Boston Public Radio

A new investigative report from WGBH has found that the share of public contracts going to minority and black owned businesses is shrinking.

Playing sports is becoming more dangerous to the health of athletes in areas where climate change is hitting hardest.

A new study shows that states with expanded Medicaid programs saw a marked decrease in overdose deaths.

WGBH's executive arts editor discusses why there was only one person of color nominated in all of the Oscar acting categories.

The NECN commentator described the New Jersey Senator as a strong advocate for LBGT rights.

By some estimates the various conflicts in the war on terror have cost the U.S. more than $6 trillion.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by asking listeners whether they have picked up new health habits during the pandemic. Trenni Kusnierek talks about the potential impact of the Omicron variant on the Winter Olympics in Beijing, and Turkish Boston Celtics player Enes Kanter Freedom celebrating his new U.S. citizenship by changing his last name to Freedom. Kusnierek is an anchor and reporter for NBC Sports Boston, as well as a Boston Public Radio contributor. Shirley Leung discusses the ramifications of the state legislature failing to allocate billions of American Rescue Plan Act funding before going on recess. Leung is a business columnist for The Boston Globe and a Boston Public Radio contributor. Senator Ed Markey shares his work with senate democrats to reach consensus on the social infrastructure package, and emphasizes the need for filibuster reform to pass voting rights legislation. Markey is a senator of Massachusetts. Then, we ask listeners their thoughts on the Build Back Better plan. Christopher Kimball previews his latest cookbook “Vegetables,” sharing his favorite ways to bring vegetables to the center of the plate. Chris Kimball co-founded America’s Test Kitchen, and now runs Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street in Boston. His latest cookbook is “Vegetables.” John King weighs in on the latest political headlines, including the status of the Build Back Better plan, why he thinks rapid tests are not more accessible and the power of extreme Republicans like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. King is CNN’s chief national correspondent and anchor of “Inside Politics,” which airs weekdays at noon and Sundays at 8 a.m. We end the show by continuing our conversation with listeners about Build Back Better.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by asking listeners about how they are reacting to the latest news about the Omicron variant. Michelle Singletary gives tips on how to budget for the holiday and avoid scams during the shopping season. Singletary is a nationally syndicated columnist for The Washington Post, whose award-winning column "The Color of Money" provides insight into the world of personal finance. Christopher Muther talks about the latest locations of Getaway House, a Cambridge-based startup of tiny homes offered for vacation rental, and weighs in on ABBA’s latest album in 40 years, Voyage. Muther is a Boston Globe travel columnist and travel writer. Gov. Charlie Baker discusses why testing is not more widely available across the state, his efforts to create a single QR code showing proof of vaccination and his dissatisfaction with the state legislature’s delay in spending the American Rescue Plan Act money. Baker is the governor of Massachusetts. Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett G. Price III react to the conviction of Ahmaud Arbery’s murderers last week. Monroe is a syndicated religion columnist, the Boston voice for Detour’s African American Heritage Trail and co-host of the All Rev’d Up podcast. Price is the founding pastor of Community of Love Christian Fellowship in Allston, the inaugural dean of Africana studies at Berklee College of Music and co-host of the All Rev’d Up podcast. Keith Lockhart mourns the loss of composing giant Stephen Sondheim, who died on Friday. He also previews Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Holiday Pops performance. Keith Lockhart is conductor for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and will be leading the Boston Holiday Pops this season, which starts Dec. 2 and runs through Christmas eve. Anne Barrett Doyle shares memories of Phil Saviano, a survivor of clergy sexual abuse who played a large role in bringing the story to the public, who died on Sunday. Doyle is the co-director of BishopAccountability.org, an online library tracking global clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

