Today on Boston Public Radio:
Loretta Ross spoke about why it’s more productive to call people “in” rather than call them out, and the importance of having private — and occasionally uncomfortable— conversations with people we disagree with. This discussion was sparked by her forthcoming book, “Calling In the Calling Out Culture.” Ross is a visiting associate professor at Smith College in the Program for the Study of Women and Gender. She teaches courses on white supremacy, human rights and callout culture.
Next, we opened the phone lines and asked listerns whether 2021 should be the year we try to call people in rather than calling them out.
Emily Rooney talked about Vice President Mike Pence receiving his COVID-19 shot Friday morning in front of the media and the reemergence of Boston's great space saver debate. She also read a 2020 retrospective list of fixations and fulminations and previewed Friday's Beat the Press. Rooney hosts GBH's Beat the Press, which you can watch Friday nights at 7 p.m.
Corby Kummer weighed in on frustration from some environmentalists and food justice advocates around news of President-elect Joe Biden’s pick of Tom Vilsack to head the Agriculture Department. He also offered advice for restaurants struggling to stay afloat through the winter and gave one surefire way diners can make things easier on them. 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.
Sue O’Connell gave her take on Boston’s notorious space saver debate and discussed the significance for the LGBTQ community of Biden picking former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, who is openly gay, to lead the Transportation Department. O'Connell is the co-publisher of Bay Windows and the South End News. She’s also NECN's explainer-in-chief and political commentator.
Callie Crossley talked about the billions of dollars in donations made during the pandemic by Mackenzie Scott, former wife of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. She also discussed donations from filmmaker Tyler Perry to the defense fund for Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend as well as the historic significance of Biden’s pick of Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., to head the Interior Department. Crossley is the host of GBH’s Under the Radar and Basic Black.
We closed out Friday's show by opening the phone lines to hear your takes for and against snow-time space savers in Boston.
