Episodes
-
NeighborWoods: How urban forests can improve community health and climate change
This week on Under the Radar with Callie Crossley: Many of the settlers who headed West in the 1840s ended up in the treeless prairie then known as the Nebraska Territory. They planted trees for shade protection, and to slow crop erosion. Their success inspired Nebraska Territory Secretary and self- proclaimed tree enthusiast J. Sterling Morton to propose a tree-planting holiday. One million trees were planted in April 1872 for America’s first Arbor Day. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the holiday. Massachusetts will observe the day on April 29th with environmental professionals leading mass tree-plantings and educational programming for the community. Three local professionals in forestry, horticulture and ecology joined us to talk about trees’ crucial role in the ecosystem. Guests: Grace Elton, CEO of the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, a nonprofit organization and 171-acre garden in Boylston, Massachusetts. Tom Brady, an arborist and the tree warden and conservation administrator for the city of Brookline, Massachusetts. Lucy Hutyra, scientist and professor in the Department of Earth and Environment at Boston University. Her lab, the Hutyra Research Lab, researches the carbon dynamics in forest systems and urban areas. -
The Huntington's 'Our Daughters, Like Pillars' explores sisterly bonds amid COVID-19
This week on Under the Radar: The new Huntington Theatre Company play “Our Daughters, Like Pillars” has all the signature touches of local playwright Kirsten Greenidge. It’s set in New England, it’s a story about a Black family where issues of race and gender are a part of the main characters’ reality and humor is a part of the storytelling. For “Our Daughters, Like Pillars” Greenidge also adds a twist, setting the compelling drama against the backdrop of the evolving COVID-19 crisis. Guests: Kirsten Greenidge, an award-winning Boston-based playwright whose latest work is “Our Daughters, Like Pillars,” is now in performance at the Huntington Theatre Company through May 8th. -
Uncovering the truth about slavery in Colonial Lexington
This week on Under the Radar: Lexington, Mass. — the “birthplace of American liberty” — did not guarantee liberty and justice for all. A new initiative by the Lexington Historical Society has uncovered more details about slavery’s presence in colonial Lexington. For the first time, the society will have materials that include the new research this Patriots’ Day. The goal is for visitors to understand that what many call the “cradle of liberty” was indeed home to enslaved Black people. Guests: Carol Ward, executive director of the Lexington Historical Society Sean Osborne, founder and past president of the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington and a Lexington Historical Society board member -
Environmental Roundtable: Electric school buses are bound for Boston. Will the MBTA follow suit?
This week on Under the Radar with Callie Crossley: Earth Day is right around the corner. But we’re far from putting Mother Earth first, according to the latest U.N. climate change report. Plus, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has okayed 20 all-electric public school buses. Will a proposed new state Senate bill guarantee a whole fleet of electric MBTA buses? And environmentalists are getting pumped up over heat pumps! They're touted as a cleaner and more efficient way to heat and cool your home, and a way of reducing reliance on Russian gas or propane. It's our environmental roundtable! Guests: Beth Daley, Editor and General Manager of The Conversation US Cabell Eames, Political Director of Better Future Project, a Massachusetts-based grassroots climate-action organization Dr. Aaron Bernstein, Interim Director of The Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, pediatrician at Boston Children’s Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School -
Encore: Celebrating National Poetry Month with two poets
This week on Under the Radar: It’s undeniable — poetry is having a moment. So we’re revisiting one of our favorite conversations about the craft from back in 2019. Many attribute the growing popularity to social media, poetry outreach efforts and visibility from superstars like Beyoncé, who read poems by Warsan Shire on her visual album "Lemonade." So what is it about the art of putting motion to measure that is striking a chord these days? To gain insight into the current landscape of poetry, and in celebration of National Poetry Month, we're sitting down with two lyrical extraodinaires. GUESTS: Kwame Alexander, Newbury medal winning author, poet and publisher. He is the author of 36 books including The Undefeated. Rose Hansen, 2019 and 2021 Massachusetts State Poetry Out Loud Competition champion. -
Poetry's growing popularity starts with local youth poets
This week on Under the Radar: We’re marking this National Poetry Month by taking a look at our next generation of local poets. Who are the young writers and lyrical wordsmiths shaping the newest wave of poetry? And what about Massachusetts’ poetry scene, which is rapidly expanding across the state? GUESTS: Anjalequa Leynneyah Verona Birkett, Boston’s 2022 Youth Poet Laureate. Adael Francisco-Mejia, Worcester’s 2022 Youth Poet Laureate. Danielle Jones, poet, educator, and Mass Poetry’s program director. -
