Boston Behind the Scenes
By Adam Weiss
To listen to an audio podcast, mouse over the title and click Play. Open iTunes to download and subscribe to podcasts.
Podcast Description
Boston Behind the Scenes is a critically-acclaimed podcast that looks at the people and places that make Boston the unique city that it is. Through interviews with prominent (and not-so-prominent) Bostonians, this show will bring you inside the lives of the people who make this city tick. Whether you're a tourist, have just moved to Boston, or are a life-long resident, Boston Behind the Scenes has a story for you!
| Name | Description | Released | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
CleanVolvo Ocean Race | Today I want to bring you down to Fan Pier to talk to the man in charge of Boston's Volvo Ocean Race stopover. You've probably seen ads for the Volvo Ocean Race -- or at least for the Puma boat or Puma City. Boston is the sixth stop of the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race, known as the "Everest of Sailing." Eight Teams started in Alicante, Spain last October, and have so far sailed almost 40,000 miles (read that one more time -- it says 40,000 miles). Their 70 foot carbon-fiber boats can go faster than a powerboat and must be able to withstand hurricane-force winds in 30 foot seas. The crews have raced 24 hours a day for up to 35 days straight, so this three week break in Boston is a chance for them to relax (and take a shower). | 5/13/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
2 |
CleanSidewalk Sam | This episode's guest is a man who brings a lot of happiness to Boston: the artist known to everyone around here as Sidewalk Sam. "Sidewalk" -- "Sam" seems to be his alter-ego's last name -- was trained as a fine artist at Boston College and Boston University. He then went to Paris to work at the Louvre Museum before returning Massachusetts have his work exhibited at the MFA and the Institute of Contemporary Art. Of course, this artistic pedigree lead directly to him giving it all up to draw chalk pictures for people to walk on. It may not make sense if you haven't met him, but it all comes together when you first experience his loving, friendly, and unreserved style. | 4/16/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
3 |
CleanMIT Museum | Recently, I talked to a person whose job has him hanging out with robots, looking at holograms, and sifting through the "attic" of one of the most prestigious universities in the world. John Durrant is the director of the MIT Museum, a place tasked with taking all of MIT's history and current research and boiling it down to a few rooms just outside of Central Square in Cambridge. The museum has everything from fascinating moving sculptures to expressive robots to an impressive array of slide rules -- a little bit of everything that makes MIT the renowned institute that it is. It's a place I really enjoy visiting -- so much so that I had to keep reminding myself that I was there to do an interview and not to play -- so it was great to sit down with the man behind it all and talk about how the museum got to where it is today, and the exciting things in store for us in the future. | 12/28/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
4 |
CleanChristian Science Monitor | On this show I'll take you to what may be the most respected newspaper in Boston. And no, it probably isn't the one you just thought of. If someone asks you "Did you see the front page of the paper today?", if you're in Boston, your mind immediately goes to one of three places: the Globe, the Herald, and the Metro. But those three aren't the only games in town. Right beside the beautiful reflecting pool next to the Prudential Center is another paper -- one that reaches millions of people every day: The Christian Science Monitor. If you've never read the Monitor, you're missing out. Their stories are a great way to get a well-rounded idea of what's going in in the world without reading a full-page article in the Globe or the New York Times. I visited the Monitor's Offices recently and talked to their Managing Editor about this giant of the news business that's right in the middle of Boston. | 10/26/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
5 |
CleanWaterfire | This time, I'm going to introduce you to the creator of an art installation, a street festival, a musical event, a tourist attraction, and a giant party that all happen at the same time throughout the summer and fall in Providence, Rhode Island: Waterfire. Waterfire started as a one-time event in 1994, but the residents of the city liked it so much that they begged for another lighting of the fires. That led to another, and another, and another, and eventually it expanded to a huge summer tradition. That tradition was started by a man named Barnaby Evans, and I talked to Barnaby after a lecture he gave here in Boston recently. | 8/18/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
6 |
