Boston Public Radio

Economist Jonathan Gruber criticized President Trump's push for a payroll tax cut, and also called for the government to stimulate the production of a vaccine.

Theaters and museums have to find the balance between public safety and the success of their organizations.

"We're using ideological filtering, not science filtering," said medical ethicist Arthur Caplan.

Kayyem praised Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker for declaring a state of emergency due to coronavirus.

According to CNN's John King, it may depend on how the delegate lead shakes out.

The sports reporter downplayed worries about an outbreak.

We began the show by talking with listeners on the war in Ukraine and media coverage. Kate Bronfenbrenner and Rafi, a Starbucks barista and active member of Starbucks Workers United, talked about the wave of unionization efforts, what workers are fighting for and the struggles ahead. Bronfenbrenner is the director of Labor Education Research and a senior lecturer at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and the co-director of the Worker Empowerment Research Project. Ken Burns and Lynn Novick talked about their latest documentary, “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” which examines the country’s unwillingness to accept refugees during World War II and American public figures who espoused antisemitic and anti-immigrant views. Burns is an award-winning documentarian. Novick is an acclaimed director and producer of documentary films. “The U.S. and the Holocaust” airs on GBH 2 on Sept. 18-20, starting at 8 p.m. Andrea Campbell joined us to discuss her Democratic primary win in the race for Massachusetts Attorney General, how she could be the first woman of color to hold the office, controversy over endorsements and her motivation behind running. Campbell formerly represented District 4 in Boston City Council. We ended the show by returning to some of our favorite conversations, including: Jelani Cobb on his book "The Essential Kerner Commission Report," filmmaker Ken Burns on his PBS documentary "Benjamin Franklin" and an edition of The Afternoon Zoo with naturalist and author Sy Montgomery.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley talked about her push to secure abortion care, gave thoughts on this week’s primaries and the big wins for women in Mass. politics and spoke on the strategy for Democrats headed into the midterms. Pressley is the U.S. representative for Massachusetts 7th District. Then, we asked listeners about the recent trend of “quiet quitting.” Shirley Leung talked about the excess of money on Beacon Hill, the fallout of the Orange Line shutdown, John Hancock stepping back from its role at the Boston Marathon, and the editor and chief of the Boston Globe stepping down. Leung is a business columnist for the Boston Globe. Sue O’Connell talked about the passing of Queen Elizabeth and Bernard Shaw, an upcoming same-sex marriage vote in Congress, and the controversy surrounding the upcoming movie: “Don’t Worry Darling.” O’Connell is the co-publisher of Bay Windows and South End News, and contributor to Current, on NBC L-X and NECN. Jared Bowen gave an arts rundown, including his take on the changing role of artificial intelligence in art, the newly unveiled portraits of the Obamas, and their original portraits being displayed at the MFA, and the Huntington Theater’s new musical “Sing Street.” Bowen is GBH’s executive arts editor and the host of Open Studio. The Multiverse Players joined us for an installment of live music Friday ahead of their performance “The Art of Polymers.” We heard music from robots and humans alike, and a few humans told us about the ethos behind their unique combination of science and music, David Ibbett, Clara Troyano, and Scott Barton. Dilshod Narzillaev joined on cello. Ibbett is the co-composer of “The Art of Polymers” and director of the Multiverse Concert Series. Clara Troyano is a researcher at M.I.T., and a PHd student in the Olsen Lab. We ended the show by asking listeners about their bad tattoos.

Buoyed by inflation, “buy now, pay later” companies have gained popularity in America, claiming to offer help for people trying to manage finances in tough times. Their easy-to-use apps and virtual credit cards often don’t charge interest. But Corby Kummer tells Boston Public Radio the fact that people are using them — effectively going into debt — to buy groceries, is a symptom of a weak safety net. “There needs to be better SNAP there needs to be better nutrition assistance, there needs to be better income support for people who have to think about putting their groceries on layaway.” 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: Chuck Todd talked about the latest political headlines, including the special master situation in the Mar-a-Lago raid case, and his thoughts on the upcoming midterms elections. 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 asked listeners about how they feel about the rhetoric around the “end of COVID.” Andrea Cabral shared her thoughts on the latest on the Mar-a-Lago case, and the outcomes of the Mass. Primaries on Tuesday. Cabral is the former Suffolk County sheriff and secretary of public safety, and former CEO of the cannabis company Ascend. Corby Kummer discussed the rise in pay-later apps in grocery shopping, Governor of California Gavin Newsom’s new legislation on fast food worker minimum wage, the merits of blindfolded dining, and new girl scout cookies. Kummer is 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. Andy Ihnatko talked about the updates that will come with the newly announced iPhone, new chargers that can be used for several totally different devices, and a new app which allows users to identify birds using only their song. Ihnatko is a tech writer and blogger, posting at Ihnatko.com. Jon Gruber explained the economic impacts of the growing labor movement. Gruber is the Ford Professor of Economics at MIT. He was instrumental in creating both the Massachusetts health-care reform and the Affordable Care Act. His latest book is “Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth and the American Dream.” We ended the show by talking about the breaking news of the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II’s, death.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We began the show by talking with listeners about yesterday’s primary election results. Neil deGrasse Tyson shared his upcoming lecture “The Search for Life in the Universe” at the Wilbur Theatre on Sept. 29. deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist and the author of the best-selling “Astrophysics for People in a Hurry,” among other books. He is the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, where he has served since 1996. deGrasse Tyson’s new book coming out later this month is “Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization.” Geoff Diehl discussed his primary win for the Republican nominee for governor of Massachusetts, and the policy changes he would make regarding drivers’ licenses for undocumented immigrants, abortion, and more. Diehl is running for governor on the Republican ticket and will face Attorney General Maura Healey in November. Juliette Kayyem updated us on the latest news from the investigation into former President Donald Trump’s possession of classified documents. Kayyem is the former assistant secretary for Homeland Security under President Barack Obama, and the faculty chair of the Homeland Security program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Her new book is: “The Devil Never Sleeps: Learning to Live in an Age of Disasters.” Bill McKibben talked about eastern Europe’s adoption of heat pumps in response to gas shortages related to the war in Ukraine. McKibben is the co-founder of 350 DOT ORG and founder of Third Act Dot Org. He has a newsletter on Substack titled “The Crucial Years.” He’s also got a new, serialized book titled, “The Other Cheek: An Epic Nonviolent Yarn.” We then asked listeners how the back-to-school season is going. Brian O’Donovan shared his recent cancer diagnosis, and explained how he’s finding hope. O’Donovan is the host of “A Celtic Sojourn” at GBH.