Boston Public Radio

Food supply anxiety is creating a demand for personal gardens.

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.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened our lines to talk with listeners ahead of Gov. Charlie Baker’s Wednesday press conference. We aired live audio of the governor's press conference. A.G. Maura Healey called in to address the range of issues her office is confronting amid the coronavirus pandemic, and took questions from callers. Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed President Trump’s decision to suspend funding for the World Health Organization, and racial disparities in COVID-19 victims. Writer and naturalist Sy Montgomery discussed whether house cats can catch the coronavirus, and pandas mating at a vacated Hong Kong zoo.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened lines to talk with listeners about President Trump’s heated Monday press conference. NBC Sports Boston reporter Trenni Kusnierek discussed the slow reemergence of sports in the U.S., and athletic companies who’re pivoting to produce personal protective equipment. Writer and TIME Editor-at-Large Anand Giridharadas discussed issues with the U.S. relying on billionaires to offer aid during the coronavirus pandemic. Former Massachusetts Secretary of Education Paul Reville explained how the coronavirus pandemic is widening the gap between students from low and high-income families. Boston Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart talked about what the coronavirus pandemic has meant for his orchestra's annual July 4th concert, and what he’s been up to in quarantine. CNN’s John King broke down the latest national headlines. We re-opened our lines for a check-in with listeners to see how you’re doing.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Dr. Sandro Galea, Dean of BU’s School of Public Health, discussed the likelihood of racial disparities in cases of COVID-19 in Massachusetts, as well as the implications surrounding the president’s potential firing of Dr. Anthony Fauci. We opened our lines to ask: if President Trump fires Dr. Anthony Fauci, will he make America sick again? TV expert Bob Thompson reviewed the work-from-home edition of "Saturday Night Live," and the series finales of “Modern Family” and “Schitt’s Creek.” WGBH news analyst and GroundTruth Project CEO Charlie Sennott discussed issues with Sweden’s lax approach to the coronavirus, and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s release from an ICU after contracting COVID-19. Food writer Corby Kummer discussed clogged distribution channels in the food industry, and the current state of safety conditions for grocery store workers across the country. We continued the conversation about Anthony Fauci’s potential firing with listeners. We aired live audio of Gov. Charlie Baker’s Monday press conference.

The closure of schools, businesses, and restaurants, due to the coronavirus pandemic, has created a problem of abundance with farmers across the country. Food writer Corby Kummer spoke with Boston Public Radio *on Monday, about farmers who have excess food. "There's this double problem of not enough farm workers to harvest food, and food not being distributed," he said. "A single chicken processor is smashing 750,000 unhatched eggs every week and the nation's largest dairy cooperative estimates farmers are dumping 3.7 million gallons of milk each day, because cows don't stop giving milk, chickens don't stop laying eggs, but the distribution channels are getting clogged." This newfound problem is a terrible irony of fresh food going to waste, Kummer added. "Then, what's going to come down the line are all of these crops that are going to ripen, and there won't be labor to pick them and they will be plowed under." *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: — NBC's Chuck Todd discussed the 2020 race, and whether Joe Biden will be able to woo Bernie Sanders supporters. — CEO of Ascend, Andrea Cabral, spoke about how the coronavirus pandemic is an opportunity for prison reform. — Rep. Richard Neal, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, analyzed the coronavirus stimulus package. — We then broadcasted Governor Charlie Baker's press conference, discussing Massachusett's surge of unemployment claims.