,We're looking at freedom and our relationship with it, because freedom’s legacy in this country has had a fraught relationship with the black community. Clark University Professor Ousmane Power-Greene in continuing to examine the nation's 250th birthday brings forward the case of Crispus Attucks, one of the victims of the Boston Massacre, now intrinsically tied to the story of this nation’s independence. We discuss Attuck’s life, how the liberty of the nation affected black revolutionary veterans, and more. 

Tomorrow is Juneteenth, the now federally recognized holiday that celebrates freedom for everyone. At the Iron Horse, an inspired collection of musicians are celebrating with a concert that honors that legacy. Indë,  PARRIS, and the Ujima Singers will perform in Northampton Tomorrow night. We sit in on their rehearsal, and speak with their musical director Indë about this performance and the impact of the holiday on the communities they’re centered within. 

And congressman Jim McGovern has some thoughts about the Iran deal, FIFA and how it connects to the USA’s bad habit of intervening in other countries governance, his juneteenth plans and how they tie into the ongoing importance of the upcoming midterm elections, and more.

Today is all about circles of life.

For instance in East Longmeadow, which used to contain more agricultural enterprises, a third generation farmer is still growing vegetables for the area, while looking at ways to make sure that land is available for future generations to grow on. Neil Pomeroy shows us around Pomeroy’s Vegetable Farm, and gives us insight to its history and what’s coming up right now. 

Then we head to the Hitchcock Center for the Environment, where they’re not just teaching the adults of tomorrow about the ways we can be better to the planet, they’re readying for an event that gives us tasty morsels and beverages straight outta nature. Their Battle of the Botanicals Fundraiser happens tomorrow on Amherst College’s Campus, so we make a trip to see the breakthroughs they’ve been making in their innovative building.

And language is constantly shifting underneath us, so word nerd Emily Brewster at Merriam Webster introduces us to some new terms that have just entered the slang section of their website so that we can continue to ruin the new phrases of the moment for the young folx in our lives. 

We are getting the bands together, because it’s the 25th anniversary for the Florence Community Band, which has grown from the idea of one woman seeking musical community, to having over 50 members or more finding their instruments, dusting them off, and joining in the sound. We speak with director Priscilla Ross and members Linda Davis-Delano and Yop Molenaar  about their upcoming concert on June 21st that will bring even more local bands into the mix

And in a new novel by Heather Abel, bands of amateur investigators attempt to find the cause and cure of a mysterious ailment. The Emilys is a book that bears an indelible imprint of the asparagus valley, including an array of easter eggs for the locals, and we speak with the author about the issues of friendship, ecology, and place before you can meet her yourself at an event in South Hadley this evening. 

Plus this Friday being Juneteenth means there’s lots of places celebrating the nation's truest freedom day, and we’ll hear from Theresa Cooper Gordon, Damany Gordon, and Megan Seiler about the festivities happening in Holyoke at Wisteriahurst for the occasion.

We love new books, and the first in a brand new series from Jedidiah Berry comes out tomorrow. Kill All Wizards is a blend of 19th century gentility and classic sword and sorcery fiction of the early 20th century with homage to Roy Thomas and Robert E Howard and we chat with the author about the new novella and the release party at Vision Video in Northampton on June 16th where he’ll be in conversation with Kelly Link 

Juneteenth is this Friday and Springfield’s Symphony orchestra is celebrating by bringing the whole ensemble outside. Not only is this year’s program happening for free in Court Square in downtown Springfield, but it’s a family affair featuring both Avery Sharpe and Kevin Sharpe. We bring the two brothers to the studio to talk about their individual connections to the holiday and music itself along with SSO President Heather Caisse Roberts. 

And Mr. Universe, Kainaat Studio’s Salman Hameed, puts on his cinefile hat to explore the science and spectacle of Stephen Spielberg’s latest foray into extraterrestrial speculation as we discuss Disclosure Day. 

Today has a lotta music, and a little international flair

Tanglewood is getting a visit from folx who play some of the smoothest music around. The Yacht Rock Revue started in Georgia on a whim, but now brings the sounds of the late 70s and early eighties to stages worldwide, even to their original tunes. We speak with Nicholas Niespodziani frontman and multi instrumentalist for the band about the inspirations of these tunes and the spectacle they’ll bring to the Berkshires on June 21st.

Live Music Friday brings a brand new band polycule into the studio. The Golden Hours began as an immersive music experience, but has evolved beyond to be its own creative entity, a blend of the bands The Lowland Hum and David Wax Museum. We’ll hear a sample of what this sonicly-united ensemble will perform on the Iron Horse stage in Northampton on Sunday, June 14th. 

And the many games of the FIFA World Cup are underway, but perhaps you are as lost as I am on that front, lucky us, NEPM’s own Cara Foster is here to give us a bit of insight to the game and it’s global dominance everywhere, except the US it seems. 

