How the plague influenced Shakespeare, and how the Mass. legislative session is winding down

47:39

July 29, 2022

This is the Radio Boston rundown for July 28. Tiziana Dearing is our host.

The legislative session is set to end Sunday. Any remaining bills will likely need Gov. Baker's sign off to become law. We discuss what's happening with former Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson and Boston Herald columnist Joe Battenfeld.
A popular class at Worcester Polytechnic Institute is called "Infected Shakespeare," and it focuses on how the famed playwright understood and wrote about pandemics and infectious diseases. WPI associate professor Michelle Ephraim says William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" might be remembered as a love story, but its tragic ending isn't the result of a family feud. Instead, she joins us to argue it was really about the plague.
On Tuesday, Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law the CROWN Act, which bans school and workplace discrimination based on hairstyle. A new play — "can i touch it?" — explores Black hair politics and the racism the new law aims to address. WBUR's senior arts and culture reporter Cristela Guerra tells us about this local production and other weekend fun in and around Boston, including a gospel music festival in Worcester.

This program aired on July 29, 2022.