Under the Radar with Callie Crossley

Sixty years ago, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom inspired more than 250,000 people to gather for a public demonstration — at the time, one of the biggest marches in the country's history. The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his now famous speech, “I Have a Dream” at the Lincoln Memorial, just weeks after President John K. Kennedy called civil rights a “moral issue.” "I thoug...

The National Museum of the American Latino may be years away from officially opening, but it's already caught in America's culture wars. The attack has been led in part by Latino Republican Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, having proposed legislation to pull funding for the museum. " I'm okay with you criticizing how you view history. But do you have to vote to defund it?" said, Julio Ricardo Varela, presi...

50 years after its birth, hip-hop has become an integral part of mainstream American culture. With its roots in the voices of marginalized communities, hip-hop is reflected in everything from a rapping Pillsbury Dough Boy to dialogue in movies to speeches on the floor of Congress . "Hip-hop is a culture. It's a far-reaching culture. It's the most dominant youth culture on the planet," said Dart Ad...

If there ever was a time we all could use a good laugh, it’s now — as, all around us, the world seems to be on fire literally , and figuratively. For this special edition of “Bookmarked: Under the Radar Book Club," we’re delving into the world of humor on the written page — through the musings of contemporary humor essayists — those sharp and witty observers of everyday life who find the funny in...

Editor's note: This episode originally aired on Feb. 4, 2022. CBD — those three small letters have led to a billion-dollar industry. CBD, short for cannabidiol, is a compound from the cannabis plant that does not produce a high. People can consume it, vape it or apply it to their skin. Manufacturers are putting CBD in everything from lattes to lotions. Proponents say that CBD helps manage many hea...

Editor's note: This episode originally aired on Feb. 3, 2023. From heart disease to diabetes, chronic illness is the leading cause of death in the United States, and chronic disease is a major reason why the nation spends more than $4 trillion on health care every year. But a growing number of researchers believe reexamining our relationship with food is key to both improving our health and saving...

Local Black high schoolers will face off in a special competition at the 114th annual NAACP National Convention in Boston. Young scientists, musicians, dancers, and more will compete in one of 32 categories of ACT-SO, or Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics. ACT-SO's categories are wide ranging, from visual and culinary arts to STEM, and business. "If I see all of these,...

Hollywood’s writers and actors are on strike, together. For the first time since 1960, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), is striking alongside the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Without their labor, Hollywood productions have ground to a halt. "This is a moment of reckoning for the industry," said Michael Jeffries, professor of American studi...

The nearly years of anticipations for the new "Barbie" movie has sparked widespread enthusiasm for the 64-year-old doll. From Barbie-themed parties to Barbie-styled clothing, to visits to Barbie’s life-sized Malibu DreamHouse, Barbie is everywhere. Barbicore — and the "Barbie" movie itself — has put related items in short supply, like Barbie’s signature hot pink paint color . "We hosted a Barbie b...

Cities across the country are dotted with vacant lots — often overgrown with weeds, full of trash or surrounded by dilapidated buildings. The unused spaces are at best an eyesore. But some community groups see those empty spaces as an opportunity for food forests: vibrant, public spaces that can also feed their community. "They're open to all visitors. Humans and non-humans alike are welcome to th...

Many hold strong opinions about what barbecue flavor they prefer. Yes barbecue, not grilling. American barbecue hails from four different regions — Memphis, Texas, Carolina and Kansas City — each with their own distinctive style. Callie Crossley, host of Under the Radar , hails from Memphis where, as far as she is concerned, Memphis is the distinctive style. "For me, it's the layering of flavors....

Earlier this year, the Democratic National Committee broke with decades of tradition when they proposed South Carolina, rather than New Hampshire, as the first state to vote in the 2024 presidential primary. But, making those changes official typically requires approval from state legislatures and governors . Considering the New Hampshire Democratic Party chairman just declared the Granite state w...

