Boston Public Radio

Pope Francis appoints first Black Cardinal and expresses support for gay rights — but is it just "lip service"?

The former Suffolk County said U.S. democracy as we know it will "cease to exist" if President Trump wins a second term.

Larry Calderone, president of Boston’s Police Patrolmen’s Association, weighed in on a range of reform proposals.

Barrett's vague response to what she's done to educate herself on racism was embarrassing and harmful, the Revs say.

Whitehouse detailed a 'court-capture machinery' to sway court rulings along partisan lines.

The Boston University law professor talked about his time standing vigil by the casket of Justice Ginsburg, and spoke on the expected appointment of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to his former boss' vacant Supreme Court seat.

Dr. Ken Duckworth spoke to Boston Public Radio on Monday about mental health, teletherapy, and coping support during the pandemic. “Supply [of therapists] was always inadequate to demand,” he said. “But demand has exploded in the context of the pandemic.” More people are experiencing distress, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, addiction relapse, and recurrence of trauma since COVID-19, Duckworth said. “More people are seeking help and I think that really reflects the experience that people are having.” Ken Duckworth is the Senior Medical Director for Behavioral Health at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, and the Medical Director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Today on Boston Public Radio: M.I.T. economist Jon Gruber talked about shifting attitudes around the decriminalization of cannabis, and discussed the economic, public health, and social justice implications of marijuana legalization. We opened up the lines to talk with listeners about this year’s Black Friday, getting your takes on pandemic-era shopping sprees. National security expert Juliette Kayyem dove into the logistics of COVID vaccine distribution, and talked about a "rolling recovery” through the final months of the pandemic. She also talked about questions of presidential pardons during the final months of the Trump administration, and weighed in on President-elect Biden’s latest string of cabinet picks. Behavioral economist Michael Norton broke down his research on why human beings have such a hard time breaking from tradition, ahead of this COVID-era Thanksgiving. He also took some time to respond to questions and comments from listeners on the subject. Former DNC chairman Steve Grossman talked about his work with his organization The Initiative for Competitive Inner City, and their first-ever report ranking concentrated poverty in 450 American cities. He also discussed means of encouraging and stimulating growth in inner city economies, reflecting on the initiatives he'd like to see on a federal and state level. TV expert Bob Thompson discussed news that former Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings is temporarily taking on Jeopardy hosting duties in the wake of Alex Trebek’s passing. He also reviewed the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunion, and HBO’s “Between the World And Me.” We closed out Wednesday’s show by returning to listeners, to talk about the Thanksgiving Day traditions you’re holding onto this year – and maybe some ones you’ve invented in the time of coronavirus.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Filmmaker Michael Kirk discussed his latest film for FRONTLINE, “Battle for the Court,” about Sen. Mitch McConnell’s decades-long effort to transform the Supreme Court. You can catch Kirk’s film on Tuesday night at 10:00 on PBS, or online at PBS.org/Frontline. Next, we opened our lines to get your takes on President-elect Joe Biden’s prospective cabinet picks. Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed the emergence of a third prospective COVID-19 vaccine – this time from biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca – and its global implications for the next future of the coronavirus pandemic. Artist and performer David Byrne spoke about "American Utopia,” his Broadway show, Spike Lee-directed HBO special, and now newly-released book created in collaboration with artist Maira Kalman. He also offered some thoughts on Joe Biden’s 2020 win, and explained why he’s been busy doodling in quarantine. Food writer Corby Kummer gave the latest updates on struggles within Boston’s restaurant industry, cruel worker practices at U.S. slaughterhouses, and other major food headlines. Travel guru Rick Steves weighed in on President-elect Joe Biden’s victory and the handful of ballot wins for cannabis legalization in the 2020 election. He also reflected on mindfulless and the Thanksgiving spirit, and what he's hoping his travel company will be able to achieve in 2021.

On Tuesday, travel guru Rick Steves joined Boston Public Radio for his monthly check-in, where he reflected on the meaning of Thanksgiving, and its particular significance in the bizarre year of 2020. "Every country has harvest festivals,” he said. “When travel and we clink glasses, we realize how beautiful and interconnected the world is, and realize how joy across the sea is just as real as joy across the table at home – and how hunger and suffering across the sea is just as real as sadness and struggles across our own family tables.” He added, “thankfulness to me is really hollow without being mindful about our relative privilege, and the needs of the less fortunate." During the interview, Steves also touched on his feelings about Joe Biden’s 2020 win, and spoke about what he’s hoping to achieve in 2021 with the slow easing of global travel restrictions. Steves is an author, television and radio host, and the owner of “Rick Steves' Europe” tour group. You can catch Rick Steves’ Europe weeknights at 7:30 on GBH 2, and his radio show Travel With Rick Steves Sundays at 4:00 on GBH.

When COVID-19 hit, New Wave musician and former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne was forced to push back the return of his Broadway show, American Utopia. But that didn’t silence the project altogether. In collaboration with artist Maira Kalman, Byrne converted the show into an illustrated book, and on Boston Public Radio Tuesday, he argued for a societal return to hope in the American experiment itself. “(An American utopia) an imaginary ideal, but it’s nice to think that maybe we can get closer to it,” he said. Byrne said he takes inspiration from the writings of Alexis de Toqueville, who wrote “Democracy in America” in the early 1800s. “Obviously as we’ve seen, the experiment continues, it’s still an experiment,” he said. “There’s occasionally some bumps in the road, so far we’re still hanging in there … and can only hope that that kind of malleability that we have, leads us to a better place.” Byrne has kept creating and adapting American Utopia during a pandemic that has affected much of American life as we know it. Touched by a national political discourse that seems more divided than ever, Byrne has also delved into the world of journalism, through a multimedia project called We Are Not Divided. “I’d collect these things for myself, to help convince myself no we’re not necessarily going to hell in a handbasket, there are people doing things that are helpful,” said Byrne. “It really has helped me, when I start to despair, it’s really helped me see no that’s not the only news out there, some of the news is that people are bridging divides, people are doing things that are energy efficient, they’re finding ways to do things that are economically sound and putting us on the right path.”