Boston Public Radio

The governor acknowledged criticism from lawmakers but insisted the current mix of state and local efforts is most effective.

Students and advocates are calling on Harvard University to acknowledge its role in slavery and offer reparations.

Healey tells Boston Public Radio she supports legislation to update the state's existing hate crime laws.

If reparations to slavery were enacted before the pandemic, COVID-19 transmission and deaths could have been mitigated dramatically, according to Dr. Michelle Morse.

Andrea Cabral speaks about concerns regarding the 845 unvaccinated members of the State Police.

Three Atlanta-area spas were attacked on Tuesday by the same suspected gunman, who killed eight people.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Sen. Elizabeth Warren spoke about a looming political battle in Congress over whether to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, the state of child care in the Commonwealth, and what she made of the recent Ticketmaster antitrust Congressional hearing. We opened phone and text lines to talk with listeners about their experiences with child care in Massachusetts. Hon. Nancy Gertner discussed the Memphis police killing of Tyre Nichols, reports of discord among the Supreme Court justices, and questions of whether there ought to be more oversight of the Judicial Branch. Callie Crossley offered her own perspective on the killing of Nichols, as well as racist remarks made about former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao by former President Donald Trump, and Springfield-native Ruth Carter getting an Oscar nod for her constume design work on “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” Sue O’Connell offered her perspective on the latest conversy with Rep. George Santos, and the difference between dressing in drag and being a formal “drag queen.” She also spoke on growing transphobia in the U.K., and why she thinks a recent M&M’s re-brand is yet another marketing ploy. O’Connell is co-publisher of Bay Windows and South End News and contributor to Current, on NBC L-X and NECN. Sue O'Connell on BPR | Jan. 27, 2023 Victoria Kichuk is the founder and owner of Cocoa Beantown, a Boston-based chocolate tour and tasting company. She joined for a tasting of some high-quality chocolate brands based in Massachusetts. We closed out the show with listeners, getting your thoughts on bugs & and bug-eating.

Today on Boston Public Radio: NBC political director Chuck Todd joined to discuss the latest national politics. Then we opened the lines to discuss new guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics recommending immediate intervention as early as two years old to combat childhood obesity. Boston Globe business columnist Shirley Leung discussed Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s first state-of-the-city address, and the mayor’s pledge to overhaul the Boston Planning and Development Agency. 93-year-old Holocaust survivor David Schaecter discussed the process to have his life story recorded for a holographic video display at the planned Boston Holocaust Museum, slated to open in 2025. Museum co-founder Jody Kipnis and Michael Berenbaum, holocaust scholar and museum designer, discussed the plans for the museum. Boston Globe TV critic Matthew Gilbert discussed the shows he’s watching this winter, and Netflix’s impending crackdown on account sharing. Chef Irene Li from Mei Mei joined to give Jim and Margery a dumpling-making lesson, in celebration of the Lunar New Year, and discussed Mei Mei’s reopening as a dumpling factory and café in South Boston. We closed the show talking with listeners about sleepovers.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened the show with a call-in segment to ask our listeners about their experience with Ticketmaster and price-gouging related to live concerts. This comes after the Senate Judiciary Committee interviewed the CEO of Ticketmaster about the company’s failure to handle the demand for Taylor Swift tickets in November and the rise of exorbitant prices on secondary markets. Then medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed the integration of AI systems like chatGPT into the medical field and the limitations of the technology therein. He also explained the FDA’s new regulations for lowering the amount of acceptable lead levels in baby food. He explained the the FDA is overwhelmed and suggested that the federal government create a separate entity to monitor food safety. Art Caplan is the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor and founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU School of Medicine in New York City. National Security Expert Juliette Kayyemm came on to discuss the revelation that Vice President Mike Pence also had classified documents in house. She also questioned the priorities of Senators as they focus in on Ticketmaster and monopolies in the live entertainment industry as the country continues to suffer from a gun violence epidemic. Juliette Kayyem is former assistant secretary for homeland security under President Barack Obama, and the faculty chair of the homeland-security program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Then we had a call in segment with Larry Chretien of the Green Energy Consumers Alliance where he answered people’s questions about how to transition into using heat pumps in the home as well as how to obtain tax credits for buying electric vehicles. Jared Bowen discussed his favorite movies nominated for this year’s Oscars. Jared Bowen is GBH’s Executive Arts Editor and host of the TV series Open Studio, which you can catch Friday nights, right here on GBH 2. Food policy writer Corby Kummer discussed the death of the corporate cafeteria as companies struggle to rebuild office culture. He also discussed how trendy diets distract people from the key to losing weight: calorie management. Corby 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. Then we ended the show by having a call-in segment based on our conversation with Corby Kummer, asking our listeners what types of diets have worked for them and whether your weight does, or should, matter?