Brendan Slocumb 's latest novel, “Symphony of Secrets,” centers the stories of Black characters who are deeply immersed in the world of classical music. The story takes place in two time periods. Dr. Bern Hendrix, an African American man, who uncovers that a famous opera may have been stolen from a young Black, autistic woman named Josephine Reed. "Symphony of Secrets" readers learn what happened...

For the first time, the USDA has approved lab-grown chicken meat. This could make a significant impact if it leads to shifts in the American diet, as the average consumer is expected to eat 100 pounds of chicken in 2023, about twice the expected amount of beef and pork. Dr. Gaurab Basu, director at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told Under the Radar that lab-cultivated meat's big p...

The Roxbury International Film Festival is back for its 25th year. Rox Fest, as it's commonly known, is the largest New England Film Festival that highlights films by, for, and about people of color. This year's program includes 84 films -- features and documentaries -- with topics ranging from unsung heroes to Boston’s Black Queer representation. Bianca Isaac, director of one of the festival's op...

For 12 years, sex education advocates in Massachusetts have been pushing for a comprehensive bill to become law. But for 12 years, that proposal has floundered. The Healthy Youth Act would standardize sex education in schools that choose to participate. Right now, sex education is “completely unregulated” in Massachusetts, said Jaclyn Friedman, chair of the Healthy Youth Act Coalition. “In some sc...

Indifferent. Working. Absent. Stereotypes of fathers as disengaged and unloving are common, and generally underscored with longstanding cultural images of dads as incompetent in the role as parent. But a cultural shift in how modern-day fathers interact with their kids is changing the image and role of fatherhood. "What we're seeing today is that these dads are saying, ya know, I'm not perfect but...

June 19th, 1865, marked the first Juneteenth celebrations. Formerly enslaved Americans living in Texas got the official word that they were free men and women that day -- more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Parades, and festivals will mark this year's federal holiday with community observances nationwide sharing the story of Juneteenth. But until relatively recently for many A...

Is it acidic and astringent? Or bright and brilliant? For many Americans, the world of fine wine can feel exclusionary because of the way we talk about wine. That's why some in the wine business are moving away from describing "earthiness" and whether a wine "has seen wood." "This kind of [language] is not just to alienate normal people. This kind of conversation is really very technical, like the...

From parades and parties to activism and protests, LGBTQ+ folks in Massachusetts and across the country are in the midst of celebrating Pride month. But Boston’s relationship with Pride has a complicated recent history. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the signature Pride parade and other events in 2020 and 2021. And in July 2021, Boston Pride, the group that organized the city’s p...

Summer 2023 is upon us, and we're ready to bury our faces in a book we can’t wait to read. As bestselling author Stephen King notes, “books are a uniquely portable magic,” and they're often on the move during the summer months: jammed into jean pockets, lining beach towels, and stacked up on vacation bedside tables. For our annual summer reading special, three local librarians return with their cu...

For over a decade, hundreds of volunteers have convened on the Boston Common to plant tens of thousands of flags in the leadup to Memorial Day. This year, 37,369 have been placed in the park, each one representing a service member from Massachusetts who gave their life since the Revolutionary War. The Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund created the event in 2010. The group "got together to say, wha...

Why bother saving for retirement when the world is ending? The climate change crisis, sky-high inflation and political turmoil are driving some young people to spend for today instead of saving up for an uncertain future. A recent survey found that nearly 75% of Gen Zers prefer higher quality of life than extra money in savings. Another revealed that 55% of people ages 18-35 have put saving for re...

“Join or Die.” It’s the urgent title of a new documentary about “America’s civic unraveling,” as the filmmakers describe it, arguing that the country’s long decline in community connections is undermining America's democracy. The film centers around the research of Robert Putnam, the retired Harvard social scientist, whose book “ Bowling Alone: the Collapse and Revival of American Communities ,” a...

The long controversial push for a proposed machine gun range on Cape Cod might be struck down by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The range would reduce the amount of time it takes soldiers at Joint Base Cape Cod to complete their training, says the Massachusetts Army National Guard — they currently have to travel hours to perform required small arms training . But the EPA's latest report...