Radio Boston

Tensions continue at Harvard after a letter from student groups blamed Israel for Hamas attacks

October 16, 2023 17:01 - 10 minutes - 9.33 MB

WBUR education reporter Max Larkin joins Radio Boston to talk about tensions at Harvard University following a letter signed by student groups last weekend that argued Israel was to blame for the Hamas attacks.

African-born students shine as agents of change in documentary 'Brief Tender Light'

October 16, 2023 17:00 - 15 minutes - 14 MB

Radio Boston interviews Arthur Musah, director of "Brief Tender Light," about the journeys of five African-born MIT students, including himself, who were driven to study in the U.S. and create change at home.

Setting family rules around Halloween candy can get sticky

October 13, 2023 20:22 - 11 minutes - 10.5 MB

Radio Boston talks with local writers and parents Quiana Agbai and Jennie Weiner about the traditions and rules around Halloween candy in their households.

Presidential candidates gear up for New Hampshire primary amid tumult

October 13, 2023 16:23 - 17 minutes - 16 MB

WBUR senior political correspondent Anthony Brooks and Politico's Lisa Kashinsky join Radio Boston from the campaign trail in New Hampshire.

New exhibit looks at how Boston's skyline has changed over the decades

October 13, 2023 16:22 - 17 minutes - 16.4 MB

A new exhibit at the Boston Athenaeum showcases images of Boston taken 30 years apart by photographers Berenice Abbott and Irene Shwachman. Radio Boston spoke with assistant curator Lauren Graves about the photographers.

The MBTA wrestles with transparency

October 12, 2023 16:47 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MB

The MBTA hadd a handful of wins this week, but continues its struggle with its own opaqueness, evidenced by a podcast episode posted by the agency featuring General Manager Phillip Eng that was removed from the Internet earlier this month.

Bill Belichick has become the villain for Patriots fans. Is his time up?

October 12, 2023 16:46 - 15 minutes - 14.4 MB

Radio Boston dives into whether Patriots coach Bill Belichick has finally lost his fastball.

How to carve a pumpkin like a pro

October 11, 2023 17:13 - 13 minutes - 11.9 MB

While you may have gutted and gouged a gourd before, it's always good to ask the experts for a little advice. Here are tips and tricks to carve a pumpkin like a pro.

Master pumpkin carver brings spectacular jack-o'-lanterns to life

October 11, 2023 17:13 - 13 minutes - 11.9 MB

Radio Boston hosts a master pumpkin carver to give listeners some tips for Halloween.

How the war in Israel is reverberating across faiths in Greater Boston

October 11, 2023 17:13 - 7 minutes - 6.6 MB

Rev. Burns Stanfield, chair of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, a nonpartisan multi-faith membership organization, joins us to reflect on the war in Israel and Gaza.

Rep. Jake Auchincloss on war in Israel, House speaker suspense

October 11, 2023 17:13 - 26 minutes - 24.2 MB

Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss joins Radio Boston from Washington, D.C. as House Republicans meet behind closed doors to pick their candidate for House speaker.

Congressman Seth Moulton on conflict in Israel, House Speaker uncertainty

October 10, 2023 16:37 - 21 minutes - 20.1 MB

We talk with Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton as war brews abroad and uncertainty churns in the U.S. House.

Local paleontologist talks Massachusetts' prehistoric past

October 10, 2023 16:37 - 13 minutes - 12.8 MB

Radio Boston talks all things dinosaurs and prehistory with Eugenia Gold, an assistant biology professor at Suffolk University.

A local rabbi reacts to violence in Israel and Gaza

October 10, 2023 16:37 - 11 minutes - 10.5 MB

Radio Boston talks with rabbi Joel Sisenwine of Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley about the ongoing violence in Israel and Palestine as the death toll continues to grow.

New Ken Burns film explores the life and legacy of the American Buffalo

October 10, 2023 16:37 - 27 minutes - 25.2 MB

Filmmaker Ken Burns joins Radio Boston to discuss his new film "The American Buffalo" which explores the life and legacy of the country's national mammal. The film tells the story of the role of the Buffalo in Indigenous life, its systemic destruction at the hands of white Europeans and the eventual efforts to save the animal from extinction.

Rep. Pressley on Massachusetts delegation's united front amid congressional turmoil

October 06, 2023 16:53 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MB

Radio Boston talks about the upheaval on Capitol Hill with Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.

