Boston Public Radio Podcast

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Caplan Urges ‘Prudence’ Through Winter Ahead of Vaccine Distribution Nov 18, 2020

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Medical ethicist Art Caplan joined Boston Public Radio on Wednesday, talking about the flurry of news on two promising coronavirus vaccines from U.S. developers Pfizer and Moderna.

Caplan cautioned that while word of the vaccines is promising, delays in distribution mean that people need to continue taking the pandemic seriously for foreseeable future.

"I’m worried that we’re going to forget that over the next couple of months, we’ve gotta be hyper-cautious,” he said. "We don’t [yet] have vaccines – we have flaring, forest-fire levels of virus all over the place… if we can just get through the dark winter, I think there’s a spring coming. But we’ve gotta get through the dark winter with prudence.”

Caplan is the Drs. William F and Virginia Connolly Mitty Chair, and director of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU School of Medicine.

BPR Full Show 11/17/20: Decoration Warp Speed Nov 17, 2020

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Today on Boston Public Radio:

Filmmaker Mike Shum discussed his latest documentary for FRONTLINE, "American Voices: A Nation in Turmoil,” about the perspectives of Americans on the events of 2020, from Black Lives Matter protests to the coronavirus pandemic.
Next, we opened our lines to ask listeners: do you think Joe Biden will be able to make good on his pledge to unite the country?
NBC Sports Boston reporter and anchor Trenni Kusnierek weighed in on news that the MLB is appointing its first-ever female general manager in Kim Ng, who’ll be managing the Miami Marlins. She also discussed how college sports leagues are navigating the pandemic, including plans to contain next year's March Madness to select stadiums in Indianapolis.
Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett returned to give an update on all things coronavirus. She discussed the latest news around a vaccine, the potential return of lockdowns to Mass., and responded to questions and comments from listeners. Gergen Barnett is the vice chair of Primary Care Innovation and Transformation and Residency Director in the Department of Family Medicine at Boston Medical Center and Boston University Medical School.

Boston Globe business columnist Shirley Leung talked about Gov. Baker’s nomination of Serge Georges Jr. to the Supreme Judicial Court, worker layoffs at Boston's Mariott Copley Place, and her latest reporting for the Globe on why Mass. businesses can’t yet afford another lockdown on par with what we saw in the spring.
CNN’s John King called in for his weekly politics debrief, where he weighed in President Trump’s refusal to concede his 2020 election loss, and a New York Times report that he sought options to attack Iran in the final months of his presidency.
We closed out Tuesday’s show by opening lines to ask: is your cure for the pandemic blues busting out the holiday lights, candles, trees and music?

COVID-19 Roundup With Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett Nov 17, 2020

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Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett gave a roundup of recent COVID-19 developments going on across the country, and here in Massachusetts, on Boston Public Radio this Tuesday.

“Things are pretty dire across the country - everyday we hear news about states and governors who are finally putting in orders around masks and starting to close indoor dining, bars, and gyms,” she said. “Populations that really didn’t believe COVID-19 was true, or didn’t believe the severity of it, are now getting very ill, some on their death beds resenting this is true.”

As for Thanksgiving festivities, Dr. Gergen Barnett asks people to get creative celebrating the holiday remotely.

“Increasingly states with very high rates - and in Massachusetts we’re certainly barreling up to high numbers - we’re really asking people to please just have this Thanksgiving be like no other Thanksgiving, be creative, maybe take an outdoor hike with masks on,” she said. “There’s lots of other ways to appreciate gratitude on Thanksgiving besides sitting around a lot of food for a number of hours.”

Gergen Barnett is the Vice Chair of Primary Care Innovation and Transformation and the Program Director in the Department of Family Medicine at Boston Medical Center. She is also an assistant professor of Family Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine.

