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.

Today on Boston Public Radio: MIT's Justin Steil and City Live/ Vida Urbana's Lisa Owens discussed their new report on how Boston’s evictions hit Black communities particularly hard, and what the disparity means ahead of the statewide eviction moratorium lift on August 18. Comic and writer Maeve Higgins discussed her recent New York Times piece, "To the White People Who Want to Be One of the "Good Ones.” Carol Rose from the Mass. ACLU talked about the Supreme Court’s recent decisions on abortion rights, and attempts by President Donald Trump to end the federal DACA policy. Food writer Corby Kummer talked about issues stemming from restaurant patrons refusing to wear facemasks, and worker abuses by meat-processing giant Tyson Foods. Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett Price, hosts of WGBH’s All Rev’d Up, talked about recent reporting on the attitudes of white evangelicals around President Trump, and recent statements from the great-grandson of the woman who portrayed Aunt Jemima, who’s upset about the company’s decision to rebrand. We opened our lines to ask: Now that museums, movie theaters, and outdoor performance venues are opening back up, what have you missed the most and what are you looking forward to picking up again?

On today's pre-taped episode of Boston Public Radio: Jim and Margery talked to New Yorker staff writer Adam Gopnik about his latest book, "A Thousand Small Sanities: The Moral Adventure of Liberalism." Harvard Business School behavioral economist Michael Norton looked at the pathology of the “ask braggart,” the person whose sole motivation behind asking you a question is to tell you about themselves. Jim and Margery talked to Norman Mineta, the former statesman who served as cabinet secretary for Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, about a new PBS documentary, "Norman Mineta and His Legacy: An American Story." New Yorker Staff writer George Packer discussed his latest book, "Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century." Filmmaker, writer, artist John Waters talked to Jim and Margery about his latest book, "Mr. Know-It-All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder." Raphael Bob-Waksberg, creator of “Bojack Horseman” discussed his collection of short stories, "Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory." Ben Mezrich discussed his latest book, "Bitcoin Billionaires: A True Story of Genius, Redemption and Betrayal."

On today's pre-taped episode of Boston Public Radio: New Yorker staff writer Patrick Radden Keefe discussed his latest book, "Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland." Cartoonist Roz Chast and humorist Patricia Marx discussed their latest collaboration, "Why Don't You Write My Eulogy Now So I Can Correct It? A Mother's Suggestions." Comedian Jay Pharaoh joined us to talk about his latest projects, which includes a new standup tour, web series, and the movie "Unsane," directed by Stephen Soderberg. Judge Richard Gergel discussed his latest book, "Unexampled Courage," which recounts a racist attack on a South Carolina native after World War II and how that episode sparked the civil rights movement. Harvard Businesses School’s Michael Norton joined us to explain his latest research, which looks at identity branding. Michael Norton is the Harold M. Brierley Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. His latest book is "Happy Money, the Science of Happier Spending." Alt-rock band Guster joined us for an in-studio performance of their album, "Look Alive."

On today's pre-taped episode of Boston Public Radio: Jim And Margery talked to New York Times Magazine staff writer and lecturer at Yale Law School, Emily Bazelon whose latest book, "Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration," looks at the causes of Mass Incarceration Environmentalist and journalist Bill McKibben, the founder of 350.org, discussed his latest book, "Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?" MIT economists Jonathon Gruber and Simon Johnson discussed their latest book: "Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth and the American Dream." Author TC Boyle joined Jim and Margery to talk about his latest novel, "Outside Looking In." Poet Richard Blanco gave a crash course on the literary tools that can make your poetry more poetic.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Medical ethicist Art Caplan talked about the problem with relying on a quick COVID-19 vaccine, and his worries about this year’s flu season. MIT economist Jon Gruber discussed healthcare options for people who’ve lost coverage after losing their jobs, and responded to caller questions. Ahead of Gov. Baker’s press conference, we opened lines to talk with listeners about Tuesday's decision by the Boston Art Commission to remove a Park Square statue depicting Abraham Lincoln and a former enslaved person. We aired live audio from Gov. Charlie Baker’s Wednesday press conference. CNN analyst and national security expert Juliette Kayyem discussed ramifications of rising COVID-19 rates across the U.S., and news about the Trump Administration’s handling of intel that Russia offered bounties on the lives of U.S. troops. Pulitzer-prize winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen discussed his latest writing in the New York Times, about what director Spike Lee got wrong in his new Vietnam War film “Da 5 Bloods.” Tech writer Andy Ihnatko talked about companies banding together to boycott Facebook, and a marketing firm compiling information on Black Lives Matter protesters from phone data.