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On WBUR CitySpace's First Anniversary: Our Top 10 Events

On Feb. 28, WBUR celebrates the first anniversary of CitySpace at The Lavine Broadcast Center, a state-of-the-art multimedia venue for civic engagement, public conversation, artistic performance and cultural expression at 890 Commonwealth Avenue.

CitySpace has expanded how WBUR serves the citizens of Greater Boston with live events ranging from discussions, debates and lectures, to films, music, artistic performance, youth events, podcasts, and live radio broadcasts — If you don't want to miss the next best show, sign up for our events newsletter here.

Since its opening,

  • more than 20,000 people have attended more than 170 events
  • nearly a third of the events at CitySpace has been sold out and
  • nearly half of the events were moderated by WBUR talent!

And of the myriad of events CitySpace hosted and produced last year, here's our pick of the top 10 events:

LIVE JOURNALISM

How does a famous explorer with no experience in government ride a wave of political and social tensions to become the Republican party’s first presidential nominee? With a lot of help from his politically savvy wife.

In a special LIVE recording, Steve Inskeep, host of NPR’s Morning Edition and Up First, sat down with On Point’s Meghna Chakrabarti to discuss his book, the cyclical nature of American history and what the Fremonts — America’s first celebrity political power couple — tell us about politics today.

Watch the LIVE recording of the show:

If you're looking for an audio experience, as it aired on On Point the following Monday, click here.

COMEDY

Endless Thread's Amory Sivertson Interviews Pete Holmes About "Comedy Sex God"

Comedian and Massachusetts native, Pete Holmes isn't afraid to lay it all out there. His HBO show "Crashing," which recently wrapped up its third and final season, explored his life in New York City, navigating a divorce and a comedy career that was just barely getting off the ground.

In his memoir, "Comedy Sex God," Holmes recounts his early days, including how he fell in love with comedy; his college years, where he met his first wife (while both worked as reenactors pretending to be Puritans, wandering around Salem, MA) and then discovered, two years later that she was cheating; and how that led him to become an atheist. “Along with the Jetta, I lost God in the divorce.” It was then that his spiritual journey truly began.

Watch a brief segment from his interview here:

If you'd like to have an audio experience, WBUR's Radio Boston had Holmes as a guest on their show: You can listen to the segment here. Subscribe to Endless Thread on Apple Podcasts here.

POLITICS

Robin Young, co-host of Here & Now, joined renowned historian and writer Jill Lepore for a conversation about her book, "These Truths: A History of the United States."

Widely hailed for its “sweeping, sobering account of the American past” (NYTimes Book Review), Jill Lepore’s one-volume history of America places truth itself―a devotion to facts, proof and evidence―at the center of the nation’s history. The American experiment rests on three ideas―“these truths,” Jefferson called them―political equality, natural rights, and the sovereignty of the people. But has the nation, and democracy itself, delivered on that promise?

More about the event at WBUR CitySpace covered by BU News Service here.

Watch a sneak peek from their conversation earlier in the year:

  • Andrea Bernstein On "American Oligarchs" With Here & Now's Tonya Mosley

Investigative journalist Andrea Bernstein — also the co-host of TRUMP, Inc. podcast — talked about her book, "American Oligarchs: The Kushners, the Trumps, and the Marriage of Money and Power" with Here & Now co-host, Tonya Mosley.

Watch the entire conversation here:


Don't miss the next event by signing up for our newsletter — because what's happening is here!


BUSINESS

Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson Talks To Adam Davidson On "The Passion Economy"

Adam Davidson, New Yorker staff writer and creator of NPR’s Planet Money, talked about the forces shaping the new economy and his first book, "The Passion Economy: The New Rules for Thriving in the 21st Century," with Jeremy Hobson, co-host of Here & Now.

Contrary to daily news reports, the middle class is not dying and robots are not stealing our jobs. From a sweatshop owner to an Amish craftsman, Davidson shares how economies of scale are giving way to economies of passion.

Watch the entire interview here:

ARTS

Diversity On The Runway — Curated By Here & Now's Marcelle Hutchins

WBUR CitySpace opened its floor to fashion for the first time with "Diversity on the Runway," a fashion show celebrating designers of color in Boston. The show, curated by Here & Now associate producer Marcelle Hutchins, featured 50 looks over the course of the evening accompanied by live music from Jahriffe.

Watch the fashion show here:

SPORTS

In 2018, Desiree Linden became the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon in 33 years. And she did it with remarkable determination and grit in horrible weather—rain, relentless headwinds and near-freezing temperatures. That win made Linden an unforgettable part of Boston sports history.

Before she defended her title in the 2019 Boston Marathon as part of the John Hancock Elite Team, she came to WBUR CitySpace to have a wide-ranging, one-on-one conversation, WBUR Sports and Society Reporter Shira Springer. They talked about her Boston win and how it changed her life, her training, her career ups and downs, her newly-launched coffee business, her whiskey collection and her other interests outside of running.

Watch their conversation here:

SCIENCE

Science Friday Presents: Cephalopod Movie Night

Nothing quite says a summer evening like basking in the shade of an octopus’s garden.

Science Friday’s video producer Luke Groskin joined us at WBUR CitySpace to talk all-things cephalopods with‎ Carrie Albertin and Bret Grasse, both from The Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole and aquarist and octopus wrangler Bill Murphy from the New England Aquarium.

Watch the panel here:

PODCASTS

Endless Thread's Ben Brock Johnson In Conversation With Pod Save America's Jon Favreau

A former head speechwriter for Barack Obama (2005-2013), Jon Favreau discussed politics, podcasts and more with Ben Brock Johnson, co-host of WBUR's Endless Thread.

Watch their conversation here:

If you're interested in an audio experience, listen to this conversation on Endless Thread's bonus episode here. Subscribe to Endless Thread on Apple Podcasts here.

FOOD

Curated Cuisine Series: Sheryl Julian in Discussion with Tiffani Faison

Food writer and stylist Sheryl Julian moderated a discussion with Tiffani Faison, chef and owner of "Sweet Cheeks", "Tiger Mama" and "Fool's Errand". In 2006, early into her career, Faison was cast on the very first season of Bravo’s Top Chef and placed as a runner-up. From there, she worked in prestigious kitchens in Nantucket, New Orleans, Los Angeles and San Francisco before returning to Boston in 2010 to become Executive Chef of Southern Italian restaurant, "Rocca Kitchen & Bar."

Learn more about Faison's journey here:


Thank you for your time and support for WBUR CitySpace!

Sign up for our newsletter to get notified about upcoming events — because what's happening is here!


If you'd like to join us as soon as next month, here's a FREE event you might be interested in:

UPCOMING

Register Now for 'Get Educated 2020 Election Series: Economy'

WBUR Bostonomix reporter Callum Borchers will moderate a conversation on the economy’s multifaceted impacts on the upcoming election including the trade war, national debt and income inequality to name a few.

Events on big tech and privacy, foreign policy, immigration and the future of democracy to be added to the series lineup soon.

Panelists

Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee - Ford Foundation international professor of economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 2019 Nobel Prize winner, economics

Esther Duflo - Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of poverty alleviation and development economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 2019 Nobel Prize winner, economics

N. Gregory Mankiw - Robert M. Beren professor of economics, Harvard University

Get FREE Tickets

Headshot of Samata Joshi

Samata Joshi Managing Producer, WBUR Podcasts
Samata is the Managing Producer for WBUR Podcasts.

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