Say More

If you ask Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley about her relationship with America, she doesn't mince words, “it’s complicated.” Pressley has come to develop strong feelings of patriotism that are rooted in love for American people and the promise of the American ideals of equality and justice. On this second episode of PATRIOTISM IS A VERB, Pressley discusses the verbs that are most patriotic to her: t...

This July 4th, liberals are faced with an awkward milestone. The country’s 250th anniversary requires our attention, and yet, the state of national politics brings only angst and despair. This month on Say More, we bring you the series PATRIOTISM IS A VERB, about the ways liberals who are uncomfortable with the idea of patriotism and reclaim their love of country. In this first episode, host Anna...

Despite every prediction of endless traffic, grumpy residents and societal collapse, Boston hosting the World Cup has been downright delightful. The biggest surprise for many has been the Tartan Army, a truly shocking influx of Scottish fans in our streets, drinking all our beer and eating all our ranch dressing. This week on Say More, Shirley Leung talks to Globe NFL writer Ben Volin who has been...

Scandal-ridden Graham Platner easily defeated Governor Janet Mills to become the Democratic nominee for US Senate in Maine. Will his controversies hurt him with voters? How has the Trump era changed the way voters respond to political scandal? This week on Say More’s politics panel, Globe opinion writer Abdallah Fayyad and Joan Vennochi compare Platner’s campaign to another scandalous Democrat in...

Dr. Elisabeth Marnik is not your average immunologist.  Because she grew up unvaccinated, she has a special insight into why people choose to opt out of vaccine schedules and what can be done to build trust and increase vaccine acceptance. This week on Say More, Dr. Marnik, who is also the executive director of the Evidence Collective, sat down with Say More’s Anna Kusmer to talk about vaccine man...

Comedian Alex Edelman is always striving to be better. He spent his childhood going to a yeshiva Jewish day school in Brookline Massachusetts, and now performs comedy on the world’s biggest stages. He’s well known for an award-winning Broadway show “Just For Us,” which recounts his covert visit to a white nationalist meeting in New York City. His new show is called “What Are You Going to Do.” This...

 Dr. Khameer Kidia is a physician and mental health researcher at Harvard Medical School and University of Zimbabwe. He headlined the Globe’s Health Equity Summit this year, discussing the ways that Western psychiatry fails to meet the demands of our unequal world. On stage with Say More’s Anna Kusmer, Dr. Kidia talks about using the wisdom of grandmothers to help alleviate mental suffering in Zim...

In his final days, Massachusetts political legend Barney Frank had harsh words for the democratic party. This week on Say More’s political panel, Opinion writer Joan Vennochi, and Globe Ideas writer Abdallah Fayyad discuss the salience of Frank’s final message, and what democrats can learn from him. With Say More host Anna Kusmer, they then discuss the problem with the proposed rent control ballot...

Barney Frank, who died last week at the age of 86, was one of the most unique and entertaining politicians of his time. Frank got his start in politics right here in Boston working for Mayor Kevin White in the late 60s. Journalist Chris Lydon introduced them. He was a Boston Globe reporter at the time, and now hosts the show Open Source at WBUR. On today’s BONUS episode of Say More, Chris discusse...

American legend Johnny Appleseed was from here. He hailed from North Central Massachusetts, just a couple miles down the road from Isaac Fitzgerald, a contemporary writer whose first memoir “Dirtbag, Massachusetts” told the story of his misspent youth in the teenage pregnancy capital of the state. This week on Say More, Fitzgerald joins Anna Kusmer to discuss his new book, “American Rambler” which...

Asians are disproportionately gambling at Massachusetts casinos. They are also disproportionately addicted, in debt, and in trouble. A recent Globe investigation found that casinos have extensive strategies to target Asians and encourage them to gamble more than they can afford. While the state spends millions to help with gambling addiction disorders, most of the resources are not reaching Asian...

We bring you a BONUS episode of Say More this week, because a debate is raging among Boston Globe columnists Larry Edelman and Shirley Leung. Larry wrote a column applauding Fidelity Investments for ordering its workers back to the office 5 days a week - saying this move is what’s needed to revitalize downtown Boston. Shirley wrote a rebuttal saying hybrid work is here to stay. Employees cannot go...

