Boston Public Radio

The Massachusetts legislature, citing economic downturns due to COVID-19, appears unlikely to adopt a higher gas tax. Transportation advocates say that's a missed opportunity.

The "All Rev'd Up" hosts were critical of what they described as a whitewashing, in U.S. schools, of the nation's history of racial injustice and white violence.

Commissioner for Elementary and Secondary Education Jeff Riley said schools may continue to operate fully remotely if there is a high rate of community transmission of COVID-19 in their district.

On Monday, media scholar Bob Thompson joined Boston Public Radio to share what he's watching on TV this week.

On Monday, Sennott joined Boston Public Radio to go over the latest international headlines.

The 'Make Way For Ducklings' artist speaks about the importance of public art and describes her latest piece.

We're back from a week-long hiatus, and started the show by opening the lines to catch up with our listeners on a political potpourri. NBC Sports reporter Trenni Kusnierek gave an overview of NFL injuries, and focused on two recent retirees: Andrew Luck and Rob Gronkowski. ACLU Massachusetts Executive Director Carol Rose discussed allegations of police misconduct against counter-protesters during the so-called "straight pride" parade Saturday in Boston. Corby Kummer discussed the rise of virtual restaurants. Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, discussed the impact the public charge rule is having on immigrants trying to get state benefits. CNN's John King discussed Joe Biden's strength as a candidate, and Elizabeth Warren's steady rise in the polls. We closed the show by continuing the conversation around football injuries, and opened the lines to hear listeners thoughts on whether we should stop kids from playing tackle football.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Will Hurricane Dorian bring the issue of climate change to the forefront of people's minds? We opened the lines to ask our listeners. Christopher Arena, founder and CEO of GFTB Digital, and Jonathan Cohn, chair of the Issues Committee of Progressive Massachusetts, talked to us about the Boston City Council races. CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem spoke about the damage and future threats caused by Hurricane Dorian. Jared Bowen, WGBH's executive arts editor, gave his recent reviews on everything from IT Chapter Two to a slave memorial at Faneuil Hall. Media maven Sue O'Connell spoke about Log Cabin Republicans endorsing President Donald Trump. TV expert Bob Thompson talked about why Leslie Jones won't be returning as a cast member on *Saturday Night Live, *as well as why actor Matthew McConaughey will be teaching at the University of Texas at Austin. We opened the lines again, this time to ask our listeners about their movie and television habits.

Last month Popeyes launched their new chicken sandwich at its franchises across the country. Food writer Corby Kummer joined Boston Public Radio *on Tuesday to explain how the sandwich rapidly rose in popularity, unable to keep up with demand. "This is entirely a social media story," he said. "It's a very cleverly designed launch of a new product saying, 'We have this great sandwich, but you can't get it even though it's the best thing in America we're only having it in a couple of restaurants.'" Helen Rosner's piece in The New Yorker describes why many people will cheer on a Chik-fil-A chicken sandwich challenger, Kummer said. "It's a way of putting your thumb in the eye of Chik-fil-A which is homophobic, bad, big and specializes in fried chicken. It's fried chicken without the homophobia." *Kummer is a *senior editor at The Atlantic*, an award-winning food writer, and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition and Policy.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Actor Ed Asner joined Jim and Margery to talk about his new play God Help Us! Andrew Li and Irene Li joined Jim and Margery to talk about their new cookbook, which they wrote with their sister Margaret Li called** "**Double Awesome Chinese Food: Irresistible and Totally Achievable Recipes from our Chinese-American Kitchen." Bren Smith, a former commercial fisherman discussed his new memoir "Eat Like A Fish: My Adventures as a Fisherman Turned Restorative Ocean Farmer." Writer Christopher Castellani discussed his latest novel, "Leading Men." US Women’s National Team Soccer player Sam Mewis joined BPR days after winning the women’s World Cup Championship.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Jim and Margery talked to New Yorker staff writer Adam Gopnik about his latest book, "A Thousand Small Sanities: The Moral Adventure of Liberalism." Harvard Business School behavioral economist Michael Norton joined us for his monthly appearance when he explains us to ourselves. Today we looked at the pathology of the “ask braggart,” the person whose sole motivation behind asking you a question is to tell you about themselves. Jim and Margery talked to Norman Mineta, the former statesman and Japanese internment camp survivor who served as cabinet secretary for Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush about a new PBS documentary,* "*Norman Mineta and His Legacy: An American Story." New Yorker Staff writer George Packer discussed his latest book, "Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century." Filmmaker, writer, artist and one of our greatest cultural commentators John Waters talked to Jim and Margery about his latest book, "Mr. Know-It-All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder." Creator of Bojack Horseman, Raphael Bob-Waksberg discussed his new collection of short stories. "Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory." Ben Mezrich discusses his latest book, "Bitcoin Billionaires: A True Story of Genius, Redemption and Betrayal." This episode of *Boston Public Radio was previously taped.*