The Fabulous 413

We’re learning skills to help the community through a near herculean amount of obstacles and circumstances We chat with Cathy Stanton, author of Food Margins which looks at the impetus, trials and tribulations of the Quabbin Harvest Food Co-op. This Saturday will see a celebration of the 10 years of collaboration between the institution with the Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust, so we sit with the author and co-op board member, as well as executive director at Mount Grace Emma Ellsworth, to chat about the storied history not just of the store, but of the food pathways for that region that make the co-ops appearance and survival so vitalWe're also joined by Kathleen Parks, one of the creative forces behind the band Twisted Pine and the duo Kat & Brad, but she’s got an incredible solo career as well, and a new album titled "Rolling Down the Line" coming out this week. So we bring the guitar, mandolin, 5 string fiddle player, and virtuostic singer into the studio to talk about the music she makes for herself before you can hear her in person in Lenox tonight. Plus we might have missed Mr. Universe on Monday, but that won’t keep Hampshire College and Kainaat Studios Salman Hameed from looking at the sky, and teaching us about the lunar tunnels that might be a viable alternative possibility for building structures for astronauts to reside in on the moon.

Sweet treats for the people!Which is exactly what we all can get at Flayvors of Cook Farm. 5 generations and 115 years in the cows are still coming home to their location in Hadley and we chat with generations 3 & 4, Debbie and Gordy Cook, about bringing ice cream into the equation, the virtues of their multiple prize winning herd, and how the times have changed lifting their cream to the top. It's in congregation as well. This weekend Springfield hosts the African Community Festival. The event celebrates the people, food, music, and culture of the African Continent and Afro-Caribbean diaspora, but is bringing much more than just that to Marshall Roy Park on August 10th. We chat with organizers Naefia Padi, Emmanuel Owusu, and Georgina Mensah of Unity Hearts Foundation, which is the organization that is helming the festivities, as well as Country Coordinators for Jamaica Doreen Dawes, Latoy McDowell, and Ali McDowell, and general coordinator Jammie Glen, and get to hear from their many voices the many ways in which this event enriches the community. And there's something sweet about the things you love being re-envisioned. Double Edge Theatre Ensemble member Tomantha Sylvester found herself cast as C-3PO for a brand new Ojibwe dub of "Star Wars: A New Hope." So of course we had to speak with her about the experience, how immersion in the language changed her view of the world, and why tools like these can be important to the preservation of our most endangered languages.

A whirlwind of information today. First up is Haydenville author David Daley, who arrives to talk about his latest book "Antidemocratic: Inside the Far Right’s 50-Year Plot to Control American Elections". The tome looks at pivotal cases that have lead to several recent decisions, including the undermining of the Voting Rights Act. With this election cycle being perhaps one of the most contentious in our lifetimes, many question the weight of ones vote, and we embark on a journey with the author to discover not just that the entire affair is more precipice than rabbit hole, but who the players moving this needle are and a bit of how they continue to do it. And this evening Amherst Cinemas will be showing the documentary “Common Ground”. The film takes a look at deteriorating soil health and ways to combat it, leaning heavily on the method of regenerative farming. So we’ll speak with Mary Johnson, Founder and CEO of the non-profit Regenerative Farms about how that process works and her organization’s global efforts to change agricultural practices. Plus we’ll bring in the listener who was so inspired by the film that they got us excited about it too.

We head out to Sheffield to sample the wares at Berkshire Mountain Distillers with founder Chris Weld and head distiller Will Wynn, look for the origins of our "love" of the game with Word Nerd Emily Brewster, and geek out for those of us who are unable to go to the ocean this weekend with beachy board games for Nerdwatch.

Today on the show, we're exploring the Americas. Yes, plural. There are two continents after all, connected by both peninsula and aspirations. And bringing traditions from south of us is Columbia's Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto, stopping by our studios before performing at the Marigold Theater in Easthampton this evening. The group has been bringing the sounds of cumbia, gaita, and porro to life since 1940, creating an incredible legacy through several generations, while bridging the same on stages across the world. Crossing borders, we find another story that starts in El Salvador and ends with a 15+ year tenure at a restaurant in Hadley that has become an institution. We head to Alina's to chat with owners Maritza Amaya-Branche and Martin Amaya and discover how an injury and a trip to meet family has turned into a 30 year career, and how community has become an integral part of how they operate. And Congressman Jim McGovern has Olympic fever like the rest of us, especially with one of his constituents winning a bronze medal, but he's also tackling being sanctioned by China (!!!), contemplating the hullabaloo with the National Association of Black Journalists and the former president this week, and fielding a listener question about VP Kamala Harris' position on Palestine.

