Latest Episodes
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Why is Winnie the Pooh a Symbol for Chinese Dissidents?
Chinese political dissidents use memes and creativity to evade censors and communicate about their activism. Disinformation expert Joan Donovan discusses how they pull it off.As we near the end of Ramadan and while Lent is ongoing, we talk to Boston University Muslim chaplain Sister Naureen Mallick and Rev. Jessica Chika, BU's Protestant chaplain, about the reasons many religions have a tradition of fasting. And a coffee taste-off in our studio! We learn the Scandinavian tradition of whisking eggs into hot coffee, plus sample Vietnamese iced coffee and read Edgar's fortune in the grounds of Turkish coffee. Guests are Pan Sapkasem from Phinsta Cafe, Karyn Tomlinson from Mireal Cafe, and Kristin Santangelo from Sofra Bakery. ---------Have something you’re curious about? Leave us a voicemail anytime at 877-301-8970, or submit questions via the form on our landing page at GBHNews.org.Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content and exclusive videos. -
How Do Immigrants Prop Up U.S. Health Care?
The U.S. health care system relies heavily on immigrants to provide essential patient care. MIT economist Jonathan Gruber dives into what happens to care and costs when we lose their immigrants from the health care workforce. The GBH Archives is a treasure trove of Boston history. Our colleagues Leah Weiss and Lauren Jefferson share some of the St. Patrick’s day gold from GBH of yesteryear. And GBH News’ Gal Tziperman-Lotan brings us Four Thing to Know in today’s news.---------Have something you’re curious about? Leave us a voicemail anytime at 877-301-8970, or submit questions via the form on our landing page at GBHNews.org.Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content and exclusive videos. -
What's the Skinny on GLP1 Body Image?
The GLP1 boom and spurred a resurgence of the "skinny culture" of the 1990s-2000s. We talk about the impact that has on body image and mental health with family physician Dr. Mara Gordon and Rachel Rodgers, Associate Professor of Psychology at Northeastern.We've had a few big snow storms and yet... technically we are still in a drought. Meteorologist Dave Epstein explains why. And Mondays are America 250 days! Today we spotlight one extraordinary American, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Godmother of Rock and Roll. We learn her story from Gayle Wald, George Washington University American Studies Professor. ---------Have something you’re curious about? Leave us a voicemail anytime at 877-301-8970, or submit questions via the form on our landing page at GBHNews.org.Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content and exclusive videos. -
What is My Gen Z Friend Even Saying?
Racial disparities in kidney transplants have been a persistent problem, but a change to a key algorithm that measures kidney function is yielding important progress. Anil Oza, a reporter for Stat News, and LaVarne Burton, president and CEO of the American Kidney Fund, explain the science and what it means for Black patients. GBH reporter Jeremy Siegel got inside an air traffic control simulator recently, while reporting on a program that recruits and trains people for a critical role. He takes us behind-the-scenes of job that – turns out – is an ideal fit for young gamers. If the Gen Zers in your life are speaking a language you don’t understand, take heart. Linguist Nicole Holliday and New York Times columnist Sam Corbin teach Edgar about Gen Z slang — where it comes from, how words travel, when words die.---------Have something you’re curious about? Leave us a voicemail anytime at 877-301-8970, or submit questions via the form on our landing page at GBHNews.org.Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content and exclusive videos. -
What Did That Short-Wave Message From Iran Mean?
A mysterious short-wave radio broadcast from Iran sent out a series of number sequences, when the US and Israeli attack on Iran began. Reporter Shane Harris wrote about this for The Atlantic, and explains how similar dispatches were used by spies in previous generations, and what this dispatch of numbers could mean for the war in Iran. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory designed to detect cosmic gravitational waves. MIT scientists Nergis Mavalvala and Salvatore Vitale explain how close we are to observing the dark universe.Mondays are America 250 days for The Curiosity Desk. Today, history influencer Daniel Berger-Jones tells the stories of several Boston women who made crucial advances in astronomy and space exploration, from the 1800s to now. ---------Have something you’re curious about? Leave us a voicemail anytime at 877-301-8970, or submit questions via the form on our landing page at GBHNews.org.Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content and exclusive videos. -
What's It Like Inside a Wildfire?
