This is a special encore segment of Under the Radar. This originally published on August 6, 2021. Feeling the love? This year, people are toasting their sweethearts not with champagne or beer, but with rosé. Rosé producers are meeting the increased consumer demand with new styles — exciting wine lovers and making enthusiasts out of wine drinkers who declared they’d never go pink. Guest: Jonathon Alsop , founder and executive director of the Boston Wine School and author of “The Wine Lover’s Devo...
Feb 13, 2022•26 min
This week on Under the Radar with Callie Crossley : Many more Latinos are running for office and winning. But they still make up less than 2% of all elected officials in the country. Plus, most food delivery workers in New York City are Latino. They’re organizing to demand better wages and working conditions. And fans of Disney’s animated musical "Encanto" are praising the film for its multiracial Latinx cast. That and more on our Latinx Roundtable. Guests: Julio Ricardo Varela , interim co-exec...
Feb 06, 2022•31 min
CBD: three small letters behind 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 health conditions, especially pain and anxiety. But many researchers insist that the substance may not work, let alone be touted as a cure-all. Just what does the science say ab...
Feb 06, 2022•27 min
This week on Under the Radar with Callie Crossley: Four years ago, a movie called Crazy Rich Asians made waves in Hollywood. The award-winning film was a modern love story featuring an entirely Asian and Asian American cast — the first major Hollywood production with an all-Asian cast since The Joy Luck Club in 1993. The movie signaled a major step forward in the film industry. What originally seemed to be a small pop cultural phenomenon has since produced a movement in entertainment media, from...
Jan 30, 2022•58 min
Today on Under The Radar: A special exhibit at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston showcases the work of three local artists. They are the 2021 winners of the James and Audrey Foster Prize . The biennial exhibition is key to the ICA’s efforts to support local artists. The Foster Prize, which has been around for more than two decades, helps highlight the winner's artistry with specially commissioned works. The art produced by the three latest winners illustrates different mediums and perspe...
Jan 23, 2022•25 min
This week on Under the Radar with Callie Crossley : Voters will elect at least three new district attorneys in Massachusetts this year. Whoever wins will determine how nonviolent crimes are handled, and influence long-term criminal justice reform. Plus, the doomed voting rights bills have sunk on President Biden’s watch. Does this set the tone for his second year in office? And Massachusetts’ seven-termed secretary of state will face off against a formidable challenger: Boston NAACP President Ta...
Jan 23, 2022•32 min
This week on Under the Radar : As we approach Martin Luther King Jr. Day, there's new evidence that the civil rights icon’s life and the civil rights movement have been willfully misinterpreted. This is part of what’s become a public battle over teaching the documented history of race in America. What is the impact of this campaign of disinformation on civil rights and race history in America? Guests: Jeanne Theoharris , distinguished professor of political science at Brooklyn College of the Cit...
Jan 16, 2022•26 min
This week on Under the Radar : On this 39th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a look at the legacy and the future of the ongoing struggle for Black civil rights by the young people who’ve put it all on the line to lead it. Guests: Curtis Bunn , co-author of “ Say Their Names: How Black Lives Came to Matter in America ." Bunn is an award-winning journalist at NBC NEWS BLK and the bestselling author of 10 novels centering on Black life in America. Patrice Gaines , co-author of “ Say Their...
Jan 16, 2022•32 min
A booming variety of plant-based options are now available at grocery stores, restaurants and even fast-food chains. Bloggers, celebrities and chefs are reinventing their menus and recipes to make veggies the delicious stars of the meal. And the plant-based movement is no longer just for the privileged as affordable products have helped attract people with modest incomes. What's more, ordinary Americans are also touting other reasons to go plant-based: health, animal welfare and sustainability. ...
Jan 09, 2022•32 min
Ready to sip and savor? We hope you’ve brought your appetite! It’s a new year, and there’s an abundance of new food and wine trends that will be served up in 2022. It’s our food and wine roundtable! Guests: Jonathon Alsop , founder and executive director of the Boston Wine School and author of “The Wine Lover’s Devotional.” Amy Traverso , food editor at Yankee Magazine, co-host of GBH’s “Weekends With Yankee” and author of “The Apple Lover’s Cookbook.” Products discussed during the show: Plant-b...
Jan 09, 2022•26 min
This week on Under The Radar: Seven years ago, the Massachusetts Port Authority shook up the local real estate world. Plans for a new hotel on public land, overseen by the agency, would be the biggest to open in Boston since the mid-80s. But the agency's thumbs up for developers hinged on the inclusion of companies owned by women and people of color working as leaders on the project. Dubbed the “Massport Model," the inclusion clause helped forge new relationships beyond the project. The Omni Bos...
