Last year, Governor Maura Healey set a cap on the number of families served by the state family shelter system at 7500. Families beyond that number are put on a waitlist. Some have found temporary shelter in overflow sites set up by the state. The thing is, those shelters are not all open during the day, leaving day-side support options limited.

Enter La Colaborativa, a Chelsea-based immigrant services non-profit, which opened a day service center late last month. Today, La Colaborativa president Gladys Vega joins The Common to discuss the services the organization is offering to support recently arrived migrant families on the state family shelter waitlist.

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

Yesterday was Super Tuesday - the day voters in Massachusetts and 14 other states, plus one territory, cast their votes for the candidates they’d like to see face off in the general presidential election in November.

By the time you hear this episode, some results from Super Tuesday may already be known, but what we want to focus on in this episode is not who got the most votes, but how voters are thinking about the election cycle more broadly, and what that means for the future of our country.

Boston Globe Politics Reporter Matt Stout joins The Common with his insights from a day reporting at the polls.

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

Our region is experiencing its first El Niño in five years, and, bolstered by climate change,  we have an unusually warm winter to prove it.

Today, Tom Di Liberto, climate scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, joins The Common to discuss how El Niño impacts weather patterns in the region, and what other factors are contributing to our unseasonably warm winter.

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

The Massachusetts State Senate recently unveiled a new bust in their renovated chambers in the statehouse. It honors Frederick Douglass – a Black civil rights leader who worked to abolish slavery in the United States. The sculpture puts Douglass in the company of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Ben Franklin, and other historical figures. It's the first permanent bust added to the chamber in over 125 years, and it occupies one of two new spots. State Senate President Karen Spilka says the other spot will go to a woman.

Today,  Boston Globe Senior Opinion Writer Kimberly Atkins Stohr joins The Common to discuss Maria W. Stewart, a groundbreaking Black Bostonian who she believes should be honored with a bust in the Senate chambers.

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

March is the month that brings us spring, at last! But it's also a long month, with no observed holidays to give us a break. To help motivate us all to get out and explore this March, WBUR Assistant Director of CitySpace Candice Springer joins The Common with three DIY craft classes that offer an opportunity to learn a new creative skill.

Candice recommends...

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

The Emerald Necklace Conservancy and 16 area residents recently filed a lawsuit to stop a proposal to renovate White Stadium in Franklin Park. They say the plan is “unconstitutional,” fearing that this public facility will be privatized and made inaccessible to the public. The city said the claims are without merit and the renovation will expand the number of usable hours for student-athletes and the community.

Seth Daniel, news editor for the Dorchester Reporter, joins The Common to break down the controversy around the White Stadium renovation plan and its significance to the neighborhoods.

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

Earlier this month, four members of the Brockton School Committee called on Governor Healey to bring in the National Guard to calm campus violence amid understaffing at Brockton High School. The idea has split the school community, with many expressing the desire to not militarize the school, while others say the response is appropriate to help manage a situation, which includes fighting and open drug use among students, that has spiraled out of control.

Boston Globe Great Divide reporter Chris Huffaker has been following the story. He joins The Common to break down the situation inside Brockton High School, and what bringing in the National Guard could mean for students and teachers.

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

The Massachusetts child welfare system is looking at a huge leadership change across its ranks with several key leaders stepping down this year. Advocates and former foster kids in the state see it as an opportunity to overhaul the overburdened system that impacts the lives of more than 86,000 children and adults across the state.

Boston Globe Reporter Jason Laughlin joins The Common to break down the calls for change and what’s behind them.

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

Governor Maura Healey’s pick to fill the vacant seat on the state's Supreme Judicial Court could be confirmed as soon as Wednesday. Judge Gabrielle Wolohojian has an impressive judicial record, having served as an appeals court justice for 16 years. However, one piece of her background has been a sticking point through the confirmation process – the fact that she was at one point a long-term romantic partner of Gov. Healey.

WBUR State House Reporter Walter Wuthmann joins The Common to discuss Judge Wolohojian's background and if confirmed, what her ties to the governor mean for the state's highest court.

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

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends offering buprenorphine, a medication that can help curb opioid cravings, to teens addicted to opioids. However, only 6% of pediatricians currently offer the drug, in part because some believe that they do not have the right training or staffing to provide this care.

Today, WBUR reporter Martha Bebinger brings The Common to a pediatrician's office in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, and discusses the role pediatricians can play in preventing drug overdose deaths among adolescents.

If you or someone you care about is struggling with addiction and may be at risk of an overdose, you can call the Massachusetts Overdose Prevention Helpline at: 1-800-972-0590.

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