Boston Public Radio

Nothing says "happy holidays" like a Friday News Quiz. To prove it, we brought two bona fide Santa Clauses—that's right, two!—to face off on this week's…

Last Friday, France held a memorial for the 130 citizens killed during the terrorist attacks of November 13th. This week, the city hosts 50,000 visitors…

This afternoon, President Barack Obama announced there was no "specific, credible threat" on the homeland ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. He…

It has been ten days since Paris was wracked by a terrorist attack that killed 130 and injured hundreds others. But in that time, the City of Light has…

Attorney General Maura Healey says the public records reform bill approved by the House earlier this week, while a step in the right direction, does not…

If you've ever shared food with someone you work with, or passed notes about that one guy in your office who always chews with his mouth open and sneezes…

Today on Boston Public Radio: Suffolk County DA Rachel Rollins weighed in on Wednesday's ruling on the Louisville, Ky. Police officers involved in the killing Breonna Taylor, and responded to a range of listener calls as part of our monthly “Ask the DA” series. NBC “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd recapped the latest political headlines around the 2020 presidential race. Former Suffolk County Sheriff and Secretary of Public Safety Andrea Cabral discussed Wednesday’s ruling by a Louisville grand jury on the officers involved in Breonna Taylor’s death, and her frustrations with the U.S. justice system for failing to implement systems for police accountability. Former Mass. Education Secretary Paul Reville talked about the latest headlines around how Mass. schools and universities are navigating the pandemic school year, and weighed in on the education leadership of Gov. Charlie Baker. We opened lines to talk with listeners about President Trump’s recent statements, pushing back on the notion of a peaceful transition of power if he loses in November. Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church, preached the power of love during a discussion about his latest book, "Love is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times.”

Paul Reville, former Massachusetts education secretary, spoke with Boston Public Radio on Thursday about how Massachusetts schools, both K-12 and higher ed, are handling reopening during the pandemic. “Many people are predicting we’re going to have a resurgence of this virus, and it’s going to push everybody back to being exclusively online, in due course,” he said. “We’ll see, I hope not, but we’re dealing with moving conditions here.” The Baker administration has been focusing on how to serve students who are disadvantaged with online learning, Reville noted. “They’re looking at remedying the real equity issue of certain categories of students who are not being well served online, because they don’t have the devices or support at home,” he said. “I think it’s quite possible for districts to begin moving in the direction of providing some services to some children - particularly those most at risk of greater gaps developing in this crisis - and then move over time and see how the numbers go.” Reville is a professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, where he also runs the Education Redesign Lab. His latest book, co-authored with Elaine Weiss, is "Broader, Bolder, Better: How Schools and Communities Help Students Overcome the Disadvantages of Poverty."

Today on Boston Public Radio: MIT economist and Affordable Care Act architect Jon Gruber weighed the possibility that a Supreme Court without Ruth Bader Ginsburg might overturn the ACA, and the widespread ramifications that would play out if that were to happen. We opened lines to hear your thoughts and concerns about the future of the Affordable Care Act. CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem discussed the U.S. passing 200,000 COVID-19 deaths, and the media’s shortcomings in covering the tragedy of the ongoing pandemic. EJ Dionne, Washington Post columnist and senior fellow at The Brookings Institution, talked about his new book, “Code Red: How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite to Save Our Country.” Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett Price, hosts of WGBH’s All Rev’d Up, discussed the legacy of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and controversy within the Catholic community over an award presented to AG Bill Barr. We opened lines to talk with listeners about how the coronavirus pandemic has changed your day-to-day life, six months in. Medical ethicist Art Caplan reflected on the U.S. passing 200,000 COVID-19 deaths, President Trump raising doubts about the final wish of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the latest headlines around the U.S.’ development of a coronavirus vaccine.

Medical ethicist Art Caplan joined Boston Public Radio on Thursday, where he lambasted the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which he called “the single most important issue of his presidency." Caplan noted that while the U.S. makes up only four percent of the world’s population, it accounts for a fifth of all global COVID-19 deaths. “That’s inexcusable,” he said, placing responsibility on the president and his administration for "not managing to keep our death rate down.” "We have no federal policy – he left it up to the states, which allowed the virus to find a home in certain parts of the country, and kick back. So it really has been abysmal leadership.” 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.

Over 200,000 Americans have now died from COVID-19, homeland security expert Juliette Kayyem told Boston Public Radio on Wednesday. “And we suspect that this is an undercount, because maybe some people are not being counted for dying of COVID, or they had an underlying condition which catches them first,” she said. “There’s excess deaths everywhere we look, so the 200,000 number, I think, at the minimum is shocking, outrageous, inexcusable enough, but it’s probably not the right number.” 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.