Episodes
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Regional News Round Table: Mixed Reactions For A Syringe Exchange, Businesses Helping Mothers And More
This week on Under the Radar with Callie Crossley we discussed the mixed reactions to an East Falmouth syringe exchange program. We also talked about how new mothers are getting support from New Hampshire businesses. And Rhode Island revisits a plan to pay people to move there. It’s our regional news round table! Guests: Arnie Arnesen — host of WNHN's “The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen” Philip Eil — freelance journalist in Providence, Rhode Island Paul Pronovost — executive editor of the Cape Cod Times Later in the show: Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s book "Becoming" has been at the top of the New York Times bestseller list since it debuted in November. Her candid personal recounting of her story has impressed millions of fans who have read the book and flocked to 30,000-seat stadiums to hear her speak. Why has her story resonated with so many? We asked two avid readers to help us explore that question in a discussion of her bestselling memoir. Guests: Janet Axelrod is on the board of the Cambridge Public Library Foundation. When she’s not reading, you might find her practicing with her drumming group called SheBoom. Bettye Freeman, the former assistant dean for Academic and Student Affairs at Northeastern Law School, is now happily retired and able to indulge her reading habit. She is a member of the 30-year-old Literary Sisters Book Club, the second oldest black woman’s book club in greater Boston. -
ENCORE: CommonWealth Kitchen Helps Food Businesses Cook Up Success
When you hear the word “incubator,” it may not bring to mind images of innovative food businesses developing tasty treats in a Dorchester warehouse. But that’s exactly what CommonWealth Kitchen is – headquarters for local culinary start-ups. Since we first aired this segment in August of 2017, CommonWealth Kitchen opened The Dining Car, a brick and mortar takeout window in Kendall Square. The Dining Car features members of the incubation community on a rotating basis to give aspiring food business professionals a chance to test their menus and experience running a physical business. Guests: Jen Faigel - Executive director of CommonWealth Kitchen in Dorchester Cassandria Campbell - Owner of Fresh Food Generation Celeste Croxton-Tate - Owner of Lyndigo Spice Later in the show… This month state public safety officials launched an informational campaign focused on the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol, weed or other drugs. It’s the first driving safety campaign since recreational marijuana became legal in Massachusetts. It’s accompanied by an increased police effort to enforce impaired driving rules on the road this holiday season. But substance abuse isn’t the only danger to keep in mind while traveling to and from home during the holidays. About 1 in 4 car accidents in the US is caused by texting and driving. And currently there is no law in Massachusetts requiring the use of hands-free cell phone technology while driving. In July we spoke with Alyson Lowell, who lost her 20-year-old daughter Gabriella in June when a driver took his eyes off the road to glance at his phone. But in the midst of her grief she chose to speak before the state’s lawmakers, in favor of legislation which would require drivers to use hands free technology for their cell phones. Similar laws are already in place in 16 other states. But as it stands, a bill requiring hands-free devices while driving is stuck in the House Ways and Means committee. Guests: Emily Stein - President of Safe Roads Alliance Alyson Lowell - Mother of Gabriella Lowell, who was killed by a driver looking at his cell phone -
Wayward Wassailing: Our Annual Review Of Quirky Holiday Songs
All this hour Mike Wilkins shares his latest compilation of old songs that are quirky, weird, and just a little bit extra. These are NOT the traditional carols from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir or even new traditional favorites like Mariah Carey’s “This Christmas.” Nope, for his 29th annual collection of songs you never heard of Mike has once again rescued vinyl one hit wonders from the dusty bins of holiday music recordings. This is Mike’s Wayward Wassailing, a Yuletopia recording. Guest: Mike Wilkins - Radio engineer for The World and experienced Christmas music collector. -
Local News: The Boston City Council Race Heats Up and the South End Says Goodbye to its Favorite Mailman
