Boston Public Radio

The Flixbus is promising better bus service for an affordable price.

Should young football players be allowed to tackle, when research shows repeated hits cause long-term brain damage?

A new law in California guarantees free meals to public school students.

Inaugural poet Richard Blanco gave Jim and Margery a crash course in poetry.

TV guru Bob Thompson previewed the week in entertainment.

In his latest special report for The Boston Globe, Nestor Ramos looks into how the Cape is changing in the face of climate change.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Media maven Sue O’Connell discussed her expectations President-elect Biden’s handling of LGBT issues, and reflected on the widespread child sex abuse scandal hanging over the Boy Scouts of America. We opened lines to talk with listeners about your experiences with the Boy Scouts of America, and what you make of the organization’s uncertain future in light of widespread child abuse allegations. Beat the Press host Emily Rooney weighed in on former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s erratic press conferences, the approval of two prospective coronavirus vaccines, and read a Thanksgiving-themed list of fixations and fulminations. Under the Radar and Basic Black host Callie Crossley discussed a petition from Harvard University affiliates to prevent Trump administration officials from teaching or speaking on campus. She also touched on the ending of O Magazine, former President Obama’s new memoir, and ongoing efforts by President Trump to delay the certification of votes for Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Mass. A.G. Maura Healey called in for our monthly edition of “Ask the A.G.,” where she discussed whether she’d accept a position in a Joe Biden administration, offered her thoughts on President Trump’s attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss, and spoke on her office's newly-released report exploring racial inequities in health care. She also took time to respond to questions and comments from listeners.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Chuck Todd, moderator of “Meet the Press” on NBC, talked about the latest news regarding President Trump’s attempts to negate his election loss, and spoke on the thousands of frustrated Fox News viewers migrating to stations like OAN and Newsmax. Next, we opened lines to talk with listeners about your plans for this COVID-era Thanksgiving. Former Suffolk County sheriff and secretary of public safety Andrea Cabral gave a debrief on the various efforts by GOP leaders to overturn the results of the November election, from figures like President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and others. Artistic director Michael Bobbitt discussed the anti-racist efforts of his New Repertory Theater, and what he feels needs to happen in order to better diversify American theater spaces. He also talked about the latest project from New Rep: a virtual play series called “Showstopper." Food writer Corby Kummer talked about the CDC’s recent recommendation that Americans avoid traveling for the holidays, upsides to Thanksgiving takeout, and why he’s skeptical about the safety of outdoor igloos at restaurants. Tech writer Andy Ihnatko discussed the return of Charlie Brown holiday specials to cable, why Apple’s new CPU chip is such a big deal, and how smartphone tracking systems might curb future efforts at voter suppression. Ihnatko is a tech writer and blogger, posting at Ihnatko.com. Nia Grace returned to talk about how her restaurant, Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen, and others Mass. restaurants are faring as temperatures dip and COVID numbers rise. She also talked about the takeout options her restaurant is serving up this Thanksgiving. Grace is the Owner and Operator of Darryl’s Corner Bar and Kitchen in the South End, and one of the founders of the Boston Black Hospitality Coalition.

Food writer Corby Kummer spoke to Boston Public Radio on Thursday about how to celebrate Thanksgiving during the pandemic. Should typical Thanksgiving celebrations be ‘canceled’ this year? Kummer says yes. “It is my prescription, and it is the CDC’s prescription as of this morning,” he said. “The safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving, says the CDC, is to celebrate at home with the people you live with.” 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.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened the show by opening lines, to talk with listeners about the Baker administration’s efforts to keep schools opened in Mass., despite of surging coronavirus cases. Medical ethicist Art Caplan broke down the latest news around coronavirus vaccines, including the logistics and timeline of distributing them throughout the world, and the importance of staying cautious in the months leading up to their widespread national distribution. CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem talked about President Trump’s continued attempts to negate his election loss, with the recent firing of Christopher Krebs, who headed the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and who pushed back against the president's claims of widespread election hacking. Boston Globe culture columnist Jeneé Osterheldt discussed her new multimedia series for the Boston Globe called “A Beautiful Resistance,” about celebrating Blackness in America. She also weighed in on the historically tragedy-oriented coverage of Blackness that was a partial inspiration for creating the series, and Kamala Harris' soon-to-be role of first Black first lady of the United States. Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Barry Blitt talked about his decades-long career as a political cartoonist, and reflected on his experience lampooning President Trump throughout his campaign and presidency. Journalist Sy Montgomery talked about the return of pets to the White House in the form of Champ and Major, Joe Biden’s two German Shepards. She also touched on some notable pets of presidents past, and discussed the various ways turtles troubleshoot when they end up on their backs. We closed out Wednesday’s program by returning to listeners, to talk about your feelings on presidential pets.

Homeland security expert Juliette Kayyem spoke with Boston Public Radio on Wednesday about how foreign policy could change post-Trump. President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has stated his intent to rejoin the nuclear deal with Iran, Kayyem said. “Biden has said he wants to get back into the deal, and the Iranians are playing hardball now because they’re going to have their best leverage now,” she said. “But things will get back to normal, the good news is that everyone is positioning for Biden.” What concerns Kayyem is whether the United States’ allies will be ready to trust the country again, she noted. “To me the thing that rings most compelling for the challenge President-elect Biden is going to encounter is the worry amongst our allies that we were the country that did elect Donald Trump, and that almost reelected him,” she said. “That piece of it worries me, since there is something unreliable about us.” 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.