Scott Plath, founder of Cobblestones of Lowell and Moonstones discusses, with host Doug Sparks, the current and future impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the restaurant industry / Tips for getting your take-out safely / Plus, his favorite stories from decades in and around the kitchen.

Doug talks with Linda Shottes-Bouchard of SHED Children's Campus this week on The 495. They discuss this new reality of online education, curiosity-driven learning, and helping kids achieve mindfulness.

We hope to give you a brief respite on this week's The 495 podcast. Host Doug Sparks talks with writer and poet Paul Marion from Loom Press on several books that you may enjoy during the upcoming weeks.

Host Doug Sparks talks with professor Brenda Bond-Fortier about how he book detailing how the Lowell Police Department and others adapted to changing communities, policies, and public needs, and what policing is facing in the current political environment.

On this week's episode of The 495 podcast, host Doug Sparks talks calligraphy, spirit books and the space between letters with artist and author Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord

Host Doug Sparks talks with Merrimack Valley-based mystery author Edith Maxwell about her unique brand of storytelling that often includes murders with recipes!

Doug Sparks talks with Ken Taylor of Plum Island Kayak about kayak adventures on the Merrimack River and beyond. (Of course he asked about sharks!)

Doug talks natural remedies, cleaning, CBD, homesteading and more with Rachel Chandler and Rick Stec from Red Antler Apothecary on this week's episode of The 495.

Doug Sparks talks with Jamie Berard, a Central Catholic alum who now works as a LEGO architect. Jamie will be a judge in the new series LEGO Masters on FOX.

Host Doug Sparks talk with Dan Graovac of the Merrimack River Watershed Council about sewage overflows, PFAS pollution, microplastics and climate change and how they affect the Merrimack River and it's communities. More importantly, they discuss what is being done and what needs to be done.