Boston Public Radio

Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse criticized Biden’s reasoning for pardoning his son, while Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley defended Biden's right to pardon his son but urged the president to use his executive powers to address sentencing disparities.

Boston Globe columnist Shirley Leung noted that Black Friday's excitement has changed, as fewer people lined up for early-morning sales. Instead, online shopping saw record sales.

The senator believes Trump will act in a revengeful way "towards individuals who he believes harmed him.”

Andrea Campbell said the attorney general's office can only get involved if the dispute between the auditor and Massachusetts Legislature goes to litigation.

RFK Jr's vaccine skepticism is concerning to doctors, but his calls for improving nutrition are appealing — if he can execute his plan.

The former Massachusetts governor says his party could learn from Donald Trump.

Best Of BPR 7/12: Opera Singer Jane Eaglen & A Revolutionary Play At Boston's Old North Church

Best Of BPR 7/11: Mayor Wu Speaks To City Council Scandals & A New Tax Break For Developers

Today: The recently launched social media application called "Threads" has amassed an astonishing user base of over 100 million individuals. We asked listeners if they feel limited to selecting between two powerful billionaires who prioritize their financial interests over fostering democracy. NBC Sports Boston reporter Trenni Casey examined preferential admissions at Harvard for recruited athletes, the New York Times ending its sports section and news of Megan Rapinoe retiring. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu answered questions from the audience with topics ranging from empty offices converting into residences, teacher union contracts, CNN’s John King joins via zoom for the latest politics. Is clutter meaningful? Or is minimalism the way to go? We asked listeners how they approach the objects they might find a use for years from now.

Best of BPR 7/10: Podcast In The Park

Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia is going back to school to get a master’s degree in machine learning…in his 70s. He joined us to discuss why his AI education is important for his work as a lawmaker. After hearing from Rep. Beyer we asked listeners to weigh-in: would you go back to school to learn something new, especially if you thought it would help you do your job better? GBH news analyst Charlie Sennott discussed the latest with Ukraine/Russia, Biden’s trip to the NATO summit, and Israel’s latest raid on Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. Commonwealth Shakespeare Company is putting on Macbeth on the Boston Common this summer. We talked with director Steven Maler and actor Faran Tahir, who plays the titular role. The Revs Irene Monroe and Emmett Price joined to discuss the latest Supreme Court rulings on religious rights at work. Corby Kummer discussed how climate change is messing with our peach crops; and, a Ukrainian war-themed restaurant originally meant to evoke their fight for independence during WWII that’s taken on new meaning during the current war. Finally, we opened the phone and text lines to hear from people about their battle against rabbits, which are overrunning Greater Boston, from the city to the suburbs.