Boston Public Radio Podcast

Today on Boston Public Radio: We began the show by asking listeners about the President’s recent claim that the pandemic is “over.” Trenni Casey talked the latest from the WNBA, Robert Sarver’s suspension from the NBA, the niche community of ultramarathoning and the latest Tom Brady happenings. Casey is a reporter and anchor for NBC Sports Boston, and a weekly Boston Public Radio contributor. Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden talked his primary win and the controversial election that led to it, and discussed the future of his office, including the way they will deal with a slew of hate demonstrations in the city, his firing the head of his Juvenile Detention unit, and the MBTA transit police cover up. Corby Kummer talked about the legacy of “Two Buck Chuck” following the death of its creator Fred Franzia, a new energy efficient way to cook pasta, and told us about some notable restaurants in the Boston area. Kummer is executive director of the food and society policy program at the Aspen Institute, a senior editor at The Atlantic and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Jared Bowen talked about the Phantom of the Opera closing on Broadway, and the greater challenges in the theater community after years of COVID-19, and shared his thoughts on “Heroes of the Fourth Turning” at the Speakeasy Stage and “Fabulation,” playing at the Lyric Stage. Bowen is GBH’s executive arts editor and the host of Open Studio. John King talked the latest political headlines, including the reluctance of Republican candidates to accept the results of their respective elections, Former President Donald Trump's recent embrace of QAnon, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ political motives behind his Venezuelan migrant relocation stunt. King is CNN’s chief national correspondent and anchor of “Inside Politics,” which airs weekdays and Sundays at 8am. We ended the show by asking listeners to talk about their memories of “Two Buck Chuck.”

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened the show with a call-in segment and heard from listeners about the migrants on Martha’s Vineyard moving to temporary housing on Cape Cod. Iván Espinoza-Madrigal discussed the relief efforts for the 50 migrants that landed in Martha’s Vineyard and calls for an investigation into the involvement of Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis. Iván Espinoza-Madrigal is the Executive Director of Lawyers for Civil Rights in Boston. Andy Borowitz detail the political players and events that inspired his new book, "Profiles in Ignorance: How America's Politicians Got Dumb and Dumber." Andy Borowitz is a New York Times best-selling author, comedian, and news satirist of The Borowitz Report for The New Yorker. Charlie Sennott discussed the international implications of the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the future of nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine. Charlie Sennott is an analyst for GBH News and the editor, founder, and CEO of The GroundTruth Project. Brian McGrory talked about his new role as chair for the College of Communication journalism program at Boston University and stepping down from his tenure at The Boston Globe. For many years, Brian McGrory worked as a reporter to columnist to Metro editor since 2012 for The Boston Globe. Rev. Irene Monroe and Rev. Emmett G. Price III discussed the passing of Eric Jackson and his legacy as jazz host for GBH, along with the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, and the migrants of Martha's Vineyard seeking asylum. Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett G. Price III are co-hosts of the All Rev'd Up podcast on GBH. Henry Swenson shared his planting strategy to compete for the biggest pumpkin at the Topsfield Fair. Henry Swenson is a Guinness World Record holder for his 65-pound butternut squash. We closed the show with a call-in segment and heard from listeners about the conservative dating app ‘The Right Stuff’ and whether listeners would date outside their own political affiliations.

This episode of Boston Public Radio is from Friday September 16, 2022. Elle Simone Scott of America’s Test Kitchen shared tips on how to make the perfect food board for hosting. Joanne Chang talks about her latest book inspired by her baking journals, “Pastry Love: A Baker’s Journal of Favorite Recipes.” Billy Collins shares some of his poetry ahead of his June 16 appearance at 2Life Communities’ annual gala. Boston Globe sports reporter Dan Shaughnessy discussed his latest book on the Boston Celtics, “Wish It Lasted Forever: Life with the Larry Bird Celtics.” Chef Christopher Kimball previewed his latest cookbook “Vegetables,” sharing his favorite ways to bring vegetables to the center of the plate. Law professor Rosa Brooks discussed her new book, “Tangled Up In Blue: Policing The American City,” and described her experiences as a reserve police officer in Washington, D.C. Atlas Obscura co-founder Dylan Thuras told stories of strange food from around the world, including psychedelic honey, the anti-masturbatory origins of graham crackers and the great molasses flood in Boston in 1919. Author Susan Orlean previewed her latest book “On Animals.”

