Episodes
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Why many Latino nonprofits struggle to make ends meet
Latinos make up one of Massachusetts' largest ethnic groups, and the last few years has seen significant growth in the widely diverse Latino communities with roots in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala. While Latino workers are considered by many to be the backbone of the local economy, they are disproportionately low wage workers. "There still are very real challenges around poverty rates that are really disturbing," said Dr. Lorna Rivera, director of the Mauricio Gastón Institute. But she said there are signs of improvement: "For second generation Latinos, we are seeing more positive outcomes. So, we do have some hope there for the next generation." For many residents, Latino nonprofits have helped fill in the gaps providing vital services to local Latino communities. And yet, many Latino nonprofits in Massachusetts also struggle to make ends meet — one 2020 report says less than 2% of philanthropic dollars are being directly invested in Latino-based organizations, and nearly 100 new nonprofit organizations would need to be created to fill the current gaps in services to the Latino population. "Our volunteers can only volunteer for so long," Lina Cañon, director of finance operations and development for Chica Project, told Under the Radar. "And so if you're not paying the women that are in the organization equitable wages and being competitive with the market and allowing them to live in Boston, which we all know is expensive, then how are you actually going to sustain that program?" Some experts see solutions in policy, and one thing Tomás Gonzalez, director of community and advocacy for Amplify Latinx, wants passed is a bill that would, "allow for the creation of a micro business development center, which would hope to grant $50,000 grants to folks if they hire individuals from the community, returning citizens, those coming off transition assistance, those that are local to to the establishment, so that you can give that business owner the room that they need. Because typically our small business owners ... typically aren't the places that banks give money to." During this Hispanic Heritage Month, Under the Radar looks at the roadblocks to philanthropic funding and the efforts to increase access. GUESTS Dr. Lorna Rivera, director of the Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development & Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston Lina Cañon, director of finance operations and development for Chica Project Tomás Gonzalez, director of community and advocacy for Amplify Latinx -
Is New Hampshire old news? Why many Republican presidential hopefuls are prioritizing Iowa
Traditionally, New Hampshire is the proving ground for presidential hopefuls, with most spending major time and money in the Granite State. But many 2024 Republican presidential candidates — so far — are bypassing New Hampshire on their way to Iowa. "It's more expensive to run in New Hampshire than it is in Iowa. It's definitely a bit of a mistake in terms of trying to capture 2024," Erin O'Brien, associate professor of political science at UMass Boston, told Under the Radar. "But Republicans know, to beat Trump, they're betting down on the idea you have to 'out-Trump' him or 'out-conservative' him, and you're more likely to be able to do that in Iowa." Plus, Republican Senator Mitt Romney announced he will retire at the end of his term, saying it's time for the "next generation" of leaders. The former Massachusetts Governor's remarks re-energized the debate about the age of elected officials. "I don't want to say that any particular individual ... should retire," said Luis Jiménez, director of the international relations major at UMass Boston. "But the question we should be talking about is, why is it that people stay in Congress that long? Why is it that people stay in politics that long? And a big reason why has to do with the way that we're doing politics these days and the power of incumbency, the power of money and so on." And the U.S. Senate has gone “business casual." A change in dress code means one Democratic Senator can officially ditch his suit and tie for a hoodie. Jerold Duquette, professor of political science at Central Connecticut State University, argues "this is sort of a gift in terms of authenticity. These people want conformity. ... Politically, a dress code in the Senate as an issue is to the great advantage of those rebelling against the establishment tie, or whatever the case may be." Those stories and more during our full hour with the Mass Politics Profs. GUESTS Erin O’Brien, associate professor of political science at UMass Boston Jerold Duquette, professor of political science and director of the Public Policy and Management Program at Central Connecticut State University Luis Jiménez, associate professor of political science and director of the international relations major at UMass Boston -
America has a unique obsession with ice, and it all started in Boston
How did we move from suffering in the heat with room-temperature drinks to ice-harvesting capitalists and fanatical ice consumers? America’s journey to ice obsession started right here in Boston with the enterprising Frederic Tudor, who envisioned something seemingly preposterous: bringing ice to the tropics. The Tudors were one of the wealthiest families in Massachusetts. The family had servants who harvested large blocks of ice out of the lake on their estate, and an ice house to store that ice underground, where it could stay cool year-round. "For about four centuries or so, the planet Earth was a lot colder than it is now ... lakes and rivers froze much deeper than they do now. So people could carve large blocks of ice out of those bodies of water for use in their everyday lives, such as cooking or medicine, what have you," Amy Brady, author of the book “Ice: From Mixed Drinks to Skating Rinks — A Cool History of a Hot Commodity,” explained on GBH's Under the Radar. Frederic Tudor, in his early twenties, decided to try selling those ice blocks to people who lived in warm climates, where ice didn't form naturally. He determined that if he could make it to Cuba, he'd be a made man. But he was eventually successful in convincing people to use ice. Frederic even turned several port cities in the Southern U.S. into what he called "ice cities," and inspired a