The Common

When the city removed a tent encampment in the area known as Mass. and Cass back in November, officials offered to help people find housing as part of a plan to help keep them off the streets. Now, two state run housing programs that were part of the effort are slated to close. WBUR reporter Deborah Becker joins The Common to talk about why these programs are closing, and how the closures will affect the people they serve. Greater Boston’s daily podcast where news and culture meet.

Boston is a cultural hub for Caribbean communities, with people originally from Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Trinidad, and other Caribbean countries, comprising nearly 9% of the city's population. The new Boston Caribbean American Association in Dorchester aims to unite these communities and promote year-round political and civic engagement. Kwame Elias of the Boston Caribbean American Association joins The Common to discuss the coalition's goals and mission, and their strategies for engaging with local Caribbean communities. Greater Boston’s daily podcast where news and culture meet.

Last Thursday, the Massachusetts House and Senate voted to pass a supplementary budget that will provide an additional $251 million to the family shelter system. It also imposed a maximum of nine months stay limit for current families living in the state's emergency shelters, with certain people eligible for an extension waiver. Now, the bill awaits Governor Maura Healey’s signature. Today, The Boston Globe's political reporter Samantha J. Gross joins The Common to discuss the reasons behind the nine-month stay limit and how the state plans to spend the additional money on the family shelter system. Greater Boston’s daily podcast where news and culture meet.

We're going to be upfront with you. Last week was a hard one at WBUR. On Wednesday it was announced that the station would be cutting up to 14% of its staff through buyouts and layoffs in an attempt to reduce the station’s expenses by $4 million. This comes after a significant drop in underwriting revenue in recent years, adding to the trend of personnel cuts at public radio stations across the country in recent months. WBUR Investigative Correspondent Todd Wallack has been covering WBUR's financial struggles. He joins The Common to discuss what is behind the cuts, and what lies ahead for the station. Also, host Darryl C. Murphy makes an announcement about upcoming changes to the show. Greater Boston’s daily podcast where news and culture meet.

Late Wednesday night, a protest encampment created by students at Emerson College was forcibly removed by police. Over 100 protesters were arrested in the clearing, and multiple injuries have been reported. Meanwhile, other encampments have been erected on campuses across the city as students call for, among other things, a ceasefire in Gaza, that schools cut ties with Israeli funding and support of pro-Palestinian student groups that have been suspended from campuses like Harvard. WBUR Senior Education Reporter Carrie Jung joins The Common to discuss the students' demands and how the city and campus communities are responding to this latest phase of protest. Greater Boston’s daily podcast where news and culture meet.

April is Earth Month, which is a time to reflect on the one planet we have and for a lot of us that’s an opportunity to discuss climate change, and how it’s affecting our communities. Throughout the month we featured weekly conversations with some of the people in Greater Boston working to build our region’s resilience in the face of a changing climate. Our final guest for these Earth Month discussions is Leslie Jonas, an Indigenous land and water conservationist and an elder eel clan member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. Greater Boston’s daily podcast where news and culture meet.

More electric vehicles are hitting the streets in Boston, making it one of the biggest EV markets in the country. However, adoption still lags behind similar metro areas across the country and experts worry that the growing number of EVs is still not enough to help the state reach its emission goals. WBUR Senior Business Reporter Zeninjor Enwemeka joins The Common to explain the barriers to more EV ownership in Massachusetts, and what the state is doing about it. Greater Boston’s daily podcast where news and culture meet.

In late March, the MBTA announced it would be paying an additional $148 million to the Chinese locomotive manufacturer CRRC, in hopes of pushing the company to complete its order for desperately needed T cars by 2027. The order, which was made in 2014, was for 404 new T cars to be delivered by September 2023. To date, the MBTA has only received around 130 of those cars and with this latest payout, the total deal between the agency and CRRC is now valued at over $1 billion. Just last week, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, or SEPTA, canceled its $185 million dollar contract to buy passenger rail cars from the same manufacturer, CRRC. The railway cars were expected by last year. So far, SEPTA hasn’t received a single one. Today on The Common, we look at these two very different approaches to a similar problem with transportation reporters from Boston and Philadelphia: Tom Fitzgerald from The Philadelphia Inquirer and Taylor Dolven from The Boston Globe. Greater Boston’s daily podcast where news and culture meet.

Alvin Campbell, an alleged serial rapist, was arrested in 2020 on sexual assault charges. A new investigation by WBUR finds that at the time of his arrest, Campbell had already been reported for multiple allegations of rape and sexual assault dating back to 2016. He is the brother of Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell. Her office said the attorney general recused herself from any involvement in the case. In a statement, Andrea Campbell said the prosecution has her “unreserved support.” For the past year and a half, WBUR reporter Walter Wuthmann has been investigating the case against Alvin Campbell, and why he was not arrested earlier as allegations and DNA evidence against him surfaced. Wuthmann joins The Common to discuss how the culture of our criminal justice system and Massachusetts' secrecy laws obscure cases of sexual assault from the public in ways that often ends up protecting perpetrators instead of victims. Greater Boston’s daily podcast where news and culture meet.

Massachusetts legalized recreational cannabis in 2016. According to the state, the industry here has grossed nearly $6 billion from hundreds of dispensaries across the state. As part of WBUR's Field Guide to Boston, a series aimed at helping folks better connect with the region, and in honor of the unofficial cannabis holiday on 4/20, we want to offer a quick guide for those who are curious about cannabis in Massachusetts. So The Common team took a trip to Heritage Club in Charlestown, Boston's first recreational dispensary owned by a Black woman, Nike John. She walks us through her experience working in the cannabis industry as well as the dos and don'ts of buying weed responsibly. Greater Boston’s daily podcast where news and culture meet.

