This American Life

Latest News

The Massachusetts State House. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Edify

7 hours ago

Ed Officials Caution Against Abandoning In-Person Schooling

State education leaders said that even in communities deemed to be at the highest-risk for virus transmission should not abandon in-person classroom learning unless there is evidence that the virus is spreading within the schools.

Listen to the latest local news

Support the news

More Boston Headlines

Artist Silvia López Chavez by her mural "Rise" at the Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina in East Boston. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

New East Boston Murals Intertwine Beauty And Environmental Concerns

The series of seven new large-scale murals emphasize the natural world and the need to preserve the environment.

The ARTery

Oct 27, 2020

Alan Kim (left) and Steven Yeun in "Minari." (Courtesy Melissa Lukenbaugh/A24)

IFFBoston's Fall Focus Film Series Goes Virtual With 10 Eclectic Selections

The series offers a mix of themes, from a heart-warming story about an immigrant family to an elderly pot farmer being undone by the mass-market forces of legalization.

The ARTery

Oct 27, 2020

Longtime Federal Appeals Court Judge Juan Torruella Dies

Torruella, who was born in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, was appointed to the 1st Circuit in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan, becoming the first Puerto Rican to serve on...

Oct 26, 2020

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh On Rising Coronavirus Infections And Closing The Schools

The average coronavirus positive test rate continues to climb in Boston, and across the state, as we approach a pivotal national election.

Radio Boston

22:37Oct 26, 2020

A surveillance image, released by Boston police, of a person they are attempting to identify as part of the investigation of the ballot box fire. (Courtesy Boston Police Department)

Man Charged For Ballot Box Fire In Boston's Copley Square

The 39-year-old was arraigned in municipal court on a charge of willful and malicious burning in connection with the Sunday morning fire.

Oct 26, 2020

In this Jan. 22, 2013, file photo, Sonja Farak, left, stands during her arraignment at Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown, Mass. (Don Treeger/The Republican via AP, Pool, File)

200 More Mass. Cases Thrown Out In Continued Fallout Over Farak Drug Lab Scandal

Hundreds more drug-related cases in Massachusetts are expected to be dismissed in the state drug lab scandal.

Oct 26, 2020

Looking down from a rocky ledge on Mount Monadnock, which inspired the setting for author Andrew Krivak's novel, "The Bear"

Climbing "The Mountain That Stands Alone" With Author Andrew Krivak

We sent Radio Boston's Chris Citorik to author Andrew Krivak's home in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, to hike the mountain that inspired the setting for his new novel, "The Bear."

Radio Boston

Oct 26, 2020

Dr Susan Ly, an emergency room physician at Lowell General Hospital, is tired. "Please be vigilant and patient," she urges as coronavirus cases rise. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Palpable Anxiety For Health Care Workers As COVID-19 Cases Rise In Massachusetts

“I didn’t realize the impact that it had on me during the spring because it was busy, and it was new,” says one nurse who cared for COVID-19 patients. Now...

CommonHealth

05:21Oct 26, 2020

Protesters from the Center for Popular Democracy Action, dressed in Handmaid's Tale costumes, walk across the plaza of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, to voice opposition to Judge Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Mass. Should Become A Reproductive Health Care Sanctuary State

We must create a safe place in Massachusetts for those who are being unjustly persecuted by state or federal governments gone rogue, writes Ben Jackson.

Cognoscenti

Oct 26, 2020

Latrell James (Courtesy Oludare Ohifemien)

Rapper Latrell James Rises From 'Under' The Depths With New EP

The arresting new EP finds the Boston producer defiantly striking back from within a persistent struggle.

