LISTEN LIVE: The New Yorker Radio Hour

Latest News

Gov. Charlie Baker speaks to press in June of 2021. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Baker Again Plans $200 Mil For Local Roads, Bridges

Gov. Charlie Baker again plans to propose $200 million in new local road and bridge repair funding. He disclosed his plans during virtual remarks Saturday morning to the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

Local Coverage

Jan 22, 2022

Listen to the latest local news

More Boston Headlines

Labor Secretary and former Boston mayor Marty Walsh speaks at the White House (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Marty Walsh says he will not run for Massachusetts governor

Marty Walsh ended speculation that he would join the gubernatorial race on Thursday after Maura Healey announced her candidacy.

Local Coverage

Jan 21, 2022

Nurses care for a COVID-19 positive patient at UMass Memorial Hospital on Dec. 4, 2020 in Worcester, Massachusetts. (Allison Dinner/AFP/Getty Images)

State changes COVID reporting to distinguish between primary and incidental hospital cases

Primary refers to patients hospitalized because they have a serious case of COVID-19. The incidental patients are those who happen to test positive when they arrive with some other urgent...

Health

Jan 21, 2022

From left, Van Buren Records, Miranda Rae and Frances Forever will all play the 2022 Boston Calling Music Festival. (Courtesy Boston Calling Music Festival)

Here's the full lineup for the 2022 Boston Calling Music Festival

Foo Fighters, The Strokes and Metallica will headline the annual music festival, slated for May 27-29 at the Harvard Athletic Complex in Allston.

Arts & Culture

Jan 21, 2022

A bulldozer levels ash on a mound beside Covanta's Haverhill waste facility that incinerates trash and generates electricity. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Reducing trash may reduce the need for incinerators in Mass.

Massachusetts produces more trash than it can manage locally. State officials have a plan to reduce trash over the next 10 years, but activists say it doesn't go far enough,...

Environment

06:01Jan 21, 2022

Cmdr. Billie J. Farrell standing on the deck of the USS Constitution in Boston. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Meet the USS Constitution's first woman commander

Cmdr. Billie J. Farrell takes command of Old Ironsides and its 80 crew members on Friday. Throughout its 224-year history, the ship has been run by men.

Local Coverage

04:46Jan 21, 2022

Notch Brewing owner and brewer Chris Lohring pours a nonalcoholic version of their New England IPA into a glass at the taproom at the Speedway in Brighton. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Nonalcoholic beer's bad reputation shifts as craft brewers join a booming trend

Until recently it's been particularly challenging for avid beer geeks to find nonalcoholic alternatives that satisfy their quest for interesting flavors. But more craft brewers — many who've been skeptics...

Arts & Culture

04:11Jan 21, 2022

Mernie Clifton demonstrates against the proposed gas compressor, as cars drive by on the Fore River Bridge in Weymouth. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Federal energy regulators let Weymouth compressor permit stand

Opponents hoped the station would be shut down after it released gas into the area multiple times over the past year.

Local Coverage

Jan 20, 2022

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announces her candidacy for governor at a press conference outside the MBTA station in East Boston's Maverick Square. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Community, civil rights leader 'elated' about diverse field as AG Maura Healey enters governor's race

Michael Curry, president & CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and former president of the NAACP Boston Branch, says Healey enters the race in a position of...

Local Coverage

05:30Jan 20, 2022

Rob Kapilow created the performance series "What Makes it Great." (Courtesy Peter Schaaf)

Highlighting the work of duo Lerner and Loewe with composer Rob Kapilow

Musician, composer, and author Rob Kapilow is re-upping his work with Celebrity Series of Boston in What Makes It Great this weekend, highlighting the work of songwriting duo Lerner and...

Radio Boston

18:57Jan 20, 2022

In this April 1, 2021, file photo, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey responds to questions from reporters during a news conference in Boston. (Steven Senne/AP File)

Maura Healey announces bid for Governor of Massachusetts

Plus, a conversation with musician, composer and author Rob Kapilow about his new digital performance this week.

Radio Boston

47:38Jan 20, 2022

Radio Boston

Maura Healey announces her candidacy to be the next governor of Massachusetts at a press conference at Maverick Station. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Maura Healey is the latest Mass. Attorney General to run for Governor

Radio Boston

13:58Jan 20, 2022

Upgraded 5G rollout hits snags, marks the end of 3G

As an upgraded 5G gets rolled out, 3G is getting rolled back.

Radio Boston

14:43Jan 20, 2022

A story of love, resilience and freedom in the antebellum South

In his new book called Yonder, Jabari Asim tells the stories of six men and women, five of them enslaved, and the plantation owners who...

