The Fabulous 413

We express ourselves and local history, and at the center of that venn diagram in Amherst, is hats So we head to the town to see how its millinery legacy is being honored and explored in 9 locations in an exhibit titled Hats .  Anika Lopes of Ancestral Bridges shows us, through a number of the displays in businesses, museums and more, how the millinery industry of Amherst is tied to the black comm...

There’s been a lot of reporting on SNAP as of late, and its fate, and that of those who rely on it, as the shut down rolls into its 6th week. And although it’s been partially filled, there’s still repercussions for that and organizations that aid with food insecurity nationwide So we head to one of those organizations that is seeing the impact of the turmoil concerning the Supplementary Nutritiona...

We’re extending our reach, and for the first time in our nearly 3 years of this show, we venture outside of the 4 counties of western Massachusetts to a facility that is closely tied to the work that many farmers in the 413 do: the raising of meat animals.  We head to the other side of the Quabbin to Hardwick, just over the Hampshire border into Worcester County where Jennifer Core of CISA joins u...

We are generally arts and culture heavy and politics light, but seeing as tomorrow is election day, and many positions are up for grabs locally, we figured we’d put a pause in that and go all in on one of the last contested races in W. Mass So today we focus our attention just across the river from our studios at NEPM to the mayoral race in West Springfield.  We hear from the incumbent William C....

The veil is thin and thus we are getting down with the weird and uncanny, which ultimately is a mirror of ourselves. Which is to say that today, we’re getting all dressed up and festive for Halloween.  Even the Shea Theater is getting all dressed up and bringing folx into its transformed bowels for an interactive evening of performance. A Happening V is inviting the public into the venue to experi...

It is the spooky times, and as such it’s time to delve into the many uncanny fables new and old of the area with Folklorist, journalist, and explorer of the unexplained Jeff Belanger , who in addition to being our guide to the more interesting tales of New England, is also celebrating the release of his latest book: Wicked Strange , and two upcoming shows on our very own NEPM-TV.  We’ll also head...

It is not just New England’s prettiest season, it is very nearly the best time of the year.  To one of the hosts of this show, that means Franklin County Cider Days , which showcases all the ways the apple is integrated into the agriculture of the area, from sweet cider to hard, to classes on orchard stewarding and donuts and more.  We head to one of the events many locations: New Salem Orchard wh...

Today we meet the challenger for the seat of mayor in North Adams. Scott Berglund is a new arrival to the city, but is already full of ideas about its progress. We sit with the candidate to learn about this first foray into politics, especially as a relatively new resident, his views on housing, senior benefits, and some criticisms of the current administration’s projects and communication with th...

We turn our attention to a third city in western Mass that is having an election this year, North Adams The first of those candidates is the incumbent Jennifer Macksey, who is seeking a third term in the office. We’ll explore some of the issues that arose in a recent debate including housing, staffing, and transparency at City Hall, as well as hear more of how she’s currently leading the city into...

Today we revel in entertainment delights of many varieties  In Northampton, a heady melange of visual art, music, performance, and personal experience have come together for a series of performances that center a current exhibit. How to Bear the Unbearable Body is on display at the APE Gallery and each Friday of the exhibit has involved a performance related to the piece and we speak with Visual A...

Today, we dabble with our fascination of the darker elements of daily life A new series showing second wave noir films is starting at the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington. From Chinatown, to Night Moves, to Point Blank and beyond, each film takes the unrest in our culture and distills it and we’ll speak with creative director Ben Elliot and board member Emmy-nominated director Matthew Penn about...

Today has many meetings of culture. We speak with the third and final candidate for mayor of Easthampton: JT Tirrell ,  current councilor at-large, who has a unique perspective on the population and its growth as the only Easthampton native on the ballot. We’ll hear about his ties to the Williston Northampton School, the other public offices he's held, and visions for some of the public services t...

Today, we spend time with our second of the Easthampton mayoral candidates: Lindsi Sekula . She currently serves as the executive assistant to the mayor for the city, and was the very first to announce her candidacy. We ask about her vision for the office , especially now after working with two mayors, the importance of some of the city’s initiatives, and get her take on the temperature of a race...

