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.

Pandemic-era federal waivers that expanded children’s access to food through year-round, free school lunches are set to expire this month, after Congress failed to extend the waivers past their June 30 deadline. A cumulative 4.3 billion meals were distributed through the program over the last two summers. “Now parents have to go back to filling in humiliating applications saying, ‘Here's what money we make and why we need help from the school lunch,’” Kummer told Boston Public Radio on Friday. “What parent has time to do that, let alone wants the stigma of their kid asking for this kind of assistance?” Kummer is 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.

John Rosenthal, co-founder of the Boston-based nonprofit Stop Handgun Violence, joined Boston Public Radio live at the Boston Public Library on Friday to share his thoughts on America’s inaction on gun violence.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by talking with listeners about the first night of the Jan. 6 committee hearings. DA Kevin Hayden discusses Mayor Michelle Wu’s release of the complete file on former Boston Police Patrolman’s Association union chief and convicted child-sex abuser Patrick Rose, Sr. He also talks about concerns over illegal guns in Mass. Hayden is the interim District Attorney for Suffolk County, and he’s running for election for a full term as DA this fall. David Gergen shares his thoughts on the future of youth leaders in politics, and the potential for mandatory community service. Gergen is a Senior Political Analyst for CNN, the Founding Director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard and a professor at the Kennedy School. He was a presidential advisor to four administrations. His new book is “Hearts Touched with Fire: How Great Leaders are Made.” Corby Kummer talks about the upcoming expiration of universal free school lunches, and updated us on the latest news from the baby formula shortage. Kummer is 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. John Rosenthal discusses the state of gun reform in Mass., and updated us on upcoming March for Our Lives gatherings. Rosenthal is a longtime gun control advocate, and the founder of the group Stop Handgun Violence. Red Shaydez talks about her work in Boston’s music scene. She also performed her songs “I’m Not the Victim,” “I Like Dreamin’”, and “Catch a Vibe” live at the Boston Public Library. Red Shaydez is a rapper, entrepreneur, and youth mentor. She’s also the Vice Chair of Events for the group Women in Music, and the host of the Boston Public Library’s second annual Teen Music Maker Showdown. We end the show by asking listeners about their experiences with Boston’s Open Streets initiative, which creates car-free spaces on select roads in Boston during the summer.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by asking listeners how they feel going into the Jan. 6 hearings. Paul Reville shares his thoughts about Mayor Michelle Wu’s role in education, and the lifting of Boston Public Schools' mask mandate. Reville is the former secretary of education and a professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, where he also runs the Education Redesign Lab. His latest book, co-authored with Lynne Sacks, is “Collaborative Action for Equity and Opportunity: A Practical Guide for School and Community Leaders.” Andrea Cabral weighs in on what we can expect from the Jan. 6 committee hearings, the state of gun control in America post-Uvalde, and the women suing the F.B.I. for early investigative failures in the Larry Nassar case. Cabral is the former Suffolk County sheriff and secretary of public safety, and former CEO of the cannabis company Ascend. Sue O’Connell discusses media coverage of the upcoming Jan. 6 trials, and updates us on the Pride Month events happening around Mass. O’Connell is the co-publisher of Bay Windows and South End News, and contributor to Current, on NBC LX and NECN. Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett G. Price III comments on Southern Baptist Leaders releasing a sex abuser database, the labor activists pushing for a White House meeting on poverty, and Pope Francis’ future in the papacy. Monroe is a syndicated religion columnist and the Boston voice for Detour’s African American Heritage Trail. Price is founding pastor of Community of Love Christian Fellowship in Allston, and the Inaugural Dean of Africana Studies at Berklee College of Music. Together they host the All Rev’d Up podcast. David Abel discusses his reporting on a water-pollution crisis in New Hampshire, and his upcoming documentary about future sea level rise in Boston. Abel is a Boston Globe reporter, where he covers the environment. He was part of the Globe’s team that won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News. We end the show by talking with listeners about the catharsis of swearing.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by talking with listeners about the incoming results from California’s primary election. Shirley Leung talks about her recent piece featuring women whose decisions to have abortions changed their lives, and shares her thoughts on the potential for a 4-day work week. Leung is a business columnist for the Boston Globe. Juliette Kayyem shares what people can expect from the upcoming Jan. 6 committee hearings. She also talks about Uvalde native Matthew McConaughey calling for gun control in the wake of the Robb Elementary School shooting. 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. Amy O’Leary talks about the push for accessible childcare in Mass. amid rising costs. O’Leary is the Executive Director of Strategies for Children, an advocacy and policy group aimed at ensuring access to childcare and early education in Mass. We then open the phone lines to ask listeners for their experiences with trying to find affordable childcare in Mass. Matthew Gilbert weighs in on Apple TV’s “Severance,” HBO’s “Somebody Somewhere,” and ABC’s “Abbott Elementary.” Gilbert is the TV critic for The Boston Globe. Billy Collins shares some of his poetry ahead of his June 16 appearance at 2Life Communities’ annual gala. Collins was appointed U.S. Poet Laureate from 2001-2003, and New York State Poet Laureate from 2004-2006. His numerous collections include “Nine Horses: Poems, The Trouble with Poetry,” “Ballistics,” “Horoscopes for the Dead,” “Aimless Love,” and “The Rain in Portugal.” We end the show by talking with listeners about their indoor plant obsessions.