Today on Boston Public Radio:
E. J. Dionne discussed this week's GOP vote over the political future of Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who may be ousted from her position as the third highest-ranking House Republican. He also talked about what President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan could mean for blue-collar workers on both sides of the political spectrum and whether Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer ought to resign. Dionne is a columnist for The Washington Post and a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution. His latest book is " Code Red: How Progressives And Moderates Can Unite To Save Our Country.”
Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett offered her thoughts on the latest pandemic headlines, like vaccine hesitancy and the ongoing debate around the freedoms of post-vaccine life. She also responded to listener questions and comments during the hour-long conversation. Gergen Barnett teaches in the Department of Family Medicine at Boston Medical Center and Boston University Medical School.
Next, we turned to listeners to talk about reopening here in New England and whether they're comfortable easing up on mask usage after getting fully vaccinated.
Richard Blanco talked about the relationship between poetry and photography and shared a series of poems prompted by photos. Blanco is the fifth inaugural poet in U.S. history, whose new book, " How To Love A Country," deals with various socio-political issues that shadow America. This June, he'll be running a virtual workshop at the Writers Harbor Poetry Week focused on using photos as prompts for poems.
Nancy Schön discussed her new book, "Ducks On Parade!", which chronicles all the different ways people have dressed up her famous "Make Way For Ducklings" sculpture in the Boston Public Garden, both festive and political. Schön is the artist behind over a dozen prominent public sculptures and many in private collections. Her latest book is available here.
We closed out Monday's show by opening the phone lines to talk with listeners about whether they'd consider returning to cruise ships as the industry makes its push to return to the U.S.