Boston Public Radio

The travel guru talks about the value of international travel and why he's not worried about people staying home after the pandemic.

Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins is on the short list to be the U.S. attorney for Massachusetts.

The former Department of Homeland Security official also said she's hoping to see Republicans embrace Biden's calls for unity.

The variant — B.1.1.7 — has reached the state this week, according to the state's Department of Public Health.

While coronavirus cases are up everywhere, mayoral candidate and city councilor Andrea Campbell says some predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods in Boston have borne the brunt of infections.

Paris Jeffries spoke optimistically about the range of citywide efforts to confront Boston's deep racial inequties.

Today on Boston Public Radio: NBC's Chuck Todd called in to discuss how Republicans are threatening to let the country default on its loan as means to bargain for spending cuts to social programs. He also discussed the details revealed from Donald Trump’s deposition in civil suit filed by E Caroll Jean accusing Trump of sexual assault. Chuck Todd is the moderator of "Meet the Press", host of Meet the Press Daily on MSNBC, and the Political Director for NBC news. Then we took our listener’s calls to get their opinions on a new rent control proposal from Boston Mayor Michelle Wu which would limit landlords to raising rents by 10 percent per year. Former Suffolk County Sheriff Andrea Cabral discussed the details revealed during the arraignment of Brain Walshe, the Cohasset man now facing charges of murdering his wife. She also commented on the killing of Sayed Faisal by Cambridge police. She closed by weighing in on a law in South Carolina law that would penalize people for driving slowly in the fast lane. Cabral is also the former Massachsuetts Secretary for Public Safety. GBH News arts and culture reporter James Bennett II delivered his monthly segment of “The Drop” detailing affordable arts and music exhibits around the area. Some of his suggestions included: an exhibit on Bob Dylan photographs, comics-as-art at Boston University, and an Edgar Allen Poe inspired Boston tour. He also discussed some of his favorite albums in 2022. Actors Pierre Jean Gonzalez and Ta’Rea Campbell joined us to discuss their roles in “Hamilton” hosted by Broadway in Boston at the Citizen’s Bank Opera House. Pierre is Alexander Hamilton, Ta’Rea plays Angelica Schuyler. Nick Quah is podcast critic for Vulture magazine, he talked about his favorite real and fake podcasts of 2022. He gave his predictions for the best podcasts of the year and explained why it might be a tough year for the industry. Then we ended the show by taking our listener's calls on their favorite way to eat popcorn in honor of National Popcorn Day.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened the show by taking our listener’s calls to ask how they felt about The Embrace sculpture installed on Boston Common last week. The statue highlights the connections Dr. Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King had to the city of Boston and honors their love and legacy of civil rights activism. Michael Curry, the CEO of the community health centers of Massachusetts, called in from the annual MLK Day memorial breakfast in Boston. He discussed the legacy of the Kings in Boston and what the monument means for the city going forward. Curry is also a member of the national NAACP board of directors, where he chairs the board’s advocacy and policy committee Charlie Sennott of the Groundtruth Project came on to talk about the new equipment that the United States has sent to Ukraine, and how that reflects the shifting needs of the army there. He also discussed the ongoing threats to democracy in Brazil by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Shirley Leung came on to discuss the holes in the electric vehicle charging network in Massachusetts and across the country. She also discussed the optimism among business leaders regarding Gov. Maura Healey’s administration. Leung is a Boston Globe business columnist. The Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett Price III joined us to discuss how Dr. King’s message and beliefs have been misconstrued and sanitized for political convenience over the course of American history. Monroe is a syndicated religion columnist and the Boston voice for Detour’s African American Heritage Trail and co-host of the All Rev’d Up podcast. Price is founding pastor of Community of Love Christian Fellowship in Allston, the inaugural dean of Africana studies at Berklee College of Music and co-host of the All Rev’d Up podcast. Then we aired a segment from our live broadcast of The Embrace unveiling from this past Friday. The segment included excerpts from our interviews with members of the King family, Diane and Deval Patrick, Mayor Michelle Wu, Healey and Attorney General-elect Andrea Campbell. We ended the show by asking listeners if they are participating in this national day of service on MLK Day.