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Today on Boston Public Radio: We started off by talking with listeners about your impressions from Tuesday night’s presidential debate. Rep. Seth Moulton offered his impressions of Tuesday night’s debate, discussed the newly-published report from Congress' Future of Defense Task Force on shortcomings with U.S. national defense, and reflected on his initiative to establish a national three-digit suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline. CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem weighed in on Tuesday’s debate, looming challenges in distributing an eventual COVID-19 vaccine, and deeper national security risks revealed in the New York Times report on President Trump's tax returns. Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed whether doctors should have political conversations with their patients, as well as what he described as “reckless” development of coronavirus vaccines in China, and a rise in U.S. parents who say they won't have their kids get a flu shot this fall. Chasten Buttigieg, husband of former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, gave his take on Tuesday’s chaotic presidential debate, and spoke in depth about his newly published memoir, “I Have Something to Tell You." Boston Globe travel writer Christopher Muther discussed Maine’s lift on restrictions for travelers coming from Mass., interstate traveler animosity, and his experience sharing a hotel with quarantined college students. Closing out the show, we returned to listeners to talk about Tuesday's presidential debate.

The Trump administration waged a pressure campaign against the C.D.C. to push messaging in line with President Trump’s agenda to reopen schools and downplay the risk of COVID-19 spread among younger populations, according to a report in the New York Times. Dr. Deborah L. Birx, the coronavirus response coordinator for the White House, was involved in the effort, a move medical ethicist Arthur Caplan told Boston Public Radio on Wednesday is inappropriate. “Birx should be advising if you’re going to reopen you’ve got to test, if you’re going to reopen here’s the cut off point where you’ve got to close,” he said, “and what we’re getting is more of the political message that we’ve got to reopen, and that’s politics not science.” Caplan is the Drs. William F and Virginia Connolly Mitty Chair, and director of the Division of Medical Ethics at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

Tuesday night’s presidential debate contained a lot of crosstalk — overwhelmingly initiated by President Donald Trump interrupting Joe Biden — and not a lot of substance. CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem told Boston Public Radio on Wednesday that despite the lack of policy discussion, the choice presented to voters is very clear. “I don’t know what you were expecting, but we have two choices, there’s not a third choice like ‘I wish this would all go away’ on the ballot,” she said. “And on both substance and temperament, I think Biden did great actually and Trump did horribly.” During the debate, when asked to condemn white supremacy, Trump refused, instead telling the far-right militia group known as the Proud Boys to “stand back and standby.” “Everything from the overt racism, which I find liberating, rather than wondering what does he actually mean, to his inability to talk about any of his policy proposals beyond conservative judges and I have a healthcare plan read my twitter account.” 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 started off by opening our lines to talk with listeners about your thoughts ahead of Tuesday’s debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. NBC Sports Boston reporter and anchor Trenni Kusnierek weighed in on the Patriots' Sunday win against the Oakland Raiders, dropped prostitution charges against Patriots owner Robert Kraft, the lousy 2020 season for the Red Sox. Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo discussed how she’s handling the COVID-19 pandemic in her state, from high capacity testing in schools to a robust state-funded jobs program. She also touched on President Trump’s efforts to dismantle the U.S.P.S, and why she’s anxious about Tuesday's night presidential debate. TV guru Bob Thompson talked about his excitement around season four of FX’s “Fargo," and reviewed “Ratched” on Netflix and “The Comey Rule” on Showtime. Immigration authority Ali Noorani discussed how a Supreme Court with Judge Amy Coney Barrett might fall on future immigration issues, differences in political ideologies within the Latinx community, and allegations of cruel and unethical medical procedures taking place at an ICE detention facility CNN’s John King weighed in on Sunday night’s New York Times report detailing President Trump’s tax returns. He also discussed what people should expect from Tuesday night's president debate, and other major political headlines. We reopened lines to continue the conversation with listeners about Tuesday’s presidential debate.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened lines to talk with listeners about Monday’s New York Times report revealing information about President Trump’s long-withheld tax returns. Suffolk University law expert Renee Landers discussed what could happen to the Affordable Care Act if Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed to the Supreme Court, and other questions circling the Supreme Court nominee. Landers is a Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Health and Biomedical Law Concentration at Suffolk University School of Law. Charlie Sennott broke down the latest international headlines around coronavirus, a recent report from the CIA on continuing Russian interference in the 2020 election, and ongoing pro-democracy protests in Belarus. Sennott is a GBH News analyst and CEO of the GroundTruth Project. Republican Julie Hall, who’s currently running to represent Mass.' 4th Congressional District, called in to discuss her campaign and why she believes voters should pick her over Democratic candidate Jake Auchincloss. Hall is a retired Air Force Colonel and former Attleboro City Councilor. Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett G. Price III, hosts of the podcast “All Rev’d Up,” weighed in on the religious influence of Supreme Court judicial nominee Amy Coney Barrett, and new polling finding that support for racial injustice protests is declining. We opened lines to talk with listeners about your shopping habits, and whether you’re finding yourself on Amazon more during the pandemic. Inaugural Richard Blanco shared some poems by Naomi Shihab Nye, to help keep us grounded during this time of unrest.