number of copycat entrepreneurs. "Out West, the natural ice harvesting industry really took off quickly until about the 1860s, when the Civil War cut off the Southern ice supply from the North due to the wartime embargoes," Brady explained. "And so it was shortly after that, that mechanically made ice became popular, with ice-making plants cropping up along the south." Even if the war hadn't occurred, Brady believes the natural ice industry would have met a similar fate. "Lakes and rivers are the homes of many organic beings: the fish, of course, the plants and the microorganisms that live in there. And all of that was true in the 19th century, just as it's true now. And people would ingest that. ... So it wasn't uncommon for people to get very, very sick," she said. GUEST Amy Brady, executive director and publisher of Orion Magazine, coeditor of "The World as We Knew It: Dispatches from a Changing Climate," and author of "Ice: From Mixed Drinks to Skating Rinks—A Cool History of a Hot Commodity” -
Anti-LGBTQ sentiment is reflected in legislatures, and violence, across the country
Across the country, anti-LGBTQ violence is on the rise. Just recently, a California business owner was killed for displaying a Pride flag. "This is a tragic example of where someone was trying to be supportive and send a message of love and safety and then became targeted by the very hate that is used against so many," Grace Sterling Stowell, executive director of BAGLY, told Under the Radar. "I think it's a reminder of how dangerous the situation has become with the increased rhetoric. ... And it's emboldening people, and all of us are being threatened in different ways." The current climate is also reflected in at least 142 bills introduced across the U.S. this year that aim to restrict gender-affirming healthcare. But some advocates are pushing back. Janson Wu, executive director of GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, said these legal battles are about more than the law: "It's about people's lives. It's about families who now have to consider whether or not they have to uproot their lives and move to another state to provide their child with the health care that they need. And it's about medical providers who are facing the loss of their licenses and criminal penalties for doing their oath, which is to provide and care for their patients." Advocates say an increasing number of LGBTQ+ people are moving to Massachusetts, specifically, in part because of the state's legal protections. "I fled Ohio for the same reason. It just was not comfortable being queer in Ohio," said E.J. Graff, managing editor of Good Authority. "But especially those families that have trans kids, I don't see how they can stay where they are with their children always under threat." It's our LGBTQ News Roundtable. GUESTS Grace Sterling Stowell, executive director of the Boston Alliance of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Youth, or BAGLY Janson Wu, executive director of GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, or GLAD E.J. Graff, journalist, author and managing editor of Good Authority, an independent blog publishing insights from political science -
Despite winning championships, women's sports in Boston don't get the attention they deserve
What Boston sports team won five national championships in the last six years? Hint: it wasn’t the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics or Bruins. The answer: the Boston Renegades, a women's football team. While the local women’s teams that have been winning championship after championship, they've received much less fanfare than their male counterparts at Fenway or Gillette Stadium. "Sports aren't inherently male, but in so many spaces we've come to accept them as such," said Rev. Laura Everett, author of the blog, Boston Women’s Sports. "We have national and world champions playing locally, but they're not getting the coverage they deserve. Whereas so often women's sports teams are expected to prove that they're worthy, when the men's teams are just presumed that they are." But soccer fans may have reason to rejoice — a bid to bring a new national women’s soccer team to Boston could materialize in coming years. Some experts hope it could be the catalyst for local women's teams to finally get the respect and higher profile they have earned. "It's exciting to think that women's pro soccer will be back, hopefully, in Boston and exciting because it's a sport and a league, the NWSL, that's really on the rise. It will be great to have Boston be part of that women's sports conversation nationally." GUESTS Shira Springer, sports journalist and lecturer in Managerial Communication at MIT Reverend Laura Everett, executive director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches, author of the blog, Boston Women’s Sports -
From kelp burgers to biofuel, some see a bright future for seaweed
Oceans, rivers and lakes are chockful of thousands of underwater plants and algae collectively described as seaweed. Demand for seaweed — kelp, specifically — has exploded as scientists have confirmed its dietary benefits and its potential as a tool in the fight against climate change. "Seaweeds have a variety of nutrients and minerals and anti-inflammatory properties that you just can't get from typical land plants," Scott Lindell, research specialist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, told Under the Radar. "Food processing companies are finding ways to integrate seaweed, kelp in particular, into products that Americans are familiar with. There are kelp burgers out there which are vegan and some of the best vegetarian burgers I've ever had." There are now seaweed farms from Alaska to Massachusetts, including Duxbury Sugar Kelp of Duxbury, Mass. Owner-operator, John Lovett, said one reason he got into the business was to explore the environmental impacts of kelp: "I really wanted to... be on the forefront of learning about [kelp], to be able to innovate some of the systems that we use to grow it and really to help other farmers understand the impact that they, too, can have on the environment." From food to biofuel and everything in between, some experts believe this billion-year-old algae is the wave of the future. A new exhibit about seaweed aims to capture part of that excitement. "One of the biggest things that I hope people walk away from the exhibition thinking about is that seaweed is a lot more than they may have known," Naomi Slipp, chief curator at the New Bedford Whaling Museum and curator of "A Singularly Marine & Fabulous Produce: the Cultures of Seaweed". "One of the fun things about having the exhibit up has been engaging in these conversations around contemporary applications for seaweed and its potential for the future." GUESTS Scott Lindell, research specialist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution John Lovett, owner-operator of Duxbury Sugar Kelp Naomi Slipp, chief curator at the New Bedford Whaling Museum -
