The Callie Crossley Show Podcast
By WGBH Educational Foundation
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Podcast Description
Hosted by award-winning journalist Callie Crossley, The Callie Crossley Show offers a daily discussion of current events, local happenings, arts and culture, and water cooler buzz.
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The Callie Crossley Show 5/24/12 | A Lot to Think About We’re talking about the parking lot and the role that parking and parking lots play in our urban landscapes. It’s the subject of MIT professor Eran Ben-Joseph’s new book, Rethinking A Lot, a book that looks at the peculiar institution that is American parking. Today there are three non-residential parking spaces for every car. In cities like Orlando and L.A., parking lots are estimated to cover one third of the city’s space. As Joni Mitchell put it in her song "Big Yellow Taxi": "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot." The design and function of parking lots- from the shopping mall, to the office park- have not been re-thought since the 1950’s. So is it time to push the parking lot into the 21st century? To turn these into beautiful public spaces that are also environmentally and architecturally responsible? We want to hear from you. Leave a comment on our Facebook page, or Tweet us: @CallieCrossley GUESTS: Eran Ben-Joseph, professor of landscape architecture and urban planning at MIT, author of ReThinking A Lot Jason Schrieber, pricipal at Nelson/Nygaard | 5/23/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 5/23/12 | Aging Behind Bars How do we care for elderly prisoners? A Human Rights Watch report shows the number of prisoners older than 55 is growing at a rate six times that of the rest of the prison population. As prisoners age and need costly medical care, Massachusetts is scrambling to put plans in place to handle the strain on the system. Bay State policymakers have recommended the creation new assisted living facilities for up to 900 inmates- but is this the best way to handle the problem? What other solutions are out there? We discuss today at 1PM. GUESTS: Jamie Fellner, author of a Human Rights Watch report, Old Behind Bars Beth Schwartzapfel, Boston-based freelance journalist who covers the criminal justice system Kathleen Dennehy, former commissioner for the Massachusetts Department of Corrections. The Cost of Democracy We’re talking about the influence of money on politics. We’ve seen the mighty Super PAC at work in this presidential race, with Millionaires heaping money on heir candidate of choice. With all this money flying around, Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig said the best chance for campaign finance reform was Americans Elect, a platform that promised to get a candidate on the ballot - a candidate with no ties to major money. Last week, Americans Elect failed to deliver a candidate. We’ll ask Lessig what this says about dollars and democracy. GUESTS: Lawrence Lessig, director of the Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics at Harvard University, and a professor of law at Harvard Law School | 5/22/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 5/22/12 | Political Roundtable We're talking politics today, from Beacon Hill to Capitol Hill. The House has passed a bill that would put an end to individually pricing goods at the grocery store. It’s an omission that could compromise comparison shopping. Consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren is still getting heat for putting her Cherokee ancestry to use. Will her tiny connection to Native Americans remain a mega problem on the campaign trail? On the road to the White House, there’s a major obstacle for third party candidates: Americans Elect failed to get an alternative candidate on the ballot. And, Newark Mayor Corey Booker tells the Obama campaign, enough with the Bain game. Instead of smearing Mitt Romney’s corporate past, Booker says it’s time to focus on the issues that matter to voters. GUESTS: Dorie Clark, president of Clark Strategic Communications Kevin Peterson, founder of the New Democracy Coalition Marvin Venay, executive director of the Massachusetts Black and Latino Democratic Legislative Caucus | 5/21/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 5/21/12 | Six Months Out - How are Our Veterans? It's been six months since President Obama declared the end of the Iraq War. We talk with Massachusetts Secretary of Veterans Affairs Coleman Nee and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America executive director Paul Rieckhoff about how our Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are doing, from getting a job to finding the medical support that they need. GUESTS: Coleman Nee, Massachusetts Secretary of Veterans Services Paul Rieckhoff, founder/executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Fahim Speaks Fahim Fazli was born in Afghanistan and escaped to America in the 1980s during Soviet occupation. He moved to California to pursue