Boston Public Radio

Boston is set to host the third annual Embrace Ideas Festival, a multi-day celebration of Black art, culture, joy and excellence. Imari Paris Jeffries, president and CEO of Embrace Boston, alongside author and historian Ibram X. Kendi, will spearhead this year's festivities.

Mayor Michelle Wu answered questions on how to increase the city budget and the future of congestion pricing.

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.

We start the show by getting listener's thoughts on the messy DOJ Epstein file release that leaked several victim identities. What do you do when the government doesn’t have you back? Sarah Sherman-Stokes of BU Law and Leah Hastings of Prisoner Legal Services of Massachusetts discuss Gov. Maura Healey's latest actions on immigration enforcement. They both argue that Healey isn't using her full power as governor to keep Massachusetts residents safe.George Howell of George Howell Coffee joins Jim and Margery to celebrate his 50th anniversary in the coffee industry as a roaster and entrepreneur, and brews a couple cups of joe. The Culture Show's Jared Bowen on the premiere of the Melania documentary and anti-ICE speeches at the Grammy awards. Then we open the phone lines to get your thoughts on how to make the most perfect, fluffiest scrambled eggs.

NBC10 Boston media maven Sue O'Connell joins for Press Play to discuss the arrest of Don Lemon, Bari Weiss' "scoops" based strategy and the FCC revisiting the equal time rule. Governor Maura Healey joins for this month's Ask the Governor.Electric harpist Deborah Henson-Conant serenades us for Live Music Friday, ahead of a weekend show at The Center for Arts in Natick.

Chuck Todd joins for news of the day, asking a novel question: "Is This a Tipping Point" in America?Andrea Cabral discusses the legislators moving to restrict ICE in their states; and new deportation data in New England.Nancy Gertner discusses the Supreme Court's slow walk on Trump tariff case, and how Minnesota's chief judge is taking on ICE.Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley zooms in from Minnesota.Providence Mayor Brett Smiley joins on zoom to discuss his effort to establish ICE-free spaces in his city, and other local politics from Rhode Island.

GBH executive arts editor Jared Bowen on how even apolitical spaces — film festivals, online niche communities — have become political in the wake of ICE's actions in Minnesota. Plus, "Job" at the SpeakEasy Stage and his conversation with actress Claire Foy.Nicholas Burns, former U.S. ambassador to China and NATO, discusses Trump's Greenland push and China's response to Trump's tariff warning shots. Imari Paris Jeffries of Embrace Boston and Reverend Jeffrey Brown of My City at Peace discuss the abrupt change in city plans for Parcel 3 in Roxbury.Boston Globe Love Letters columnist Meredith Goldstein marks 17 years of giving advice and we explore her most recent columns, like one writer who raises the red flag when a boyfriend buys the wrong hair dryer. And Margery learns she's not alone in not knowing that Venmo payments aren't automatically private.

BPR Full Show 1/27: When Enforcement Becomes Extremism?