Boston Public Radio Podcast

BPR Full Show 11/17: Trump Economic Storm

Today:Rickey McGee was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the shooting death of a convenience store clerk who was killed during a robbery in the Fenway. For 28 years, McGee maintained his innocence. Behind bars, he co-founded the Harriet Tubman Project in 2021, which brings together incarcerated people fighting wrongful convictions.In October he was released from prison, and thanks to McGee’s own advocacy and the Innocence Program at the Public Defender’s Office, prosecutors officially dropped the murder case after new evidence weakened the testimony of the prosecution's main witness. McGee joined Jim and Margery in Studio 3 on Monday with his partner Jacqueline Fonseca, who works for the New England Innocence Project.

The Boston Globe's Nancy Barnes and Shirley Leung join for “Press Play" media analysis. The talk about AI in journalism, new polls about Americans' trust in media, and the 2025 Globe Summit. GBH's Callie Crossley discusses a bill on book banning, new lousy polling numbers for President Trump and Cheryl Hines' new memoir.Shelter Music Boston performs for Live Music Friday. They’re celebrating 15 years of performing in local homeless shelters. We talk with founder Julie Levin, founding violist Rebecca Strauss and managing director Carrie Eldridge-DicksonNBC10 Boston's Sue O’Connell recaps her trip to Canada reporting on the Christmas tree cutting ceremony. Plus, SCOTUS declining to hear case to overturn same-sex marriage and an alligator in the Charles River.

BPR Full Show 11/13: Government Shutdown Has Ended

The Culture Show's Jared Bowen discusses Norman Rockwell's family speaking out against the Trump administration for warping his legacy and Serj Tankian's exhibit at the Armenian Museum in Watertown.Comedian and actor Tom Papa joins ahead of a show on his "Grateful Bread" tour.Boston Ballet executive director Ming Min Hui and artistic director Mikko Nissinen discuss their current production of 'Jewels' and their original production of The Nutcracker.NBC10 Boston's Sue O'Connell joins remotely from Nova Scotia, where Mayor Wu has traveled to pick up Boston's Christmas tree.National security expert Juliette Kayyem on U.S. intelligence showing the Israeli military warned there was evidence of war crimes in Gaza, raising legitimate questions of American complicity if Israel faces war crimes charges. Plus, the UK pausing intelligence-sharing with the U.S. over boat strikes in the Caribbean.

Today:  The Trump family is raking it in on the crypto-currency market. We talk to Axios Boston business editor Dan Primack about all the ways the Trump family is using the presidency to grow their personal wealth. Then, Congressman Jake Auchincloss discusses the government shutdown, the Democratic party's future, and Veterans Day.  

BPR Full Show 11/11: Service In The Age Of Trump

We start the show by getting your reactions to the Senate Democrats who agreed to help Republicans re-open the government. President Trump just gave a pardon to former Mr. Four Seasons Landscaping himself, Rudy Giuliani – along with dozens others – for charges related to trying to overthrow the free and fair 2020 election. We discuss that and more with Brian McGrory, former editor of the Boston Globe and current head of Journalism at Boston University. As the senate makes progress on ending the shutdown, it’s still not totally clear when SNAP recipients can expect the return of food assistance. Food policy analyst Corby Kummer explains. Boston Medical Center’s Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett joins with Tamika Jackson, CEO of The Beautiful Way Foundation, to talk racial equity in clinical trials. Ken Oringer is a James Beard-winning chef behind restaurants like Torro and Uni. He's launched a brand-new pasta venture centered around good food and helping employ people with autism, called Chitarra Pastaria. He joins

It's our Friday media analysis segment “Press Play” with NBC 10 Boston's media maven Sue O’Connell and GBH’s Adam Reilly, on the Pentagon’s new MAGA press crew and a new report showing teens think the media is biased and boring. As the Trump administration continues its assault on free thought and open inquiry, how are local libraries weathering the storm? We ask Boston Public Library’s David Leonard and Watertown Free Public Library’s Kim Long.Then it's Live Music Friday with veteran R&B vocalist, Berklee’s Gabrielle Goodman, ahead of a show at Long Live Roxbury.Plus, our Trump Tracker segment, with just a few of the horrors you may have overlooked this week, coming out of the flood-the-zone Oval Office.And we check in with Boston Globe business columnist Shirley Leung on the impact of sports betting on kids’ sports, the allure of progressive Millennial mayors, and how anyone could think Elon Musk deserves a trillion dollar salary. 

BPR Full Show 11/6: How To Share Office Donuts

Governor Maura Healey joins for Ask the Governor.Then we open the  phone lines to hear listener reactions to yesterday's elections results. Faith Soloway, Bitch and Melissa Ferrick are all part of a musical comedy show "One Long Earring." They perform ahead of a show tomorrow night at the Crystal Ballroom.GBH's Jared Bowen discusses Kennedy Center ticket sales plummeting and Serj Tankian's exhibit at the Armenian Museum in Watertown.CNN chief national correspondent John King joins for a politics rundown and election day debrief.We end the show with a query about the exclamation mark. When should it be use, if ever? We take your calls!!