This is the podcast for BPR’s show on Thursday, September 15, 2022. We started the show with NBC Political Director and moderator of Meet The Press, Chuck Todd. We then turned to Eve Zuckoff, reporter for WCAI, who was on the ground in Martha’s Vineyard, reporting on the dozens of migrants sent to the island by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Andrea Cabral, former Massachusetts Secretary of Public Safety and Sheriff of Suffolk County. We wrapped the live portion of our show with incoming Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper. The remainder of the show was on tape, featuring Boston Globe reporter Billy Baker on his book “We Need to Hang Out: A Memoir of Making Friends” and Harvard Business School’s Michael Norton on the importance of widening your circle of friends.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened the show with a conversation with NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg on her new book "Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships." Then, we opened the lines to hear from listeners about making friends: at the office, in person and online. For the remainder of the show, we re-aired some of our favorite conversations, including: Charlie Warzel on his book “Out of Office,” coauthored with Anne Helen Peterson, reporter Spencer Buell and noise researcher Erica Walker, about health concerns over rising noise levels in the city, the New Yorker's Malcolm Gladwell about his book, “Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know," writer Lindy West about her book, “The Witches Are Coming." and Lizzie Post, great-great-granddaughter of etiquette expert Emily Post, about her book “Higher Etiquette: A Guide to the World of Cannabis, from Dispensaries to Dinner Parties.”

Today on Boston Public Radio: We opened the show by talking with listeners about autumn, and the dread that comes with transitioning from summer to fall.  Trenni Casey talked about the Patriots’ flop of an opening game against the Miami Dolphins and what the loss says about Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s ability, winners from this year’s U.S. open, plus new rules for Major League Baseball.  Boston Mayor Michelle Wu returned for an hour of “Ask the Mayor,” discussing decision to challenge Boston’s 2020 census results, ongoing MBTA shutdowns and workaround shuttles, and her choice to vote for Suffolk County D.A. candidate Ricardo Arroyo in the September primaries. She also responded to questions from listeners.  Michael Kirk discussed his latest “Frontline” documentary, “Lies, Politics & Democracy,” which delves into former President Trump’s relationship with the GOP and how Republicans enabled anti-democratic efforts after his 2020 election loss.  John King weighed in on an August inflation report and discussed how it stands to impact voter’s views on the economy. He also spoke on a forthcoming Senate vote to protecting same-sex marriage, and other national headlines.  We closed out the show by turning to listeners for their thoughts on growing acceptance of anti-democratic politicians in the U.S., off of Michael Kirk’s new film for “Frontline.”

