Episodes
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Making 'Marshall': Reginald Hudlin Discusses New Film About Legendary Supreme Court Justice
Most people know Thurgood Marshall as a towering figure of intellectual and legal authority, and as the first African-American to sit on the Supreme Court. But few know about his years as a courageous civil rights lawyer. Now one of his little-known but impressive victories is chronicled on the big screen in the new movie "Marshall," which stars Chadwick Boseman as Thurgood Marshall. Callie Crossley speaks with "Marshall" director Reginald Hudlin about how the movie was made and the history surrounding the Connecticut case featured in the movie. -
Local News: Seat Belts On School Buses, Fire Chief's Primary Worry And Girls' Team Takes A Knee
Professional football players aren't the only athletes taking a knee -- a local girls' volleyball team is joining in on the protest. Why are they participating in the controversial movement? Big fires aren't keeping up Boston's fire chief at night. Instead, he's more worried about cancer affecting first responders. How are firefighters attempting to protect themselves against cancer? And seat belts on school buses: Do they actually make kids safer or could they be a liability? All that and more on this week's local news roundtable! Guests: Seth Daniel, senior reporter for the Independent News Group; Mike Deehan, Massachusetts Statehouse reporter for WGBH News; and Lauren Dezenski, reporter for Politico Massachusetts and editor of Politico's Massachusetts Playbook. -
'Chokehold' Examines The Stifling Of Black Men By America's Criminal-Justice System
A chokehold is defined as a grappling hold that critically reduces or prevents either air or blood from passing through the neck. Author, professor and former prosecutor Paul Butler says this term -- "chokehold" -- is also representative of the oppressive and strangulating American criminal-justice system and its treatment of black men. With such notions in place, how can society begin to move away from its learned fear of black men and a law-enforcement system that actively works against black men. Professor Butler and former prosecutor and criminal-justice activist Adam Foss discuss this deep-rooted bias against black men, how this discrimination has evolved over generations and throughout our country, and the true reasoning behind the #TakeAKnee protest movement in professional football. Guests: Paul Butler, Georgetown Law professor, former prosecutor, celebrated scholar of race and the criminal justice system, and author of "Chokehold: Policing Black Men"; and Adam Foss, former Suffolk County assistant district attorney and criminal-justice activist based in Boston. -
Regional News: Paid Sick Leave, Racist Comments and A Privatized Rail Line
Could a privatized rail line connect New Hampshire residents to Massachusetts and Rhode Island? Paid sick leave is official in Rhode Island: Could this help or hurt the state's economy? And the first medical marijuana plants in Cape Cod are flowering! What happens next? All that and more on this week's regional news roundtable. Guests: Arnie Arnesen, of WNHN's "The Attitude With Arnie Arnesen"; Philip Eil, freelance journalist in Providence, R.I.; and Paul Pronovost, editor of the Cape Cod Times. -
Growing Up And Grieving: Zinzi Clemmons On Her Debut Novel, 'What We Lose'
Zinzi Clemmons' debut novel, "What We Lose," is an intimate coming-of-age story centered around a tough and tender moment -- the loss of the main character's mother. The story is based on Clemmons' own loss and grieving process. The novel -- referred to as autofiction, a cross between an autobiography and ficition -- also explores love, identity and womanhood. Reviews hail the novel as "stunning," "inventive" and "poignant," and critics are calling Clemmons "a promising new voice." Callie Crossley speaks with the author about the themes of the novel and her avant-garde approach to writing and literature. "What We Lose" is our October selection for Bookmarked: the Under the Radar book club. Guest: Zinzi Clemmons, author of "What We Lose." -
Latinx News: Crisis In Puerto Rico, DACA Activists Surprise Pelosi, The Meaning Of 'Latinx'
How will Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria after years of economic downturn? We tip our hats to Topos, the elite Mexican rescue team, and to Gov. Gina Raimondo for her work toward helping DACA recipients in Rhode Island. But why are DACA activists and protesters disrupting town halls sponsored by Democrats? And what's in a name: Is 'Latinx' the term of the future? All that and more on this week's Latinx roundtable! Guests: Julio Ricardo Varela, of Latino Rebels, Latino USA and the "In the Thick" podcast; and Marcela Garcia, of the Boston Globe. -
'Men On Boats' Stages American History With Gender-Bending Twist
In Shakespeare’s time, all the world was a stage, but only men were actors. The play “Men on Boats,” a comedic take on the real-life 1869 expedition led by John Wesley Powell to chart the Colorado River, flips that script with a story of determined male explorers performed by a cast of multi-gendered actors. The play has received plenty of attention for its inventive casting, its contemporary language and its commentary, and it has received critical acclaim from the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune. Boston's SpeakEasy Stage is currently producing "Men on Boats" at the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts. Guests: Dawn Simmons, director of the SpeakEasy Stage production of “Men on Boats”; Jaclyn Backhaus, playwright of “Men on Boats"; and Alicia Anstead, associate director for programming at the Office for the Arts at Harvard University, editor-in-chief and co-founder of the student-driven Harvard Arts Blog, and Under the Radar’s arts contributor. -
Food And Wine: Transitioning From Summer Flavors To Fall Spices
Is it really time to say goodbye to the freshness of summer? Will wine in a cocktail make the transition into fall a little easier? And pumpkin spice: Is it back with a vengeance? Plus, a rousing discussion on tiny portions at restaurants, the comforting goodness of bowls and big-box wine shops coming to New England! Our food and wine experts are here to guide our plates and wine glasses from summer to autumn. Guests: Amy Traverso, senior food editor at Yankee Magazine and co-host of WGBH's "Weekends With Yankee"; and Jonathon Alsop, founder and executive director of the Boston Wine School. -
Remembering Explorer, Scientist And Activist S. Allen Counter
When Dr. S. Allen Counter died in July, the world mourned a man whose celebrated career took him on an unlikely journey, from the small town of Americus, Ga., to the hallowed halls of Harvard University via a remote Greenland village and the upper echelon of influence in Sweden. Dr. Counter was a neurobiologist, an ethnographer and a mission-driven advocate who spent the last years of his life leading the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations. This week, we deliver a radio tribute to Dr. S. Allen Counter, a Renaissance man who guided generations of Harvard students and expanded the university’s vision of community. Guests: David Evans, senior admissions officer at Harvard University and a member of the Harvard Foundation's Faculty Advisory Council; Dr. Bruce Price, associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, chief of the department of neurology at McLean Hospital and also a member of the Harvard Foundation's Faculty Advisory Council; and Cary Williams, a 2016 Harvard graduate and a former intern for the Harvard Foundation. -
ENCORE: Slamming The Brakes On Distracted Driving
Admit it: You can't help but check your phone when you're behind the wheel. Distracted driving has evolved from fiddling with the radio to taking Snapchat videos while on the freeway. It's a dangerous, addictive habit we see in other drivers and ourselves. So how can we get drivers to put down the phone and focus on the road? Guests: Emily Stein, president of the Safe Roads Alliance, Karen Twomey, spokesperson for AT&T, and Susan Moses, deputy director of the Center for Health Communication at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
