The Fabulous 413

We say goodbye to our intern Cenai Collins by chatting about his experiences with us, head to Colrain to chat with Justin and Katie Korby who have each won Good Food awards this year for their work in fermentation, and Word Nerd Emily Brewster drives us through the origins of words pertaining to traffic.  OH YEAH, and it's our 300th show. Go us!

We hang out with the bovine brood at Mapleline Farm in Hadley and hear how the sister team of Jessica Dizek and Jennifer Zima are stewarding the location's 120th year of operation, then cross the mountains to Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams to chat with president James Birge about the ecologies of higher education, especially at a time when small college closures loom largely....

Mr. Universe goes to a UAP convention and tells us all the unclassified details he can, we take a walk around the corner to see how the folx at RAD's volunteer bike shop ar helping the community ride better, and talk about the real effects the Mass Reconnect program has had on community colleges with Springfield Techinicall Community College president John Cook.

So much stuff was happening we had to do a whole extra episode about it!  We'll chat with the folx from Rachael's Table about their Outrun Hunger event in Forest Park, celebrate our families and ourselves with a new book from Leslea Newman getting a launch party in Northampton, and head to the Shea Theater in Turners Falls to celebrate some of the newest Americans with the program Immigrant Voices...

Erin McKeown and Spouse come in for Live Music Friday just ahead of their sold out show at the Iron Horse, we celebrate 20 years of universal marriage with a couple that was part of the lawsuit that made it happen, and head to Northampton to taste through Mary Taylor's catalog of wines in a thunderdome at Bottle-O.

We check out the only commercial poultry processing plant in western Massachusetts with the folx behind Reed's Farm in Sunderland, Word Nerd Emily Brewster zhuzhes up our vocab, and Congressman Jim McGovern talks about humanitarian developments, commencements in a time of wide protests, and more. 

We broadcast live from the opening show at the newly re-vamped and much improved Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton. We're joined by the performers from the first official show, Rachael and Vilray, their opener Taylor Ashton, Parlor Room Collective Executive Director Chris Freeman, and General Manager Neal Robinson to celebrate the occasion, discuss the importance of the venue to the area, and p...

We delve into the history of the iconic Iron Horse on the eve of its official opening with a wide swath of folx who've watched its evolution, head to great Barrington to take a tour of a facility built by an icon at the Guthrie Center, and check in with the Americorps workers of the organization All Love, who are throwing a community Field Day this Saturday in Holyoke. 

We chat with Mark Melnik of the UMass Donahue Institute about workforce disparity in western Massachusetts as the NEPM newsroom launches into a week-long exploration of the subject, local author and professor Naila Moreira celebrates the release of her new book "The Monarchs of Winghaven", and Mr. Universe draws parallels between the recent appearance of the Aurora Borealis and the protests at Uma...

We bring the Bay State's own bluegrass legend Peter Rowan to the studio for Live Music Friday, explore one of the oldest running quiz shows in american with Beth Ward host of As Schools Match Wits, enjoy a vertical wine thunderdome at State Street Deli Wine & Spirits, and delve into the work of the late Steve Albini with Time Eriksen and Peter Irvine of Cordelia's Dad who recorded two albums with...

We're back from vacation with two troubadours from the valley teaming up to bring South American and Iberian guitar styles to the stage at the Parlor Room in Northampton: Tony Silva and Russell Brooks, we reconvene with congressman Jim McGovern to find out not only the latest shenanigans on Capitol HIll but his take on the wave of protests on campuses across the US including at UMass Amherst, and...

We discover the collaborative arts program OneBeat, whose current cohort will perform at Bombyx on Sunday, delve into our local history with the folx behind History Fest at Westfield State University, and the region's own labor history with the documentary "At Sword's Point" which will air on NEPM this weekend.

We hand out with rising Americana artist Amythyst Kiah, prepare for Hampshire Pride this weekend with organizers Clay Pearson and Alden Peotter, and check out the connections between animation and classical music with the upcoming program "Bugs Bunny Goes to the Symphony" at the Springfield Symphony Orchestra.

We hear about a paint recycling program happening this weekend with the Northampton High School Key Club, check in with Senator Elizabeth Warren about some of the hotbed issues on her side of congress, and hear about a monthly poetry open mic night at 10 forward to help keep the National Poetry Month spirit all year long.

We head to the Berkshires to meet a winemaker encouraging everyone to drink more local wines, bring the noisy power trio True Jackie in for Live Music Friday, and bring Mr. Universe in for our chat with the poet laureate of the USA, Ada Limon.

We hear about the Pay it Forward Grant Program with folx from City Space in Easthampton, get a peek at the History of Salsa Event Happening at 33 Hawley in Northampton, and Congressman Jim McGovern finally gets to do some actual governing on Capitol Hill while also keeping an eye on the grown number of protests on college campuses across the US.

We check out NEPM's Newest Podcst with creator and reporter Karen Brown, find out more about Gateway City Arts recent sale to Alternative Education institution Lighthouse, and our resident wordster, Emily Brewster, untangles a reder question about homonyms.

We meet two of the three generations growing and brewing at Kosinski Farm in Westfield, get a tour and a temperature of the recently re-opened to the public Triplex Cinemas with creative director Ben Elliot, and walk to the beat of the Pittsfield Jazz Fest with Ed Bride of Berkshires Jazz.

We take a tour of the Springfield Municipal Recycling Facility with advisory board members Susan Waite and Amy Donovan in honor of Earth Day, and stumble into a brand new gem of a pizza spot in Great Barrington at Uva.

We chat with Payton Shubrick of 6 Bricks Dispensary in Springfield about changes to the marijuana landscape in Massachusetts, chat with Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black about the debut of the Spiderwick Chronicles TV series on Roku, and hear about Mary Jane Jones' 4/20 celebration at the Marigold Theater in Easthampton.

We chat with actor/director/producer Karen Allen about her career and more, head to Hadley to see the 50+ years of history that makes 20 Acre Farm what it is, and check in with US Rep Jim McGovern, who has a lot on his mind this week.

We hear about the history of the Solar Rollers and the wave of rallies and actions they've got planned for Saturday, and hear from poet Alex Woolner about the many ways her imprint Attack Bear Press is trying to get as much poetry into as many hands as possible.

For the first time ever in the show’s history, we are venturing outside the four counties of western Massachusetts. But the ties of the 413 are still strong in the places to which we’re headed. Restless Books in Amherst will release “The Book Censor’s Library” on April 30th; a speculative fiction novel that wrestles with a wealth of issues relevant to any democracy in crisis. Author Bothanya Al-Es...

We gear up for the Easthampton Film Festival with organizer Chris Ferry and filmmakers Christian Banda & KT Baldassaro, bear witness to and diseminate the newest verstion of the one character show "SUGA" at Double Edge Theater, And Mr. Universe breaks down what we really got to see during the eclipse.

We hear about the newest iteration of theater production "Across the Ninefold River" with members of the Unnameable Children's Project, gear up to celebrate 4-1-3 day with Liz Rosenberg of The Toy Box in Amherst, prepare ourselves for the tales of Valley Voices Best of show happening at the Academy of Music, and bring two natural reds to the wine thunderdome at the Leverett Village Co-Op.