The MacArthur Foundation named its class of 2023 “genius grant" fellows last month. The recipients join an exclusive group of previous fellows who have demonstrated outstanding talent in their fields. The award acknowledges the fellows’ demonstrated talent and potential as leaders in their fields.

Cellular and molecular biologist Jason Buenrostro is one of this year's MacArthur fellows.

"For me, [being a scientist] is like I'm living in a dream. Growing up, my parents didn't graduate high school or my extended family, none of them went to college, and the probability that that things would work out in this way are just unfortunately low rate," said Buenrostro. "I like to think that what was once a challenge for me to move through the academic system, to sit down on the desk and to listen to somebody go on and on about about something in a classroom, is now a tool in my tool belt."

Buenrostro, who is also a Harvard University associate professor, studies the mechanisms that “turn on” genes, and is the pioneer of a popular method to assess chromatin accessibility across the genome. There are 20 MacArthur fellows across the country, and Buenrostro is one of four based in the Boston area. We talk with professor Buenrostro for Under the Radar's series, “The Genius Next Door.”

Israel’s war against Hamas has marked just over one month. It’s the latest chapter of the decades-long, ongoing strife between the Israeli government and Palestinians.

The present day suffering of people in the war zone and its impact on others around the world is incomprehensible. And yet, even during this conflict, the struggle for a peaceful resolution continues.

Under the Radar spoke with representatives from two organizations that have spent decades working toward peace in the region about why, despite the violence, they remain committed to their efforts.

GUESTS

Tim Wilson, advisor to Seeds of Peace and director of the Maine Seeds Programs

Aziz Abu Sarah, board member of American Friends of Combatants for Peace

Gili Getz, board chair of American Friends of Combatants for Peace

What does it mean to be Asian in a country where everything seems Black and white?

Growing up, author and scholar Julia Lee says she spent much of her formative years angry about never being seen, ashamed that she felt powerless as a Korean woman, and suffering from generational trauma passed down from her immigrant parents.

On Under the Radar with Callie Crossley, Lee said understanding her place in a racial hierarchy constructed around Black and white has been a complicated journey.

"It's just that in our society and in our culture, being white means you get to be treated as human, and that is all I and so many people of color want," she said. "Unfortunately, when we look around, the only people who get to be treated as full human beings are white. And so it's not whiteness we want, we just want to be treated with humanity and humaneness."

Lee explores this journey in her new memoir, "Biting the Hand: Growing Up Asian in Black and White America."

A new plan from Boston Public Schools to integrate students who are English language learners into general education classrooms has led to multiple resignations on BPS' English Learners Task Force.

Plus, compared to much of the country, Massachusetts has a low poverty rate. But it’s twice as high for Latinos.

And a flag mix-up results in a cultural snafu in the new, best-selling Spider-man video game.

Those stories and more on Under the Radar's Latinx News Roundtable.

GUESTS:

Julio Ricardo Varela, MSNBC opinion columnist and founder of Latino Rebels

Marcela García, opinion columnist and associate editor at the Boston Globe

It’s Halloween — the season of all things spooky and scary — from horror movies, to haunted mansions and potentially even gardens. It turns out there's an unexpectedly sinister side to gardening, according to writer and gardener, Marta McDowell. She says many mystery writers use gardens in their tales of deception:

"I think most gardeners understand this feeling of you're always sort of a detective. Why did this plant die? What is bothering this plant? I mean, you're even sometimes out there with a magnifying glass, trying to figure out what pest is on your petunia," McDowell told Under the Radar. "And there are quite a few crime writers who also dabble in the garden, so they have that at their fingertips for various plot devices."

McDowell explores the link between mystery and gardening in her book, "Gardening Can Be Murder: How Poisonous Poppies, Sinister Shovels, and Grim Gardens Have Inspired Mystery Writers."

GUEST

Marta McDowell, author of "Gardening Can Be Murder: How Poisonous Poppies, Sinister Shovels, and Grim Gardens Have Inspired Mystery Writers."

Gov. Maura Healey unveiled a $4.1 billion bond bill last week targeting the state’s housing shortage. It could create over 8,000 accessory dwelling units, or “in-law suites,” across the state.

Plus, a new poll highlights the 2024 election ballot questions at the top of the list for Massachusetts voters. Of those surveyed 52% said they would vote to remove MCAS as a requirement for receiving a high school diploma.

And a Boston City Council candidate is stirring up controversy with comments about Black Lives Matter.

Those stories and more on Under the Radar's Local News Roundtable.

