Episodes
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BPR Full Show 5/12: Mothers and Mayors
This Sunday is Mother’s Day. We started the show by hearing from listeners about the state of motherhood in 2023. Mary Callahan and Leisie Kelly are two of the performers behind Speakeasy Stage Company’s The Prom, currently showing through June. It’s a musical about washed up actors who infiltrate small-town Indiana, and the chaos that unfolds when two girls decide they want to take one another to prom. They performed as part of Live Music Friday. Mitch Zuckoff is a Boston University professor and author whose latest book is “The Secret Gate: A True Story of Courage and Sacrifice During the Collapse of Afghanistan.” He joined to discuss his reporting on heroism and sacrifice during the fall of Afghanistan. Mayor Michelle Wu is back for “Ask the Mayor.” Jim and Margery asked about her performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and about her homelessness plan for Mass & Cass. They also discussed city districting, an influx of migrants to the city, Summertime open streets and BPD overtime fraud. Then, we opened the phone lines again to get people’s thoughts on shorts in the office. Was Jim’s decision to roll up to the studio in shorts today appropriate or a travesty? -
BPR Full Show 5/11: Keeping the Train on the Tracks
We asked listeners to call in with their thoughts on last night’s CNN town hall with Donald Trump. Andy Ihnatko joined to debrief yesterday’s Google I/O conference, plus, gave updates on the White House’s efforts to reign in on AI. Andrea Cabral covered the George Santos indictment and how former Boston Police Union head Dana Pullman is getting 2.5 years in prison for kickback fraud. She also talked about Boston redistricting, and blowback to the New York Times’ profile of Elizabeth Holmes. Juliette Kayyem discussed criticisms of how Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s handled shootings in his state, most recently with the mall shooting in Allen. She’ll also weigh in on the E. Jean Carroll case, and a race between the U.S. and Russia over who can have the biggest naval presence in the Arctic. Nick Quah reviews podcasts for Vulture. This week, he shared his thoughts on Stiffed, Mallwalkin', Holy Week, You Didn't See Nothin, and She Wants More. A piece from The Wall Street Journal showed human brains are bad at multi-tasking. And yet, we can’t help ourselves. Why? What are your worst multi-tasking habitats? Listeners called in. -
BPR Full Show 5/10: Beetlejuice and Bill McKibben
A Manhattan jury found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming the author E. Jean Carroll. What impact will this verdict have on his presidential run? Will these allegations of sexual abuse convince undecided voters to look elsewhere for a president, or is this ignorable “locker room talk”? We asked listeners for their opinion. Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed the new guidelines for breast cancer screening, how the FDA is looking at the first OTC birth control pill and the end of the WHO’s COVID-19 global health emergency designation. GBH’s Jared Bowen discussed “Beetlejuice” at Broadway in Boston, “The Prom” at SpeakEasy Stage and “Angels in America” at Central Square Theater. Environmentalist Bill McKibben shared the latest climate news. Naturalist Sy Montgomery discussed a new airline for cats and dogs. Amazon is preparing to add return fees. Will that change your online buying habits? Listeners weighed in. -
BPR Full Show 5/9: Christmas Tree Shops
New Hampshire will now mandate that all schools in the state must teach cursive and multiplication tables. We asked our listeners if they agree with the mandate and believe cursive is important. Trenni Casey, anchor/reporter for NBC Sports Boston, discussed the 7 horses dead at Churchill Downs leading up to the Kentucky Derby, a matchmaking experience, and the latest with the Celtics. Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Mass., discussed their involvement in North Brookfield to support the rights of the LGBTQ community there seeking to put a drag performance on during their Pride celebration, and the latest with silenced Montana lawmaker Zooey Zephyr. Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart discusses their 2023 spring season, starting May 12. Also, we get answers on how he keeps his luscious hair. We opened up the lines to ask listeners about how they feel about the beloved Christmas Tree Shops closing down their store locations. Chaos ensued. CNN’s John King joins remotely for the latest political headlines including the CNN Townhall tomorrow and how CNN came to the decision to have Trump on stage. -
BPR Full Show 5/8: The G.O.A.T. is a Horse
A new poll from ABC News/Washington Post finds 44% of respondents would "definitely" or "probably" vote for Donald Trump in 2024...yet 55% thinks he should be indicted. Is Biden in serious trouble for re-election? We asked listeners why they think Trump is currently the frontrunner. Shirley Leung joined to talk about the end of the road for the Christmas Tree Shop and Bed Bath & Beyond, plus, shutdowns on the Blue line and recent Globe reporting on liquor licenses in the Seaport. Bruce Marks is a long-time housing advocate in Boston and CEO of Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA). He discussed how racist practices and corporate investments have made it harder for people to own homes in Massachusetts. He added his thoughts on the rent control debate and talked about other housing issues in the Commonwealth. Vijay Gupta is a MacArthur Fellow and Music Worcester’s artist-in-residence for 2023. He joined Jim and Margery in Studio 3 to talk about what he’s doing in the Worcester community, making music with incarcerated people and bringing Bach to the masses. He’s got an introductory performance on Wednesday and he played us a couple of selections from the show. The Revs discussed a California Panel on reparations for Black residents. They also weighed in on the resignation of the Boston Archdiocese’s gender identity committee, and a study showing Americans pray more in their cars than in the church. Tom Brady compared himself to Secretariat this weekend. We asked listeners to vote on the real G.O.A.T: is it the 7x Super-Bowl-Winning Tom Brady? Or is it Margery’s favorite, the tremendous machine, Secretariat? -