Dec 13, 2021•34 min
This week on Under The Radar: The MacArthur Foundation released the names of its Class of 2021 “Genius” Fellows this October. They join an exclusive group of previous Fellows who have demonstrated outstanding talent in their fields. American historian, professor and author Dr. Ibram X. Kendi is one of three local awardees, part of our series, “The Genius Next Door.” Dr. Kendi is America’s leading anti-racist scholar. A best-selling author and founder of Boston University’s Center for Anti-Racist...
Dec 13, 2021•24 min
The 1% and a billionaire tax are mainstream concepts today — but they weren't always so well-known. Back in 2011, Occupy protesters promoted these fringe ideas. The populist socio-political movement sprang up from the streets in Boston and elsewhere before becoming a massive international happening. Occupy’s message about social and economic inequality changed how many Americans think and talk about economic inequality today. Ten years ago, the protestors who flocked to Occupy Boston were consid...
Dec 06, 2021•33 min
“Bah humbug!” Scrooge’s familiar retort to Christmas enthusiasts doesn’t begin to describe Alex Bernstein’ s take on the holidays. In his new book, “ Miserable Holiday Stories: 20 Festive Failures That Are Worse than Yours! ” the author and humorist envisions a fictional world of offbeat characters caught up in the hurly-burly of a holiday season gone off the rails. In Bernstein’s homage to the scrooges and grinches among us, all is not merry and bright. “Miserable Holiday Stories” is the latest...
Dec 06, 2021•25 min
This week on Under the Radar: Harvard professor Dr. Marcella Alsan is a physician-economist and a member of the 2021 MacArthur “Genius Fellows” — one of three who are local. We talk with Dr. Alsan for our series, “The Genius Next Door.” She researches the effects of racial discrimination and the resulting mistrust of the medical field for historically marginalized populations. GUEST: Dr. Marcella Alsan is a member of the 2021 MacArthur Genius Fellows, and a professor of public policy at the Kenn...
Nov 29, 2021•25 min
This week on Under the Radar: George Wein, jazz promoter, musician and producer, died in September at the age of 95. The music impresario with local roots is best known for founding the annual summer Newport Jazz Festival. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Wein played piano and jazz as a child. Early on in his producer career, he opened the Storyville jazz club in Boston and in 1954 founded the Newport Jazz Festival, creating a blueprint for all subsequent music festivals around the world. Wein ...
Nov 29, 2021•33 min
Today on Under The Radar: Breathe in… and out… Easy? Not so much for Massachusetts residents, who inhaled 50 days of polluted air in 2020. Plus, with fall foliage comes piles of dead leaves and the ubiquitous leaf-blowers — environmentally conscientious consumers may want to rethink their use. And, we’re zeroing in on important takeaways from the UN Climate Change Conference this month. It’s our Environmental Roundtable! GUESTS: Beth Daley , editor and general manager of The Conversation, U.S. C...
Nov 22, 2021•31 min
This week on Under the Radar: Mutants, monsters, monarchs — and the beloved superheroes who battle them — populate the Marvel universe. These days, that fictional comic book universe draws fans beyond the faithful comic book nerds. Millions of enthusiasts eagerly follow the creative storytelling, which often inspires more questions than answers. How did it all come to be? In his new book, “All of the Marvels: A Journey to the Ends of The Biggest Story Ever Told,” author Douglas Wolk unravels the...
Nov 22, 2021•27 min
This week on Under the Radar: America has a recycling problem. Ever since China banned the United States' recyclables back in 2018, recycling centers in American towns and cities have struggled to manage the massive amount of waste. Not to mention paying for the infrastructure and processing costs of recycling. But a new law in Maine relieves municipalities’ financial burden by shifting the responsibility for the recycling costs. The law requires that producers of packaging waste, like Amazon an...
Nov 14, 2021•31 min
This week on Under the Radar: It’s Transgender Awareness Week, which is a time to reflect on issues facing the trans community, including representation in media. One space that is becoming more inclusive? Children’s literature. There is a growing catalog of books that center trans kids as main characters, and more stories that portray a range of experiences. Advocates want more trans authors and characters to be seen and heard. Guests: Kyle Lukoff , Stonewall-winning author of “When Aidan Becam...
