Boston Public Radio Podcast

Today on Boston Public Radio: We start the show by opening phone lines, asking listeners for their thoughts on Acting Mayor Kim Janey’s historic appointment as the first Black person and first woman to serve as mayor of Boston. Trenni Kusnierek shares her thoughts on gender inequity in the NCAA, and the popularity of Loyola University Chicago’s Sister Jean. She also discusses the barring of foreign spectators from the Tokyo Olympics. Kusnierek is a reporter and anchor for NBC Sports Boston, and a weekly Boston Public Radio contributor. Alec MacGillis explains how Amazon is contributing to regional inequality and an increasing wealth gap. He also discusses his new book, “Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One-Click America.” MacGillis is a senior reporter for ProPublica, where he covers politics and government. His latest book is “Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One-Click America.” Next, we ask listeners whether they thought vaccines should be mandatory. Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett Price weigh in on

Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by asking listeners what they thought about Massachusetts reopening as COVID-19 infections rise again. Michelle Singletary explains why you shouldn’t wait to file on the new tax filing deadline of May 17, and what the Child Tax Credit looks like for the 2021 tax season. Singletary is a nationally syndicated columnist for The Washington Post, whose award-winning column, "The Color of Money," provides insight into the world of personal finance. Brian McGrory talks about the Supreme Court’s agreement to hear the death penalty case of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokar Tsarnaev. He also shares his thoughts on the legacy of Mayor Marty Walsh. McGrory is the editor-in-chief of The Boston Globe Next, we opened the phone lines to talk with listeners about Zoom Escaper. Attorney General Maura Healey discusses vaccine rollout across the state, and her proposal to update and clearly define Massachusetts’ hate crime laws. As always, she responds to listeners’ questions and

Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by asking listeners how they’re responding to vaccine hesitancy. Sue O’Connell shares her thoughts on the Vatican’s decree on same-sex marriage, and Jared Kushner’s book plans. O’Connell is the co-publisher of Bay Windows and the South End News, as well as NECN's political commentator and explainer-in-chief. Emily Rooney talks about the resignation of incoming Teen Vogue editor in chief Alexi McCammond after anti-Asian tweets she wrote as a teenager resurfaced. She also previews this week’s Beat the Press. Rooney is host of Beat the Press, which you can watch Friday nights at 7 p.m. Corby Kummer updates us on the latest headlines at the intersection of food policy and food culture, from Boston restaurants reopening for outdoor dining to Massachusetts restaurant workers becoming eligible for vaccination. Kummer is the 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

Boston’s outdoor dining program, which launched last spring to help restaurants survive amid the coronavirus pandemic, will soon be back in action. Starting on March 22nd, most restaurants in the city will be able to offer outdoor dining to patrons until Dec. 1st. Food writer Corby Kummer spoke with Boston Public Radio on Friday about whether outdoor dining should become a permanent fixture in the city. Other cities have programs in place that allow restaurants to expand into communal outdoor dining blocks, Kummer noted. “Washington D.C. has the ‘Streatery’ program and New York City has ‘Open Streets: Restaurants,’ so I think it’s great, and that this is like Europe and the way life is supposed to be with dining outdoors,” he said. Kummer hopes that restaurateurs and staff enjoy the outdoor dining option too. “I hope it’s worth it to them to have the operations, and to have bought the equipment and street furniture to make these outdoor set-ups,” he said. “I think it has made life just significantly bett

Today on Boston Public Radio: Chuck Todd updates us on the latest political headlines, from debates over repealing the filibuster to the link between former President Donald Trump’s comments on COVID-19 and violence against Asian Americans. 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. Next, we open the phone lines to talk with listeners about the rise of violence against Asian Americans. Andrea Cabral shares her thoughts on New York District Attorney Cy Vance’s investigation into former President Trump’s taxes, and weighs in on Massachusetts’ compassionate release law. Cabral is the former Suffolk County sheriff and Massachusetts secretary of public safety. She’s currently the CEO of the cannabis company Ascend. We ask listeners what they’ll use as an excuse to get out of obligations once the pandemic ends. Andy Ihnatko explains the environmental impact of bitcoin and streaming services. He also discusses craft printin

Today on Boston Public Radio: Jonathan Gruber explains how the passage of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package could lower the cost of the Affordable Care Act. 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, and his latest book is "Jump-Starting America How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth and the American Dream." Next, we ask listeners what their thoughts were on Gov. Charlie Baker’s vaccine eligibility timeline. Juliette Kayyem discusses Tuesday’s spa and massage parlor killings in Atlanta, updating us on what Georgia officials are learning as they investigate the case. She also talks about a recently declassified report stating that the Russian government interfered with the 2020 U.S. election. 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

