Under the Radar with Callie Crossley

James Baldwin was the writer of some of the most acclaimed books in America’s literary history, an essayist whose nonfiction works masterfully reflected his work toward human rights and equality, and a Black political activist who went toe-to-toe with the white conservative intellectual William F. Buckley in a televised debate about race relations and who urged the civil rights movement to go even...

When it comes to leftovers, these days, any plastic – or glass – container will do. But for decades, that plastic storage container was Tupperware, created by Earl Tupper right here in Massachusetts. Though the Tupperware brand declared bankruptcy earlier this year, the name and the items have been ingrained in American cultural history. We speak with filmmaker Laurie Kahn about the story of Tuppe...

Residents of Fields Corner are upset about the opening of a chain restaurant. Can local businesses survive the arrival of a popular nation-wide pizza chain? Debt is declared as the MBTA’s most toxic problem, and it dates back to the early 1900s! Will riders ultimately be the ones paying to get the T out of the hole? And is it predatory lending or helping families stay in their homes? The latest in...

In this year’s general election the Sleeping Giant – Latino voters – awakened. Latino men were part of the coalition that catapulted President-Elect Donald Trump to a sweeping victory. Candidate Donald Trump promised mass deportation of America’s estimated 11 million undocumented residents; will it come to fruition? And in Arizona, where 33 percent of the population is Latino, Democrat Ruben Galle...

The holiday countdown is underway, and with it comes much anticipation of making the perfect turkey, whipping up the right sides and finding a great culinary gift. Our food and wine experts are here to tell us more about the latest food trends, what to sip during Thanksgiving dinner and how Advent calendars are appealing to the young – and the young at heart.

Food insecurity is a year-round problem, but as the holidays approach, what is often an invisible problem gets more public attention. Nearly 2 million Massachusetts residents are food insecure, meaning they don't have enough to eat or don't know where their next meal will come from. We speak with three members of Make Hunger History, a coalition of organizations, anti-hunger advocates and policyma...

Barbara Walters is known for breaking barriers in the world of journalism, but who was she behind the cameras? Susan Page, the Washington D.C. bureau chief for USA today who’s also a best-selling author, aims to answer that question in her latest book, “The Rule Breaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters” – our November pick for Bookmarked: the Under the Radar book club.

The Mass Politics Profs are back for one last hour-long all-politics special right before Election Day! Could Latinos, motivated by recent comments against Puerto Rico, turn out for Vice President Kamala Harris? Are former President Donald Trump’s anti-trans ads effective? And will we find out the results of the election on Tuesday, November 5 … or months later? All that and more on this week’s ep...

This year, the world commemorates 125 years of the iconic film director Alfred Hitchcock. Although Hitchcock died in 1980, his work continues to influence filmmakers to this day. And his movies like “Psycho,” “Rear Window,” “Vertigo” and “The Birds” are still considered some of the best films ever made. John Fawell, professor emeritus at Boston University, joins us to tell us more about the life a...

It’s likely most primary voters did not recognize one of the most contested races on the ballot – the race for Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County, which drew big money and high-ranking endorsements. It’s also likely that even the informed voters have no idea what Clerks of Courts do or why it is an elected position. So “Under the Radar” decided to go straight to the source – ca...

Mfoniso Udofia’s play “Sojourners” is the first in a series of nine plays that make up the Ufot Family Cycle. The plays are based on the real-life experiences of Nigerian-American immigrants and spans three generations. “Sojourners,” which starts at the end of October at the Huntington Theatre, kicks off a two-year presentation of all the plays in a unique city-wide and Greater Boston festival – t...

$17.8 trillion: That’s how much Americans owe in consumer debt. The biggest driver of that debt? Misunderstanding about how to use money. In a survey by the credit monitoring agency Experian, 3 in 5 American adults made financial mistakes because they weren’t money savvy. Experts are urging education for young people, including making financial literacy a graduation requirement. Will mandated fina...

In her new book, “Locker Room: A Woman’s Struggle To Get Inside,” Melissa Ludtke recounts the story of her groundbreaking legal case against officials in Major League Baseball, who denied women access to teams’ locker rooms. She won her case, and the ruling opened doors for the hundreds of female sports journalists who came after her. 

