Episodes
-
Cape Cod's proposed machine gun range in the cross hairs of new EPA report
The long controversial push for a proposed machine gun range on Cape Cod might be struck down by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The range would reduce the amount of time it takes soldiers at Joint Base Cape Cod to complete their training, says the Massachusetts Army National Guard — they currently have to travel hours to perform required small arms training. But the EPA's latest report suggests local resident's drinking water could be jeopardized if the eight-lane, $11.5 million range is built. "The biggest concern by far is for the Cape's water supply," said Steve Junker, managing editor of news at CAI. "It supplies water for more than 200,000 year round residents. And it's already compromised and it's compromised by this very same military base... They'll be firing more than a million bullets per year, which they feel is almost certain to further compromise that aquifer that goes under the base." And Rhode Island officials are texting residents in high risk areas urging them to carry Narcan — also known as naloxone — a medicine that quickly reverses an overdose. There were at least 860 overdose deaths in Rhode Island from 2021-2022, but this April, state officials sent texts offering free Narcan to residents in the Providence area, and they recieved a significant response: "The prior year, they had zero requests for naloxone. As soon as they sent out that text message, within a week, they get 166 requests for naloxone," Tim White, managing editor for WPRI, told Under the Radar. "Of course, they can't count how many lives that may have potentially saved. But, you know, naloxone does just that, it reverses the effects of an opioid overdose... And unfortunately, in Rhode Island, at least, the data from 2022, which is still being put together, is on track to to match the number of overdose deaths that we saw in 2021, which was the deadliest year on record." Plus, Republican opposition forced the take down of a historical marker honoring a New Hampshire labor leader and feminist organizer just weeks after it was unveiled. "She was a feminist who advocated for workers rights, for freedom of speech," said Arnie Arnesen, host of “The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen” on WNHN. "She became a leader in the Communist Party, believing that capitalism was at the root of inequality. I wonder where she got that from. But she loved America. 'It could be paradise on earth if it belonged to the people, but not to a small owning class,' that's a quote from her. No one can take my love of country away from me. But the same GOP is in love, too, with a hater of democracy, a sexual abuser, a liar, a man obsessed with revenge. So thinking about the decision of the Republican governor and his executive councilors to remove the marker, maybe that rebel girl is still a rebel and someone to be feared." It’s our Regional News Roundtable. GUESTS Arnie Arnesen, host of “The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen” on WNHN Tim White, investigative reporter and managing editor for WPRI Steve Junker, managing editor of news at CAI, the Cape, Coast and Islands affiliate of GBH -
Is Gen-Z trading pharmaceuticals for supplements?
Herbs, supplements, yoga, and massage therapy are some of the ways people use home remedies to improve their health instead of the typical doctor’s prescription. But these holistic health practices have become a popular alternative medicine industry with professionals that promote preventative medicine. These practices are not new and have been around, in some form, for hundreds of years. "I think that there are more and more people embracing the need for both sides because the medical system can’t sustain its ability to help people in all ways," said Liz Elia, owner of Whole Minded Health, "it really is a disease care system, and there’s so much chronic disease and chronic pain that this advanced medical care system can't address, so I think there is more and more of a need for us to work together." But the pandemic changed how we all understand healthcare. For some Americans, the last three years have seen an increase in people rethinking traditional medicine, and Gen-Z especially appears to be moving toward holistic health with implications for our entire healthcare system. "A lot of the Gen-Z's that come into our office, they just say 'Hey, I've been to my doctor and they aren't really giving me the answers that I need,' so, they have to start searching at a younger and younger age to even find what's going on with [them]," said Dr. Blake Vickers, a chiropractic doctor and functional neurologist at The Wellness Way in Raleigh, N.C. GUESTS Liz Elia, owner of Whole Minded Health, a holistic health practice in Massacusetts. Dr. Blake Vickers, a chiropractic doctor and functional neurologist at The Wellness Way in Raleigh, N.C., a national holistic health practice. -
New climate report reveals many Massachusetts homes are vulnerable to flooding