Today on Boston Public Radio: We start the show by asking listeners whether their relationship with Amazon would change if an Amazon warehouse moved into their neighborhood. Trenni Kusnierek weigh in on Sen. Mitt Romney’s New York Times op-ed calling for an economic and diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. She also discusses Cam Newton’s deal with the Patriots, and the return of the Boston Marathon. Kusnierek is a reporter and anchor for NBC Sports Boston, and a weekly Boston Public Radio contributor. Lyndia Downie talks about the challenges of keeping the homeless community safe during the pandemic. She also explains how shelters across the country are converting old hotels and motels into supportive housing. Downie is president and executive director of the Pine Street Inn. Chris Dempsey and Jim Aloisi discuss service cuts to the MBTA, as more people receive vaccinations and return to work in-person. Dempsey is the Massachusetts Director of Transportation and former assistant secretar

Today on Boston Public Radio: E.J. Dionne weighs in on the Biden administration’s cross-country “Help is Here” tour after the passage of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. Dionne is a columnist for The Washington Post and a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution. His latest book is "Code Red: How Progressives And Moderates Can Unite To Save Our Country.” Next, we open the phone lines to hear what listeners had to say about Massachusetts’ Education Secretary James Peyser’s plan to address learning loss by expanding in-person summer school programs. Charlie Sennott discusses President Joe Biden’s charge to end the forever wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, touching on the current state of Al Qaeda in the Middle East. He also discussed Pope Francis’ visit to Iraq. Sennott is a GBH News analyst and the founder and CEO of The GroundTruth Project. Bob Thompson recaps Sunday night’s Grammys. He also shares his thoughts on how soon is too soon when it comes to joking about a tragedy. Thompson is the founding

Food writer Corby Kummer spoke to Boston Public Radio on Friday about how major fast food chains are bolstering infrastructure for mobile drive-through orders. Chipotle, for example, has created ‘Chipotlanes’ at many of its franchise stores for customers who have preordered meals online. “QR codes are big in drive-throughs now,” Kummer said. “If you go onto the app and you order your food, you can go into a special lane that various places are installing, it will read your QR code order, and your food will be delivered, some of it virtually contact-free.” Companies that previously had no drive-through lanes at all are creating them for the first time, like Shake Shack and Applebees, Kummer noted. Those with established fast food drive-through lanes are amping up the use of technology to improve customers’ experiences. Burger King is exploring the use of Bluetooth technology to calculate and predict a customer’s order based on everything from prior orders to the weather that particular day. “There’s more an

Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by talking with listeners about President Joe Biden’s first prime-time address on Thursday. Sue O’Connell weighs in on Gov. Charlie Baker’s statement on teachers unions, and the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance’s decision to allow politicians to purchase body armor with campaign funds. O’Connell is the co-publisher of Bay Windows and the South End News, as well as NECN's political commentator and explainer-in-chief. Emily Rooney talks about the sexual harassment and assault allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo. She also shares her thoughts on Oprah’s interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Rooney is host of Beat the Press, which you can watch Friday nights at 7 p.m. Corby Kummer explains how apps are changing the way fast food drive-thrus operate, and discusses a provision within President Biden’s COVID-19 stimulus package that allocates $4 billion in debt relief to farmers of color. Kummer is the executive director of the Food

With just three months left in the semester for Massachusetts public schools, there’s a lot of unanswered questions about what classrooms are going to look like in the months and years ahead. But speaking Thursday on Boston Public Radio, former Mass. Education Secretary Paul Reville said the lack of clarity isn’t the fault of educators or school administrators. "People are very caught up in the present, understandably, ‘cause we’re still in a sort of quasi-emergency response mode,” he explained. “I’m not making excuses, but I’m rather explaining why it isn’t as visible or high priority, because the demands of the present are so urgent and so rapidly changing." Currently, Massachusetts is continuing its push to get kids back in schools, which Reville commended. But to the question of how those same schools address problems created by a year of remote learning, he suggested that state leaders consider investing more money into finding and creating long-term solutions. "I think one of the things that the sta

Today on Boston Public Radio: Chuck Todd updates us on the latest news in politics, from President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package to Michael Cohen’s meetings with the Manhattan district attorney’s office. 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. Next, we open the phone lines to talk with listeners about Gov. Charlie Baker’s prioritization of teachers and school staff in the vaccine line. Andrea Cabral discusses the reinstatement of a third-degree murder charge against former Minnesota Police officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd. She also talks about the release of an additional phone call former President Donald Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State chief investigator Frances Watson. Cabral is the former Suffolk County sheriff and Massachusetts secretary of public safety. She’s currently the CEO of the cannabis company Ascend. Ken Burns and Lynn Novick preview their upcoming PBS docuser

GBH News marks the first anniversary of Gov. Charlie Baker’s emergency declaration in Massachusetts by taking a look back at how we covered the disaster. The special draws on the rich variety of in-depth reporting, feature stories and community conversations GBH journalists produced during the past year.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Rep. Katherine Clark discusses the financial toll of COVID-19, and argued for the passage of the American Rescue Plan. She also touches on vaccine distribution in Massachusetts. Rep. Clark is the Assistant House Speaker and represents the Fifth District of Massachusetts. Next, we open the phone lines to ask listeners if they’ve experienced pandemic-induced brain fog. Juliette Kayyem revisits her March 2020 column for The Atlantic, “The U.S. Isn't Ready for What's About to Happen,” looking at what she got right and suggesting what the government should learn. She also talks about the tenth anniversary of Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi disaster. 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. Stephanie Leydon talks about how high school students are dealing with the pandemic, and what she’s learned from her work on GBH’s COVID and t

