Boston Public Radio

The rise of the delta variant of COVID-19 is instilling fear and “stabilizing the need” of nutrition assistance programs.

"The administration needs to catch up" on vaccine mandates, Wu said today on BPR.

Downie said the move, while only helpful in the short term, was likely to buy time for families working to get their hands on federal aid money.

Boston mayoral candidate John Barros joined Boston Public Radio for a wide-ranging interview about his candidacy.

The Rhode Island senator said he doesn't expect his voice is enough to change Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer's mind on the issue of stepping down from the nation's highest court while Democrats maintain power.

Family medicine doctor Katherine Gergen Barnett joined Boston Public Radio to go over the latest COVID-19 developments and take listener calls.

Today on Boston Public Radio, live from the Boston Public Library: We opened the phone lines to hear from listeners about the future of automation and what it means for their careers and livelihoods. Nancy Gertner gave us the rundown on the latest legal headlines, including the Supreme Court’s opinion on student loans, and a case on whether the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is constitutional. Judge Gertner also reflected on a recent Texas judge’s ruling on abortion pills. Gov. Maura Healey joined live from the Boston Public Library for “Ask the Governor.” She answered questions on her new tax plan & budget, housing, Massachusetts State Police reform, transparency, the new Black Empowerment Council, plus climate & MBTA dysfunction. Alison King & Shira Stoll from NBC News talked about their series “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of New Hampshire.” President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden recently dined at The Red Hen in DC and ordered the same meal. Is this weird to order the exact same meal at a restaurant as your dining partner? We had listeners weigh in.

It’s official! Jim and Margery have been on the GBH airwaves for 10 years. To celebrate their tin anniversary, we’re publishing their first-ever show as hosts of Boston Public Radio. Take a listen to see how much has changed – and how much hasn’t – with guests Rep. Stephen Lynch, political analysts Peter Kadzis and Todd Domke, Harvard’s Daniel Shrag, GBH’s Jared Bowen and culture reporter Joyce Kulhawik. An enormous thank-you to all you listeners who’ve with us over the last decade! Looking at you, John in Gardner.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Reuters recently documented 220 instances of death threats and harassment against school board members. We opened the lines to hear thoughts from teachers, students, and everyone in between. Juliette Kayyem discuss her latest column on how Musk destroyed “disaster response Twitter” and clears up the facts surrounding the COVID lab leak theory. She also touched on Murdoch's acknowledgement on Fox News hosts endorsing election fraud lies. Kayyem was former assistant secretary for homeland security under President Barack Obama, and is faculty chair of the homeland-security program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. For the remainder of the show, we were on tape replaying some of our favorite recent conversations with Satirist Andy Borowitz; Drag queen Nina West – also known as Andrew Levitt; Elle Simone Scott from America’s Test Kitchen and Ray Angry, keyboardist for the legendary Roots.

Today on Boston Public Radio, live from the Boston Public Library: The Supreme Court heard arguments this week from a handful of Republican states wishing to invalidate President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. We opened the lines to get listeners’ thoughts on the plan. NBC Sports’ Trenni Casey discussed baseball’s new pitch clock rules, Tom Brady’s news gig at Fox Sports, an unbelievable ‘ice mile’ swim in Boston’s Pleasure Bay and the Fur Rendezvous winter festival in Alaska. Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers’ Michael Curry joined us — fresh off a red-eye flight — to discuss the 2023 NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles, Gov. Maura Healey’s new advisory council on Black empowerment and the nursing home crisis in Massachusetts. GBH News’ Worcester reporter Sam Turken and Worcester resident Dave Vespucci joined Jim and Margery at the Boston Public Library to discuss Sam’s latest piece for GBH News’ Priced Out series, a story that detailed Vespucci’s long search for a new home in Worcester. GBH News Executive Arts Editor Jared Bowen shared stories from his recent trip to the South, where he visited the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, sites associated with Emmett Till’s murder and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. CNN’s John King discussed the latest national political headlines, including actions by Fox News executives during the Jan. 6 insurrection, the state attorneys general leading the student loan forgiveness lawsuits and the future of the Republican Party. We opened the lines to hear from listeners about pickleball. Do they have a loved one with symptoms of the made-up “Pickleball Derangement Syndrome,” or are they the ones spending all their time playing the noisy sport?

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened the show talking with parents about navigating screen time for teenagers. Vsevolod Petriv and Tetiana Litus reflect on the one-year anniversary since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Petriv is president of the Boston Branch of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America. Angelo Carusone discussed Kevin McCarthy sharing security footage from the January 6th insurrection to Fox News' Tucker Carlson. He also touched on Fox News' attitude towards Marjorie Taylor Greene messaging on a "national divorce" and Fox's latest hire of Curt Schilling. Corby Kummer discussed a new restaurant gallery opening in Allston and weighs in on the gas vs. electric stove heated debate. He also discussed the union efforts at an upscale NY restaurant where servers push for higher pay and adequate equipment. He explains the latest marketing food stunt -- Peeps-flavored Pepsi. Richard Blanco read poetry to highlight Black History month. Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett Price discussed rural Idaho seeing more right leaning Christians settling and what it means for Seattle to become the first city in the U.S. to ban caste discrimination. They also discussed Kung Fu Nuns in Nepal and addressed the 'Dilbert' comic strip that was dropped from numerous newspapers after the creator's racist remarks. We opening phone and text lines to talk about the phone call, and phone call etiquette.