Boston Public Radio

"We know labor unions are essential to our democracy, because labor unions create the middle class."

Former Suffolk County Sheriff Andrea Cabral weighs in on the trial of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

Acting mayor says people should be able to "move on," but reserves judgement until report is in.

One person shows are in. Singing —for now— is still out. How will the arts industry rebuild over the next few months?

Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett G. Price offered two varying takes on a recent Gallup study on American's attitudes towards religion.

"I am no longer going to waste any of my office's limited resources and time defending such egregious criminal conduct, hard stop," Rollins said.

The mob once controlled America's gambling empire. Until the government saw the money flowing and decided: they wanted a piece of the action. What happened next was more than a turf war. It was a battle between street corner bookies and bureaucrats in suits. And at the center of it all: one state lottery that would change gambling forever by inventing something we all know: the scratch ticket. Introducing “Scratch & Win” – the true story of how the government got into the gambling business. The new 8-part series is made by the Peabody Award-winning team behind “The Big Dig” and produced by GBH News.This is Part 1: The Instant Ticket. It’s 1974, illegal bookies are everywhere and the brand new state lottery is struggling to compete. But a simple piece of paper is about to change the game forever: the nation’s first scratch ticket. New episodes drop every Wednesday. ---------------------------Credits:Host and scriptwriter: Ian CossExecutive Producer: Devin Maverick RobinsProducers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian CossStory Editor: Lacy RobertsEditorial Advisor: Jen McKimFact Checkers: Ryan Alderman and Isabel HibbardScoring and Music Supervision: Ian CossGraphic Design: Bill MillerProject Manager: Meiqian He

Today:U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley has strong words for RFK Jr., the Republicans supporting him, and Trump himself -- who just this morning blamed diversity and equity initiatives for a tragic plane crash that killed more than 60 people in D.C. last night.And, NOVA filmmaker Terri Randall joins us with former Naval pilot Ryan Graves -- the first active duty pilot to come forward about frequent UFO sightings -- to discuss NOVA's latest film, "What Are UFOs?"

Rep. Ayanna Pressley reacts to Trump-caused chaos, Democratic resistance and the deadly plane crash in Washington, DC. Former public safety secretary Andrea Cabral helps make sense of what’s going on behind the scenes with the Trump administration freezing (and unfreezing) federal funds. She also discusses a new case before SCOTUS that would allow the government to create publicly-funded religious schools.Boston Globe columnist Marcela Garcia discusses her reporting on local ICE raids, and offers thoughts on the future of TikTok, where her two dogs have over 100k followers.Filmmaker Terri Randall & Former Lt. U.S. Navy pilot Ryan Graves on the new PBS NOVA documentary “What Are UFO’s?”

Today:We reconvene our music panelists ahead of Sunday’s Grammy Awards. Almost everybody knows about Beyonce and Sabrina Carpenter, but with help from CRB’s Brian McCreath, Berklee’s Emmett G. Price III, and GBH’s James Bennett II, we hear about some nominees you may have missed.

Jared Bowen on the Mona Lisa getting her own room at the LouvreJuliette Kayyem discussed the chaos from Trump's order to pause federal spendingBoston Globe business columnist Shirley Leung discussed Lunar New YearBrian McCreath, Emmett Price III, and James Bennett II did a deep dive into this year's Grammy nominated artists.