Rhode Island Report

If you want to know about military actions around the world, ask US Senator Jack Reed. He’s Rhode Island’s senior Senator, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and often joins congressional delegations on trips overseas. Steph Machado down with Reed for Sunday’s episode of Rhode Island PBS Weekly for an update on the US’s role in the wars in Gaza and Ukraine as well as some issues closer...

Earlier this week, our own Dan McGowan and Brian Amaral moderated a live conversation about the Blue Economy and Rhode Island’s sustainable future. The panel featured Patty DiOrio, VP and head of project development, Americas at Ørsted; and Bill Fazioli, managing director of program and business development at the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank. If you missed part of the conversation, you can li...

Earlier this week, our own Alexa Gagosz moderated a live conversation about Climate and Business Resilience in Rhode Island's Food Ecosystem. The panel featured Ester Bishop, who is the co-owner, chef, and farmer at Gnarly Vines Farm; Ben Sukle, the chef and owner at Oberlin and Gift Horse restaurants in Providence; and Robert Andreozzi, the chef-owner at Pi...

Today, we’re getting out of the studio and putting on our running shoes to talk with Mark Sheeran. He’s an ultra-marathoner who’s spent the past few months running down every street in Providence. He invited Ed to tag along as he finished up one of his last runs. Tips and ideas? Email us at  rinews@globe.com . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at ht...

Rhode Island’s Board of Elections has a new executive director – but he’s no stranger to the job. Miguel Nuñez has been working for the board for nearly 25 years. He took the top spot in February, breaking ground as the board's first Latino executive director. Miguel talks with Ed about leading the BOE, and the biggest threat he sees coming up in this election year. Tips and ideas? Email us at&nbs...

St. Mary’s Home for Children in North Providence has been in the news since January when the state's Office of the Child Advocate released a scathing report about conditions there. Our own Amanda Milkovits has been following the story ever since. She’s recently talked with a family whose grandchild has been a resident there for a year. They say things there have not changed. Tips an...

Every year, Rhode Islanders read the same book as a part of the Reading Across Rhode Island program. This year’s selection is  Solito - a memoir by Javier Zamora. It tells the true story of Javier’s journey from El Salvador to The United States as an unaccompanied nine-year-old. Javier joins Ed in the studio, along with Maureen Nagle, education chair of Reading Across Rhode Island. Tips and i...

When reporters are working on important stories, they often use Rhode Island's Access for Public Records Act, or APRA. It gives them the ability to ask for government emails, data sets, or other documents. But APRA isn’t perfect. So, there’s a bill before the General Assembly to make it stronger. Ed talks with Colleen Cronin, a reporter who covers environmental issues for...

It’s been a little over a year since Stefan Pryor became Rhode Island’s housing secretary, as housing affordability remains one of the top issues facing Rhode Islanders. So what is he doing about it? Steph Machado sat down with Pryor to find out. 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/p...

For RI restaurants and food businesses, the overall cost of doing business is going up, and the closure of the Washington Bridge that carries Interstate 195 into and out of Providence has made matters worse. How are these companies going to survive? Alexa Gagosz talks with Kate Roberts, the owner of Easy Entertaining in Providence, to see how she’s coping. Tips and ideas? Email us at  rinews@...

Teenagers spend tons of time on their smart phones, and often they don’t stop even when they’re in class. To address that issue, some Rhode Island schools make students put their phones in locked pouches. Our own Steph Machado just finished a segment for Rhode Island PBS about this growing trend. She joins us in the studio to talk about what she learned. Tips and ideas? Email us at  rinews@gl...

Earlier this week, our own Dan McGowan and Steph Machado moderated a live conversation about the state of RI schools. The panel featured Central Falls Mayor Maria Rivera, Rhode Island Commissioner on Postsecondary Education Shannon Gilkey, and Rhode Island Deputy Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Lisa Odom-Villella. If you couldn’t make it, you can listen along to this lightly edi...

If you want to know about the plans to bring minor league soccer to Pawtucket, Globe RI’s Brian Amaral is your man. He’s been covering the Tidewater Landing project from the beginning. Last weekend, he went to Rhode Island FC's home opener at its temporary home in Smithfield. Brian joins Ed to talk about the game, the team, and what he’s uncovered about the financing of the stadium. Tips and ideas...