his dreams of acting, and after years of hard work, he succeeded. He was cast in "24", "Iron Man", "The Day After the Earth Stood Still", and more. After being an advisor on the film "Charlie Wilson's War", Fahim was inspired to join the U.S. military in Afghanistan as an interpreter. We hear about his journey, which he wrote about in his memoir "Fahim Speaks: A Warrior-Actor's Odyssey from Afghanistan to Hollywood". GUESTS: Fahim Fazli, co-author and subject of Fahim Speaks: A Warrior-Actor's Odyssey from Afghanistan to Hollywood and Back MIchael Moffett, retired marine corps lieutenant colonel and a professor at New Hampshire Technical Institute, co-author of "Faheem Speaks" | 5/20/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 5/18/12 | *Sue O'Connell, co-publisher of Bay Windows and the South End News, guest hosts Week in Review It’s our week in review. Among the local headlines we'll discuss are the fate of WFNX and look at how Elizabeth Warren missed a choice opportunity for a family reunion in Jamaica Plain. GUESTS: Peter Kadzes, executive editor of the Boston Phoenix Seth Daniel, editor of the Revere Journal John Ruch, editor of the Jamaica Plain Gazette Ragtime It's our weekly examination of pop culture. On tap this week: we remember the King of Late Night and the Queen of Disco. GUESTS: Thomas Connolly, English professor at Suffolk University Rachel Rubin, Chair of the Department of American Studies at UMass Boston | 5/17/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 5/17/12 | Inner City Youth Baseball The baseball season is off to a running start and the Red Sox are on a hot streak. With the baseball season in full swing, youth baseball leagues are also up and running. Though there's still interest in youth baseball, it now competes against video games and computers, friends and cars, and more popular sports such as lacrosse and football. Youth today are less likely to play on the sandlots or play catch on a lazy afternoon. The problem is especially acute in the inner city, where greenspace is at a premium, sports are expensive, and kids are overbooked. For kids of color it's even worse: they may not see themselves represented in major league baseball like they do in sports like football and baseball. Today we talk about how baseball can grow again in the inner city and regain its title as the national pastime for a new generation. GUESTS: Harry Smith, president of Jamaica Plain Regan Youth Baseball League Mike Kudisch, South End Baseball's Commissioner for ages 7 to 12 The Big Night on the Big Screen Prom season is upon us. It's the big night of rented tuxes and bedazzled gowns where great expectations are either foiled or fulfilled. We mark this write of passage with a look at how tinsel town has portrayed this teenage tradition. GUESTS: Garen Daly, film critic | 5/16/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 5/16/12 | Poverty Among the Elderly Within the next 10 years, the population of the elderly homeless is expected to go up by more than 30 percent. The reason behind this? The nation is getting older, we’re living older longer, and the elderly are facing poverty at rates that we haven’t seen in decades. In Massachusetts, our elders' income covers 60 percent of all living expenses. And a setback like the death of a spouse or unexpected medical expenses could force an elder onto the street. With projections that poverty and homelessness among the elderly will only go up, does the state have the resources it needs to handle this? With talk of cutting entitement programs like Medicare and Social Security, what could the fate of the elderly be? GUESTS: Judith Gonyea, professor and chair of social research at Boston University School of Social Work Occupy Spring We check in on the Occupy movement in Boston now that warmer weather has brought Occupy protesters back to the streets. We'll also discuss whether Occupy could gain the favor of (and traction with) organized labor. Could this help or hinder their cause? GUESTS: Chris Faraone, staff writer for The Boston Phoenix Bob Forrant, professor of history and labor studies at UMass Lowell, co-director of the Center for Family, Work and Community | 5/15/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 5/15/12 | Tracking Stimulus Spending in Mass. As the Great Recession hit the US, political leadership released trillions in funds in hopes of jump-starting the economy: they sent money to ailing banks, bailed out the auto industry, and infused states with waves of aid. Of the $840 billion sent directly to states, Massachusetts received $16.6 billion. Tracking stimulus spending has been difficult. Money was plowed into existing programs, used to plug budget holes, and fast-tracked into construction projects, with priority given to anything that was "shovel-ready." So far, we have only partial knowledge of what jobs were created from stimulus funds. What was spent in haste and maybe fear was also not well documented, in all cases. Today we take a preliminary look at