A new report finds Massachusetts storms have grown in frequency and severity since the early 1900s. The number of intense, two-day storms has increased by 74% — and that means many homes are becoming more vulnerable to flooding. "The first thing that comes to my mind is the health implication of this," said Dr. Gaurab Basu, co-director of the Center for Health Equity Education and Advocacy at Cambridge Health Alliance. "Concern about water damage in homes that could cause mold, which of course will cause people to have serious allergies. We want our homes to be safe and protected, and so the idea that climate could impact the health of our children within our home is concerning." And across New England, where many of the country’s oldest buildings are located, some cities have begun preparing for the worst of climate change — by picking up historic buildings and moving them. "Look, we're going to make choices. Maybe it's not so important to save a [particular] historic house -- but maybe to save another one," said Beth Daley, editor and general manager of The Conversation, U.S. "I think the emphasis should really be on changing FEMA and flood insurance laws... These kind of incentives need to be geared toward retreat or relocation." But a United Nations panel says we can still keep the worst effects of climate change at bay, if industrialized countries can cooperate in cutting global greenhouse gasses in half by 2030. Cabell Eames, political director of Better Future Project, told Under the Radar that Massachusetts is making significant progress against climate change: "We have the first Climate Chief in Massachusetts and I know she is working diligently with the state of Massachusetts... There's just so much good will out there and there's so much opportunity to build relationship with one another and build community, and I think that when we do that everything else will just fall into place." A panel of experts discuss these stories and more for our Environmental News Roundtable. GUESTS Dr. Gaurab Basu, physician, co-director of the Center for Health Equity Education and Advocacy at Cambridge Health Alliance, and Health Equity Fellow at the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Beth Daley, editor and general manager of The Conversation, U.S. Cabell Eames, political director of Better Future Project, a Massachusetts-based grassroots climate action organization -
'Welcome to the Circus of Baseball' author pitches the minor leagues as America's true pastime
1994 was a notable year in American sports. The New York Rangers took home the Stanley Cup, Olympic skater Nancy Kerrigan was violently attacked on the ice (the culprit later identified as an associate of competing skater Tonya Harding), and Major League Baseball’s World Series was canceled. But over with the minor league team, the Asheville Tourists in North Carolina, a young Ryan McGee was living his best life. “My dream then was to be a radio play-by-play guy," McGee said. "In the Carolinas, I'm the guy that would go as a teenager and sit in my father's car and twist the AM radio dial, just looking for teams…Unfortunately, my accent is what it is. And in 1994, everyone was supposed to sound like Tom Brokaw. And that's not what I sounded like. But I did land an internship with the Tourists, with the hope of perhaps maybe becoming the voice of the Asheville Tourists.” McGee jumped at the chance to work for $100 a week as an intern for the team. A budding sports journalist, McGee was already an ardent baseball fan, with a special passion for baseball’s minor leagues. Today, he's a well-known writer for ESPN, but his new book recounts his harrowing and hilarious experiences that summer — including some that almost cut his career short. Pulling out the tarp to cover the field on rainy days was especially perilous, he says: “When you go to a game at Wrigley Field or Yankee Stadium and they pull the tarp, they have dozens of people pulling this giant, heavy, rain-proof cover for the entire ballpark infield. And when you have dozens of people, it's beautiful, right? Well, at a minor league ball park, sometimes we had four people to do this while we were in a downpour. And as a result, sometimes the tarp pull turned into more of a tarp drag," McGee said. "There was one time, as I held on to this nylon handle loop of this tarp, the wind got up underneath the tarp. And in my mind, I went about 150 feet up in the air. The reality is that that puff of air probably put me about six or seven feet up in the air, but my feet left the ground… But the good news is I was young and made out of rubber, so when I landed on the ground, I was not hurt very badly. Now I’d go to the hospital.” McGee's new book “Welcome to the Circus of Baseball: A Story of the Perfect Summer at the Perfect Ballpark at the Perfect Time” is our May selection for “Bookmarked: The Under the Radar Book Club.” GUEST Ryan McGee, senior writer for ESPN the Magazine, co-host of the Marty and McGee show for ESPN Radio and the SEC sports network. -
What will the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency mean for the future of COVID care?