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We began the show by talking with listeners about the murder of Ana Walshe, and what our obsession with true crime says about us. Art Caplan talked about AI’s increasing role in medicine. 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. Liz Neisloss and Prof. Judith Gonyea discussed GBH’s latest reporting from “Priced Out,” focusing on older women experiencing homelessness. Neisloss is a reporter for GBH. Gonyea is a professor and Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs at Boston University’s School of Social Work and senior fellow in the Institute for Health Systems Innovation & Policy at Boston University. Dan Adams talked about the RMV’s new stoned driving curriculum. Adams is the Boston Globe’s cannabis reporter and author of “This Week In Weed,” the definitive marijuana newsletter. Corby Kummer shared his thoughts on the systems at work reinforcing the restaurant industry’s low wages, and calls to break up the FDA. 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. Sy Montgomery joined us for this month’s edition of “The Afternoon Zoo,” focusing on new research indicating turtles communicate with their eggs before they hatch. Montgomery is a journalist, naturalist, author and a BPR contributor. Her latest book is “The Hawk’s Way: Encounters with Fierce Beauty.” We ended the show by talking with listeners about Madonna’s international music tour announcement, and double standards for older women in music.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We began the show by talking with listeners about making the switch to more environmentally-conscious household items, from induction stovetops to heat pumps for heating and A/C. Trenni Casey talked about a possible rift forming between Bill Belichick and the Krafts. Casey is an anchor and reporter for NBC Sports Boston, and a BPR contributor. Bill McKibben discussed the release of a study claiming that ExxonMobil accurately predicted future global warming in the 1970s, while continuing to publicly cast doubt on climate change. He also talked about making the switch from gas stove tops to induction cooktops. McKibben is the co-founder of 350.org and founder of ThirdAct.org. He has a newsletter on Substack titled “The Crucial Years.” He also has a new, serialized book titled “The Other Cheek: An Epic Nonviolent Yarn.” Paul Reville shared his analysis of the Supreme Court’s potential ruling on affirmative action. Reville is the former Secretary of Education of Massachusetts and a professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, where he also runs the Education Redesign Lab. His latest book, co-authored with Lynne Sacks, is “Collaborative Action for Equity and Opportunity: A Practical Guide for School and Community Leaders.” Juliette Kayyem discussed the seditious conspiracy trial against five members of the Proud Boys for their role in the Jan. 6 Capitol attacks. Kayyem is a 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. Her new book is “The Devil Never Sleeps: Learning to Live in an Age of Disasters.” John King updated us on the latest political headlines, focusing on accusations made against a fundraiser for Rep. George Santos, who allegedly posed as an aide for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy before donors. King is CNN’s Chief National Correspondent, and the host of “Inside Politics,” airing weekdays at noon. We ended the show by talking with listeners about how they’re combating climate fatalism.

Today on Boston Public Radio, the show broadcast live from the unveiling of the Embrace sculpture in downtown Boston. Hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan spoke with GBH Morning Edition co-host Paris Alston, who offered reporting from the field; and GBH's Callie Crossley, who provided analysis before and after the unveiling. They also spoke with: Embrace executive director Imari Paris Jeffries; artist Hank Willis Thomas and architect Jonathan Evans; former Governor Deval Patrick and Diane Patrick; Embrace co-founders Paul English, Rev. Jeffrey Brown and Rev. Liz Walker; The Boston Foundation’s Lee Pelton; Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley; the NAACP’s Michael Curry and Tanisha Sullivan; Governor Maura Healey, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, and AG-elect Andrea Campbell in conversation together; and members of the King family, Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters King, and Yolanda Renee King. The unveiling ceremony, emceed by NBC10 Boston's Latoyia Edwards, began at 1pm. Boston Public Radio anchored live coverage of the historic event for GBH News.