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Radio Boston

2,500 episodes - English - Latest episode: 1 day ago - ★★★★★ - 83 ratings

Provocative stories and authentic voices from around Boston.

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Episodes

Beth Israel Lahey Health system president reflects on challenges in healthcare

March 27, 2024 16:47 - 20 minutes - 18.8 MB

Dr. Kevin Tabb, president and CEO of Beth Israel Lahey Health, joins us. We talk about his leadership journey, the state of healthcare right now and the challenges it may face in the future.

A Boston program will pay to replace lead pipes. But residents aren't using it

March 27, 2024 16:47 - 14 minutes - 13.7 MB

In efforts to eliminate lead pipes by the next decade, the Boston Water and Sewer Commission announced a replacement program, which allows residents to replace lead pipes at zero cost.

Bob Ryan reflects on a lifetime in sports media

March 27, 2024 16:47 - 11 minutes - 10.4 MB

Radio Boston talked to veteran sports writer Bob Ryan about his lifetime of work and what's to come for Boston's teams.

Two-thirds of Mass. voters are not enrolled with a party. What does that mean for politics?

March 26, 2024 17:06 - 19 minutes - 17.9 MB

Steve Koczela of MassINC, Harvard professor and former gubernatorial candidate Danielle Allen and Wendy Wakemen, a Massachusetts GOP strategist, join Radio Boston to discuss what growing unenrollment means for future candidates and ballot measures. 

Defending scientific thinking from denialism

March 26, 2024 17:05 - 14 minutes - 13 MB

Radio Boston sits down with Lee McIntyre, a Boston University professor, author and senior advisor for Trust in Science at the Aspen Institute, to discuss the need to defend science from denialism and conspiracies.

For Kevin Nealon, Boston Comedy Festival a homecoming of sorts

March 26, 2024 17:05 - 13 minutes - 12.1 MB

The former Saturday Night Live star Kevin Nealon joins Radio Boston ahead of his stand-up set at City Winery Thursday.

Beyond a TikTok ban: Warren touts bill to rein in social media giants

March 25, 2024 16:23 - 15 minutes - 14.6 MB

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is pushing for greater oversight of all social media companies with a bipartisan bill that would cover issues from foreign ownership to protecting consumers' personal data.

The life and legacy of Dr. Susan Dimock, a medical and surgical trailblazer in Boston history

March 25, 2024 16:23 - 15 minutes - 14 MB

Historian Susan Wilson joins us to discuss her new book: "Women and Children First: the trailblazing life of Susan Dimock M.D." 

Searching for a silver lining in the Steward debacle

March 25, 2024 16:23 - 16 minutes - 14.7 MB

John McDonough of Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Health joins Radio Boston to discuss the future of healthcare in Massachusetts.

In historic first, MGH doctors transplant pig kidney into human patient

March 22, 2024 17:52 - 12 minutes - 11.1 MB

Radio Boston talks with Dr. Winfred Williams, the doctor of the man who received a genetically modified pig kidney in a first-of-its-kind operation.

Head of Boston's visitors bureau says city isn't fully recovered from the pandemic but remains hopeful

March 22, 2024 17:18 - 17 minutes - 15.8 MB

Martha Sheridan, president and CEO of Meet Boston, the city's visitors and conventions bureau, joins us to talk about the current state of the tourism industry in Greater Boston and what's next for growth in the coming years.

State Senate approves more funding, time limits for the state's emergency shelter system

March 22, 2024 16:34 - 4 minutes - 4.51 MB

WBUR state politics reporter Walter Wuthmann gives us the latest on the bills moving through the Massachusetts Legislature which would send more funding to the state emergency shelter system and impose time limits on shelter stays.

Leader of Boston-based GrubStreet reflects on writing center's mission and successes

March 21, 2024 18:46 - 16 minutes - 15.5 MB

The nation's largest creative writing center is located right here in Boston. GrubStreet has taught students from around the world for the last 27 years. We talk with GrubStreet's founder and executive director about its mission and what's next for the center and its writers.

What will happen to life science lab spaces as the industry moves online?

March 21, 2024 18:41 - 15 minutes - 14.3 MB

Massachusetts is a major hub for biotech and life sciences, and lab space in the state is needed for industry players. But since the real estate boom in lab spaces post-COVID, many are now opening up empty.

After court upholds Brookline ban, other towns appear poised to adopt generational restrictions on tobacco

March 21, 2024 18:40 - 14 minutes - 13.7 MB

Brookline bans anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2000 from buying any tobacco products. The bylaw, adopted in 2020 and upheld by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court earlier this month, paves the way for other communities in the commonwealth to install similar generational bans on tobacco purchases. 

Food inflation is straining wallets. What can we do about it?

March 20, 2024 18:30 - 18 minutes - 17.3 MB

Radio Boston speaks with local food organizations about how inflation has worsened food insecurity in Massachusetts and abroad.