Today on Boston Public Radio we’re on tape, bringing you some of our favorite conversations. Susan Orlean previews her latest book about animals, including the history of the movie “Free Willy,” her relationship with turkeys and her Valentine’s Day spent with a lion. Orlean is a staff writer for the New Yorker, and an author; her latest book is “On Animals.” Joanne Chang talks about her latest book inspired by her baking journals, “Pastry Love: A Baker’s Journal of Favorite Recipes.” Chang is a James Beard award–winning pastry chef. Richard Blanco reads fall-themed poetry, including “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost, “The Blower of Leaves” by January Gill O’Neil, “November 2: Día de los muertos” by Alberto Ríos and “Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio” by James Wright. Blanco is the fifth inaugural poet in U.S. history. His latest book, "How To Love A Country," deals with various socio-political issues that shadow America. Howard Mansfield previews his latest book, "Chasing Eden: A Book of Seekers," about communities throughout American history that sought freedom, happiness and utopia. Mansfield is an author who writes about history, architecture and preservation. Malcolm Gladwell discusses his new book, "Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know." Gladwell is a New Yorker staff writer and host of the “Revisionist History” podcast. Sy Montgomery explains how songbirds find mates for life in other birds who literally sing their tune and discussed vampire bats who adopt vampire bat pups. Montgomery is a journalist, naturalist and BPR contributor. Her latest book is "Becoming A Good Creature." Arthur C. Brooks discusses the key to happiness, drawing from his social science work and latest podcast, “How to Build a Happy Life.” Brooks is the William Henry Bloomberg professor of the practice of public leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School, a professor of management practice at the Harvard Business School, the happiness correspondent at The Atlantic and host of the podcast series “How to Build a Happy Life.” Spencer Buell and Erica Walker talk about the rise of noise complaints in Boston, as well as what — and if — residents and politicians should do about it. Spencer Buell is a staff writer for Boston Magazine. Erica Walker is a noise researcher who founded Noise and the City. She is an assistant professor of epidemiology at Brown. Daniel Leader discusses his latest book, "Living Bread." Leader is a pioneer in the American baking world.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Art Caplan begins the show by updating listeners on the latest in the pandemic, including why cases are on the rise in some parts of the country and how to have a safe Thanksgiving. Caplan is the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor and founding head of the division of medical ethics at NYU School of Medicine in New York City. Then, we ask listeners their safety plans going into Thanksgiving as cases rise. Ali Noorani shares his thoughts on President Joe Biden’s immigration policy, and updates listeners on the status of the evacuation from Afghanistan. Noorani is the president and chief executive officer of the National Immigration Forum. His forthcoming book is “Crossing Borders: The Reconciliation of a Nation of Immigrants.” Corby Kummer talks about how climate change could make food less nutritious and how New Mexican chiles made it to space. 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. Jared Bowen previews the latest in Boston’s arts scene, including the play “The Last Five Years” and what’s new at the Cape Ann Museum. Bowen is GBH’s executive arts editor and the host of Open Studio. Sy Montgomery explains how turkeys went from being almost extinct to a common Thanksgiving favorite, and her favorite personality traits of whales. Montgomery is a journalist, naturalist and a BPR contributor. We end the show by broadcasting the news that the three men on trial in Georgia were found guilty of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, and heard listener reactions to the verdict.

The galaxy’s first space-grown New Mexican hatch chile peppers have been harvested from the International Space Station (ISS). Award-winning food writer Corby Kummer joined Boston Public Radio in studio Wednesday to discuss the space-grown chiles, and what these chiles could mean for the future of indoor farming. NASA employees brought 48 chile seeds aboard a spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for growth on the ISS. This past October —- the end of New Mexico’s hatch chile season — the ISS crew harvested 7 mature hatch chiles. ISS crewmembers celebrated the growth of the peppers by throwing a taco party. “It's been very good for the mental health and psychology of the people in the space station, no doubt, to tender these plants and smell the leaves and smell the green,” Kummer said. The hatch chile seeds used in the ISS gardens were NuMex Española Improved, a hatch chile variety known for its early-maturity and medium-heat profile. The seeds were planted in an “oven-sized growth chamber” on the ISS, with NASA and ISS crew controlling lighting, temperature, trimming, and irrigation. The contained growth of these hatch chiles is big news for the future of indoor farming as well, Kummer notes. “There are billions of venture capital dollars being put into these indoor farms,” Kummer said. “This is like a very high profile, highly publicized example of growing things [indoors] if you control the humidity and the ultraviolet light.” 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.