what effect the stimulus may have had in Massachusetts. GUESTS: Jack Sullivan, Senior Investigative Reporter for Commonwealth Magazine. He writes about the stimulus in Massachusetts for their spring issue. Cash Mobs We meet locals who are taking economic stimulus into their own hands by way of cash mobs. The basic idea behind cash mobs is to encourage people to go into small, local businesses and spend their money, en masse, to give the business owner a little bit of an economic boost. GUESTS: Larry Marino, co-founder, Cash Mobs Dorchester Carlos Vargas, co-founder, Cash Mobs Dorchester Ron Cochran, director of online services and communication technology for the City of Malden. Malden has also launched cash mobs. | 5/14/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 5/14/12 | Playtime for Pachyderms The Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford, Mass. is home to two Asian elephants, Emily and Ruth. We all know that elephants have excellent memories, but who knew about their dedicated work ethic? This duo has been beta testing toys specifically designed and manufactured for elephants by students at Mass Art. We'll get the lowdown on the Toys for Elephants program and a primer on these magnificent mammals. GUESTS: Dr. William Langbauer, elephant specialist, director of the Buttonwood Park Zoo Richard Brown, professor at Massachusetts College of Art Whale Alert App Just 400 right whales are left in the world. So named because whale hunters deemed them the "right" whales to hunt, right whales' migratory paths send them straight into the busy waters surrounding Cape Cod and Boston Harbor- and directly into busy shipping lanes. Just one boat collision with a right whale is enough to deeply impact the endangered species. A new app for iPhones and iPads helps mariners avoid collisions with right whales by using acoustic buoys, GPS, and other technology to track and map right whales. GUESTS: Patrick Ramage, whale program director at the International Fund for Animal Welfare | 5/13/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 5/11/12 | Regional Week in Review We hit the rewind button on the week’s news, looking at it through a regional lens. From the Bay State, to the Ocean State, to the Granite State. On Cape Cod we look at what the free market means for eels, and in Rhode Island, the Senate approves a bill to modify the medical marijuana law. GUESTS: Paul Pronovost, editor of The Cape Cod Times Arnie Arneson, New Hampshire-based commentator Robert Whitcomb, vice president and editorial page editor of The Providence Journal Ragtime We look at the latest in pop culture: from the book store to the beauty salon, we'll remember the late, great men who shaped our heads and minds. GUESTS: Rachel Rubin, chair of the Department of American Studies at UMass Boston Thomas Connolly, English professor at Suffolk University | 5/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 5/10/12 | 3,000 Songs for the 99 Percent This year marks the 100th birthday of Woody Guthrie. We pay tribute to his life and life's work by way of "Woody Sez", a musical production now onstage at the A.R.T. in Cambridge, Mass. It's an exploration of Woody Guthrie, and a celebration of his songs. Born in Okemah, Oklahoma he saw the devastation of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression firsthand. Raw, gritty, and full of poetry, His songs were for the folks who suffered no end of indignities during these hard times. The successes he achieved in his own lifetime were often undermined by his politics and 'tell it like it is' way of taking on the world. To see Woody Sez, and to hear Guthrie's songs, one is struck by how familiar they are today given our current economic situation. Watch the trailer for A.R.T.'s "Woody Sez." GUESTS: David Lutken, devisor/music director of "Woody Sez" Alicia Anstead, editor of Inside Arts magazine and the Harvard Arts Beat Blog, where you can find her recent interview with David Lutken | 5/9/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 5/9/12 | Young America We’re looking at Millennials and how they’ll affect the presidential race. In 2008, young voters were the mighty engine that helped carry President Barack Obama to the White House, voting for him two-to-one over John McCain. But over the past four years, the Millennials have been losing steam as they wade through hundreds of thousands of dollars of student loan debt, and slog through a stagnant job market. Mitt Romney and President Obama have been trying to appeal to these young voters, from parachuting into college campuses to slow jamming on late night TV. These well-heeled boomers can’t say they feel the millennials' pain, but they promise to stop it. It looks like Obama's tactics are working. A new poll finds Obama leading Romney among Millennials. We’ll discuss what the candidates need to do to earn the millennial vote. We'll also gauge if Millennials have the momentum this time around to give a candidate that victorious bump. Millennials, we want to hear