The Fabulous 413

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

Caroline Rose joins us for a check-in before the second night of their residency, Diane and Robert Rollins tell us of the long road to bringing produce and poultry to the region at D & R Farms, Dave Hayes updates us on the slightly unseasonable sky-goings-on, and Word Nerd Emily Brewster sets time markers on our vocabulary with Retronyms.

We speak with State Senator Jake Olivera about some of the many issues on his agenda and his love of NPR, and we hear about the amalgam of art, history, and education that will make up the third Power of Truths Festival.

We hear about the $2M gift received by CATA, explore laughter in the 413 with the folx from Happier Valley Comedy, and Mr. Universe tells us about a western Massachusetts tie to eclipses though Emily Dickenson.

The weekend is a great time to explore. So we’ll encourage you to experience the full gender spectrum and support those on their gender journeys with the Resource and Arts Fair presented by Translate Gender on Sunday, March 31st. It’s not just celebration of the Transgender Day of Visibility, but a way to bring communities together for some of the gender affirming needs they may not have access to on a regular basis or be comfortable pursuing in a more public setting. We chat with co-director of Translate Gender, James Shultis and our own digital producer for The Fabulous 413, Ayu Suryawan, who often volunteers with them, about the organization’s mission, and the need to have space to just be you with no strings or qualifiers can be important to youn trans person growing up as well as their caretakers. Live Music Friday brings the genre malleable, raucously engaging Bella’s Bartok to the NEPM Studios. They’re performing March 30th at The Drake in Amherst, for their first hometown show of the year. We chat with them about their origins, the shift in sound on their latest album, “Apocalypse Wow”, and their efforts helping to raise funds to aid a friend of theirs escape the conflict in Rafah. And we’ll get a spectrum in our glasses as well. We head to Provisions in Longmeadow where owners Benson Hyde and Bruce McAmis show us the range of flavors possible in Italy, as we pit a north against south for our Wine Thunderdome, not to mention a preview of what can be experience at their Italian Wine Festival later this month

Word Nerd Emily Brewster doubles down into the history of the word "ditto", the MIFA Victory Players combine the music of Amy Beach and the poetry of Emily Dickenson in a program that will air on NEPM Classical this weekend, we learn about the first woman to play professional baseball with author Martha Ackmann, and Congressman Jim McGovern bemoans our inability to truly hear each other and have discourse.

It’s a triumphant return of the arts. Not that they ever left per se, but we are packing a bunch into this show. And honestly that return wasn’t certain in some cases. The strike of the UAW at Mass MoCA as events and festivals planned at that institution loomed ever larger on our calendars had everyone wondering what the future might hold for the museum. But as we check in with NEPM Reporter Jill Kaufmann, we discover that progress is indeed being made; not just in North Adams but in Holyoke with their receivership as well. It’s in an author making a visit to the valley to celebrate a new book. Ayize Jama-Everett has a storied career to be sure. He’s currently touring a documentary he’s co-produced on the use of psychedelics in the Black community, but making a stop in Easthampton at Book Moon on March 28th to celebrate the release the final book in his “Liminal” series. We speak with the man of many hats including author/professor about self starting his literary career, his inspirations, and connecting the future with history in all of his works. And it’s in a creative rejuvenation as well. The Springfield Symphony Orchestra has just created a new position of Artistic Advisor, and the first to hold that title will be Mei-Ann Chen. We speak with the maestra as well as president and CEO of the SSO, Paul Lambert, about her previous work with the symphony, what this means for the direction and development of the organization, and her call to conducting.

There’s a lot in our pasts in which we are seeing merit. For instance the Szymonik family who stepped away from their past lives in the early stages of the pandemic to seek something a little more connected to the land. And where they landed is Granby on the grounds of Deere Creek Farm. We speak with Naomi Szymonik about the intense diversity at the farm, from livestock, to flower CSAs, to event space, and why their various roads to agrotourism make their endeavor more sound. The Biden Administration has just issued new tailpipe pollution limits that could transform the automobile market. But is this too little too late, and will it have a greater impact on the current auto industry than believed? As the driver of an electric car, Monte speaks with professors Dwayne Breger and Erin Baker of UMass, as well as the institution’s director of transporation, Connie Englert, about how they see the present of electric cars shifting into our future, in Western Mass and beyond. And Kaliis is back from galavanting in Knoxville, Tennesee. We’ll ask how her schedule at the Big Ears Festival went, highs and lows and what she actually thought of seeing Andre 3000’s flute playing live.

We’ll hear from the Massachusetts Farm to School panel with Irene Shiang Li, food justice advocate and co-founder of Mei Mei Dumplings in Boston; Shavel’le Olivier, the executive director of Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition; and Easthampton’s Ollie Perrault, a seventeen year old climate activist, farmer, director of Youth Climate Action Now, and founding member of Maura Healey's advisory Youth Climate Council. These folx are here to tell us more about bringing fresh food and food education to our local communities. Plus, we invite western Massachusetts author Karen Chase to talk about her new book “History is Embarrassing.” We hear about the writing process and the importance of retelling history, public or private, through diverse and personal perspectives, even when it’s embarrassing! And, we’ll explore the cosmos with Mr. Universe! There have been talks to build a railroad on the moon, and Hampshire professor Salman Hameed tells us who would do it and why.

We are joined by the resident Swiftie and director of science at the Springfield Museums, Jenny Powers, to talk about the new planetarium show to feature “1989 -Taylor’s Version” every Saturday afternoon from Mar. 23 to May 18. For this week's Thunderdome, we join Michael Quinlin at Table and Vine to taste the “sun, stone, sea, and wind” of the Mediterranean. We choose which bottle best captures the power of the region's warm waters and sunshine. And, it’s Live Music Friday and we welcome rapper, podcaster and graphic novelist Tem Blessed ahead of his gig at the Drake in Amherst tonight. We hear about his message of social justice and sustainability to inspire positive change and global responsibility.