Boston Public Radio Podcast

BPR Full Show 6/16: What Happens After No Kings Day?

Today:Lucy Wightman joins Jim and Margery ahead of this week's release of her memoir, "Princess Cheyenne: My Life as Boston's Most Famous Stripper."And, a new report shows Massachusetts is backsliding on some aspects of juvenile justice reform. We speak with Lisa Thurau and Kristen Wheeler of Cambridge-based nonprofit Strategies for Youth.

We start the show by asking listeners about a weekend of demonstrations, including 'No King' rallies and the military parade. Anand Giridharadas, political commentator, discusses the shut-down of protests Saturday in LA, Trump's military parade and the political violence in Minnesota.Lucy Wightman discusses her new memoir "Princess Cheyenne: My Life as Boston's Most Famous Stripper."Lisa Thurau and Kristen Wheeler of Strategies for Youth, a Cambridge-based nonprofit, discuss the increase in pretrial detention for youths last year that are the result of law enforcement's decision to arrest young people for misdemeanors. The Revs Irene Monroe and Emmett Price join for All Rev'd Up x BPR, discussing the clergy who played a pivotal role 250 years ago in the American Revolution and how they are navigating us through political turbulence today.

Joan Donovan on misinformation in the digital age, she'll talk about media coverage of the LA protests and discerning real news accounts from AI slop. BAMS Fest returns to Franklin park on June 28th, with a whole slate of sister events during June. We'll talk with founder Catherine T. Morris, with a Live Music Friday performance from Boston reggae band Roots Alley Collective.Boston Pride for the People holds their annual Pride parade tomorrow, we'll talk about goings-on and the state of the world for queer folks with BP4TP president Adrianna Boulin & Gary Daffin – who sits on the event leadership committee in addition to leading Boston's Multicultural AIDS Coalition.

Today:Joan Donovan, founder of the Critical Internet Studies Institute & Boston University Assistant Professor of Journalism and emerging media studies, joins for a discussion on artificial intelligence, media manipulation, and telling truth from fiction.Boston Pride For The People President Adrianna Bolin and development & parade co-chair, Gary Daffin – he's also President of the Multicultural AIDS Coalition -- join ahead of Saturday's parade in Boston.

Chuck Todd on the premiere of his new show “Sunday Night with Chuck Todd,” where he interviewed Steve Bannon.Andrea Cabral on Weinstein verdict.Michael Curry on RFK/vaccine misinformation. Corby Kummer on pricy Boston dining

Today:Food policy analyst Corby Kummer discusses the new "dirty dozen" list of grocery store items laden with pesticides.And, Michael Curry, head of the Mass League of Community Health Centers, discusses a new proposal for the shuttered Carney Hospital in Dorchester to be repurposed as a training facility for nurses.

BPR Full Show 6/11: Protesting Feels Different

Today: A new report shows how, throughout its history, Massachusetts failed thousands of disabled residents living in institutions, and then tried to cover their tracks with bureaucratic stonewalling decades later.GBH's Megan Smith joins alongside Alex Green, vice-chair of the commission behind this report. And, naturalist Sy Montgomery is back to talk about axolotls, as researchers at Northeastern look into whether humans could ever tap into their secrets around limb regeneration.

BPR Full Show 6/10: Fact From Fiction

Today:Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett of the Boston Medical Center joins to discuss the latest medical headlines.And, ahead of this year's Embrace Ideas Festival, we talk with Embrace Boston CEO Imari Paris Jeffries. Plus, joining Imari both at the festival – and today's show – Giselle Byrd. She's the first Black trans woman to lead a regional theatre company in the United States at Boston's The Theater Offensive. 

BPR Full Show 6/9: National Guard In Los Angeles

Today:Trump deployed the national guard in California, without the consent of Governor Gavin Newsom. We talk through the existential questions of presidential authority with retired federal judge Nancy Gertner. Plus, her suspicions about the government's new charges of human trafficking against a man they wrongly deported, Kilmar Abrego Garcia.And, journalist Adam Chandler argues in his new book “99% Perspiration” that the American Dream equating hard work with success has turned out to be more of an American fantasy.

WSJ Callum Borchers & GBH Adam Reilly for Press Play this week. They'll discuss the latest efforts to defund PBS & NPR. The Light in the Piazza is the latest musical at the Huntington Theatre Company. We'll hear performances from leads Sarah-Anne Martinez and Josh Grosso for this week's edition of Live Music Friday.Dan Primack, business editor at Axios, joins to talk about steel tariffs, the latest re: the GOP megabill.Parke Wilde, Julia Hansen, and Peter Watson were arrested last year protesting the expansion of Hanscom airfield. Their cases are winding their way through court now, they join to talk about the case.

Today:Last year, climate activists Parke Wilde, Julia Hansen, and Peter Watson were arrested protesting the proposed expansion of Bedford's Hanscom Field – the second busiest airport in New England, behind Logan. They join to discuss the importance of civil disobedience, and standing up for the climate.And, Live Music Friday with the lead love interests of Huntington Theatre Company's production of 'The Light in the Piazza' - Sarah-Anne Martinez and Josh Grosso.

