Boston Public Radio

"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.

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

Today on Boston Public Radio: NBC Political Director Chuck Todd discussed Nikki Haley jumping into the 2024 Presidential race, and other news as twe head into election season. Then, we opened the lines to discuss Bing's new search engine, powered by Chat-GPT, off of Kevin Roose's reporting in the New York Times. For the remainder of the show, we replayed conversations with: author Ben Shattuck; comedian Jenny Slate; naturalist and author Sy Montgomery; Mona Haydar & Sebastian Robins on their PBS show The Great Muslim American Road Trip; and musician Red Shaydez.

NBC Political Director Chuck Todd on the latest political headlines, including the State of the Union address from President Joe Biden. Andrea Cabral contrasts media coverage of Lindsay Clancy with a similar case involving a Black woman, Latarsha Sanders. Cabral is former Suffolk County Sheriff and former secretary of Public safety. Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui joins to answer questions related to the Cambridge police killing of Sayed Faisal. Arthur C. Brooks writes about happiness for the Atlantic. He joined to talk about a few of his latest columns.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tracy Kidder and Dr. Jim O’Connell of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless program joined to discuss Kidder’s new book “Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O'Connell's Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People.” We opened the lines to get listener reactions on the mass shooting at Michigan State University. Juliette Kayyem discusses what we know about the Michigan State University shooting, recent swatting at multiple school districts in Mass, and her latest column in the Atlantic about the unidentified flying objects. 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. Jared Bowen discusses the American Heritage Museum’s Hanoi Hilton exhibit, August Wilson’s Seven Guitars by the Actor’s Shakespeare Project, and the Last Dance of Magic Mike. Bowen is GBH's Executive Arts Editor and host of Open Studio. Sy Montgomery discusses new research that finds orca mothers are so drained after raising one male calf that it drastically reduces their chances of having another one. Montgomery is a journalist, naturalist and a BPR contributor. We ended the show by talking to listeners about the toll parenting has.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Boston Mayor Michelle Wu joined for Ask the Mayor, discussing her new rent control proposal and taking listener calls. NBC Sports Boston anchor and reporter Trenni Casey discussed the Super Bowl. Boston Globe advice columnist Meredith Goldstein discussed Valentine's Day and her Love Letters columns and podcast. Attorney General for Massachusetts Andrea Campbell joined for Ask the AG, discussing a new abortion legal hotline which can be reached by calling or texting (833) 309-6301, and taking listener calls.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We started the show with listener reactions to the U.S. military shooting down multiple unidentified objects in North American airspace. Michael Curry discussed a new study that finds childbirth is deadlier for Black families even when they’re wealthy; and a 15-year-old in Massachusetts staying in a hospital for 40 days because DCF couldn’t place him. 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. Charlie Sennott discussed the string of unidentified objects shot down in US airspace; and the latest with the earthquake on the border of Turkey and Syria. Sennott is the founder and editor-in-chief of The GroundTruth Project. Retired judge Nancy Gertner discusses the Supreme Court weighing an ethics code; and former vice president Mike Pence getting subpoenaed related to the events on January 6, 2021. Gertner is a retired federal judge and a senior lecturer at Harvard Law School. Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett Price discussed the Super Bowl, which made history for both quarterbacks being Black. Reverend Irene Monroe is a syndicated religion columnist and the Boston voice for Detour’s African American Heritage Trail. Emmett G. Price III is founding pastor of Community of Love Christian Fellowship in Allston, the Inaugural Dean of Africana Studies at Berklee College of Music. Together they host the All Rev'd Up podcast. We closed the show with listener comments on whether restaurants should ban children, as one New Jersey establishment has just done.