You might know him from his best-selling book “Say Nothing,” about the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Patrick Radden Keefe, a staff writer at The New Yorker, writes nonfiction page-turners about crime and family secrets. Keefe’s new book “London Falling” employs his signature story-telling magic to unravel the story of a 19-year-old kid who fell to his death from a luxury apartment building in Lond...

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict may be 5,000 miles away, but it’s also central to US politics at the moment, showing up in primary races across the country. Democrats are split, and many see it as a litmus test for other issues. This week on Say More’s political panel, opinion editor Jim Dao sits down with Ideas writer Abdallah Fayyad and editorial writer Shira Schoenberg to discuss American fore...

If you lived around Massachusetts in the 1980s, you might remember hearing ads for 1-877-JOE-4-OIL. Joe Kennedy II dedicated much of his life to delivering discounted oil to families in need through his organization Citizens Energy. Now his son, former Massachusetts Congressman Joe Kennedy III is picking up the mantle, and helping the organization shift to renewables – think solar panels. The youn...

For years, the New Bedford docks were home to one of the most notorious fraudsters in Massachusetts fishing history. His name is Carlos Rafael, but you might remember him as “The Codfather.” Besides being an exciting yarn full of conspiracy and crime, Carlos’s story ends up being a fascinating window into the challenge and perils of regulating fisheries in the US. This week on Say More, GBH News h...

Murder makes demands. It’s a phrase underpinning THE KEEPER, the newest novel by Tana French, an author known best for her Dublin Murder Squad series. French was born in Vermont, but grew up all over the world. She landed, finally, in Ireland, where she fell in love with the humor and story-telling culture. This week on Say More, French talks to host Anna Kusmer about her latest trilogy which meld...

For the first time in 30 years, a Boston policeman is facing manslaughter charges for the shooting of an unarmed carjacking suspect who was trying to flee in his car. With this move, in an important election year, Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden is garnering praise and condemnation. By his side, is Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, whose recent acts of political retribution are drawing parallels with her predeces...

Emily Oster, Brown University economist and author of ParentData newsletter, headlined Boston’s Globe second annual Working Mothers Summit this month. In a special live recording, Oster talks with Say More producer Anna Kusmer about why making parenting decisions feels even harder now than ever before. (Hint: social media isn’t helping) Oster, author of best-selling books EXPECTING BETTER and CRIB...

The sun was shining for the inaugural game this month of Boston Legacy, the city’s new women’s soccer team. While Legacy didn’t win their first match, optimism was high that finally, Boston may have a big women’s sports team to rally around. This week on Say More, host Shirley Leung talks to New Yorker sports writer Louisa Thomas about the progression of women’s sports, and what this team needs to...

Reporter Shirin Jaafari has covered countless conflicts across the Middle East. But now, for the first time, the neighborhoods of her childhood in Iran have become a warzone. Shirin has been covering the war for The World radio program at GBH, here in Boston, while keeping tabs of her family and friends back home. This week on Say More, she talks to Boston Globe opinion editor Jim Dao about what A...

Literacy rates in the US are shocking. Nearly half of the nation’s fourth graders cannot read at a basic level. Even Massachusetts, a leader in public education, reading scores have been falling. These disappointing results have fueled a bitter debate over how best to teach reading. And now that debate is fueled by another factor: artificial intelligence. Could tech tools help save more of our kid...

Why exactly did the Trump administration bomb Iran, and how will it affect the rest of politics? And what should happen to the powerful Massachusetts people who were chummy with Jeffrey Epstein after his 2008 conviction for sex trafficking? This week on Say More, Opinion Editor Jim Dao talks to Globe Opinion columnist Joan Vennochi and Ideas writer Abdallah Fayyad about whether age seems to matter...

It’s Rare Disease Week! And the Boston Globe held its second annual Rare Disease Summit, shining a spotlight on the 30 million people living with a rare disease in the US. In this BONUS live recording of Say More, we talk to Boston Children’s Hospital head of pediatrics Dr. Wendy Chung about strides in newborn genetic screening, and Bob and Bobby Coughlin, a father and son whose lives have been tr...

Deep sea explorer Edie Widder will never forget her first dive into the deep ocean. The second she turned off the lights on her submersible, she was met with a light show, “like the Fourth of July.” She couldn’t believe her eyes as blue sparks, swirls, and flashes filled her vision. The lesson was one she would bring through years of her career: the deep ocean is not a barren wasteland; it’s a vib...