Boston Public Radio

BPR's top five must-listen moments from the year.

How long will the global population have to wait until everyone can access a vaccine?

Andrea Cabral called the lawsuit "absolutely an attempted coup" during a Friday interview on Boston Public Radio.

Pressley said the Massachusetts compromise police reform bill represented modest policy proposals given the "depth of hurt" caused by generations of brutality by police.

Rollins said she has been approached about her interest in the U.S. attorney post currently held by Andrew Lelling.

Boston schools will first bring 1,700 more students back to the classroom next week.

A new poll from ABC News/Washington Post finds 44% of respondents would "definitely" or "probably" vote for Donald Trump in 2024...yet 55% thinks he should be indicted. Is Biden in serious trouble for re-election? We asked listeners why they think Trump is currently the frontrunner. Shirley Leung joined to talk about the end of the road for the Christmas Tree Shop and Bed Bath & Beyond, plus, shutdowns on the Blue line and recent Globe reporting on liquor licenses in the Seaport. Bruce Marks is a long-time housing advocate in Boston and CEO of Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA). He discussed how racist practices and corporate investments have made it harder for people to own homes in Massachusetts. He added his thoughts on the rent control debate and talked about other housing issues in the Commonwealth. Vijay Gupta is a MacArthur Fellow and Music Worcester’s artist-in-residence for 2023. He joined Jim and Margery in Studio 3 to talk about what he’s doing in the Worcester community, making music with incarcerated people and bringing Bach to the masses. He’s got an introductory performance on Wednesday and he played us a couple of selections from the show. The Revs discussed a California Panel on reparations for Black residents. They also weighed in on the resignation of the Boston Archdiocese’s gender identity committee, and a study showing Americans pray more in their cars than in the church. Tom Brady compared himself to Secretariat this weekend. We asked listeners to vote on the real G.O.A.T: is it the 7x Super-Bowl-Winning Tom Brady? Or is it Margery’s favorite, the tremendous machine, Secretariat?

There’s a British Royal Coronation for the first time in 70 years, with 74 year-old King Charles officially assuming the throne of Great Britain. Are you paying attention to the royal event? We opened the lines to see if people are getting ready to tune in or tune out. Michael Abels is and Michael Ellis Ingram are the co-composer and conductor for the Boston Lyric Opera’s rendition of Omar, about an Islamic scholar who was captured by slave traders and brought to the U.S. in the early 1800’s. For Live Music Friday, listen to performances from Fred C. VanNess (covering Omar) and Cierra Byrd who plays Fatima, Omar’s mother. Sue O’Connell joined to discuss Ed Sheeran’s winning verdict in the trial, her thoughts on King Charles’ coronation, the end of Buzzfeed, Vice and other millennial news outlets, and Florida trying to ban pronouns in schools. Adam Balsam and Correne George are birding enthusiasts. They joined to talk about why they love it and how the rest of us can get involved. Attorney General Andrea Campbell joined for “Ask the AG” where she answered questions from listeners and the live audience.

Chuck Todd on the latest out of Washington. Andrea Cabral on the leaked Tucker Carlson text messages that proved Carlson’s racist impulses, Jordan Neely’s death and more. Paul Reville talked about higher education moving towards not requiring SATs for admission applications, the closure of the Cambridge Matignon School, GPA errors for BPS and other education headlines. Jennifer Mascia is a founding writer for the nonprofit newsroom The Trace that focuses on reporting on guns and gun violence. She talked about her journey there and the melting pot of gun culture in the country.

We opened the show by asking listeners their take on Boston’s expanded Open Streets program. We spoke with Oliver Stone and Joshua Goldstein to discuss “Nuclear Now”, a new film based on Goldstein’s book “A Bright Future”. It makes the case for nuclear energy as a solution to climate change. Then, we asked listeners to call in with their thoughts on nuclear power. We aired last night’s After Hours event: a wide-ranging conversation with Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a chat with Boston Arts Academy Spirituals Ensemble director Michael Bradley, and performances from the ensemble.

The Godfather of AI recently quit Google and said he regretted his work. If he’s concerned about the fast development of AI, are you? NBC Sports Boston anchor/reporter Trenni Casey talked about the Bruins’ loss, the Celtics and more. National security expert Juliette Kayyem dove into the Texas mass shooting and described why she thinks we haven’t caught the suspect yet. She also talked about Jack Teixiera’s role in the armed forces that gave him access to top-secret docs. Lee Pelton, president of The Boston Foundation, discussed the Black population in greater Boston going up, and previews a report out this week on access, affordability, and quality of early education in Boston. Steven Page, co-founder of the Barenaked Ladies, performed for a Live Music Tuesday, ahead of his City Winery show with his new trio, The Steven Page Trio. CNN’s John King joins via zoom for the latest political headlines. We ended the show by asking listeners if country clubs should be getting tax breaks.