Today on Boston Public Radio: Art Caplan shares his thoughts on the CDC’s latest COVID-19 guidelines, and whether unvaccinated people will throw caution to the wind as more vaccines become available. Caplan is the Drs. William F and Virginia Connolly Mitty Chair, and director of the Division of Medical Ethics at the NYU School of Medicine. Next, we ask listeners whether they thought the CDC’s new guidelines were too lax, or just right. Ali Noorani discusses how President Joe Biden is handling the humanitarian crisis at the border in the midst of COVID-19. He also talks about the Mexican restaurant in Houston subjected to ICE threats after refusing to serve unmasked customers. Noorani is President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Immigration Forum. His latest book is "There Goes the Neighborhood: How Communities Overcome Prejudice and Meet the Challenge of American Immigration.” Revs. Irene Monroe and Emmett Price weigh in on Cornel West’s decision to leave Harvard after a tenure dispute, and Op

Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by talking with listeners about President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 package. Michelle Singletary discusses how this year’s tax season could play out with the addition of stimulus checks. She also talks about the new Netflix show, “Marriage or Mortgage.” Singletary is a nationally syndicated columnist for The Washington Post, whose award-winning column, "The Color of Money,"  provides insight into the world of personal finance. Trenni Kusnierek speaks about Maia Chaka making history as the first Black woman to serve as an NFL game official, and allegations of sexism at the Golf Channel. Kusnierek is an anchor and reporter for NBC Sports Boston, and a weekly Boston Public Radio contributor. Bob Thompson recaps Oprah’s interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. He also shares his thoughts on the Disney+ series “WandaVision.” Thompson is the founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture and a professor of television and p

Food writer Corby Kummer spoke to Boston Public Radio on Thursday about how H-E-B grocery stores supported community members in Texas during the severe power outage that swept the state last month. “It has enormous brand halo because in times of crisis when there’s no power, there they are with bread, milk, and eggs,” he said. “Supermarket chains - if they’ve got good supply chains and have labor policies that will encourage labor to come in and brave the elements - can get enormous goodwill.” Walmart became a community center after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans back in 2005. “Only Walmart was open, post-Katrina, and they bought themselves a tremendous amount of goodwill by being there when city and government services were not,” Kummer said. “And that’s the case with H-E-B during the recent Texas power outages.” 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: John Barros discusses his entry into Boston’s mayoral race, and how small businesses are struggling to make ends meet during the pandemic. Barros is the former chief of economic development for the Walsh administration, and candidate for mayor. Next, we ask listeners what they were looking forward to returning to the most when the pandemic ends. Sue O’Connell talks about the scandals facing Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Massachusetts State Police Col. Christopher Mason. She also explains how virtual public meetings are upending politics. O’Connell is the co-publisher of Bay Windows and the South End News, as well as NECN's political commentator and explainer-in-chief. Mayor Joe Curtatone explains why he decided to not seek reelection after serving nine terms as mayor of Somerville. He also speaks about Gov. Charlie Baker’s vaccine rollout. Curtatone is the mayor of Somerville. Senator Ed Markey shares his thoughts on the fate of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 package a

Today on Boston Public Radio: Chuck Todd updates us on the security threats facing the U.S. Capitol Building from conspiracy theorists and militias. He also weighs in on the misconduct scandals facing Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson. 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. Next, we open the phone lines to talk with listeners about their vaccine frustrations. Andrea Cabral discusses the Supreme Court case concerning Arizona’s voting laws, and how it could potentially weaken the Voting Rights Act. Cabral is the former Suffolk County sheriff and Massachusetts secretary of public safety. She’s currently the CEO of the cannabis company Ascend. Jonathan Huggins and Diana Rastegayeva explain how they formed their COVID-19 vaccine assistance site, www.MACovidVaxHelp.com. They also weigh in on Gov. Charlie Baker’s vaccine rollout. Huggins and Rastegayeva are the creators of www.MACovidVaxHelp.com. Andy Ihnat

Today on Boston Public Radio: Jon Gruber argues that we should be grateful for COVID-19 vaccine innovation, as well as why we shouldn’t be hesitant to get vaccinated. He also shares his thoughts on whether employers should require their employees to get vaccinated before returning to work. 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, and his latest book is "Jump-Starting America How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth and the American Dream." Next, we opene the phone lines, asking listeners if they could celebrate the scientific achievements of COVID-19 vaccines despite the bumpy vaccine rollout. Art Caplan talks about Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to end the state’s mask mandate, and the religious debate over vaccines. Caplan is the Drs. William F and Virginia Connolly Mitty Chair, and director of the Division of Medical Ethics at the NYU School of Medicine. We hear what listeners h