The Huntington’s production of “Sojourners” in October 2024 marked the start of the two-year, city-wide production of Mfoniso Udofia’s nine-play collection, the Ufot Family Cycle. Now, the Nigerian-American Ufot family story continues 31 years later in “The Grove,” the world-premiere of the second play in the cycle. Callie speaks with playwright Mfoniso Udofia and actress Abigail C. Onwunali about the second chapter of the Ufot Family Cycle.

President Donald Trump promised drastic changes in immigration policy, particularly focused on mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, on Day 1 of his second administration. But with only a month into the new administration, local experts say it’s hard to judge if Trump is actually sticking to his promise. It’s our Latinx news roundtable!

Now that the Los Angeles fires have been contained, Angelenos face health concerns from fire pollutants among many long-term consequences. Plus, President Donald Trump withdraws the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement. Will Michael Bloomberg’s offer to pay for the U.S.’s portion of the group’s budget make a difference? And the homeowners’ insurance crisis on Martha’s Vineyard may soon be a problem for all of us. It’s our environmental news roundtable!

Black limes, global spice mixes and an abundance of sauces – it’s all on tap for food trends in 2025. And when it comes to wine, odds are you’ve foregone the cheap entry-level bottle for a higher price-point white and you’ve noticed shrinking wine lists at restaurants. We’ve got the latest news from the culinary world featuring our food and wine experts!

Is the re-elected Rhode Island State Senate President incapable of doing his job, as some senators claim? Cape Cod residents are divided over President Donald Trump’s declarations on offshore wind power. Should they be concerned about Trump’s claims of danger toward sea wildlife caused by wind turbines? Plus, a social security breach in Rhode Island, New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte’s new COGE and Maine Republicans celebrate a pardoned January 6 rioter. It’s our regional news roundtable!

After librarian Amanda Jones spoke at a local public library board meeting to express her concerns about censorship in her small town of Livingston, she faced an organized campaign of harassment from groups with a mission to ban certain books in public and school libraries. But Jones fought back and is now telling her story in her new book, “That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America.” It’s our February pick for Bookmarked: The “Under the Radar” Book Club and the first installment of our year-long series on the book-banning movement.

Yiddish is a language mostly spoken by Jews in the United States, Israel and Russia. But when Jewish prisoners were interned during the Holocaust, the Yiddish language went through a metamorphosis, changing and expanding to include new words about their brutal everyday existence. What emerged and lives on today are words that represent both cultural history and a testimony of survivor resilience. We speak with scholar Hannah Pollin-Galay, whose latest book, “Occupied Words: What the Holocaust Did to Yiddish,” about that “destruction Yiddish.”

Berklee College of Music alums have collectively won more than 300 Grammys so far. Two of those previous winners who’ve added to Berklee’s count are esperanza spalding and Jett Galindo – alums with previous wins who are up for awards at this year’s Grammys. We spoke with them about their journey from Berklee’s halls to the Grammys stage. 

It’s an exclusive club that may or may not add to its members every four years: inaugural poets. There have only been six in the history of the United States, from Robert Frost in 1961 to Amanda Gorman in 2021. How did the tradition become part of the pomp and circumstance of Inauguration Day? And what kind of message is central to inaugural poetry? We speak with two poets – including an inaugural poet – more about this special inauguration tradition.

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once described the freedom songs of the civil rights movement as “the soul of the movement.” What would the civil rights movement, the anti-war movement, the Black Lives Matter movement be like without iconic songs like “We Shall Overcome,” the Plastic Ono Band’s “Give Peace A Chance” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright”? In celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we’re diving into the history of protest music in America.