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…

Note: We’re on tape today, replaying some of our favorite conversations. On today’s episode of Boston Public Radio: ESPN’s Howard Bryant discussed his book "The Heritage: Black Athletes, a Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism.” Writer Michael Eric Dyson discussed his book “What Truth Sounds Like: RFK, James Baldwin, and Our Unfinished Conversation About Race in America.” Harvard historian Stephen Greenblatt talked about his book "Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics.” Journalist and naturalist Sy Montgomery discussed her book "The Hyena Scientist.” Writer and humorist John Hodgman discussed his book, titled "Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches.” Actor and activist George Takei discussed the musical “Allegiance," which is based on his real life experience of living in a Japanese-American internment camp.

Note: We’re on tape today, replaying some of our favorite conversations. On Today’s episode of Boston Public Radio: Writer Ron Chernow talked about “Grant,” his biography of president Ulysses S. Grant. Harvard Business School's Michael Norton talked about his research on whether consumers prefer saving money or saving time. Author Karl Ove Knausgaard discussed his book, “Autumn.” Artist Patti Smith talked about why she considers herself a writer above her other crafts, in a conversation about her memoir "Devotion (Why I Write)." Novelist Salman Rushdie discussed his novel "The Golden House.” Naturalist Sy Montgomery and fellow animal writer Elizabeth Marshall Thomas discussed their book, "Tamed and Untamed: Close Encounters of the Animal Kind."

Note: We’re on tape today, replaying some of our favorite conversations. On Today’s Boston Public Radio Actor Ed Asner discussed his new play, called "God Help Us!” Restauranteurs Andrew Li and Irene Li talked about their new cookbook, which they wrote with their sister Margaret Li, called "Double Awesome Chinese Food: Irresistible and Totally Achievable Recipes from our Chinese-American Kitchen." Bren Smith, a former commercial fisherman, discussed his new memoir, “Eat Like a Fish: My Adventures as a Fisherman Turned Restorative Ocean Farmer." Writer Christopher Castellani discussed his latest novel, "Leading Men." US Women’s National Team Soccer player Sam Mewis stopped by the GBH studio days after winning the Women’s World Cup Championship.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Jennifer Nassour and Steve Kerrigan recapped down Tuesday’s primaries, and debated President Trump's odds of winning reelection in November. Nassour is a former Chairwoman of the Mass GOP, founder of Conservative Women For A Better Future, and President of the Pocketbook Project. Kerrigan is the CEO of the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center and former CEO of the DNC. We opened lines to hear your takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries. CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem discussed ongoing Russian interference ahead of the November election, and a new campaign ad from Joe Biden that counters the president’s claim of being the “law and order” candidate. Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed President Trump’s unprompted denial that he had a series of mini-strokes, and weighed in on the ethical problems with the Trump Administration’s efforts to fast-track a coronavirus vaccine. Food writer Corby Kummer talked about claims from some conservatives that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris would like ban hamburgers, and discussed ongoing turmoil for restaurants struggling to stay afloat through the coronavirus pandemic. Writer David Gessner discussed his latest book, “Leave It As It Is: A Journey Through Theodore Roosevelt's American Wilderness,” which dives into the former president's complicated legacy as a conservationist. GBH President and CEO Jon Abbott called in to talk about the station’s rebrand, and explain why you might want to hold on to all your old WGBH merch.

Medical ethicist Art Caplan spoke with Boston Public Radio on Wednesday about herd immunity, regarding COVID-19. “Herd immunity, bad idea - Sweden tried it - didn’t work,” he said. “Sweden basically said, let’s let [COVID-19] run its course, we’re not going to isolate, we’re going to let everybody get infected, and then once that’s done we won’t be able to infect each other, we’ll all have antibodies.” But Sweden had terrible death rates, Caplan noted. “Too many old people died, too many vulnerable people died, so they admitted it was a mistake.” President Donald Trump’s new virus advisor, Dr. Scott Atlas, is pushing for a herd immunity response, Caplan added. “This idea is now circulating back in the White House with this new advisor Dr. Scott Atlas,” he said. “I don’t know why we’re listening to this again, because we have this giant example of a country failing.” 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.