Boston Public Radio

Conductors from various military bands joined Boston Public Radio on Veteran's Day to discuss the role of music in the military.

On Veterans Day, the New York Times published an op-ed penned by five veterans of the armed forces in which they argue that the war in Afghanistan is unwinnable.

The Sunrise Movement and Mothers Out Front are working to change the dialogue about climate change and push for bold reforms.

Frank Phillips and Peter Gelzinis think that Bloomberg should strategically use his money to bring down President Trump.

Despite high viewership, the production was not received warmly by critics.

Two Boston artists Keith Maddy and Ed Stitt are quizzed on the week's news.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Shirley Leung talks about her recent experience biking 8.5 miles through Boston to work, and the sentencing of former eBay executive Jim Baugh to nearly five years in prison for running a scheme to harass a Natick couple. Leung is a business columnist for the Boston Globe. We then ask listeners about their experiences biking through the city. Lee Pelton explains the racial inequities are exacerbated by natural disasters like hurricanes. He also discusses President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. Pelton is the president and CEO of The Boston Foundation. Juliette Kayyem discusses the criticism over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and FEMA’s evacuation of Lee County just a day before Hurricane Ian hit. She also talks about a rise in threats against lawmakers. Kayyem is former assistant secretary for homeland security under President Barack Obama, and the faculty chair of the homeland-security program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Her new book is “The Devil Never Sleeps: Learning to Live in an Age of Disasters.” Jared Bowen dissects the cast drama behind “Don’t Worry Darling,” and shares whether the movie lives up to its tabloid frenzy. He also talks about artist Rose B. Simpson’s “Legacies” exhibit at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA). Bowen is GBH’s executive arts editor and the host of "Open Studio." John King updates us on the latest political headlines, focusing on pro-life Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker allegedly paying his girlfriend to get an abortion. King is CNN's Chief National Correspondent and anchor of "Inside Politics,” which airs weekdays and Sunday mornings at 8 a.m. We end the show by talking about moral hypocrisy among politicians.

Award-winning food writer Corby Kummer joined Boston Public Radio on Monday to share the story of food scientist Maria Orosa, the Filipino inventor of banana ketchup. Orosa was born in Taal, Philippines, in 1893, and became a U.S. government-sponsored scholar at 23, traveling to the U.S. to earn her bachelor’s and master’s in chemistry and pharmaceutical science at the University of Washington at Seattle. Though she was offered a job by the State of Washington, Orosa returned to her native Philippines to join the government’s Bureau of Science to create a variety of new local foods and tools: flour from bananas and cassava, earthenware palayok ovens, soybean drink Soyalac, and more. Perhaps Orosa’s most beloved creation was banana ketchup. After the U.S. colonized the Philippines in 1898, imports like ketchup became expensive — and tomatoes proved hard to grow in the tropical climate. Orosa developed banana ketchup using local saba bananas, sugar, vinegar, a variety of spices, and red food coloring. “She was like the Booker T. Washington of the Philippines, finding ways of using native-grown products in the Philippines to help feed people on a much broader scale,” Kummer said. In the wide-ranging discussion, Kummer also discussed the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, and McDonald’s new Happy Meal for adults. Corby 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.

Today on Boston Public Radio: The midterms are now 36 days away. We opened the lines and asked our listeners: What does an increase in political violence in America say about us? We opened our lines again for another installment of Ask the Doctor with Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett of Boston Medical Center. She joined us on the show to answer listeners' questions from COVID to the upcoming flu season. Charlie Sennott discussed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s staged annexation of Ukrainian territories. Far-right surges in recent elections in Italy and Sweden, as well as the upcoming runoff election in Brazil. Sennott is the founder and editor of The GroundTruth Project and award-winning correspondent. Co-founder and editor of The American Prospect, Robert Kuttner joined us and discussed his new book: ‘Going Big: FDR’s Legacy, Biden’s New Deal, and the Struggle to Save Democracy.’ Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett Price discussed nonreligious women of color gathering to talk about Christian nationalism, and Jewish tweens singing Orthodox pop songs on TikTok. Corby Kummer discussed the policy proposals coming out of the recent White House Conference on Hunger Nutrition and Health, the growth of the Boston Veg Food Fest and more. Kummer is the executive director of Food & Society at the Aspen Institute and a senior editor of The Atlantic. We closed the show with a call-in segment, and asked listeners: After knowing everything we know about McDonalds and other fast food restaurants, do you still enjoy going to these restaurants?

Today on Boston Public Radio: Hurricane Ian has left a trail of devastation. We opened the lines to listeners to ask: Has climate change won? Is it too late for some spots on the coast line, like Florida and Cape Cod? Lauren Friel and Andrew Brady from Cambridge restaurant Dear Annie discussed their recent success including reviews from the New York Times and Bon Appetit. Callie Crosley joined us through zoom and discussed the current Corey Lewandowski sexual assault case, an uptick of COVID levels in Massachusetts wastewater, and airlines that charge a premium to keep nearby seats empty. Crosley is the host of GBH’s Under the Radar. Sue O’Connell from NBC 10 Boston discussed Biden’s recent “Where’s Jackie?” moment, an HIV-positive man in Revere finally able to pursue his dream of joining the Army, and the Lizzo x James Madison collaboration. James Bennett II discussed Carly Rae Jepsen’s music with a message for the burdened adult, Japanese Breakfast, and Trevor Noah’s exit from the Daily Show after seven years. Bennett is an arts and culture reporter for GBH News. General Manager of Wally’s Cafe Jazz Club Frank Poindexter and Musicians Noah Preminger & Kevin Harris joined the show to celebrate the reopening of the jazz club. Noah and Kevin’s band Sphere 427 delighted us with some music as well. We closed the show with a call-in segment, and heard from listeners about their preferences between text messages or the ever more popular voice message.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Chuck Todd talked about the political impacts of climate change-induced severe weather, Ron DeSantis’ upcoming governor race, the latest in the Brett Favre welfare scandal. Todd is the moderator of “Meet The Press” on NBC, host of “Meet The Press Daily” on MSNBC and the political director for NBC News. Then, we asked listeners if they’ve become more judgmental post-COVID. Andrea Cabral discussed the latest in the Brett Favre welfare scandal, the potential of Ginny Thomas’s role in the Jan. 6th hearing, and new polls showing millions of Americans say they support violence to get Trump back in power. Cabral is the former Suffolk County sheriff and secretary of public safety, and former CEO of the cannabis company Ascend. J.B. Smoove talked about how he landed his Curb Your Enthusiasm role, and gave us a taste of his “Physical Therapy” tour. J.B. Smoove plays Leon Black on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. He has a show at the Wilbur Friday night. Kevin Green & Frank Lowenstein from the global climate nonprofit Rare, which recently set up their first state-wide initiative in Boston, told us about how tiny actions we take can make huge impacts on the environment. Green leads the Center for Behavior & the Environment at Rare, Lowenstein is the Senior Director of Rare. Jon Gruber gave us his insights on the “nondelegation doctrine,” a philosophy which SCOTUS justices used in last spring's case West Virginia vs. the EPA, and its wide reaching implications for things like healthcare. Gruber was instrumental in creating both the Massachusetts health-care reform and the Affordable Care Act. His latest book is “Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth and the American Dream.” We ended the show by asking listeners if they are taking small actions to help the environment.