Boston Public Radio

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops lobbied against the bill because it included resources for the LGBTQ community.

Two mass shootings in one week have gun control advocates wondering whether legislation will ever be enacted.

"We have the capacity to force a vote, and I think it’s time we do that," the Massachusetts senator said.

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.

Is American's gun problem rooted in fear of strangers? Maybe the first step to solving our culture of fear is to say 'hi' to your neighbor. We asked listeners whether they agreed. Are all these shootings from our fear of others? The new Massachusetts political party chairs Amy Carnevale (R) and Steve Kerrigan (D) join us for a panel discussion. GBH news analyst Charlie Sennott discussed World Press Freedom Day (May 3), jailed journalist Evan Gershkovich and the latest in Ukraine. Leah Camhi from the Fenway Community Development Corporation and Angie Liou from the Asian Community Development Corporation talked affordability in city development/housing. The Revs Irene Monroe & Emmett Price discussed Pope Francis clearing the way for women and lay-Catholics to vote in an upcoming bishops' meeting, and why the Church of England is honoring single people. Lylah Alphonse is editor for the Globe's Rhode Island and New Hampshire bureaus. She shared the latest headlines out of those desks. The Bruins were supposed to win the Stanley Cup...That ended last night with a loss to the Panthers. Were listeners devastated, or is this loss already fueling the comeback story for next year? We took your calls.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse joined to discuss about his career-long mission to confront dark money in politics, with a focus this week on Clarence Thomas and other gift-receivers on the Supreme Court. We opened the phone lines to ask listeners whether it’s a problem that no one in America seems to care about Supreme Court ethics. Michael Curry discussed the SJC's ruling on the Holyoke Soldiers' Home, plus GOP leveraging the debt ceiling to make cuts to federal health programs. He also touched on McKinley Schools getting renamed for Mel King, and the legacy of civil rights activist Harry Belafonte. Sue O’Connell joined to give updates to the Brian Walshe saga, California teetering on red-state boycotts, the death of Jerry Springer and Biden's embrace of "dark Brandon" memes. Jared Bowen also touched on the passing of Harry Belafonte. He reviewed art-world happenings, including a gallery of work by Alison Elizabeth Taylor at the Addison Art Gallery, and The Apollinaire Theater Company's "Dance Nation." He'll also talked about Gov. Healey's commitment to the arts and his recent sit-down with her on Open Studio. Patty Larkin is a singer/songwriter based in Wellfleet, MA. She played a couple of songs ahead of a benefit show in Lexington. We ended the show with spring sports. Have your ear drums been blown out by screaming parents at Little League? Are you an umpire who had to retire early to avoid abuse from parents? We asked people to call in.

Three famous media figures have been let go from their networks all falling from grace over how they treated, and talked about, women at their companies. Is the me-too movement still alive? We opened the lines to hear from listeners. Chuck Todd on the latest political headlines. Andrea Cabral weighs in on the E. Jean Carrol trial, also an SJC ruling on faulty breathalyzer tests, and more. Andy Ihnatko talks AI in music (fake Drake) and politics (Republicans), plus Apple’s new classical music streaming app, and the various state legislators trying to crack down on kids’ social media use. Christopher Muther recounts his trip to Medellin, talks about the best tasting drinks to order on a plane, that new big red building at Logan Airport and fly fishing in Arlington, Vermont. Nancy Gertner on her recent op-ed for the Globe about Trump-era judges… she’ll also cover ethics on the Supreme Court, their ruling on mifepristone, and the E. Jean Carroll trial. We ended the show by asking listeners what a meaningful protest looks like.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Can helicopter parenting stunt your child’s independence? We opened the lines to discuss. Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed the states restricting gender treatment for transgender adults; and the Florida surgeon general altering key findings on a study on COVID vaccine safety. National security expert Juliette Kayyem discussed Tucker Carlson’s extremism and the latest on fighting in Sudan. Tibisay Zea, host of GBH and El Planeta’s Spanish-language podcast “Salud,” discussed the show’s second season. Lucien Greaves, co-founder and spokesperson for the Satanic Temple, discussed Boston’s SatanCon, taking place this weekend. Naturalist and author Sy Montgomery discussed sentient bees, crying plants, and parrots who learned to video chat with each other to stave off loneliness. We ended the show hearing from listeners about the strange world of online comments sections.

Brian Stelter, a Special Correspondent at Vanity Fair, joined on zoom to discuss the departures of Tucker Carlson from Fox and Don Lemon from CNN. Then, we opened the phone lines to get listener’s reactions to the news. Do these firings mark a shift in media ahead of the 2024 election, or are we navel gazing? NBC Sports Boston anchor and reporter Trenni Casey discussed the NBA getting serious on mental health; Aaron Rodgers going to the Jets; and the latest from the Bs and Cs playoffs. Richard Taylor, former vice president of development at FMR properties and Darryl Settles, president of Catalyst Ventures Development, joined to discuss the redevelopment of Nubian Square and a new investment fund to close the racial wealth gap in Boston. Miles O’Brien, producer, director and host of NOVA’s "Chasing Carbon Zero" (premiering April 26 on PBS) joins with Yet-Ming Chiang, a materials science and engineering professor at MIT. Peter Lynch, who formerly managed the Magellan Fund at Fidelity Investments, joined to discuss an upcoming auction to raise awareness and support for the Catholic schools in the Boston Diocese. CNN’s John King joined on zoom for the latest political headlines. Tupperware warned it could go out of business after more than 70 decades. How could a brand name so ubiquitous go under? Where will we store our gazpacho now?! Or, like Margery, are you hopeful this may bring about an environmentally friendly, plastic-less future? We asked listeners to call in.