BPR Full Show 11/16/20: Closed Classrooms & Covid Cures Nov 16, 2020

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Today on Boston Public Radio:
We kicked off Monday’s show by talking with listeners about the disastrous coronavirus surge throughout the U.S., and new developments in the race for a vaccine.
Boston Globe political reporter James Pindell discussed GOP efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and weighed in on the slew of issues facing Democrats in the wake of underwhelming Election Day results.
Emily Oster, Brown economist and co-author of CovidExplained.org, made her case for why the benefits of moving forward with in-person learning outweigh the risks, and discussed the economic divide between pandemic-era education for wealthy kids versus their less well-off peers.
T.V. expert Bob Thompson reviewed the latest episodes of “The Crown” and “SNL,” and talked about the known details of a forthcoming show from Jon Stewart on Apple TV Plus.
Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett Price, hosts of GBH’s All Rev’d Up, debated the impact of evangelical voters on the 2020 election, and weighed in on the newly-emerged child sex abuse scandal within the Catholic Church, involving ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.
In light of HBO’s “The Undoing” returning to the format of one episode per week, we opened lines to talk with listeners about your feelings on T.V. binging.
Inaugural poet Richard Blanco recited some poems about American hope in the face of turmoil.

BPR Full Show 11/13/20: How We Got Here Nov 13, 2020

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Today on Boston Public Radio:
We opened the show by talking with listeners about America’s worsening coronavirus crisis, and why you think the United States ended up where it is today.
Filmmaker Frederick Wiseman discussed his new in-depth documentary about Boston Marty Walsh's administration, titled “City Hall.”
Beat the Press host Emily Rooney talked about the spread of election misinformation on Fox News, read a COVID-themed list of fixations and fulminations, and previewed Friday’s episode of Beat the Press.
Under the Radar and Basic Black host Callie Crossley talked about Rudy Giuliani's chaotic press conference at the Four Seasons Total Landscaping, Stacey Abrams’ efforts ahead of January's runoff election in Georgia, and her excitement about America’s (soon to be) first second gentleman Doug Emhoff.

Suffolk County D.A. Rachael Rollins joined for our monthly “Ask the D.A.” series. She talked about her views on the prosecution style of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Netflix's true crime series “Trial 4," about a Boston murder case, and who she'd like to see appointed as A.G. under President-elect Joe Biden.

BPR Full Show 11/12/20: A Nation of Law(yer)s Nov 12, 2020

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Today on Boston Public Radio:
NBC “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd discussed President Trump’s deluge of lawsuits attempting to delegitimize his election loss, and gave his take President-elect Biden’s leveled reaction.

We opened lines to hear your takes on what exactly President Trump is planning, as he spreads false claims about voter fraud and refuses to concede his loss to Present-elect Biden.
Former Suffolk County sheriff and secretary of public safety Andrea Cabral discussed members of the legal community who are actively distancing themselves from President Trump’s effort to litigate his way into a second term. She also reflected on why white American voters have so reliably swung Republican.
Sen. Ed Markey talked about the surge of coronavirus throughout the U.S., and why he’s worried about it getting worse in the final months of the Trump administration. He also weighed in on Trump’s refusal to concede defeat, and the actions he hopes President-elect Biden will make to move the U.S. forward on the environment during in his first weeks in office.
Former Mass. education secretary Paul Reville explained why he believes Mass. ought to be better prioritizing in-person learning, and discussed the moves President-elect Joe Biden can make to boost public education in a post-Betsy Devos era.
Mike Astrue discussed President Trump’s unprecedented refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election, and reflected on some past presidential transitions that he helped facilitate. He also read a Vietnam War-era poem Richard Wilbur that's relevant for today, called "For the Student Strikers." Astrue served as counsel in both the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, and as commissioner of the Social Security Administration in both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. He also writes and translates poetry under the alias A.M. Juster, and his latest book of poetry is "Wonder and Wrath.”
We closed out Thursday’s show by returning to listeners, to hear your thoughts and concerns about traveling college students and this year’s Thanksgiving.

Student Learning Losses Are 'Piling Up,' Paul Reville Warns Nov 12, 2020

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Former Massachusetts education secretary Paul Reville returned to Boston Public Radio on Thursday, lamenting failures in the Commonwealth’s execution of pandemic-era public schooling.

