We’ll start by heading to the Berkshires where the beer you drink or get for the folx in your life who like beer is helping keep our neighbors warm through these colder months. Hot Plate Brewing is hosting an event this weekend in support of their Hearth and Home Campaign. We head to Pittsfield to talk with Co-owner Mike Dell’Aquila about how a pint can help keep the heat up. 

Then we’re off to Greenfield to explore the bounty of local beers, wines, and ciders on offer at Ryan & Casey Liquors, where they’ve been uplifting and highlighting local producers for decades. Kristie Faufaw and Isaac Sissam help us explore the expansive world of beverages produced in the 4 counties, and a little beyond. 

And if snow is your thing, but the holidays maybe aren't, have we got a concert that’s right up your alley. Erin McKeown is performing an anti-holiday show at the Iron Horse tomorrow, the name of which we cannot say on air, and they’ll join us for live music friday to explore a little bit of the seasonal not-cheer, you can enjoy tomorrow night, swears and all. 

You may have noticed that we’re a bit wry on this show, nay even a bit sarcastic and kitschy. And if you or any of your loved ones are similarly inclined, there’s a business in the Berkshires that make make easy of your gift giving. 

 Today we head to Pittsfield for a tour of Blue Q, whose myriad of adorkable, often foul mouthed products are not just great conversation pieces, but helping people across the county as well. We chat with founders Seth and Mitch Nash, and even more of the amazing folx that work there about the company’s evolution from flat cats to catnip and everywhere in between

 Plus, although we got to take the stage as part of NEPM’s Christmas Carol, the Dicken’s classic is getting an even more modern revamp this Friday and Saturday at the Shea Theater. This year’s "Home for the Holigays" sees it’s main character, Mr. Drag, scrooge-ified. We talk with the creative force behind it, Joe Delude II, about this iteration of the persona, and the drag family it brings with it. 

Also, our weekly chat with congressman Jim McGovern where we’ll see if he’s fully recovered from the March, hear his take on the Hunter Biden pardon and a listener question about the potential demise of tax exempt status as we know it

Last week western Mass  came out en masse to show incredible generosity to the Food Bank via the means of a 43 mile walk.

But today we’ll hear about yet another quirky event that helps to inspire generosity from the community over a much shorter distance: The Hot Chocolate Run for Safe Passage, happening for the 21st time in Northampton this Sunday. We’ll talk with Safe Passage Executive Director Marianne Winters about the organization's mission,  as well as development director Natasha Ulrich about how over two decades of support for the organization through this specific event is helping to prevent domestic violence and is helping survivors thrive.

 We’ll also learn about the confluence of physics, biology, pure mathematics and Journalism, through a new book. We talk with Smith math professor Chris Gole and author Nancy Pick about "Do Plants Know Math" and explore the photo exhibit of some of the photography they included in the book while exploring how spirals and sequences naturally occur all around us. .

And Word Nerd Emily Brewster from Merriam-Webster give us the etymology of her moniker when we learn the history of the word "nerd", and other names that have evolved from their much squarer origins. 

We're exploring the gift of generosity today. 

It's in the well loved libretto and words re-imagined through a more American Lens. Electric Root's show "The Sound of (Black) Music" which takes the classic Rodgers & Hammerstein musical and gives it a pan-diasporic glow up, and it's latest tour brings the ensemble to Amherst on Dec. 8th, so we meet with Electric Root founder Jono Gasparro, musical director Charenee Wade, and conductor and vocalist C. Anthony Bryant to hear about their inspirations, aspirations, and opposition the show has engendered. 

We also hang out with Justin Cohen, aka Studebaker Hawk, and dig through his proverbial crates as we hear more about the Northampton Record Fair, and the copious amounts of Vinyl that will soon descend upon Union Station this weekend for all those looking for golden sounds in a surprisingly popular medium. 

And Oh yeah, it's Giving Tuesday. A day evolved to offset the capitalism you fever dreamed on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But what it really means is that many causes you support are asking for that support today, and that includes us too!. 

oh gosh we blinked and it's December!

Some of us got snow over the past week and some of us were not so lucky 

And some of us are not so lucky as to be able to heat our houses in the colder months we speak with Jess Thompson and Claire Higgins from Community Action Pioneer Valley about the Heat Up/Fuel Up campaign helping our neighbors to stay warm and more as the temperatures dip and the dark creeps up the clock.  