Wildfire smoke from Canada is increasingly part of our summer experience in New England. Writer John Vaillant chronicled one of the most destructive fires that consumed Fort McMurray, Alberta, 10 years ago for his book, "Fire Weather". Vaillant talks with us about how fires and firefighting techniques are changing, due to climate change.GBH News’ Gal Tziperman-Lotan brings us Four Thing to Know in today’s news.And, warm days and cold nights mean maple sap is flowing. Angelica Marcellino is Wampanoag and talks to us about the first people who made sap into syrup. Marcellino is author of "The True Natives of Cape Cod Massachusetts and their Food Ways."---------Have something you’re curious about? Leave us a voicemail anytime at 877-301-8970, or submit questions via the form on our landing page at GBHNews.org.Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content and exclusive videos. -
Why Do Basketball Sneakers Squeak?
Some birds are doing better than others, and there are plenty of factors in the mix. John Hebert and Lyra Brennan from Mass Audubon join to explain why some species are more resilient than others.GBH News’ Gal Tziperman-Lotan brings us Four Thing to Know in today’s news.The squeak of a sneaker on the basketball court is one of the most identifiable sounds in sports. But what actually makes that sound? Adel Djellouli is a materials scientist at Harvard, and he explain his research into the science of squeaky sneaks. Plus, a delightful romp through weird but true Boston stories with Emily Sweeney and Heather Hopp-Bruce from the Boston Globe.---------Have something you’re curious about? Leave us a voicemail anytime at 877-301-8970, or submit questions via the form on our landing page at GBHNews.org.Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content and exclusive videos. -
How Much Cocaine are Nantucketers Using?
Nantucket’s wastewater is revealing a not-so-hidden secret: people on the island are consuming noteworthy amounts of cocaine. Axios reporter Mike Deehan and JohnCarl McGrady with the Nantucket Current talk through the story that water samples tell.Mondays are America 250 days on The Curiosity Desk. Today, how AI is brining history to life in the Boston Museum of African American History exhibit, Black Voices of the Revolution. Curator Angela Tate joins us, along with Rahsheeda Windham from Timelooper, the company behind interactive AI-powered elements for the exhibit. And, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has some things to say about the health risks of sugary drinks at Dunkin’ Donuts. We get a reality check from Cecilia Gerard, managing director of the Food is Medicine institute at Tufts University. ---------Have something you’re curious about? Leave us a voicemail anytime at 877-301-8970, or submit questions via the form on our landing page at GBHNews.org.Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content and exclusive videos. -
How is AI Being Used in the Iran War?
AI is being used in modern kinetic wars and in cyberwarfare. We learn how, and how to understand the risks of it, with cybersecurity professor Josephine Wolff at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, and Joan Donovan, founder of The Critical Internet Studies Institute. The Paralympics are underway, and GBH reporter Megan Smith takes us into the sport of wheelchair curling. And it’s our monthly Star Gazer’s Guide with astrophysicist Anjali Tripathi. To celebrate the Spring Equinox and St. Patrick’s Day, we learn about some green-themed phenomenon up in space (nebulas, aurorae, and an exoplanet dubbed “little green men"). -
What Can Chess Teach Us About Life?
Strategy, tactics, reading the room – all skills that Jennifer Shahade says we can learn from chess. She would know best, she’s a three-time national chess champion, and author of the upcoming book “Thinking Sideways.” Shahade and Edgar talk about life and chess, while she gives Edgar a whooping in a live game.Punch, an orphaned baby macaque at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan, gained a social media following when he bonded with an orangutan stuffed animal that zookeepers used to console him. Edgar talks to a wildlife conservation biologist Mikaela Gerwing about the monkey social dynamics on display. Plus, Oriana Aragon talks with us about the human response to cute monkeys like Aragon is an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Cincinnati, who’s done research into “cute aggression.”
