Today on Boston Public Radio:
Art Caplan discussed former President Donald Trump’s White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Deborah Birx and her new book, “Silent Invasion: The Untold Story of the Trump Administration.” Caplan is the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor and founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU School of Medicine in New York City.
Then, we asked listeners their thoughts on news that nearly 60% of Americans have had COVID-19 by this point in the pandemic.
Shirley Leung talked about Harvard’s announcement that the University will spend $100 million to research and redress its past ties to slavery, and towns citing “community character” in efforts to prevent affordable housing. Leung is a business columnist for the Boston Globe.
Juliette Kayyem weighed in on the latest from the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s testimony and the leaked audio of Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Kayyem is former assistant secretary for homeland security under President Barack Obama, and the faculty chair of the homeland-security program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
Sameer Sabir and Nada Siddiqui told the story of their daughter Rehma, who died shortly after her first birthday, and their advocacy for legislation that would require more oversight for medical examiners in cases with children under 2 years old.
Richard Blanco read self-reflective poems in honor of National Poetry Month, including “Poetry” by Marianne Moore and “The End of Poetry” by Ada Limón. Blanco is the fifth presidential inaugural poet in U.S. history. His latest book, “How to Love a Country,” deals with various socio-political issues that shadow the United States.
We ended the show by telling bad neighbor stories, after a family won $5 million in a lawsuit against a country club following a barrage of golf balls.
