The Common

In March, Boston's City Council voted 11-2 in support of a rent control plan proposed by Mayor Michelle Wu. The plan would cap rent increases at 10% for apartments in Boston, with some exceptions.  Now that the proposal has been approved by the city, it faces an uphill climb in the Massachusetts legislature as it seeks to become law. WBUR Senior Statehouse Reporter Steve Brown joins The Common to...

Spring is officially here, which means it's time to ditch the cabin fever, get out and revel in all the live events going on this month in Boston. WBUR CitySpace Assistant Director Candice Springer joins The Common to share her top local events to enjoy in April. Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

The Black population in Greater Boston continues to grow, especially in communities outside of the city, and it's becoming one of the most diverse Black populations of any metro area in the nation. This is according to a new report from Boston Indicators and Embrace Boston titled, Great Migration to Global Immigration: A Profile of Black Boston, which is out today. Report co-author James Jennings...

Crime and justice. Punishment and redemption. When it comes to even the most extreme crimes, how much prison time is enough? Marshall Project reporter Beth Schwartzapfel speaks with The Common about Violation, a new podcast from WBUR and The Marshall Project, which explores the nation's parole system, and the stories of the people entangled in it. Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and cul...

Last Tuesday, the city lost a giant. Activist, former politician and proud son of the South End, Mel King, died at the age of 94. King fought for working class people in the streets and on Beacon Hill, and he was the first Black candidate to make it to the general election in a race to be Boston’s mayor.  Local writer and historian Dart Adams joins The Common to remember Mel King, and for a look a...

For the last year or so, the company in charge of cleaning up the shuttered Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth has been slowly moving ahead with its plans to discharge contaminated  wastewater from the plant into Cape Cod Bay. But recently, opposition from area residents, activists and politicians has been heating up. WBUR Climate and Environment Correspondent Barbara Moran joins The Common...

Does the coming of spring put you in the mood to see a play? How about a film? Maybe a dance performance? You want to get out and explore the freshest art blooming in the Boston arts scene, but you're not sure where to start? Look no further than WBUR's Spring Art Guides, covering theatre, film festivals, art exhibitions, classical music, books, dance, and albums. WBUR Arts Editor Lauren Williams...

The wait for a new MBTA general manager is finally over. Governor Maura Healy announced Monday that Phillip Eng will take over the T, bringing with him four decades of transit experience in New York. WBUR Transportation Reporter Andrea Perdomo-Hernandez joins The Common to discuss what's ahead for Eng as he works to restore rider trust in a transit agency that has been ridden with service and safe...

The state is rechecking the eligibility of all 2.3 million Bay Staters who receive insurance through MassHealth, as the federal COVID emergency winds down. Hundreds of thousands are expected to lose eligibility for MassHealth, meaning folks will need to find alternative health insurance coverage. WBUR Senior Health Reporter Priyanka Dayal McCluskey joins The Common to walk us through this process,...

A new study from the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Agency finds stark inequities in access to the Blue Hills Reservation for public transit-reliant residents. According to the study, called Unlocking the Blue Hills: Addressing Equity and Access in the Blue Hills Reservation, a bus ride to the Blue Hills from neighborhoods just a few miles alway can take well over an hour, and include multipl...

In February, some chemical waste in a tractor trailer spontaneously combusted at a Clean Harbors hazardous waste disposal center in Braintree. By the time the fire was put out, three trailers of chemical waste had burned. Today, the impacts of this incident still aren’t fully known.  WBUR Senior Climate and Environment reporter, Miriam Wasser joins The Common to walk us through this incident and w...

It's Women's History Month. It's also the final days of Dine Out Boston, a two-week event that highlights local restaurants, and encourages people to explore the city’s dining scene. Editor of Eater Boston, Erika Adams join The Common to walk us through five must-try, women-owned restaurants in Boston and Cambridge, some of which are participating in Dine Out Boston, and for a conversation about t...