BPR Full Show 6/5: Are We Protesting Enough?

Today:Ahead of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice holiday, we talk with the Palestinian owners of two local bakeries: Abdulla Awad of Yafa Bakery in Somerville and Sami Herbawi of Andala Coffee House in Cambridge. And, we talk with two the leaders of two New Hampshire-based aid groups for Ukraine: Alan Himmer of the Ukraine Crisis Aid Group, and Susan Mathison of the New Hampshire-based Common Man for Ukraine. 

BPR Full Show 6/4: Palestinian Cafe Owners on Eid

Today:Carol Rose, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, discusses the impacts of federal immigration actions in the state -- including the detainment of an 18 year old.Lee Pelton, president and CEO of the Boston Foundation, former president of Emerson College, discusses the state of higher education.

BPR Full Show 6/03: Incompetence Takes Control

Today:Olga Cherevko of the United Nations office for coordination of humanitarian aid describes the state of hunger, destruction and despair in Gaza.Michael Curry, head of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and a member of the NAACP board of directors, discusses impacts of proposed Medicaid cuts in the GOP budget and the rollback of diversity and police reform initiatives nationwide.

We open the lines on the state of immigration raids in Massachusetts. Over the weekend, an 18-year-old in Milford was detained by ICE.Michael Curry of the NAACP and Mass League of Community Health Centers discusses the state of police reform five years after George Floyd's murder and why state Democrats are warning of harm to the health care system under Trump's budget proposal.UN humanitarian aid worker Olga Cherevko zooms in to discuss the latest conditions in Gaza.Boston Globe business columnist Shirley Leung continues our Market Basket coverage and gets into the finances behind the Boston mayoral race.Food policy analyst Corby Kummer discusses the FDA failing to publicize a major e. coli outbreak and a wine critic's dispatch from the Trump Winery in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Today: Andrea Cabral and Shirley Leung fill in for Jim and Margery.They host a panel with the leaders of two local nonprofits to discuss the current environment for organizations dealing with federal pressure and losing federal funding –  Molly Baldwin from the violence reduction group Roca and Jenna Leschuk of 826 Boston.Then, Live Music Friday with Grammy-nominated violinist Christina Day Martinson. She joins with filmmaker Nathaniel Hansen, who's made a documentary about Christina, called “A Second Movement.” 

Margery and Jim have the day off. BPR regulars Andrea Cabral and Shirley Leung take over the mics.It's Live Music Friday with Grammy-nominated violinist Christina Day Martinson and filmmaker Nathaniel Hansen. Martinson is a Grammy-nominated violinist with Handel and Hyden and Boston Baroque, and the focus of Hansen's documentary A Second Movement.Molly Baldwin leads the community violence reduction nonprofit Roca and Jenna Leschuk is Senior Director of Development at 826 Boston. They join to discuss resisting federal pressure even as they continue to embrace DEI.Boston Medical Center's Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett discusses HHS secretary RFK Jr. rolling back vaccine recommendations and the primary care physician shortage in Massachusetts.  It's "Press Play" with GBH's Callie Crossley and The Bay State Banner's Ron Mitchell, who discuss a rise in local news nonprofits, NPR's lawsuit against the Trump administration, and more.

Today:Ambassador Nicholas Burns was the United States' top diplomat in China under the Biden administration. He discusses Trump's tariffs, and international diplomacy writ large.Then we get listener reaction to news that another family feud is brewing at Market Basket, more than a decade after CEO Arthur T DeMoulas garnered massive community support in the last brouhaha over his business model and shareholder profit.

BPR Full Show 5/29: Market Basket Drama

Harvard national security expert Juliette Kayyem discusses the State Department ordering a pause on all student visas, the Heritage Foundation's plan to stifle pro-Palestinian speech, and updates on the killing of two Israeli Embassy aides in Washington, DC.Boston Mayor Michelle Wu joins for Ask The Mayor.Naturalist and author Sy Montgomery discusses a Florida woman who rescued a tangled shark and how one Chicago building made a simple change to stop birds from crashing into its windows. Massachusetts Governor's Council member Mara Dolan calls in to discuss the public defender work stoppage. 

 Today:Greg Weiner, President of Assumption University, argues Trump has a point about liberal campus ideology. And Rick Steves joins for a conversation about the importance of immersing yourself in other cultures.

BPR Full Show 5/27: Trump Vs. Massachusetts

Abdullah Shahid Sial and Leo Gerdén are two international students from Harvard University. They react to the Trump administration's move yesterday to revoke the school's ability to enroll international students. Then it's Live Music Friday with Jessye DeSilva, ahead of an appearance at Club Passim's Campfire Festival. Passim Managing Director Matt Smith also joins. NBC Boston's Sue O'Connell gives us the latest on the Karen Read trial. Plus, thoughts on the Sean Combs trial and the Boston City Hall staffer love triangle.Katie Theoharides is President & CEO of the Trustees of Reservations. She discusses concerns about federal cuts to conservation and the environment. Lylah Alphonse (Boston Globe) and Adam Reilly (GBH News) join for this week's edition of Press Play.

