Trenni Casey discussed the upcoming Super Bowl

Former Rep. Straus + Chris Dempsey on Mayor Wu vs. Josh Kraft's stance on transportation in Boston

Lee Pelton of the Boston Foundation discussed the national threats to nonprofits, DEI

GBH's Adam Reilly spoke about Josh Kraft's mayoral run announcement 

CNN's John King discussed the latest in national politics.

President Trump announced tariffs against Mexico and Canada. We check in with MIT economist Jon Gruber on the potential impacts. 

Boston Medical Center has collaborated with churches in Roxbury and Milton to pilot a Black wellness group called Reconnect. Program leaders Nuha Alshabani, Devin Cromartie Brodrick and Sarah Valentine join us to discuss.

The GroundTruth's Charlie Sennott discusses the global reaction to Trump's orders on immigration, tariffs, international aid and more. 

Food policy analyst Corby Kummer discusses the expected changes to food policy in Trump's administration and how TikTok has changed the way we cook.

Princeton University's Khalil Gibran Muhammad discusses the impact of Trump's executive orders on higher education & DEI, plus some of Harvard's recent actions in response to the war in Gaza.

We end the show with all things Groundhog Day and help Margery answer the question, is a groundhog a beaver?

Today:

Trump is doubling down on his isolationist promises, cutting global aid and ending decades of support for developing nations… while simultaneously going after Greenland and the Panama Canal. We get a global news roundup with the GroundTruth Project’s Charlie Sennott. 

And, we hear from the team behind the Reconnect Program at Boston Medical Center, they’re studying the health impacts – both mental and physical – of racism, sexism, and LGBT discrimination. 

Zishi Liu is a Chinese-born saxophone player inspired by Western greats like John Coltrane and Kenny G. He’s performing a unique Chinese-infused jazz with his band on Saturday at the Charles Hotel Regattabar. He joins us first for Live Music Friday.

Ian Coss is host and producer of the GBH podcast The Big Dig. He’s back with another podcast series about the wildly successful Mass. Lottery called "Scratch and Win." He joins alongside Dawn Hayes, longtime lottery presenter for WBZ.

Boston Medical Center's Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett talks bird flu, a new framework for defining obesity and RFK Jr.'s confirmation hearing. 

The NAACP's Michael Curry talks about what the federal funding freeze means for local health centers, Trump blaming “DEI” for Wednesday’s deadly plane crash, and a new study showing Black men are being hit disproportionally hard by the opioid crisis.

The mob once controlled America's gambling empire. Until the government saw the money flowing and decided: they wanted a piece of the action. What happened next was more than a turf war. It was a battle between street corner bookies and bureaucrats in suits. And at the center of it all: one state lottery that would change gambling forever by inventing something we all know: the scratch ticket. 

Introducing “Scratch & Win” – the true story of how the government got into the gambling business. The new 8-part series is made by the Peabody Award-winning team behind “The Big Dig” and produced by GBH News.

This is Part 1: The Instant Ticket. 

It’s 1974, illegal bookies are everywhere and the brand new state lottery is struggling to compete. But a simple piece of paper is about to change the game forever: the nation’s first scratch ticket. 

New episodes drop every Wednesday. 

---------------------------

Credits:

Host and scriptwriter: Ian Coss

Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins

Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss

Story Editor: Lacy Roberts

Editorial Advisor: Jen McKim

Fact Checkers: Ryan Alderman and Isabel Hibbard

Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss

Graphic Design: Bill Miller

Project Manager: Meiqian He

Today:

U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley has strong words for RFK Jr., the Republicans supporting him, and Trump himself -- who just this morning blamed diversity and equity initiatives for a tragic plane crash that killed more than 60 people in D.C. last night.

And, NOVA filmmaker Terri Randall joins us with former Naval pilot Ryan Graves -- the first active duty pilot to come forward about frequent UFO sightings -- to discuss NOVA's latest film, "What Are UFOs?"

Rep. Ayanna Pressley reacts to Trump-caused chaos, Democratic resistance and the deadly plane crash in Washington, DC. 

Former public safety secretary Andrea Cabral helps make sense of what’s going on behind the scenes with the Trump administration freezing (and unfreezing) federal funds. She also discusses a new case before SCOTUS that would allow the government to create publicly-funded religious schools.

Boston Globe columnist Marcela Garcia discusses her reporting on local ICE raids, and offers thoughts on the future of TikTok, where her two dogs have over 100k followers.

Filmmaker Terri Randall & Former Lt. U.S. Navy pilot Ryan Graves on the new PBS NOVA documentary “What Are UFO’s?”

Today:

We reconvene our music panelists ahead of Sunday’s Grammy Awards. Almost everybody knows about Beyonce and Sabrina Carpenter, but with help from CRB’s Brian McCreath, Berklee’s Emmett G. Price III, and GBH’s James Bennett II, we hear about some nominees you may have missed. 

Jared Bowen on the Mona Lisa getting her own room at the Louvre

Juliette Kayyem discussed the chaos from Trump's order to pause federal spending

Boston Globe business columnist Shirley Leung discussed Lunar New Year

Brian McCreath, Emmett Price III, and James Bennett II did a deep dive into this year's Grammy nominated artists.

Today:

Andrea Cabral fills in for Margery. We talk with CNN chief national correspondent John King about Trump’s whirlwind 8 days in office. He’s pardoned January 6 rioters, banned transgender people from serving in the military, and pressed pause on all federal loans – too busy to bring prices down though.

Then, we open the lines for more egg talk: From bird flu to Trump-o-nomics – prices are up and supply is down.