A new report commissioned by members of the Massachusetts Asian American Educators Association finds that Asian American students in Boston Public High Schools are more likely to report feeling an absence of belonging, and a lack of interest from teachers as compared to Black, Latino or white students. Go Sasaki is a co-author of the report “Truth from Youth: The Asian American Experience in BPS H...

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has announced that cities and towns must comply with the new MBTA Communities law, which requires municipalities to zone for multi-family housing near public transit access points. This comes after several municipalities have resisted the changes. Boston Globe Business Correspondent Andrew Brinker joins The Common to break it down. Greater Boston’s we...

Stavros Papantoniadis, the owner of the Dorchester pizza joint Stash’s, was arrested last week under disturbing allegations of abuse towards his undocumented workers. He’s also charged with one account of forced labor in federal court. The allegations at Stash’s are extreme. But worker mistreatment is more common than one might think. Pablo Carrasco is an attorney for Justice At Work, a Boston-bas...

Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed new guidelines regulating the presence of PFAS in municipal water systems. The proposal would require all U.S. cities to test for, and limit, the levels of six PFAS chemicals in drinking water.  WBUR Climate and Environment Correspondent Barbara Moran joins The Common for a deeper look at these proposed limitations, and what they mean fo...

Looking for a fun St. Patrick's Day activity? We've got you covered. Club Passim Marketing Manager and Boston Celtic Music Festival Director Summer McCall joins The Common to give a rundown of the best places to catch live Celtic music in Boston during St. Patrick's Day weekend. Check out Summer's full list of recommendations at WBUR.org Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

Earlier this week, local chef and James Beard Leadership Award winner Irene Li posted an Instagram Reel featuring a number of controversial comments made by celebrity chef Ming Tsai during a talk at WBUR CitySpace (moderated by Li). Today, Li joins The Common to move the conversation forward, with a broader discussion about culture and accountability in Boston's restaurant industry. Greater Boston...

We want to share a first listen of a new podcast we're working on at WBUR. Violation tells the story of two families bound together by an unthinkable crime. It explores America's opaque parole system and asks: How much time in prison is enough? Who gets to decide? And, when someone commits a terrible crime, what does redemption look like? Listen to the trailer and if you like what you hear, head o...

New Hampshire lawmakers are currently considering a number of bills that aim to restrict the rights of LGBTQ students and young people, particularly trans kids. GLAD attorney Chris Erchull joins The Common to tell us more about this legislation and what it could mean for LGBTQ youth in New Hampshire and their families. Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

Massachusetts lawmakers will soon consider a bill that would make it legal for someone to be committed to outpatient mental health treatment under court order. It's often called assisted outpatient treatment, and Massachusetts is one of only three states that doesn't have a law supporting it on the books. This type of court-ordered program has sparked fierce debate among mental health advocates in...

The Boston City Council has voted overwhelmingly in favor of Mayor Michelle Wu's rent control proposal, which aims to cap rent increases in the city. While the proposal has cleared the council, rent control is currently banned in Massachusetts, meaning the proposal will require approval from Beacon Hill in order to take effect.  WBUR Reporter Yasmin Amer joins The Common to break down the council'...

If you've been meaning to visit more of Boston's great museums, March may be the perfect month to do so.  Whether you're into contemporary dance, searching for some cooking inspiration, or just looking for a chance to learn something new, we've got you covered. Assistant director for WBUR CitySpace, Candice Springer joins The Common to walk us through some of the best special events happening in B...

Boston Logan Airport has been in the headlines several times in recent weeks due to a number of mishaps including an averted plane collision and a fender-bender between grounded aircraft. WBUR Transportation Reporter Andrea Perdomo-Hernandez joins The Common to tell us more about these incidents and related investigations. Editor's Note: A previous iteration of the audio version of this episode mi...

Missing the snow? You're not alone. People and wildlife alike are feeling the impact of a warmer, less-snowy winter. WBUR reporter Simón Rios joins The Common to discuss what this season's weather patterns tell us about our changing climate and what winters may look like in Boston going forward.  Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.