from you. Leave a comment on our Facebook page or Tweet us. GUESTS: Erin O'Brien, associate professor of political science at UMass Boston John Della Volpe, director of polling at Harvard University's Institute of Politics, founder of SocialSphere Alexa Scordato, director of social media and communications at 2tor, Inc. | 5/8/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 5/8/12 | The State of the Black Bay State We’re looking at Governor Deval Patrick’s career through the lens of blacks in the Bay State. Gov. Patrick has successfully represented black interests on Beacon Hill without compromising his broad support across the state, a new report finds. From executive orders, to legislative initiatives, to appointing hundreds of blacks to high positions, the report says Patrick successfully governs by using a universal approach to frame black interests as interests that matter to all citizens. We’ll look at the specific initiatives that support this study. We’ll also ask how State House decisions like casinos, MBTA fare hikes, and sevice cuts square with this sunny scenario. GUESTS: Ravi Perry, assistant professor of political science at Clark University, author of the report: Governor Deval Patrick and the Representation of Black Interests in Massachusetts Kelly Bates, executive director of the Access Strategies Fund A Divergent Occupation On May Day, the nationwide Occupy movement launched a day-long protest to raise awareness and re-establish the Occupy voice in ongoing political discussion. Occupy Boston had its own simpatico protest at the Bank of America building in Boston's Financial District. But, the proceedings were missing a core voice: the Boston chapter of Occupy the Hood. Occupy the Hood was established to more fully represent people of color in the Occupy movement. Jamarhl Crawford, the group's Boston leader, pulled out of Occupy Boston late last fall, citing a widening ideological chasm. Today he offers a critique of Occupy Boston, and updates us on Occupy the Hood's agenda. You can hear our October interview with Jamarhl Crawford and Occupy Boston's Stephen Squibb here. GUESTS: Jamarhl Crawford, editor and publisher of Blackstonian, and the leader of Boston's Occupy the Hood movement. | 5/7/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 5/7/12 | The Lowdown on Higher Ed. Gov. Deval Patrick is proposing sweeping changes to that state’s community colleges, including merging the authority of the 15 campuses into a centralized board. Proponents say this is the best way to create workplace education. Critics say reorganizing the schools won't help students become better prepared for the workforce. We’ll talk through what’s at stake. GUESTS: Julian Alssid, executive director of Workforce Strategy Center, co-author of a Boston Foundation report on community colleges in Massachusetts Joseph LeBlanc, president of the Massachusetts Community College Council Jon Marcus, freelance writer whose focus inludes higher education, his recent piece for The Boston Globe is "Putting college degrees to work" Pay Students to Study Bunker Hill Community College teacher Wick Sloane says his students come to school hungry. Many are unemployed, most have a family to care for, and some are struggling with homelessness. Students are exahausted and hungry by the time they make it to classes. Sloane's idea is to flip the federal Work-Study Program into a Study-Work Program, paying students by the hour to study. We talk with him about his idea. GUESTS: Wick Sloane, community college advocate, columnist for Inside Higher Ed, English teacher at Bunker Hill Community College | 5/6/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 5/4/12 | Week in Review Among the headlines we'll examine are how Gov. Deval Patrick's legislation and executive orders have served blacks in the Bay State. We'll also discuss bad business practices; scores of Boston area restaurants owe their employees more than $1.3 million in back pay. GUESTS: Marcela Garcia, managing editor of El Planeta Howard Manly, executive editor of the Bay State Banner Ragtime We look at the week in pop culture. On tap this week: A billionaire at the helm of an unsinkable enterprise, and James Bond gets his emo on. GUESTS: Thomas Connolly, professor of English at Suffolk University Rachel Rubin, chair of the Department of American Studies at UMass Boston | 5/3/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 5/2/12 | North Bennet Street School When students plot future careers, the list of possible jobs usually includes the most obvious professions: software engineer, IT specialist, intelligence analyst, registered nurse, civil engineer or dietitian. What's less likely to make the cut are things like violin maker, furniture maker and bookbinder. Conventional wisdom says these are jobs of a bygone era, the relics of outmoded craftsmanship, replaced by factory production, IKEA, and a proclivity for all-things-digital. But the North Bennet Street School in Boston's North End isn't buying it. They've