Today:We start the show with two Harvard international students, with reaction to President Trump revoking their school's ability to enroll international students just like them.Then it's Live Music Friday ahead of the Campfire Festival at Club Passim this weekend in Harvard Square. Jessye DeSilva performs for us here at the library … And we hear from her and Passim managing director Matt Smith.

Today: A music panel highlighting some great local events and artists, from the Newport Folk Festival to the jazz offerings around town. We talk with Brian McCreath of CRB, James Bennett II of GBH News, and Berklee's Emmett Price. 

BPR Full Show 5/22: I Forgot The Butter!

GBH executive arts editor Jared Bowen discusses "The Light in the Piazza" at the Huntington, penguins getting a retirement home at the New England Aquarium and the Kennedy Center's MAGA makeover.Presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin discusses her new 8-part documentary series on the American West, with Kevin Costner, premiering on Memorial Day.Chris Dempsey and Rep. Bill Straus join for a transportation panel, discussing former T chief Brian Shortsleeve joining the GOP race for governor, a turbulent start for South Coast Rail and how to spend the $1.3 billion from the millionaire's tax.Attorney General Andrea Campbell joins for Ask The AG. We ask her about ICE raids and local law enforcement, Question 1, consumer protections and more.

Today:Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett of Boston Medical Center discusses Joe Biden's cancer diagnosis.And, Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart calls in with July 4 news.

NBC Sports Boston's Trenni Casey discusses the Celtics out of the playoffs and breaking news about Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson.Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett discusses Biden's prostate cancer diagnosis and new COVID-19 vaccine guidelines from the FDA.Boston Globe film critic Odie Henderson joins for a summer movie preview and reflects on 50 years since Jaws premiered. CNN's John King joins remotely to discuss the opposition to Trump's big, beautiful tax bill.

BPR Full Show 5/19: Feeling Bleh

Carbon Leaf joins for Live Music Friday, head of a performance at the Spire in Plymouth.Dan Primack is the business editor for Axios. He joins to talk about Trump's business deals in the Middle East, Walmart's tariff price hikes and HBO's big re-re-re-brand to HBO Max.Director Gene Tempest & American Experience EP Cameo George talk about their latest project, “Mr. Polaroid,” a new documentary about the invention of the Polaroid camera (which started in Cambridge). Armani Thomas is a local artist who makes mini-paintings of Boston scenes and leaves the canvases up around the city. He chronicles his work on TikTok as @armoneythomas. Retired federal judge Nancy Gertner discusses yesterday's SCOTUS arguments on the 14th Amendment, along with other contested Trump executive orders and the sense that "rule of law" is ending in America.

Political analyst Chuck Todd with his weekly D.C. rundown.Rep. Ayanna Pressley talks about the return of Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk. And, her new bill to stop the garnishment of wages for people with student loans in default. Dr. Sarah Fortune leads a tuberculosis research team at Harvard whose NIH funding was just cut by the Trump administration. She talks about the importance of scientific research and the future of her lab.MIT economist Jon Gruber explains how cuts to higher education will impact the biotech, medical and education economy in Massachusetts.

Today:Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley tells of her visit to constituent Rumeysa Ozturk in a Louisiana detention center, of the fight to get her released, and how Democrats are fighting back against the Trump administration.And, Dr. Sarah Fortune, chair of the department of immunology and infectious diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, discusses how a surprise philanthropic donation is keeping her scientific research alive – despite cuts from the Trump administration. 

Today:National security expert Juliette Kayyem discusses the amount of work that will have to go into retro-fitting the Qatari airplane to suit Trump's presidential needs.And, naturalist Sy Montgomery discusses warming climate's impact on ticks and the humans who get bit by them.

GBH executive arts editor Jared Bowen discusses the no-nudity dress code at Cannes and 'Kimberly Akimbo' at the Emerson Colonial Theatre.Harvard national security expert Juliette Kayyem explains why the Qatari plane gifted to President Donald Trump poses security problems. Food policy analyst Corby Kummer discusses new FDA-approved 'natural' food colorings, the golden age of the fried-chicken sandwich and Michelin stars coming to Boston restaurants.Naturalist and author Sy Montgomery on this season's tick problem and new research on the rhythmic capabilities of sea lions.

Today:Boston mayoral candidate Josh Kraft joins Jim and Margery at the Boston Public Library to discuss his mayoral challenge to Michelle Wu.And, Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart discusses the current spring Pops season, his 30th with the orchestra.

NBC Sports Boston's Trenni Casey discusses a private equity in the Celtics' purchase bid and their devastating loss last night in game four against the Knicks. Josh Kraft joins to discuss his campaign for Mayor of Boston.Conductor Keith Lockhart on his 30th anniversary with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and what's in store for the Pops' spring season.CNN's John King joins via zoom to discuss the latest national political headlines.

Today:Olga Cherevko of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, zooms into the show from Gaza City to discuss the humanitarian crisis there.Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett G Price discuss the new Pope's Creole heritage.