2020 is just over the horizon but the 2019 city council election is around the corner - and heating up fast. An iconic figure is retiring from South End neighborhood – its mailman of 32 years. And how is Massachusetts spending its settlement money from the Volkswagen emissions scandal? It’s our local news roundtable! Guests: Jennifer Smith - News editor of the Dorchester Reporter Gin Dumcius - Boston-based reporter for MassLive.com Seth Daniel - Senior reporter with the Independent News Group, which includes the Chelsea Record and Revere Journal. Later in the show… Prosecco rose is driving the pink wine craze into the new year. Eastern European bites are the next big thing, with Polish offerings cropping up in Boston and Somerville. And we love our wine here at Under the Radar, but we’ve got nothing on a woman currently wanted for swiping five THOUSAND dollars’ worth of bottles from a New Hampshire liquor store. It’s our end of the year food and wine wrap up! Guests: Jonathon Alsop - Founder and executive director of the Boston Wine School and author of “The Wine Lover’s Devotional.” Amy Traverso - Food editor at Yankee Magazine, co-host of WGBH’s “Weekends With Yankee” and author of “The Apple Lover’s Cookbook.” -
Pop Culture: The Many Layers of Ariana Grande's "Thank U, Next" and Listeners Say "No No No" to "Baby It's Cold Outside"
Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next” music video is a treasure trove of pop culture inside jokes and messages. “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” is the latest chapter of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter chronology, but fans are cursing HER for fudging pieces of Potterverse canon previously set in (sorcerer’s) stone. And radio stations are saying “NO NO NO” to “Baby It’s Cold Outside” for its tone deafness in the #MeToo era. It’s our pop culture roundtable! Guests: Rachel Rubin - Professor of American studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Michael Jeffries - Associate professor of American studies at Wellesley College. Later in the show… Tchaikovsky's classic ballet The Nutcracker, adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story The Nutcracker and the Rat King, has been a beloved holiday tradition in the U.S. since the 1950s. Over the decades, variations of the production have evolved to reflect a diverse array of dance communities. This year Bostonians will be treated to five separate productions of The Nutcracker each with its own special presentation. Guests: Tony Williams - Founder and artistic director of Boston’s Urban Nutcracker. Williams also runs the Tony Williams Dance Center. Iris Fanger - Boston-based theater and dance critic and arts historian. Fanger has written for the Patriot Ledger, the Christian Science Monitor, the New York Times and Dance Magazine. Jennifer Weber - Director and choreographer of the internationally touring Hip Hop Nutcracker. Weber is also the founder and director of the Brooklyn-based hip- hop theatre company, Decadancetheatre. -
The 'Pronoun Go 'Round': Our Changing Language Around Gender
How we define gender is shifting, and so is the way we talk about it. Most notably, the way we use gender pronouns. For example, he/him for a man, she/her for a woman or they/them for someone who doesn’t identify with either gender. It’s a change that has come easy for some, but for many people it’s an adjustment that can be anxiety-inducing as they worry about saying the wrong thing. And then there are still others who simply don’t get why there is a need for a change. Guests: Grace Sterling Stowell - Executive director of the Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Youth, also known as BAGLY, and a regular Under the Radar contributor. Jessica Halem - LGBT Program Director at Harvard Medical School’s Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership. Later in the show… Many feared the dogeared cookbook, long a staple in American kitchens, was a thing of the past as cooks have turned to the Internet to download recipes. Yet cookbook sales have remained steady and strong, with millions of sales as proof of the pudding. We sample the wide variety of some of the new and critically acclaimed cookbooks for our December selection of Bookmarked: The Under the Radar Book Club. Guest: Amy Traverso - Food editor at Yankee Magazine, co-host of WGBH's Weekends with Yankee and author of The Apple Lover’s Cookbook. BONUS - don’t forget to check out WGBH.org to find our full top 5 and honorable mention lists, as well as other special content such as a few of our favorite recipes and the rest of Callie and Amy’s discussion! -
Encore: How Do We Define 'Home'?