Our regional news roundtable is back with headlines from New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Cape Cod. This week: A new voter ID law in New Hampshire is causing confusion before Election Day, Rhode Island’s Washington Bridge saga, an offshore wind farm auction on the Cape and more!

The NBA started its pre-season games this week, and its regular season tips off on October 22. You've probably already seen NBA players dazzle on the basketball court. But what about on red carpets … walking backstage before games… or even on the catwalk? Author Mitchell S. Jackson has captured the NBA fashion evolution in his book "Fly: The Big Book of Basketball Fashion." Mitchell Jackson joined...

The 2024 presidential and statewide elections have brought renewed attention to voting issues – particularly challenges or limitations to certain citizens’ right to vote. For more than 4.6 million people living in the U.S., the right to vote has been taken away due to a felony conviction, with some states even placing lifetime bans on the formerly incarcerated. And with former President Donald Tru...

The Mass Politics Profs are back! This week: JD Vance and Tim Walz will face off for the only vice-presidential debate of the election season. Is this year’s VP debate more significant than past ones? Also, is anti-immigration, nativist narratives working for Trump, or are they pushing more voters toward Vice President Kamala Harris? And locally, John Deaton takes on sitting Senator Elizabeth Warr...

Our pop culture experts are back! After two Emmy ceremonies just this year, could the excellence in television award show be leading the charge on Hollywood’s diversity efforts? Meanwhile, the Country Music Awards have snubbed Beyonce, who received zero nominations for her critically acclaimed and record-breaking country album, “Cowboy Carter.” Plus, Kendrick Lamar scores the Super Bowl halftime s...

Author Kate Feiffer’s first adult novel “Morning Pages” is a play within a play: the main character is a playwright and much of her internal dialogue is on the page as scenes from a play. Moreover, she’s turned to a popular daily artist’s exercise to jumpstart her imagination. It’s fair to say that “Morning Pages” is pretty meta. All that as the fictional Elise Hellman is caught in a life’s passag...

In September, 1974 – two days after her 14th birthday – Leola Hampton boarded a school bus that would launch her into the heart of one of the most divisive and defining moments in Boston history: court-ordered school desegregation. She and her older sister, Linda Stark, were bused from their home in the predominantly Black neighborhood of Roxbury into the white, working-class neighborhood of South...

In 1964, Wendell Arthur Garrity was United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts – not yet a judge on the District Court of Massachusetts. Ruth Batson was a frustrated parent and civil rights activist – not yet director of Boston’s Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity, or Metco, the voluntary desegregation program. Louise Day Hicks was a member of Boston’s School Board – no...

Wednesday, September 11, 2024, marks the 23rd anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attack in history – 9/11. In the wake of the four coordinated attacks carried out by the Islamist extremist group, al-Qaeda, America went after the attackers and moved to reshape its strategy for national security. More than two decades after 9/11, do Americans feel terrorism is still the greatest threat? And what...

For 10 years, Oberon – the American Repertory Theater’s second performance space in Cambridge – was known to locals and visitors alike for “The Donkey Show,” a disco rendition of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The show closed in 2019, and in 2021, Oberon shuttered, too. Now, a new venue called Arrow Street Arts is taking over the existing space, and it’s kicking off its grand opening i...

Oceans, rivers and lakes are chock-full of thousands of underwater plants and algae collectively described as seaweed. Demand for seaweed — kelp, specifically — has exploded as scientists have confirmed its dietary benefits and its potential as a tool in the fight against climate change. From food to biofuel and everything in between, some experts believe this billion-year-old algae is the wave of...

Cellular and molecular biologist Jason Buenrostro is one of 2023’s MacArthur Foundation fellows. Buenrostro, who is also a Harvard University associate professor, studies the mechanisms that “turn on” genes, and is the pioneer of a popular method to assess chromatin accessibility across the genome. We spoke with Professor Buenrostro for Under the Radar's series, “The Genius Next Door.”