Book Club: Brendan Slocumb's 'The Violin Conspiracy'
This week on Under The Radar: Nobody would have suspected that PopPop’s old, damaged fiddle would turn out to be a $10 million rare instrument. The coveted Stradivarius crafted by Italian masters ended up in America by way of the slave trade. That part of its history is intertwined with Rayquan Millian’s family to make the foundation of the story in “The Violin Conspiracy.” From the moment that violin is stolen from Ray, author Brendan Slocumb propels readers on a journey through classical music performances, American history, current racial tensions and dysfunctional family dynamics. “The Violin Conspiracy” is his first book and it’s our April selection for “Bookmarked: The Under the Radar Book Club.” Brendan Slocumb is a violinist who has played in orchestras throughout Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC. And, the North Carolina native has taught public and private school education for more than twenty years. -
Formerly incarcerated people have become major voices for reforming a broken criminal justice system
This week on Under the Radar with Callie Crossley: The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Two million people are in the nation’s prisons and jails. According to The Sentencing Project, a research and advocacy center, that’s a 500% increase over the last 40 years at an annual cost of $80 billion. That reality has helped drive a movement for criminal justice reform which is now front and center in the national conversation. The cause has drawn together a motley group of advocates, from grassroots organizers to celebrities like Kim Kardashian and the conservative Koch brothers, where they are part of a roiling debate about systemic racism, reformative justice, no-knock warrants and sentencing policies. More recently, the formerly incarcerated have become major voices in the reform movement. How can their leadership help shape the effort to fix the broken system? Guests: John Valverde is the president and CEO of the global nonprofit YouthBuild USA. Dehlia Umunna is a clinical professor of law at Harvard Law School and the Faculty Deputy Director of the law school’s Criminal Justice Institute. Reginald Dwayne Betts is a poet, a lawyer, a 2021 MacArthur Fellow, and the founder of Freedom Reads. -
From Banksy to Boston: How art activism is transforming city walls and public spaces
This week on Under the Radar with Callie Crossley: Banksy, the British artist who has stayed out of public view since the 1990s, is arguably the most famous and lucrative street artist in the world. A selection of his work is now on display in Cambridge as part of a traveling exhibition called “The Art of Banksy.” Exhibitors independently sourced more than 100 pieces of Banksy's outdoor and indoor artwork to include. Banksy’s artistic activism, or “artivism,” and his global influence got us thinking about Greater Boston’s art activism scene. Who are the street artists transforming our city walls and spaces? And how do they interpret issues through their art? Guests: Abigail Satinsky, curator and head of public engagement at Tufts University Art Galleries and program director of the Collective Futures Fund. Cedric Douglas, street artist and designer who has created artwork around Boston for more than two decades. He is also the founder and creative director of the Up Truck. Sneha Shrestha aka IMAGINE, a Nepali artist, educator and social entrepreneur who meshes the Nepali alphabet with the Boston graffiti scene. She is also the arts program manager at the South Asia Institute at Harvard. -
Meet two Berklee College of Music alumni nominated for the 2022 Grammy Awards
This week on Under the Radar with Callie Crossley: The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony is nearly here after a winter spike in COVID-19 cases forced the event to be postponed until April 3. The awards regularly recognize alumni of Berklee College of Music, Boston's musical powerhouse. This year, a whopping 34 Berklee alumni hope to hear their names read as Grammy Award winners. Two of those nominees are Arooj Aftab and Charlie Rosen. Guests: Arooj Aftab, Brooklyn-based Pakistani vocalist, music composer and producer. She’s been nominated for the 2022 Grammy Award categories of best new artist and best global music performance. Her latest album is Vulture Prince. Arooj has been described as a “boundary-breaking” artist who draws from jazz, Hindustani classical, folk and reggae to create a one-of-kind sound that’s caught the attention of people worldwide. Charlie Rosen, Tony-award winning composer, arranger, producer and performer. He's been nominated for the 2022 Grammy Award for best arrangement, instrumental or a cappella. He scores visual media and works in a wide variety of band performance settings, including performances in nationally recognized jazz festivals, Broadway and off-Broadway musical theater productions. He’s the band leader of The 8-Bit Big Band, a jazz and pops orchestra that reimagines video game music.
