Episodes
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BPR Full Show 07/15/19: Spongebob Turns 20
Today on Boston Public Radio: Former CEO of the Democratic National Convention Steve Kerrigan and former Republican State Rep. Geoff Diehl joined us for a politics roundtable. We spoke to media scholar Bob Thompson about the 20th anniversary of Spongebob Squarepants, and other entertainment news. Criminal justice expert Andrea Cabral joined us to discuss how visits to Massachusetts prisons fell 23 percent after a rule change in 2018. We opened up the phone lines and took calls from our listeners on President Donald Trump's attacks on several U.S. representatives, including Massachusetts' own Ayanna Pressley, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. We spoke with Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett Price about a poll saying that Americans are seeking less guidance from clergy. Monroe and Price co-host the All Rev’d Up podcast, produced by WGBH. WCAI environmental reporter Heather Goldstone joined us to look at how climate litigation is on the rise around the world. We took listener calls to hear their takes on capitalism camp, which focuses on stimulating an entrepreneurial mindset in children. -
BPR Full Show 7/12/2019: SAM MEWIS!
Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened up the lines and asked listeners about the crumbling Red Line. Is the city's fraught public transportation making you consider moving away? Is the next frontier in fake meats a plant-based fish? Food writer Corby Kummer weighed in. Kummer is 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. Emily Rooney, host of WGBH's "Beat the Press," shared her famous list of observations and frustrations. Sue O'Connell explained why she believes Megan Rapinoe is a new kind of sports icon. O'Connell is the co-publisher of Bay Windows and the South End News, as well as a politics reporter for NECN. Massachusetts-born soccer star Sam Mewis is fresh off a World Cup win with the U.S. women's national team. She joined us to debrief the team's victorious trip to France and their fight for equal pay. Tech writer Andy Ihnatko discussed the Trump administration's move to invite right-wing conspiracy theorists to a so-called "social media summit" at the White House. Ihnatko is a tech writer, blogger and podcaster. We had a highly-caffeinated news quiz with Jim Cannell, the owner of Jim's Coffee, and Christelle Debeuf, their head barista trainer. -
BPR Full Show 7/11/2019: Flippin' and Floppin'
Today on Boston Public Radio: Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press,” weighed in on the latest national news. We asked you about Amy McGrath, who is challenging Mitch McConnell in Kentucky for his Senate seat, and her flip-flop on whether she would have voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court justice. Former Suffolk County sheriff Andrea Cabral weighed in on the news that ICE is preparing to conduct immigration raids in major American cities. Poet Richard Blanco shared some of his favorite works about summer and the Fourth of July. Former state Secretary of Education and Harvard Graduate School of Education professor Paul Reville discussed new BPS superintendent Brenda Cassellius and her first days on the job. Chris Wilkins and Jo Frances Meyer of the Boston Landmarks Orchestra previewed their season of free outdoor summer concerts. WGBH News reporter Bianca Vásquez-Toness shared her new reporting on how Boston’s Latinx parents are under-represented in school decisions. -
BPR Full Show 7/10/2019: Is Your Burnout Score As High As Jim's?
Today on Boston Public Radio: Boston Globe business columnist Shirley Leung discussed the USWNT’s fight for equal pay. We opened up the lines and asked listeners about burnout, a syndrome resulting from — as Katie Johnston writes in the Boston Globe — “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” Do you have it? Is your burnout score as high as Jim’s? Homeland security expert Juliette Kayyem discussed the Jeffrey Epstein case. Boston Globe columnist and author Alex Beam discussed Norman Mailer’s take on the moon landing 50 years ago. New Boston Public Schools superintendent Brenda Cassellius stopped in to chat about her first days on the job. Harvard Business School historian Nancy Koehn explained the leadership steps and qualities that allowed Americans to put the first man on the moon. Medical ethicist Arthur Caplan looked at an announcement from Netflix to remove images of tobacco use from future programming. -
BPR Full Show 7/9/2019: Could You Pass A Citizenship Test?
Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened up the phone lines and asked listeners for their thoughts on the Jeffrey Epstein case. We discussed the US Women's Soccer Team's fight for gender pay parity with NBC Sports Boston reporter Trenni Kusnierek. Former Secretary of Transportation James Aloisi and Chris Dempsey, Director of Transportation for Massachusetts, joined to weigh in on the controversy surrounding the management of the RMV and the recent MBTA fare hikes. Legal analyst Michael Zeldin looked at former special counsel Robert Mueller's upcoming congressional testimony. Boston Globe travel writer Chris Muther gave us his take on the rooms at the Encore Casino. We got the latest in national politics from CNN's John King. Could you pass a U.S. Citizenship test? We opened up the lines and quizzed listeners. -
BPR Full Show 7/8/2019: Equal Pay! USA!
