The Common

On Monday, almost 300 people, many of whom were families with kids, boarded a ferry and headed out to Spectacle Island in the Boston Harbor to take in the solar eclipse over the Boston skyline. The event, "[Not Quite] Total Eclipse of the Park" was hosted by Boston Harbor Now, a non-profit that works to make the Boston Harbor and Islands more accessible and climate resilient, in partnership with Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park.

Common Producer Katelyn Harrop joined the crowd heading out to Spectacle Island to talk with some of our youngest neighbors seeing their very first eclipse. Today on The Common, a solar eclipse through the eyes of six and eight-year-olds.

Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

Somerville is re-evaluating the use of ShotSpotter, a surveillance system that detects sounds indicative of gunfire. The devices have drawn scrutiny locally after leaked internal data revealed disproportionately high use in minority communities.

Proponents of the technology say it saves lives and helps police catch criminals. Critics, including civil liberties advocates, raise concerns about the technology's accuracy and the risk of over-policing low-income or communities of color.

Boston Globe Reporter Spencer Buell joins The Common with more on the controversy behind the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system and its future in Somerville and beyond.

Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

Earlier this year, we learned that financial challenges at Steward Healthcare System, a for-profit company, were jeopardizing the company's ability to run its eight current Massachusetts hospitals.

This drew scrutiny from state and federal officials, and raised concerns about the role of private equity in the healthcare industry. Over the last couple of weeks, lawmakers, including U.S. Senators for Massachusetts Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, held hearings on Beacon Hill looking into private equity in healthcare and Steward’s financial problems. 

WBUR Senior Correspondent Deborah Becker has been following the Steward case since it broke, she joins The Common to catch us up to speed on the latest developments.

Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

It may be gray outside, but never fear -- WBUR Assistant Director of CitySpace Candice Springer is back on The Common with a list of fun-filled happenings to get you out of your house and on the town this April.

Candice recommends...

Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

April is Earth Month, so all month long we are featuring weekly conversations with people in Greater Boston working to build our region’s resilience in the face of a changing climate.

Kannan Thiruvengadam is the Executive Director of Eastie Farm — a community-based non-profit in East Boston, which focuses on food insecurity and climate justice through urban agriculture and education. Today, Kannan joins The Common to discuss how urban agriculture can be used as a tool for climate resiliency and community building, and what keeps him motivated and inspired to do this work, even in the most challenging times.

Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

Have you ever answered a knock on your door to find someone asking to see your electric bill? Perhaps with the promise of getting you a better deal? If so, you might've come face-to-face with a representative from a competitive electric supplier -- an industry that has been tied to high rates, and at times, illegal activity, targeting some of the states' most vulnerable residents.

While some savvy individuals are able to use these suppliers to get a better, or greener deal, State data show that this often isn't the case. In fact, the State Attorney General's office reports that between 2015 and 2021, ratepayers in Massachusetts who used a competitive electric supplier collectively paid $525 million more than if they had kept their utility as their supplier.

Boston Globe Climate Reporter Sabrina Shankman has been looking into this industry in collaboration with WBUR's Miriam Wasser. Today, she joins The Common with more on how competitive suppliers are impacting residents, and what's being done at the state-level to curtail or reform the industry.

Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

Last week, the MBTA board of directors voted in favor of offering a reduced-fare program for low-income adults across the transit system, including for The Ride -- the MBTA's paratransit service. It's a huge victory for advocates who have been pushing for such a program for more than a decade.

Today, Boston Globe Transportation Reporter Taylor Dolven joins The Common for a transit news round-up. First, a look at what it will take to make a low-income fare program a reality. Then, Taylor tells us about the MBTA's decision to pay an additional $148 million to a company notably behind on their contracted promise to make new Red and Orange Line train cars for the system.

Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

Chewed automobile wires? Gnawed car cables? That's what a Boston rat calls lunch!

Drawn in by the promise of a warm and cozy place to hang, rats are hoping out of dumpsters and taking up residence under the hoods of cars, bringing their trash and snacks with them, and causing damage to vehicles while they're at it.

Today, WBUR Investigative Reporter Willoughby Mariano joins The Common for a look at why Boston's rat problem is so significant, and what this could mean for the wellbeing of your ride.

Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

This semester, both Berklee College of Music and Harvard University are offering classes themed around one of pop music's biggest names: Taylor Swift.  The class at Berklee uses Swift's music to instruct students on songwriting, while the Swift-themed class at Harvard sits in the university's English department and looks at her music through a literary lens.

Today on The Common, WBUR Senior Arts and Culture Reporter Amelia Mason takes us into the classroom for a lesson on what students (and the rest of us) can take away from some of Taylor Swift's biggest hits.

Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

The Boston Water and Sewer Commission launched a free program to replace lead pipes on privately owned property early last year, but few property owners have taken advantage of it. A recent Boston Globe investigation found that a water line that services one Boston College dormitory is among thousands of lead pipes that deliver water to city residents. Lead can contaminate drinking water and ingesting lead poses some serious health risks.

Today, Boston Globe contributing reporter and Boston University professor David Abel and Boston University journalism student Taylor Brokesh join The Common to discuss why this free program has gone so underutilized.

Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.