The Common

Latest Episodes:

Radioactive waste and Cape Cod Bay Apr 03, 2023

Show notes

For the last year or so, the company in charge of cleaning up the shuttered Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth has been slowly moving ahead with its plans to discharge contaminated wastewater from the plant into Cape Cod Bay. But recently, opposition from area residents, activists and politicians has been heating up.

WBUR Climate and Environment Correspondent Barbara Moran joins The Common to share some updates on the decommissioning process, and the state and public's attempt to find out what's really in that dirty water.

Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

Your guide to the freshest art in Boston this spring Mar 31, 2023

Show notes

Does the coming of spring put you in the mood to see a play? How about a film? Maybe a dance performance? You want to get out and explore the freshest art blooming in the Boston arts scene, but you're not sure where to start?

Look no further than WBUR's Spring Art Guides, covering theatre, film festivals, art exhibitions, classical music, books, dance, and albums.

WBUR Arts Editor Lauren Williams joins The Common to discuss some highlights from the art guides, and offers her recommendations for how to make the most of the season.

Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

MBTA's next stop: Phillip Eng Mar 30, 2023

Show notes

The wait for a new MBTA general manager is finally over. Governor Maura Healy announced Monday that Phillip Eng will take over the T, bringing with him four decades of transit experience in New York. WBUR Transportation Reporter Andrea Perdomo-Hernandez joins The Common to discuss what's ahead for Eng as he works to restore rider trust in a transit agency that has been ridden with service and safety issues in recent years.

Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

Pay attention to that blue envelope in your mailbox Mar 29, 2023

Show notes

The state is rechecking the eligibility of all 2.3 million Bay Staters who receive insurance through MassHealth, as the federal COVID emergency winds down. Hundreds of thousands are expected to lose eligibility for MassHealth, meaning folks will need to find alternative health insurance coverage.

WBUR Senior Health Reporter Priyanka Dayal McCluskey joins The Common to walk us through this process, which, for many, will start with receiving a certain blue envelope in the mail.

Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

By bus, it’s a hike to the Blue Hills Mar 28, 2023

Show notes

A new study from the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Agency finds stark inequities in access to the Blue Hills Reservation for public transit-reliant residents. According to the study, called Unlocking the Blue Hills: Addressing Equity and Access in the Blue Hills Reservation, a bus ride to the Blue Hills from neighborhoods just a few miles alway can take well over an hour, and include multiple transfers.

Sean Rourke, manager of communications & engagement at the Boston MPO, joins The Common to break down the study's findings and proposed solutions.

Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

A chemical fire in Braintree Mar 27, 2023

Show notes

In February, some chemical waste in a tractor trailer spontaneously combusted at a Clean Harbors hazardous waste disposal center in Braintree. By the time the fire was put out, three trailers of chemical waste had burned. Today, the impacts of this incident still aren’t fully known.

WBUR Senior Climate and Environment reporter, Miriam Wasser joins The Common to walk us through this incident and what it could mean for residents of Braintree and beyond.

Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

Five restaurants to try this Women's History Month Mar 24, 2023

Show notes

It's Women's History Month. It's also the final days of Dine Out Boston, a two-week event that highlights local restaurants, and encourages people to explore the city’s dining scene.

Editor of Eater Boston, Erika Adams join The Common to walk us through five must-try, women-owned restaurants in Boston and Cambridge, some of which are participating in Dine Out Boston, and for a conversation about the importance of supporting women-owned eateries.

Erika's Five-to-try:

Trade: Downtown Boston, owned by Jody Adams Suya Joint: Roxbury, owned by Cecelia Lizotte Pagu: Cambridge, owned by Tracy Chang Shanti: Dorchester, Roslindale, Cambridge, co-owned by Rokeya Chowdhury Urban Hearth: Cambridge, owned by Erin Miller

Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

Asian American students feel overlooked, report finds Mar 23, 2023

Show notes

A new report commissioned by members of the Massachusetts Asian American Educators Association finds that Asian American students in Boston Public High Schools are more likely to report feeling an absence of belonging, and a lack of interest from teachers as compared to Black, Latino or white students.

Go Sasaki is a co-author of the report “Truth from Youth: The Asian American Experience in BPS High Schools” and a former BPS educator. He joins The Common for a deeper look at the report's findings, and the myths and tropes that impact many Asian American students.

Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

Required MBTA housing law is, well, required Mar 22, 2023

Show notes

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has announced that cities and towns must comply with the new MBTA Communities law, which requires municipalities to zone for multi-family housing near public transit access points. This comes after several municipalities have resisted the changes. Boston Globe Business Correspondent Andrew Brinker joins The Common to break it down.

Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

Workers' rights in Boston restaurants Mar 22, 2023

Show notes

Stavros Papantoniadis, the owner of the Dorchester pizza joint Stash’s, was arrested last week under disturbing allegations of abuse towards his undocumented workers. He’s also charged with one account of forced labor in federal court.

The allegations at Stash’s are extreme. But worker mistreatment is more common than one might think. Pablo Carrasco is an attorney for Justice At Work, a Boston-based advocacy organization that offers support to low-wage workers. He joins The Common to talk about some of the ways workers are often exploited and mistreated, as well as resources for those who feel they may be experiencing abuse.

Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.