We accidentally get extra collegiate on the show today. Hampshire College's Salman Hameed talks about the possible answer to Bowie's decades old question: "Is there life on Mars?" Rocks have been collected that show possible signs of life, and Mr. Universe helps us to explore more deeply the methods and answers that we are still seeking to all of those questions. Clark University's Ousmane Power-Greene joins us to talk about the 19th century celebrations in Northampton of Britain's Emancipation Day. There's good abolitionist reasons for this, it turns out. And in addition to getting a glimpse of what some lucky fall semester students might learn from the professor in the coming semester, we discover that not all of the town's population was as eager to celebrate our former motherland's reckoning with the slave trade. And it was super dreary outside today, which makes those moments we get to go outside and enjoy the beauty there all the more important. There's a local organization that's made it their mission to make sure everyone of every ability can also enjoy the outdoors, through adaptive trails, techniques, and technology. We visit with friend of the show and ADA expert Christos Palames, and Karen Foster, executive director of All Out Adventures, to find out more of the ways they are helping the great outdoors be a place for everyone.

We head up to Mass MoCA to hear new sounds from explorative artists. For weeks a cohort of virtuosos have been incubating in North Adams and on August 1-3rd, the public will have a chance to hear some of the many pieces of music they've been working on. We hear members of Bang on a Can All Stars: Pianist Vicky Chow and cellist Nick Photinos, and hear from bang on a can and loud weekend founders Michael Gordon and Julia Wolfe, about the appeal of opening ones ears, and the inspirations that can be found in the many halls of the museums campus, including from instruction itself.

We sit with Owen Elliot-Kugell, who has just written a memoir about her life, which inherently covers a good portion of her mother's life as well. "My Mama, Cass" taps family and friends of Cass Elliott, most famously known for her work with The Mamas & The Papas", and combines their knowledge with the memories and experiences of Elliot-Kugell for a well rounded look at both women's lives, and a deeper explanation of the book's 413 connections. And singer-songwriter M. Ward is taking stage at the Iron Horse this evening. September will see the release his newest album, "For Beginners: The best of M. Ward", and in addition to hearing some of those songs, we get to ask the man about boat videos, guitar tunings, and inspirations from dreams and more.

Everyone is going through some things. Today we hang out with some folks using music to help that process. And that starts with a 200+ member multi city chorus that will be embodying the music of Queen this weekend in a concert at the Academy of Music. Rock Voices started small but is clearly mightier now, and we talk with some of the members to hear how the group has helped them and the greater community to blossom in it's tenure. We then mosey down the road to the A.P.E. Gallery, where Marcia Gomes is showing a choreographed reading of her musical-in-progress: "Keep Your Heart Open". The work centers on a family of women working through generational trauma to help their youngest members, and we chat with the creator about the impetus for the work, and how serendipity and community are still helping to make it better. The imaginative neo-soul sounds of Madison McFerrin are headed to Greenfield for it's free concert series on Friday Night. So we speak with the third generation professional musician about making music in her extremely talented family, how she works within to tackle issues that arose because of and during the pandemic, and the importance of a well crafted, fully intentioned album.

We meet some of the folx behind THCC: The Heavy Culture Collective which is bringing more of the underground music scene together for both networking and finding new places to play. Jen Krassler of Flora and Fauna farm stops by to tell us about some exciting innovations happening at the Easthampton Farmers Market, which she manages, and Congressman Jim McGovern is a little hopeful. For reasons.

