Boston Public Radio

Will Boston become a victim of COVID-19?

42 year-old Dave Ayres was named an honorary North Carolinian on Tuesday.

For former Vice President Joe Biden a win in this Saturday’s South Carolina Democratic primary is crucial to proving his viability as a candidate, according to CNN’s Chief National Correspondent.

Boston Latin currently has 8% of Black students in its enrollment, compared to Boston's public schools at 30%.

On Saturday, the United States and the Taliban officially began a seven-day reduction of violence as the precursor to beginning peace talks between the two.

Hassan Minhaj and Kenan Thompson booked to take center-stage at this year’s dinner.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Congressman Jake Auchincloss argues for the creation of a Mass. centralized preregistration vaccination site. He also explains why he believes former President Trump could be tried under the 14th Amendment for the Jan. 6 Capitol siege. Auchincloss is the Democratic congressman representing Massachusetts’ 4th Congressional District. Andrea Cabral explains how Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and the NAACP are using the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act in their lawsuit against former President Trump and Rudy Giuliani. She also talks about the recent resurgence of debtors’ prisons. Cabral is the former Suffolk County sheriff and secretary of public safety. She’s currently the CEO of Ascend. Governor Baker addresses Thursday’s Vaxfinder website crash, as well as the criticism he's received on his handling of vaccine distribution. He also speaks about the state’s current vaccine capacity, and how his administration plans to increase the number of vaccines available in Mass. Chuck Todd discusses Rush Limbaugh’s influence on political culture, and the state of the Republican Party today. 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. We open the phone lines to hear listeners’ experiences with vaccine registration. Councilor Andrea Campbell speaks about the state of vaccine distribution in Mass., and argues for a “Teacher Vaccination Week.” She also discusses the Boston mayoral race, and what running a mayoral campaign during a pandemic looks like. Campbell represents Boston's District 4, which includes parts of Dorchester, Mattapan, Jamaica Plain and Roslindale. She's also currently running for mayor of Boston. We end the show by talking with listeners about the Baker administration adding even more people to the vaccine eligibility pool.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Art Caplan weighs in on the recent firing of a Texas doctor after he distributed ten vaccines that were about to expire. He also argues for moving elite athletes further ahead in the vaccination line. Caplan is the Drs. William F and Virginia Connolly Mitty Chair, and director of the Division of Medical Ethics at the NYU School of Medicine. Carlo DeMaria responds to claims made by Everett City Councilor Gerly Adrien of racist treatment from her colleagues during her appearance on Monday's show. He also talks about Everett’s response to the pandemic, and his decision to distribute masks to every city resident. DeMaria is the mayor of Everett, Mass. Juliette Kayyem talks about the internal disarray of the QAnon conspiracy community, and the energy distribution issues facing Texas during their winter weather emergency. Kayyem is an analyst for CNN, former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and faculty chair of the homeland security program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Next, we open the phone lines to hear listeners’ thoughts on national vaccine rollouts. Corby Kummer speaks about the lack of pandemic hazard pay for grocery store employees around the country, and how restaurateurs are mobilizing to assist vulnerable workers. Kummer is the 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. Sy Montgomery explains how songbirds find mates for life in other birds who literally sing their tune, and discusses vampire bats who adopt vampire bat cubs. Montgomery is a journalist, naturalist and a BPR contributor. Her latest book is "Becoming A Good Creature." We wrap up the show by asking listeners about what they’ve given up in a year already full of sacrifices.

Food writer Corby Kummer spoke to Boston Public Radio on Wednesday about universal free lunches amid the pandemic. “School lunch is one of the only mystifyingly good stories of the Trump administration during the pandemic - which is that they extended waivers so that entire families of students who were eligible for free school lunches could get them,” Kummer said. “All the children in the family would be eligible for these meals not just the students at eligible schools.” Universal school lunch aims to eliminate stigma around free meals, Kummer noted. “It’s not as big of a deal in Boston because there is universal lunch and breakfast offered to students already,” he said. “But in plenty of municipalities the terrible lunch shaming of students who are supposed to pay for school lunch but then fall into debt has been eliminated during COVID by these waivers.” There are now different bills trying to extend universal school lunch plans state-by-state and nationally, Kummer added. 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 start the show by opening phone lines to talk with listeners about whether they feel their life is on hold due to COVID-19. Trenni Kusnierek discusses the car crash involving former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid the day of the Super Bowl, and the leeway given to NFL athletes for bad behavior. She also speaks about Mark Cuban’s decision to omit the national anthem from Dallas Mavericks home games, arguing that the national anthem should be reserved for major sports events. Kusnierek is an anchor and reporter for NBC Sports Boston, and a weekly Boston Public Radio contributor. Rick Steves talks about the possibility of a COVID-19 vaccine passport, and what the U.S. could learn from Germany about remembering its own dark history. Steves is an author, television and radio host and the owner of the Rick Steves' Europe tour group. You can catch his television show, "Rick Steves’ Europe," weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on GBH 2 and his radio show, “Travel With Rick Steves,” Sundays at 4 p.m. on GBH. Chris Dempsey and Jim Aloisi speak about Gov. Baker’s recent vetoes on a $16.5 billion Mass. transportation bill, and what transportation could look like in Boston, post-pandemic. Aloisi is the former Massachusetts transportation secretary, a member of the Transit Matters board, and contributor to Commonwealth Magazine. Dempsey is the Massachusetts Director of Transportation and former assistant secretary of transportation. Next, we ask listeners what they want their work commute to be like post-pandemic. John King discusses the ongoing investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol siege, the criminal inquiry into former President Trump’s Ga. election phone call, and the NAACP’s criminal suit against former President Trump and Rudy Giuliani over the Capitol riot. King is CNN's Chief National Correspondent and anchor of "Inside Politics,” which airs weekdays and Sunday mornings at 8 a.m. Dr. Virginia Sinnott-Stutzman shares why she believes veterinarians should be moved from Phase III to Phase II of Gov. Baker's vaccine line. She also talks about the rise in pet adoptions during the pandemic, and how veterinary hospitals are responding to increased visits. Sinnott-Stutzman is a senior staff veterinarian at Angell Animal Medical Center.

Before former President Trump’s impeachment trial began, Harvard Law School professor Jeannie Suk Gersen wrote in the New Yorker that his acquittal may send a worse message to society than if there were no trial at all. Gersen told Boston Public Radio on Monday, days after the acquittal vote, that she does think charging former President Trump for his role in inciting the insurrection and holding the public trial lessens the “message of impunity” for him. But, she said, the acquittal has “all kinds of resonance.” “It can mean that he was right in his election fraud claims, for some people that’s what it may mean, and for other people it may mean even worse things: that he has a political future in front of him and that he could be running for office in just a couple of years.” Jeannie Suk Gersen is a Harvard Law School professor, and a New Yorker contributor.