Boston Public Radio

The broad outcry from church and military leaders alike may have an impact on Trump in November.

The NBC Sports Boston anchor called the infighting “tone deaf,” in light of the country’s current economic crisis.

Even though they pay taxes, undocumented workers are unable to get a stimulus check during a time of spiked unemployment.

The former Suffolk County Sheriff called on white Americans to have serious discussions with one another about the systems that allowed Minneapolis police to kill George Floyd.

The effort to track the spread of the novel coronavirus in the state takes 'a lot of support.'

Multi-party coalitions will need to be built in order to get police reform bills passed, Todd says.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by asking listeners their thoughts on whether it’s time for workers to return to the office. Shirley Leung argues that businesses need to bring workers back in person, and discusses self-driving cars doing poorly in Southie. Leung is a business columnist for the Boston Globe. Billy Costa quizzes Jim and Margery on trivia questions, until they turn the tables and quiz Costa himself. Costa co-hosts Kiss 108’s Matty in the Morning, Dining Playbook on NESN and the host of GBH’s High School Quiz Show – season 13 of which will premiere on GBH 2 tomorrow at 6 PM. Andy Ihnatko weighs in on the Spotify controversy with Joe Rogan and Neil Young and other streaming options, and worries about the growing threat of deepfakes. Ihnatko is a tech writer and blogger, posting at Ihnatko.com. Melinda Lopez and Maurice Emmanuel Parent preview their one-man show about an actor who begins working as a teacher. Emmanuel Parent is an actor and the star of the fabulous one-man show Mr. Parent and a teacher at Tufts. Lopez is a playwright, actress and the writer of Mr. Parent. She also teaches theater and playwriting at Boston University and Northeastern University, in addition to being the inaugural Mellon Foundation playwright-in-residence at the Huntington Theatre Company. Sue O'Connell talks about former CNN president Jeff Zucker’s ousting over a secret office relationship, and Whoopi Goldberg’s misinformed comments on the Holocaust that led to her suspension from the View. O’Connell is the co-publisher of Bay Windows and the South End News, as well as NECN's political commentator and explainer-in-chief. We end the show by asking listeners their thoughts on office relationships following Zucker’s resignation from CNN.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Chuck Todd talks about former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL, arguing that the league has unfair hiring practices far removed from current corporate standards. Todd is the moderator of “Meet The Press” on NBC, host of “Meet The Press Daily” on MSNBC and the political director for NBC News. Then, we ask listeners about the state of sports following Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL and controversy surrounding the Beijing Olympics. Andrea Cabral discusses the neo-Nazi group that protested outside of Brigham and Women’s Hospital against doctors’ focus on anti-racist medical practices. Cabral is the former Suffolk County sheriff and Massachusetts secretary of public safety. She’s currently the CEO of the cannabis company Ascend. Jared Bowen talks about the Boston Lyric Opera’s “Svadba,” and the Lyric Stage Company’s “Mr. Parent.” He also previews this week’s edition of “Open Studio.” Bowen is GBH’s executive arts editor and the host of Open Studio. Lyndia Downie and John Yazwinski discuss the need for supportive housing to combat homelessness in the Greater Boston Area, and Mayor Michelle Wu’s announcement of $40 million in funding to create and preserve more than 700 units of income-restricted housing. Downey is the President and Executive Director of the Pine Street Inn, one of the largest agencies serving homeless people and developing affordable housing targeted at homeless individuals in New England. Yazwinski is the President and CEO of Father Bill’s and Mainspring, which provides shelter, housing, and homelessness prevention services to individuals and families in Southern Massachusetts. Jon Gruber talks about his recent travels through South America, and how the U.S. compares to South American countries in their responses to COVID-19. Gruber was instrumental in creating both the Massachusetts health care reform and the Affordable Care Act, and his latest book is “Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth And The American Dream.” We end the show by talking with listeners about Wordle, and the other games they’ve played to keep them from doomscrolling.