got programs in eight handcrafts including jewelry-making, preservation carpentry, piano tech, locksmithing and instrument-making, and the school has been a runaway success. It's now in its 127th year of operation and still going strong. GUEST: Miguel Gómez-Ibáñez, president of the North Bennet St. School in Boston's North End. Sharpen a Pencil Cartoonist David Rees describes himself as "the number one #2 pencil sharpener." He's a practitioner of the ages-old, perhaps forgotten tradition of rendering fine pencil points. If you think it's all about jabbing pencils into plastic sharpeners or wall-mounted grinders, think again. Pencil sharpening isn't trivial - it's the restoration of a lost art, an appreciation for non-digital means of expression - and the very future of penmanship is hanging in the balance. David Rees brings us up to speed on his quixotic quest for pencil-tip perfection, the subject of his new book: How to Sharpen Pencils. | 5/1/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 5/1/12 | Garbology Trash is the United States' number one export, with Americans throwing out 7.1 pounds of garbage daily. Is the American Dream is inextricably linked to an endless, accelerating accumulation of trash? Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Ed Humes makes the case in his new book, Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash. What steps are you taking to cut down on your trash and waste? Is there anything that stops you from recycling or re-using? Have you noticed the amount of waste you and your family throw out every day increasing over the years? We want to hear from you - weigh in on our Facebook page or on Twitter. GUESTS: Ed Humes, Puliter Prize-winning journalist whose latest book is Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash Robert Gogan, in charge of recycling on the Harvard University campus. He helps oversee Harvard University's annual "Stuff Sale"- one of the largest yard sales in the world. | 4/30/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 4/30/12 | Who Cares About Kelsey? In her first two years of high school, Kelsey Carroll struggled. Kelsey's home life was a wreck, she was failing classes, and got caught selling drugs at school. Most students in her situation would drop out of school, but instead, Kelsey improved. The difference was that her school, Somersworth High School in New Hampshire, tried something different and innovative. Teachers worked one-on-one with students. They developed plans, had regular check-ins, counseling, class help, life advice. Dropout rates went down, grades went up. We talk about dramatic turnarounds with Kelsey Carroll, one of the teachers who helped her through it, and filmmaker Dan Habib, who chronicled her story in his new film, Who Cares About Kelsey? GUESTS: Kelsey Carroll, subject of "Who Cares About Kelsey?" Dan Habib, filmmaker in Residence at the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire. His new documentary is called "Who Cares About Kelsey?" His previous documentary, Including Samuel, was nominated for an Emmy. Jonathon Drake, project training coordinator for RENEW - Rehabilitation for Empowerment, Natural Supports, Education, and Work - at the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability. He worked on Kelsey Carroll's team at Somersworth High School. | 4/29/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 4/27/12 | Week in Review We hit the rewind button on the week’s news. Among the local headlines, we'll be discussing Occupy's spring awakening and a shared spirit among South End residents. GUESTS: John Ruch, editor of the Jamaica Plain Gazette and the Mission Hill Gazette Peter Kadzis, executive editor of the Boston Phoenix Sue O’Connell, co-publisher of the South End News and Bay Windows Ragtime We look at the latest in pop culture, from a star born 70 years ago to Mad Men's trip to the other side. GUESTS: Rachel Rubin, Department of American Studies chair at UMass Boston Thomas Connolly, professor of English at Suffolk University | 4/26/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 4/26/12 | The MBTA and the Arts Tunnel Vision We talk with Shawn Dufour, an industrial explorer and photographer whose black and white shots of the MBTA's hidden tunnels are a thing of underground beauty. Tunnel Visionaries Boston-based architects Sapir Ng and Andrzej Zarzycki tell us about their ideas to transform the abandoned subway tunnels underneath Boston's Theatre District into a thriving museum and performance space they're calling the Tremont Underground Theatre Space. Poetry in Motion Liam Day has been working on a series of poems about the MBTA bus routes. In each poem, and each bus ride, the city tells us something about what it means to be human. Taking the #15 to Haymarket to buy bruised apples and peaches with softeningskin, becomes a rumination on our own aging and mortality. On the # 10, we see the Hancock’s lit offices; a persistent reminder of the daily grind. A ride on the #43, which coasts past the