Boston Public Radio

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American troops could remain in Afghanistan well into 2016, according to U.S. officials—a reversal of strategy from the Obama Administration's original…

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened lines to talk with listeners about the president’s bout with COVID-19, and his abrupt departure from Walter Reed Medical Center on Monday evening. NBC Sports Boston anchor and reporter Trenni Kusnierek discussed abysmal voter registration statistics among players in the NBA, political advocacy in the WNBA, and the latest news around Patriots quarterback Cam Newton’s COVID-19 diagnosis. We aired audio from Monday night’s Senate debate between Sen. Ed Markey and GOP challenger Kevin O’Connor. Tina Chéry, civic leader and founder of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, discussed the wide-reaching issue of gun violence in Mass., and what her organization is doing to confront it during the coronavirus pandemic. CNN’s John King talked about the latest polling on voter attitudes ahead of the November election, and why the president appears to be falling out favor with the American electorate. He also caught us up on the Republican effort to appoint Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. We opened lines to talk with listeners about creative ways celebrate Halloween safely during the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett offered her medical perspective on the latest headlines around President Trump’s fight with COVID-19, helping parse together exactly how sick the president actually is. Gergen Barnett is the vice chair of Primary Care Innovation and Transformation and residency director in the Department of Family Medicine at Boston Medical Center and Boston University Medical School. Jennifer Braceras and Michael Curry weighed in on the wider political implications of President Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis. Braceras is a political columnist and director of the Center for Law & Liberty at the Independent Women’s Forum. Curry is Deputy CEO & General Counsel Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and member of the national NAACP Board of Directors, Chair of the Board’s Advocacy & Policy Committee. We opened lines to talk ask listeners: is the Trump administration blowing an opportunity to use his diagnosis as a teachable moment? CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem discussed the growing number of Trump Administration officials testing positive for COVID-19, and the national security implications of having a compromised president. Mike Astrue discussed the origins of the 25th amendment, his time drafting the first operational plan during the George H.W. Bush administration, and implications for President Trump, now that he’s at risk of COVID-related incapacitation. He also recited some of his poetry. Astrue is former Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, and a former Associate Counsel to the President of the United States. He also writes and translates poetry under the alias A.M. Juster, and his latest book of poetry is "Wonder and Wrath.” Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett G. Price III, hosts of “All Rev’d Up,” discussed the lighter tone of some COVID-era funerals taking place on Zoom, and some new local art by muralist Rob “ProBlak” Gibbs. They also reflected on the life of reverend and civil rights activist James P. Breeden, who died in September. GBH Executive Arts Editor Jared Bowen debated the merits of ephemeral art, in a conversation about conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan’s “Comedian.” He also reviewed two new documentaries, “The Sit-In” and “Aggie,” and discussed a new exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum about the Salem Witch Trials.

President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19 last Thursday, and was transported to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for monitoring on Friday. Homeland security expert Juliette Kayyem spoke with Boston Public Radio on Monday about how the rest of the world views the news of Trump contracting the coronavirus. “What our enemies are looking at are unbelievable unforced error at this stage, that basically here is a country already on its knees and now a White House that has failed to protect itself,” she said. “It goes against the narrative of the United States’ ability to beat the virus, since Trump could not keep it out of his own home.” 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.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett discussed Friday’s news that President Trump has been diagnosed with COVID-19, and a concerning rise in coronavirus infections throughout Mass. Gergen Barnett is the vice chair of Primary Care Innovation and Transformation and residency director in the Department of Family Medicine at Boston Medical Center and Boston University Medical School. We opened lines to talk with listeners about news that Donald Trump has contracted coronavirus. CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem weighed in on the president’s COVID diagnosis, and the national security risks it poses to the U.S. and elsewhere abroad. Natalie Jennings, editor of the Washington Posts’ “The Fix,” offered the updates around President Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis, and discussed what’s currently known about the health of those in the president's inner circle. Beat the Press host Emily Rooney discussed the media’s reaction to news of Donald Trump’s COVID diagnosis, and questions about White House transparency. She also previewed Friday’s episode of Beat the Press. Medical ethicist Art Caplan talked about President Trump’s poor track record of transparency on issues around his own health, and the public’s right to know about the wellbeing of politicians representing them. Under the Radar host Callie Crossley talked about her reaction to Friday’s news that the president and his wife have contracted COVID-19, what she thinks about speculation from callers that the president isn’t being truthful about his diagnosis, and news of rising rising coronavirus infections across the Commonwealth. Closing out the show, we returned to listeners to get your impressions of President Trump’s COVID diagnosis.

Medical ethicist Art Caplan, speaking on Friday's Boston Public Radio, said that while it isn’t uncommon for presidents to conceal critical information about their health and wellbeing, Donald Trump has an ethical responsibility to be fully transparent about his own physical standing, following Friday’s news of a COVID-19 diagnosis. “Look, it’s an election time. We wanna know who we’re voting for,” Caplan said. "Is he failing, is he doing okay?" "It’s also important to know who else they might’ve exposed, in terms of people like Joe Biden,” he added. “Are we gonna have another debate? And if so, how would that be arranged? A list of questions goes on and on and on.” Caplan said the president’s reputation for misrepresenting himself has meant some voters are hesitant to trust his word, leading to confusion and occasional conspiracy-theorizing. “We don’t have any independent mechanism to getting – if you will – trustworthy information, because it’s so politically filtered,” he explained. Caplan is the Drs. William F and Virginia Connolly Mitty Chair, and director of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU School of Medicine.