The power of mentorship for at-risk youth
Editor's note: This segment originally broadcast on January 27, 2023. In 1949, a small organization formed in Boston. Ten fatherless boys were paired with adult volunteers to help them navigate their lives. More than 70 years later, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts serves young boys and girls and connects more than 3,600 children with mentors each year. We discuss the importance of strong social webs, how the pandemic frayed them and the power of mentoring with the leader of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts and a tight-knit duo that continues to grow together. GUESTS Mark O’Donnell, president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts Karen Rodriguez, volunteer mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts Rosela Moreta, Karen’s 10-year-old mentee -
Why more women are freezing their eggs
Editor's note: This segment originally broadcast on April 16, 2021. It’s still too soon to know all the ways the COVID-19 pandemic continues to reshape our decisions about life and family, but one facet is that many women have decided to protect their reproductive future by freezing their eggs. About a decade ago, egg freezing was considered an experimental procedure. Today, it's a relatively common procedure thousands of women choose each year. During the pandemic, the number of women electing to postpone pregnancy by freezing their eggs has surged. Why? And will their choices have a broader impact long term? GUESTS Nina Resetkova, reproductive endocrinologist at Boston IVF John Petrozza, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Fertility Center Nikki Richardson, former egg freezing patient -
Some Americans are saying no to smart devices and embracing digital minimalism
Americans have intimate relationships with their cellphones. A recent report found 89% of Americans say they check their phones within the first 10 minutes of waking up, and 60% sleep with their phone at night. And during the day, nearly one-third of American adults reported being online "almost constantly" in 2021, up from 21% in 2015. "I remember being attached to [my phone] and when I was texting my girlfriend, I remember the screen just kind of came alive," said Jose Briones, an advocate of digital minimalism. "I get this rush of, 'Wow, like, somebody cares about me.' And I put a lot of my value not on the person necessarily or the notification that I got, but also on the phone, because the phone is the medium through which I receive this amazing, loving text." But its not just phones holding our gaze. Watches, doorbells, even many refrigerators are now "smart." Partly in response to how ubiquitous this technology has become in the fabric of modern life, Joe Hollier co-founded Light, a company that sells minimalist cellphones. "There's no social media, no infinite feed of any kind, clickbait news, and there's no email," Hollier told Under the Radar. "So, really all of the things the phone does — calling, texting, setting an alarm — are just really utilitarian based. And the idea is that you're not pulling out the phone. So, we like to say it's a phone designed to be used as little as possible, because it's about the time and the space that it gives you to not be staring at a screen." Hollier is one of a number of Americans attempting to separate themselves from the seemingly inescapable reach of technology. These digital minimalists are willing to change their habits to go back to a simpler, less technology-centered lifestyle. "We can decide how much technology we embrace, how we embrace it, and how we really find the value in our life," said Andrew Maynard, professor of advanced technology transitions at Arizona State University. "My camera is a fully manual camera and I get joy and pleasure out of that. ... That's a choice I make. And I think a lot of people forget that they can make these decisions for themselves, how much or how little technology they have in their lives. Of course, the difficulty is when we've got tech companies trying to push it down our throats, sometimes it's difficult to pull back from that." GUESTS Joe Hollier, co-founder of Light, a company that sells minimalist cellphones Jose Briones, digital minimalism YouTuber and advocate, moderator of the subreddit, “r/dumbphones” Andrew Maynard, professor of advanced technology transitions at Arizona State University -
Sounds of the city: Boston's first mixtape aims to boost local talent
From hip-hop to folk to jazz, Boston’s musical legacy is alive on a new platform showcasing the talents of local musicians. Mayor Michelle Wu and the city's Tourism, Sports and Entertainment Office debuted "Dear Summer Vol. 1" this July: it's the city's first official mixtape. "I think we did a good job in representing the sound of the city, the cultural diversity of the city, and just really highlighting and boosting up our artists and also our DJs so we can show that there's talent here right in our backyard," Chimel “ReaL P” Idiokitas, co-executive producer and curator of the mixtape, told Under the Radar. Representing a variety of music genres, "Dear Summer Vol. 1" features six DJs and 17 artists from the Greater Boston area for a 1-hour, 39-minute soundscape. The new, annual collaboration aims to “connect residents across neighborhoods through music, and celebrate summer.” "How can we, as the city of Boston, leverage this platform to show artists that they can stay here, that they can make it, that they can bolster their careers?" said John M. Borders IV, Boston's tourism, sports and entertainment director. "I think we have a unique opportunity as the city to champion those folks." GUESTS Chimel “ReaL P” Idiokitas, DJ and co-executive producer and curator of “Dear Summer Vol. 1” John M. Borders IV, tourism, sports and entertainment director for the City of Boston and co-executive producer of “Dear Summer Vol. 1"
