Boston Public Radio

A GBH News reports highlights how the loss of a public park in 1960s laid the ground for today's battle for better air quality.

Gov.-elect Healey wants to bet big on climate technology.

More than 2,500 books were banned in different U.S. districts in the 2021-22 school year, a recent report found.

Missteps made in Gov. Baker's pardon request led to a hasty withdrawal.

Markey also warned tech mogul Elon Musk to clean up his Twitter act.

Mayor Michelle Wu signed the proposal and sent it to the state Legislature. But she says the extension of voting rights for immigrants needs more study.

Medical ethicist Art Caplan made his weekly call into Boston Public Radio on Wednesday, where he discussed worries about kids not getting much-needed exercise while they’re learning from home. The conversation came on the heels of a recent study from the American Heart Association indicating only about 40 percent of American adolescents are aerobically fit. "The best we could do, I think, is build it into our plans for remote education this fall,” he said. "Let’s talk recess and phys ed as well as math and English.” Caplan also stressed that group sports aren't the ideal solution to the problem, saying “[if] we get a rebound of COVID, then the kids are gonna be bringing it to the field. It’s not that they get it there, it’s that they track it in – so to speak." Arthur Caplan is the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Chair, and the director of the division of medical ethics at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

The Senate Intelligence Committee released a nearly 1,000 page report on Tuesday, detailing Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. The report describes President Donald Trump’s campaign advisors as having extensive contact with Russian intelligence officials during the 2016 election. Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, was said to have had the most extreme link with Russian intelligence. Homeland security expert Juliette Kayyem spoke with Boston Public Radio on Wednesday about this new report. “The substance of it is more damning than the Mueller Report because it shows, and more than implies, the direct relationship with Manafort and senior leaders in the Russian intelligence agency,” she said. Kayyem is an analyst for CNN, former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and faculty chair of the homeland security program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened our lines to ask listeners: are you experiencing work-from-home burnout? Trenni Kusnierek talked about the recent appointment of Jason Wright as the NFL’s first Black team president, and Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask’s decision to step away from the NHL. Kusnierek is an anchor and reporter for NBC Boston Sports, and a Boston Public Radio contributor. Steve Kerrigan recapped the Monday night kick-off of the Democratic National Convention. Kerrigan is the CEO of the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center, and former CEO of the Democratic National Convention. Chris Dempsey discussed the return of commuters to the roads of Mass., and the data behind why public transportation might be safer than you think. Dempsey directs the coalition Transportation for Mass., and is a former Mass. assistant secretary for transportation. Journalist Robert Kuttner discussed failures in U.S. coronavirus testing, and his recent piece for the American Prospect titled "Falling Upward: The Surprising Survival of Larry Summers.” Kuttner is a co-editor for the American Prospect, and the Ida and Meyer Kirstein Chair at Brandeis University. His latest book is “The Stakes: 2020 and the Survival of American Democracy." CNN’s chief national correspondent John King talked about night one of the Democratic National Convention, and what current polling indicates about the standing of presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden ahead of the November election. Lyndia Downie, President and Executive Director of the Pine Street Inn, discussed the organization’s success in stopping the spread of COVID-19 among Boston’s homeless population, and the challenges they’re anticipating after the state’s eviction moratorium is lifted in October.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened lines to talk with listeners about concerns regarding President Trump’s moves to curb mail-in voting ahead of the November election. TV expert Bob Thompson talked about ABC's decision to finally release an episode of "Black-ish,” which the network thought too controversial to air in 2018. He also reviewed HBO's “Lovecraft Country.” WGBH News Analyst and GroundTruth Project CEO Charlie Sennott discussed widespread protests in Lebanon in the wake of the Beirut explosion, and implications of the recent diplomatic agreement struck between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett Price, hosts of WGBH’s All Rev’d Up, discussed the faiths of Sen. Kamala Harris and former Vice President Joe Biden, and questions about their impact on a Biden-Harris administration. Dr. Ken Duckworth talked about mental health issues pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic, and responded to questions and comments from listeners. Ken Duckworth is the senior medical director for behavioral health at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mass. and the national medical director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

As of last week, all food processor employees in Michigan must now be routinely tested for COVID-19, making it the first state in the nation with this requirement. Food writer Corby Kummer told Boston Public Radio on Friday that "this is a piece of good news" in the meatpacking industry, which has so far been "callous and cruel to its workers, not caring if they live or die." Kummer is a senior editor at The Atlantic, an award-winning food writer, and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition and Policy.