The national COVID-19 public health emergency is coming to an end on May 11, and it’s taking with it access to free COVID tests and vaccines. The emergency has been in place since January 2020 and has been renewed several times over the last three years. Its end is not only symbolic; it also might mean a drastically different level of care for COVID patients within hospitals. "I wouldn't say we are in a post-pandemic phase. We are in a much better phase than we were before, but for me the death rate is still far too high," said Abdullah Shihipar, a writer and public health researcher at Brown University School of Public Health. From mandatory mask requirements in care facilities to nationwide data collection, the standards of COVID care with which we have become well-acquainted might be gone by next week. "For many families, COVID-19 is still wreaking havoc in their families," said Dr. Atiya Martin, CEO and founder of All Aces Inc. and former Chief Resilience Officer for the city of Boston. "You still have high infection rates and deaths within working class and communities of color, including undocumented residents or immigrant communities, and so you have this dymanic of the current infection rate being a lot lower than before but still disproportionately impacting these communities." Some medical professionals think this is as good a time as any to end the emergency status while others are worried about what it might mean for their patients, specifically those who are uninsured. "The decision isn't is today the day to stop wearing masks in the hospital, the decision is whether you implement masks forever as the new normal or whether you make them optional... It is a really difficult decision and it really depends on individual values," said Dr. Shira Doron, an infectious disease specialist physician, Chief Infection Control Officer for Tufts Medicine Health System, and the hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center. GUESTS: Dr. Shira Doron, an infectious disease specialist physician, Chief Infection Control Officer for Tufts Medicine Health System, and the hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center. Abdullah Shihipar, a writer and public health researcher at Brown University School of Public Health. Dr. Atiya Martin, CEO and founder of All Aces Inc., a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Northeastern University’s Global Resilience Institute, and former Chief Resilience Officer for the city of Boston. -
From slams to sidewalks, poetry is alive in Greater Boston
While April may be the cruelest month, it’s an exciting time for poetry. From Jamaica Plain to Cambridge, the Boston area is flush with open mics and poetry slams — and over the last few years, it seems like poetry has been winning the hearts and minds of young and old alike. A study found the amount of young people reading poetry almost doubled from 2012-2017, traffic to sites such as Poets.org surged 25% during the beginning of the pandemic, and hundreds of new independent bookstores have opened across the country in recent years. Poets like Rupi Kaur have over four and a half million followers on Instagram, and there have been moments where poetry has exploded in pop culture, including when Amanda Gorman read her poem, “The Hill We Climb” at President Biden’s inauguration. "The music of poetry is back. And the performance aspects of poetry are back. And the public aspects of poetry are back," says Elisa New, professor of American Literature at Harvard University. "I think those three things, together, really encapsulate why there's this renewed enthusiasm and excitement about poetry. It's been lifted off the page and out of solitary experience and brought back into the body and back into public." In Cambridge, poetry has been lifted off the page and stamped directly into the ground. Since 2015, the annual Cambridge Sidewalk Poetry Contest has been soliciting poems from residents and choosing five winners — the victorious poems are stamped into fresh concrete throughout the city. This year 336 poems were submitted, although not all the submissions met the guidelines. That's an increase from the 252 submitted last year. The contest was paused in 2021 due to the pandemic. When asked what she hopes happens when someone stumbles across a poem on the sidewalk, Lillian Hsu, director of Public Art for Cambridge Arts, said: "That they pause. Maybe wonder. Read it. Share it. Keep in mind that location in front of that school or library, there's a poem there. And come back again because many people are walking the same route every day. I think the sidewalk is not just a surface, but it's a whole space... it's a social space, an economic space, a cultural space, and so I think the impact is across time." GUESTS Amanda Shea, Boston-based multidisciplinary artist, educator and publicist Lillian Hsu, director of Public Art at Cambridge Arts Elisa New, Powell M. Cabot professor of American Literature at Harvard University, director and host of PBS's Poetry in America, and director of the Center for Public Humanities at Arizona State University -
How American English has borrowed, stolen, and evolved into an imperial language
Language is perhaps our most powerful tool. It has been improved, imposed and modified widely over time. From James Baldwin, to the first settlers in the Plymouth Colony, to beat poets, to hip-hop artists, American English in all its forms has become a global, and imperial language. "Words are never static, they go through changes, and in fact, change is the essential element for any language to thrive," said Ilan Stavans, professor of humanities and Latin American and Latino culture at Amherst College. "We borrow, we steal, that is in American English, from other languages, and also lend words to other languages and that give-and-take is essential." Language is at the forefront of many cultural debates. It both unites and divides us. What language should we use when educating our children? How should we classify cultural dialects or colloquial languages, like Black vernacular English? "There are people who are bringing other