Author says engaging DEI conversation with white men is key

March 20, 2024 17:00 - 12 minutes - 11.3 MB

Amid growing pushback against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across the country, Colette Phillips, author of the book "The Includers," and Bob Rivers, CEO of Eastern Bank, sit down with Radio Boston to discuss why white men are key to move the work of inclusion forward.

Gov. Healey pushes for additional housing to keep people living and working in Mass.

March 19, 2024 17:56 - 38 minutes - 35.5 MB

"There is no issue that I am moving with greater urgency and intention than this issue of housing," said Healey. She said that to fix the housing shortage, state and local governments need to work together and that the problem needs “collective action.”

'Open Your Heart' documentary brings East Boston's immigrants to the screen

March 18, 2024 17:24 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MB

Radio Boston discusses East Boston's immigrant community and changing landscape in connection with a new documentary called "Open Your Heart: Immigrant Stories from Boston and Beyond".

Unpacking the law surrounding 'The Holdovers' plagiarism allegations

March 18, 2024 17:24 - 16 minutes - 15.5 MB

Screenwriter Simon Stephenson claims Alexander Payne's "The Holdovers," steals the broader structures, themes and character dynamics of Stephenson's unproduced screenplay "Frisco." Two Intellectual property law experts and a film critic join Radio Boston to dissect the allegations.

Urban Grape co-founder TJ Douglas talks about breaking barriers in the wine industry

March 18, 2024 16:24 - 16 minutes - 14.9 MB

Only 1% of wine businesses in the U.S. are Black-owned, according to the Association of African American Vintners. Boston is home to one of them. Radio Boston speaks with TJ Douglas about his growing business, Urban Grape, and what's next.

'Beyond All Repair' unravels new details in a past murder case

March 15, 2024 18:05 - 14 minutes - 13.7 MB

Radio Boston sits down with WBUR senior podcast producer Amory Sivertson to talk about her new podcast, "Beyond All Repair." Sivertson recounts her reporting process and how a he-said-she-said case with a complex web of family secrets has unraveled decades later.

Cannabis industry leaders react to Healey's move to pardon those convicted of possession

March 15, 2024 18:05 - 15 minutes - 14.3 MB

Healey office said a blanket pardon of those convicted of simple marijuana possession could affect "hundreds of thousands" of people in Massachusetts.  But what impact will this have on the daily lives of people with previous convictions?

Aoife O'Donovan's new album 'All My Friends' looks at women's rights in America

March 15, 2024 18:04 - 12 minutes - 11.4 MB

Newton-born folk singer Aoife O'Donovan joined Radio Boston to talk about her upcoming album, which digs into women's suffrage in America and the rights women still have to fight for.

Where find Massachusetts sugarhouses during Maple Weekend

March 14, 2024 17:49 - 6 minutes - 6.36 MB

Radio Boston checks in on the maple crop this season and learn where people can visit sugarhouses to celebrate Maple Weekend.

Celebrate Pi day with Petsi Pies founder Renee McLeod

March 14, 2024 17:49 - 9 minutes - 8.7 MB

Somerville's Petsi Pies founder Renee McLeod tells us why pies are important to her and gives tips on how to make the best pies at home.

Boston's Haitian-American community grapples with home country's turmoil

March 14, 2024 17:49 - 17 minutes - 16.3 MB

Radio Boston looks at the chaos happening Haiti's capital of Port-Au-Prince through the eyes of our local Haitian-American community.

New book explores little known 1704 raid of English settlers in Deerfield

March 14, 2024 17:49 - 13 minutes - 12 MB

New York Times' best-selling author James Swanson examines that one event in his new book, “The Deerfield Massacre: A Surprise Attack, a Forced March, and the Fight for Survival in Early America." Swanson joins Radio Boston to discuss how this history is remembered. 

Day-to-day struggles weigh down the T's ambitious improvements

March 13, 2024 16:52 - 31 minutes - 29.1 MB

Boston Globe transportation reporter Taylor Dolven and Brain Kane of the MBTA Advisory Board join Radio Boston to dissect another wild week at the T.

Are any internet wellness trends actually rooted in science?

March 12, 2024 16:42 - 12 minutes - 11.8 MB

From "sleepy girl mocktail" to an all-meat diet, experts weigh in on internet wellness trends.

Months after promised improvements, little progress on filling public housing vacancies

March 12, 2024 16:31 - 12 minutes - 11.1 MB

WBUR investigations correspondent Todd Wallack joins Radio Boston for an update on the thousands of vacancies in Massachusetts' public housing system he first uncovered in 2023.

Before Mayor Wu's planned Blue Hill Ave. redesign, there was 28X

March 12, 2024 16:30 - 21 minutes - 20 MB

The 28X project, which envisioned Boston's first ever bus rapid transit line along Blue Hill Avenue, met significant community opposition after it was first proposed 2009. Now, 15 years later, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is trying to advance her own vision for bus lane project on the street. Are the differences big enough for history not to repeat itself?

