NightSide With Dan Rea

This Thursday is the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attack that rocked our nation. In collaboration with the city of Boston and the state of MA, the Mass 9/11 Fund will hold their annual MA 9/11 Commemoration. Pat Bavis, a member of the Massachusetts 9/11 Fund and brother of a 9/11 victim, joined the program to discuss the upcoming Commemoration at the State House. In addition, the history of 9/11 is not part of the mandatory curriculum for MA public schools. Should it be?

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On Tuesday, Boston voters headed to the polls for the preliminary election to vote for mayor and city council. Four candidates are running for mayor: incumbent Mayor Michelle Wu, Josh Kraft, Domingos DaRosa, and Robert Cappucci. Discussion included the latest election results and Christopher Anderson, President of Massachusetts High Tech Council, also joined to discuss ballot questions being proposed in 2026.

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8:05PM: State Treasurer’s office seeks to return 6 Purple Hearts found in unclaimed safe deposit boxes.
Guest: Deb Goldberg – MA State Treasurer


8:15PM: New Study Reveals Dusky Sharks Preying on Seals for the First Time Off the Coast of Nantucket. What are dusky sharks?
Guest: John Chisholm - Adjunct Scientist with the New England Aquarium


8:30PM: Things only people from New England say or do!
Guest: Stacy Milbouer – Reporter for The Granite Post


8:45PM: 4 types of bad bosses — and how to work with each one
Guest: Brandy Schade - workplace expert and Gallup-Certified Executive Leadership Performance Consultant

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The Trump administration announced it has sunk a Venezuelan "Drug boat" in open seas. Was this a good idea? Was the action legal? Dan asked listeners what they thought of this move in the war on drugs.

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The average ticket prices for NFL tickets have decreased slightly since last year, but they’re still pricey. Average ticket prices dropped from $289 to $272 this year. How expensive is too expensive for a ticket to a professional sporting event? We talked about some of the numbers of the most expensive tickets like the Eagles (Super Bowl Champs) selling tickets for $475 per game, and how that compares to current Patriots tickets.

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It’s the eve of Boston’s preliminary election and according to a new poll from Emerson College, incumbent mayor Michelle Wu is leading top rival Josh Kraft by 50 points. Wu drew 72 percent support from likely voters, compared with just 22 percent for Kraft. Two lesser-known candidates, Domingos DaRosa and Robert Cappucci, drew 2 percent and 1 percent. Who is your mayoral candidate and why? Spencer Kimball, the Executive Director of Emerson College polling joined us to discuss what the polls say.

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We kicked off the program with four news stories and different guests on the stories we think you need to know about!

Jeremy Piven coming to Boston, MA and performing at The Wilbur Theater on Friday, September 19 as a part of his ongoing National Stand-up Comedy Tour.
Guest: Jeremy Piven – Hollywood actor & comedian


Following Grandparents Day (Sept. 7th) A book called “GOOD GRANDPA: Stories from the Heart of Grandfatherhood” - a light-hearted, yet guideful how-to on how grandfathers, once background figures, are becoming emotional anchors in families, quietly transforming how love, wisdom, and legacy get passed down.
Guest: Ted Page – Lexington-based NYT Profile writer & creator of the blog: The Good Grandpa


The veteran suicide rate is 57% higher than the national average. Sept. 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day.  What can be done to reduce the rate?
Guest: Maj. Gen. Mark Graham - U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) Deputy Chief of Staff (ret.) & Executive Dir. Of Vets4Warriors


Boston set to welcome a professional women’s soccer team, and fresh buzz around the city being in line for a WNBA franchise. Impact of Boston’s new women’s teams on the city’s sports scene, visibility, and fan base.
Guest: Dina Gentile - Sport Science professor at Endicott College, and former collegiate women’s soccer coach

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NightSide’s last hour of the week we like to keep it light and fun. This week Dan asked what have you wanted to do or go during the summer, but haven't yet.

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Over the last couple of months, tragedy has struck two MA families unexpectedly. At the end of June, a UMass Amherst student who was interning in D.C. got caught up in a violent act as an innocent bystander who was murdered. Two teenagers have been charged with Eric Tarpinian-Jachym’s murder. Then, in August, a Shrewsbury father was murdered on his way home after dropping his 6-year-old son off at school. Kevin Doherty confronted a man he saw spray-painting graffiti, to which the two men got into a spat where the suspect pulled out a gun and shot Doherty, who tragically died from his injuries. We discussed the senseless acts of violence as of late, felt here in Massachusetts.

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Earlier this week, we spoke with Global Partners about the feud over who received the 35-year multimillion-dollar contract to renovate and operate 18 service plazas along Massachusetts roadways. Applegreen, a company founded in Ireland, won the bid for the contract, much to Global Partner’s displeasure. Global tried legally challenging the decision with not much luck. Diana Prosciotta, a representative for Applegreen joined us to address the bidding feud and discussed their plan to restore and operate the 18 MA service plazas.

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