State House and civil war memorial, is a meditation on the tension between 21st century living and the sacrifices our ancestors made to put us here. In all these works we get a deeper understanding of our city, an appreciation for it's glorious and grimy parts, and a sense of how remarkable an ordinary bus trip can be. | 4/25/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 4/25/12 | Young, Naïve, and Well-Connected: Kids & Cell Phones Nearly one in five Massachusetts third graders has a cell phone, according to a study by the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center. Kids aren't just using their cell phones to stay in touch with parents; they're also texting friends, browsing the web, playing games and buying apps. For young kids, having a phone opens the door to a new social life, but the door's also open for predation, bullying and harassment. It's an arena where almost anything goes, and it's 24/7, from the moment they wake up, till after the lights have been switched out. We talk with the author of the study, Elizabeth Englander, about what it means to have everyone, especially kids, connected to the web all the time, and how parents can protect them. We want to hear from you this hour. Did you buy your kid a cell phone? Did you get one when you were in middle school or high school? How dangerous are these uncharted waters? Tweet us or leave a comment on our Facebook page. GUEST: Elizabeth Englander, professor of psychology at Bridgewater State University, and the director of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center Communication Breakdown As MIT Professor Sherry Turkle sees it, we're buried in our phones. From clandestine peeks in class and meetings, to casual checks in social situations, to full-on avoidance on buses and trains, morning to night, we're obsessed with our online world. It's tempting to slip into our online personas and skip out on the sometimes-messy encounters of real face-to-face conversation. But it's also essential, Turkle says: set up phone-free zones, stop texting and emailing and have a real interaction. Sherry Turkle's new piece in The New York Times is called The Flight From Conversation, and today she joins us to have a real conversation about it. GUESTS: Sherry Turkle, psychologist and MIT professor, author of Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other. | 4/24/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 4/24/12 | The Luck of the Irish Playwright Kirsten Greenidge's latest play, "The Luck of the Irish", is about an upwardly mobile African American family in the 1950s that moves from inner-city Boston to a white part of town. Their dream is the American dream: to own a home. Segregation forces them to find a ghost buyer. They pay a down-on-their-luck Irish family to act as their front. Fifty years later the Irish family—bitter and strapped for cash--wants the house back. Though the play is not quite autobiographical, Greenidge writes what she knows. Her grandparents moved from Boston to Arlington in the '60s. It’s an era that Greenidge captures in her play. In toggling between 1950s and the 21st century, "The Luck of the Irish" explores the timeless themes of race, class, and intergenerational conflict. GUESTS: Kristen Greenidge, playwright Melia Bensussen, director Poetry in Motion Filmmaker David Michalek decided that dance can be one of the most undervalued, misunderstood art forms. It is ephemeral, it unfolds before us in time and space. The beauty of it is that it's here, and then it's gone. To change the way dance is experienced, Michalek deisgned a cinematic tribute to dance, called Slow Dancing. Using a high-definition camera shooting at 1,000 frames per second, he filmed 43 dancers and choreagraphers from across the world in motion. These images are projected onto huge screens. It's a world event, and a one-of-a-kind public art installation that has made its way to Harvard Yard outside the Widener Library through April 29. Slow Dancing by David Michalek: Fang-yi Sheu from Moving Portrait on Vimeo. Today, in honor of National Poetry Month, we'll discuss this work and explore the poetry of motion, the hypnotic effect that comes from witnessing the exacting precision of a dancer's otherworldy grace. GUESTS: Alicia Anstead, arts and culture analyst Jill Johnson, director of Harvard's Dance Program | 4/23/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 4/23/12 | THE MBTA: What Fare Hikes and Service Cuts Mean for your Health Facing a $159 million deficit, the MBTA has approved fare hikes across the board and service cuts across the Commonwealth. The immediate effect is that thousands of commuters will be inconvenienced. The long-term consequences could come in the form of a public health predicament. Fare hikes and service cuts will force many more people onto the road, according to a new health assessment. With this comes more traffic, more congestion, and less physical activity. This means obesity rates, air pollution, and automobile accidents