Boston Public Radio

The rise of the delta variant of COVID-19 is instilling fear and “stabilizing the need” of nutrition assistance programs.

"The administration needs to catch up" on vaccine mandates, Wu said today on BPR.

Downie said the move, while only helpful in the short term, was likely to buy time for families working to get their hands on federal aid money.

Boston mayoral candidate John Barros joined Boston Public Radio for a wide-ranging interview about his candidacy.

The Rhode Island senator said he doesn't expect his voice is enough to change Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer's mind on the issue of stepping down from the nation's highest court while Democrats maintain power.

Family medicine doctor Katherine Gergen Barnett joined Boston Public Radio to go over the latest COVID-19 developments and take listener calls.

Note: Much of Thursday’s show was devoted to GBH’s one-day pledge drive. If you’d like to make a contribution to support the local journalism produced by GBH, you can visit the link here. Today on Boston Public Radio: NBC “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd discusses President Trump’s refusal to concede his election loss to President-elect Joe Biden, stalled COVID stimulus talks out of Washington, and the standing of the four senate candidates ahead of the Georgia’s January runoff election. Next, we turn to listeners, talking about the anticipated FDA approval of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine, and hearing your takes on whether the government ought to create a vaccine mandate to pull the U.S. out of the pandemic. Then, we keep our lines open, talking with callers about all the things you’re looking forward to returning to in a post-pandemic world. Suffolk County D.A. Rachael Rollins talks about her recently published letter urging Gov. Baker to sign the Mass. police reform bill, and weighs in on a range of other criminal justice issues as part of our monthly series, “Ask the D.A.”

M.I.T. economist Jonathan Gruber discussed his forthcoming editorial on how the U.S. government might want to use a lottery system to incentivize tracking for Americans who get vaccinated from COVID-19, as a way to gain insight on vaccine effectiveness. We turned to listeners to talk about “pandemic stomach,” amid a spike in Americans buying antacids. Brenda Cassellius, Superintendent of Boston Public Schools, called in to talk about the decision making process behind the reopening of 28 public schools in Boston, and evolving attitudes around whether schooling ought to remain open during the pandemic. She also responded to a range of questions and comments from listeners who phoned in. Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed news on COVID-19 vaccines, from reports of allergic reactions to the Pfizer vaccine in the U.K., updates on a newly-announced treatment out of China, and the expected timeline for FDA approval of vaccines here in the U.S. Tech writer Andy Ihnatko discussed the latest headlines from the world of tech, including Washington Post reporting on a forthcoming antitrust lawsuit against Facebook, news that Samsung will no longer include chargers with their phones, and NordPass' list of the most-used passwords of 2020. We closed out Wednesday’s show by returning to listeners, to talk about finding ways to laugh through the coronavirus pandemic.

The United Kingdom delivered the first shot in its COVID-19 vaccination program on Tuesday, becoming the first Western country to deliver a broadly tested vaccine to the general public. Two people who received the Pfizer and BioNTech shot developed allergic reactions, but recovered. Medical ethicist Art Caplan spoke with Boston Public Radio on Wednesday about what this latest development means for the vaccine’s rollout. “You’re probably going to have to wait after you get the vaccine - like an hour in the place where you get it - to make sure you don’t have that kind of reaction,” he said. “So that makes it harder, logistically, because now you’ll have people lined up, trying to find a place to sit them, and once you unfreeze the Pfizer vaccine, you have to administer it all like 500 at a time.” Caplan also worries that anti-vaxxers will use this as fuel against the vaccine. “You’re probably going to see anti-vax people use that to scare people away from the vaccine,” he said. “That would be unfortunate.” Art Caplan is the Drs. William F and Virginia Connolly Mitty Chair, and director of the Division of Medical Ethics at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We kicked things off by opening lines, to talk with listeners about the surging coronavirus cases in Mass., and whether the state ought to be imposing stricter lockdown measures to quell the spread of COVID-19. NBC Sports Boston reporter and anchor Trenni Kusnierek discussed new charges in the prostitution cases involving Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who himself will not face charges. She also weighed in on the $1 million PPP loan for former Patriot Tom Brady, and Sport Illustrated's list of five athlete activists it named “Sportspersons of the Year." Jamahrl Crawford talked about his impressions of the Mass. police reform bill, the political limits of the “defund the police” slogan, and the value in hiring police officers from within the communities they'd be serving. Crawford is a Boston based Boston community activist, and the publisher of the Blackstonian. He also served on the Boston Police Reform Task. Food writer Corby Kummer talked about Singapore becoming the first nation to approve lab grown meat for human consumption, and growing displeasure in the U.S. with foods that’re described as “moist." He also spoke about the pandemic’s impact on the already-miserable food served in prisons, and other food headlines. Next, we opened lines to talk with listeners about lab-grown meat, and whether you'd be open to making the switch from the real thing. CNN’s John King returned for his weekly breakdown of national political stories, including infighting in Washington over further pandemic relief, and conversation around whether or not to pursue potential legal charges against President Trump and his allies once President-elect Biden is in office.

Singapore has become the first nation on the planet to approve cell-cultured meat for human consumption. Food writer Corby Kummer spoke to Boston Public Radio on Tuesday about San Francisco start-up Eat Just Inc., which got regulatory approval to cell it’s lab-grown chicken in Singapore. “We talk all the time about Beyond Meat and the Impossible Burger, but this is different,” Kummer said. “Its cells are from animals, that are then cultured in quantity enough to, in this case, make a chicken cutlet.” What’s good about this is that only one animal is needed to give cells which will then be cultured to produce boundless chicken meat, Kummer said. “Only one chicken has to die to provide vibrant cultures, which the company then builds out onto various forms,” he said. “Cell-cultured meat has had billions of dollars invested in it over the past years, and it will be coming here [to the United States.]” Kummer is a senior editor at The Atlantic, an award-winning food writer, and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition and Policy.