A New Video Series Hosted by Edgar B. Herwick III
BOSTON (September 22, 2021) – GBH News today is launching a video version of The Curiosity Desk, creating a weekly digital series on multiple platforms that will provide answers to perplexing questions posed by the audience. Viewers will learn the backstory behind questions like ‘Why do some local intersections allow a right on red and others don't?,’ ‘Is it really illegal to tear the tags off of mattresses?’ and ‘Do birds have a sense of smell?’
This cross-platform, on-demand GBH News series is hosted by reporter Edgar B. Herwick III, who has answered hundreds of questions since the launch of The Curiosity Desk as a regular radio feature in 2014.
New episodes will appear each Wednesday over the next sixteen weeks on the GBH News YouTube channel, as well as IGTV, gbhnews.org and on 89.7 FM. The series will welcome viewers to explore trending news topics and uncover answers to questions big and small.
“The GBH News audience has always loved Edgar’s dynamic, engaging and inquisitive nature. It’s a natural extension to bring this series to life via video and publish it across social media channels,” said Pam Johnston, general manager of GBH News. “The Curiosity Desk’s new digital-first series will bring some of our most popular reporting to new audiences and viewers on YouTube and IGTV.”
For the debut episode, Edgar B. Herwick III is joined by canine friends and inquisitive Bostonians in Paul Revere Park in Charlestown. With the help of an astronomer, Herwick looks to the heavens to learn why those late summer days are called the dog days of summer. Upcoming episodes will look at why some Boston convenience stores are called spas, a 12-foot bronze statue of a pear in Dorchester, and the sounds that microwaves make.
“I can’t imagine anything better than a weekly quest together to learn new things,” said Herwick. “My hope is that GBH fans will help me shape this series by letting me know what they’re curious about.”
Viewers can get in touch with Herwick directly with questions and follow the series at wgbh.org/curiositydesk.
About GBH News
GBH News is among the fastest-growing local news providers in Greater Boston and draws on the talent of a multiplatform newsroom that includes GBH 89.7, Boston’s Local NPR; television; and digital reporting. The GBH newsroom continues to invest in substantive local coverage and has established dedicated desks for higher education, politics, innovation and investigations as well as unique partnerships to expand on that commitment, including with WNYC’s The Takeaway, The World from PRX and The GroundTruth Project. GBH News partners with CAI, the Cape and Islands NPR station; and New England Public Media in western Massachusetts to connect the Commonwealth with trusted journalism. GBH News maintains bureaus at the Massachusetts State House; Dorchester, Boston’s largest neighborhood; and Worcester. The Forum Network, part of GBH News, collects thousands of video and audio lectures from the world's foremost scholars, authors, artists, scientists, policymakers and community leaders and makes them available online to the public for free.
