WBUR News

The Boston singer-songwriter's song “Aurora” impressed WBUR's panelists with its enveloping harmonies and quiet virtuosity.

Physicians and former prisoners want inmates to have access to continuous glucose monitors, insulin pumps and better diabetes education while incarcerated.

Bryan Stevenson has spent years fighting for people on death row and juveniles sentenced to life in prison. Today, he continues that legal work, and on a recent visit to Boston, he sat down with a man released from prison because of Stevenson's case before the Supreme Court, which found life without parole for young offenders unconstitutional.

With Boston serving as a World Cup host city, educators are capitalizing on the global moment to make it a learning opportunity for kids.

Colonists debated freedom and democracy over beers at taverns like Boston's Green Dragon. The tavern hosted secret meetings where Paul Revere and others organized rebellion — including the Boston Tea Party — while patriots promoted local beer as a boycott against British imports.

A national system tracks serious bus crashes so regulators can keep roads safe. But the process fails to identify most of a major company's fatal collisions, WBUR and ProPublica found.

In Darren Aronofsky's 2010 psychological thriller “Black Swan,” a production of the classical ballet “Swan Lake” becomes an unexpected locus of horror. Now, the story is being reimagined by the American Repertory Theater in another surprising package: a musical.

About 50 years ago, Dutch elm disease wiped out most of the American elm trees, but some survived. Now, scientists in Vermont are injecting these trees and saplings with the disease to identify and breed more resistant elms. They hope to bring more big American elms back to the East Coast.

A number of senior Democrats across the country are standing by Platner, an oyster farmer who gained significant momentum early in the race, and the party's only chance of taking on Republican Susan Collins.

Guillow's delivers aviation joy via balsa wood airplanes — those featherweight gliders that people have been tossing through the air and trying to untangle from tree branches since, basically, forever.

Locals are accustomed to the T's dank conditions. But as global soccer fans make their way to Boston for the World Cup, many will come from cities with clean, state-of-the-art public transit — and may be surprised at the MBTA's less-than-sparkling, dungeon-like spaces.

A bill seeks to make Massachusetts the first state to ban prop bets. Meanwhile, sports betting giants have poured millions into legislative races in states weighing similar reforms.

Guster got its start in a Tufts dorm room in the early '90s. Thirty years on, they're still going strong. Cog editors Cloe Axelson and Sara Shukla caught up with Adam Gardner to talk about what it's like to have kids graduating from high school while still playing music with the friends he made all those years ago.

"He really represents the very best of Massachusetts," said Gov. Maura Healey, upon declaring Frantzdy Pierrot Day.

It's only the second time in Haiti's history that the team has made the tournament, and its first game, against Scotland on June 13, will take place in Foxborough. “It's like a once-in-a-generational opportunity,” said Yionel Jean Torres of Mattapan. But Torres said he's all but given up hope on going to the Haiti-Scotland match.

Experts hope a new floating wetland project will bring back natural “edge habitat” that disappeared when developers reshaped Boston's perimeter with landfill and seawalls. Recreating those destroyed coastal environments can help protect cities as climate change brings rising sea levels, increases stormwater runoff and disrupts ecosystems.

Provincetown's Womencrafts has long been a safe space for residents and tourists alike. And its role is even more important today.

WBUR's Anthony Brooks reports Barney Frank is being remembered as a fierce advocate for liberal causes, including gay rights.

The J-1 visa program brings some 5,000 foreign student workers to the Cape each summer. But State Department officials have reduced staff, prioritized other visas and are scrutinizing applicants' social media accounts. All of this delays visa applications, putting both workers and businesses in limbo ahead of tourist season.

A West End resident saw a trio of ghost signs and wondered how to bring them to back to life. He tracked down a local business that one of the old signs belonged to and convinced them and the West End Museum to partner and pay sign painters to restore them.

Boston's arts community steels itself for a new era of scarcity as federal pandemic funds run out and the city cuts millions in grant programs to balance the budget.

