Boston Public Radio

On Dec. 29, 2019 seventeen term congressman Rep. John Lewis announced that he is receiving treatment for stage four pancreatic cancer

A new report estimates more than a billion animals are 'dead or dying' from the fires.

In three weeks, voters in New Hampshire will cast their votes in the first presidential primary of the 2020 election.

On Sunday, the New York Times decided to select their endorsement for the candidate to beat former reality television star and President Donald Trump via their television show “The Weekly”.

The proposed legislation hopes to modernize state police hiring, promotions, accountability and discipline within the department.

The opioid crisis was discussed at length, along with solutions in development.

Today on Boston Public Radio: EJ Dionne talks about Democrats’ responses to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies, and the generational divide among American Jews on Israel and Palestine. 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.” Next, we open phone lines, asking listeners whether they want to continue working from home or return to the office. Rebecca Ostriker discusses the Boston Globe Spotlight team’s recent investigation into the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home. Ostriker is a news reporter for the Boston Globe. Trenni Kusnierek talks about golfer Phil Mickelson’s historic win as the oldest major champion to win the PGA Championship. She also discusses the Tokyo Olympics' COVID-19 restrictions. Kusnierek is a reporter and anchor for NBC Sports Boston, and a weekly Boston Public Radio contributor. Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett G. Price III share their thoughts on 1619 Project leader and journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones being denied tenure by the University of North Carolina (UNC), and conservatives’ responses to the murder of George Floyd a year after his death. 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. Richard Blanco highlights poems by war veterans and military spouses ahead of Memorial Day. 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. We wrap up the show by asking listeners for their thoughts on the future of the handshake, post-pandemic.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Rep. Jim McGovern shares his thoughts on GOP opposition to the formation of a commission to look into the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. House Rules Chairman McGovern (D-MA) represents the 2nd Congressional district. District Attorney Rachael Rollins discusses the investigation into Boston Police Commissioner Dennis White, focusing on an affidavit provided by former Commissioner William Gross and the blue wall of silence. Rollins is the district attorney for Suffolk County. Emily Rooney weighs in on a Washington Post report that found that Chris Cuomo took part in strategy calls regarding sexual harassment allegations against his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. She also previews tonight’s edition of “Beat the Press.” Rooney is the host of Beat the Press, which you can watch Friday nights at 7 p.m. Sue O’Connell explains the complicated legacy of Ellen DeGeneres as an LGBTQ icon. She also talks about the youth activists of Massachusetts. O’Connell is the co-publisher of Bay Windows and the South End News, as well as NECN's political commentator and explainer-in-chief. Andy Ihnatko talks about upgrades to Apple Music and Amazon Music’s audio quality, and Signal founder Moxie Marlinspike’s hack of surveillance company Cellebrite’s phone hacking tools. Ihnatko is a tech writer and blogger, posting at Ihnatko.com. Callie Crossley marks the 50th anniversary of Marvin Gaye’s 1971 song “What’s Going On?”, explaining the relevance of the lyrics to today’s political climate. She also discusses a Black Indianapolis woman’s experiences with housing discrimination while getting her house appraised. Crossley hosts GBH’s Under the Radar and Basic Black. We end the show by talking with listeners about an American Dental Association survey that found an increase in dental hygiene problems during the pandemic.

Food writer Corby Kummer spoke with Boston Public Radio on Thursday about how Oatly, a company that sells oat milk products, made its Wall Street debut. “It turns out there’s very big Chinese and big business money behind it,” he said. “Today is a very big day for Oatly, because now it has an IPO and it is maybe going to be valued at $10 billion by the end of the day.” Many environmentally conscious consumers are drawn to oat milk and plant-based products as a way to lower their carbon footprint, Kummer noted. “More and more consumers are making these choices that favor the environment,” he said. “But there’s also the complicated factors that the products we’re exposed to that have the money to get into stores have big international money behind it that we might not like.” 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 begin the show by opening phone lines, talking with listeners about the House’s passage of a bill that would establish a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. Andrea Cabral discusses former Boston Police Commissioner William Gross’ claims that former Mayor Marty Walsh knew about the domestic violence allegations against Boston Police Commissioner Dennis White. Cabral is the former Suffolk County sheriff and Massachusetts secretary of public safety. She’s currently the CEO of the cannabis company Ascend. Gov. Charlie Baker updates us on current vaccination rates and equity in Massachusetts, and weighs in on calls for an independent investigation into the death of Hopkinton teen Mikayla Miller. Corby Kummer shares his thoughts on Swedish oat milk company Oatly’s public market debut, and Costco, Walmart, and Trader Joe’s decision to drop their in-store mask mandates. 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. Prof. Robert Pape discusses his research into the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, explaining how the Capitol rioters differed from most extremist groups in the U.S. due to their middle- and upper-middle class status. He also talks about how replacement theory factored into the rioters’ beliefs. Prof. Pape is the director of the University of Chicago’s Chicago Project on Security and Threats (CPOST), and a political science professor at the University of Chicago. Rose Levine and Alma Barak talk about their 2020 Washington Post op-eds on the return to in-person learning, and share whether they still held the same opinions a year later. Levine is a 5th grade teacher for the Cambridge Public School District. Barak is an 8th grade student in the Cambridge Public School District. We wrap up the show by asking listeners whether they want to make pandemic-era cocktails to-go permanent.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by talking with listeners about the labor shortages hotels and restaurants are facing as the U.S. reopens. Jonathan Gruber talks about Congress’ Lower Drug Costs Now Act, and shares his thoughts on possible solutions to lowering the cost of prescription drugs. Gruber is the Ford Professor of Economics at MIT. He was instrumental in creating both the Massachusetts health-care reform and the Affordable Care Act, and his latest book is "Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth And The American Dream." Juliette Kayyem discusses a new report that found that the Department of Homeland Security failed to analyze intelligence prior to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. She also talks about Colonial Pipeline’s decision to meet hackers’ ransom, and the Army’s prioritization of climate change as a security threat. 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. Bina Venkataraman goes over the latest Boston Globe editorial positions, from calls to dismantle the blue wall of silence in the wake of domestic violence allegations against Dennis White, to the argument that Massachusetts is exporting gun violence through Springfield-based Smith & Wesson. Venkataraman is the editorial page editor at The Boston Globe. Her latest book is “The Optimist's Telescope: Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age.” Art Caplan shares his thoughts on the Supreme Court’s agreement to review a Mississippi abortion law that bans abortions after 15 weeks, and explains how it could impact Roe v. Wade. He also talks about Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, and the organization’s updated mask guidelines. Caplan is director of the Division of Medical Ethics at the New York University School of Medicine. Jared Bowen talks about Merrimack Repertory Theatre’s streaming of the play “A Woman of the World,” and the Huntington Theatre Company’s “Black Beans Project.” He also previewed this week’s episode of Open Studio. Bowen is GBH’s executive arts editor and the host of Open Studio. We end the show by talking with listeners about the Pentagon’s acknowledgement of UFOs.