The Hingham 'Cast

Finn Congdon was born into a girl’s body. He spent his entire childhood trying to figure out why his life didn’t feel right. He wore baggy, body-hiding clothes. He avoided mirrors and sank into a deep depression. The Hingham man had a loving, accepting family, but was still terrified to finally come out as transgender. It’s a painful, but beautiful journey to self acceptance and love. #Pride

With a toothy grin and disarming charm, PJ Antonik takes up all the space in a room. He is the founder and frontman of Oak Development & Design, a home renovation firm in Hingham, Massachusetts. He has his own TV show, podcast and loyal clientele snapping up his Instagram-marketed homes. Antonik bristles at the word, but is, by definition, a house flipper. He's not your typical flipper, putting "lipstick on a pig" as he says. He buys the "worst" homes in the best neighborhoods to renovate or rebuild and sell in the $1 to $3 million dollar range. For all his charisma, Antonik knows he's not everyone's cup of tea. When his projects rankle the neighbors he is unapologetic. "I don't want to be people's enemy," he says. "I go into a neighborhood with great intentions, but people don't like change."

Maddie McCoy lost her battle to a rare childhood cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma in 2019. She was just 11-years-old. While she was still alive, her family and friends launched Maddie's Promise. It was a sweet push to help Maddie raise money for other kids in the hospital and the people she saw living homeless on the streets of Boston.

That promise is now a promise to do everything possible to find better treatments and a cure for rhabdomyosarcoma. This episode shows it is not a shot in the dark or a Hail Mary pass. Money raised by Maddie's Promise has helped researchers create new cell lines and launch a clinical trial. The sometimes modest gifts have helped doctors show the federal government there is promise on the horizon. That promise has secured them a nearly two million dollar grant from the National Institues of Health and free cancer treatment drugs for potential patients. It is thrilling to hear how one small community can have a massive impact on helping these children who have for decades been considered largely "untreatable."

Local elections matter. In many communities in Massachusetts a Select Board serves as mayor and city council. There is one seat open on Hingham's Select Board and three candidates vying for the position. It's a demanding, often thankless job. Hingham's Select Board met 80 times last year. The Board calls town meeting and figures out what’s on the agenda. Members are then in charge of implementing whatever gets voted on. They manage town finances and set the budget. They hold public meetings on town issues. They appoint not only the town administrator, but department heads, most of the members for boards and commissions. They enforce town by laws and regulations. They’re the licensing board for everything from restaurants and liquor licenses to limousines and they’re the commissioners for the water and police department. When it comes to town government, these are the most powerful positions. www.thehinghamcast.com

With restrictions eased, theaters from Broadway to Boston pledge that productions will be back on stage by the fall. But exactly what that looks like for audiences and actors is still being figured out. Ally talks with Broadway actress and South Shore native Mary Callanan and Zoe Bradford, co-founder of Norwell's Company Theatre.

Local elections matter. The people we vote into office have an enormous amount of power over our town and day-to-day lives. When the pandemic hit, our worlds shrank and how, or if, our communities adapted was laid bare. From public safety and school funding to property assessments and public health enforcement, the effectiveness of local government is inextricably tied to the people we put into office. In Hingham, the Town Clerk is the only salaried, elected official and it is a critical, public-facing job. Ally sits down with the four candidates vying for the open seat: Carol Falvey, Libby Lewiecki, Laura Marwill and Tom Patch. Election day is May 22. www.votema.org

From the White House to the State House leaders are setting goals to combat climate change, but environmentalists say cities and towns need to step up too. Like many communities across the Commonwealth, Hingham does not have a Climate Action Plan, but soon, residents can vote to make one. In this episode we talk with Christin Eigenmann who, for most of her life, didn't think about climate change. But when she moved to Hingham and found a community of green space and abundant wildlife, she wanted to do everything she could to protect it. She shares the small changes her family is making in hopes of making a big difference. We also talk with Kathy Reardon who sits on the town's Climate Action Plan Task Force. We explore how local governments can play a significant role in the fight from greener building codes to electric police cars to using more solar and other renewable energy to heat and cool town buildings. www.thehinghamcast.com or join the conversation on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/TheHinghamCast

Danielle was just 12 when she started cutting. She said, at first, it was an accident, but it quickly became deliberate. She says when the physical pain came, the emotional pain felt like it was bleeding out of her. It's called self harm or self injury and affects 1 in 5 adolescents. Experts say cutting can start for any number of reasons from a child suffering anxiety to a serious mental disorder. The number of kids getting emergency care for mental health issues like self harm are on the rise in the pandemic, according to the CDC, prompting our conversation. Ally talks with Danielle and Barry Walsh, Ph.D. from Open Sky Community Services in Worcester, MA. He shares why kids cut, what parents should look for and how to get help.

Open houses canceled before they'd begun. Buyers snatching up houses sight unseen. Inspections waived. Cash offers a hundred thousand dollars over asking with little-before-used escalation clauses. It's a pandemic-fueled real estate boom that's driven up prices and made it a kill or be killed seller's market. But what could it mean for the fabric of a small town?

Paul Deane had hit bottom. He was addicted to heroin, had just lost his wife after she overdosed and was struggling to be a father to their four sons. The Weymouth man says he drove his life into the ground and shares how therapists at a Quincy non profit helped him put the pieces back together. Interfaith Social Services is many things to many people and houses the largest food pantry on Boston's South Shore. Executive Director Rick Doane explains why hunger and struggles with mental health are inextricably entwined and how the public can help.