It’s 413 Gives Day

So of course the fabulous 413 is going to double down on the goodwill of our neighbors coming together to support other organizations who also lost their federal funding just like we did by speaking with one more non-profit from the Berkshires who you may help. 

So we speak with the executive director of the Elizabeth Freeman Center, Divya Chaturvedi. The organization have been helping those who have experienced domestic abuse and sexual assault in the Berkshires with their ongoing survival for 50 years. We learn about their incredibly extensive programming that spans the entirety of the county, the ways they’ve learned to adapt to the needs of the community, and the ripples of impact they see relating to this loss of federal infrastructure. 

Then we head to Amherst to connect celebrations with history. Ancestral Bridges is hosting its 6th Juneteenth celebration this Sunday, and has discovered direct ties between the town, the Massachusetts 54th, and that holiday’s origins in Galvaston Texas. We speak with Anika Lopes, Deborah Bridges, Christina Miles, and Pam Tillis about the festivities and their discoveries.

We celebrate freedom for all with a Juneteenth event that brings all of the community together. Arise for Social Justice has been honoring the holiday with a free celebration connecting folx of all walks of Springfield life with music food and services they may need and more. Executive Director Tanisha Arena joins us to talk about the party they’re throwing, and her journey to this work. 

We’re also looking at the immigrant experience through fiction and firsthand accounts. Restless books has just published the award winning collection People who live alone talk too much which highlights the incredible intimate moments of immigrants interacting with American culture in New York, and we speak with author Sofi Stambo about the appeal of short fiction, and how it can connect these snapshots to something greater. 

And as pride month continues, we look at the language surrounding the LGBTQIA2S+ community itself with word nerd Emily Brewster, because those words have come as long a way as we have, and the linguistic history of Gay and Queer are just as fascinating as the times and folx they have represented over the centuries. 

Festivities are coming to downtown Greenfield for Franklin County Pride this weekend. This ninth iteration is bringing even more folx, music, and organizations together to celebrate the rainbow of identities present. We speak with Heather, Fritz, and Tolja about this year’s festivities and the impact that political climate has on their efforts to make sure the community stays safe and seen. 

We continue to highlight the organizations of our area for 413 Gives Day with Resilient Community Arts. Founded in the pandemic, the non-profit seeks to create more arts access and equity to kids, teens and their grownups across Hampshire and Hampden counties. We chat with director Maddie McDougall and youth coordinator Libby Keller, both of whom are teachers in their day jobs, about the impact they’ve seen the arts make, and the gaps that the loss in federal funding leaves. 

And speaking of pandemic shifts, Carrot Corner Farm came to be when one family moved from their boat on the coast to a vegetable shaped parcel in North Amherst, and we’ll chat with co-owner Eli Mior about his introduction to agriculture and the innovative practices they’ve been implementing

Today is all about communication and immigration, which, let’s not forget, does include the founding fathers. And the founding itself might not have happened if an intrepid young bookseller hadn’t taken some initiative to bring a veritable pile of weapons to Boston from a conquered fort in New York to chase away the British. 

Local historians have gathered together to map out more of Henry Knox’s course through the Berkshires east with 59 canons and more, and that information is now available in a new book released by the Berkshire Historical Society. We’ll talk with authors Bernard Drew of Great Barrington; Gary Leveille of the Great Barrington Historical Society; Rob Hoogs, Monterey Historical Society; Ron Bernard, Sandisfield Historical Commission; and Tom Ragusa, Otis Historical Commission about Ye Trodden Path and learn how you can celebrate the book's release with them at Arrowhead in Pittsfield this Wednesday June 11th. 

And we continue our highlights of organizations that you can help through 413 Gives Day by chatting with Caroline Gear, executive director of the international Language institute, who’s been with the school for 40 of its 42 years. We learn the principles of how their model was built, and the changes 4 decades have made in the institution. And Caroline gives us a glimpse of the impact the rhetoric surrounding immigrants and funding changes for education have made in their offerings and outlook. 

We head into the weekend with a little music, a little beverage, and some extra care for our community. 

The Green River Festival begins in just 2 weeks bringing artists from all over the globe to Greenfield for three days of incredible sounds and community. Oh and we’ll be there too. We speak with John Sanders of DSP shows and organizer of the whole affair about some of the musicians headed to Franklin County. 

In Old Deerfield, the Memorial Hall Museum is raising a pint to the Baystate’s history. Brewing Massachusetts is their new exhibit that looks at the lineage, legislation surrounding and culture of beer, brewing and alcohol in Massachusetts. We get a tour with curators Ray Radigan and Lindsay Kruzlic. 

And we start our week of highlighting organizations for 413 Day with 18 Degrees. Over its nearly 130 year tenure, the organization may have changed names, but remains true to principles of aiding families and children in the berkshires, and now in Hampden county as well. We speak with executive director Stephaie Sneed about her tenure at the helm, and the ways they’ve supported some of the area’s most vulnerable populations.