Nov 14, 2021•26 min
This week on Under the Radar: Candidates of color made history nationwide this month, including right here in Boston where Michelle Wu became the first woman and person of color elected as the city's mayor. Voters also gave Boston City Council new powers to override some of the mayor’s decisions. Plus, Republicans took home some big election wins nationwide, including governor of Virginia; is that a bad omen for Democrats in 2022? Listen to a full hour with the Mass Politics Profs ! Guests: Erin...
Nov 08, 2021•58 min
This week on Under the Radar: The art world has been turned on its head this year. Visitor numbers to galleries plummeted as the pandemic forced shops to close their doors. The art world had to shift, kicking off a digital art craze. Back in March, a new record was set when a piece of digital artwork, by the artist Beeple, sold for $69 million dollars. The art was sold as a digital file, called an NFT, which stands for “nonfungible token” — a term that can apply to any digital collectible. Many ...
Oct 31, 2021•24 min
This week on Under the Radar: TikTok, the Chinese-owned app known for popular dance videos and creative tips for everyday tasks, has changed the way people go viral on social media. The video-sharing platform exploded in popularity during COVID becoming the world’s most downloaded app in 2020. With school buildings shut down, a generation of young people looking for connection and entertainment found it on TikTok, as did others captivated by the clever and amusing short films. Just this month, T...
Oct 31, 2021•33 min
This week on Under the Radar: The MacArthur Foundation named its Class of 2021 “Genius Fellows" earlier this month. The recipients join an exclusive group of previous Fellows who have demonstrated outstanding talent in their fields. The award acknowledges the Fellows’ demonstrated talent and potential as leaders in their fields. MIT professor Taylor Perron is a geomorphologist who studies the evolution of landscapes on Earth and other planets. He is one of the 2021 MacArthur Fellows, and one of ...
Oct 24, 2021•25 min
This week on Under the Radar : Netflix is reeling from backlash against comedian Dave Chappelle’s latest special, which critics say contains transphobic material. Plus, Hollywood celebrities from Adele to Jonah Hill speak up against fan obsession over their weight loss. And The Rolling Stones remove one of the most popular songs from their tour setlist over lyrics referencing slavery. Those stories and more on our Pop Culture Roundtable! GUESTS: Michael Jeffries is the dean of academic affairs a...
Oct 24, 2021•32 min
This week on Under The Radar: Few would dispute that The New York Times has elevated the age-old tradition of the wedding announcement to an important status symbol. Why, in these times, when many other social traditions have gone the way of the polar ice cap, do the announcements still draw enthusiastic readers? Author Cate Doty shares her insider’s view in her book, “ Mergers and Acquisitions: Or Everything I Know About Love I Learned from the Wedding Pages .” Guest: Cate Doty is a writer and ...
Oct 17, 2021•25 min
This week on Under The Radar: Pop the champagne! October is the most popular month to get married, according to The Knot , the nation’s leading wedding marketplace. And the wedding industry sure is on the rebound after more than a year of postponed pandemic weddings. That includes increased consumer demand for diamond engagement rings. Diamond sales shot up 30 percent from last year . Consumer demand coupled with COVID-19 restrictions led to global diamond shortages, and something else: a more v...
Oct 17, 2021•33 min
The Tokyo Paralympics were held this summer and American elite athletes, who have physical and neurological disabilities, medaled in competitions from archery to swimming. Paralympians like Breanna Clark who is autistic, the first female U.S. athlete to win gold for 400m track in 2016 and who broke a world record this summer in Tokyo. But had Breanna not been an athlete with access to custom training, she would likely not have been able to work out in a gym. Typical gyms normally don't accommoda...
Oct 10, 2021•34 min
When thinking about “fine art,” many minds immediately envision paintings by the likes of Monet or Van Gogh. But one artform – quilting – is finally being recognized as fine art, rather than just craft. African American quilters, in particular, are reclaiming the artform's history, after having been mischaracterized by scholars for decades. A new Museum of Fine Arts, Boston exhibition, “ Fabric of a Nation: American Quilt Stories ” features over 300 years of American quilts, and other visual and...
Oct 10, 2021•24 min
This week on Under The Radar: We kick off LGBTQ History Month with our LGBTQ News Roundtable. A local school committee member is under fire for her transphobic TikTok posts. Plus, is the state's child welfare system putting LGBTQ youth at risk? And, Rep. Liz Cheney admits she was "wrong" to oppose gay marriage. Guests: Grace Sterling Stowell is the executive director of the Boston Alliance of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Youth, or BAGLY . Janson Wu is the executive director of GLBTQ Le...
Oct 03, 2021•35 min