Last month we got to talk with the mayoral candidates for Northampton before their primary, and this month we’ll look at the three candidates for the neighboring city of Easthampton who didn’t have a primary because they use ranked choice voting.  First up is the person who moved into the mayoral seat after former mayor Nicole LaChappelle vacated: Salem Derby. The last person to declare their cand...

We’ll head over to the 3 County Fairgrounds, the new home of Recordville’s Northampton Record Fair. Over 60 record dealers, vintage shops, and a lot more amenities come with the change in space, and we speak with organizers DJ Studebaker Hawk and Janice Chaka, as well as vendor Gio Zuniga whose Spin That Records will be tabling there about the changes and mainstays happening this weekend at their...

In Williamstown, four local businesses will come together to celebrate the season and how their respective avenues dovetail snugly with each other. The Cricket Creek Farm Fall Picnic happens this weekend, and we’ll speak with  Kat Hand of Berkshire Cider Project,   Justin Adkins of Wild Soul River ,  Chef Swifty of Door Prize and Anna Halpin Healy representing Cricket Creek Farm itself about the f...

Today has writing, reading, AND arithmetic.  The Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics has been ongoing since the College’s founding, established and fostered by the late professor emeritus David Kelly and encouraging innovative thinking for high school students. We speak with part of the filmmaking team that’s created a documentary about the program before you can watch a free screening...

Today we're heading to one of the most eastern points in Franklin County and a new work of theater that is seeking to bridge divides among us.  Swamped is a new work exploring family and connection in an incredibly intimate and nuanced ways and we speak with playwright and director Court Dorsey as well as actors Izzy Miller, Joe Laur, and Heather Willey about the work, about theater's place in the...

Today we've got some music to serenade the end of the week.  We’ll head to Northampton where a theater company has narrowed their focus performing only musicals. And this weekend they open with one of the more difficult offerings from Steven Sondheim. K&E Theatre Group takes on Sunday in the Park with George and we speak with members of the company explore challenges of putting on a show that...

We're creating the spaces for community to come together.  In the Berkshires, it's found in one of the country's oldest public gardens. The Berkshire Botanical Garden is getting ready for the autumn with its yearly celebration of the season, and will host its annual Harvest Festival this weekend. We speak with executive director Mike Beck about the festivities that people can experience on their g...

We're diving full on into the arts today, and bringing them from afar. On Thursday, Oct. 9, the Fine Arts Center at UMass Amherst will be launching its 50th anniversary season with an intrepid look at the very nature of our disposable inclinations. "Poems of Consumption" explores consumer culture post-COVID through electronic music with lyrics rooted in Amazon product reviews. The performance is t...

Today we're speaking with two folx making big plans for the future.  In Northampton, Smith College has just announced it's The Next 150 Pledge, wherein undergraduate students from families making less than $150,000 per year will have free tuition to the institution. We speak with current  president of the college, Sarah Willie-LeBreton, about this initiative through the lens of the alumnae and cur...

We’re looking at the many ways we care for each other. Including the connections between that care and the land. The novel "Harvesting Legacy: A Farm’s Journey" explores the fate of one farm as its steward ages and is no longer able to care for the parcel in his age as he once was. The book looks at the choices and paths afforded to him and we’ll speak with its author Michael Hutton-Woodland about...

This weekend sees two days of community storytelling that is focused on the experiences of women told in their own time and words. The Tell Her This podcast comes to Bombyx in Florence for two days of very different live storytelling experiences. We speak with its creator Rochelle Rice about the importance of these stories to the ways we learn about ourselves, and teach those coming after us about...

We’re taking a hard look at our communities to see where we might grow and grow better.  In Springfield for the past 50 years, that’s meant MLK Family Services , who’ll bring back their Social Justice Awards on Oct. 18 . But celebrating the change-makers in our area is far from all they do at the center. We're joined by President and CEO Shannon M. Rudder, and Ariana Williams, chief of public heal...