Radio Boston

15:18Jan 19, 2022

Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University's School of Public Health, stands for a portrait, on Dec. 23, 2020, in Newton, Massachusetts. (Elise Amendola/AP)

From pandemic to endemic? Dr. Ashish Jha on the future of COVID-19

Radio Boston

13:43Jan 19, 2022

More Boston Headlines

In this July 9, 2019, file photo a Lyft ride-share car waits at a stoplight in Sacramento, Calif. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP File)

Lyft gives record $13 million to back ballot question

The ride-hail giant gave $13M in support of a ballot question that would ask voters whether to classify app-based ride-hail and delivery drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, a...

Business

Jan 20, 2022

Tufts Medical Center in Boston. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Tufts Medical Center will close pediatric beds to boost adult capacity

The more than 40 inpatient beds at Boston's Tufts Children's Hospital will be converted to much-needed ICU and medical/surgical beds for adults, the hospital's operator announced Thursday.

Health

Jan 20, 2022

An MBTA Commuter Rail train on the Haverhill line travels through Andover. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

MBTA plan adjusts reduced fares, transfer costs

A pandemic-inspired MBTA commuter rail ticket option aimed at workers with hybrid schedules would become permanent under a new proposal that would also slash the price of a single-day unlimited...

Local Coverage

Jan 20, 2022

Ken Gore, "Beeches on the Agawam," 1991. (Courtesy Cape Ann Museum)

5 things to do this weekend, including a Cape Ann Museum art exhibit and a dance workshop

Plus, curling at the Seaport and an orchestra performance that fights stigma.

Arts & Culture

Jan 20, 2022

The Great Dome and Building 10 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Justice Department drops case against MIT professor accused of ties to China

U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins, the top federal prosecutor in the state, said the move was “in the interests of justice” and was the result of new information the government had...

Local Coverage

Jan 20, 2022

James "Whitey" Bulger is seen in two booking photos, decades apart -- 1959 and after his capture in 2011. The convicted mobster and murderer died in prison in 2018. (U.S. Marshals Service)

U.S. judge dismisses lawsuit filed by Whitey Bulger's family

A federal judge granted the government's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, ruling that federal law precludes the family’s ability to sue over the Federal Bureau of Prison’s decision to transfer...

Local Coverage

Jan 20, 2022

MBTA Green Line train at Boylston station. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

All-door boarding could could be costly for the T, new study says

A new study from the Pioneer Institute says the MBTA could be facing fare evasion costs of $35 million.

Business

Jan 20, 2022

A front end loader heaps garbage into the bunker, so a grab crane can lift it from there into the furnace chute. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Trash is a burning question with mixed answers in some Mass. towns

Massachusetts uses incinerators to burn most of its trash. Some activists want that to stop, because incinerators emit pollution. But in the communities that house the incinerators, residents' opinions are...

Environment

06:39Jan 20, 2022

Literature writer Katherine Ouellette selects 12 books to read this winter. (Courtesy the publishers)

12 books with New England ties to read this winter

These picks grapple with the stark differences for the children of immigrants seeking the American dream, the interconnectedness of local communities, and fearless protagonists who have been backed into a...

Arts & Culture

Jan 20, 2022

Sections

Radio

Podcasts

CitySpace

Support

Subscribe to our weekday newsletter

Subscribe

Baker Again Plans $200 Mil For Local Roads, Bridges

Marty Walsh says he will not run for Massachusetts governor

State changes COVID reporting to distinguish between primary and incidental hospital cases

Here's the full lineup for the 2022 Boston Calling Music Festival

Reducing trash may reduce the need for incinerators in Mass.

Meet the USS Constitution's first woman commander

Nonalcoholic beer's bad reputation shifts as craft brewers join a booming trend

Federal energy regulators let Weymouth compressor permit stand

Community, civil rights leader 'elated' about diverse field as AG Maura Healey enters governor's race

Highlighting the work of duo Lerner and Loewe with composer Rob Kapilow

Maura Healey announces bid for Governor of Massachusetts

Maura Healey is the latest Mass. Attorney General to run for Governor

Upgraded 5G rollout hits snags, marks the end of 3G

A story of love, resilience and freedom in the antebellum South

From pandemic to endemic? Dr. Ashish Jha on the future of COVID-19

Lyft gives record $13 million to back ballot question

Tufts Medical Center will close pediatric beds to boost adult capacity

MBTA plan adjusts reduced fares, transfer costs

5 things to do this weekend, including a Cape Ann Museum art exhibit and a dance workshop

Justice Department drops case against MIT professor accused of ties to China

U.S. judge dismisses lawsuit filed by Whitey Bulger's family

All-door boarding could could be costly for the T, new study says

Trash is a burning question with mixed answers in some Mass. towns

12 books with New England ties to read this winter