Boston Public Radio

MIT economist Jonathan Gruber explains the difference between debt and deficit, and how political instability could jeopardize the system.

Dr. Megan Ranney of the Yale School of Public Health said framing gun violence as a public health issue opens up new solutions.

Roger Brown, former president of Berklee College of Music, founded the national nonprofit in 2022.

The UN climate talks wrapped up with a pledge to transition the world economy away from fossil fuels.

The newspaper is pivoting its website to become an "interactive community resource."

The Boston mayor is a Harvard alum twice over.

Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz and former Gov. Jane Swift joined for a politics panel. Then, we opened the phone lines to ask listeners whether they think companies are losing productivity by letting employees work remotely on Mondays. Steven Pifer, former ambassador to Ukraine & senior fellow at Brookings, explained the Wagner Group rebellion in Russia and Ukraine’s counteroffensive. Jared Bowen joined for an arts segment: Guadalupe Maravilla at the ICA, Evita at the A.R.T. and free admissions at the Harvard Art Museums. Michael Curry discussed the closure of a maternity ward in Leominster and a new report that ranks Massachusetts as best in the nation for its overall healthcare system. Corby Kummer discussed cell-cultivated chicken being approved for sale in the U.S. and the restaurants trying to use other people’s food waste in their own menus. We continued the lab meat discussion and asked listeners to call in: would they eat “cell-cultured” meat for environmental or ethical reasons?

Best Of BPR: Enterprising Teens Call Out Stop & Shop; Sue O'Connell Becomes A Pigeon Wrangler 6/23/23

Days after the Titanic submersible, the Coast Guard announced yesterday that the passengers suffered a “catastrophic implosion”. We opened the lines to see how listeners are reacting. Eliot Fisk and Zaira Meneses performed for live music Friday ahead of their Boston Guitar Fest. Sue O’Connell offered her thoughts on the Titan implosion, the Musk/Zuckerberg cage match and more. Lisa Simmons, Hank Shocklee and John Oluwole ADEkoje discussed the Roxbury International Film Festival. Lisa is the festival director, and John and Hank’s latest film YE! is playing at the festival. Andy Ihnatko talked about the new Apple VR goggles, plus drama unfolding on the social media platform Reddit. Euniss Yoyo and Dereck Medina are members of the Hyde Square Task Force, the group of teenagers who found that Stop and Shop charges 18% more for groceries in a predominantly BIPOC part of Boston compared with a branch in Dedham. They joined alongside Ken Tangvik, senior manager of organizing and engagement for HSTF. It’s Summer… or is it? We asked listeners about their beach rituals with a focus on whether music should be played out loud.

Best of BPR 6/22: Addiction Recovery's 13th Step & Thousands In Mass. Prisons Waiting For Vital Education

It’ been one year since Roe v. Wade was overturned. We asked listeners how they felt the impacts over the past year. Chris Burrell and Kenneth Gumes join to discuss the current state of education in Massachusetts prisons, based on Chris' latest reporting. Andrea Cabral delves into various topics, including Hunter Biden, the Federal Trade Commission's investigation into Amazon, and more. Lauren Chooljian, a reporter for NHPR, has faced significant harassment due to her coverage of sexual abuse perpetrated by Eric Spofford. She'll share insights from her reporting. Shirley Leung takes a moment to reflect on the Dobbs ruling's impact over the past year and explores the concept of the "urban doom loop." Additionally, she highlights a new lawsuit against restaurateur Tiffani Faison and presents a proposal for supportive housing. In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of JFK's "Ich Bin Ein Berliner" speech, Shepard Fairey has been commissioned to create a portrait of JFK for the JFK Library. Shepard will join the conversation via Zoom from Lisbon. Our show closed by talking about the new phone-free Finnish Island. Do you shut off your phone on vacation? Or are you doomed to take selfies?