Boston Public Radio

TV guru Bob Thompson breaks down the latest popular culture headlines.

WGBH's science correspondent gave live updates from Climate Week New York City.

Inaugural poet Richard Blanco highlights an anthology of poems that embody or express empathy or outrage in the age of President Donald Trump.

Two local chefs joined us for our news quiz.

A new report connects increased access to contraception with decreased abortion rates.

The Democratic party might not be thrilled about Kennedy's challenge to Markey, but Rooney thinks it's good for democracy.

We ask listeners: do you have hope that the U.S. will have honest leaders again? The Boston Celtic Music Festival runs next Thursday through Sunday, at venues throughout Cambridge and Somerville. We’ll talk with Lindsay O’Donovan and Matt Smith (from Club Passim) with live performances from the band Fox River and duo Hanneke Cassel & Adam Hendey.GBH's Callie Crossley discusses the Democrats skipping Trump’s inauguration & the incoming administration’s comments about making Canada the 51st state.NBC10 Boston's Sue O’Connell on LA fires & Trump hush money sentencing. Plus Kelly’s Roast Beef changing ownership for the first time in 70 years.Embrace Boston's Imari Paris Jeffries & former Gov. Deval Patrick join ahead of the Embrace Honors MLK Gala. Then we discuss when and how to flake from plans.

Today: Former public safety secretary Andrea Cabral discusses Carter’s legacy of truth, and Merrick Garland’s plans to release the special counsel report on Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.And, Boston Globe business columnist Shirley Leung discusses the future of DEI in higher education, and the latest development in the state's MBTA communities housing law.

Today's podcast starts with hour two of BPR. The first part of the show was dedicated to live broadcast of former President Jimmy Carter's memorial service.Former secretary of public safety Andrea Cabral on Attorney General Merrick Garland’s plans to release the final Jack Smith report about Trump’s 2020 election subversion. She’ll also talk about Trump asking for a delay in his hush-money sentencing, violent crime at Mass. shelters, and a state program that recruits and trains formerly incarcerated people to drive trucks.Former secretary of education Paul Reville reflects on Elon Musk’s threats to cut the Department of Education through his DOGE program. He’ll also talk about BPS recommending several school closures, state community colleges struggling with an influx of students and other education headlinesFor our text segment: People in positions of power who choose to close ranks when faced with public scrutiny. How much are we owed as members of the public? Do you assume, if they don’t offer an explanation, they’re guilty as charged? Boston Globe business columnist Shirley Leung talks about former Harvard president Claudine Gay and the future of DEI in higher ed. Plus, the latest on White Stadium and the SJC ruling against Milton.For Am I the A-hole day: what's the appropriate amount of time before someone can eat leftovers in the fridge?

Today: We continue the conversation started yesterday with Gov. Healey about eliminating broker fees, with listeners.And, we discuss all things MBTA and transit with former transportation secretary Jim Aloisi & Reggie Ramos from Transportation for Mass.

We open the show by getting listener thoughts on broker's fee. Should Mass. take the burden off of renters? GBH executive arts editor Jared Bowen joins to discuss Charles Atlas at the ICA, and the Melania Trump documentary on Amazon.National security analyst Juliette Kayyem discusses the brainwashing effect of the internet and its ability to rewrite history, and Meta removing factchecking.Reggie Ramos, executive director of T4MA, joins former transportation secretary Jim Aloisi to discuss the latest transportation news for the state.Meta is saying “no more” to professional fact-checking on Facebook and Instagram, bowing to the new Trump admin. We ask: are you considering saying “no more” to Facebook and Instagram? Tim Shriver of UNITE joins to discuss the "Dignity Index" and how it can be used to remove contempt in political conversations. Then we talk about fridgescaping -- the act of making the inside of your fridge visually appealing.