Boston Public Radio

After ISIS released video of the brutal murder of Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kaseasbeh, the reaction of the pilot's home country was swift. By dawn, two…

It doesn't take a close reading of Emily Post's Etiquette handbook to know that there are three topics that should never be discussed in polite company:…

If there's one thing that can bring together Americans of all ages and stripes, it's the promise of consuming obscene amounts of cheese and hot sauce…

While Twitter feeds around the Northeast this week were clogged with photos of snowdrifts and intrepid New Englanders skiing cavalierly down major…

Greece's new prime minister, 40-year-old Alexis Tsipras, is the youngest leader that country has seen in over a century.But Tsipras brings with him a…

If one of your New Year's resolutions this year was to get in shape, we've got just the right News Quiz to kick you into high gear. Husband-and-wife team…

Today on Boston Public Radio: Rep. Stephen Lynch called in to make his final pitch to primary voters, where he spoke on his views about Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, and his regret for voting in favor of the Iraq War. Dr. Robbie Goldstein, an MGH physician and candidate for Massachusetts' 8th Congressional District, responded to criticisms from his opponent Rep. Stephen Lynch, discussed his opposition to the Hyde Amendment, and spoke on the importance of having members of Congress who trust science and hard data. We opened lines to hear your thoughts on Mass. primary pay, and recent statements from President Trump about police brutality and golf. Carol Rose, executive director of the Mass. ACLU, talked about the threat that a stripped-down USPS poses to voter rights, and explained why she believes voter intimidation is a more pressing threat to U.S democracy than voter fraud. Rep. Joe Kennedy III called in to make his final campaign pitch to Mass. primary voters, and discussed why he envisions himself to be a more effective senator than Sen. Ed Markey. We opened lines to continue the conversation about primary day voting and mail-in ballots with listeners. Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett Price, hosts of WGBH’s All Rev’d Up, reflected on the passing of actor Chadwick Boseman, and weighed in on last Friday’s Commitment March in Washington, D.C. CNN’s John King discussed President Trump’s scheduled visit to Kenosha, Wis., and explained why Americans should expect delayed results in the general election. Alex Morse, Holyoke Mayor and candidate for Massachusetts’ 1st Congressional District, offered his final pitch to voters, spoke on what he’s done with police reform in Holyoke, and reflected on the state's handling of a COVID-19 outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home. We returned to listeners for a third and final time, to get your thoughts on mail-in voting and the primary elections.

Note: We’re on tape today, replaying some of our favorite conversations. On today's episode of Boston Public Radio: Former U.S. Senate investigator Daniel J. Jones and director Scott Z. Burns discussed their collaboration on the new movie "Report,” about Jones’ investigation into the CIA’s use of torture. Daniel Leader, a pioneer in the American baking world, discussed his latest book, "Living Bread." Author and activist Naomi Klein talked about her new book, "On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal." New Yorker staff writer and host of the “Revisionist History” podcast Malcolm Gladwell discussed his new book, "Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know." Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Ronan Farrow discussed his new book, "Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators." Harvard Business School’s Michael Norton discussed his latest research on why minimalism is the new status symbol. Writer Joshua Foer talked about the latest edition of "Atlas Obscura: An Explorers Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders."

Note: We’re on tape today, replaying some of our favorite conversations. On today's episode of Boston Public Radio: New Yorker staff writer Adam Gopnik discussed his latest book, "A Thousand Small Sanities: The Moral Adventure of Liberalism.” Harvard Business School behavioral economist Michael Norton explained the pathology of the “ask braggart,” a person whose sole motivation behind asking you a question is to tell you about themselves. Norman Mineta, the former statesman who served as cabinet secretary for Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, talked about about a new PBS documentary, "Norman Mineta and His Legacy: An American Story." New Yorker staff writer George Packer discussed his latest book, "Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century." John Waters, filmmaker, writer, artist, and one of our greatest cultural commentators, discussed his latest book, "Mr. Know-It-All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder." Raphael Bob-Waksberg, creator of BoJack Horseman, discussed his collection of short stories, "Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory." Author Ben Mezrich discussed his latest book, "Bitcoin Billionaires: A True Story of Genius, Redemption and Betrayal."

Today on Boston Public Radio: NBC “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd recapped this week’s Republican National Convention, and discussed whether the week’s speeches will have an impact on swing voters. We opened lines to hear your impressions from night three of the RNC. Media maven Sue O'Connell talked about the absence of LGBTQ issues at the year's RNC, and the impact a second Trump term might have on LGBTQ rights. Former Suffolk County Sheriff and Secretary of Public Safety Andrea Cabral discussed peaceful protests in various sports leagues over police brutality, and debate around the ethics of cash bail systems and the Massachusetts Bail Fund. Former Mass. Education Secretary Paul Reville talked about the challenges of keeping college students socially distanced during the fall semester, and news about how charter schools are navigating their own return to classes. We opened lines to talk with listeners about the return of students to college campuses, and whether you think they’ll be willing to follow social distancing guidelines. Boston Globe business columnist Shirley Leung talked about the extra work that remote learning brings for parents, and discussed how local businesses are navigating workplace safety during the coronavirus pandemic. Tech writer Andy Ihnatko discussed a group that used Facebook to advocate for violent counterprotests in Kenosha, Wis., and debate around whether Elon Musk should be allowed to launch tens of thousands of satellites into the Earth’s orbit for his Starlink project.

As some schools and colleges opt for in-person learning this fall, Paul Reville told Boston Public Radio on Thursday that even with concerns about COVID-19 spread in classrooms and dorms, society has to accept some level of risk in order to deliver its mandate to provide an education to people. “We’re not sure what’s going to happen, but we’ve got to be vigilant and we’ve got to be able to react quickly if things start to get out of hand,” he said. “It’s all a matter of risk tolerance. The notion that we’re going to get to zero risk is just totally unrealistic, none of us have zero risk in our day to day lives.” Reville is former Secretary of Education and 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.”