Boston Public Radio

Governor Charlie Baker's administration is hoping to target the state's opioid crisis with a new bill unveiled Thursday. The bill would limit doctors to…

Senator Ed Markey believes that Congress is past due for a historic showdown on gun control."I think we're close to a tipping point," Markey said on…

Late last week, Congressman Kevin McCarthy abruptly withdrew his name from the running to be the next Speaker of the House. The California Republican was…

This weekend, an army of activist brass bands descends on Somerville to celebrate the tenth annual HONK! Fest. To celebrate, Jim Braude and Margery Eagan…

In the wake of the shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, Democrats in Congress have launched a renewed push for gun control legislation like…

Doctors Without Borders, the international organization in charge of a hospital in Afghanistan bombed by an American airstrike this weekend, has called…

Today on Boston Public Radio: Shannon O’Brien and Charlie Chieppo discussed the latest national and state political headlines, including news around the House impeachment inquiry and developments in the Grant Thornton R.M.V. controversy. Charlie Chieppo is principal of Chieppo Strategies, Senior Fellow at the Pioneer Institute and Adjunct Professor at Suffolk University. Shannon O'Brien is former State Treasurer and Democratic nominee for governor. TV writer Bob Thompson reviewed the PBS documentary “College Behind Bars” and Netflix’s “The Irishman.” Charlie Sennott discussed President Donald Trump's support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, and his claims of having re-opened talks with the Taliban. Sennott is a WGBH News Analyst and C.E.O. of the GroundTruth Project. MIT economist Jon Gruber discussed the feasibility and long-term impact of a wealth tax like the ones being proposed by Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. We opened lines to callers to ask: If you had to choose, would you rather watch movies at home or in a theater? Boston Pops Orchestra conductor Keith Lockhart previewed upcoming holiday programming from the Pops.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed the implications of a study from Virginia Commonwealth University, indicating that mortality rates are on the rise for people aged 25-64. We opened lines to callers to ask about your strategies difficult political conversations this Thanksgiving. CNN’s Juliette Kayyem discussed President Trump campaigning with absolved war criminals, and Jared Kushner’s latest assignment: building the wall. WGBH Arts Editor Jared Bowen reviewed “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” the new biopic on Fred Rogers. Media maven Sue O’Connell discussed a letter from LGBT Justice Department employees to A.G. William Barr, criticizing the Trump administration’s stance on Title IIV of the Civil Rights Act. Journalist and author Sy Montgomery discussed San Francisco International Airport’s new therapy pigs, and Quilty the Cat’s brigade to free her fellow sheltered felines. Boston Globe columnist Alex Beam discussed PETA’s campaign for Sesame Street to introduce a vegan puppet, and a definitive fix for jet lag.

Today on Boston Public Radio: In light of the inevitable traffic jams to come this Thanksgiving, we opened lines to ask callers about the drivers that drive you crazy. NBC Sports Boston Reporter Trenni Kusnierek discussed ongoing tumult between Colin Kaepernick and the NFL, and a sit-in protest staged by climate activists at a Harvard-Yale football game. Former Suffolk County Sheriff and Secretary of Public Safety Andrea Cabral discussed three Baltimore men who were released from prison after serving 36 years for wrongful murder convictions, as part of a broader conversation on failures of the U.S. justice system. Food writer Corby Kummer discussed a CDC report cautioning Turkey cooks not to wash their birds, and consumer blowback to Dunkin's choice to ditch styrofoam cups. Harvard Business School historian Nancy Koehn, alongside the Kennedy School’s David Gergen, discussed lessons that Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Thanksgiving proclamation can offer a divided nation today. CNN’s John King called in for his weekly political roundup, discussing impeachment and the 2020 presidential race. Playwright Ryan Landry discussed the late Mr. Rogers' views on consumer culture, Marie Kondo’s new product line, and the Gold Dust Orphan’s upcoming production of “Christmas on Uranus."

You might be searching the web and flipping through cookbooks on the quest of making the perfect Thanksgiving turkey, but food writer Corby Kummer has an unbreakable rule to follow regardless of which recipe you choose: Don't wash your turkey. Kummer joined Boston Public Radio on Tuesday to explain how washing a turkey can spread bacteria, including the kind that can cause salmonella. "Every Thanksgiving, if you have a frozen turkey, don't take it out the morning of and run it under hot water and put it on the counter," he said. "The very best way to defrost a turkey is starting days ahead in cool-ish water in the refrigerator for days - the slower it defrosts at a cool temperature, the better and safer." This isn't just a once-a-year-turkey warning, Kummer noted, but a rule that also applies to chicken preparation. "Don't wash chicken, don't wash your roast chicken or chicken pieces, clean them with a paper towel," he said. "Otherwise it spreads [bacteria] all over your sink and then on your hands." 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: Michael Curry and Lylah Alphonse discussed the potential impact of last week’s impeachment hearings, along with recent headlines around the 2020 presidential race. Curry is senior vice president and general counsel at Mass League of Community Health Centers, and a member of the National NAACP Board of Directors. Alphonse is the Managing News Editor at the U.S. News & World Report. TV writer Bob Thompson reviewed the reboot of “Mad About You,” Stephen Colbert’s trip to New Zealand with "The Late Show," and 20 years of the androgynous Pat character on "Saturday Night Live." We opened the lines to callers and asked: what are you hoping for from last week’s impeachment hearings? Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett Price, hosts of WGBH’s All Rev’d Up, discussed Deval Patrick’s 2020 presidential run, and a collation of rabbis calling for the firing of Stephen Miller, President Trump’s senior policy advisor. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey stopped by the Boston Public Radio studio for our monthly edition of “Ask the AG."