Back in 2020, the Trump campaign hired Rhode-Islander and Moderate Party founder Ken Block to investigate widespread election fraud. Spoiler alert: He didn’t find any. But Ken did find data to explain why Trump really lost. He joins Ed to talk about his new book, "Disproven." Tips and ideas? Email us at  rinews@globe.com . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy...

It’s been nearly three months since the RI Department of Transportation shut down the westbound side of the Washington Bridge and it doesn’t look like it’s reopening anytime soon. Our own Steph Machado and Jim Hummel, the host of “A Lively Experiment” on Rhode Island PBS, give us the latest on this debacle. Tips and ideas? Email us at  rinews@globe.com . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.co...

Imagine studying science or math in a different language. Many English learners in Rhode Island’s public schools face this challenge every day, and their numbers are growing. What is the state doing to help these students succeed? Guest host Dan McGowan talks with RI PBS reporter Michelle San Miguel and Providence School Board President Erlin Rogel about the issue. Tips and ideas? Email us at&nbsp...

To celebrate Black History Month, we’re joined by Valerie Tutson, the executive director and festival director for Rhode Island Black Storytellers, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the awareness, appreciation, and application of Black storytelling. She talks with Ed about her work, avoiding the trap of ‘trauma stories,’ and training a new generation of storytellers. Tips and ideas? Email us at&n...

Nearly 20 percent of General Assembly members belong to the Rhode Island Black, Latino, Indigenous, Asian American, and Pacific Islander Caucus. The caucus co-chair, Senator Jonathon Acosta of Central Falls, joins us to talk about some of his priorities, including police accountability, feeding more students, and raising taxes on the wealthiest households. Tips and ideas? Email us at  rinews@...

If you want to know something about Rhode Island’s Latino community, ask Marta Martinez. Marta is the executive director of Rhode Island Latino Arts and the founder of the Latino Oral History Project of Rhode Island. She’s spent decades collecting the stories of Spanish-speaking pioneers, leaders, and community members. Now, her oral history collection is the inspiration behind La Broa’ — a new pl...

It’s been about a year since Oscar Perez became the new chief of the Providence Police Department — and the first Latino to hold the position. He joins the Globe's Steph Machado to talk about community policing, crime trends in the city, and what his appointment means to communities of color. Tips and ideas? Email us at  rinews@globe.com . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and C...

Edesia Nutrition, a North Kingstown nonprofit that feeds malnourished children around the globe, got a big boost last year when the Bezos family made a donation worth nearly $140 million. Edesia founder and CEO Navyn Salem joins us to talk about how the money will help them serve many more kids, at a time when war and climate change are threatening children like never before. Tips and ideas? Email...

It’s easy to assume that giving birth in the US is pretty low-risk. But according to a new documentary, women in America die of pregnancy-related causes at a rate that’s up to 10 times higher than countries such as Japan, Spain, and Germany. "The Risk of Giving Birth," a three-part series by Rhode Island PBS, digs into the dangers of pregnancy, especially among women of color. We talk to Dr....

Providence College basketball hit the big time a little more than 50 years ago, when Ernie DiGregorio and Marvin Barnes led the team to its first Final Four tournament. Ernie D tells the story of that journey in a new book, "Star with a Broken Heart." We talk about the book, basketball, and his long friendship with Barnes and PC Coach Dave Gavitt. Tips and ideas? Email us at  rinews@globe.com...

Today is the first day of the 2024 legislative session. So what will lawmakers act on this year — housing, law enforcement accountability, guns, a new courthouse? We get some predictions and analysis from our own Steph Machado and Jim Hummel, host of “A Lively Experiment” on Rhode Island PBS. Tips and ideas? Email us at  rinews@globe.com . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and C...

In 2023, we heard all about tinned fish, “girl dinner,” butter boards, and zero-proof drinks. Inflation drove up prices, and we haven’t heard the end of trying to build a more sustainable food system. So what’s in store for the food and restaurant world in 2024? Guest host Alexa Gagosz gets some predictions from Jason Evans, the founding dean of the College of Food, Innovation and Technology at Jo...