We're always interested in folx taking their work farther. Or is that further? Word Nerd Emily Brewster, Senior Editor at Merriam Webster launches us into a discussion about the origins and differences between the two words to see which one goes where. But theater is definitely being pushed further in Ashfield, where the immersive Summer Spectacle from Double Edge Theater is starting its sold out run (although you can put yourself on the waiting list if you would like!). "The Heron's Flight" is inspired by the grounds on which the troupe makes their home, and we talk with co-artistic directors Jennifer Johnson and Travis Coe about the ensemble's process, how the land affects the work inside and out, and the nature of myth. And music that pushes our ears farther is being performed in the Berkshires this weekend. The Festival of Contemporary Music runs July 25th -29th on the grounds at Tanglewood, and each day's program through the festival's run will include a different work of Grammy-award winning composer Steven Mackey. So of course we can't pass up a chance to sit with him to talk about teaching, his journey to "classical" music, and the moments in sound that can perk up one's ears.

It's nearly someone's birthday!So we head to the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home to celebrate the person responsible for making this area part of the BSO's year round performances: Serge Koussevitzky. Live from the Tanglewood grounds we speak with Bridget Carr, Director of Archives and Digital Collections at the BSO about the maestro's history, with Anthony Fogg, VP of Artistic Planning about the specific activities happening this weekend in Koussevitzky's honor, and hear a bit of one of the maestro's double bass compositions from BSO principal double bassist Edwin Barker, accompanied by pianist Debbie Emery and on Koussevitzky's very own bass.

We love music around here. And it's about the time that Amherst Cinemas launches into its summer series Sound & Vision, which looks at music through a cinematic lens. We speak with George Myers who does programming for the theater about the films that are coming to Hampshire County each wednesday through September, and hear how seeing the many perspectives and genres on screen can open up our perception of the music we love. Maestro Thomas Wilkins, who in addition to being the artistic advisor to the BSO is principal conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Chair of Conducting at Indiana University, and so so much more. Each summer finds him in the Berkshires helming a few carefully crafted programs for folx of all ages, and instructing the conductors of the future in their craft. We get a chance to talk with him about his unlikely origins, diversifying the field, and how orchestras can be used to build community. And we got another suggestion for Pizza Quest, so volume IX of our journey takes us to the hilltown of Ashfield where we try out Country Pie with a large swath of the Belmonte family.

Chris Pureka joins us for Live Music Friday just before their show at the Egremont Barn tonight, Barry Goldstein lets us in on what he learned in this past week covering the RNC for NEPM's series "Red in a Blue State", and the Tina Turner Memorial Wine Thunderdome reads the signs on the horizon to see that it's gonna be good grilling weather, so Table & Vine Ambassador Michael Quinlan busts out some Rhone-inspired California reds that'll go great with whatever hits your barby.

We're digging into the political sphere today. Folk punk author and humanist Billy Bragg joins us to talk about US and UK Politics, the rise of populism, and the evolution of his own work and views over his 40+ years of making music as he prepares to play at the Academy of Music in Northampton this coming Tuesday, July 23rd. Our weekly chat with congressman Jim McGovern delves into the question of whether President Biden should continue to be the democratic nominee and other pressing issues facing the nation writ large.And to wash a little of those politics out of our hair, we head to North Adams to hear about the free summer music program happening. Mass MoCA’s Director of Performing Arts, Sue Killam and General Manager for the Performing Arts, Addison McDonald join us to talk about their Chalet Series happening each thursday through the end of August.

Today is all about sweetness. It's in the bounty at Yellow Stonehouse Farm in Westfield. As the only certified organic farm for produce in Hampden county, and a CSA program that meets more needs than many, owners Connie Adams and John Kelch have side-stepped back into agriculture providing healthy options for folx, a safe haven for ecologies to blossom, and much much more. And it is literally the name of comedian Dulce Sloan. As if years of being a part of The Daily Show and Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me wasn't laudable enough, she's released a book of essays earlier this year titled "Hello, Friends". We speak with her about her arrival at comedy, and writing, and how important it is to lift up those whose work you love. And perhaps it is in our confusion at our attempts to be that sweetness. Word Nerd Emily Brewster takes us on a winding journey to untangle the meanings of "sympathize" and "empathize", and we feel for the struggle we all have in telling the two apart.

Today on the Fabulous 413 is a first for us because we’re pointing all of our focus on one tiny organism and making a big show about it. We're taking the time to focus on a very tiny arachnid can make a really big impact on our health and the whole laboratory in Amherst that studies them Director of Education at Tick Report Paul Killinger gives us an overview of the impact ticks can have on the population at large, and informs us about the worst times for ticks and some best practices for keeping them away from you. We also get to see the process of ticks coming into the lab from all around the world to be cataloged and examined and learn about some of the things that they’re studying that AREN’T ticks. Plus we get a chance to hear how they're managing the outreach they’ve been doing to bring more awareness about ticks to the greater public, and get up close and personal with the process of testing that they offer to the public, while discovering ways their knowledge about these tiny creatures has grown and shifted over the years.