We began the show by talking with listeners on the war in Ukraine and media coverage. Kate Bronfenbrenner and Rafi, a Starbucks barista and active member of Starbucks Workers United, talked about the wave of unionization efforts, what workers are fighting for and the struggles ahead. Bronfenbrenner is the director of Labor Education Research and a senior lecturer at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and the co-director of the Worker Empowerment Research Project. Ken Burns and Lynn Novick talked about their latest documentary, “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” which examines the country’s unwillingness to accept refugees during World War II and American public figures who espoused antisemitic and anti-immigrant views. Burns is an award-winning documentarian. Novick is an acclaimed director and producer of documentary films. “The U.S. and the Holocaust” airs on GBH 2 on Sept. 18-20, starting at 8 p.m. Andrea Campbell joined us to discuss her Democratic primary win in the race for Massachusetts Attorney General, how she could be the first woman of color to hold the office, controversy over endorsements and her motivation behind running. Campbell formerly represented District 4 in Boston City Council. We ended the show by returning to some of our favorite conversations, including: Jelani Cobb on his book "The Essential Kerner Commission Report," filmmaker Ken Burns on his PBS documentary "Benjamin Franklin" and an edition of The Afternoon Zoo with naturalist and author Sy Montgomery.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley talked about her push to secure abortion care, gave thoughts on this week’s primaries and the big wins for women in Mass. politics and spoke on the strategy for Democrats headed into the midterms. Pressley is the U.S. representative for Massachusetts 7th District. Then, we asked listeners about the recent trend of “quiet quitting.” Shirley Leung talked about the excess of money on Beacon Hill, the fallout of the Orange Line shutdown, John Hancock stepping back from its role at the Boston Marathon, and the editor and chief of the Boston Globe stepping down. Leung is a business columnist for the Boston Globe. Sue O’Connell talked about the passing of Queen Elizabeth and Bernard Shaw, an upcoming same-sex marriage vote in Congress, and the controversy surrounding the upcoming movie: “Don’t Worry Darling.” O’Connell is the co-publisher of Bay Windows and South End News, and contributor to Current, on NBC L-X and NECN. Jared Bowen gave an arts rundown, including his take on the changing role of artificial intelligence in art, the newly unveiled portraits of the Obamas, and their original portraits being displayed at the MFA, and the Huntington Theater’s new musical “Sing Street.” Bowen is GBH’s executive arts editor and the host of Open Studio. The Multiverse Players joined us for an installment of live music Friday ahead of their performance “The Art of Polymers.” We heard music from robots and humans alike, and a few humans told us about the ethos behind their unique combination of science and music, David Ibbett, Clara Troyano, and Scott Barton. Dilshod Narzillaev joined on cello. Ibbett is the co-composer of “The Art of Polymers” and director of the Multiverse Concert Series. Clara Troyano is a researcher at M.I.T., and a PHd student in the Olsen Lab. We ended the show by asking listeners about their bad tattoos.

Buoyed by inflation, “buy now, pay later” companies have gained popularity in America, claiming to offer help for people trying to manage finances in tough times. Their easy-to-use apps and virtual credit cards often don’t charge interest. But Corby Kummer tells Boston Public Radio the fact that people are using them — effectively going into debt — to buy groceries, is a symptom of a weak safety net. “There needs to be better SNAP there needs to be better nutrition assistance, there needs to be better income support for people who have to think about putting their groceries on layaway.” 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: Chuck Todd talked about the latest political headlines, including the special master situation in the Mar-a-Lago raid case, and his thoughts on the upcoming midterms elections. Todd is the moderator of “Meet The Press” on NBC, host of “Meet The Press Daily” on MSNBC and the political director for NBC News. Then, we asked listeners about how they feel about the rhetoric around the “end of COVID.” Andrea Cabral shared her thoughts on the latest on the Mar-a-Lago case, and the outcomes of the Mass. Primaries on Tuesday. Cabral is the former Suffolk County sheriff and secretary of public safety, and former CEO of the cannabis company Ascend. Corby Kummer discussed the rise in pay-later apps in grocery shopping, Governor of California Gavin Newsom’s new legislation on fast food worker minimum wage, the merits of blindfolded dining, and new girl scout cookies. Kummer is executive director of the food and society policy program at the Aspen Institute, a senior editor at The Atlantic and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Andy Ihnatko talked about the updates that will come with the newly announced iPhone, new chargers that can be used for several totally different devices, and a new app which allows users to identify birds using only their song. Ihnatko is a tech writer and blogger, posting at Ihnatko.com. Jon Gruber explained the economic impacts of the growing labor movement. Gruber is the Ford Professor of Economics at MIT. He was instrumental in creating both the Massachusetts health-care reform and the Affordable Care Act. His latest book is “Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth and the American Dream.” We ended the show by talking about the breaking news of the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II’s, death.