The Fabulous 413

We discover the collaborative arts program OneBeat, whose current cohort will perform at Bombyx on Sunday, delve into our local history with the folx behind History Fest at Westfield State University, and the region's own labor history with the documentary "At Sword's Point" which will air on NEPM this weekend.

We hand out with rising Americana artist Amythyst Kiah, prepare for Hampshire Pride this weekend with organizers Clay Pearson and Alden Peotter, and check out the connections between animation and classical music with the upcoming program "Bugs Bunny Goes to the Symphony" at the Springfield Symphony Orchestra.

We hear about a paint recycling program happening this weekend with the Northampton High School Key Club, check in with Senator Elizabeth Warren about some of the hotbed issues on her side of congress, and hear about a monthly poetry open mic night at 10 forward to help keep the National Poetry Month spirit all year long.

We head to the Berkshires to meet a winemaker encouraging everyone to drink more local wines, bring the noisy power trio True Jackie in for Live Music Friday, and bring Mr. Universe in for our chat with the poet laureate of the USA, Ada Limon.

We hear about the Pay it Forward Grant Program with folx from City Space in Easthampton, get a peek at the History of Salsa Event Happening at 33 Hawley in Northampton, and Congressman Jim McGovern finally gets to do some actual governing on Capitol Hill while also keeping an eye on the grown number of protests on college campuses across the US.

We check out NEPM's Newest Podcst with creator and reporter Karen Brown, find out more about Gateway City Arts recent sale to Alternative Education institution Lighthouse, and our resident wordster, Emily Brewster, untangles a reder question about homonyms.

We meet two of the three generations growing and brewing at Kosinski Farm in Westfield, get a tour and a temperature of the recently re-opened to the public Triplex Cinemas with creative director Ben Elliot, and walk to the beat of the Pittsfield Jazz Fest with Ed Bride of Berkshires Jazz.

We take a tour of the Springfield Municipal Recycling Facility with advisory board members Susan Waite and Amy Donovan in honor of Earth Day, and stumble into a brand new gem of a pizza spot in Great Barrington at Uva.

We chat with Payton Shubrick of 6 Bricks Dispensary in Springfield about changes to the marijuana landscape in Massachusetts, chat with Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black about the debut of the Spiderwick Chronicles TV series on Roku, and hear about Mary Jane Jones' 4/20 celebration at the Marigold Theater in Easthampton.

We chat with actor/director/producer Karen Allen about her career and more, head to Hadley to see the 50+ years of history that makes 20 Acre Farm what it is, and check in with US Rep Jim McGovern, who has a lot on his mind this week.

We hear about the history of the Solar Rollers and the wave of rallies and actions they've got planned for Saturday, and hear from poet Alex Woolner about the many ways her imprint Attack Bear Press is trying to get as much poetry into as many hands as possible.

For the first time ever in the show’s history, we are venturing outside the four counties of western Massachusetts. But the ties of the 413 are still strong in the places to which we’re headed. Restless Books in Amherst will release “The Book Censor’s Library” on April 30th; a speculative fiction novel that wrestles with a wealth of issues relevant to any democracy in crisis. Author Bothanya Al-Essa speaks with us about this, the only book of hers that has not been banned in her home country of Kuwait, about the real life parallels to the book, how opening a bookstore in a nation with only-recently-lessened censorship has been, and the love of literature that has lead to each. And we head south to the home of the author of one of the most well-known pieces of abolitionist fiction. The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Hartford, CT is about to launch a new summer series with it’s event “Garden of Literacy” this weekend. So we chat with executive director, Karen Fisk, director of collections & public programs Cat White, and newly appointed director of interpretation & visitor experience Erika Slocumb, all of whom currently or very recently lived in the 413, about the center’s mission of literary activism, how engaging their community in history can invigorate an area’s civic base, and all the fun things they’ll be getting up to this Saturday in their new event series.

We gear up for the Easthampton Film Festival with organizer Chris Ferry and filmmakers Christian Banda & KT Baldassaro, bear witness to and diseminate the newest verstion of the one character show "SUGA" at Double Edge Theater, And Mr. Universe breaks down what we really got to see during the eclipse.

We hear about the newest iteration of theater production "Across the Ninefold River" with members of the Unnameable Children's Project, gear up to celebrate 4-1-3 day with Liz Rosenberg of The Toy Box in Amherst, prepare ourselves for the tales of Valley Voices Best of show happening at the Academy of Music, and bring two natural reds to the wine thunderdome at the Leverett Village Co-Op.

NYT Bestselling author/illustrator/animator Mo Willems shows us around his latest series of sketches, visit one of the largest livestock farms in western Mass at Great Falls Aquaculture, and Congressman Jim McGovern addresses the latest wave of student activism and the health care issues arising in Arizona.

We hear about the "this LIght of Mine" event for the Childrens Advocacy Center of Hampshire County, discover a new book about the boy from Longmeadow who would become Johnny Appleseed with local author Melissa Cybulski, discuss developments with Merriam-Webster and the idiom "Begs the question" with word nerd Emily Brewster, and revisit our trip to the path of totality with all of it's adventurous moments.

It’s National Poetry Month! And what better way to celebrate than at the home of the area’s most famous, and possibly most prolific, poets! So we get a quick tour of the Emily Dickenson Museum. Located right on Main street in Amherst, the institution has just re-opened the Evergreens building to the public. We chat with Executive Director Jane Weld and Senior Programs Director Brooke Steinhauser to not just give us a taste of the poet’s life, but a brief history of the grounds becoming a museum, as well as why having the public bear witness to the restorations occurring is vital. One of the many programs that the museum offers is Phosphorescence: a program that evolved during the pandemic to showcase contemporary authors reading their work and more. We bring three poets who have participated in the museum to speak with us as well. Nicole Young Martin, Erica Charis Molling, and Abigail Chabitnoy each allow us to hear more of their work both on and off the page.

One would think that in a week were we had an unseasonably large nor’easter and an earthquake that we might be a little wary of finishing the time with a total solar eclipse. But it is also the last time this phenomena will be in New England until 2079 so there’s also little else we are thinking of, portents and precidents aside. So Mr. Universe, Hampshire College’s Salman Hameed, clues us into some of the big discoveries in science that have only been possible due to research conducted in the small window of an eclipse, including Einstein’s theory of relativity, the discovery of helium, plus some of the things we might learn from the one happening today. Word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam Webster, brings us words adjacent to the eclipse, including some idioms related to the heavenly body, and also makes us a bit sad with the origins of the word itself. And we get into a great resource for your kids to discover the occurrence as well. Lindsay Patterson and Marshall Escamilla found out all kinds of cool things about eclipses for their most recent episode of "Tumble: Science Podcast for Kids", including their song about it, and as a bonus hear about their upcoming episode about the confluence of Cicadas, another once in a lifetime event. And Monte and Kaliis took the day to go to the path of totality themselves. It was a bit of an unexpected adventure, but was it worth it? Totally.

We check in with the folx of the Cancer Connection at their Bed-In, drink superhero wines with the folx at Tip Top Wine Shop in Easthampton, and have a double Live Music Friday with locals Stompbox Trio, and Lady Moon & the Eclipse

We delve into the virtual worlds designed for this weekend's Power of Truths Festival with designer Khalif Neville, hear about pushing the boundaries of chamber music with the folx behind the Connections Concert at Bombyx this Sunday, And McGovern ponders what to do about Israel after the tragedy with World Central Kitchen