It may be Monday, but we're still thinking up good ways to get down in the area. Take for instance a chance to hear a veritable ton of heavy music heading to the woods of Millers Falls. RPM Fest takes place during Labor Day weekend bringing metal, rock and punk bands from all over the Bay State and beyond to western Mass. to elevate the volume for three days of music, food, and more. We chat with founder and organizer Brian Westbrook about the strength of the local metal scene, the need for a festival in the area, and how you can learn more, and get tickets, at an event they're throwing at Prodigy in Easthampton this Sunday, July 21st. And speaking of Easthampton, a new event space is opening up in Eastworks, started by one of the city's own. The Jupiter Club opens this Thursday July 18th, occupying one of the larger spaces of the mill building's first floor, and seeks to offer more to the greater community than meets the eye. Proprietor Sean Mitchell joins us to chat about opening a new spot, his memories of Easthampton of the past, and how this venture fits into the future that the city is envisioning.Plus Mr. Universe, Hampshire College astronomer Salman Hameed, eschews the news cycle to break down the pursuit of that most elusive of black holes: neither small nor supermassive, but somehow perfectly inbetween the two.

Summer brings wicked fun festivals with it, and this weekend brings the return of two extra fun ones. There's Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival, the main portion of which happens July 12 & 13th. The free music celebration has been going on for 10 years, driven and created by the Blues to Green non-profit, and has been getting bigger and better every year. We sit with Bianca Jimenez, project manager at Blues to Green, about the specific growth this year has seen. We hear live music from local hip-hop artists T'Swan and Talynt who'll be performing at the festival, and get to totally fangirl out with one of the headliners of the festival, Grammy award winning artist Lisa Fischer.A little further north an idyllic stop in Franklin County brings us the Fifth Shelburne Falls Porch Festival. There's around 50 locations at porches, lawns, and business fronts that will feature music, art, and performances of all sorts, and we're joined by a pair of locals who can help us wade through the plethora of activities the town will be sharing with everyone on Sunday, July 14th. Poets Lauren Schmidt and Martín Espada will both be reading as part of the events of the festival, so we hear work from each of them, as well as a little history for the festival itself.And it's been a minute since we've had a Tina Turner Memorial Wine Thunderdome, so we head back to the location where all our uenophile adventures began: State Street Fruit Store, Deli, Wine & Spirits. We bring along an extra taster: NEPM reporter Nirvani Williams, to help us make sure that this contest between two wines with grapes we can't pronounce, from places we can't locate* has a clear winner. * Shot out to the Montague Bookmill for having such a good motto we had to contort it to our own purposes.

Our guest Juliana Merullo created for senior capstone project at Brown University, a long-form audio piece looking at the impact of the July floods on Western Mass farmers, the recovery efforts (including state and community support), and these farmers' fears moving into the next growing season. We felt that everyone should have a chance to listen to the episode in its entirety, and so we're posting the full piece here! It's titled "Deep Water".Thanks so much to Conway native Juliana Merullo for her thoughtful piece on the subject, and her appearance on our show. Check out more of her work at Possibly Podcast, The Publics Radio out of Rhode Island, and Atlantic Public Media. *Contains explicit language*

It's the anniversary of one of the worst agricultural disasters western Massachusetts has seen in years, so we look back at the floods of July 2023, and their aftermath with Piyush Labhsetwar, Farm and Land Stewardship Manager for Grow Food Northampton, who we interviewed immediately after the waters rose, and reporter Juliana Merullo who created a piece about the floods as her capstone project at Brown University. We also head to Feeding Hills to see how this year is treating E. Cecchi Farms with third generation proprietor Bob Cecchi, and revel in the bounty showing up in their farm store right now. And Rep. Jim McGovern reminisces on the response, or lack thereof, of the Federal government to last year's crisis, and looks ahead to possible crises on the horizon.