The ARTery

Oct 26, 2020

Radio Boston

Nurse Michelle Laracy hands Watertown schools staff member Maureen Craig a swab for a coronavirus test outside Watertown Middle School. (Angus Chen for WBUR)

Coronavirus Cases Are On The Rise Again in Massachusetts

Radio Boston

47:285 hours ago

Left to right, Jurnee Smollett, Jonathan Majors and Courtney B. Vance in episode two of "Lovecraft Country." (Courtesy HBO)

From 'Get Out' to 'Lovecraft Country:' Understanding The Resurgence Of Black Horror

Radio Boston

12:026 hours ago

Massachusetts Fourth District Congressional Debate Between Julie Hall And Jake Auchincloss

Jake Auchincloss, a Democrat, and Julie Hall, a Republican, face off in a debate ahead of next week's election.

Radio Boston

25:11Oct 26, 2020

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh On Coronavirus, Election 2020

Radio Boston

47:48Oct 26, 2020

More Boston Headlines

FBI Investigates Fire In Boston Ballot Drop Box; Election Chief Decries It As A 'Deliberate Criminal Act'

Following an apparent arson, local elections officials are being directed to take additional measures to secure ballot dropboxes.

Oct 25, 2020

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley casts her ballot early at the Shelburne Community Center in Roxbury. (Quincy Walters/WBUR)

Rep. Pressley Joins More Than 30% Of Mass. Voters Who Cast Early Ballots, Encourages Others To Vote

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley voted early on Saturday, joining more than 30% of Massachusetts voters who have cast their ballots prior to election day on Nov. 3. "We need to vote...

05:18Oct 25, 2020

Robelio Gonzalez looks on as his attorney Susan Church reviews papers he was given before being released by ICE. (Simón Rios/WBUR)

Lynn Immigrant Sees Path To Citizenship After Landlord's Alleged Threat To Call ICE

ICE agents who knocked on Robelio Gonzalez's door earlier this month let him go on the condition that he report to ICE headquarters in Burlington three weeks later. And on...

02:53Oct 23, 2020

Massachusetts Shuts Down Ice Rinks To Combat Coronavirus Spread Among Hockey Leagues

According to the Department of Public Health, there have been at least 30 clusters of two or more cases tied to hockey, and they have affected more than 60 communities....

03:17Oct 23, 2020

An official ballot dropbox in Cambridge for the primary election. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Need To Drop Off Your Mail-In Ballot? Here's Where To Bring It

Once you have your ballot in hand, fill it out and make sure to sign it. When you are ready to deposit it, you could mail it in or drop...

Oct 22, 2020

City Seeks Help To Return Centuries-Old Gravestones To Proper Burying Ground

At least 11 stones were removed for repairs over the last century, and records showing where they should be placed have been lost, the city said in a statement.

Oct 22, 2020

Gov. Charlie Baker discusses the planned closures in the Salem area for Halloween and the days leading up to it due to COVID-19, at the Mayor Jean Levesque Community Life Center in Salem, Massachusetts on Oct. 21. (Nicolaus Czarnecki/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via pool)

Mass., R.I. Governors Urge Residents To Alter Thanksgiving Plans This Year Due To Coronavirus

The Republican governor of Massachusetts said indoor parties and group meals with anyone outside of household members, including family, may not be safe.

Oct 22, 2020

New Hampshire GOP Chair Jennifer Horn speaks in 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Former N.H. GOP Chair Says Her Party Faces A Post-Trump Reckoning

As a founding member of the Lincoln Project, Horn has teamed up with a group of seasoned Republican operatives who built careers attacking and taking down Democrats. Now they've trained...

05:30Oct 22, 2020

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker joins Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll to discuss the planned closures in the Salem area for Halloween. (Nicolaus Czarnecki/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

Baker, Driscoll Urge People To Avoid Salem This Halloween

The crowds in Salem are smaller this month than they would normally be, but the number of people visiting the Witch City is still "more than we feel comfortable having,"...

Oct 21, 2020

Bill Filed To Help 17,000 Mass. Residents With Jobless Benefits

Nearly a month after they asked the Baker administration to explore the change, a group of lawmakers filed a bill that would temporarily increase the minimum unemployment benefits Massachusetts pays...

Oct 21, 2020