Today on Boston Public Radio:
We opened the show by opening lines to talk with listeners about the Baker administration’s efforts to keep schools opened in Massachusetts, despite the surging coronavirus cases.
Art Caplan broke down the latest news around coronvirus vaccines, including the logistics and timeline of distributing them throughout the world, and the importance of staying cautious in the months leading up to their widespread national distribution. Caplan is the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor of Bioethics and director of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU's School of Medicine.
Juliette Kayyem talked about President Trump’s continued attemps to negate his election loss, with the recent firing of Christopher Krebs, who headed the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and who pushed back against the president's claims of widespread election hacking. She also talked about the rising number of COVID cases across the U.S. and the unique challenges of navigating the pandemic with a vaccine on the horizon. 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.
Jeneé Osterheldt discussed her new multimedia series for the Boston Globe called “A Beautiful Resistance,” which is about celebrating Blackness in America. She also weighed in on the historically tragedy-oriented coverage of Blackness that was a partial inspiration for creating the series, and Kamala Harris' soon-to-be role of first Black Vice President of the United States. Osterheldt is a culture columnist for the Globe.
Barry Blitt talked about his decades-long career as a political cartoonist, and reflected on his experience lampooning President Trump throughout his campaign and presidency. Blitt is a cartoonist and illustrator who's contributed illustrations and more than a hundred covers to The New Yorker since 1992. Earlier this year, he won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning.
Sy Montgomery talked about the return of pets to the White House in the form of Champ and Major, Joe Biden’s two German Shepards. She also touched on some notable pets of presidents past and discussed the various ways turtles troubleshoot when they end up on their backs. Montgomery is a journalist, naturalist and monthly Boston Public Radio contributor. Her latest book is “Condor Comeback.”
We closed out Wednesday’s program by asking listeners to talk about their feelings on presidential pets.