We head to Great Barrington to check out the Berkshire Film & Media Collective and it's executive director Diane Pearlman, who has made her own moves through the film and effects industry and is hoping to teach more folx to do the same with their initiative for Kemble St Studios. We also hunker down with a gritty, visceral, multi-faceted horror novel. Cuckoo is the latest work from Massachusetts based author Gretchen Felkin-Martin, and we speak with her about the nuances of horror, the real-life inspirations for the story, and more before we all have a chance to get our books signed at her event at Comics-N-More in Easthampton this Saturday, July 13th. And we discover that Word Nerd Emily Brewster is managing the team behind Merriam-Webster's "Word of the Day" column. So we get some insight about how it works and how influential it's become over the past 25 years

Today is about reemergences. One of those is with Hannah Mohan, formerly of the band And The Kids and Topsy, who is on the verge of releasing her first truly solo album. "Time is a Walnut" comes out on July 12th and will be celebrated with a concert at the Iron Horse on July 12th, so we bring the ingenue into the studio to talk about the evolution of her song writing, writing in community, and hear a few selections from the new LP. Another is a new collaboration that features a new venue to western Massachusetts: 52 Sumner. The location has just entered an agreement with the Springfield Chamber Players (also known as MOSSO) to be their home for the 2024-25 season, so we speak with Angela Park of Springfield Performing Arts Ventures Inc. and Mark Auerbach, Director of Bookings, Marketing, and Public Relations for MOSSO, about each of their organizations, and how this collaboration between the two can bring more art to more people in the 413.

And in the summer, all of western Massachusetts a stage. We have the opportunity to meet a few of the thespians creating and developing works in the area. There's a single performer show written and performed by Jay Sefton, that deals with a difficult subject with humanity and humor. "Unreconciled" The play chronicles a survivor’s journey as he confronts his past and discovers the courage to use his voice and redefine what reconciliation means, and we talk with Jay, as well as NEPM Reporter Nancy Cohen who has both covered the previous production and participated in post-show talkbacks on the subject matter, about what this version of the show is bringing to the Chester Theater. Then we head to North Adams to immerse ourselves in an emerging theater project that takes a pair of people through the exhibits at Mass MoCA. "Where I end & You Begin" is the latest work of Eggtooth Productions. It's been intermittently offered at the museum throughout the year, so we take a quick break to experience it ourselves and speak with creators John Becktold and Ali Ross about the many connections they and the folx signing up to participate have discovered. And Mr. Universe, Salman Hameed builds up our hopes for cosmic migration with information about the lego brick inspired ideas for modular housing and buildings in space.

A holiday bonus revamp of all the EXTRA stuff we did at solid sound, including a chat with Mark Greenberg, studio manager of The Loft- Wilco's Chicago recording studio, extra songs from Americana/roots harpist Mikaela Davis, and a quick glimpse at the future director Kristy Edmunds has pictured for Mass MoCA and its place in the arts in the Northern Berkshires.

We speak with journalist, teacher, and author G. Mike Dobbs about his memoir "What They Didn’t Teach You in Journalism School: The Memoir of an Ink Stained Wretch", hear from Ex. Director Brian Boyles and board member Aaron Vega about Mass Humanities and the organization's recent move to Holyoke, and stuff our faces full of the blueberry bounty at Birdhaven Blueberry Farm with proprietor Emily Endris.

It's summer reading season, so we speak with two local authors about their recent works: Rachel Lyon's re-imagining of the Persephone myth with "Fruit of the Dead" , and astronaut Cady Coleman's memoir "Sharing Space". We also sit with NEPM Reporter Jill Kauffman to explore her contribution to the New England News Collaborative's series on fun summer trips across most of the 6 states in the region.

America's birthday is this week, so we speak with someone about to become one of us, Rosa Cuevas Ortiz, Naturalization and Immigration paralegal Harleen Kaur Multani who helps with the process, and director Laurie Millman who's organizing their annual naturalization ceremony in Northampton this July 4th, we corner our musical hero Nick Lowe at Solid Sound to gush over his works and elate, and Mr. Universe, Hampshire College's Salman Hameed teaches us about that one time when a blinking light in the sky showed scientists how quasars, and galaxies, turn on.