CleanBoston Pedicab | On today's show I'll talk to a driver -- or I guess I should say rider -- for Boston's most unusual taxicab company, Boston Pedicab. I found my guest at the AltWheels Festival last weekend, where he sat among million-dollar hydrogen-powered cars and hi-tech hybrids on the simplest (and probably the greenest) vehicle at the show: a giant tricycle with a 3-person seat on the back. Brogan Graham was one of the first riders for Boston Pedicab, a human-powered cab company that opened in 2005. His job is all about being anywhere on a moment's notice, but he sat still for a few minutes at the festival to talk about what it's like to pedal hundreds of pounds through Boston traffic for nothing but tips. | 10/8/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
7 |
CleanSpare Change News | For this episode, I took a good look at something many of us find ourselves pointedly avoiding: Spare Change News, a newspaper sold - and written - by Boston's homeless. Of course, Spare Change News doesn't just help the homeless; the vendors may have a place to live (and even a job). The paper is there to give anyone who needs it a way to make money. My guest is James Shearer, President of the Homeless Empowerment Project and one of the founders of Spare Change News. He and a number of others started the paper 15 years ago while living on the streets, then turned what sounded like a crazy idea into a paper which now publishes thousands of copies every month. I'd always been intrigued by the paper and wanted to learn more, so I visited the paper's office in the basement of the Old Cambridge Baptist Church in Harvard Square for a conversation with Mr. Shearer. | 9/24/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
8 |
CleanT.J. Scallywaggle’s | For this week's show I went out for pizza -- and came back with a meat-less, cheese-less pie that's pretty close to the real thing. T.J. Scallywaggle's Vegan House of Pizza #38; Subs sells all of the standard pizza-place "comfort foods" without many of the standard ingredients. I found the idea unusual (to say the least!) and some of the food surprisingly delicious. So, I headed out to Allston a while back to find out what it takes to successfully make a meatless meatball sub. | 9/10/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
9 |
CleanSwan Boats | For this episode, I took a stroll in the Public Garden ndash; and a ride on the Swan Boats. The Swan Boats have been around almost as long as the Public Garden has, and through four generations, the Paget family and their crews have paddled around the lagoon pushing people from all over the world on a leisurely, human-powered ride. Of course, the boats and their drivers have figured prominently in many stories ndash; the two most famous ones are probably Make Way for Ducklings and The Trumpet of the Swan ndash; but they have stories of their own. To hear a few of them, I visited Lyn Paget ndash; the current owner of the fleet ndash; on their dock in the Public Garden. | 8/13/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
10 |
CleanStreet Performer | I'm back after a bout of laryngitis with a look at the life of a modern-day nomad: a Faneuil Hall street performer. Most of us have tried our hand at juggling, magic, or other such tricks at some point in our lives, but I bet very few of us have ever thought of making it our livelihood. Well, that's exactly what my guest does for a living: while you are at your desk, he's trying to convince strangers to pay him for getting out of a straight jacket. Oh, and if that's not enough, he's just debuted a new version of his act where he wriggles free while hanging upside down 20 feet in the air. Jason Escape performs in many places around the world, but I caught up with him recently on the Quincy Market steps -- waiting for some bad weather to pass before finding some people to tie him up. | 7/30/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
11 |
CleanBoston Athenaeum | This time we'll visit the largest membership library in the country, the Boston Athenaeum. The Athenaeum is in the middle of celebrating its 200th year with an impressive exhibition covering their continuous collecting of books and art over the last two centuries. The building holds books, paintings, and sculptures from the libraries of John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and others, along with many important pieces of Boston history. As a working library, the Athenaeum runs community outreach programs throughout New England in addition to serving its 5000 members -- who get to use the library's amazing fifth-floor reading room. I visited the library on Beacon Hill for the first time a few months ago, and went back a few weeks ago to get a feel for the place from the institution's director and a tour of the anniversary exhibition from a curator. Photo Credit: Boston Athenaeum | 4/30/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
12 |
CleanBoston Marathon | This show is an exciting look at Boston's 500,000-spectator sporting event, the Boston Marathon. 2007 marks the 111th running of the oldest annual marathon in the world. Started just one year after the first modern Olympics revived the marathon in 1896, the Boston Marathon brings tens of thousands of runners to Hopkinton, Massachusetts, then quite literally runs them out of town toward Boston's Copley Square -- 26.2 miles away. Along the course, the runners battle the weather, their competitors, their own tired bodies, and the notorious Heartbreak Hill. To get the inside story of the marathon, I went to the Copley Square offices of the Boston Athletic Association. The BAA has organized every marathon since 1897, and my guest this episode has been following those efforts since he was a kid. He's covered it as a reporter, run it as a contestant, and now helps make it happen from his office at the BAA. | 4/8/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
