Best Of BPR 1/13: What's In A Name & Tech Billionaires Don't Care About You, Or The Truth

Today:Amherst College's Ilan Stavans discusses the power of names, and Donald Trump's obsession with them.Khalil Gibran Muhammad of Princeton University discusses Mark Zuckerberg's shift away from fact-checking and content moderation on his Meta social media platforms.

Los Angeles still on fire, as the death toll tops 24, thousands of acres and homes destroyed. The governor has suspended environmental permitting and review requirements to rebuild – Is this the right move, as flames fueled by climate change encircle the city?  We ask you: after a natural disaster, what’s the balance between rebuilding and climate resilience?  Food policy analyst Corby Kummer discusses how congestion pricing might impact NYC restaurants and the dozens of Tatte employees forced to resign amid growing immigration crackdown fears.Ilan Stavans of Amherst College discusses Trump calling for a renaming of the Gulf of Mexico and Mexican President Sheinbaum's reply. Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett discusses the health hazards of smoke inhalation/poor air quality in relation to the LA fires and climate change more broadly. She also reflects on her father, David Gergen, who has dementia.Princeton's Khalil Gibran Muhammad discusses the tech world ending their DEI initiatives and why right-wing influencers are spreading lies about the LA fires in relation to diversity efforts.Then it's the buffet and you: We open the phone and text lines for you to wax poetic about buffets, the good the bad and the ugly.

Today:The 22nd annual Boston Celtic Music Festival kicks off Jan. 16. We talk with musician and festival organizers Lindsay O’Donovan – widow of the late, great Brian O’Donovan –  and Matt Smith from Club Passim with live performances from the band Fox River and duo Hanneke Cassel & Adam Hendey.And, Imari Paris Jeffries of Embrace Boston discusses this year's gala honoring MLK's legacy; former Governor Deval Patrick zooms in too.

We ask listeners: do you have hope that the U.S. will have honest leaders again? The Boston Celtic Music Festival runs next Thursday through Sunday, at venues throughout Cambridge and Somerville. We’ll talk with Lindsay O’Donovan and Matt Smith (from Club Passim) with live performances from the band Fox River and duo Hanneke Cassel & Adam Hendey.GBH's Callie Crossley discusses the Democrats skipping Trump’s inauguration & the incoming administration’s comments about making Canada the 51st state.NBC10 Boston's Sue O’Connell on LA fires & Trump hush money sentencing. Plus Kelly’s Roast Beef changing ownership for the first time in 70 years.Embrace Boston's Imari Paris Jeffries & former Gov. Deval Patrick join ahead of the Embrace Honors MLK Gala. Then we discuss when and how to flake from plans. 

Today: Former public safety secretary Andrea Cabral discusses Carter’s legacy of truth, and Merrick Garland’s plans to release the special counsel report on Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.And, Boston Globe business columnist Shirley Leung discusses the future of DEI in higher education, and the latest development in the state's MBTA communities housing law.

Today's podcast starts with hour two of BPR. The first part of the show was dedicated to live broadcast of former President Jimmy Carter's memorial service.Former secretary of public safety Andrea Cabral on Attorney General Merrick Garland’s plans to release the final Jack Smith report about Trump’s 2020 election subversion. She’ll also talk about Trump asking for a delay in his hush-money sentencing, violent crime at Mass. shelters, and a state program that recruits and trains formerly incarcerated people to drive trucks.Former secretary of education Paul Reville reflects on Elon Musk’s threats to cut the Department of Education through his DOGE program. He’ll also talk about BPS recommending several school closures, state community colleges struggling with an influx of students and other education headlinesFor our text segment: People in positions of power who choose to close ranks when faced with public scrutiny. How much are we owed as members of the public? Do you assume, if they don’t offer an explanation, they’re guilty as charged? Boston Globe business columnist Shirley Leung talks about former Harvard president Claudine Gay and the future of DEI in higher ed. Plus, the latest on White Stadium and the SJC ruling against Milton.For Am I the A-hole day: what's the appropriate amount of time before someone can eat leftovers in the fridge? 

Today: We continue the conversation started yesterday with Gov. Healey about eliminating broker fees, with listeners.And, we discuss all things MBTA and transit with former transportation secretary Jim Aloisi & Reggie Ramos from Transportation for Mass.

We open the show by getting listener thoughts on broker's fee. Should Mass. take the burden off of renters? GBH executive arts editor Jared Bowen joins to discuss Charles Atlas at the ICA, and the Melania Trump documentary on Amazon.National security analyst Juliette Kayyem discusses the brainwashing effect of the internet and its ability to rewrite history, and Meta removing factchecking.Reggie Ramos, executive director of T4MA, joins former transportation secretary Jim Aloisi to discuss the latest transportation news for the state.Meta is saying “no more” to professional fact-checking on Facebook and Instagram, bowing to the new Trump admin. We ask: are you considering saying “no more” to Facebook and Instagram? Tim Shriver of UNITE joins to discuss the "Dignity Index" and how it can be used to remove contempt in political conversations. Then we talk about fridgescaping -- the act of making the inside of your fridge visually appealing.

Governor Maura Healey joins Jim Braude and Margery Eagan at the Boston Public Library on Tuesday January 7, 2025.

Governor with Maura Healey answered questions from listeners ranging from shelters to Steward Health. Trenni Casey, anchor/reporter for NBC Sports Boston discussed the firing of Jerod MayoLee Pelton of the Boston Foundation on Costco's pro-DEI stance.CNN's John King on the latest political headlines.