The Common

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.

There are the Patriots, the Red Sox, the Celtics... and the stone walls. That's right. Many New Englanders are absolutely enamored by the approximately 100,000 miles of stone walls, relics of early settlement, that dot the woods and roadsides of our region.

Today, Hanna Ali, WBUR associate producer for newsletters, joins The Common to tell us more about how these historic stone walls came to be, and why they've captured the hearts of so many in Massachusetts and beyond.

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

Update: Ed Augustus, the state's housing secretary, sent a letter to Milton town officials Wednesday morning saying the town failed to comply with the MBTA Communities Act, and as a result, the Healey administration will immediately stop sending "significant grant funding" to the town. Read the full letter here.

Last week, residents of Milton voted down a plan that would have allowed for the development of more multifamily housing. The vote puts Milton at odds with the MBTA Communities Act -- a state law that aims to tackle the housing crisis by requiring communities with MBTA access to create new zoning plans allowing for higher density housing.

Today, Boston Globe Housing Reporter Andrew Brinker joins The Common for a look at what happened in Milton, and what this community's response can tell us about the appetite for tackling the state's housing crisis.

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

Immigration and border security have long been hot-button issues in national politics. Now, with concerns mounting over the state's overstretched family shelter system, where nearly half of the people housed are migrants, asylum-seekers or refugees, immigration is becoming a firey point of conversation in state and local politics, too.

WBUR Senior Political Reporter Anthony Brooks joins The Common to discuss how the immigration debate is entering and informing political discourse on Beacon Hill and beyond.

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

Team Common is off today, so we’re bringing you a story from our friends in the WBUR newsroom. We'll be back with our regular show tomorrow. 

Today’s story comes from Arts Reporting Fellow, Solon Kelleher. It’s about a jukebox in Cambridge, redesigned by artist Elisa Hamilton to play stories from people in the community instead of music. 

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

Chinatown's streets will come to life on Sunday with thunderous drums and the piercing clang of cymbals as nine lion dance troupes celebrate the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese New Year Parade.

WBUR Podcast Fellow Cici Yu joins The Common to preview this year's parade, and give us a window into the vibrant history and community surrounding lion dance in Boston.

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