Rhode Island Report

We’re taking a little time off for the summer, and while we’re gone, we’re re-releasing some of our favorite shows. This week, we’re bringing you our most popular episode of all time – How to talk like a Rhode Islander. Back in 2022, we asked dialect coach Thom Jones to show us how he teaches Hollywood stars to talk like Rhode Islanders. He even gave our producer a little lesson.  ...

Lisa Pina-Warren has worked at the Nonviolence Institute for more than 15 years, and now she’s risen to the role of executive director. She joins host Edward Fitzpatrick to talk about the nonprofit, her personal motivation for promoting peace, and her vision for the future. Tips and ideas? Email us at  rinews@globe.com . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy N...

In 2021, Mel Thibeault was looking for ways to make friends in the queer community. So, she thought, why not invite everyone to go on a hike? Nearly four years later, the group continues to meet almost every weekend to spend time outdoors in Southern New England. Host Edward Fitzpatrick joined them to learn more. Tips and ideas? Email us at  rinews@globe.com . See Privacy Policy at https...

You’ve heard about how federal cuts to research funding are affecting elite institutions like Harvard and Brown, but what about our state universities? University of Rhode Island President Marc Parlange says these reductions are just as harmful for colleges like his that educate the working class and create innovation in the local economy. He talks to host Edward Fitzpatrick about the impacts. Tip...

The General Assembly wrapped up the 2025 legislative session Friday, June 20, at 1 in the morning. So, what happened? Host Edward Fitzpatrick talks with Globe Rhode Island's Steph Machado and Jim Hummel, the host of “A Lively Experiment” on Rhode Island PBS, to break down the final decisions. Tips and ideas? Email us at  rinews@globe.com . See Privacy Policy at https:...

The runner-up in the latest season of Survivor lives right here in Rhode Island. Eva Erickson is a Brown University Ph. D. candidate and the first openly autistic person to compete on the show. She joins host Edward Fitzpatrick to talk about Survivor, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and her work studying seal whiskers. Tips and ideas? Email us at  rinews@globe.com . See Privacy Policy at htt...

Colleges and universities across the country are under intense pressure from the federal government, both financially and politically, and Rhode Island’s institutions of higher learning are no exception. For the latest episode of Rhode Island PBS Weekly, Globe Rhode Island’s Steph Machado sat down with Dan Eagan, the president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, which repr...

Last week, Globe RI’s Dan McGowan and Alexa Gagosz moderated a discussion on Rhode Island’s health care crisis with Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, Brown Health President and CEO John Fernandez, and Maura Iversen, the dean of the College of Health & Wellness at Johnson & Wales University. A handful of protesters were at the event and outside, as a contract dispute between the...

Today, we’re getting out of the studio and onto the field with the Providence Hurling Club. That’s hurling with an H- it’s one of the most popular sports in Ireland, but it’s also gaining steam in the United States. Here in Providence, the team has been around for 10 years. And they're pretty good- they've already won two regional championships. Host Edward Fitzpatrick visited one of their practic...

There’s a new team leading the Rhode Island Senate. Senator Frank Ciccone became the Democratic majority leader late last month, succeeding Senator Valarie Lawson, who is now Senate president. He joins host Edward Fitzpatrick to talk about a proposed ban on assault weapons, smoking in casinos, taxing the rich, and other hot topics. Tips and ideas? Email us at  rinews@globe.com . See Privacy P...

Scientific researchers in Rhode Island are reeling from canceled grants and other potential cuts to federal funding for their work. Globe Rhode Island's Steph Machado just finished a story for Rhode Island PBS Weekly about the effects of these cuts. She joins host Ed Fitzpatrick to talk about what she learned. Tips and ideas? Email us at  rinews@globe.com . See Privacy Policy at htt...

Last week, President Trump proposed cutting more than 150 billion dollars in federal spending for next fiscal year. The cuts would axe a range of programs related to climate, education, health, and housing. US Representative Seth Magaziner joins host Edward Fitzpatrick to talk about that proposal, potential cuts to Medicaid, and his efforts to support a local nonprofit that feeds starving children...