Thanksgiving weekend is winding down. The turkeys and bellies have been stuffed, the Black Friday frenzy has passed. On this most American of holidays, more than 54 million of us traveled to and from home – a great time to reprise one of our favorite segments about the meaning of home. The average restless American will move about 11 times in their life. Studies show the very idea of home resonates with our deepest emotions. But what makes a home? And do the memories of our experiences influence who we become? On this weekend after Thanksgiving, Americans are marking the official start of the holiday season. It’s a special time when many will go home and others will create new home spaces. Last year around this time, we explored the theme of home through two books: "This is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You Are" by Melody Warnick, and "This Is The Place: Women Writing About Home," edited by Margot Kahn and Kelly McMasters. Guests: Melody Warnick - Author of “This is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You Are,” and is an established freelance journalist whose work has appeared in top magazines including “O: The Oprah Magazine,” Fast Company, Better Homes and Gardens and Quartz. Margot Kahn - Co-editor of “This Is The Place: Women Writing About Home," and author. Kelly McMasters - Co-editor of “This Is The Place: Women Writing About Home," former bookstore owner and author. Later in the show… Jonathan Mande knows first-hand the power of music on our minds and our feelings. Between growing up in a war-torn Congo and immigrating to United States with no knowledge of the English language, drumming has been one of the few grounding constants in his life. Mande is now an education and mental health advocate based in Brookline, Massachusetts. He joined us last year to talk about an educational program he founded, “Drums and Wellness,” which uses drumming as a form of therapy and a method to teach life skills like listening and collaborating. Guest: Jonathan Mande - Musician, education and mental health advocate, and founder of the "Drums and Wellness" program. -
Carrying The Torch: The New Generation Continuing MLK’s Legacy
On June 12, 1968, a widowed Coretta Scott King stood before Harvard's outgoing senior class in place of her husband, Martin Luther King, Jr. Only months after her husband's assassination and in the midst of a tumultuous year, Scott King urged the young crowd to carry forth MLK's mission, saying "there is reason to hope and to struggle if young people continue to hold high the banner of freedom." Fifty years after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King's speech on that rainy, Cambridge Wednesday, young people remain at the helms of many social and activist movements across the country. This week on Under the Radar and in the concluding hour of our series honoring Dr. King's legacy, we speak with leaders of two separate youth civil engagement groups that have carried MLK's vision into the 21st century. Guests: Rachel Gilmer - Co-Director of Dream Defenders Alexandra Oliver-Dávila - Executive Director of Sociedad Latina Later in the show… The City of Boston plans to raise about $5 million for a memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King. But most Bostonians don’t realize how deep the MLK-Boston connection really is. In the early 1950s, King lived in segregated housing while earning his doctorate in Theology at Boston University – he preached at local churches and played basketball on Columbus Avenue in his preacher’s shoes. He met Coretta here while she was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. But strangely, there are almost no markers of MLK’s presence in Boston. That’s why award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist Clennon King made it his mission to highlight Reverend King’s Boston years before they’re completely lost to history. Guest: Clennon King - journalist and award-winning documentary filmmaker. -
Latinx News: The Latino Vote And Where Are Our Latino Landmarks?
Latinx News: The Latino Vote And Where Are Our Latino Landmarks? -
Inside The New Massachusetts Law That Supports Alzheimer's Victims And Their Caregivers
When most people imagine Alzheimer’s disease, often what comes to mind are severe, heartbreaking cases like the one portrayed in the popular 2004 romantic drama, “The Notebook.” However, that’s just a small part of what the disease can look like. Nobody would expect ordinary people to know that, but everybody would expect medical professionals to recognize symptoms of dementia and know how to respond. Turns out, they don’t. That’s why earlier this year, the Massachusetts legislature unanimously passed an innovative new bill – a big part of which requires training for healthcare professionals to deal with patients suffering from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. The first-of-its-kind law will be a multifaceted approach to the support of people suffering from Alzheimer’s and their caregivers. Guests: Dan Zotos - Director of Public Policy and Advocacy at the Alzheimer’s Association Massachusetts and New Hampshire Chapter. Judy Johanson - Advocate and board member for the Alzheimer’s Association Massachusetts and New Hampshire Chapter. She was also a caregiver for her late husband, Steve Johanson, who passed away due to early onset Alzheimer’s this past spring. Mike Belleville - Advocate and former member of the National Board of Directors for the Alzheimer’s Association. Mike is also currently living with Lewy Body disease, a common form of dementia. Later in the show: It makes sense that one of Lorraine O Grady’s recent exhibitions was entitled Speaking Out of Turn. For it was O’ Grady who staged a series of performance intrusions in New York galleries in 1980 with her seminal work “Mlle Bourgeoise Noire.” O’ Grady wore a debutante style gown made of 180 pairs of white gloves as she promenaded through the galleries whipping herself with long cat o nine tail reeds decorated with white chrysanthemums. She walked shouting, ‘’That’s enough...black art must take more risks!” From that moment on Lorraine O’Grady forged her risk taking career which includes writings, performances, collages and photos. O’Grady is currently experiencing a resurgence of popularity and critical acclaim. In 2017 she received the Alumnae Achievement Award from Wellesley College and has a solo show now at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston entitled “Family Gained.” Guest: Lorraine O’Grady – Boston-born, New York-based conceptual and performance artist, 2014 recipient of the College Art Association's Distinguished Feminist Award, 2017 recipient of the Alumnae Achievement Award from Wellesley College. Callie Crossley is a 2013 recipient of the Alumnae Achievement Award from Wellesley College and is a sitting member of the Wellesley Board of Trustees.