will only go up. GUESTS: Eric Bourassa: director of Transportation Planning For the Metropolitan Area Planning Council Marianna Arcaya: manager of public health at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council; doctoral candidate at the Harvard School of Public Health. In Defense of the Auto Colin Kingsbury thinks cars have gotten a bad rap. Boston is home to the country's first train system, a robust bus network and the Hubway bike system, not to mention paths and sidewalks for walks and jogs. With all the talk about fare hikes and service cuts and the future of transit in the Hub, Kingsbury believes we should reconsider our auto aversion. There's no quicker way to get across town, no greater freedom than hopping in the car and burning down Boston's thoroughfares. Colin Kingsbury joins us to talk about it. Watch this video of a car cruise - back in the day - through Boston. GUEST: Colin Kingsbury is a writer and entrepreur. His recent piece for Boston Magazine, in defense of cars, is called "Hell Yeah, I Love My Car." | 4/22/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 4/20/12 | Week in Review Howard Manly, of the Bay State Banner, and Marcela Garcia, of El Planeta, bring their local reporting to today's week in review. Among the local headlines we'll discuss: how one woman's fate changed in the aftermath of the ICE raid in New Bedford five years ago. We'll also discuss the latest developments surrounding the Charles Street AME Church and One United Bank. GUESTS: Howard Manly, exeutive editor of The Bay State Banner Marcela Garcia, managing editor of El Planeta Boston Ragtime Our weekly examination of pop culture. On tap this week: How America's oldest teenager changed our lives, and how bringing back the dead could forever alter "live" music. GUESTS: Rachel Rubin, chair of the Department of American Studies at UMass Boston Thomas Connolly, professor of English at Suffolk University | 4/19/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 4/19/12 | Fenway Park's Centennial We look at the ballpark's past, from its time as a small, wooden stadium on Huntington Avenue, to its days as a civic gathering space where presidents and pachyderms once convened. GUEST: Christopher Klein, writer, author of A Die-Hard Sports Fan's Guide to Boston: A Spectator's Handbook Fen Lit Fenway's one-of-a-kind charm has inspired no end of literary giants such as Stephen King, poet Donald Hall, and perhaps most famously John Updike, who described Fenway as "...a lyric little bandbox of a ballpark. Everything is painted green and seems in curiously sharp focus, like the inside of an old-fashioned peeping-type Easter egg.” We look at how Fenway Park became fertile ground for so many writers. GUESTS: George Mitrovich, chairman of The Great Fenway Park Writers Series Dick Flavin, Fenway Park's poet laureate The Voice of a Red Sox Nation When it comes to Red Sox fans, perfect pitch isn't about throwing strikes, it's about projecting your cheers clear across the ballpark without wrecking your voice. GUEST: Elena Zoubareva, opera singer and voice expert | 4/18/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 4/18/12 | Politics Roundtable We'll review the latest headlines- from the State House to the White House. Among the stories we'll explore: Mitt Romney's beef with the Buffett Rule, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission's latest powwow, and Niki Tsongas' plans for reelection. GUESTS: Kelly Bates, executive director of Access Strategies Fund Kevin Peterson, founder of the New Democracy Coalition Marvin Venay, executive director of the Massachusetts Black and Latino Democratic legislative Caucus Earth Day Film Fest We're marking Earth Day (4/22) with a homegrown film festival. We'll look at movies where plants - and sometimes plankton - are the protagonists. In Little Shop of Horrors an ambitious florist finds that cross-pollination isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. In the film Swamp Thing the world is ravaged by environmental extremes. The solution? Create a human/plant hybrid. In Soylent Green, the world is bursting at the seams. Overpopulation has created a housing crisis and food shortage. A high-energy nutritious plankton wafer has been designed to solve the hunger crisis. It works. Everyone loses their appetite when word gets out what soylent green actually is. From the cult classics to mainstream movies, it's an examination of the films that take on what happens if we push Mother Nature to her limit. GUEST: Garen Daly, film critic | 4/17/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 4/17/12 | Boston Designer Taniya Nayak Today, we talk with people who are changing what the inside of Boston looks like. We kick off the hour with Boston-based interior designer Taniya Nayak, who can currently be seen on HGTV's "House Hunters on Vacation" and the Food Network's "Restaurant Impossible". We get Taniya's take on the Boston design scene and talk with her about exactly how she produces such beautiful spaces