Boston Public Radio

In the wake of two corruption scandals in Boston’s City Hall, City Council President Andrea Campbell wants the city to create an office for an independent inspector general.

When mass shooters fit the definition of terrorism, why aren't they charged with it?

Richard Blanco walks Jim and Margery through the writing tool of showing, not telling.

Though the debate over the question is not over, the Supreme Court delivered a strong blow to the Trump administration.

In 2019, several states have passed laws restricting access to abortions, leaving some wondering if it means the end of Roe v. Wade.

Emily Bazelon is the author of "Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration," a new book that examines prosecutorial power, and how that has affected the justice system for decades.

Homeland security expert Juliette Kayyem spoke with Boston Public Radio on Wednesday about Hurricane Laura, a Category 4 storm headed toward the Texas and Louisiana coasts. “You have to shelter differently because of COVID, so there’s a mandatory masking policy by all organizations who are running shelters,” she said. “It does not matter what a governor or local official says - no mask, no shelter, and I think that’s exactly right.” 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 opened lines to hear your impressions from night two of the Republican National Convention. Former Trump Campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski gave his take on nights one and two of the RNC, and defended his stance that President Trump deserves four more years in office. CNN analyst and national security expert Juliette Kayyem discussed the heightened challenges of navigating Hurricane Laura and other storms during the coronavirus pandemic, and the worrying rise in political influence from proponents of the QAnon conspiracy theory. MIT economist and Affordable Care Act architect Jonathan Gruber discussed why public services function better outside of the private sector, and weighed in on the economic and political factors that are creating issues at the U.S.P.S Nancy Koehn talked about the key components of crisis leadership, and reflected on how national and global leaders have handled the COVID-19 crisis. Koehn is a Harvard Business School historian and author of “Forged in Crisis: The Power of Courageous Leadership in Turbulent Times.” Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed problems with President Trump's Right to Try Act, which was touted at Tuesday night’s RNC, and talked about new research indicating around half of K-12 teachers in the US have definite or possible risk factors for contracting serious cases of COVID-19.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened our lines to hear your take on night one of the Republican National Convention. NBC Sports Boston reporter and anchor Trenni Kusnierek discussed institutional racism in New England's collegiate sports, 77 false positive COVID-19 tests in the NFL, and a recent statement from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who said he should have “listened earlier” to Colin Kaepernick. Mass. State Senator Becca Rausch talked about the successes and setbacks of mail-in voting in Mass., and responded to questions and comments from listeners. Ali Noorani, Executive Director for the National Immigration Forum, discussed unfair assumptions about foreign-born voters in the U.S., and concerns about the looming furlough of 70% of employees at the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services. Former New Hampshire GOP chair and Lincoln Party co-founder Jennifer Horn talked about her impressions from night one of the RNC, and her PAC’s latest anti-Trump ad, titled “Evil.” CNN Chief National Correspondent John King reflected on night one of the RNC, and news of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway’s exit from the Trump administration at the end of August. We opened our lines to talk with listeners about your experiences dealing with Monday's widespread Zoom outages.

Ali Noorani spoke with Boston Public Radio on Tuesday about the impact of naturalized immigrants on voting in 2020. “It’s in really important parts of the country where you see the share of eligible voters who are foreign-born really skyrocket,” he said. “48 percent of eligible voters in Miami-Dade, Florida are foreign-born, and 22 percent of eligible voters in Fort Bend, Texas are foreign-born; So Georgia, Texas, and South Florida are communities that are going to see a disproportionate impact of foreign-born voters this November.” Ali Noorani is Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, his latest book is There Goes the Neighborhood: How Communities Overcome Prejudice and Meet the Challenge of American Immigration.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened our lines to talk with listeners about recent protests and accusations of environmental racism over the proposed removal of 124 trees along Roxbury's Melnea Cass Boulevard. Robbie Goldstein, an MGH physician and candidate for Mass. 8th congressional district, talked about his views on expanding health care coverage in the state, abortion rights, and why he’s running for the seat of current Rep. Stephen Lynch. Politico's Stephanie Murray broke down the latest headlines around several Mass. congressional races, as well as the ongoing Senate primary race between Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Joe Kennedy III. DNC Chair Tom Perez talked about last week’s Democratic National Convention. Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett Price, hosts of WGBH’s All Rev’d Up, discussed the history of racist housing practices in liberal neighborhoods in and around Boston, and previewed season two of their podcast All Rev’d Up, which premiers this Wednesday. TV expert Bob Thompson lent his thoughts on the balance of politics and entertainment at last week’s Democratic National Convention, and reviewed both “Ted Lasso” on Apple TV Plus, and Netflix’s “Hoops.” Inaugural poet Richard Blanco talked about the joys and challenges of translating poems into different languages.