Alejandro Orrego Agudelo spent four months in ICE detention after being arrested by Boston police. But new body camera footage casts doubt on the officer's narrative, suggesting it was the officer who escalated a tense situation into a violent one. If not for that arrest, Orrego likely would have never ended up in ICE custody.

After 30 years teaching Haitian folkloric dance, Jean Appolon's studio has opened in Nubian Square. The founder keeps the glass window open during rehearsals, inviting passersby to watch dancers move to drumbeats. "Sometimes people even knock on the door and ask to come in and watch," Appolon says.

The man accused of opening fire in Cambridge and wounding two people has pleaded not guilty to armed assault with intent to murder. As the case against Tyler Brown moves forward, there's a spotlight on the parole system, the courts and mental healthcare.

He says Democrats have a chance to defeat President Donald Trump's brand of right-wing populism, but only if the party embraces core economic issues instead of polarizing culture fights.

Between DOGE and the rise of AI bots, work is far more precarious than it used to be, writes Joanna Weiss. Amid so much uncertainty, it's no surprise that people would flock to a movie that fetishizes work as much as Chanel boots.

I have no statistics to cite about the number of women who experience what is sometimes called "breastfeeding grief," writes Miriam Wasser. But I've come to believe that what happened to me, is, if not necessarily common, then at least quite prevalent.

Mental health clinicians have started asking clients how they use generative artificial intelligence chatbots to support their emotional well-being. Some clinician-researchers are building platforms to educate people about chatbots' strengths and weaknesses, and developing AI bots that are meant to deliver therapy.

Faced with rising costs on everything from gas prices to housing, to healthcare and childcare, a growing number of Massachusetts residents say they struggle to afford a middle class life, and feel insecure about their financial futures.

Researchers are studying a machine learning-powered warning system for breast cancer. It works by detecting subtle changes in a mammogram that humans can't spot, but could soon become cancer.

If you've been to a medical appointment lately, it's likely that your doctor was using some form of artificial intelligence. Increasingly, diagnostic AI tools are entering doctors' offices and hospitals, from inventions that sharpen CT scans to generative AI chatbots that analyze vast troves of medical data and spit back guidance.

From fomenting colonial discontent with British rule in the 1700s to the No Kings rallies of today, posters spread messages and question authority. At the Boston Public Library, visitors are learning the art of making their own signs.

As more people — especially young adults — reduce their alcohol consumption, local bars and restaurants are expanding their low‑ and no‑alcohol drink options or eliminating alcohol altogether.

It all began when the Belly Gang Kushington, a rising Atlanta rapper known for his strip club anthem “Friend Do (remix),” issued a challenge to his legions of followers online. “I want to pay some college tuition,” he declared. He invited college women to submit videos for a chance to win $5,000.

Legal filings by Boston Police and ICE paint Alejandro Orrego as a man with a propensity for fighting cops. Orrego sees himself as the victim of two unjust arrests.

The Native American sport, in which players use two sticks to carry and toss a small ball, is considered one of the oldest team sports in the country. For those getting together to play on Harvard's campus, it's a connection to their ancestry.

The Trump administration so far says it has no plans to send federal agents to the polls in November. But local Democrats and election officials fear other Trump actions will affect the election, including baseless claims about non-citizens voting and demands to examine voter rolls.

Boston Lyric Opera is adding its voice to America's 250th anniversary with a rebellious reimagining of the classic comedy "Daughter of the Regiment" that channels the spirit of Deborah Sampson.

Electricity demand is projected to increase across New England in the next several years. But utilities in the region are working on programs that could make that growth cheaper and better for the climate.

Local volunteers offer guidance and recommendations to help homeowners lower their energy costs and reduce climate-warming pollution.

Mike Kennealy hails from the moderate era of Republicans in Massachusetts. After a career in private equity, he worked for two terms under former Gov. Charlie Baker and has a track record closely tied to the former governor. Kennealy also had a hand in some Baker-era policies that have since become controversial in the party.