Episodes
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Processing the Boston Marathon bombings, 10 years later
Ten years ago, tragedy struck Boston. On April 15, 2013, two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three and wounding more than 200. It will forever be remembered as a dark day for the city. But the day will also be remembered for the heroic actions that saved victims. "As Captain Bob 'Sarge' Haley said, 'Everybody ran the right way that day.' Meaning everybody ran towards where people needed help, where the bombs went off," Rich Serino, former chief of Boston EMS, told Under the Radar. "And that, I think, is what people were trained to do. And people made a difference and saved lives." Still, the impact of the explosion was felt far beyond the blast radius. From safety procedures to police surveillance, certain elements of the city will never be the same. And questions about the attack remain. "Who built the bombs? A fundamental question, right? Who built the bombs?" said Bruce Gellerman, former senior correspondent for WBUR. "[The federal prosecutor] said that the bombs were too sophisticated for the Tsarnaevs to have made. They had to have resources they didn't have, they must've had help ... they don't know who made the bombs. To this day they don't know." Ten years later, we are reflecting on this horrific event to understand the full impact of the bombing, how the city has healed, and what scars remain. GUESTS Bruce Gellerman, former senior correspondent for WBUR Rich Serino, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, former Deputy Administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and former Chief of Boston EMS -
Boston's new director of nightlife looks to change city's after-dark scene
Boston has often been ranked as having a notoriously poor nightlife. Most clubs have a two a.m. curfew and the trains stop running just after midnight. It's even hard to find a bar that closes after one a.m. despite the city being known as a bar-town. Boston was ranked as the thirteenth best city to travel to by several travel blogs and review websites. That's not a terrible rating, but we are nowhere near other cities, like New York City or Miami. What kind of toll does this take on the tourism and entertainment economoy here, and how can the city grow into a more social hub? Corean Reynolds is the newly appointed director of nightlife economy for the city of Boston. Her role is not only to help Boston stay awake later, but also to imrpove the city's nightlife and entertainment econommy. "We have 23 robust, unique, culturally diverse neighborhoods in the city of Boston, and we want to encourage not only fellow Bostonians, but folks who travel here to indulge in those neighborhoods," said Reynolds. "Part of that is looking for new policy and new ways to engage those neighborhoods." Reynolds' role also focuses on the retention rate of Boston residents, and encouraging the thousands of college students and tourists to think of Boston as more than a temporary location. "Folks go home, go to work, and go home, but we want folks to interact with each other and their community, and to build a sense of community. That's what will make people stay," said Reynolds. Mayor Michelle Wu and the Office of Economic Oppurtunity and Inclusion launched the SPACE Grant program last year, a program funded by the American Rescue Plan which aims to promote small business growth in Boston industries most impacted by the pandemic. Companies will be able to recieve three-year grants of up to 200 thousand dollars to help with startup costs. GUESTS: Corean Reynolds, the director of nightlife economy for Boston’s city government, previously the director of economic inclusion at The Boston Foundation. -
Boston has a decorated jazz history, but it's no longer as easy to find jam sessions
Jazz, one of America’s great art forms, has a decorated history in Boston. Charlie Parker performed here in the early '50s. Clubs from the Hi-Hat to Savoy Café lined the streets. And Miles Davis resuscitated his career here in 1981, playing a string of sold-out shows. Sue Auclair helped coordinate Davis' return. She described the moment she broke the news to Eric Jackson, who spearheaded decades of radio programming at GBH: "I said, 'You're not gonna believe this but Miles is coming to Boston.' I told him the details, he cut the music midstream — which no one ever does — and he announces this. ... We sold the thing out four nights." But the prevalence of jazz in Boston is not what it once was. From a change in culture to a lack of clubs and gentrification, Auclair and other Under the Radar guests discussed the past, present and future of jazz in Boston. Tessil Collins, host of the Jazz Gallery at GBH, laments today's lack of dedicated jazz venues. "When you look at these places, though, you're talking about playing jazz at a restaurant ... you're having a meal, people are talking, and there's a band over here in the corner doing background music," he said. "It's unfortunate that we have to settle for that." Gentrification and "nightclub apartheid" has impacted the scene as well, says George "Chip" Greenidge Jr., founder and director of the nonprofit Greatest MINDS. "12 years ago [I told a Boston Globe editor], 'Boston has this feeling where it's called nightclub apartheid.' ... You know, people of color are usually relegated on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and Friday, Saturday, Sundays will be given to, pretty much, white people," he said. "... So, we do have to talk about gentrification, we do have to talk about space and place and where people feel comfortable." Greenidge said there used to be more affordable entertainment options. Now, he says, there are few places to just "sit and enjoy yourself." GUESTS Sue Auclair, longtime jazz promoter and president of Sue Auclair Promotions, a Boston-based PR and marketing firm servicing the arts, entertainment and media industries Tessil Collins, host of The Jazz Gallery & managing producer of Jazz 24/7 online Radio at GBH George “Chip” Greenidge Jr., founder and director of the Greatest MINDS, a nonprofit that works with young students and professionals to become civic leaders -
Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai tells the untold stories of the Vietnam War in new book, "Dust Child"
The legacy of the Vietnam War is on their faces. The children of the American GI’s stationed in Vietnam during the war and the local women who bore them – left behind and overwhelmingly rejected. Author Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai braids together the stories of a young mother hoping for a life in America, an adult son searching for the father he never knew, and an American Vietnam war veteran looking for redemption. “Dust Child” is at once empathetic, devastating, and upbeat burnished with Quế Mai's stunning signature prose. "I think we are blessed with a life on this Earth so that we can uplift each other, and I really think every one of us has so much power inside of us that we can use for a good purpose," said Quế Mai when asked what she wants her readers to take away from her novel. Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai is the author of twelve books of fiction, poetry and non-fiction written in Vietnamese and English. Her work has been translated into twenty languages. Her first novel “The Mountains Sing”, the first written in English, was a runner up for the 2021 Dayton Literary Peace Prize and other awards including the 2021 Pen Oakland Josephine Miles Literary Award, and the 2021 International Book Award. “Dust Child” is her second historical novel, and it’s our April selection for “Bookmarked: The Under the Radar Book Club". -
50 years after the U.S. exited Vietnam, a new exhibit sheds light on the infamous 'Hanoi Hilton'
50 years ago, direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war officially ended as the last remaining combat troops and prisoners of war (POWs) returned to American soil. It was a complex moment for the country as the war was deeply unpopular and ended in defeat. More than 58,000 Americans died in the war, and three million Vietnamese. Fredrik Logevall told Under the Radar that Americans were ready for the war to be over: "I think they felt on some level, many of them, conflicted. They wanted these deaths to be justified, for this to matter." After the Paris Peace Accords were signed on January 27th, 1973, American POWs were sent home in February and March. “The prettiest thing I ever saw was when I looked out the window and saw the golden gate," one POW told KPIX in 1973, shortly after walking off the plane at an Air Force Base in California. "I want you all to remember that we walked out of Hanoi as winners. We’re not walking with our tail between our legs. We return with honor.” But the horrors of war can be hard to forget. Tim Sullivan spent about five years at the "Hanoi Hilton," an infamous Vietnamese prison, and described to Under the Radar what happened soon after his plane was shot down: "I ended up being interrogated right after I got there and went through probably three or four hours of basic interrogation. They were doing the, 'I'll ask you a question, you give me an answer, if I don't like it, I'll smack you until I get the answer I like.'" Now, a half century after [Operation Homecoming](htthttps://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/197496/operation-homecoming/), the prisoner experience at the "Hanoi Hilton" is recreated in a new Massachusetts exhibit. "The cells that we have are actual cells that came from the 'Hanoi Hilton' in Vietnam. So when you walk into them you're getting the feeling of what it was like to be in these cells, and one of the most powerful torture techniques is actually isolation. And the guys will tell you they spent sometimes four or five years in solitary confinement..." Under the Radar gets a first-person account of the POW experience and expert analysis as the country reflects on the 50 years since withdrawing from the Vietnam War. GUESTS Tim Sullivan, Vietnam War veteran and former prisoner of war Rob Collings, president of the American Heritage Museum Fredrik Logevall, professor of International Affairs at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and professor of History at Harvard University, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America’s Vietnam -
Encore: The sugar-filled history and legacy of Necco, the beloved local candy company
Necco, aka the New England Confectionery Company, was the oldest candy company in the United States at the time of its closure in 2018. Based here in Revere, Massachusetts, the company played a historic role in the world of American candy. Necco manufactured national favorites like Clark Bars, Candy Buttons, Sky Bars and Sweethearts. But their bestseller was without a doubt the Necco wafers, dating back to 1847. Interestingly, Necco marketed its wafers in a number of ways. Darlene Lacey, an author and curator of the Candy Wrapper Museum, told Under the Radar that the company wasn't really sure how to position the candy. "In the early times, they focused on them being the perfect treat for hostesses at afternoon teas. They had them described as a 'fairy feast' in a garden of delights. Very delicate, very romantic," she described. "... And then as time went on, they started to skew them a little bit more towards kids, and then later into the nostalgia market." The company was sold a handful of years ago to the Ohio-based Spangler Candy Company. But how did this shift impact the candy manufacturing world? Under the Radar talked with Lacey about everything from favorite sweet treats to the future of the candy production industry. -