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened the show by asking our listeners about the two recent mass shootings in California and why they think this country still hasn’t addressed this epidemic of gun violence. Then Trenni Casey of NBC Sports Boston discussed how Red Sox fans booed the team’s ownership at their Winter Weekend event, marking the unofficial start of the 20-23 seasons. Fans booed owner John Henry because of frustration over ticket prices and how the team let its star shortstop Xander Bogaerts sign with the San Diego Padres. She also discussed how young quarterbacks are now leading the NFL, with all four teams left in the playoffs are led by a QB in their 20s. Trenni is an anchor and reporter with NBC Sports Boston, and a BPR contributor. Boston Globe Columnist Marcela Garcia discussed the decision by Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders to ban state agencies from using the term Latinx. She also discussed the disparity in media coverage between the disappearance of Ana Walshe and Reina Morales Rojas, a Salvadoran woman from East Boston who’s been missing since Thanksgiving. She ended by criticizing Republicans for planning to try to remove the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alexander Mayorkas Then GBH News deputy investigate editor Jenifer McKim and Amy Farrell, director of the School of Criminology at Northeastern University, came on to discuss McKim’s reporting on how restaurants exploit undocumented immigrants. Farrell also explained that undocumented workers often arrive in the U.S. owing thousands to smugglers and are then forced into a type of indentured servitude. Then Billy Costa, host of WGBH’s High School Quiz Show, came on to discuss the new season and the return of a live audience to the studio. Costa barely survived a news quiz BPR prepared for him and then turned the tables on Margery and Jared with his own grilling. CNN’s chief national correspondent John King joined us remotely to discuss the breaking news that classified documents were also discovered in former Vice President Mike Pence’s home. King also gave his predictions on how Republicans are using the debt ceiling limit as leverage to force cuts on social spending programs. Then we ended the show by asking our listeners to share their stories about the difference between themselves and their siblings. This follows a Washington Post article explaining that siblings may not be as similar genetically as previously thought.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We started the show with a call-in segment to hear from listeners about reproductive rights activism on what would have been the 50th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade this Sunday. Michael Curry discussed criticisms of the Embrace statue; the deadly mass shooting on Lunar New Year near Los Angeles; and the legislative push to boost nurse to patient ratios in Massachusetts. Michael Curry is president and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers. He’s also a member of the National NAACP Board of Directors, where he chairs the board’s Advocacy & Policy Committee. Brian McGrory, outgoing editor at the Boston Globe, discussed his tenure at the newspaper. He now heads Boston University's journalism department, and will write a weekly column for the Globe. Isaac Yablo will become Boston's new Senior Adviser for Community Safety in the office of Public Safety in February. He joined the show to discuss how he views his new role. Yablo is currently the Policy and Research Director in the office of Black Male Advancement. Reverends Irene Monroe & Emmett G. Price III discussed a Black professor in Florida defying the so-called "Stop Woke Act," signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis, which essentially prohibits instruction that could make students feel responsibility for or guilt about the past actions of other members of their race. We re-aired a conversation with former chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Margaret Marshall, when she discussed the unprecedented leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion, which ultimately overturned Roe v. Wade. We ended the show by opening the lines to hear from listeners about the times they've been ghosted or stood up by someone they had plans with.