Boston Public Radio

Protests are a health risk amid COVID-19, but there are steps people can take to be safer about it.

'Today we're taking a closer look than we have in a long time,' at racism in America, poet Richard Blanco said.

The former Massachusetts governor said that George Floyd's death was "a heinous murder carried out by a person with a badge."

The Gold Dust Orphans theater company founder said it was important that Americans remember their country's racist legacy.

Demonstrations against police brutality are beginning to coalesce around a platform of policies. Is this a turning point in America?

The GroundTruth Project CEO said there's credence to concerns the president is slipping into authoritarianism.

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.

Is American's gun problem rooted in fear of strangers? Maybe the first step to solving our culture of fear is to say 'hi' to your neighbor. We asked listeners whether they agreed. Are all these shootings from our fear of others? The new Massachusetts political party chairs Amy Carnevale (R) and Steve Kerrigan (D) join us for a panel discussion. GBH news analyst Charlie Sennott discussed World Press Freedom Day (May 3), jailed journalist Evan Gershkovich and the latest in Ukraine. Leah Camhi from the Fenway Community Development Corporation and Angie Liou from the Asian Community Development Corporation talked affordability in city development/housing. The Revs Irene Monroe & Emmett Price discussed Pope Francis clearing the way for women and lay-Catholics to vote in an upcoming bishops' meeting, and why the Church of England is honoring single people. Lylah Alphonse is editor for the Globe's Rhode Island and New Hampshire bureaus. She shared the latest headlines out of those desks. The Bruins were supposed to win the Stanley Cup...That ended last night with a loss to the Panthers. Were listeners devastated, or is this loss already fueling the comeback story for next year? We took your calls.