Boston Public Radio

Chris Dempsey says the system is at 'maximum constriction.'

It's taken seaweed a while to become mainstream, but Sweetgreen is trying to popularize the plant.

The duo behind Myers + Chang and Flour Bakery spoke about their newest bakery opening.

Rooney wonders how the company is sustainable.

The Boston Globe columnist expressed sympathy for pianist Angela Hewitt.

Ever since a 2015 audio recording of presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg defending the controversial tactic known as stop-and-frisk resurfaced on Tuesday, Bloomberg has been playing defense.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We start the show by talking with listeners about the CDC’s warning of a possible fourth wave of COVID-19. Trenni Kusnierek talks about Boston Pride’s National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) title win, and New Hampshire’s Tuckerman Inferno pentathlon. Kusnierek is a reporter and anchor for NBC Sports Boston, and a weekly Boston Public Radio contributor. Michael Curry discusses the current state of the vaccine equity gap in Massachusetts, arguing for more resources for community-based organizations. He also talks about his experience being bused into Charlestown as a child. Curry is the president and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and a member of Governor Charlie Baker’s COVID Vaccine Advisory Group. He’s also a Member of the National NAACP Board of Directors, and the Chair of the Board’s Advocacy & Policy Committee. Christopher Muther updates us on the state of hotels during the pandemic, and Iceland’s new rule requiring international visitors to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a previous COVID-19 infection. Muther is a travel writer and columnist for the Boston Globe. Lee Pelton and Roger Brown share their thoughts on running colleges during a pandemic, and what they think the future of higher ed could look like. Pelton, after serving as president of Emerson since 2011, will be joining the Boston Foundation in June as their next president and CEO. Brown has served as the president of Berklee College of Music since 2004, and will be stepping down this year. John King weighs in on President Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office, the challenges facing voting rights and the fate of the filibuster. King is CNN’s Chief National Politics Correspondent and anchor of “Inside Politics,” which airs weekdays and Sunday mornings at 8 a.m. We wrap up the show by asking listeners whether they’ve bought into camping fever.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Charlie Sennott talks about the cargo ship Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal, and Brazil’s COVID-19 crisis. Sennott is a GBH News analyst and the founder and CEO of The GroundTruth Project. Next, we ask listeners if they thought Dr. Deborah Birx and other members of former President Trump’s White House were complicit in COVID-19 deaths. E.J. Dionne updates us on the latest political headlines, from voting restrictions in Georgia to hopes for President Joe Biden’s infrastructure agenda. 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.” Shirley Leung speaks about her recent Boston Globe column, where she wrote about Asian parents giving “the talk” to their children on how to deal with racism. She also discusses the pandemic’s impact on the hotel industry, explaining that it might take years for hotels to recover economically. Leung is a business columnist for the Boston Globe. Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett Price share their thoughts on the Catholic Church’s opposition to a U.S. suicide hotline due to its support of LGBT+ people. They also talk about evangelist Franklin Graham’s promotion of the COVID-19 vaccine, causing outrage among some Evangelical Christians. 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. Walter Isaacson previews his new book, “The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race.” Isaacson is a professor of American history at Tulane University, the host of the podcast “Trailblazers,” and a host on “Amanpour and Company.” His latest book is “The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race.” We end the show by talking with listeners on whether they felt stuck — just like the Ever Given ship in the Suez Canal — during the pandemic.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We’re on tape today, bringing you the ultimate BPR book club with back-to-back conversations from over the years with some of our favorite writers. Some of today’s highlights are featured below: Kevin Young discusses his latest collection of poetry, BROWN. Young is the poetry editor of the New Yorker and the Andrew W. Mellon director of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African American History and Culture. Ann Patchett talks about her book “Commonwealth,” and as owner of Parnassus Books, argues for all readers to shop at local, independent bookstores. T.C. Boyle drops in on the dropout culture with his novel “Outside Looking In,” which is based on the research of Timothy Leary.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Chuck Todd updates us on the latest political headlines, previewing President Joe Biden’s Thursday press conference and sharing his thoughts on whether the U.S. could soon have stronger gun reform laws. 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. Next, we open the phone lines, asking listeners whether they’re resigned to living in a country where mass shootings happen regularly. Andrea Cabral discusses the Supreme Court’s decision to hear a case that could expand the scope of the Second Amendment. She also shares her thoughts on the debate over gun reform laws and filibuster rules in Congress. Cabral is the former Suffolk County sheriff and Massachusetts secretary of public safety. She’s currently the CEO of the cannabis company Ascend. Jared Bowen highlights Asian artists whose work is on display in the Boston area, from Shen Wei to Andy Li. He also talks about the Huntington Theatre’s renovation project. Bowen is GBH’s executive arts editor and the host of Open Studio. Then, we aired live audio from President Biden’s afternoon press conference.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Art Caplan weighs in on whether Massachusetts could mandate vaccines for public sector employees like prison guards and state police. He also talks about AstraZeneca’s recent PR blunders. 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. Ali Noorani updates us on the latest immigration headlines, including the increase in unaccompanied migrant children crossing the U.S-Mexico border. Noorani is President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Immigration Forum. His latest book is "There Goes the Neighborhood: How Communities Overcome Prejudice and Meet the Challenge of American Immigration.” Gov. Charlie Baker talks about vaccine equity in Massachusetts, calling for an increased supply of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine as a way to remedy vaccine distribution issues. He also addresses concerns over state police and other public sector employees who are hesitant to get vaccinated. Next, we open the phone lines, asking listeners what they think about Massachusetts schools reopening. Sen. Elizabeth Warren discusses the rise in violence against Asian Americans, and explains why the government should invest more money into childcare and environmentally-friendly infrastructure. She also weighs in on the debate over the filibuster. We wrap up the show by talking with listeners about pandemic weight gain.