 We'll also cozy up with a good book to read during those colder months. Local author Megan Tady’s latest book "Bluebird Day" comes out tomorrow with a launch party at Odyssey books in South Hadley. We'll chat with the author about the compelling power of family secrets to bubble up and the dynamics of the mother daughter relationships we see in her pages

 And Mr. Universe, Hampshire College and Kainaat studios' Salman Hameed, is recently back from a visit to China. We'll dig into that nation 's entrance and perseverance in the space race and what that means for the US's endeavors into the black, and what teaching there can teach all of us. 

Tomorrow is a holiday for some, but for many in the indigenous and first nation communities across the commonwealth and the continent, it is instead The Day of Mourning. 

So we are expanding our awareness of indigenous culture and history through art and Education. Boundless is a collection of indigenous work presented through the Mead Art Museum in four stages. The third of those, a k-12 digital education component, has just been released, and we speak with Professor Kiara Vigil about working with her students to create this next stage of the exhibit, and how it differes from the other four sections of the ongoing exhibit.

And yesterday Monte concluded leading the March for the Food Bank 15 through rain and cold to Greenfield's center, and we’ll hear a bit of what 43 miles sounds like on the other end of walking to combat hunger. (hint: A lot like a party)

The March for the food bank continues traversing 6 towns and 2 counties as Monte Belmonte leads a coterie from Northampton to Greenfield. A new costume awaits, and more places that feel the impact of all the food bank is able to provide to Western Massachusetts. We’ll hear from folx along the way from all walks and needs of life including State Representatives, city and county officials,  those on the front lines of the fight against hunger, and those who see its impact.  Then we dig into more of the problems the food bank faces in light of changing state and federal policy.  

It’s the second leg of the March for the Food bank, with Elphaba at the helm to hone in on issues of hunger in our area even in, and despite, the rain. 

Today on the Fabulous 413, The March for the Food Bank 15 begins. 

We’ll check in with Monte and the Marchers as they walk 17 miles from Mason Square in the heart of one of Springfield’s biggest food deserts through Hampden County to Northampton on the first leg of the effort. The event not only helps the only food bank west of Worcester to do what it does, but intends to raise more awareness about the increasing and endemic issue of hunger in our area and across the nation. 

We’ll hear from state and federal legislators, city officials, pantry personnel, food advocates, fellow marchers, and the man in the pink dress himself Glenda the good witch- a.k.a. Monte Belmonte. 

We head to the Berkshires, where literal hundred of high school kids are immersing themselves in the bard. The Fall Festival of Shakespeare has just opened, and we’ll speak with some of the folx involved about the beginnings of the festival over 3 decades ago, the lessons that theater can teach, and more with Education Programs Manager Meg Marchione and Director of Education Kevin Coleman

And we’ll hear from a band that is all grown up now with a new album headed our way. Lux Deluxe releases their new album next week capped with a release show at the Iron Horse. The Band makes a stop to the studios for Live Music Friday to show off how their sound has evolved over the years. 

And it is the season of the new, even though everything is dying outside. It is officially Beaujolais season. We have a tricksy tasting of this years freshest varietal with Ben and Mary Daire at Dare Bottleshop & Provisions in Lenox. 

We’re addressing a couple of proverbial elephants in our democracy and bringing your kids with us so we can all learn together. 

With season one of their podcast wrapped, opening a collaborative art exhibit at Mead Art Museum, and the impending repercussions of the recent election, the folx at EmbraceRace are having a busy year. We sit with organization founders, directors, and podcast hosts Melissa Giraud and Andrew Grant-Thomas to explore their growing arsenal of tools that can help a growing multicultural society to talk about race, especially with kids. 

And, as the countdown to the March for the Food Bank continues, Monte takes a lesson from makeup artist Joe Delude II, designer of the original looks for both Elphaba and Glenda in the original Wicked production, so he can add the perfect touch to his costumes for the 43 miles to come.

Plus, we have our weekly chat with fellow marcher Rep. Jim McGovern and we’re going to dial into hunger, its root causes, its potential solutions, and if anything can be done in the federal government.