GUESTS

Katie Lannan, State House reporter for GBH News

Gin Dumcius, reporter for CommonWealth Magazine

Mike Deehan, co-writer of the Boston Axios Newsletter

A century ago, images of young children working in factories under dangerous working conditions shocked Americans. Since then, numerous child labor protections have been put in place to prevent exploitation and abuse.

But in the past two years, child labor laws have entered the crosshairs of some lawmakers. At least 10 states have introduced or passed legislation loosening child labor protections, including New Hampshire. Now, Granite State children as young as 14 can work around alcohol and 16-year-olds can work an almost 40-hour week.

"[Nationwide] we're finding kids in automobile factories on the floor of a packing house, or some chicken processing plants and in other manufacturing facilities, in seafood, in lots of industries where we really haven't seen children working in decades," said David Weil, Brandeis University professor and a former administrator for the Wage and Hour Division at the U.S. Department of Labor. "And now we're finding them in significant numbers and in very dangerous conditions, so it's unfortunately a real return to the past."

Some lawmakers are saying changing youth labor rules will help address worker shortages, but experts and advocates worry that these measures will negatively impact minors.

"We're seeing a coordinated multi-industry push to roll back labor standards, and what that's really reflecting is industry's desire to maintain and expand their access to pools of low wage labor," said Jennifer Sherer, director of the State Worker Power Initiative at the Economic Policy Institute. "And in this case doing that in a really disturbing way that can expose children to hazardous conditions or long, excessive hours that we know based on research, can put kids in a high risk category for their grades slipping."

What’s behind the newfound push to relax child labor laws?

GUESTS

Jennifer Sherer, director of the State Worker Power Initiative at the Economic Policy Institute

David Weil, professor at Brandeis University and former administrator of the Wage and Hour Division at the U.S. Department of Labor

A myriad of new local restaurants, including 311 Omakase, All That Fish + Oyster and Moëca, are making the Boston area a seafood-lover’s haven.

Plus, a significant Portuguese American population in Greater Boston is reflected in new Portuguese restaurants featuring the flavorful cuisine, from crispy cod cakes to tasty egg tarts.

And wine lovers are choosing an old favorite — chardonnay — for their fall sipping, driving its expected market value over the next decade upward by hundreds of millions.

It's Under the Radar's Food and Wine Roundtable.

GUESTS:

Jonathon Alsop, founder and executive director of the Boston Wine School, author of "The Wine Lover's Devotional"

Amy Traverso, senior food editor at Yankee Magazine, co-host of the GBH series, "Weekends with Yankee," author of "The Apple Lover’s Cookbook”

Cricket is a wildly popular sport, second only to soccer as the most-watched sport on the globe. In the United States, football, basketball and baseball still dominate.

But evidence shows the bat-and-ball sport is once again gaining traction in Greater Boston and across the country.

"I moved into Massachusetts in 2010. When I moved, we had about 30 teams, [and] if you assume 15 to 20 players per team, you have about 600 players back in 2010. Now, as of today, in 2023 October, we have roughly about 72 teams playing," said Kumar Putravu, president of the Massachusetts State Cricket League. "So we've doubled the number of teams and we have a total number of players, roughly around 2,000 to 3,000 players, give or take a few. It has grown exponentially over the last decade."

From Major League Cricket premiering in the U.S. this summer, to high stakes rivalries currently playing out in the Cricket World Cup, the so-called Gentleman’s Game of the 17th century is exploding in growth in Greater Boston thanks to local immigrant communities.

"There's now opportunities for men, women, kids... people above 40, even people above 50, people above 60, there are opportunities for them to play" said Kartik Shah, founder and director of the Greater Boston Cricket Foundation. "As more opportunities come about, you see more and more people trying to play the game that are immigrants here from all over the world. And cricket is played all over the world. And all of these people now have a chance to play different versions, different styles, different formats."

Will the surge in Massachusetts teams help add cricket to Boston’s roster of beloved sports?

GUESTS

Kartik Shah, founder and director of the Greater Boston Cricket Foundation

Phani Kumar Putravu, president of the Massachusetts State Cricket League

Climate change turned up the heat this summer — the sweltering temperatures in August and September were the hottest since global records began in 1880.

Meanwhile, two significant efforts to fight climate change are taking root. In a first of its kind agreement, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut are working together to build more offshore wind farms.

Plus, an $11 million grant will help Boston expand its tree canopy especially in areas where trees are scarce.

That and more on our Environmental News Roundtable.

GUESTS

Dr. Gaurab Basu, director of education and policy at the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Beth Daley, executive editor and general manager of The Conversation, U.S.

Sam Payne, digital development manager and communications specialist for Better Future Project, a Massachusetts-based grassroots climate action organization