BPR Full Show 5/5: "Ask the Attorney General" with Andrea Joy Campbell
There’s a British Royal Coronation for the first time in 70 years, with 74 year-old King Charles officially assuming the throne of Great Britain. Are you paying attention to the royal event? We opened the lines to see if people are getting ready to tune in or tune out. Michael Abels is and Michael Ellis Ingram are the co-composer and conductor for the Boston Lyric Opera’s rendition of Omar, about an Islamic scholar who was captured by slave traders and brought to the U.S. in the early 1800’s. For Live Music Friday, listen to performances from Fred C. VanNess (covering Omar) and Cierra Byrd who plays Fatima, Omar’s mother. Sue O’Connell joined to discuss Ed Sheeran’s winning verdict in the trial, her thoughts on King Charles’ coronation, the end of Buzzfeed, Vice and other millennial news outlets, and Florida trying to ban pronouns in schools. Adam Balsam and Correne George are birding enthusiasts. They joined to talk about why they love it and how the rest of us can get involved. Attorney General Andrea Campbell joined for “Ask the AG” where she answered questions from listeners and the live audience. -
BPR Full Show 5/4: To Rent or Not to Rent?
Chuck Todd on the latest out of Washington. Andrea Cabral on the leaked Tucker Carlson text messages that proved Carlson’s racist impulses, Jordan Neely’s death and more. Paul Reville talked about higher education moving towards not requiring SATs for admission applications, the closure of the Cambridge Matignon School, GPA errors for BPS and other education headlines. Jennifer Mascia is a founding writer for the nonprofit newsroom The Trace that focuses on reporting on guns and gun violence. She talked about her journey there and the melting pot of gun culture in the country. -
BPR Full Show 5/3: After, After Hours
We opened the show by asking listeners their take on Boston’s expanded Open Streets program. We spoke with Oliver Stone and Joshua Goldstein to discuss “Nuclear Now”, a new film based on Goldstein’s book “A Bright Future”. It makes the case for nuclear energy as a solution to climate change. Then, we asked listeners to call in with their thoughts on nuclear power. We aired last night’s After Hours event: a wide-ranging conversation with Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a chat with Boston Arts Academy Spirituals Ensemble director Michael Bradley, and performances from the ensemble. -
BPR Full Show 5/2: A fun time with Steven Page Trio
The Godfather of AI recently quit Google and said he regretted his work. If he’s concerned about the fast development of AI, are you? NBC Sports Boston anchor/reporter Trenni Casey talked about the Bruins’ loss, the Celtics and more. National security expert Juliette Kayyem dove into the Texas mass shooting and described why she thinks we haven’t caught the suspect yet. She also talked about Jack Teixiera’s role in the armed forces that gave him access to top-secret docs. Lee Pelton, president of The Boston Foundation, discussed the Black population in greater Boston going up, and previews a report out this week on access, affordability, and quality of early education in Boston. Steven Page, co-founder of the Barenaked Ladies, performed for a Live Music Tuesday, ahead of his City Winery show with his new trio, The Steven Page Trio. CNN’s John King joins via zoom for the latest political headlines. We ended the show by asking listeners if country clubs should be getting tax breaks. -
BPR Full Show 5/1: Please, Won't You Be My Neighbor?
Is American's gun problem rooted in fear of strangers? Maybe the first step to solving our culture of fear is to say 'hi' to your neighbor. We asked listeners whether they agreed. Are all these shootings from our fear of others? The new Massachusetts political party chairs Amy Carnevale (R) and Steve Kerrigan (D) join us for a panel discussion. GBH news analyst Charlie Sennott discussed World Press Freedom Day (May 3), jailed journalist Evan Gershkovich and the latest in Ukraine. Leah Camhi from the Fenway Community Development Corporation and Angie Liou from the Asian Community Development Corporation talked affordability in city development/housing. The Revs Irene Monroe & Emmett Price discussed Pope Francis clearing the way for women and lay-Catholics to vote in an upcoming bishops' meeting, and why the Church of England is honoring single people. Lylah Alphonse is editor for the Globe's Rhode Island and New Hampshire bureaus. She shared the latest headlines out of those desks. The Bruins were supposed to win the Stanley Cup...That ended last night with a loss to the Panthers. Were listeners devastated, or is this loss already fueling the comeback story for next year? We took your calls.