A look at the controversy over new funding for a Boston police intelligence center

October 06, 2023 16:53 - 17 minutes - 16 MB

Supporters of the funding for the Boston Regional Intelligence Center, including Mayor Michelle Wu, say the center is a key policing tool that's undergone reforms to address concerns about discrimination. Opponents, including all five Black and Latino Boston city councilors, say the BRIC still engages in racial profiling.

Massachusetts' tax reform bill is now law. How big of a boost is it?

October 05, 2023 17:05 - 7 minutes - 7.29 MB

Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka joined Radio Boston to talk about the state's new tax cuts.

Mass. Cannabis Control Commission wrestles with internal and external challenges

October 05, 2023 17:04 - 11 minutes - 10.7 MB

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission is under an unwelcome microscope, as drama between suspended Commission chair Shannon O'Brien and state treasurer Deb Goldberg overshadows the work of regulating a $5 billion industry.

An Arlington news site is using ChatGPT for its coverage. Should we be worried?

October 05, 2023 17:04 - 9 minutes - 8.35 MB

Radio Boston's latest Tech Talk focuses on an Arlington news site that relies on ChatGPT.

Healey announces move aimed at spurring offshore wind in New England

October 04, 2023 17:13 - 9 minutes - 8.29 MB

An agreement announced this morning by Governor Healey will allow Massachusetts. Connecticut, and Rhode Island to work together to procure offshore wind energy.

How Rep. Katherine Clark whipped the Democratic votes to oust McCarthy as speaker

October 04, 2023 17:12 - 4 minutes - 3.94 MB

Radio Boston talks with WBUR senior political reporter Anthony Brooks about the role Massachusetts representatives played in the historic ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy as from his position as speaker of the House.

A conversation with Boston University's next president, Dr. Melissa Gilliam

October 04, 2023 17:12 - 8 minutes - 7.71 MB

Dr. Melissa Gilliam will be the next President of Boston University, the school announced Wednesday morning. WBUR's Radio Boston talks with Dr. Gilliam about what calls her to higher education leadership and the challenges she'll face when she starts the new role on July 1, 2024.

What Massachusetts' new tax proposal means for Healey's competitiveness goals

October 03, 2023 16:16 - 10 minutes - 9.34 MB

WBUR's Radio Boston tackles Massachusetts' new tax relief package.

Belle Isle Marsh is the last marsh standing against climate change in Boston Harbor

October 03, 2023 16:16 - 8 minutes - 7.53 MB

Radio Boston talks with the organization Friends of Belle Isle Marsh about the importance of the marsh in Boston Harbor's fight against climate change.

How a local nonprofit is supporting — and shaping — state and national gun control efforts

October 02, 2023 18:23 - 10 minutes - 9.36 MB

We talk with Gregg Croteau and Jose Pizzini of Lowell-based violence prevention group UTEC about gun violence prevention on a state and national level.

Breaking down the spending bill that averted a government shutdown

October 02, 2023 18:22 - 18 minutes - 17.2 MB

We talk with U.S. Rep. from Massachusetts Jake Auchincloss, as well as former Congressman Mike Capuano and WBUR reporter Walt Wuthmann.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren on local impacts of a possible government shutdown

September 29, 2023 16:13 - 12 minutes - 11.3 MB

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren joins us to talk about what a possible government shutdown could mean for Massachusetts.

A look inside the $1.6 billion development plan around Fenway Park

September 29, 2023 16:12 - 18 minutes - 17.3 MB

What happens when an entire city— an entire region, even — claims a century-old patch of grass as its backyard? The answer is dividing Red Sox fans and residents.

Rep. Jim McGovern on what a government shutdown would mean for Massachusetts

September 28, 2023 16:25 - 12 minutes - 11.5 MB

WBUR's Radio Boston talks with Rep. Jim McGovern about WIC, the federal food assistance program for moms and young kids that could quickly run out of money if Congress misses its end-of-month deadline for a budget deal.

Joel Christian Gill on the local independent comic scene, and where Boston artists fit in

September 28, 2023 16:24 - 10 minutes - 9.27 MB

Joel Christian Gill joins us for our monthly deep dive into all things comics with a look at the upcoming Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo happening in Boston this weekend.

