Sirens blaring, music blasting, horns beeping, ATVs -- Providence is full of noises. And those noises affect some communities more than others. Rhode Island PBS producer Michelle San Miguel and Brown Professor Erica Walker join us to talk about Walker's project examining which neighborhoods are the loudest, and what we can do to make urban noise more equitable. Tips and ideas? Email us at [email protected].

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The state's housing crisis is affecting our emergency departments. Rhode Island PBS producer Isabella Jibilian recently explored how residents without housing often use hospitals as a safe, warm place to stay, especially during the winter. She joins us, along with state Senator Josh Miller, who’s been arguing that Rhode Island should use Medicaid funds to provide housing. Tips and ideas? Email us at [email protected].

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In Rhode Island, we knew Nicholas Alahverdian as an advocate for Rhode Island foster children. He was notorious for spending time at the State House and lobbying officials, and he was pretty relentless about contacting reporters, including our own columnist, Dan McGowan.

But law enforcement officials say he’s also a con artist and a sex offender who faked his own death. In 2022, they arrested him in Scotland, allegedly living under the name Arthur Knight.

Journalist Jane MacSorely spent a year following his story for the Audible podcast series “I am not Nicholas.” She joins us to talk about what she learned.

Tips and ideas? Email us at [email protected].

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It’s been more than 10 years since part of Interstate 195 was relocated, freeing up 25 acres of prime Providence real estate. What’s happened since? And has the project lived up to its original intent? We get an update from Marc Crisafulli, the new chairman of the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission. Tips and ideas? Email us at [email protected].

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The list of people running to replace US Representative David Cicilline in Congress is getting longer every day. What is the state of the race, and who's in the best position to win? We’re joined by Brown University political science Professor Wendy Schiller and Jim Hummel, host of “A lively Experiment” on Rhode Island PBS. Tips and ideas? Email us at [email protected].

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A man who made headlines promising to turn Memorial Hospital into a solution for the state’s homelessness crisis is not all that he seems. Earlier this month, our own reporter Amanda Milkovits released the first installment of her investigation into Michael Mota - a businessman who is being chased for money in multiple states by creditors, investors, and vendors.

Amanda joins the show to play some of her interviews with Mota and give us a behind-the-scenes look at the story. Tips and ideas? Email us at [email protected].

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In December, Globe RI’s Alexa Gagosz wrote a story about the Strong family – Holly, Kiel, and their four children. They’re middle-class Rhode-Islanders – with jobs – who spiraled into homelessness last year. In their search for housing, they've spent more than $40,000 on hotel rooms and more than $5,000 on rental application fees. They're still living in a hotel. Ed Fitzpatrick talks to Holly and Alexa about the family's story and how it's become emblematic of Rhode Island's housing crisis. Tips and ideas? Email us at [email protected].

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Brian Amaral from Globe RI is half Portuguese, which means he loves the food, but he doesn’t know how to make it. So, he drove to the home of Maria Lawton, the host of Maria's Portuguese Table on RI PBS for a cooking lesson. Listen in as Maria teaches Brian how to make “ovos com molho de tomate e cebola” or eggs with tomato and onion sauce. Tips and ideas? Email us at [email protected].

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House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi is getting serious about Rhode Island’s housing crisis. Last week, he unveiled no less than 14 bills to address the problem. But will he even be in the State House much longer? He’s also considering a run for Congress now that David Cicilline has decided to step down -- and he says Gina Raimondo is encouraging him to go for it.

He joins us to talk about that and more. Tips and ideas? Email us at [email protected].

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In 2010, David Upegui left a research job at Brown University to become a science teacher at his alma mater- Central Falls High School. That work has won him numerous awards, including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

He joins us to talk about rethinking science education and empowering students in Central Falls and beyond. Tips and ideas? Email us at [email protected].

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