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Art Caplan weighs in on Denmark getting rid of all COVID restrictions, desires for the U.S. to do the same, and ethical approaches to the metaverse following reports of sexual assault online. Caplan is director of the Division of Medical Ethics at the New York University School of Medicine. Then, we ask listeners their thoughts on whether the U.S. should follow the path of Denmark and ramp down COVID restrictions, or continue fighting the spread. Juliette Kayyem discusses the latest in the Jan. 6 committee news, tensions at the Russia-Ukraine border and a report into Miami’s dangerous condo development history following Surfside. Kayyem is an analyst for CNN, former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and faculty chair of the homeland security program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Michelle Singletary prepares listeners for tax season, including tips on how to deal with income through Venmo and Paypal and a racially biased IRS facial recognition software, and her advice when it comes to financial infidelity. Singletary is a nationally syndicated columnist for The Washington Post, whose award-winning column “The Color of Money” provides insight into the world of personal finance. Dr. Julia Brody and Dr. Mary Beth Terry talk about their series, “Cancer and the Environment,” about the link between chemicals and cancer. Brody is the executive director and senior scientist at Silent Spring Institute, a scientific research organization dedicated to uncovering the environmental causes of breast cancer. Terry is a cancer epidemiologist at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. Joanne Chang updates listeners on the challenging state of the restaurant industry amid Omicron and uneven federal aid, and shares her Lunar New Year traditions. Joanne Chang is a James Beard Award-Winning baker and owner of Flour Bakery, as well as the fantastic Myers + Chang with her husband Christopher Myers. We end the show by asking listeners whether they’re early birds or night owls, and why people enjoy the early hours of the morning.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren sat down with Mass Restaurants United and local restaurateurs in Cambridge for a roundtable discussion on Jan. 25 to hear the struggles they’ve faced throughout the pandemic. Chief among them is a call to replenish the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) as restaurateurs enter a third year of uncertainty during the pandemic. Award-winning food writer Corby Kummer joined Boston Public Radio to share his thoughts on the major takeaways from the roundtable, as well as replenishing the RRF. “It was a lot of restaurant people saying, ‘Hey, what is it with this administration? They promised us something,’” Kummer told Boston Public Radio. “But more than just complaining, they're advocating for [an additional] $60 billion in federal aid to the depleted Restaurant Revitalization Fund.” Some participants at the Jan. 25 roundtable shared that their restaurants would not have survived if it weren’t for money received from the RRF; others expressed frustration, either finding out that their restaurants were ineligible or that they had been approved for money and had yet to receive it. Kummer said that while the Small Business Administration had good intentions with the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, a messy rollout led to the fund operating more like a lottery. “The Biden administration wanted to prioritize restaurants owned by women, people of color, [and] veterans. They were supposed to be at the head of the line, and then a bunch of white, non-minority, non-women, males, [had] affirmative action challenges and said, ‘How dare you, I'm a struggling business man too. Give me the money,’” Kummer said. “Unfortunately, the challenges were upheld, but it put the whole thing into disarray and chaos.” “Many of the restaurants that were supposed to be at the end of the line, for some quirk, got put at the head of the line. Suddenly they were in, and the money went out, whereas a lot of restaurants that had been approved were held in limbo, and then the fund ran out of money.” During the wide-ranging interview, Kummer also discussed the Aspen Institute’s Food Is Medicine Initiative, as well as the growing number of restaurants getting rid of their landline phones for orders. Kummer is the 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.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by opening phone lines, asking listeners for their thoughts on Tom Brady’s retirement. Trenni Kusnierek weighs in on Tom Brady’s retirement, and Rafael Nadal’s record 21 Grand Slam tennis titles. She also talks about athletes’ COVID-19 precautions at the Beijing Olympics. Kusnierek is a reporter and anchor for NBC Sports Boston, and a weekly Boston Public Radio contributor. Carol Rose shares her analysis of a federal judge rejecting a hate crimes plea-deal for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, and Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement announcement. Rose is the Executive Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. Alexandria Onuoha discusses the crisis of missing Black women and girls in Mass., and calls for increased community and political support to protect Black women and girls. Onuoha is the Director of Political Advocacy for Black Boston, a nonprofit focused on fighting injustice and creating community in Boston’s Black community. Corby Kummer talks about the restaurants ditching their landline phones, and the restaurateurs urging Congress to replenish the Small Business Administration’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund. Kummer is the 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. John King updates us on the latest political headlines, focusing on former President Donald Trump’s staff drafting versions of an executive order to seize voting machines. King is CNN's Chief National Correspondent and anchor of "Inside Politics,” which airs weekdays and Sunday mornings at 8 a.m. We wrap up today’s show by continuing our conversation with listeners on Tom Brady.