13 |
CleanBoston Accent | Today I talked to someone about talking -- specifically, the way people talk in Boston. The Boston accent is famous for its misplaced Rs and strange vowels, as well as its well-known speakers. John F. Kennedy, New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Click and Clack from Car Talk, the character Cliff Clavin on Cheers, and even The Simpsons' Mayor Quimby have all have brought variations on the Boston Accent to the world stage. It's a dialect I hear every day, but almost all most people know about it is encapsulated in the phrase "Let's pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd," but that isn't really the way people talk here. To do a little better, I went to someone who could give us the real deal: MJ Connolly grew up just outside of Boston, and is now a professor of linguistics at Boston College. He's listened to -- and spoken with -- the Boston Accent his whole life, so I went to him to tell us what it is. | 3/26/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
14 |
CleanOmni Parker House Hotel | I'm back after a break with another look behind the scenes in Boston. Thanks to all of you who emailed me suggestions and supportive comments (don't worry -- I'm not going away!). I took a short break, but I'm back now with a show that is just packed full of history. Boston's Omni Parker House Hotel sits at one of the oldest intersections in Boston on the site of America's first public school. The hotel itself was the first luxury hotel built in America, and is now the oldest operating hotel in the country. Throughout its 150-year history, Omni Parker House has housed, fed, or employed such famous names as Longfellow, Dickens, Kennedy, Emerson, Roosevelt, Curley, Ho Chi Minh, John Wilkes Booth, and dozens more. The hotel is now the flagship property of the Omni Hotels chain, and remains one of the places to stay in Boston. I stopped by for a short stay and a talk with one of their staff members about the place. The hotel has such an involved history that the "Brief History" pamphlet they gave me is almost 50 pages long, so lets call this episode a snapshot of America's oldest hotel. | 3/12/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
15 |
CleanSanta Claus | With Christmas right around the corner, I wanted to pay a visit to someone who's on everyone's mind this time of year: Santa Claus. Now, I don't have the resources to get to the north pole, so instead I tracked down one of Santa's helpers here in Boston. Today's guest has dressed in red to hear Christmas wishes at Faneuil Hall, the Stone Zoo, and the city of Boston's Enchanted Forest. And if you've never sat on his lap, you may have seen him as the big guy in a TV commercial. I braved the weekend crowds and talked to Santa in between sessions with the kids at the Stone Zoo. Photo by Photos In a Minute | 12/4/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
16 |
CleanAfrican Drumming and Dance | This time I've got another truly behind-the-scenes look for you as I interview a famous African drummer and choreographer who I met at the Dance Complex in Central Square. Sidi Mohamed Camara, or "Joh," is from Bamako, Mali. He's been in in the US since 1995, teaching and performing all around the country. He now lives right here in Boston, where he teaches drumming and dance at Harvard and BU -- along with community and private lessons. I thought it was quite amazing to find a prominent African musician accessible via the Red Line, so I asked him to tell his story, then sat in on a class of drumming and dancing. | 11/20/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
17 |
CleanRunning for Office | I'm putting the show out a few days early this time because I wanted to give you a look at what it takes to run for office -- and and if I posted this on Monday as usual, it would only get to you a few hours before the polls open next week. So, in this early edition, I have an interview with Ken Procaccianti, who is hoping to become state representative for Beacon Hill, Chinatown, and the North and South Ends. This young marketing executive thinks he can help make Boston a better place for young people, and he's trying to get his message out one person at a time. Since political campaigns are something we all hear a lot about but never experience running firsthand, I met up with Ken in the North End's Paul Revere Park to find out what it's like to run for office. | 11/1/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
18 |
CleanThe Garment District (for Halloween) | We've reached the ominous-sounding episode 13 of the show just in time for Halloween! And to celebrate Halloween, I paid a visit to the Garment District: a huge clothing and costume store in Kendall Square. Every year right before Halloween, you start to see posters on the T for the Garment District. Then you start to see tons of people carrying pink bags with the store's logo and all sorts of fun stuff inside. For the last 20 years, this former rag factory has been selling the clothes they used to cut up -- and not just for Halloween costumes. Every day, they have more than 40,000 pieces of vintage and contemporary clothing on display on two floors of the old factory. To find out what it is like to be at the epicenter of Boston's Halloween, I stopped by last week for a chat with the manager. | 10/23/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
