Boston Public Radio

Sarah Bartley from the nonprofit United Way of Massachusetts Bay and David Shapiro, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Boston, discussed the supporting migrants arriving in the state.

James Beard Award cookbook author Grace Young is raising awareness about the struggles facing Chinatown neighborhoods.

Andrea Campbell chose last week the head of her office’s newly created Housing Affordability Unit starting in July, focusing on expanding affordable housing across Massachusetts.

Joe Spaulding, the longtime president and CEO of the Boch Center, first met the theater’s current namesake in the ticket line for a Cat Stevens concert. The rest is history.

But Republican Michael Sullivan, former U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, disagreed: “I felt a great deal of sadness.”

President and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers Michael Curry spoke about new COVID-19 variant called FLiRt and the impact on Black and Brown communities who struggle with long COVID.

A Manhattan jury found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming the author E. Jean Carroll. What impact will this verdict have on his presidential run? Will these allegations of sexual abuse convince undecided voters to look elsewhere for a president, or is this ignorable “locker room talk”? We asked listeners for their opinion. Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed the new guidelines for breast cancer screening, how the FDA is looking at the first OTC birth control pill and the end of the WHO’s COVID-19 global health emergency designation. GBH’s Jared Bowen discussed “Beetlejuice” at Broadway in Boston, “The Prom” at SpeakEasy Stage and “Angels in America” at Central Square Theater. Environmentalist Bill McKibben shared the latest climate news. Naturalist Sy Montgomery discussed a new airline for cats and dogs. Amazon is preparing to add return fees. Will that change your online buying habits? Listeners weighed in.

New Hampshire will now mandate that all schools in the state must teach cursive and multiplication tables. We asked our listeners if they agree with the mandate and believe cursive is important. Trenni Casey, anchor/reporter for NBC Sports Boston, discussed the 7 horses dead at Churchill Downs leading up to the Kentucky Derby, a matchmaking experience, and the latest with the Celtics. Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Mass., discussed their involvement in North Brookfield to support the rights of the LGBTQ community there seeking to put a drag performance on during their Pride celebration, and the latest with silenced Montana lawmaker Zooey Zephyr. Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart discusses their 2023 spring season, starting May 12. Also, we get answers on how he keeps his luscious hair. We opened up the lines to ask listeners about how they feel about the beloved Christmas Tree Shops closing down their store locations. Chaos ensued. CNN’s John King joins remotely for the latest political headlines including the CNN Townhall tomorrow and how CNN came to the decision to have Trump on stage.

A new poll from ABC News/Washington Post finds 44% of respondents would "definitely" or "probably" vote for Donald Trump in 2024...yet 55% thinks he should be indicted. Is Biden in serious trouble for re-election? We asked listeners why they think Trump is currently the frontrunner. Shirley Leung joined to talk about the end of the road for the Christmas Tree Shop and Bed Bath & Beyond, plus, shutdowns on the Blue line and recent Globe reporting on liquor licenses in the Seaport. Bruce Marks is a long-time housing advocate in Boston and CEO of Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA). He discussed how racist practices and corporate investments have made it harder for people to own homes in Massachusetts. He added his thoughts on the rent control debate and talked about other housing issues in the Commonwealth. Vijay Gupta is a MacArthur Fellow and Music Worcester’s artist-in-residence for 2023. He joined Jim and Margery in Studio 3 to talk about what he’s doing in the Worcester community, making music with incarcerated people and bringing Bach to the masses. He’s got an introductory performance on Wednesday and he played us a couple of selections from the show. The Revs discussed a California Panel on reparations for Black residents. They also weighed in on the resignation of the Boston Archdiocese’s gender identity committee, and a study showing Americans pray more in their cars than in the church. Tom Brady compared himself to Secretariat this weekend. We asked listeners to vote on the real G.O.A.T: is it the 7x Super-Bowl-Winning Tom Brady? Or is it Margery’s favorite, the tremendous machine, Secretariat?

There’s a British Royal Coronation for the first time in 70 years, with 74 year-old King Charles officially assuming the throne of Great Britain. Are you paying attention to the royal event? We opened the lines to see if people are getting ready to tune in or tune out. Michael Abels is and Michael Ellis Ingram are the co-composer and conductor for the Boston Lyric Opera’s rendition of Omar, about an Islamic scholar who was captured by slave traders and brought to the U.S. in the early 1800’s. For Live Music Friday, listen to performances from Fred C. VanNess (covering Omar) and Cierra Byrd who plays Fatima, Omar’s mother. Sue O’Connell joined to discuss Ed Sheeran’s winning verdict in the trial, her thoughts on King Charles’ coronation, the end of Buzzfeed, Vice and other millennial news outlets, and Florida trying to ban pronouns in schools. Adam Balsam and Correne George are birding enthusiasts. They joined to talk about why they love it and how the rest of us can get involved. Attorney General Andrea Campbell joined for “Ask the AG” where she answered questions from listeners and the live audience.

Chuck Todd on the latest out of Washington. Andrea Cabral on the leaked Tucker Carlson text messages that proved Carlson’s racist impulses, Jordan Neely’s death and more. Paul Reville talked about higher education moving towards not requiring SATs for admission applications, the closure of the Cambridge Matignon School, GPA errors for BPS and other education headlines. Jennifer Mascia is a founding writer for the nonprofit newsroom The Trace that focuses on reporting on guns and gun violence. She talked about her journey there and the melting pot of gun culture in the country.