Boston Public Radio

Like much of his presidency, President Donald Trump is offering to solve a problem his predecessors couldn’t in a manner that bucks the conventional wisdom.

Rep. Geoff Diehl, the endorsed Republican candidate hoping to unseat Sen. Warren, defended President Trump’s White House invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Social information mining has long been a way for advertisers to target consumers. Now this model is being employed by health insurance companies.

After returning from a trip with a Democratic delegation to visit detention centers in southern Texas, Rep. Katherine Clark says the trip “confirmed [her]…

Medical ethicist Art Caplan weighs in on Jeff Sessions' decision to not defend the Affordable Care Act's protection of people with pre-existing conditions.

The actor, singer and bestselling author discusses his latest novel, a re-imagining of an Irish myth set in modern-day New York City.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Rep. Ayanna Pressley discusses Gov. Charlie Baker’s decision to send the Mass. police reform bill back to legislators, racial disparities with facial recognition software, and what she’s doing to confront the country’s ongoing eviction crisis. We open our lines to talk with listeners about the recently-approved Pfizer vaccine and ask: are you eager to get one? Beat the Press host Emily Rooney celebrates the (temporary) death of the office party, and reads a monopoly-themed list of fixations and fulminations. CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem gives a reality-check on the rollout timeline for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, which was approved for distribution on Thursday by the FDA. Media maven Sue O’Connell talks about recent reporting on the cognitive decline of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and the ensuing questions about aging public officials. Former Suffolk County sheriff and secretary of public safety Andrea Cabral discusses the 106 Congressional Republicans backing a Texas lawsuit to overturn President-elect Biden’s win in the 2020 election, and Gov. Baker’s refusal to sign the Mass. police reform bill. Under the Radar host Callie Crossley weighs in on the police killing of 23 year-old Casey Goodson, a new Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor highlighting Colin Kaepernick’s activism, and hints at some of her secrets to making the perfect deviled egg.

Note: Much of Thursday’s show was devoted to GBH’s one-day pledge drive. If you’d like to make a contribution to support the local journalism produced by GBH, you can visit the link here. Today on Boston Public Radio: NBC “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd discusses President Trump’s refusal to concede his election loss to President-elect Joe Biden, stalled COVID stimulus talks out of Washington, and the standing of the four senate candidates ahead of the Georgia’s January runoff election. Next, we turn to listeners, talking about the anticipated FDA approval of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine, and hearing your takes on whether the government ought to create a vaccine mandate to pull the U.S. out of the pandemic. Then, we keep our lines open, talking with callers about all the things you’re looking forward to returning to in a post-pandemic world. Suffolk County D.A. Rachael Rollins talks about her recently published letter urging Gov. Baker to sign the Mass. police reform bill, and weighs in on a range of other criminal justice issues as part of our monthly series, “Ask the D.A.”

M.I.T. economist Jonathan Gruber discussed his forthcoming editorial on how the U.S. government might want to use a lottery system to incentivize tracking for Americans who get vaccinated from COVID-19, as a way to gain insight on vaccine effectiveness. We turned to listeners to talk about “pandemic stomach,” amid a spike in Americans buying antacids. Brenda Cassellius, Superintendent of Boston Public Schools, called in to talk about the decision making process behind the reopening of 28 public schools in Boston, and evolving attitudes around whether schooling ought to remain open during the pandemic. She also responded to a range of questions and comments from listeners who phoned in. Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed news on COVID-19 vaccines, from reports of allergic reactions to the Pfizer vaccine in the U.K., updates on a newly-announced treatment out of China, and the expected timeline for FDA approval of vaccines here in the U.S. Tech writer Andy Ihnatko discussed the latest headlines from the world of tech, including Washington Post reporting on a forthcoming antitrust lawsuit against Facebook, news that Samsung will no longer include chargers with their phones, and NordPass' list of the most-used passwords of 2020. We closed out Wednesday’s show by returning to listeners, to talk about finding ways to laugh through the coronavirus pandemic.

The United Kingdom delivered the first shot in its COVID-19 vaccination program on Tuesday, becoming the first Western country to deliver a broadly tested vaccine to the general public. Two people who received the Pfizer and BioNTech shot developed allergic reactions, but recovered. Medical ethicist Art Caplan spoke with Boston Public Radio on Wednesday about what this latest development means for the vaccine’s rollout. “You’re probably going to have to wait after you get the vaccine - like an hour in the place where you get it - to make sure you don’t have that kind of reaction,” he said. “So that makes it harder, logistically, because now you’ll have people lined up, trying to find a place to sit them, and once you unfreeze the Pfizer vaccine, you have to administer it all like 500 at a time.” Caplan also worries that anti-vaxxers will use this as fuel against the vaccine. “You’re probably going to see anti-vax people use that to scare people away from the vaccine,” he said. “That would be unfortunate.” Art 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.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We kicked things off by opening lines, to talk with listeners about the surging coronavirus cases in Mass., and whether the state ought to be imposing stricter lockdown measures to quell the spread of COVID-19. NBC Sports Boston reporter and anchor Trenni Kusnierek discussed new charges in the prostitution cases involving Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who himself will not face charges. She also weighed in on the $1 million PPP loan for former Patriot Tom Brady, and Sport Illustrated's list of five athlete activists it named “Sportspersons of the Year." Jamahrl Crawford talked about his impressions of the Mass. police reform bill, the political limits of the “defund the police” slogan, and the value in hiring police officers from within the communities they'd be serving. Crawford is a Boston based Boston community activist, and the publisher of the Blackstonian. He also served on the Boston Police Reform Task. Food writer Corby Kummer talked about Singapore becoming the first nation to approve lab grown meat for human consumption, and growing displeasure in the U.S. with foods that’re described as “moist." He also spoke about the pandemic’s impact on the already-miserable food served in prisons, and other food headlines. Next, we opened lines to talk with listeners about lab-grown meat, and whether you'd be open to making the switch from the real thing. CNN’s John King returned for his weekly breakdown of national political stories, including infighting in Washington over further pandemic relief, and conversation around whether or not to pursue potential legal charges against President Trump and his allies once President-elect Biden is in office.