The Boston Public Library has a $3.6 million budget shortfall, and administrators are considering closing some of the system’s 26 neighborhood branches.  That has friends of the library system organizing to make the case for their favorite branch libraries to be kept open.  We’ll take a look at some of the various branches and ask, [...]

The suicide of a student at South Hadley High School has Beacon Hill lawmakers looking for ways to reduce the age old behavior.  But some wonder whether legislation is the right way to deal with the problem, while others say the bill being considered lack teeth, and won’t lead to real change.Â
Also, House Speaker Robert DeLeo [...]

In his new book, “Diabetes Rising,” medical journalist Dan Hurley documents a seemingly inexplicable cluster of type 1 diabetes cases in Weston, Mass. This sudden uptick in Boston’s wealthiest suburb raises big questions about socioeconomics, lifestyle, and the cause of the disease. Dan Hurley joins us live from NYC.
Also, journalist C. S. Manegold’s latest book, [...]

We’re halfway through the worldwide collective ski holiday in British Columbia that is the Vancouver Olympics. What have we learned? The first three notes of “Oh Canada” and NBC’s Olympics theme are the same; cheese does not heal deep muscle bruises when applied topically; and Vancouver is the most livable city in the world.
What does [...]

This week, as the world focuses on Vancouver for the start of the Winter Games, we take a look at some of the New Englander’s who’ll be hoping to bring home the gold, and we’ll visit with some young people who are hoping to join the ranks of elite athletes. Comment here, and join [...]

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar is in Massachusetts this week, talking with interested parties, and visiting Nantucket Sound, to try to finally come to a decision about whether a proposed wind farm should be allowed to be built there. We’ll take another look at the controversial proposal, and hear from you about whether [...]

When the very first decennial census was conducted in 1790, Massachusetts comprised about 10% of the nation’s population. Today, we’re closer two 2%. It’s not that we’re shrinking; rather, the rest of the country is growing faster than we are. The problem, officials say, is that our piece of the federal pie is shrinking accordingly, [...]

This week’s upset victory by Republican Scott Brown, has remade the landscape of politics in Massachusetts.  With Governor Deval Patrick already facing an uphill reelection campaign, the anti-incumbent mood of voters is another challenge for him, and opens the door for Republican opponents, Christy Mihos, and Charlie Baker, and for independent Tim Cahill.  Tune in [...]

01/15/10, 1:41 pm UPDATE: Martha Coakley’s campaign contacted us during the show to let us know she would not be available due to a last minute conflict.
01/13/09, 4:30 pm UPDATE:  Scott Brown’s campaign has had to pull out of their committment to have Senator Brown appear live on the show.  That doesn’t mean we won’t [...]

The pharmaceutical industry spends millions every year to inform doctors about their products.  An innovative program begun here in Massachusetts, at the Harvard Medical School, has tried to give medical professionals independent information about treatment options, but it’s now threatened by state budget cuts.