19 |
CleanA Boston Astronaut | This time, I've got a different kind of behind the scenes interview for you: rather than visiting a place everyone knows about or talking to a famous Bostonian, every once in a while I'd like to introduce you to someone or something exciting who really is behind the scenes. So today, we'll go inside MIT to find a real, live astronaut who works right here in the Boston area. My guest has done something many of us dreamed of as a kid: ridden a rocket into space. And not just once, but five times. Photo Credit: NASA | 10/8/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
20 |
CleanSamuel Adams Brewery Tour | We've got a new episode on tap that I just recorded this morning at the Samuel Adams Brewery in Boston's Jamaica Plain. Boston is home what could be considered the Boston Beer Company's "research lab" brewery, where they develop the new beers you see from the Samuel Adams Brand. Most of the large-scale brewing is done in Ohio, but everything starts right here in Boston. I wanted to learn about what it takes to brew fine beer in the city of Boston, so I went down to Jamaica Plain to get a tour from one Samuel Adams' brewers. | 9/25/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
21 |
CleanNorth End Festival | Today we'll hear from an organizer of one of the most famous festivals in Boston: the North End's St. Anthony's Feast. St. Anthony's is one of the biggest of the dozen or so feasts in Boston's Italian North End each summer. It is put on by the St. Anthony's Society, an organization formed by immigrants from Montefalcione, Italy around 1900. Almost every year since 1919, on the last weekend in August, tens of thousands of people from all over the world come to the feast. It's a huge event, with games, bands, parades, and of course, food. I wanted to know more about the feast, so I ventured out on Saturday evening -- when you could barely walk in the streets due to all the people -- and found one of the members of the feast committee. | 9/10/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
22 |
CleanHahvahd Tour | On this episode, I'll talk to two Harvard students who are stirring things up on campus this summer with their unauthorized Hahvahd Tour. That's H-A-H-V-A-H-D. "Hahvahd." Two weeks ago, I was walking through Harvard Square looking for topics for Boston Behind the Scenes when I came across a group gathering for a tour in "The Pit," next to the entrance to the T station. This unauthorized tour of Harvard has gotten a lot of attention, with stories in the Globe, the Herald, and of course the Harvard Crimson. I wanted to see what all of the fuss was about, so I waded into the crowd, took out my recorder, and spent an hour and a half learning quite a bit about Harvard. Afterwards, I sat down with my two tour guides for a behind-the-scenes look at the Hahvahd Tour. [UPDATE: The Hahvahd Tour is now Unofficial Tours presents Harvard University, and they're still going strong in Harvard Square] | 8/27/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
23 |
CleanBob the Evangelist | This guest is a landmark all by himself: Bob Westin -- AKA "That guy downtown with the sign about the end of the world." I see him quite often during my day to day travel, and when I do, I always wonder who he is. Does he have a job? Does he have a home? Is he crazy? I ran into Bob on the platform in the Park Street T Station where he was handing out his last few pamphlets before calling it a day. I had my recorder, so I walked up and asked him for an interview. He usually gets his dinner for free from the leftovers of a few of the Quincy Market food vendors, so I went over there with him for a conversation about his life. | 8/13/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
24 |
CleanStreet Vendor | So, you're walking around outside and you feel a little hungry. If you're downtown, that certainly isn't a problem. Hot dogs, roasted nuts, italian ice, lemonade, sausage and pretzels are for sale on almost every corner. If you've ever walked past the Park Street T station on Boston Common, you might have noticed the prominent fried dough cart that always has a prime spot right next to the entrance. If you haven't seen the cart itself, you might have seen the big friendly guy who is usually behind cart greeting everyone with a smile. He certainly stood out to me, so I thought he'd be a great person to tell us about the art of street vending. | 7/30/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
25 |
CleanBoston Common and the Visitors’ Center | On this episode, we'll play tourist at the Boston Common Visitor's Center. Boston Common is the nation's oldest public park, and throughout the last 350 years, it has served many purposes. From grazing cows to civil rights marchers, the parks has seen visitors of all types. These days, many of those visitors head over to the Visitor Information Center to find out all about the Common and the city. A small building next to the Park Ranger's station and at the beginning of the Freedom Trail, thousands of people walk through its doors every day. So, let's add some ears to that number during our visit to Boston Common. | 7/16/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