As gaming business booms, Healey proposes cut to addiction funding

March 11, 2024 16:53 - 34 minutes - 31.3 MB

The gambling industry, which includes the year-old sports betting program, casinos, and the lottery, is big business in Massachusetts. Radio Boston explores the ethical tensions that loom over gambling in the commonwealth.

Reflecting on 4 years of the COVID-19 pandemic — and discussing what's to come

March 08, 2024 17:23 - 47 minutes - 43 MB

Radio Boston reflects on four years of the COVID-19 pandemic with health care leaders.

How 'American Fiction' reclaimed Hollywood's Boston representation

March 07, 2024 19:40 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MB

The Oscars will take place this Sunday, and "American Fiction," directed by Cord Jefferson, is one of the two Best Picture nominees set in the Greater Boston. 

Bill could put families in shelter system on the clock

March 07, 2024 17:36 - 9 minutes - 8.57 MB

A measure passed by the Massachusetts House yesterday would limit stays in the state's emergency shelter system to between 9 and twelve months.

Berklee symposium schools community on hip-hop both here and abroad

March 07, 2024 17:36 - 14 minutes - 13.5 MB

Radio Boston previews Berklee’s third annual International Hip-Hop Symposium this evening a few Boston-based DJs.

After Trump's big primary win in Mass., what's the future of conservatism in the commonwealth?

March 06, 2024 18:46 - 11 minutes - 10.2 MB

Radio Boston talks with Jennifer Nassour, who chaired Nikki Haley's campaign in Massachusetts and served as chair of the Massachusetts GOP from 2009 to 2011.

Haley suspends presidential campaign after primary losses in Massachusetts, other Super Tuesday states

March 06, 2024 17:18 - 17 minutes - 15.7 MB

Radio Boston talks with WBUR state politics reporter Walter Wuthmann, the Boston Globe's James Pindell, and John Milligan, executive director of the Massachusetts Republican Party. 

Berklee program teaches music to youth involved in the juvenile justice system

March 05, 2024 19:42 - 19 minutes - 17.4 MB

We learn more about a program through Berklee College of Music is teaching teens in the juvenile justice system about music and songwriting.

Trump, Haley vie for Massachusetts Republican votes on a rainy Super Tuesday

March 05, 2024 17:31 - 8 minutes - 7.97 MB

WBUR state politics reporter Walter Wuthmann joins Radio Boston from a polling place in Townsend with the latest on Super Tuesday voting in the commonwealth.

"No for Milton" leader reacts to growing opposition to MBTA Communities law

March 05, 2024 17:30 - 19 minutes - 17.4 MB

Denny Swenson, a leader of the "No for Milton" campaign that forced a successful local referendum against state-mandated zoning changes around T stops, joins Radio Boston to discuss growing pushback to the MBTA Communities law.

Mayor Wu talks about navigating policy priorities and community pushback

March 04, 2024 18:14 - 47 minutes - 43.4 MB

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu joins Radio Boston to talk about the clash between wanting to get policy priorities done and the tension of community pushback.

What silent comedy 'Hundreds of Beavers' can tell us about the indie film industry today

March 02, 2024 00:28 - 11 minutes - 10.9 MB

A modern silent slapstick comedy, "Hundreds of Beavers," is having its Boston-area premiere at the Somerville Theater tonight, and is showing through March 7. 

High Super Tuesday stakes in Mass. for Nikki Haley, state GOP chair Amy Carnevale

March 01, 2024 18:00 - 15 minutes - 13.9 MB

WBUR political correspondent Anthony Brooks joins Radio Boston to discuss what's at stake for Republicans in Massachusetts on Super Tuesday.

Cape Cod researchers track white shark deep into the Gulf of Mexico

March 01, 2024 18:00 - 10 minutes - 9.74 MB

The 14-foot shark, named LeeBeth, is now swimming off the cost of Matamoros, Mexico, more westward into the Gulf than researchers have ever seen.

Author David Grann on the impact and legacy of his book, 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

February 29, 2024 18:25 - 14 minutes - 13.6 MB

Author David Grann joins Radio Boston to talk about his book, "Killers of the Flower Moon." It tells the story of a series of murders of the Osage people in Oklahoma after oil was discovered on their tribal land, and how J. Edgar Hoover used the investigation of the murder to launch the FBI. 

Christian nationalism and Massachusetts

February 29, 2024 18:25 - 18 minutes - 17.4 MB

Radio Boston talks about the rise of Christian nationalism in the U.S. and what it means for Massachusetts.

Former Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien on his decision to coach at Boston College

February 29, 2024 18:24 - 13 minutes - 12.2 MB

Former Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien is headed to Chestnut Hill, for reasons, he tells Radio Boston, that have as much to do with family as they do with football.

Ukrainian-Americans await a foreign aid package that appears stuck in Congress

February 28, 2024 17:37 - 17 minutes - 16.1 MB

U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss provides an update on the latest in Washington, where a major foreign aid package is held up amidst Republican infighting.

Guests

Justin Long
1 Episode