In It Together

New Bedford is the country's largest commercial shipping port and has the largest collection of seafood processing plants in the U-S.

This creates some unusual circumstances for the city.

This past weekend, they held a vaccine clinic specifically geared towards those working in these industries.

More are planned for this week, despite the pause on the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Host Arun Rath speaks with New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell about all of this.

The pandemic has highlighted housing problems in and around Boston. Arun Rath speaks with tenants union organizers Jeremy DaCruz and Dan Albright, plus Denise Matthews-Turner from City Life/Vida Urbana, about evictions and their impact on immigrant communities.

We're living a virtual age, but all those zoom meetings keeping us connected may also be wrecking our self image.

Host Arun Rath speaks with Dr. Shadi Kourosh, a board certified dermatologist and the director of Community Health at Massachusetts General hospital, about "zoom dysmorphia" and how we can combat it.

Arun Rath speaks with Dr. Matthias Waltz from UMass Memorial Healthcare about efforts to create better outcomes for COVID patients.

On Monday, many elementary school students headed back to school for their first week of full-time, in-person learning.

Watertown was one of them. We’ll hear from Superintendent Doctor Dede Galdston about how the first day back went.

But some districts - like in Chelsea - needed more time to prepare for the shift back.

Superintendent Dr. Almi Abeyta walks us through what school will look like for some elementary students when they head back to classrooms next week.

Arun Rath speaks with Dan Hoffenberg, vice president with Cataldo Ambulance. Hoffenberg is managing vaccine work for Cataldo at the mass vaccination site at Boston's Hyne's Convention Center.

On Monday, thousands of students will be returning to classrooms for full-time, in-person learning. For many of them, it will be their first big step towards a new normal.

But with that step comes anxiety all around. We'll hear how parents can help make that transition easier. We'll also hear how one school district is working right now to make their students comfortable with in-person learning. Then, we get the teacher perspective. Many of them are vaccinated - or getting their shots - but with cases ticking up, there's uncertainty among some of them about returning to classrooms.

Throughout this pandemic, nurses, doctors, and staff across hospitals and community health centers have been on the front lines caring for patients and their families. It's been emotionally taxing for many of them. That’s why some here in Massachusetts are now coming together to help their colleagues.

Brigham and Women's Hospital has launched a new podcast called Resiliency Roadmap as a way to support nurses on the frontlines.

We’ll hear from Maddy Pearson, podcast host and the chief nursing officer and senior vice president for clinical services at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Christine Murphy, the program director of the Psychiatric Nursing Resource Service, also at Brigham.

Arun Rath speak swith Paul Sacco, head of the Massachusetts Lodging Association, about how the lodging industry has been taken out at the knees by the pandemic, and what recovery might look like, especially for smaller inns and motels.

Outdoor dining starts up on Thursday in the North End.

The pandemic has been particularly hard on this Boston neighborhood, which relies heavily on tourists and sports fans for their business.

We’ll hear from Phillip Frattaroli, managing partner of the Filmark Hospitality Group, which owns a handful of restaurants in the greater Boston area, including three in the North End. Phillip says he and his family are looking forward to patio season this year after a long winter.