We head to North Adams to speak with the folx behind the biyearly festival at MASS MoCa, Solid Sound! In this eighth iteration, we hear from Wilco founder Jeff Tweedy, his sons Spencer and Sam, Wilco Drummer Glenn Kotche and his band mate from the freeform Saccato Quartet Darin Gray. We also chat with podcaster/musician Hrishikesh Hirway of Song Exploder, listen to the melodies of the amazing Americana harpist Mikaela Davis. All to hear just a little bit of what keeps bringing people back to the Berkshires every other year.

We speak with Emerson professor Bob Nesson, whose film "Holding Up the Sky", a documentary about the post prison evolutions of two ex-cons in Boston, is showing in Orange this weekend, check in with Rep. Jim McGovern about his visit with the Dalai Lama, tonight's debate, Julian Assange and more. And our favorite itinerant bartender, Sean Billson, swings by the studios for a cocktail thunderdome impromptu. GUADALA-PRAGUE DEUX1.5 oz Slivovitz1.5 oz Gin.75 oz Fernet Vallet1 oz grapefruit juicejuice of 1/2 limemix together, add ice, shake, strain. Le Pin2 oz Hennessy.75 oz Zirbenz.25 oz Fernet Vallet.5 oz orange juice.5 oz lemon juiceMix together, add ice, shake, strain.

Local author and illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi stops by to talk about the latest tv adaptation of one of his novels: Apple TV+ series "Wondla", we sit with writer/comedian/podcaster John Hodgman to discuss his New England connections, and the fellow funnymakers that will join him in the Comedy Cabaret at Solid Sound this weekend, and Word Nerd Emily Brewster is a ton of fun, but is she funner or the most fun? And why do we have strong feelings about which sounds more right?

We speak with singer-songwriter Mon Rovia about their work and past at the Green River Festival, Antenna Cloud Farm director and curator Michi Wiancko walks us through their plans for the 2024 season which opens this weekend, and Benjamin Bland of Mass in Motion Springfield shows us how many groups can come together to make better food and physical activity policy happen in Western Massachusetts.

Pizza Quest VIII lands at Roberto's Pizza in Sheffield, we share our tiny but mighty pop-up with Philadelphia band Snacktime from this past weekend's Green River Festival, and Mr. Universe, Hampshire College's Salman Hameed breaks down universe contraction and expansion through the furthest galaxy from us that has ever been observed.

It's our live show from the Green River Festival Roundhouse! We're joined by new festival director, John Sanders, and two of the acts performing Friday sets at the Festival: Twisted Pine, and The Nude Party's Patton Magee.

We check in with the 5th graders and one of their teachers, Tim Austin, at Fort River School in Amherst to discover their civic engagement class which has them interacting with issues affecting folx in the Bay State and beyond, head to Florence to talk with Clara Li about the downshift from Great Wall restaurant to her family's new restaurant, Little Wall and how local produce impacts her menu, and Representative Jim McGovern, and hear an AI generated song about Northampton.

We take a tour of the many sustainable and innovative happenings at the Hitchcock Center for the Environment, and learn about a thirst quenching fundraiser they'll have on the 20th, continue our journey at Mumbet Freedom Farm in Sheffield, and check in on the high spirits of NEPM reporter and Celtics Fan Kari Njiiri as team clinched the title this week.

Mr. Universe returns from Pakistan on Eid to tell us about the difference between novas and super novas, we chat with David Blood and Alex Torres of Fame Lounge and Eatery in Holyoke about their Pride Block Party happening in tandem with Holyoke Pride, and we head up to Memorial Hall Museum to check out an exhibit about the history of the Green River Festival with festival founder Jim Olsen and museum curator Ray Radigan

We head to the hilltowns to hang out in a woodshop with two black woodworkers in Franklin County, Sam French and Charles Thompson, and hear about their experiences in western Mass, sit on the bestest couch ever at Wistariahurst Museum in Holyoke while we chat with executive director Megan Seiler about their Wisty Wednesday series and it's extra special Juneteenth edition coming up, and Mary Daire of Dare Bottleshop & Provisions meets up with us to taste Loire Reds at their new store in Great Barrington.

We speak with musicians and educators Patrick Dailey and Tim Eriksen about "Jubilee: A Juneteenth Concert of Early American Music" happening at Historic Deerfield, and Clark University professor Ousmane Power-Greene wades us into the murky historical context of Juneteenth and the many ways freedom used to be celebrated.

