Boston Public Radio

On Dec. 18, a federal appeals court struck down an integral part of the Affordable Care Act that imposes a penalty on an individual if they are not covered by health insurance.

The episode garnered just under 10 million viewers, but Thompson thinks it was just a competent showing.

Healey is suing eight out-of-state online retailers for allegedly selling flavored tobacco products in the wake of new Massachusetts law.

The mayor took aim at the home rule process, which requires municipalities to receive state approval before taking certain actions like raising taxes.

Boston Globe business columnist Shirley Leung warns against a speedy Hynes Convention Center sale.

Rooney spoke about her impression of the presidential candidate's debate performance.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Art Caplan shares his thoughts on vaccine mandates, calling on schools and workplaces to penalize those who refuse to get vaccinated. Caplan is director of the Division of Medical Ethics at the New York University School of Medicine. Then, we talk with listeners about the patchwork of vaccine and mask mandates across Massachusetts. Juliette Kayyem discusses college officials’ concerns over falsified vaccine cards, and the upcoming 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. She also offers tips on hurricane preparedness. 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. Mayor Thomas McGee highlights Lynn’s new unarmed crisis response team, sharing his hopes for the pilot program. McGee is the mayor of Lynn, Mass. Liz Kowalczyk talks about the physicians and medical students calling for stronger ethics rules to prohibit hospital executives from serving on for-profit boards. Kowalczyk is the healthcare and medical reporter for the Boston Globe. Richard Blanco discusses poetry as political satire, focusing on John Lithgow’s poetry. 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 end the show by asking listeners about the work from home office politics they’re encountering, from fighting roommates for a coveted Zoom background to WiFi bandwidth issues.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by asking listeners if they’ve been experiencing mass malfunction in their daily lives. Trenni Kusnierek recaps the Tokyo Olympics, weighing in on the financial toll countries take to host the Olympics, and American long distance runner Molly Seidel’s bronze win. Kusnierek is a reporter and anchor for NBC Sports Boston, and a weekly Boston Public Radio contributor. Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George shares her thoughts on Acting Mayor Kim Janey’s handling of the investigation into former Boston Police officer Patrick Rose, and whether Boston should mandate proof of vaccination for indoor dining and gyms. She also addresses concerns over her husband’s housing development business. City Councilor Essaibi George is running for mayor of Boston. Jim Aloisi and Stacy Thompson talk about the return to pre-pandemic levels of traffic, and highlight various ways that the MBTA Commuter Rail could alleviate congestion. They also discuss the impact climate change has on public transit. Aloisi is the former Massachusetts transportation secretary, a member of the Transit Matters board, and contributor to Commonwealth Magazine. Thompson is executive director of Livable Streets. Dan Reed explains how seven men in Miami were indicted in an alleged Al Qaeda plot in the wake of 9/11, despite no connections to the terrorist group. Reed is the director of the new FRONTLINE documentary, “In the Shadow of 9/11.” John King updates us on the latest political headlines, from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation to the Senate’s passage of the infrastructure bill. King is CNN's Chief National Correspondent and anchor of "Inside Politics,” which airs weekdays and Sunday mornings at 8 a.m. We wrap up the show by talking with listeners about their coffee intake over the course of the pandemic.

Following the passage of numerous Republican-backed voting restrictions across the country, Democrats and left-leaning institutions are criticizing President Joe Biden, demanding a more aggressive plan to combat voting rights restrictions. Washington Post columnist EJ Dionne joined Boston Public Radio on Monday, weighing in on whether the criticism was deserved. “I am actually in the camp that says Biden has to do more,” Dionne said. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with President Biden in late July to discuss voting rights legislation, which Dionne labelled as “something of a victory.” “I don’t think they read him the riot act, but I think they were very clear to him that this really matters to the party’s chances in the future,” Dionne said. EJ Dionne is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a columnist for the Washington Post. His latest book is Code Red: How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite To Save Our Country.

Today on Boston Public Radio: EJ Dionne updates us on the latest political headlines, from Ohio’s House race to the state of the bipartisan infrastructure bill. 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.” Then, we talk with listeners about the U.N.’s climate report. Catherine D’Amato discusses hunger rates across Massachusetts, sharing how the pandemic exacerbated food insecurity in the state. She also explains why some people are reluctant to apply to food source programs. D’Amato is president and CEO of The Greater Boston Food Bank. Casey Soward talks about The Cabot’s reopening plans amid the rise of the Delta variant, and how the performing arts venue fared over the course of the pandemic. Soward is the executive director of The Cabot in Beverly, Mass. Shirley Leung discusses her column on anti-Asian hate crime victim Liem Tran, and a proposed ballot question posed by numerous gig companies to classify gig workers as independent contractors. Leung is a business columnist for the Boston Globe. Next, we talk with listeners about the recent college graduates who entered the working world remotely. We wrap up the show by playing the All Rev’d Up podcast episode “Black Parenting: the Joys and Challenges.”

The Atlantic’s Corby Kummer joined Boston Public Radio on Friday, to discuss Attorney General Maura Healey’s lawsuit against food delivery platform GrubHub for allegedly charging illegal fees to Massachusetts restaurants. Attorney General Healey claims that the company tacked on excess delivery fees greater than the state’s pandemic-era parameter that no delivery service could charge delivery fees greater than 15% of an order’s menu price. “It’s this restaurant by restaurant, tiny business by tiny business, gouging and cheating of GrubHub, and Seamless, and Uber Eats,” Kummer said. “They’ve all been doing it.” Kummer added that while other cities and states are enacting delivery fee caps, some food delivery platforms claim that the caps are unfair. “All of DoorDash, GrubHub, they are mounting a suit against the city of San Francisco, because San Francisco enacted a permanent 15% cap through the pandemic,” Kummer said. “I think that the whole country should be enacting these caps.” Corby 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.