26 |
CleanHaymarket | Today we're going to take a trip to Haymarket, Boston's weekly outdoor market. Where do you go if you want ten oranges for a dollar? What about a case of strawberries for five dollars? Or maybe you're looking for something more exotic, like 5 loquats for a dollar? You'll find all of these things at Haymarket. Haymarket's been around for well over a hundred years, and it's quite the experience. To find out how it happens every week, I tracked down the board of the Haymarket Pushcart Association sitting on a Blackstone Street Jersey barrier. | 7/2/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
27 |
CleanBonus: Haymarket Walkthrough | This is the first "Bonus Track" for Boston Behind the Scenes. I recorded this for those of you who have never experienced Boston's Haymarket. You can listen to this short soundseeing tour however you'd like, but to get the full experience, you have to put your headphones on. This is because I used some special microphones that will give you a true 3D soundscape. | 7/2/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
28 |
CleanCheers | On this show, I'll take you to what is probably America's most famous pub: the Bull #38; Finch, also known as Cheers. I'd never been to Cheers, so I decided to head down there a few weeks ago and find out what it is like to work in part of TV history. After talking to the manager and a very busy but helpful receptionist, I sat down at a bar in one of their private rooms with Eddie Doyle. Eddie's been a bartender at the Bull #38; Finch for more than thirty years. In that time, he's been named to the Bartender's National Hall of Fame, raised millions of dollars for charity, had "Eddie Doyle Day" declared for him by the mayor of Boston, and inspired a pair of Hollywood directors to use the Bull #38; Finch as the setting for a new sitcom. | 6/18/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
29 |
CleanDuck Tours | Today we'll find out what it's like to be the most conspicuous drivers in Boston with two of the Driver/Tour Guides from the amphibious Duck Tours.If you live in the area, you've certainly seen the Ducks. These brightly-colored military vehicles carry thousands of tourists through the streets of Boston, then plunge into the Charles River. Lucky for everyone involved: they float. Since coming to this city, I've always wondered what kind of person it takes to drive a giant rainbow boat through Boston traffic. To find out, I talked to a couple of those brave souls last week. | 6/4/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
30 |
CleanMike’s Pastry | On this episode, I'll take you on a visit to one of the hotspots of Boston's Italian North End: Mike's Pastry. The North End is the place to go for food in Boston. With almost 90 restaurants packed into a neighborhood smaller than some parking lots, some may find the number of choices overwhelming. But no matter where they eat dinner, thousands of people get dessert at Mike's every day. My guest is Guy, an employee of Mike's for 25 years. Now the Executive Chef, he knows just about everything about the place. | 5/21/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
31 |
CleanThe Circus | At one point or another, many of us have wanted to run off and join the circus. So, to find out what it's really like, I found someone who did. Ten years ago, Donald Covington joined the Big Apple Circus after retiring from the Navy. He is now the show's Company Manger. I caught up with him during the last performance of their stay in downtown Boston. | 5/8/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 31 Episodes |
Customer Reviews
Very interesting, and incredibly well done!
I live in Boston; I always mean to get out more and explore the city more, but I never make time. Adam covers interesting, fun and meaningful stories about the great hidden gems of Boston that I wish I could see myself. It helps that he is an excellent interviewer! He has a wonderful ability to ask interesting questions and draw his subjects into sharing their stories and thoughts.
Excellent sound seeing tour of Boston
Having visited Boston a few times, it is fun to hear the host, Adam, point out some places with which I am familiar. The first episode I heard could have been very inflamatory (about Bob the Evangelist), but Adam did a great job of producing a podcast that was informative and not opinionated. Adam has a very high quality sound without losing the independent podcaster passion.
Great for both Bostonians and visitors
I've lived in or around Boston all my life and consider myself pretty well-versed in the city's lore, but I've learned something new in each of these episodes. Adam Weiss does a great job choosing interesting subjects, providing background information and then letting people tell their stories. All of the episodes are enjoyable and there are a couple "must-listen" shows with folks that I've never seen interviewed anywhere else. Highly recommended!
Listeners also subscribed to
- Tourcaster - U.S. - Boston City Guide
- Tourcaster.com
- View In iTunes
- New England Travel, Food, and Home
- YANKEE Magazine
- View In iTunes
