Boston Public Radio

In Ezra Klein’s book “Why We’re Polarized,” he explores the reasons and history behind America's political divisions.

The former Mass. Education Secretary said he expects a more severe response from the university once an internal investigation is concluded.

On Wednesday, Dershowitz said that advanced a controversial legal theory in which he claimed a president could invite electoral interference from a foreign power to aid them because it would be in the public interest.

Trump defense attorney Alan Dershowitz argued in the impeachment trial the president is allowed to engage in a quid pro quo.

What would the former Patriots player and convicted murderer have been like without football brain injuries?

Yes, we should be focusing on the flu, but we should also be wary of just how unprepared we are for an outbreak in America.

Trenni Kusnierek spoke to Boston Public Radio on Tuesday about Tom Brady’s first performance as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer last Sunday. The Buccaneers lost to the New Orleans Saints 34-23. “Brady is 43 and I don’t think we’re going to see the same Tom Brady ever again,” Kusnierek said. “Don’t build your entire offense around Tom Brady and put it all on his shoulders.” Having an offense with a solid running game will take the pressure off Brady, she added. “Make it a versatile offense, similar to New Orleans with Drew Brees, who’s 41 years old,” she said. “Anything so that every time you need a score, it’s not solely on him.” Trenni Kusnierek is a sports reporter and anchor for NBC Sports Boston.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Jake Auchincloss, the Democratic candidate for Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District, discussed why he believes America needs a green energy economy, and offered his take on how Congress ought to be handling economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. We opened our lines to talk with listeners about the wildfires devastating the west coast, and America's failure to seriously confront climate change. New Yorker staff writer and historian Jelani Cobb called in to talk about his new documentary for FRONTLINE, “Policing the Police”. TV expert Bob Thompson weighed in on news of the final season of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” and reflected on the passing of veteran actor Diana Riggs. Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett Price, hosts of WGBH’s All Rev’d Up, discussed the recently published Harvard Law School report into racial disparities in the Mass. prison system, and the racist subtext of President Trump’s “law and order” messaging. We opened lines to talk with listeners about the Patriots' Sunday victory over the Miami Dolphins, and whether the win has added significance in light of Tom Brady’s loss with the Buccaneers. Inaugural poet Richard Blanco called in for our monthly edition of “Village Voice,” where he read a handful of poems commemorating the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Media maven Sue O’Connell offered her unique insight into some best practices for remote learning, as both a parent and pupil. She also weighed in on the ridiculousness of gender reveal parties, and the upsides to ranked-choice voting. We opened lines to talk with parents about your plans for navigating the school year, as classes begin to get underway. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh called in for “Ask the Mayor,” where he spoke on a wide range of issues impacting the city, and responded to questions and comments from listeners. Tech writer Andy Ihnatko discussed the recently-announced inclusion of civil rights activist and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick in the next installment of the Madden video game series. He also explained why some Amazon delivery workers are hanging smartphones in trees outside shopping centers. Boston Globe business columnist Shirley Leung talked about her recent column criticizing Mayor Marty Walsh for speaking to reporters about the mayoral ambitions of Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu. She also spoke on how the COVID-19 pandemic is widening America's “grotesque” wealth gap. We opened lines to ask listeners: Has pandemic life diluted your ability to distinguish weekends from weekdays?

Today on Boston Public Radio: NBC “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd discussed revelations about President Trump’s understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic, from journalist Bob Woodward’s forthcoming book. He also weighed in on whether Woodward ought to have shared clips from the interviews with the public earlier. We opened lines to talk with listeners about the president’s acknowledgment, made in interviews with journalist Bob Woodward, that he understood the seriousness of COVID-19 as far back as February, all while publicly downplaying the severity of the looming crisis. Former Suffolk County Sheriff and Secretary of Public Safety Andrea Cabral weighed in on the recent move by the Department of Justice to represent President Trump in a defamation suit, and the wider legal implications of last week’s arrest of nine Boston police officers in an alleged overtime fraud scheme. Ali Noorani discussed whether changing attitudes around immigration could edge suburban voters towards Biden in November, and a hunger strike by detainees at an ICE detention center in Louisiana. Noorani is the 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.” Former Mass. Education Secretary Paul Reville discussed tensions around the return of teachers to in-person learning, and recent allegations from a former Boston principal that she was unfairly targeted by parents with political connections. Andrew Bacevich discussed President Trump’s failure to end U.S. military involvement in the Middle East, and his recent piece for Salon, positing how Joe Biden ought to lead the nation should he win in November. Bacevich is the President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a Professor Emeritus of International Relations and History at Boston University, and author of "The Age of Illusions: How America Squandered Its Cold War Victory.” We opened lines to ask listeners: are you mentally and emotionally prepared for fall and winter life during the coronavirus pandemic?

Immigration authority Ali Noorani called in to Boston Public Radio on Thursday, where he reflected on shifting political attitudes in Arizona’s densely populated and largely suburban Maricopa County. The conversation followed a recent Bloomberg article, titled "If Maricopa County Sours on Trump, So Will Suburbs Everywhere." "This county was very much the locus of anti-immigrant legislation in Arizona that very quickly moved across the country,” he explained, citing examples like the state’s controversial 2010 “Show Me Your Papers” provision, which was drafted by a Senator situated in the county, and the extreme anti-immigrant politics of Joe Arpaio, who served as county sheriff from 1993 to 2017. "But now, as Bloomberg points out, it’s this change in demographics, the changing economics of Maricopa County, that’s changing the county’s perspective and approach on immigration,” he said, adding that some faith-based voters "just don’t like the way that Donald Trump – and frankly, the Republican Party – is approaching immigration." During their conversation, Noorani also touched on how a slowed-down naturalization process for immigrants will limit votership in November, and detainees at a Louisiana ICE detention center on hunger strike in protest of inhumane treatment. Ali Noorani is the 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."