Boston Public Radio

As the novel coronavirus responsible for the outbreak of COVID-19 continues to spread, there is a growing chorus of people calling for the release of prisoners who either no longer pose a threat to society or committed nonviolent offenses and are vulnerable to fatally contracting the disease

Members of the House are expected to vote Thursday on a $2.2 trillion economic relief bill to mitigate financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The "Meet the Press" moderator also defended former Vice President Joe Biden's limited public response to the pandemic.

Sports reporter Trenni Kusnierek says that Brady is promoting dangerous advertising during the coronavirus pandemic.

Former education secretary says state education officials need to make determinations about learning requirements as school shifts online.

In response to the outbreak, MassInc conducted a tracking poll, sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, to gauge public sentiment about COVID-19 within Massachusetts.

Food writer Corby Kummer spoke with Boston Public Radio *on Wednesday about food magazine Bon Appetit's recently exposed structural racism. "The Me Too movement came for sexism, and now the moment is coming for racism," he said. "The editor of Bon Appetit, Adam Rapoport, was discovered in an old photo dressed up in Puerto Rican bling, and his assistant said [Rapoport] liked the picture so much that he had it framed on his desk." The photo itself was appalling, but even more appalling was the culture of racism that has now been described at Bon Appetit, Kummer noted. "The terribly white culture of the Test Kitchen at Bon Appetit has made millions...and that's why I think this culture went unchallenged," he said. "So the editor resigned and the Bon Appetit staff posted something today saying the culture is going to change and that they're going to right the pay inequity." *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 aired live audio from Gov. Charlie Baker’s Tuesday press conference. Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell called in to talk about the reforms she’d like to see Boston make to its policing system. We opened lines to ask: what changes would you like to see when it comes to police reform? Former Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick discussed his experience dealing with racism in Massachusetts as a Black teenager, and talked about his impressions of the recent Black Lives Matter protests. Journalist and author Devin Leonard discussed his book “Neither Snow Nor Rain: A History of the United States Postal Service,” and why he believes government leaders won't let the USPS go under. Playwright and painter Ryan Landry talked about the response of art institutions to the Black Lives Matter movement, and how he think communities should deal with statues of racist historical figures.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened our lines to ask: do you have reservations about returning to normal, now that Gov. Baker has moved Mass. into phase two of reopening? MIT economist Jon Gruber discussed the state of the U.S. economy, why the rising stock market isn’t indicative of overall economic growth, and responded to questions from listeners. WGBH News analyst and GroundTruth Project CEO Charlie Sennott talked about global protests over American police brutality, and why he thinks this moment could prove to be a global tipping point. TV expert Bob Thompson discussed the response to Black Lives Matter protests from late-night TV hosts, and the recent CNN racism town hall featuring characters from Sesame Street. Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett Price, hosts of WGBH’s All Rev’d Up, discussed President Trump’s photo-op with a bible in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church, and the hypocrisy of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s statement in support of Black Lives Matter. Catherine D’Amato from the Greater Boston Food Bank discussed the spike of food insecurity in Mass. amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and how here organization is responding to it. We reopened our lines to continue to the conversation with listeners about the phased-in reopening of Massachusetts.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened lines to talk with listeners about the Black Lives Matter protests, and whether they’re creating a false sense of security with regard to the ongoing pandemic. Media maven Sue O’Connell talked about the president’s photo-op stunt in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church, and whether she thinks it’ll have an impact on Trump supporters come November. Beat the Press host Emily Rooney discussed the controversial New York Times op-ed from Ark. Sen. Tom Cotton, and read her weekly list of fixations and fulminations. Food writer Corby Kummer talked about guidelines for reopening restaurants in Massachusetts, and the devastating impact of the pandemic on undocumented restaurant workers. NBC Sports Boston reporter Trenni Kusnierek discussed the blowback on NFL quarterback Drew Brees after recent statements about kneeling during the national anthem, and broke down the public dispute in the MLB over player salaries for the 2020 season. Under the Radar host Callie Crossley gave her take on proposals from local leaders to address systemic racism, and highlighted a Boston Globe piece profiling Boston’s Black-owned restaurants. We reopened our lines to talk with listeners about safe hugging in the era of COVID-19.

Food writer Corby Kummer spoke to Boston Public Radio *on Friday about undocumented restaurant workers who are unable to get a stimulus check or file for unemployment. "We need to figure out how to protect undocumented workers and how to get them the kind of social safety nets that they're completely locked out from, even though in order to work, they pay taxes," he said. "They pay umemployment taxes which they're never able to access." A lot of restauranteurs are prioritizing hiring back undocumented workers during reopening, Kummer added. "Because they are the backbone of the restaurant industry, they're the dishwashers and prep cooks," he said. "What are we going to do moving forward to protect these workers?" *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.