WBUR Up Next

We turn to Rev. Mariama White-Hammond founding-pastor at New Roots AME church in Dorchester, and Father John Unni, Catholic pastor of St. Cecilia Parish in Back Bay, to reflect during a rapidly changing and stressful Christmas holiday.

Plus, catching up with outgoing Boston City Councilor and former mayoral candidate Annissa Essaibi George

The at-large Boston city councilor jumped into the wide open mayoral race in March, and steadily rose to the top of the pack, drawing the second-highest vote count in September's preliminary election.

Omicron becomes the dominant strain in Massachusetts, and cases and hospitalizations continue to climb. This in an industry that's struggled to weather this pandemic for nearly two years already.

The MBTA had old equipment and too little money before the pandemic. Now, ridership numbers are down, and there are too few employees. So how do we keep the T moving?

Plus, we take listener calls on omicron and business impacts.

President Biden announced a plan today to expand coronavirus test sites, distribute a half-billion at-home free tests, and send more resources to hospitals, while Gov. Baker issued a mask advisory and announced he is sending the National Guard to help hospitals deal with the surge of COVID patients.

Love cookies and other sweet treats? Our guests offer up some simple recipes that will be fun for the whole family to bake together.

President Biden announced a plan today to expand coronavirus test sites, distribute a half-billion at-home free tests, and send more resources to hospitals, as the omicron variant sets off waves of infections and alarm bells across the country.

We take listener calls with Dr. Shira Doron, an epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center, and Dr. Daniel Bourque, infectious disease expert at Boston Medical Center, where he specializes in global health, travel, and tropical medicine.