Boston Public Radio

The city's chief of economic development says he wants to help Boston confront its racial identity.

Michael Curry doesn't know what will come of Gov. Charlie Baker's promise to allocate 20% of vaccines to hard-hit communities.

Andrea Cabral speaks about the rise in restrictive voting laws being passed by Republican-controlled legislatures.

Annissa Essaibi-George also spoke about her push for mobile vaccine clinics and commended Gov. Charlie Baker for allowing businesses to expand capacity limits as COVID-19 infections drop.

The House of Representatives passed the Equality Act last Thursday, but the bill's future in the Senate remains uncertain.

Healey called Gov. Baker out for blaming the rollout's problems on limited supply.

Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia is going back to school to get a master’s degree in machine learning…in his 70s. He joined us to discuss why his AI education is important for his work as a lawmaker. After hearing from Rep. Beyer we asked listeners to weigh-in: would you go back to school to learn something new, especially if you thought it would help you do your job better? GBH news analyst Charlie Sennott discussed the latest with Ukraine/Russia, Biden’s trip to the NATO summit, and Israel’s latest raid on Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. Commonwealth Shakespeare Company is putting on Macbeth on the Boston Common this summer. We talked with director Steven Maler and actor Faran Tahir, who plays the titular role. The Revs Irene Monroe and Emmett Price joined to discuss the latest Supreme Court rulings on religious rights at work. Corby Kummer discussed how climate change is messing with our peach crops; and, a Ukrainian war-themed restaurant originally meant to evoke their fight for independence during WWII that’s taken on new meaning during the current war. Finally, we opened the phone and text lines to hear from people about their battle against rabbits, which are overrunning Greater Boston, from the city to the suburbs.

Best of BPR 7/07: Dr. Ashish Jha On Pandemic Preparedness & Previewing Boston's 'Beats By Girlz' Fest

The bike lane debate has reached a boiling point on Centre Street in West Roxbury. We opened the lines to hear what listeners had to say. Singer/songwriter Naomi Westwater performs for on Live Music Friday. They joined before the Beats By Girlz festival, which takes place July 8th at City Hall Plaza. The esteemed Callie Crossley makes a return! She discussed alternative pathways to higher education for refugees in the United States, Wu's innovative swimming and safety initiative, and exciting summertime food trends. Irene Li recently published an enticing book titled "Perfectly Good Food: A Totally Achievable Zero Waste Approach to Home Cooking." She gave the audience samples of dishes from her book, including delectable dumplings. Julie Wormser, Fidel Maltez, and Alex Train discussed the Resilient Mystic Collaborative. This coalition brings together various towns and local communities to address the impacts of climate change within the Mystic River Watershed. Ashish Jha has concluded his role as President Biden's COVID-19 response coordinator and has returned to his position as the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. He joined to talk about his experience. Now that summer has truly kicked in with the sun scorching the streets, we asked listeners to share tips on how they’re staying cool in the heat.

We started the show with competitive eating. Is there anything more American? Is Joey Chestnut an American hero? We took your calls and texts. Environmentalist Bill McKibben returned for a climate check-in, to discuss the most recent record-setting hottest days on the planet. Former public safety secretary Andrea Cabral discussed the SCOTUS student loan decision, a federal judge’s ruling on Biden’s contact with social media companies, and cocaine found in the White House. Brenden Quigley & Derrick Albertelli are two members of the Boston Typewriter Orchestra, they talked about their craft and taught J&M a thing or two about playing the typewriter. Juma Inniss is director of the for-profit group The Message, promoting media literacy and critical thinking among teens. MIT economist Jon Gruber examined the economics of the Ozempic phenomenon; what it tells us about our instincts and motivations. We ended the show hearing from listeners about their favorite, most cherished and protected recipes.

Best of BPR 7/6: Earth's Hottest Year & The Boston Typewriter Orchestra