languages to English in ways that are not really happening with any other global language, like Chinese for example," said Patrick Cox, host of the popular Subtitle podcast and former editor and reporter for The World. "In that sense, I think it gives English the chance to evolve and transform and take on new, not just words, but phrases and thought patterns in a way that some of those other languages don't." From the ubiquity of English, to understanding how language might help explain our current political moment, we analyze how words both help and hurt our culture on this week's episode of Under the Radar with Callie Crossley guest hosted by Phillip Martin. GUESTS: Ilan Stavans, Professor of Humanities and Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College, and editor of a new book: “The People's Tongue: Americans and the English Language.” Patrick Cox, host of the popular "Subtitle" podcast and former editor and reporter for The World. Patrick is the winner of the Linguistic Society of America’s 2019 Linguistics Journalism Award. -
Boston local and saxophone prodigy, Grace Kelly, is only getting started
As a young girl, Brookline musician Grace Kelly dreamed of being Hollywood actress turned princess of the same name, Grace Kelly. The saxophonist told Under the Radar how movies have long inspired her musically: "Movies have always taken me into this other reality, and I think music is similar in that when you see amazing musicians on stage, working together, creating this amazing moment that gives that emotional release, like 'oh, this is just beautiful,' and I feel that way when I'm making music." The talented musician grew up to make a name for herself as a performer, playing alongside saxophone legend Phil Woods and as a soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra at just 14. At 16, she performed at President Obama's 2009 inauguration. But professional musicians took note of her skill when she was only in middle school: "Back when I was starting professionally at 13 I didn't even know that could be a job ... I have had such incredible mentors ... starting with my first saxophone teacher who invited me to play at his jam session when I was 12-years-old, and I had never done that before." Now, at 30, the prodigy is showcasing her love for the movies in the East Coast premiere of a special concert: ‘At the Movies: Grace Kelly with Strings' featuring a 15-piece ensemble at the Berklee Performance Center on April 29. GUEST Grace Kelly, saxophonist, singer, songwriter, band leader, co-leader of the band 2saxy and composer of Under the Radar’s theme music -
LGBTQ News Roundtable: A record amount of anti-LGBTQ bills
417 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced in several state legislatures this year alone, according to data published by the ACLU. That is a record amount, and more than twice the amount of anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced last year. And private companies have become entangled in culture wars, including Bud Light as a transgender TikTok influencer and activist was featured in a social media ad promoting the beer. Plus, some activists continue to take to the streets. One LGBTQ+ group in New Hampshire, Rainbow Reload, is taking up arms for self-protection. Those stories and more on our LGBTQ news roundtable. GUESTS: Grace Sterling Stowell, executive director of the Boston Alliance of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Youth, or BAGLY. Janson Wu, executive director of GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, or GLAD. E.J. Graff, journalist, author and managing editor of The Monkey Cage, an independent, political science–oriented blog at the Washington Post. -
Has the Boston cannabis industry really become more equitable?
When Massachusetts legalized marijuana back in 2016, the new law included a mandate enforcing the industry to offer opportunities to communities disproportionately affected by the war on drugs and consistent over-policing for cannabis. In doing this, Massachusetts became the first state to write social equity for the marijuana industry into law. The state also created the Cannabis Control Commission to help those who were eligible to open a dispensary. There were two programs new dispensary owners could go through: the Economic Empowerment Program and the Social Equity Program. But since these programs were introduced, many have found it difficult to get CCC approval for a distribution license. More recently, state officials announced the creation of the Cannabis Social Equity Advisory Board, a committee tasked with deciding how the state will dispense money to cannabis entrepreneurs. "A lot of people that look like me don't have the opportunity to enter this industry because the barriers are set up from the jump," said Dru Ledbetter, the CEO of cannabis delivery company Flower Xpress and owner and CEO of the Zeb Boutique dispensary. About 68% of the active marijuana establishment agents in Massachusetts are white, according to data collected by the Cannabis Control Commission. Only 8% are Hispanic or Latino and 6% are Black. As for gender, 63% of active establishment owners are men and 36% are women, according to the same data. "I believe that any person that has a marijuana offense, currently or in the past, that should be wiped from their record," said Tito Jackson, a former Boston city councilor and CEO of Apex Noire, "because there are companies who are operating in the state of Massachusetts who are making hundreds of millions of dollars, and I guarantee you none of the people currently locked up sold anywhere near as much as some of those companies." Has the industry actually become more equitable, and have these moves toward a more inclusive cannabis industry been successful? Ledbetter and Jackson joined Under the Radar to share their experiences and perspectives. GUESTS: Dru Ledbetter, CEO of Flower Xpress, a recreational cannabis delivery company, and the owner and CEO of Zeb Boutique, a cannabis retail dispensary in Boston Tito Jackson, former Boston city councilor and CEO of the new cannabis dispensary, Apex Noire
