Trump Republicans is doing to encourage fellow conservatives to support former Vice President Joe Biden on Election Day. Historian Allan Lichtman discussed the reasoning behind his prediction that Joe Biden will clinch a victory in the 2020 election, after correctly predicting the winner of every presidential race across the last nine elections with his famous “Keys to the White House." CNN’s John King gave a debrief on the latest political headlines on Election Day, and talked about which Senate races he'll be watching closely as Tuesday night’s results come in. We closed out Tuesday’s show by returning to callers – including former Secretary of State John Kerry – to hear your thoughts on election 2020. -
Writer Frank Rich Has More Than One Worst-Case Election Scenario
New York Magazine writer-at-large Frank Rich joined Tuesday’s Boston Public Radio, breaking down a slew of worst-case scenarios ahead of Tuesday’s Election Day vote tallies. "We all have a million fears – I’m speaking now, of course, of those of us who want to see Biden win,” he said. "I’m sure there’s another group of fears on the other side, as it were.” Rich spoke about the possibility of votes not getting counted, partisan court rulings, and the ominous presence of pro-Trump militias popping up the Midwest and elsewhere. He also weighed in on what he thinks might come of the careers of the many Republican Trump loyalists, should the president lose his reelection bid. Rich is writer-at-large for New York Magazine, where he covers politics and culture. He’s also an executive producer of the HBO’s “Succession,” and “Veep." -
BPR Full Show 11/2/20: Final Forecasts
Today on Boston Public Radio: Washington Week moderator Robert Costa talked about his special report for the program, about the attitudes of Penn. voters ahead of Tuesday’s election, and how they have and haven't changed in the four years since 2016. We opened lines to talk with listeners about your anxieties and hopes ahead of Tuesday’s election. Charlie Chieppo and Shannon O’Brien joined for a politics roundtable, weighing in on where both of the candidates stands on the eve of Election Day. Chieppo is principal of Chieppo Strategies, a senior fellow at the Pioneer Institute, and Adjunct professor at Suffolk University. O’Brien is former state treasurer and Democratic nominee for governor of Mass. Rep. Ayanna Pressley called in as a surrogate for the Biden/Harris ticket, to make her final appeal to voters ahead of Tuesday’s election. She also weighed in on Mass. police reform, and why she believes the U.S. is due for a third Reconstruction. Charles Stewart III talked about the varying outcomes of Tuesday’s election, and how the surge of mail-in voting and other coronavirus precautions might impact when we get election results. Stewart is the Kenan Sahin distinguished professor of political science at MIT. He’s also director of the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, co-director of the Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project, and co-director of the Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project. Irene Monroe and Emmett Price, hosts of GBH’s All Rev’d Up, talked about the latest headlines at the intersect of religion and Tuesday’s election. We closed out the show by returning to listeners to talk about anything and everything related to Tuesday’s presidential election. -
BPR Full Show 10/30/20: Terms & Conditions
Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened lines to talk with listeners about the idea of a one-term presidency, and whether you think it might benefit America's political system. Pine Street Inn President Lyndia Downey talked about work being done at the Pine Street Inn to empower Boston's homeless residents to vote, and how her organization is preparing for Thanksgiving during the pandemic. Corey Lewandowski, a senior advisor for President Trump’s reelection campaign, talked about how he's feeling ahead of next Tuesday’s presidential election, and why he doesn’t believe in the constitutionality of a nationwide mask mandate. He also rebuked criticisms of President Trump’s refusal to address the QAnon conspiracy theory. Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll talked about the experience of leading her city through Halloween season during the coronavirus pandemic, and discussed what’s being done to keep Witch City residents safe – and tourists at bay. Beat the Press host Emily Rooney reflected on the passing of Travis Roy, a former hockey player-turned activist and motivational speaker. She also discussed news of the unmasked "anonymous" Trump staffer, and read a pre-election list of fixations and fulminations. Under the Radar host Callie Crossley talked about the perforce of moderator Kristen Welker at the last presidential debate, and specifically her handling of questions about race and “the talk” that nonwhite parents have with their children in the U.S. She also touched on how grocery chain Trader Joe's has managed to weather economic storm of the pandemic, and previewed Sunday’s episode of Under the Radar. We closed the show by opening our lines to talk with listeners about the shows, movies, and music you’re taking in to offset the unease of this pre-election moment. -
BPR Full Show 10/29/20: Bernie & Warren Weigh In
Today on Boston Public Radio: NBC “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd checked in to talk about the state of the presidential race, five days away from Election Day. Sen. Bernie Sanders called in as a surrogate for former Vice President Joe Biden, talking about why he hopes supporters of his presidential campaign will pivot to supporting the Democratic nominee. He also weighed in on the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, and reflected on how much he’s missed in-person rallies. Next, we opened our lines to talk with progressive listeners about their thoughts on Joe Biden’s candidacy. Bill McKibben reflected on the future of the climate crisis, with a possible reelection win for President Trump on Tuesday, and this week’s confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. McKibben is a founder of the climate campaign 350.org, and the Schumann Distinguished Scholar in environmental studies at Middlebury College. He writes "The Climate Crisis," The New Yorker's newsletter on the environment. Former Suffolk County sheriff and secretary of public safety Andrea Cabral talked about Gov. Charlie Baker's nomination of Associate Justice Kimberly Budd to succeed the late Justice Ralph Gants as chief justice of the Mass. Supreme Judicial Court, and reflected on the Philadelphia police killing of Walter Wallace Jr. Next, we opened lines to ask: is all politics personal? Sen. Elizabeth Warren talked about the future of Roe v. Wade in the wake of Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, and why she’s optimistic about the notion of building "back better," and the future of the country under a Joe Biden presidency. -
BPR Full Show 10/28/20: Heated!
Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened lines to ask: are the high early voting turnout numbers easing your election day jitters? Joan Donovan, Research Director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, talked about the rise of the QAnon conspiracy theory, and how media manipulation has allowed it to spread so effectively. CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem discussed rising cases of COVID-19 throughout the U.S., and explained why she’s reassured by the deployment of National Guard troops to cities throughout Texas ahead of the election. M.I.T. economist Jon Gruber talked about the ways varying election outcomes could impact the future of the Affordable Care Act, and responded to questions from listeners. We opened lines for our seasonal inquiry, asking: with temperatures expected to drop below 30 degrees this week, how cold does it need to get before you activate your heat? Writer and naturalist Sy Montgomery returned for our monthly edition of “Afternoon Zoo,” where she talked about the different ways groups of animals pick their pack leaders, and the reasons why certain animals will occasionally social distance.