Regional News Roundtable: The surprising departure of Rhode Island Rep. Cicilline
In a surprise announcement, U.S. Rep. David Cicilline said he is stepping away from politics. Cicilline has represented Rhode Island in Congress for over a decade. During his time in office, he took on Big Tech and served as the House impeachment manager for former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial. He is also openly gay and an advocate for LGBTQ rights. So with all that apparent success, why is Cicilline resigning? "There were a couple factors. One, he was offered a job as CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation, the big nonprofit funder here in Rhode Island. He's going to more than triple his salary to $650,000 compared what he made in Congress," WPRI politics and business editor Ted Nesi told Under the Radar. "And he acknowledged it was just less appealing to stay in Congress, in the U.S. House, as a Democrat who is now in the minority, with a Republican majority who has very little he agrees with them on. And if we're being honest, Cicilline tried and failed to get into senior leadership position when the House leaders were changing over." Nesi said Cicilline's resignation was a shock to "everyone in Rhode Island" given the fact he was only a couple months into his latest term. Cicilline officially steps down on June 1. The special election to replace him will likely happen in November, so there will be several months without Rhode Island's 1st District represented in the U.S. House. Also on Under the Radar's Regional News Roundtable, guests discussed the aging Bourne and Sagamore bridges. Tens of thousands of cars drive across the nearly 100-year-old bridges to Cape Cod each day. Though the bridges are in desperate need of repairs, the federal government has rejected multiple requests for funding — although President Joe Biden's latest budget proposal would include a "down payment." "These bridges apparently have not a great design, and they're very difficult and expensive to repair. And it's that cost of repair — year over year — which is really driving the conversation here that they just have to be replaced entirely," said Steve Junker, managing editor of news at CAI. "Right before the pandemic, they were talking about a price tag to replace both bridges of about $1 billion. And everybody thought 'Oh, that's a lot of money.' Now they're saying it could be as much as $4 billion." Arnesen said now is the time to think big about the bridge reconstruction. "What the 'H' are you building? Because it's not just about a bridge. Because you're talking about also a bridge to the future. And what we know about the future is climate change. What we know about the future is maybe the desire for more public transportation. ... It's not just about a bridge, everyone. It changes the whole course of life." And, lastly, Under the Radar guests discussed how a high school in New Hampshire is training students for the Granite state’s burgeoning outdoor tourism industry. GUESTS Steve Junker, Managing Editor of News at CAI, the Cape, Coast and Islands affiliate of GBH Ted Nesi, politics and business editor and investigative reporter for WPRI Arnie Arnesen, host of “The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen” on WNHN -
Michelle Miller grapples with identity in new book, 'Belonging'
Michelle Miller makes her living telling other people’s stories. But now author Michelle Miller has written her own story, a poignant and captivating heartbreaking chronicle of her quest to find and connect with her mother. “Belonging: A Daughter’s Search for Identity Through Loss and Love” is her first book and our March selection for “Bookmarked: The Under the Radar Book Club.” GUEST Michelle Miller, co-host of CBS Saturday Mornings, national Correspondent for CBS News and author of “Belonging: A Daughter’s Search for Identity Through Loss and Love” -
New Hampshire Insiders set the scene for the 2024 presidential race
For better or worse, the 2024 presidential election season has begun. Candidates from former President Trump to former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley are already making their case in early voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire. And while long-standing tradition has held the Granite State as the first presidential election primary in the nation, Democrats are pushing to get South Carolina in that coveted spot – much to New Hampshire’s dismay. We also analyze a new local TV series that considers why a certain kind of libertarian is flocking to New Hampshire. It's our ongoing segment, New Hampshire Insiders. GUESTS Arnie Arnesen, former New Hampshire democratic legislator, former nominee for governor and candidate for U.S. Congress, host of WNHN’s The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen Paul Steinhauser, national politics reporter for Fox News and campaign columnist for The Concord Monitor -
Pop Culture Roundtable: Chris Rock slaps back
Almost a year after actor Will Smith jumped onto the stage of the Academy Awards to slap Chris Rock, Rock exacts revenge with a new comedy special. And in the notoriously competitive movie industry, the independent film studio A24 has skyrocketed to success with a multibillion-dollar valuation — and 18 Oscar nominations this year. Plus, did the movement “#OscarsSoWhite” lead to this year’s record number of Oscar-nominated Asian and Asian American performers? It’s our Pop Culture Roundtable. GUESTS Michael Jeffries, dean of academic affairs and professor of American studies at Wellesley College Linda Liu, lecturer of sociology at UMass Boston, who specializes in cinema, media and cultural studies