We hear from the team embarking on a mission to restore a third Nelson Stevens mural to Springfield's Mason Square: Napoleon Jones Henderson of Afri-Cobra, and Britt Ruhe and Springfield artist SELF of Commonwealth Murals, sit with the Franklin County Pride organizers to hear about their celebrations this weekend, and Word Nerd Emily Brewster is totally alright, and helps us understand why both spellings of the phrase are also all right.

Carrie Ferguson takes a small break from their Grumpytime Club to throw a Pride Kickoff party at Hawks and Reed this Friday that will also celebrate the release of their new single "The Many I Am", we chat with writer/director/producer Julian Lowenthal about the Franklin County shot and conceived movie "Money Game" which will have a week long residency at Greenfield Garden Cinemas starting June 14th, and it's peak strawberry season, so we head to Hadley to sample nature's bestest candy with Joe Czajkowski of Lakeside U-Pick.

We speak with author and Greenfield native Essie Chambers who'll be coming to Odyssey Books to celebrate her debut novel "Swift River" on June 13th, get ready to party with the LGBTQIA2+ youths at queer prom in Holyoke, and get a tour of what's growing at Mumbet Freedom Farm in Sheffield with its lead stewards: Sunder Ashni and Adrian Seneca Bello.

We speak with Jo Clifford, author and performer of "The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven" who'll be be making her US premier of the work in Northampton this weekend, Live Music Friday brings multi-wreckage player Suitcase junket to the studio just before his show at the Iron Horse on June 8th, and drink beachy coastal white wine with our Franklin County Wine Friend and Sommalier Ken Washburn, who brings an extra friend of his own.

We hang out with Buffalo Tom, whose UMass Amherst origins brought them back to the area to celebrate their latest album Jump Rope, and dig into their longevity, day jobs, and the incestuous natures of local music scenes, and Congressman Jim McGovern gets into those felonies a little more and all the other fallout since that Capitol Hill has endured.

We hear from Damany Gordon of Genuine Culture LLC about their upcoming event on House Music which will center two of the genres pioneers, chat with the illustrious and multi hyphenated Dr Nell Irvin Painter who will be speaking at Bombyx this weekend about her latest collection of essays and her ongoing work on the life of Sojourner Truth, and Word Nerd Emily Brewster speaks up about silent letters in words.

We speak with the organizing force behind Chicopee's only Farmers Market: Center Fresh Farmers’ Market, meet with the CEO of Trustees of Reservations Katie Theoharities and discover the many ways that group is preserving important cultural and ecological sites for us all to enjoy, and hear a little asparagus science with the duo behind Tumble Science Podcast for Kids from this past NEPM Asparagus Festival.

We talk with SSO President Paul Lambert and jazz legend and NEPM Host of Jazz a la Mode Avery Sharpe about the upcoming Springfield Symphony Orchestra program for Juneteenth, and revisit some of our adventures this past weekend at the NEPM Asparagus Festival in Hadley with State Senator JO Comerford, MDAR Commissioner Ashley Randle, and a whole lot of folx learning how to properly bunch asparagus competitively.

It's nearly the NEPM Asparagus festival! So we chat with Supicha and Phil Hillenbrand of Thai Chili Food Truck about the growth of their business and what they'll be bringing to the Hadley Common this weekend, hear from Winterpills for Live Music Friday just before their sold out show at the Iron Horse tonight, delve into a bubbly reds thunderdome at Tip Top Wine Shop in Easthampton, and with asparagus on our minds, of course we talk to epidemiologist Dr. Andrew Lover about WHY this particular vegetable makes your body do odiferous things in the bathroom.

We get into the Hadley side of the area's asparagus rivalry with Wally Czajkowski of Plainville Farm, preview a series of new works on the broader idea of Puerto Rico with MIFA Victory Player's upcoming program "Puerto Abierto", and congressman Jim McGovern ventures into Trump verdict speculations, agricultural committee openings, flag burnings, foreign policy and much much more.

Eggtooth Productions joins us in studio to talk about bringing Virgina Woolf to the stage with their gender fluid, time bending production of "Orlando", Word Nerd Emily Brewster trips our tongues and minds with the descriptive tools of metonomy and synecdoche, and we chat with NEPM reporter Alden Bourne who recently produced a duet of stories about preserving Massachusetts Farmland.