Boston Public Radio

Poet Richard Blanco highlighted his favorite works by poet Ada Limón, which are united by a common theme of searching for meaning in "seeming oblivion."

Healey said she is “actively reviewing” the existing policies and procedures that surround the reporting of cases of sexual misconduct.

After Barack Obama left Office, Pete Souza made sure he still remained a part of the national dialogue.

Richard Blanco, the nation's fifth inaugural poet, shared poems that seize on the changing of the seasons as an opportunity to reflect on death, rebirth, and the passage of time.

As the world watched Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford testify, another major Me Too moment was happening: Bill Cosby was sentenced Tuesday to three to 10 years in prison.

A restaurant in Maine gives new meaning to 'blunt instrument' by getting the lobsters high so that their death is more humane

Today on Boston Public Radio: We began the show by asking listeners about the normalization of political violence in our culture. Shirley Leung discusses her reporting on the humanitarian crisis stemming from a lack of affordable housing in Massachusetts, and shared her thoughts on Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s relationship with real estate developers. Leung is a business columnist for the Boston Globe. Arthur C. Brooks breaks down his latest columns about happiness, including how to embrace doing nothing, how to be happy in a recession and how to get out of your head by getting outside. Brooks is the William Henry Bloomberg professor of the practice of public leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School, a professor of management practice at the Harvard Business School, the happiness correspondent at The Atlantic and host of the podcast series “How to Build a Happy Life.” Corby Kummer talks about the recent interest in Italian beef thanks to “The Bear,” calls for Congress to address meat’s large carbon footprint and unionization efforts at Trader Joe’s and Starbucks. 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. Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett Price III share their thoughts on Pope Francis meeting with transgender guests of a Roman church, the Department of Justice investigating sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Church and prosecuting local white supremacist groups. 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 GBH’s All Rev’d Up podcast. Lewis Black talks about the ethos of his rant-comedy style, how the state of America has inspired his tour and what people are ranting about today. Black is a comedian who will perform at the Lowell Auditorium Sept. 16 as part of his “Off The Rails” tour. We end the show by asking listeners what they think about the five-second rule.

In July, workers at a Trader Joe’s in Hadley, Mass. successfully voted to unionize, making their location the first unionized Trader Joe’s in the country. Last week, a second Trader Joe’s in Minneapolis followed suit. The union successes come in a wave of union victories across the country, including at Starbucks and Amazon—currently, employees at a unionized Starbucks near Boston University have been on strike for nearly 30 days. “I think that it's no accident that places and businesses that made part of their brand identity treating their workers well and enjoying their workers are the ones who were being targeted because these workers got used to being treated much better than others,” food writer Corby Kummer said on Boston Public Radio Monday. Kummer added that COVID-19 and the political climate are factors in recent unionization efforts. Some companies cut benefits at the start of the pandemic, and now workers have to fight to bring them back. “So many places—meaning employers—have been much more lax and financially strapped because of the pandemic and treating their employees worse,” he said. “And also, unions are more fashionable, they've come back into popularity and worker's consciousness in a way they haven't in decades.” Kummer said that unionization efforts at stores like Trader Joe’s are more challenging than at Starbucks, because grocery stores have more employees. Still, he believes the future of Trader Joe’s unions could signal the future of grocery store unions more broadly. “I think that Trader Joe's is an important bellwether for the future, and I'm proud of Massachusetts for being the first one,” he said. 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: Senator Elizabeth Warren talks about the MBTA, and the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago, and took listener calls and questions on an installment of “Ask the Senator.” Retired Judge Nancy Gertner shares her thoughts on Attorney General Merrick Garland’s address on the FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago, unpacking some of the legal statutes involved in the situation. She also discussed why it’s important to our democracy to be able to trust judges, and more. Gertner is a retired federal judge and a senior lecturer at Harvard Law School. Jared Bowen talks about the latest in arts: the Met’s new exhibit “Chroma: Ancient Sculpture in Color;” Now and There’s new exhibit in front of Faneuil Hall, called “Summer Sets,” Patrick Kelly’s “Runway of Love” at the PEM, and BJ Novak’s “Vengeance;” and Leslie Dill’s new exhibition “Wilderness” at the MFA. Bowen is GBH’s executive arts editor and the host of Open Studio. Patty Bourrée explains the impact of Boston’s Drag Queen Story Hour, and how recent white supremacist protests at the events have affected him. Patty Bourrée heads Boston’s Branch of Drag Queen Story Hour. Brian O’Donovan and the Neave Trio join us ahead of their performance at the Rockport Celtic Festival to share a bit about their group and play a few songs. O’Donovan hosts GBH’s A Celtic Sojourn. The Neave trio members are violinist Anna Williams, pianist Eri Nakamura, and cellist Mikhail Veselov. We end the show by asking listeners what they think about sales tax weekend.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Andrea Mitchell updates us on the latest national political headlines. Mitchell is the NBC News Chief Washington Correspondent. She is also Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, and anchor of “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” which airs weekdays at noon on MSNBC. Then, we open the phone lines to listeners, asking if they would consider getting rid of their manicured lawns in favor of something more natural. Andrea Cabral discusses the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago for classified documents. Cabral is the former Suffolk County sheriff and secretary of public safety, and former CEO of the cannabis company Ascend. Tess Gerritsen and Josh Gerritsen shares the history of humans’ complicated relationship with pigs, as told through their documentary, “Magnificent Beasts.” Gerritsen is a Maine-based author. Her and her son Josh are the filmmakers behind the new documentary, “Magnificent Beasts.” Paul Reville talks about declining school enrollment at both the high school and college levels. 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.” Jon Gruber explains the economics behind the CHIPS and Science Act. 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 now can add the CHIPS Act to his resume. His latest book is “Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth and the American Dream.” We end the show by talking with listeners about harnessing feelings of envy for motivation.

Award-winning food writer Corby Kummer joined Boston Public Radio to share his thoughts on Hulu’s “The Bear,” Cracker Barrel adding vegan sausages to their menu, and more.