Last week, Globe RI published an article that got a lot of attention. It centers around the rights of grandparents to visit their grandchildren. Amanda Milkovits wrote the story and she joins host Ed Fitzpatrick to talk about her reporting. Tips and ideas? Email us at  rinews@globe.com . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy...

US Senator Jack Reed and US Representative Gabe Amo joined hosts Edward Fitzpatrick and Jim Hummel live at RI PBS studios this week to address questions about the impact that decisions in Washington are having here in the Ocean State. The event marks the 200th episode of the Rhode Island Report podcast, and celebrates the ongoing partnership between Globe Rhode Island and Rhode Island PB...

Local harpist Emma Newton, who performs under the name Space Cowboy Newt, has an opportunity for other Rhode Island musicians: If you have a protest song, they’ll help you record it for free. Newton, a music producer and audio engineer as well as a musician, talks about the project with guest host Christopher Gavin, and performs some of their own music. Tips and ideas? Email us at  rinews@glo...

A Rhode Island company that provides life-saving nutrition to children around the world is getting caught up in the Trump administration’s dismantling of the US Agency for International Development. Edesia Nutrition has been on a roller coaster of canceled contracts and late payments. Founder and CEO Navyn Salem says every hour the plant is closed means 415 children aren’t getting the food they ne...

A Tufts University PhD candidate was arrested by six immigration officers near her apartment. A Columbia University student is facing deportation for his role in pro-Palestinian campus protests. And a Brown Medicine kidney doctor was deported to Lebanon. Is this legal? And what kind of rights do green card and visa holders have here in the United States? Deborah Gonzalez, Director of the Immigrati...

We’ve got a special bonus episode for you today. Earlier this month, in front of a live audience, Globe columnist Dan McGowan interviewed House Speaker Joe Shekarchi. From the Washington Bridge funding to an assault weapons ban, education to the governor's race, Shekarchi had a lot to say. This is a lightly edited recording of their conversation. Tips and ideas? Email us at  rinews@globe.com...

Attorney General Peter Neronha railed at Governor McKee at a House Finance hearing last week for not funding new positions for his office as it battles President Trump’s agenda. Neronha says if “you are not standing with us, then you are standing with Trump.” The attorney general joins host Ed Fitzpatrick to explain what he means. Tips and ideas? Email us at  rinews@globe.com . See Privacy Po...

It's been nearly 18 years since security officers discovered a one-room apartment within the walls of the Providence Place Mall. It was built by a group of local artists, led by Michael Townsend and Adriana Valdez Young. Now there's a full-length documentary about their "Secret Mall Apartment." Its first theatrical screening is March 21, at - where else - the Providence Place Mall. Michael and Adr...

Dorcas International, which serves thousands of refugees and immigrants annually, is facing funding cuts and layoffs amid changing policies in Washington. For the latest episode of Rhode Island PBS Weekly, guest host Steph Machado sat down with Kathy Cloutier, the executive director of Dorcas International, to learn more about what’s happening on the ground under the Trump administr...

As the Trump administration threatens to remove federal funding for a range of initiatives, from scientific research to health insurance, local lawmakers are pushing back. Providence Democrats Senator Tiara Mack and Representative David Morales are the co-chairs of the Rhode Island Black, Latino, Indigenous, Asian- American, and Pacific Islander Caucus – or RIBLIA. They say the group’s legislative...

Former US Representative Jim Langevin has a long track record of leading cybersecurity efforts in Congress. The Trump administration's cuts to positions at the federal Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency “make no sense,” he says. He joins host Ed Fitzpatrick to talk about these developments and the Institute for Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies at Rhode Island College. Tips and i...

Refugees come to the United States to escape dictatorships, oppression, and violence. But the Trump administration’s freeze of the refugee resettlement program and its ramped-up deportation efforts are making many refugees wonder if they’re safe here. Host Ed Fitzpatrick talks to two people who fled to the United States - a man who escaped slavery in Mauritania and a woman avoiding female genital...

Students are afraid to come to English classes. Young immigrants are skipping weekly soccer games. The Trump administration has stopped funding resettlement of refugees, who are here in the United States legally. But Teddi Jallow, executive director of the Refugee Dream Center in Providence, who came to the United States as a refugee herself, is determined to continue her work helping newcomers to...