Boston Public Radio

Steve Hoffman said that while he's not critical of a four-month ban on vaping products, he is concerned it will have negative consequences.

Santiago is an emergency room physician, South End resident, and state representative.

A new investigation by The Boston Globe shows that Rev. Barry Gamache knew about the history of abuse allegations against an employee of his church in Rhodes Island.

WGBH Executive Arts Editor Jared Bowen said fans of The Talking Heads will love David Byrne's new play.

An impeachment inquiry has begun since President Donald Trump admitted he spoke to Ukraine about former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.

The medical ethicist says vape products are deeply flawed and dangerous.

Today on* Boston Public Radio:* Chuck Todd discussed Joe Biden's revisionist history on his support for the invasion of Iraq, a House panel's decision to subpoena documents linked to President Donald Trump's alleged pardons, and other politics headlines. Todd is moderator of Meet the Press, and the political director for NBC News. We opened the lines to hear from listeners about Walmart's decision to end ammunition sales. John Halpern, MD, discussed his new book on the history of opium, "Opium: How An Ancient Flower Shaped and Poisoned Our World." Halpern is a psychiatrist in private practice who formerly served as medical director of the Boston Center for Addiction Treatment, and former faculty member at Harvard Medical School, where he directed a research lab at McLean Hospital. Andrea Cabral caught us up to speed on the latest local controversy surrounding the so-called "Straight Pride Parade:" an attorney representing a protester who was arrested during Saturday's events was held in contempt of court after a judge refused to accept a prosecutor's decision not to prosecute the arrest. Cabral is former Suffolk County Sheriff, former secretary of Public Safety, and CEO of Ascend. Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed a new study that debunks the myth that a "gay gene" exists. Paul Reville, former Secretary of Education, previewed the start of the school year at Boston Public Schools under its new superintendent, Brenda Casselius. Boston Globe columnist Alex Beam joined us for his famous explainer, this week about the sleep gene. We opened the lines to hear from listeners about their sleep habits.

We're back from a week-long hiatus, and started the show by opening the lines to catch up with our listeners on a political potpourri. NBC Sports reporter Trenni Kusnierek gave an overview of NFL injuries, and focused on two recent retirees: Andrew Luck and Rob Gronkowski. ACLU Massachusetts Executive Director Carol Rose discussed allegations of police misconduct against counter-protesters during the so-called "straight pride" parade Saturday in Boston. Corby Kummer discussed the rise of virtual restaurants. Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, discussed the impact the public charge rule is having on immigrants trying to get state benefits. CNN's John King discussed Joe Biden's strength as a candidate, and Elizabeth Warren's steady rise in the polls. We closed the show by continuing the conversation around football injuries, and opened the lines to hear listeners thoughts on whether we should stop kids from playing tackle football.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Will Hurricane Dorian bring the issue of climate change to the forefront of people's minds? We opened the lines to ask our listeners. Christopher Arena, founder and CEO of GFTB Digital, and Jonathan Cohn, chair of the Issues Committee of Progressive Massachusetts, talked to us about the Boston City Council races. CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem spoke about the damage and future threats caused by Hurricane Dorian. Jared Bowen, WGBH's executive arts editor, gave his recent reviews on everything from IT Chapter Two to a slave memorial at Faneuil Hall. Media maven Sue O'Connell spoke about Log Cabin Republicans endorsing President Donald Trump. TV expert Bob Thompson talked about why Leslie Jones won't be returning as a cast member on *Saturday Night Live, *as well as why actor Matthew McConaughey will be teaching at the University of Texas at Austin. We opened the lines again, this time to ask our listeners about their movie and television habits.

Last month Popeyes launched their new chicken sandwich at its franchises across the country. Food writer Corby Kummer joined Boston Public Radio *on Tuesday to explain how the sandwich rapidly rose in popularity, unable to keep up with demand. "This is entirely a social media story," he said. "It's a very cleverly designed launch of a new product saying, 'We have this great sandwich, but you can't get it even though it's the best thing in America we're only having it in a couple of restaurants.'" Helen Rosner's piece in The New Yorker describes why many people will cheer on a Chik-fil-A chicken sandwich challenger, Kummer said. "It's a way of putting your thumb in the eye of Chik-fil-A which is homophobic, bad, big and specializes in fried chicken. It's fried chicken without the homophobia." *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: Actor Ed Asner joined Jim and Margery to talk about his new play God Help Us! Andrew Li and Irene Li joined Jim and Margery to talk about their new cookbook, which they wrote with their sister Margaret Li called** "**Double Awesome Chinese Food: Irresistible and Totally Achievable Recipes from our Chinese-American Kitchen." Bren Smith, a former commercial fisherman discussed his new memoir "Eat Like A Fish: My Adventures as a Fisherman Turned Restorative Ocean Farmer." Writer Christopher Castellani discussed his latest novel, "Leading Men." US Women’s National Team Soccer player Sam Mewis joined BPR days after winning the women’s World Cup Championship.