Amid news of high remote-learning rates and inefficient virtual classrooms, Reville warned that student learning losses are piling up, “literally day to day now,” and argued that the state needs to do more to prioritize education ahead of services like gyms, restaurants and movie theaters.

“I think it needs to be a more urgent national and statewide priority, to put in place conditions in schools that’re going to give both teachers and parents that sense of security that they can send their children back to school safely,” he said.

During the interview, Reville also discussed his hopes for the public education priorities of President-elect Joe Biden, and weighed in on the challenge of limiting the spread of COVID-19 as college students head home for Thanksgiving.

Reville is a former Mass. Secretary of Education and a professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, where he also runs the Education Redesign Lab. His latest book is "Broader, Bolder, Better: How Schools and Communities Help Students Overcome the Disadvantages of Poverty.”

BPR Full Show 11/11/20: Soldiering On Nov 11, 2020

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Today on Boston Public Radio:

M.I.T. economist Jonathan Gruber explained why he’s (mostly) optimistic about the prospect of a Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, and the Biden administration’s ability to distribute it. He also touched on his thoughts around a case involving the Affordable Care Act that’s currently before the Supreme Court.

We opened our lines to hear your thoughts on the word of COVID-19 vaccine, and whether you’d feel confident enough to take it.

CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem weighed in on President Trump’s refusal to concede defeat to President-elect Joe Biden, and the support he’s getting from his staff and GOP congressional leaders.

Rep. Seth Moulton talked about the national security risks created by President Trump’s refusal to concede to President-elect Joe Biden, and his pride in helping to create recently-passed legislation to establish a three-digit mental health hotline. He also previewed a Veteran's Day virtual town hall that he'll be co-hosting Wednesday night.

We opened lines to ask: with the Trump administration spreading misinformation about the election and refusing to accept the electoral math, are you worried about the possibility of a coup?

Medical ethicist Art Caplan discussed news around a potential coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer, weighing the impact of President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed on the company’s breakthrough, and talking about the logistics of distribution.

GBH Executive Arts Editor Jared Bowen discussed the latest news around the MFA’s delay of a controversial exhibit presenting the works of painter Philip Guston, as well as their new Claude Monet exhibit. He also talked about a new work from playwright Andrei Kureichik about the ongoing pro-democracy protests in Belarus, called “Insulted. Belarus(Sia)."

Juliette Kayyem: Republican Party 'Irredeemable' For Standing By False Claims Made By Trump Nov 11, 2020

Show notes

President Donald Trump has yet to concede to President-elect Joe Biden, stating baseless claims of voting fraud. The Trump administration, along with leading Republicans, have also refused to recognize Biden’s victory.

Homeland security expert Juliette Kayyem spoke with Boston Public Radio on Wednesday about the damaging false narrative touted by Trump and his supporters.

“Nothing is unexpected in the sense that Trump has built a lifetime into this being his exist; it is clear that this is a charade,” she said. “It’s damaging to our election process and [it shows] the patheticness of the Republican Party, which is in my mind now irredeemable.”

Kayyem is an analyst for CNN, former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and faculty chair of the homeland security program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Art Caplan On The Ethics Of Distributing Potential Pfizer Vaccine Nov 11, 2020

Show notes

Pfizer announced this week that their COVID-19 vaccine exceeds expectations for effectiveness. So when can Americans expect to see doses in their doctor’s office?

Medical ethicist Arthur Caplan told Boston Public Radio some people could receive the vaccine “as early as the end of December.”

The vaccine itself needs to pass another milestone before it’s authorized for emergency use: current test subjects need to be monitored for safety issues for a few more weeks.

Then, the distribution may be limited by logistics within the supply chain due to refrigeration requirements. Higher risk populations like health care workers and older people will likely be prioritized, but Caplan said the broader population could see the vaccine by spring 2021.

“It’s a two-dose vaccine … even if you start administering it in April, you’re probably not going to start seeing benefits until May and June, because it takes that long to work.”

Caplan is the Drs. William F and Virginia Connolly Mitty Chair, and director of the Division of Medical Ethics at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

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