The Codcast

Election 2026 is upon us. While voters around the country will determine key congressional and gubernatorial races, with Democrats anticipating big victories, perhaps the most interesting part of the election in deep-blue Massachusetts will be the nine ballot questions. To unpack both the national and statewide political landscape before Election Day, Jordan Wolman is joined by Steve Koczela, president of the MassINC Polling Group, and Chris Borick, professor of political science at Lehigh University and director of Lehigh's Opinion Observatory.

YouTube:

https://youtu.be/eyrj_qzikgo

Understanding the nine statewide questions on the ballot in Massachusetts is a tall task, and we're here to help. This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon senior reporters Jennifer Smith and Chris Lisinski wade through a mailbag full of ballot measure-related listener questions to help everyone get up to speed ahead of the November 3 election.

CommonWealth Beacon's ballot question guide: https://commonwealthbeacon.org/ballot-question/

YouTube:

⁠https://youtu.be/75o93jF2dYc

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https://pod.link/6818916003

A live debate between the campaigns supporting and opposing ballot Question 3 and the effort to bring all-party primaries to Massachusetts. Northern Essex Community College hosted this free public event.

• "Yes on 3" represented by Danielle Allen, Convening Chair of the Coalition for Healthy Democracy
• "No on 3" represented by Jordan Berg Powers, Chair of Voting Rights MA
• Moderated by CommonWealth Beacon senior reporters Chris Lisinski and Jennifer Smith.

Submit your questions for next week's Q&A episode: https://commonwealthbeacon.org/podcasts/ballotquestions/ or call 617-858-0510 and leave a voicemail

YouTube:

https://youtu.be/fkPCWDEn0xw

Learn more about all things ballot questions:

https://commonwealthbeacon.org/ballot-question/

Telehealth providers can mail abortion pills to patients living in states where abortion is illegal. In Massachusetts for instance, such providers are shielded from legal action by states with abortion bans. Three shield law states are now being sued by attorneys general in Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana who are seeking a ruling from the Supreme Court on the legality of these shield laws. To unpack the complexities of the legal claims, Jennifer Smith is joined by Nicole Huberfeld, a professor of health law at Boston University.

Guest:

Nicole Huberfeld is the Edward R. Utley Professor of Health Law at Boston University, with appointments at both the School of Law and the School of Public Health. She chairs BU’s Health Law Program and is a founding co-director of the university’s Program on Reproductive Justice.

Host:

Jennifer Smith, senior reporter for CommonWealth Beacon

Watch on YouTube

https://youtu.be/lEE8x3pf7Z4

Health or Consequences' new podcast feed

https://pod.link/6818916003

Submit a question for the Q&A Codcast episode!

https://commonwealthbeacon.org/podcasts/ballotquestions/

or call 617-858-0510 and leave a voicemail

Event Page: All Party Primaries LIVE debate hosted by CommonWealth Beacon

https://commonwealthbeacon.org/event/debate-all-party-primaries/

The gubernatorial race between Minogue and Healey is heating up as the candidates head into the November election. In July, medtech billionaire Minogue released his “Patients First” plan for improving health care outcomes in Massachusetts. John and Paul sat down with Minogue to drill down into the details of his plan and his broader vision for the future of the state.

Guest:

Mike Minogue, republican nominee for Mass. governor, former CEO of Abiomed

Hosts:

John McDonough of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Paul Hattis of the Lowne Institute

Follow Health or Consequences:

⁠https://pod.link/6818916003⁠

CommonWealth Beacon is collecting listener questions regarding the November ballot for an upcoming podcast episode: ⁠https://commonwealthbeacon.org/uncategorized/ballotquestions/

In 2015, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston found that white households in Boston had a median wealth of $247,500, while Black households had a median wealth of close to $0. That was more than ten years ago.

Now, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has released a new report examining the wealth gap across Massachusetts. Have things improved? What trends do we see in the new report? And how has the ongoing affordability crisis affected wealth disparities?

Guest:

Sharon Scott-Chandler, president & CEO of Action for Boston Community Development

Host:

Jennifer Smith, senior reporter at CommonWealth Beacon

Read the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston's report:

www.bostonfed.org/publications/one-time-pubs/mass-echos.aspx

YouTube:

https://youtu.be/j4e_019F-uQ

Organized labor has been out in force on ballot measures — recently literally trying to secure bargaining power through the ballot — and that means manpower, mobilization, and money funneling toward a set of policy measures that the Legislature has waved away. This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith looks at unions and direct democracy with two guests.

Nick Juravich, associate professor of history and labor studies and associate director of the Labor Resource Center at UMass Boston, breaks down where we sit in the history of unions and ballot efforts. Then Chrissy Lynch, head of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, explains how the unions themselves pick their targets.

Guests:

• Nick Juravich, associate professor of history and labor studies and associate director of the Labor Resource Center at UMass Boston
• Chrissy Lynch, head of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO

Learn more about all 9 Ballot Questions

commonwealthbeacon.org/ballot-question

Watch this episode on YouTube:

youtu.be/vJwbgVX-pis

Gov. Maura Healey is all-in on artificial intelligence, but she's also trying to get a handle on soaring energy costs and a growing backlash to the very structures supporting the AI boom — data centers. This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporters Jennifer Smith and Jordan Wolman discuss the governor's new executive order trying to make data centers greener and more responsive to community feedback, and the paradox of pushing for expanded AI usage as communities revolt against its infrastructure.

Ep 302: Head over Healey - The Horse Race

https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/episode-302-head-over-healey/id1287252103?i=1000655038138

What it means that a state ai assistant will handle your data - The Codcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-it-means-that-a-state-ai-assistant-will-handle/id1111787258?i=1000759887725

Watch on Youtube:

https://youtu.be/tf_m_Kxm-ec

[email protected] CommonWealthBeacon.org

The Codcast is supported by nationalgrid.org

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This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Hallie Claflin talks with Alecia McGregor, assistant professor of health policy and politics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Katie Murphy, president of the Massachusetts Nurses Association. They dig into the consequences of recent maternity unit closures in Springfield and Methuen, discuss where Massachusetts stands in terms of maternal health care access, and detail what power the state has, if any, to regulate health service closures and consolidations. 

YouTube:

https://youtu.be/Pu7IwWHjAX4

Support this work:

https://commonwealthbeacon.org/support/

We all need care as we age. Adam Scott leads New England’s largest nonprofit provider of senior care and living communities. He says demand is rising as the Commonwealth’s average age continues to increase. This week on Health or Consequences, Scott discusses how the broader health care crisis is impacting long-term care.

Guest:

• Adam Scott, president and CEO of Hebrew SeniorLife

Hosts:

• Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute
• John McDonough of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public health

America's Wrong Turn: US Health Care in the Neoliberal Era by John McDonough is available now:

https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53872/americas-wrong-turn

Question or comment for Health or Consequences?

• [email protected]

Support this work: 

https://commonwealthbeacon.org/support/