Boston Public Radio

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.

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

Best of BPR 6/26: A Chaotic 36 Hours in Russia, Explained & The Rise of Lab-Grown Meat

Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz and former Gov. Jane Swift joined for a politics panel. Then, we opened the phone lines to ask listeners whether they think companies are losing productivity by letting employees work remotely on Mondays. Steven Pifer, former ambassador to Ukraine & senior fellow at Brookings, explained the Wagner Group rebellion in Russia and Ukraine’s counteroffensive. Jared Bowen joined for an arts segment: Guadalupe Maravilla at the ICA, Evita at the A.R.T. and free admissions at the Harvard Art Museums. Michael Curry discussed the closure of a maternity ward in Leominster and a new report that ranks Massachusetts as best in the nation for its overall healthcare system. Corby Kummer discussed cell-cultivated chicken being approved for sale in the U.S. and the restaurants trying to use other people’s food waste in their own menus. We continued the lab meat discussion and asked listeners to call in: would they eat “cell-cultured” meat for environmental or ethical reasons?

Best Of BPR: Enterprising Teens Call Out Stop & Shop; Sue O'Connell Becomes A Pigeon Wrangler 6/23/23

Days after the Titanic submersible, the Coast Guard announced yesterday that the passengers suffered a “catastrophic implosion”. We opened the lines to see how listeners are reacting. Eliot Fisk and Zaira Meneses performed for live music Friday ahead of their Boston Guitar Fest. Sue O’Connell offered her thoughts on the Titan implosion, the Musk/Zuckerberg cage match and more. Lisa Simmons, Hank Shocklee and John Oluwole ADEkoje discussed the Roxbury International Film Festival. Lisa is the festival director, and John and Hank’s latest film YE! is playing at the festival. Andy Ihnatko talked about the new Apple VR goggles, plus drama unfolding on the social media platform Reddit. Euniss Yoyo and Dereck Medina are members of the Hyde Square Task Force, the group of teenagers who found that Stop and Shop charges 18% more for groceries in a predominantly BIPOC part of Boston compared with a branch in Dedham. They joined alongside Ken Tangvik, senior manager of organizing and engagement for HSTF. It’s Summer… or is it? We asked listeners about their beach rituals with a focus on whether music should be played out loud.

Best of BPR 6/22: Addiction Recovery's 13th Step & Thousands In Mass. Prisons Waiting For Vital Education