on a budget. GUEST: Taniya Nayak, Boston-based interior designer, owner of Taniya Nayak Designs, L.L.C. Steampunking Sharon, Mass. resident Bruce Rosenbaum started salvaging Victorian-era antiques and turning them into high tech designs in 2001. He turned this hobby, known as steampunking, into a business: ModVic Home Restoration, which he started with his wife in 2007. We talk with Bruce about the the machinery behind the steampunk sensibility. GUEST: Bruce Rosenbaum, owner of ModVic Home Restoration | 4/16/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 4/13/12 | *Sue O'Connell, publisher of Bay Windows and South End News, guest hosts Week in Review We take a look at the news that may not have reached your radar this week. Among the local headlines we'll discuss: the latest problems facing the rebooted Chelsea Housing Authority Board and how the Clerk of Criminal Courts race has turned ugly. GUESTS: Seth Daniel, senior reporter for Independent News Group, which includes the Revere Journal John Ruch, editor of the Jamaica Plain Gazette Peter Kadzis, executive editor of the Boston Phoenix Ragtime It's our weekly examination of pop culture. On tap this week: A thorny Axl Rose, and a major disappointment for Springfield, Mass., Springfield, IL, Springfield, NJ... GUESTS: Rachel Rubin, Chair of the Department of American Studies at UMass Boston Thomas Connolly, professor of English at Suffolk University | 4/12/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 4/12/12 | A Far Cry The classical music scene in Boston is booming. Any given night you can hear the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall, Baroque music, cutting-edge avante garde music, pick-up community orchestras, and solo shows in intimate club settings. If you wander down South Street in Jamaica Plain you'll catch a small orchestra in an unassuming storefront, rehearsing for their next show, broadcasting - unplugged - to the surrounding neighborhood. The orchestra is A Far Cry, and they've been part of the Boston music scene for five years. They play music that's never been heard or recorded, they re-envision classical music masterworks with fresh interpretations, and they seek out collaborations with indie bands. In 2009, A Far Cry became the orchestra-in-residence at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Today, we talk with two Criers about the classical music scene in Boston, and how their group is upending - and paying homage to - the classical music world. Live from Fraser for 9/11: A Far Cry performs Golijov from WGBH Classical New England on Vimeo. GUESTS: Sarah Darling plays viola in A Far Cry, which she joined at the end of the group's first season. Annie Rabbat plays violin in A Far Cry. Hip Hop and the Black Church Hip hop is a worldwide cultural force. Heavyweights like Chuck D, Missy Elliott, Grandmaster Flash, Notorious B.I.G. and The Roots exported their dance moves, catch phrases, clothes and complex art to a rabid, multilingual and eclectic audience. Now, every block in every city has MCs and DJs, the local celebrities who tell the stories of their culture. Northeastern University professor Emmett Price says it's time hip hop made its way into the Black Church, and time for the Black Church to reach out to hip hop. The children and grandchildren of the Civil Rights era have grown apart from church, and there's no better way to close the gap than by bringing this explosively popular music home to the sacred institutions that gave birth to some of hip hop's most influential artists. Want to hear more music from this segment? Check out Applejaxx and K.M.Y. GUESTS: Emmett G. Price III, Chair of the Department of African American Studies at Northeastern University, editor of The Black Church and Hip Hop Culture: Toward Bridging the Generational Divide, founding pastor at the Community of Love Christian Fellowship Church in Allston | 4/11/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Callie Crossley Show 4/11/12 | Marathon Brew Jim Koch started Samuel Adams as a niche craft brewery in 1984, using a brewing recipe developed by his great-great-grandfather. Koch grew it into the second largest U.S. beer maker, and one of Boston's most recognizable exports. Samuel Adams is brewing up a "26.2 Brew" this year in honor of the Boston Marathon. The limited-run beer will be served at the finish line next Monday, as well as in bars along the Marathon route. You can join in the conversation today. What's your question for Samuel Adams brewmaster Jim Koch? Are you a home brewer? Tweet us or leave a comment at our Facebook page. GUEST: Jim Koch, co-founder and chairman of the Boston Beer Company, which makes all the Samuel Adams beers. Marathon Spotters We talk with the co-founder of Race SpotWatch, the company that works with high school students to keep tabs on runners' times at every mile marker along the marathon route. GUESTS: Fred Treseler, co-founders of Race SpotWatch. | 4/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 30 Episodes |
