Boston Public Radio

Lawrence Lessig wants to be president. But when he gets there, he only wants to do one thing: enact a law called the Citizen Equality Act. Then he'll…

"For scientific discovery give me Scott; for speed and efficiency of travel give me Amundsen; but when disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on…

This weekend, Hungarian police made a fifth arrest connected to the death of the 71 migrant workers whose corpses were found in a truck abandoned in…

This week, Boston Public Radio is revisiting some of our favorite conversations from the past few months. Here's what's on the docket for Friday, August…

This week, Boston Public Radio is looking back on some of our favorite conversations from the past few months. Here's what's on the docket for Thursday,…

This week, Boston Public Radio is looking back on some of our favorite conversations from the past year. Here's what's on the docket for Wednesday, August…

Today on Boston Public Radio: NBC “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd talked about President Trump’s scheduled rally in Tulsa, Okla. on Juneteenth, and whether Democrats will be able to win back the Senate in the November election. Former Suffolk County Sheriff and Secretary of Public Safety Andrea Cabral discussed concerns around U.S. voting protections, and what Black Lives Matter protesters mean when they call to defund the police. We aired live audio from Gov. Baker’s Thursday press conference. Former Mass. Education Secretary Paul Reville discussed challenges for teachers and school administrators in adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ways that students of color stand to be disproportionally impacted by those challenges. Quentin Palfrey, chair of the Voter Protection Corps, discussed Tuesday's voting debacle in Georgia, and the myriad of issues around voter protections ahead of the November election. WGBH Arts Editor Jared Bowen discussed an open letter from 300 prominent actors condemning racism within the theater industry, and talked about the decision by HBO Max to remove “Gone With the Wind” from their catalogue.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened lines to talk with listeners about your thoughts on defunding the police. Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed whether left-leaning media was hypocritical in criticizing anti-lockdown protests, and talked about pro-life opposition to a COVID-19 vaccine made using stem cells. CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem discussed the bullish legacy of AG Bill Barr, and Sen. Mitt Romney’s decision to join Black Lives Matter protests. Inaugural Poet Richard Blanco called in for another edition “Village Voice,” where he read a selection of poems about the act of protest. Drake University professor and author Jennifer Harvey discussed her writing on white privilege, and what she describes as “white silence” amid racism and police brutality in the U.S. Food writer Corby Kummer talked about the importance of supporting Black-owned restaurants, and why he’s no longer using food delivery services like Grubhub. We reopened our lines to talk with listeners about our interview with Jennifer Harvey, and the concept of white silence.

Food writer Corby Kummer spoke with Boston Public Radio *on Wednesday about food magazine Bon Appetit's recently exposed structural racism. "The Me Too movement came for sexism, and now the moment is coming for racism," he said. "The editor of Bon Appetit, Adam Rapoport, was discovered in an old photo dressed up in Puerto Rican bling, and his assistant said [Rapoport] liked the picture so much that he had it framed on his desk." The photo itself was appalling, but even more appalling was the culture of racism that has now been described at Bon Appetit, Kummer noted. "The terribly white culture of the Test Kitchen at Bon Appetit has made millions...and that's why I think this culture went unchallenged," he said. "So the editor resigned and the Bon Appetit staff posted something today saying the culture is going to change and that they're going to right the pay inequity." *Kummer is a *senior editor at The Atlantic*, an award-winning food writer, and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition and Policy.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We aired live audio from Gov. Charlie Baker’s Tuesday press conference. Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell called in to talk about the reforms she’d like to see Boston make to its policing system. We opened lines to ask: what changes would you like to see when it comes to police reform? Former Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick discussed his experience dealing with racism in Massachusetts as a Black teenager, and talked about his impressions of the recent Black Lives Matter protests. Journalist and author Devin Leonard discussed his book “Neither Snow Nor Rain: A History of the United States Postal Service,” and why he believes government leaders won't let the USPS go under. Playwright and painter Ryan Landry talked about the response of art institutions to the Black Lives Matter movement, and how he think communities should deal with statues of racist historical figures.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened our lines to ask: do you have reservations about returning to normal, now that Gov. Baker has moved Mass. into phase two of reopening? MIT economist Jon Gruber discussed the state of the U.S. economy, why the rising stock market isn’t indicative of overall economic growth, and responded to questions from listeners. WGBH News analyst and GroundTruth Project CEO Charlie Sennott talked about global protests over American police brutality, and why he thinks this moment could prove to be a global tipping point. TV expert Bob Thompson discussed the response to Black Lives Matter protests from late-night TV hosts, and the recent CNN racism town hall featuring characters from Sesame Street. Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett Price, hosts of WGBH’s All Rev’d Up, discussed President Trump’s photo-op with a bible in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church, and the hypocrisy of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s statement in support of Black Lives Matter. Catherine D’Amato from the Greater Boston Food Bank discussed the spike of food insecurity in Mass. amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and how here organization is responding to it. We reopened our lines to continue to the conversation with listeners about the phased-in reopening of Massachusetts.