Boston Public Radio

When news broke that a novel coronavirus which was first discovered in China was spreading it was reminiscent of the plots of some novels Dr. Robin Cook has written.

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.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We start the show off by talking with listeners about how they’re filling their kids’ summers. Tracy Chang talks about the logistics behind operating a restaurant and two nonprofits during the pandemic, and how measures to “recession-proof” her business weathered COVID-19. Chang is the chef and owner behind PAGU. She also created the nonprofits Project Restore Us and Off Their Plate. Charlie Sennott updates us on President Joe Biden’s meeting with Vladimir Putin, weighing in on former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s critique of the meeting. He also talks about Israel’s new leadership. Sennott is a GBH News analyst and the founder and CEO of The GroundTruth Project. Richard Blanco marks Pride month by reading two of his poems, “One Pulse—One Poem,” and “Until We Could,” which was developed into a short film. Blanco is the fifth inaugural poet in U.S. history. His new book, "How To Love A Country," deals with various socio-political issues that shadow America. Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett G. Price III shares their thoughts on Juneteenth becoming a federal holiday, arguing that the commercialization of the holiday leads to the erasure of its history. They also talk about Roman Catholic bishops moving to ban President Biden from receiving communion over his stance on abortion. Monroe is a syndicated religion columnist, the Boston voice for Detour’s African American Heritage Trail, and a visiting researcher in the Religion and Conflict Transformation Program at the Boston University School of Theology. Price is an executive director of the Institute for the Study of the Black Christian Experience at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Together, they host GBH’s All Rev’d Up podcast. We wrap up the show by asking listeners if they participate in bedtime revenge procrastination.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by talking with listeners about a post-vaccine spending boom, and the fight to stay frugal this summer. Steven Maler and John Douglas talk about Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s return to outdoor theater with their rendition of “The Tempest,” for the 25th anniversary of Free Shakespeare on the Common. John Douglas Thompson is the actor starring as Prospero, and Steven Maler is the Founding Artistic Director of Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. Kellie Carter Jackson discusses her latest piece for The Atlantic, “What the Push to Celebrate Juneteenth Conceals,” about the legacy of Juneteenth and right-wing outrage over so-called critical race theory. Carter Jackson is an assistant professor of Humanities and an assistant professor of Africana Studies at Wellesley College, and the author of “Force and Freedom: Black Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence.” Media Maven Sue O’Connell weighs in on the Supreme Court’s decision to side with a Catholic adoption agency refusing to work with same-sex couples, and controversy around kink at this year’s Pride parade. Tech writer Andy Ihnatko discusses some of the downsides for consumers in Congress’ latest effort to reign in big tech companies. He also talks about updates made to Google’s algorithm to help protect users from online slander. Callie Crossley, host of GBH’s Under the Radar and Basic Black, talks about the significance of Juneteenth becoming a federal holiday, the series of more moderate voting rights proposals brought forward this week by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WV, and her recent commentary celebrating “girl dads.” Chocolatier and lobster fisherman Josiah Mayo talks about his whirlwind week as the first mate of Michael Packard, the fisherman who was nearly swallowed by a humpback whale off the coast of Cape Cod.

Washington Post columnist EJ Dionne talks about President Biden’s meeting this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also discusses speculation around whether AG Merrick Garland will push to litigate abuses of power made under the administration of former President Trump. Next, we opened phone lines to talk with listeners about Juneteenth becoming a federal holiday. Former Suffolk County sheriff Andrea Cabral weighs in on the Justice Department’s request for the Supreme Court to reinstate the federal death penalty against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. She also discusses AG Merrick Garland’s efforts to protect U.S. voting rights. Boston Globe travel writer Christopher Muther discusses “re-queerification” efforts underway in Provincetown, the understated LGBT legacy of Delaware’s Rehoboth Beach, and his experience returning to international travel for a trip to Iceland. Michael Curry offers his thoughts on Juneteenth becoming a federal holiday, and weighs in on the recent vaccination incentives like the VaxMillions lottery and “Vax Express” train in Massachusetts. Curry is President and CEO of the Mass. League of Community Health Centers, and a member of Gov. Charlie Baker’s COVID Vaccine Advisory Group. He’s also a Member of the National NAACP Board of Directors, and chair of the board’s Advocacy & Policy Committee. Food writer Corby Kummer discusses the temporary extension of laws allowing for to-go cocktails and expanded outdoor dining in Massachusetts, and provides some much-needed insight into the latest player in the vegan milk market. We close out Thursday's show by talking with listeners about post-vaccine travel, and making the most of Summer 2021.

Food writer Corby Kummer spoke with Boston Public Radio on Thursday about NotMilk, a plant-based product from start-up NotCo, that purportedly mimics cow’s milk better than other alternatives. “I’m really eager to go out and try it, because the company says that NotMilk can taste, cook, and froth like cow’s milk,” he said. “It is so much better for the environment than milk that comes from cows, which produce methane.” Plant-based milk alternatives and plant-based proteins are a very important part of the future, Kummer noted. 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.

President Joe Biden’s decision to meet with Vladimir Putin initially prompted skeptics to question whether it would only serve to elevate the Russian leader’s position on the world stage. Washington Post columnist EJ Dionne told Boston Public Radio on Thursday that Biden did well to push back against Putin’s defense of jailing opposition leader Alexei Navalny — Putin insisted he’s only trying to avoid the likes of disorder America experienced in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. “Biden just said, “That’s ridiculous,’” said Dionne, noting the straightforwardness in the American president’s response. “Whether you like Biden or not I think if you’re an American friend of democracy you looked at what Biden said, and said, ‘That is what a defense of democracy looks like,’” said Dionne. There were no big achievements from the summit, but no expectations of that either, said Dionne. “On the whole I think (Biden) came out pretty well.” EJ Dionne is a columnist for the Washington Post and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. His latest book is Code Red: How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite To Save Our Country