April is Earth Month, so all month long we are featuring weekly conversations with people in Greater Boston working to build our region’s resilience in the face of a changing climate. Arianna Perdomo is a 17-year-old high school senior living in Chelsea. She's a member of Gov. Maura Healey and Massachusetts Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer's Youth Climate Council and part of the Environmental Chelsea Organizers youth crew through GreenRoots. Today, Arianna joins The Common to discuss her work organizing other young people around climate concerns in Chelsea, and her interest in using her voice to advocate for climate justice on Beacon Hill. Greater Boston’s daily podcast where news and culture meet.

Last week, the Boston City Council met to discuss one of the top, pressing issues facing our city: The rat population causing a nuisance to residents citywide. For the second year in a row, Councilor Ed Flynn has proposed a measure to create a city department solely devoted to pest-related concerns, arguing that a specialized department would streamline efforts to tackle rat issues and allow for more coordinated innovation. Today, Boston Globe City Hall Reporter Niki Griswold joins The Common for more on Councilor Flynn's proposal, and other potential solutions discussed at last week's meeting. Greater Boston’s daily podcast where news and culture meet.

With the 2024 Boston Marathon now in the rearview, you may be feeling inspired to hit the road after seeing thousands of athletes crushing 26.2 miles. Or perhaps you’re at the very beginning of your running journey and you’re still trying to find where you fit in the sport. That’s why we bring you this conversation taped at WBUR’s CitySpace featuring Martinus Evans, a runner and founder of the Slow AF Run Club, a community for slow runners and walkers. Host Darryl C. Murphy talked to Evans about his journey as a runner and his work to make the sport of running more welcoming. This conversation has been edited for time and clarity. You can check out the full discussion here and if you want to find out more about events at CitySpace, head to wbur.org/events. Greater Boston’s daily podcast where news and culture meet.

Today, more than 30,000 runners will participate in the 128th Boston Marathon. Among those running are no less than five members of the WBUR staff, including Climate and Environment Correspondent, Barbara Moran. Being the reporter she is, Barb documented the ups and downs of her training journey as part of an essay for WBUR’s Cognesanti. Today, in honor of the marathon and all who run it, we bring you Barb's story. Greater Boston’s daily podcast where news and culture meet.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency introduced a new drinking water standard to reduce exposure to PFAS, chemicals linked to health risks like cancer. Massachusetts is one of 11 states with existing PFAS limits, which are different from the new federal guideline. As a result, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection estimated that 95 water systems across the state will need to upgrade their water system to address PFAS for the first time under the new federal rules. Climate and Environment Correspondent Barbara Moran joins The Common with more on the new federal rule and its impact on the local water systems. Greater Boston’s daily podcast where news and culture meet.

April is Earth Month, which is a time to reflect on the one planet we have and for a lot of us that brings up climate change, and how it’s affecting our communities. James Comiskey is an activist with Extinction Rebellion, a global environmental movement that aims to use nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action on climate change. He’s also a co-leader of Boston’s Rainbow Rebellion, which is an offshoot of the group focused on the intersection of climate and LGBTQ issues. Comiskey joins The Common to discuss how climate change disproportionately affects the LGBTQ community, and the queer legacy of social activism. Greater Boston’s daily podcast where news and culture meet.

On Monday, almost 300 people, many of whom were families with kids, boarded a ferry and headed out to Spectacle Island in the Boston Harbor to take in the solar eclipse over the Boston skyline. The event, "[Not Quite] Total Eclipse of the Park" was hosted by Boston Harbor Now, a non-profit that works to make the Boston Harbor and Islands more accessible and climate resilient, in partnership with Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park. Common Producer Katelyn Harrop joined the crowd heading out to Spectacle Island to talk with some of our youngest neighbors seeing their very first eclipse. Today on The Common, a solar eclipse through the eyes of six and eight-year-olds. Greater Boston’s daily podcast where news and culture meet.

Somerville is re-evaluating the use of ShotSpotter, a surveillance system that detects sounds indicative of gunfire. The devices have drawn scrutiny locally after leaked internal data revealed disproportionately high use in minority communities. Proponents of the technology say it saves lives and helps police catch criminals. Critics, including civil liberties advocates, raise concerns about the technology's accuracy and the risk of over-policing low-income or communities of color. Boston Globe Reporter Spencer Buell joins The Common with more on the controversy behind the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system and its future in Somerville and beyond. Greater Boston’s daily podcast where news and culture meet.

Earlier this year, we learned that financial challenges at Steward Healthcare System, a for-profit company, were jeopardizing the company's ability to run its eight current Massachusetts hospitals. This drew scrutiny from state and federal officials, and raised concerns about the role of private equity in the healthcare industry. Over the last couple of weeks, lawmakers, including U.S. Senators for Massachusetts Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, held hearings on Beacon Hill looking into private equity in healthcare and Steward’s financial problems. WBUR Senior Correspondent Deborah Becker has been following the Steward case since it broke, she joins The Common to catch us up to speed on the latest developments. Greater Boston’s daily podcast where news and culture meet.

It may be gray outside, but never fear -- WBUR Assistant Director of CitySpace Candice Springer is back on The Common with a list of fun-filled happenings to get you out of your house and on the town this April. Candice recommends... Mystery PicnicsThe Massachusetts Craft Brewers FestivalF1 Arcade BostonSlow AF Run Club: Martinus Evans on empowering anyone who wants to runEarth Week: Reptile and amphibians night with Zoo New England Greater Boston’s daily podcast where news and culture meet.