Boston Public Radio

The matter of Buttigieg's sexuality isn't the point of contention for black voters, rather, it is his lack of connection with marginalized communities, the reverends said.

What exactly does 'OK, Boomer" mean? BPR asks a boomer to find out.

The author discussed her new book, "The Witches Are Coming."

This major overstep of privacy should alarm people of all political backgrounds, says medical ethicist Art Caplan.

On Monday, the Trump administration formally informed the United Nations of their intention to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement.

Public hearings in the impeachment hearings into President Donald Trump will begin next week.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Chuck Todd updates us on the security threats facing the U.S. Capitol Building from conspiracy theorists and militias. He also weighs in on the misconduct scandals facing Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson. 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. Next, we open the phone lines to talk with listeners about their vaccine frustrations. Andrea Cabral discusses the Supreme Court case concerning Arizona’s voting laws, and how it could potentially weaken the Voting Rights Act. Cabral is the former Suffolk County sheriff and Massachusetts secretary of public safety. She’s currently the CEO of the cannabis company Ascend. Jonathan Huggins and Diana Rastegayeva explain how they formed their COVID-19 vaccine assistance site, www.MACovidVaxHelp.com. They also weigh in on Gov. Charlie Baker’s vaccine rollout. Huggins and Rastegayeva are the creators of www.MACovidVaxHelp.com. Andy Ihnatko speaks about Facebook’s decision to bring back political ads to the platform and Google’s elimination of third-party cookies on Chrome. Ihnatko is a tech writer and blogger, posting at Ihnatko.com. Michael Curry shares his thoughts on Massachusetts’ vaccine equity gap, and how the state could bolster vaccine equity. He also argues that medical institutions’ disparate treatment of people of color plays a role in vaccine hesitancy. Curry is the president and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and a member of Governor Charlie Baker’s COVID Vaccine Advisory Group. He’s also a Member of the National NAACP Board of Directors, and the Chair of the Board’s Advocacy & Policy Committee. We end the show by asking listeners if the pandemic has made them masters of doing nothing.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Jon Gruber argues that we should be grateful for COVID-19 vaccine innovation, as well as why we shouldn’t be hesitant to get vaccinated. He also shares his thoughts on whether employers should require their employees to get vaccinated before returning to work. Gruber is the Ford Professor of Economics at MIT. He was instrumental in creating both the Massachusetts health-care reform and the Affordable Care Act, and his latest book is "Jump-Starting America How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth and the American Dream." Next, we opene the phone lines, asking listeners if they could celebrate the scientific achievements of COVID-19 vaccines despite the bumpy vaccine rollout. Art Caplan talks about Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to end the state’s mask mandate, and the religious debate over vaccines. Caplan is the Drs. William F and Virginia Connolly Mitty Chair, and director of the Division of Medical Ethics at the NYU School of Medicine. We hear what listeners had to say about Gov. Baker’s announcement that K-12 teachers, school staff, and childcare workers are now eligible for vaccination. Derek DelGaudio discusses the roles identity and illusion play in his work, and his thought process behind his film, In & Of Itself. DelGaudio is a writer and artist. His latest book is “AMORALMAN: A True Story and Other Lies,” and his film, In & Of Itself, is on Hulu. Shirley Leung explains how the Mass. Department of Unemployment Assistance is struggling to deal with the needs brought on by the pandemic. She also speaks about the new capacity allowances for Mass. restaurants, and the Baker administration’s announcement to prioritize vaccinating K-12 teachers, school staff, and childcare workers. Leung is a business columnist for the Boston Globe.

Harvard professor and national security expert Juliette Kayyem returned to Boston Public Radio on Wednesday, offering her takeaways from Senate testimony given Tuesday by FBI Director Christopher Wray. Wray, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, spent hours responding to questions about the FBI’s investigations into the Jan. 6 insurrection, and warned that the threat of domestic terrorism has only increased in the weeks following the attack. “Wray was very, very clear that the violent element the FBI is investigating is fundamentally a white, racist, violent movement,” Kayyem noted, adding “that is actually really important to hear,” amid conspiracy theories about leftist involvement in the Jan. 6 riots, and overstated anxiety about the impact of the QAnon conspiracy on U.S. security. The CNN analyst went on to draw connections between the white supremacists storming the Capitol, and the racist foundation of Trump’s lies about tampered election results in states like Arizona and Georgia. “The reality is that the GOP isn’t questioning the vote, it’s just questioning African American and Hispanic votes,” she said. “It’s Arizona and Georgia, that’s what’s happening here.” “Without saying it directly, that is exactly what Wray was focusing the FBI efforts on,” she added, describing those efforts as stopping the “violent white supremacy that is being nurtured by the GOP ‘Stop the Steal’ efforts, as well as so much leadership unwilling to accept that Biden’s president.” Juliette 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.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by asking listeners how they felt about the lack of government assistance in vaccine registration. Trenni Kusnierek discusses the pressure sports fans put on aging athletes, and Tiger Woods’ recent car accident. She also speaks about the MLB’s spring training “mercy rule.” Kusnierek is a reporter and anchor for NBC Sports Boston, and a weekly Boston Public Radio contributor. Councilor Annissa Essaibi-George shares her thoughts on school reopenings, and the learning gaps facing students of color. She also discusses vaccine inequity in Boston. Essaibi George is a Boston city councilor-at-large and candidate for mayor of Boston. Carol Rose talks about Tuesday’s Supreme Court hearings Brnovich v. DNC and Arizona Republican Party v. DNC, explaining how they could impact the strength of the Voting Rights Act. She also speaks about Mass. laws regarding facial recognition software. Rose is the Executive Director of the Mass. ACLU. Next, we open the phone lines to talk with listeners about the home improvement projects they’ve tackled during quarantine. John King updates us on President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, and the debate within the Democratic party on raising the federal minimum wage to $15. He also weighs in on the sexual harassment allegations against Gov. Cuomo. King is CNN’s Chief National Politics Correspondent and anchor of “Inside Politics,” which airs weekdays and Sunday mornings at 8 a.m. Sailaja Joshi marks Read Across America Day by discussing the formation of her publishing company, Mango and Marigold Press, as well as the importance of diversity and representation in media. Joshi is the founder and CEO of Mango and Marigold Press.

Today on Boston Public Radio: E.J. Dionne weighs in on what the events of last weekend’s CPAC can tell us about the future of Trumpism and the GOP. He also speaks about the nursing home scandal and sexual harassment allegations against Gov. Cuomo. 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.” Next, we open the phone lines to speak with listeners about the Baker administration’s plan to reopen schools by April. Charlie Sennott discusses President Biden’s decision to not penalize Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. He also talks about the firing of Myanmar’s U.N. ambassador Kyaw Moe Tu after he spoke out against the country’s military coup. Sennott is a GBH News analyst and the founder and CEO of The GroundTruth Project. Bob Thompson recaps the Golden Globes, highlighting Andra Day’s historic win for her performance in The United States vs. Billie Holiday. He also discusses criticism over the lack of diversity in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Thompson is the founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture and a professor of television and popular culture at the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett Price talk about vaccine inequity in Cambridge, and the Black exodus from the Catholic church. Monroe is a syndicated religion columnist, the Boston voice for Detour’s African American Heritage Trail, and a visiting researcher in the Religion and Conflict Transformation Program at the Boston University School of Theology. Price is an executive director of the Institute for the Study of the Black Christian Experience at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Together, they host GBH’s All Rev’d Up podcast. Richard Blanco highlights the work of poet Denise Duhamel, and previews her upcoming book, Second Story: Poems. 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 meteorological spring.