Today on Boston Public Radio:
We began the show by opening phone lines, talking with listeners about the House’s passage of a bill that would establish a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
Andrea Cabral discussed former Boston Police Commissioner William Gross’ claims that former Mayor Marty Walsh knew about the domestic violence allegations against Boston Police Commissioner Dennis White. Cabral is the former Suffolk County sheriff and Massachusetts secretary of public safety. She’s currently the CEO of the cannabis company Ascend.
Gov. Charlie Baker updated us on current vaccination rates and equity in Massachusetts, and weighed in on calls for a potential independent investigation into the death of Hopkinton teen Mikayla Miller.
Corby Kummer shared his thoughts on Swedish oat milk company Oatly’s public market debut, and Costco, Walmart and Trader Joe’s decision to drop their in-store mask mandates. Kummer is the executive director of the Food and Society policy program at the Aspen Institute, a senior editor at The Atlantic and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
Prof. Robert Pape discussed his research into the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, explaining how the Capitol rioters differed from most extremist groups in the U.S. due to their middle- and upper-middle class status. He also talked about how replacement theory factored into the rioters’ beliefs. Prof. Pape is the director of the University of Chicago’s Chicago Project on Security and Threats (CPOST), and a political science professor at the University of Chicago.
Rose Levine and Alma Barak talked about their 2020 Washington Post op-eds on the return to in-person learning, and shared whether they still held the same opinions a year later. Levine is a 5th grade teacher for the Cambridge Public School District. Barak is an 8th grade student in the Cambridge Public School District.
We wrapped up the show by asking listeners whether they want to make pandemic-era to-go cocktails permanent.
