Boston Public Radio

Independent restaurants are short on funds for hiring workers to enforce mask usage among customers, Kummer says.

Owens and Steil urged state legislators to ratify legislation extending the eviction moratorium and offering more aid to renters and homeowners impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Higgins explained the fine line between social media being a platform for shared learning or performative posting.

The state Senate's police reform bill includes a statewide ban on government use of facial recognition software.

Listen to the full episode of Boston Public Radio from July 3, 2020.

The Pulitzer-prize winning author explained how Vietnamese people have repeatedly been short-changed in the way they’re depicted in Hollywood portrayals of the Vietnam War.

Today on Boston Public Radio: CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem talked about President Trump’s latest restrictions on immigration, and U.S. governors pushing for what she calls a “careless" reopening of state economies. MIT economist Jon Gruber discussed structural issues in America's nursing home industry, and how funding problems are exacerbating the crisis for seniors in need of care. We opened our lines to ask listeners: are you still watching Trump’s daily coronavirus briefings? We aired live audio from Gov. Baker’s Wednesday press conference. Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed the shortage of protective gear in the U.S., and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s push to reopen nonessential business in his state. Food writer Corby Kummer discussed whether grocery clerks are heroes or victims in the coronavirus pandemic, and the dubious future of the Whole Foods hot bar.

Food writer Corby Kummer spoke with Boston Public Radio, *on Wednesday, about the way the food industry will be different, post-coronavirus crisis. "What we're looking at is maybe as few as 30 percent of independent restaurants coming back, it all depends on how long the current closings last," he said. "So one to two months closed has 70 percent coming back, than at 3 months it's 50 percent, and then if it's 6 months it's 30 percent - these are all just wild projections, but it's bad." Small independent restaurants could also fail during slow re-openings, since regulations will likely not allow full capacity, he said. "These restaurants might be gone forever, and everyday along with the obits, we're seeing constant obits of restaurants that won't be coming back." *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: We opened our lines to ask listeners: does the federal stimulus rollout, which is proving to benefit a few large companies over smaller businesses, have you feeling cynical about the government’s handling of the pandemic? Matt Segal, legal director for the Massachusetts ACLU, discussed his role in litigating the drug-testing scandal documented in the Netflix series “How to Fix a Drug Scandal.” We aired live audio from Gov. Charlie Baker’s Tuesday press conference. Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius spoke about what her administration is doing to accommodate students working remotely, and took questions from listeners.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Seed Global Health CEO Dr. Vanessa Kerry discussed the surge of COVID-19 patients in Massachusetts, the role of The WHO in fighting the global pandemic, and took questions from callers. We opened our lines to talk with callers about how you’re handling coronavirus anxiety. WGBH news analyst and GroundTruth Project CEO Charlie Sennott discussed the positive strides being taken by female world leaders in the fight against COVID-19, as well as the dangerous opportunities presented by the pandemic for authoritarians. Science reporter and FRONTLINE correspondent Miles O’Brien discussed his upcoming FRONTLINE documentary, "Coronavirus Pandemic," on the U.S. COVID crisis response. TV expert Bob Thompson reviewed Saturday's “One World: Together At Home” concert, and Netflix’s new show “BlackAF.” We opened our lines to ask callers: if coronavirus acceptance was ranked like the stages of grief, which stage would you be at? Poet Richard Blanco celebrated National Poetry Month by reading some “ars poetica” pieces, or poems about poetry.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Rep. Ayanna Pressley discussed her recent appeal to Gov. Baker to rescind COVID-19 crisis guidelines in order to address racial disparities in communities impacted by the coronavirus. CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem recapped her latest writing for The Atlantic on the “strange purgatory” awaiting Americans post-quarantine, and criticized President Trump’s calls to pull funding for the World Health Organization. Beat the Press host Emily Rooney recounted her bizarre experience walking down an empty Newbury Street in Boston, and read a Covid-themed list of fixations and fulminations. Media maven Sue O’Connell discussed the sexual assault allegation against former Vice President Joe Biden, and criticized the still-standing FDA restrictions on gay men donating blood. Tech writer Andy Ihnatko discussed a new contract-tracing app from Google and Apple, and local privacy concerns over Chinese regulations on the video game Animal Crossing. Under the Radar host Callie Crossley discussed polling on who Americans trust during the coronavirus pandemic, and whether recent comments from Surgeon General Jerome Adams were offensive to Americans of color. We opened our lines to ask listers: are you enjoying be anti-social while you social distance?