Massachusetts AG Andrea Campbell takes from audience members.Senator Ed Markey on the government shutdown, food access, and small businesses feeling the pressure amid tariffs. The Boston Foundation's Lee Pelton joins to discuss how the government shutdown is impacting nonprofit workTiffani Faison and Zimu Chen are restaurateurs behind two of Boston Magazine's favorite new spots: Bubble Bath + Darling. They join to discuss

Today:ACLU of Massachusetts executive director Carol Rose discusses the challenges to the rule of law under the current presidential administration, and the legal victories holding those in power accountable. And David Shapiro, head of the YMCA of Greater Boston, discusses how his organization is joining the effort to keep vulnerable Massachusetts residents fed through the government shutdown. Boston residents can visit Boston.gov/SNAP or call Boston 311 to learn more about the City resources that are available for support. 

National security expert Juliette Kayyem on the investigation into an explosion at a Harvard Medical School building over the weekend, and President Trump’s continued attacks on Venezuelan boats, even as the UN cites human rights violations. Plus, why he's threatening U.S. military action in Nigeria.Carol Rose of the ACLU of Massachusetts discusses the ACLU-led class action suit on behalf of detained immigrants who have been denied bond hearings. Plus, whether the U.S. supreme court will hand Trump yet another major victory on tariffs. Michael Curry of the Mass League of Community Health Centers on the government shutdown, healthcare costs and remembering his friend, former Newton mayor Setti Warren.David Shapiro of the YMCA of Greater Boston on how the Y is meeting Boston’s food needs during the shutdown.  Alexander Smalls is an award-winning opera singer turned James Beard Award-winning cookbook author and chef. He joins us ahead of an event at Suffolk University.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island discusses the government shutdown and his latest efforts to limit the influence of special interest groups in elections.GBH's Callie Crossley weighs in on SNAP benefits drying up, a new debate around autonomous vehicles in Boston and Trump reinstalling a confederate statue in D.C. Nick Shea is a rapper/portrait artist who’s grown an online following since starting a $1 portrait project on Boston Common three years ago. He joins for Live Music Friday ahead of a new album release. Victoria Kichuk is the chocolate sommelier behind the local tasting tour group Cocoa Beantown. She guides Jim and Margery through an assortment of treats from local chocolatiers.Media maven Sue O’Connell discusses a Texas Supreme Court ruling that judges can refuse same-sex marriages, Harvard conservatives testing the boundaries of free speech, Karen Read’s attorney putting Michael Cox on blast and controversy around the Boston strip club Centerfolds trying to move a few blocks over into Chinato

Today:Brandon Cardet Hernandez, member of the Boston Public School Committee, discusses the literacy bill making its way through Beacon Hill, bell-to-bell phone bans in schools, and getting rid of the MCAS as a graduation requirement.Then economic scholar Chuck Collins discusses his latest book: Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power are Ruining Our Lives and Planet. 

BPR Full Show 10/30: Day 30 Of Shutdown

Boston Globe travel writer Christopher Muther talks about the impact of the government shutdown on air travel, why international tourists are skipping the U.S. and therapy dogs at Logan airport.Kelly Beatty from Sky & Telescope on a “Boston Henge” phenomenon in Back Bay, the Smithsonian's plans to get the Discovery shuttle to Texas and an asteroid that's maybe headed for the moon in 2032. Gabrielle Hamilton is the James Beard-winning chef behind the New York restaurant Prune, and author of “Blood, Bones & Butter.” She joins to talk about her latest, a memoir called “Next of Kin,” ahead of an appearance tonight at Harvard Book Store. Jody Adams and Aidan McGee are the chefs behind La Padrona and McGonagle’s Pub, two Boston restaurants recognized in the New York Times’ list of the 50 best restaurants across America. They talk about their food and what this good press means for their business. 

Today: Former New York Mayor Bill de Blasio discusses the New York City mayor's race; he's endorsed Zohran Mamdani. We'll talk about his hope for the future of New York and Democrats across the country.And, Boston Medical Center’s Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett joins us with Dr. Lisa Fontes on the health impacts of domestic violence, and how to prevent it.

Former NY mayor, one-time presidential candidate Bill DeBlasio calls in to discuss the NYC mayor's race; he's endorsed MamdaniSports authority Trenni Casey discusses the NBA gambling indictmentsDr. Katherine Gergen Barnett and Dr. Lisa Fontes discuss domestic violence and prevention/awareness through the lens of public healthAnthony Amore, current director of security at the Gardner Museum, discusses the Louvre heist.The Wagner Foundation's Abigail Satinsky joins with Street Theory artist Ayana Mack and director Rob 'ProBlak' Gibbs to discuss a new partnership exhibit "From the Page to the Stage" in service of the Street Theory Collective's upcoming community hub for BIPOC artists in Cambridge