Rhode Island Report

We've got a special bonus episode for you today. Earlier this week, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley joined Globe columnist Dan McGowan and a live audience for a wide-ranging conversation that covered everything from public schools to the rising cost of housing in the capital city. This is a lightly edited recording of their conversation. Tips and ideas? Email us at [email protected]

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A while back, we did an episode about Mr. Lemon – the frozen lemonade stand that’s been open for 50 years on Hawkins Street in Providence. A lot of you had stories to tell about Mr. Lemon. We picked some of our favorites and put them together for this episode. Tips and ideas? Email us at [email protected].

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When we die, there are usually just two choices for our remains-- burial or cremation. But what if there was a third option? For the past two years, State Representative Michelle McGaw has been pushing for a bill that would make human composting legal in Rhode Island. She joins us to explain. Tips and ideas? Email us at [email protected].

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Around 200 years ago, the area near the Rhode Island State House and the train station was home to a working-class neighborhood called Snowtown. It’s largely forgotten today, but a team of researchers is trying to change that. Globe RI’s Carlos Muñoz talks to two members of the Snowtown Project research team - Heather Olson and Traci Picard. They say they're aiming to "put those people back into the imagination, as real as people who matter." Tips and ideas? Email us at [email protected].

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Now that the General Assembly is out of session, and it’s quieter at the State House, we thought it would be a good time to visit one of Ed’s favorite spaces - the Rhode Island State Library, "a treasure trove of American history, not just Rhode Island history," according to R.I. Secretary of State Gregg Amore. Join us for a tour. Tips and ideas? Email us at [email protected].

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Most kids spend their summers at camp, at the beach, or on vacation. But this month, 30 students from Providence are on the Brown University campus instead. They’re part of the new Brown Collegiate Scholars Program – a year-round support system to help local students go to college. Ed talks to the director of the new program- Nick Figueroa. Tips and ideas? Email us at [email protected].

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For more than 10 years, FRINGEPVD: The Providence Fringe Festival has been bringing new, weird, and experimental performances to Providence. And it’s happening right now through July 27th. Josh Short, the founder and artistic director of the Wilbury Theatre Group, joins us to talk more about the festival. Tips and ideas? Email us at [email protected].

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This week, we’re coming to you on location at Yacht Club Soda in North Providence. The family-owned business recently launched its Soda Pop Poll ahead of November's presidential election. It's a rematch pitting Donald's Trumpian Punch against Joe's Bidenomics Berry. Yacht Club Soda owner John Sgambato talks to us about the poll and his company. Tips and ideas? Email us at [email protected].

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Every year, a group of Rhode Islanders visits clam cake shacks all over the state, sampling as many deep-fried clam cakes as they can -- so you don’t have to. This year marks their tenth clam cake crawl, so Ed decided to join them. Tips and ideas? Email us at [email protected].

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In May, the US Department of Justice accused the state of Rhode Island of violating the civil rights of hundreds of children by warehousing them at Bradley Hospital, a psychiatric hospital for children. Steph Machado took an in-depth look at the issue for Rhode Island PBS Weekly and Globe Rhode Island. She joins us to talk about what she found, and some possible solutions. Tips and ideas? Email us at [email protected].

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