'Healing Dakota' spotlights local man's work helping dogs recover from PTSD

September 28, 2023 16:24 - 7 minutes - 7.04 MB

James Lamonte joins WBUR's Radio Boston to talk about his work helping dogs recover from PTSD and how it can be used to recognize PTSD in humans.

The latest on why the T is so off track

September 28, 2023 12:40 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MB

The MBTA's less-than-one-year-old Green Line Extension is in serious disrepair. Meanwhile, federal regulators are tightening the leash on track work in the name of worker safety.

What to know about Isabella Stewart Gardner, the woman behind one of Boston's most celebrated museums

September 26, 2023 16:25 - 14 minutes - 13.4 MB

Thousands walk through her home-turned-museum every year, but do we really know who Isabella Stewart Gardner was? A fresh look at her life reveals that we may be remembering her for the wrong things.

A look at the movement to bus Boston's students before the court order to desegregate

September 26, 2023 16:25 - 32 minutes - 29.3 MB

We hear from Michael Curry, president and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and a member of the national board of directors for the NAACP, and and Lyda Peters, long-time Boston educator and civil rights activist, about the creation and legacy of the METCO program.

Mayor Wu talks MBTA, youth and proposed funding for controversial police unit

September 25, 2023 16:53 - 47 minutes - 43.1 MB

Mayor Wu joined WBUR's Radio Boston to talk about her sense of urgency with MBTA system improvements, how Boston's school buses are running in the new school year, recent incidences of youth violence and why she is proposing funding for a police unit she once campaigned against.

What we learned from the WBUR and ProPublica investigation into Mass. subsidized housing

September 21, 2023 16:36 - 14 minutes - 13.6 MB

A new WBUR and ProPublica investigation found a surprising number of state-owned affordable housing units are vacant.

A musical trip from swing to psychedelic with Mehmet Ali Sanlikol

September 21, 2023 16:35 - 23 minutes - 21.1 MB

We speak with Mehmet Ali Sanlikol, a professor of music history & musicology at the New England Conservatory, about his latest record, "Turkish Hipster: Tales from Swing to Psychedelic."

Gov. Maura Healey on the MBTA, the influx of migrants, taxes and housing

September 20, 2023 16:19 - 46 minutes - 42.3 MB

Gov. Maura Healey joins the show to talk the MBTA, migrants, taxes and more.

State senator says Massachusetts parentage laws need an update

September 19, 2023 16:49 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MB

State Sen. Julian Cyr joins Radio Boston to talk about the Massachusetts Parentage Act.

Making omelets without eggs from scratch with Chef Joe Gatto

September 19, 2023 16:13 - 16 minutes - 15.3 MB

Chef Joe Gatto cooks up some omelets with us. The twist? We won't be using eggs!

Exploring busing in Boston through one mother-daughter relationship

September 19, 2023 16:12 - 16 minutes - 15.2 MB

Local bestselling author Dennis Lehane has spent a lifetime reflecting on busing, too, whether he meant to or not, and he wrote his latest book "Small Mercies," about it. We revisit that conversation with Lehane as part of WBUR's Field Guide to Boston.

Wu takes aim at Boston's zoning code, setting the stage for a potentially tedious but consequential reform battle

September 18, 2023 17:17 - 16 minutes - 14.7 MB

Boston homeowners have notoriously sharp elbows for keeping new developments -- especially big apartment buildings -- out of their neighborhoods. For decades, they've been aided by a uniquely complex zoning code that Mayor Michelle Wu now seeks to overhaul.

The Government Center garage demolition is interrupting downtown Green Line service for nearly a month

September 18, 2023 17:16 - 16 minutes - 14.8 MB

Beginning Monday, the long-delayed demolition of the Government Center garage will force the Green Line to stop running between Government Center and North Station.

The Red Sox fired Chaim Bloom, but their problems might not be all his fault

September 18, 2023 17:13 - 13 minutes - 12.7 MB

The Sox fired president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom last week as the team tries to stave off another last-place finish in the American League East. But are the Sox's struggles all on him?

Boston police commissioner on recent violence in the city, and what's next at 'Mass. and Cass'

September 15, 2023 16:53 - 46 minutes - 42.3 MB

A year into the job as Boston police commissioner, Michael Cox has witnessed violence in the city and a new proposal for addressing tent encampments at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard. Today, he's on the show to share his view on the role of policing in Boston.

Episodes