Politics

A shopper passed a Macy's store holiday window in Downtown Crossing in Boston in December 2020. (Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Mass. retailers predict 6% spike in sales this holiday season

Retailers listed inflation, inventory delays and staffing shortages as the three top challenges this season, according to a survey of members of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts.

Somerville and Boston want rent control, but Beacon Hill could get in the way

Several communities in the area, including Cambridge, Brookline and Boston, enacted rent control around the 1970s. But landlords put a statewide ban on the ballot in 1994. Even though voters...

Water in the West: Can Biden's infrastructure act help restore it?

There's $8 billion in the new Infrastructure act for preserving water systems in the West. We look at where the money will go, and what difference it could make.

Week in Review: Mayor Wu, COVID, and infrastructure

We'll take your calls on Mayor Wu, COVID, and infrastructure with former Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift, now president and executive director of LearnLaunch, and Michael Curry, president and CEO of...

Radio Boston

48:52Nov 19, 2021

Mass. unemployment rate ticks up again to 5.3%

The state's unemployment rate sits 0.7% above the Bureau of Labor Statistics' national rate of 4.6% and is 3.2% lower than its mark from October 2020.

Business

Nov 19, 2021

House passes landmark Build Back Better plan, but it faces uncertain future in Senate

President Biden's big social spending and climate change bill passed in the House on Friday.

Here & Now

10:40Nov 19, 2021

New California law reduces wait times for mental health appointments

Many Americans with mental illness report waiting weeks for care. Now California has a new law, limiting those wait times to two weeks or less.

Here & Now

Nov 19, 2021

A man holds a Bible as Trump supporters gather outside the Capitol in Washington. (John Minchillo/AP Photo)

Understanding the causes and consequences of white evangelical fear

A recent poll found that more than any other group, white evangelical protestants believe American culture and values are under threat. Why?

On Point

47:05Nov 19, 2021

Gov. Charlie Baker during a June press conference. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Baker pulls Mass. out of emissions pact, citing lack of buy-in from other states

Baker had long touted the Transportation Climate Initiative as the way to meet emission reduction targets in the transportation sector. But with support in other states crumbling or simply failing...

Environment

Nov 18, 2021

President Biden signs the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill into law during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, Nov. 15, 2021. (Susan Walsh/AP)

How should Massachusetts spend the nine billion dollars?

Plus, we discuss Mayor Wu's request to make three bus lines free for the next two years, and continue our look at viral memes with local ties.

Radio Boston

47:47Nov 18, 2021

Deval Patrick, candidate for the 2020 presidential nomination and former governor of Massachusetts, in the WBUR studio. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

A conversation with former Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick

Massachusetts will receive around nine billion dollars in federal money now that the infrastructure bill in Washington, D.C. has been signed into law. We ask the former governor: what are...

Radio Boston

15:59Nov 18, 2021

Mayor Michelle Wu addresses news media at Ashmont Station announcing plans toward an expansion of fare-free bus service in Boston on the 23, 28, and 29 bus routes for a two-year period. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Mayor Wu moves to expand Boston's free bus pilot program

On her first full day as mayor, Wu filed an appropriation order with the Boston City Council to allocate $8 million in federal funding to expand the city's fare-free bus...

Radio Boston

15:27Nov 18, 2021

State adjusts workers' vacation day policy because of pandemic travel restrictions

Many state employees will be allowed to carry vacation days that otherwise would have been lost into 2022 under a policy change the Human Resources Division made because of earlier...

Local Coverage

Nov 18, 2021

Freak Out And Carry On Presents: Endless Thread's "The Scream"

A political tale for the internet age, this is the story of the scream heard 'round the world when President Donald Trump was inaugurated in 2017 and drew the unwitting...

Freak Out and Carry On

34:41Nov 18, 2021

North American leaders meet to discuss migration, trade and COVID-19

The so-called "three amigos" summit is a tradition that former President Donald Trump let lapse.

Here & Now

05:10Nov 18, 2021

An American flag flies over Point State Park in Pittsburgh. (Keith Srakocic/AP)

How changing norms around civility in politics might affect American democracy

The House voted on Wednesday to censure Arizona Republican Paul Gosar for posting an animated video that depicting him killing New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Here & Now

09:02Nov 18, 2021

The Massachusetts State House. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

ARPA and surplus spending might have to wait until 2022

The House and Senate will go into their mid-session recess without finalizing a plan to spend close to $4 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funding and state surplus tax dollars,...

Local Coverage

Nov 18, 2021

A homeless person wearing a protective mask lies asleep on the pavement in Rome's central Piazza Venezia on April 17, 2020. (Vincenzo Pinto/AFP via Getty Images)

This pandemic will end. But the next one could be worse

COVID was only the lit match dropped into the tinderbox of inequality, writes Sandro Galea. We must address these underlying issues before the next pandemic.

Cognoscenti

Nov 18, 2021

Increasing solar energy production in the United States from last years level of 4% is part of President Bidens effort to combat climate change. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Nuclear power and America's clean energy future

President Joe Biden signed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill this week. Tucked into the plan includes the Biden administration's belief in the importance of nuclear power.

On Point

47:20Nov 18, 2021

Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass.(Alex Brandon/AP)

A conversation on infrastructure with Congressman Seth Moulton

Plus, we explore the local origins of memes and try out some new recipes with James Beard Award-winning author Dorie Greenspan.

Radio Boston

48:20Nov 17, 2021

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Mass. retailers predict 6% spike in sales this holiday season

Somerville and Boston want rent control, but Beacon Hill could get in the way

Water in the West: Can Biden's infrastructure act help restore it?

Week in Review: Mayor Wu, COVID, and infrastructure

Mass. unemployment rate ticks up again to 5.3%

House passes landmark Build Back Better plan, but it faces uncertain future in Senate

New California law reduces wait times for mental health appointments

Understanding the causes and consequences of white evangelical fear

Baker pulls Mass. out of emissions pact, citing lack of buy-in from other states

How should Massachusetts spend the nine billion dollars?

A conversation with former Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick

Mayor Wu moves to expand Boston's free bus pilot program

State adjusts workers' vacation day policy because of pandemic travel restrictions

Freak Out And Carry On Presents: Endless Thread's "The Scream"

North American leaders meet to discuss migration, trade and COVID-19

How changing norms around civility in politics might affect American democracy

ARPA and surplus spending might have to wait until 2022

This pandemic will end. But the next one could be worse

Nuclear power and America's clean energy future

A conversation on infrastructure with Congressman Seth Moulton