Today on Boston Public Radio: Our political roundtable, featuring analyst and principle of Chieppo Strategies Charlie Chieppo and commentator and senior fellow with the Independent Women’s Forum Jennifer Braceras, tackled the latest headlines. Charles Sennott, founder of The GroundTruth Project, discussed Iran’s announcement that it will enrich uranium beyond the levels allowed under the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal. We opened up the lines and asked listeners about the USWNT’s big win at the World Cup. Will it advance the team’s quest for equal pay with their male counterparts? TV authority Bob Thompson shared his best and worst television moments of the week. Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett Price discussed their new podcast, “All Rev’d Up.” Naturalist Sy Montgomery shared her new book, “The Magnificent Migration,” about wildebeests migrating across the Serengeti. Musician Livingston Taylor previewed his upcoming show at the Wilbur. -
BPR Full Show 07/05/2019: Look Alive
Today on Boston Public Radio: New Yorker staff writer Patrick Radden Keefe discussed his latest book, Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland. Cartoonist Roz CHast and humorist Patricia Marx discussed their latest collaboration, Why Don’t You Write My Eulogy Now So I Can Correct It? A Mother’s Suggestions. Comedian Jay Pharaoh joined us to talk about his latest projects, including a new standup tour, web series, and the movie Unsane, directed by Stephen Soderberg. Judge Richard Gergel discussed his latest book, Unexampled Courage, which recounts a racist attack on a South Carolina native after World War II and how that episode sparked the civil rights movement. Harvard Business School’s Michael Norton joined us to go over his latest research on identity branding. Norton is the Harold M. Brierly Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. His latest book is Happy Money, the Science of Happier Spending. The alt-rock band Guster joined us for an in-studio performance of their latest album, Look Alive -
BPR Full Show 07/04/2019: All Books Considered
Today on Boston Public Radio: Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian spent over a year in an Iranian prison. He joined Jim and Margery to talk about his incarceration. It’s the subject of his latest book, Prisoner: My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison — Solitary Confinement, a Sham Trial, High-Stakes Diplomacy, and the Extraordinary Efforts It Took to Get Me Out. New Yorker writer Susan Orlean discussed her fascination with a fire that ravaged the Los Angeles Central Public Library, which she wove into her latest publication The Library Book, soon to be a TV miniseries. Jack Bishop, from America’s Test Kitchen, discusses his latest cookbook, Tasting Italy: A Culinary Journey. Investor Roger McNamee helped to build Facebook. In his latest book he writes about how he’s come to regret it. He discussed *Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe, *with Jim and Margery. Julian Zelizer discussed his latest book, *Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974. *Zelizer is an analyst for CNN and a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. Poet Richard Blanco discussed the work of poet Ada Limón. Blanco is the fifth presidential inaugural poet in U.S. history. His new book How To Love A Country deals with various socio-political issues that shadow America. -
BPR Full Show 07/03/2019: Medical Myths
Today on Boston Public Radio: Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed an increase in diabetics going to Canada to buy insulin due to lower costs. Do those lifelike dolls schools have girls take care of actually reduce teen pregnancy? Does shaving hair actually make it grow back thicker? We opened up the phone lines to ask our listeners about medical myths they find people tend to believe. We broke down the symbolism of President Trump's military parade on the 4th of July and Democrats' recent calls to decriminalize border crossings with national security expert Juliette Kayyem. Tech journalist Andy Ihnatko joined us for a primer on how to get the best pictures out of your iPhone during the 4th of July fireworks. Ali Noorani of the National Immigration Forum examined the new rules that will give Attorney General William Barr more influence over the immigration courts. Author Gary Styneghart discussed his latest book "Lake Success." Author Christopher Castelanni discussed his newest book "Leading Men." -
The Cruelty Of The Food At Migrant Detention Centers
Controversy continues to rise over the living conditions of migrant children living in detention centers in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's custody. Food writer Corby Kummer joined Boston Public Radio on Tuesday to describe the substandard food and resources being offered at the detention centers. "The institutional cruelty of the food that's being fed to people in five detention centers, mostly around Texas, is just disgusting. It's everything processed that's easy to buy, cheap to serve and is associated with obesity, bad dental health, chronic disease like diabetes," he said. Kummer is 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.
