The Fabulous 413

We hear about the two events happening in Greenfield this weekend centered around the Rights to Nature movement with Dian Dix of the Nolumbeka Project and Livia Charles of Western Mass Rights to Nature, and hang out with another Amherst College alum who's headed back to campus for LitFest this weekend, Brown University professor Lisa Biggs.

We head to Umass' exhibition that combines art, science, Indigenous HIstory and more with Interim director of Umass Contemporary Art Museum Amanda Herman, start a new pursuit in the name of marginalized local history with professor Ousmane Power-Green, and get up close and particular with pronouns and Word Nerd Emily Brewster.

We hear about the community building and restorative work of Jesse Freidin and his latest series "Are You Ok?" which centers transgendered and gender non-conforming youth, and chat with Sam Lovejoy about the 50th anniversary of his tower toppling feat and the documentary about the event that will have a showing at the Shea Theater later this week.

We delve into the music catalog of Sopie Et Adam before their show at 33 Hawley, talk with confirmed MacArthur "Genius" Grant recipient author Kelly Link about her brand new novel, and discover the new wine shop on the town in Easthampton at Tip Top Wine Shop for the wine thunderdome.

It’s the year of the dragon, but some of the other years are making other appearances in our show today.

We find out about an initiative to help the communities around the Quabbin Reservoir that don't have access to the waters in their backyard with NEPM Reporter Alden Bourne, Talk memoir and memories with Amherst College alums Aparna Nancherla and Jen Acker in preperation for the College's Lit Fest, and delight in liguistic misfires with Word Nerd Emily Brewster of Merriam Webster.

Lassiez les bon temps roulez!

We’re trying to make plans for the week really. That’s a large part of our chat with Dave Hayes, the Weather Nut. We heard there’s a bit of a storm headed our way and we tap the armchair meteorological specialist to find out how intense the storm is really going to be. We also cajole him into elaborating on the difference between the snow storms we might encounter. And speaking of meteors, Mr. Universe explores the process and some of the early results of a meteoroid that fell just outside of Berlin at the end of January. We also get into aubrites and why they’re so important, as well as the briefest of recaps of yesterday’s Superb Owl and its ads. And punk elder statesman Ted Leo is gearing up for a show at The Drake in Amherst on Feb 16. So of course we jump at the chance to talk with him about the evolution of the punk scene, how different parts of the country sound, and his cameo on “Stephen Universe”.

Folk artist of many disciplines Sean Rowe joins us for Live Music Friday, discover the nuances of appellation with a couple of interesting examples at Table & Vine for the WIne Thunderdome, and celebrate the beginning of maple season with pancakes (and waffles) at the North Hadley Sugar Shack.

Two Black History Month celebrations stop by the studio, the first a month long speaker series in Springfield, the second the culmination of months of research in Northampton, plus congressman Jim McGovern gets accolades from a jedi (or the joker) on the platform formerly known as Twitter.

It is another day where we’re looking for ties that might bring us closer. In the case of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, they’ve got another program on the docket that looks to bring in bring in a much wider selection of the local community. Havana Nights will be an evening of latin diaspora spanning music from the traditionally “classical” to modern samba, merengue, salsa, and more, featuring The Mambo Kings. We speak with SSO president Paul Lambert, SSO director of development Heather Gawron, and soloist Camille Zamora about the many ways music can bridge cultures, the importance of pop music in symphonic settings, and the joys of live music. While across town, another sort of bridge emerges. On Feb 13th, NEPM will host a showing of the documentary “The Cost of Inheritance” at Springfield College. The film takes focuses on the issue of reparations for decendants of enslaved peoples in the United States by looking at efforts on both macro and micro scales. The showing will be followed by a moderated panel featuring local experts. We speak with two of those panelists, Amherst College’s Dr. Stefan Bradley, and AHRA’s Michele Miller, about why economic struggles are often subsumed under social ones, and what some of the local efforts towards reparations might look like. We’re connecting our words too. And that requires punctuation. But a listener question from Anne in Montague has us wondering about the nature and need for commas. Our resident wordster, Word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster, helps us unparse the use of the serial/Oxford/Harvard comma. (We also discover a bit of its history with the help from Shady Characters.)

Happy New Year! It’s lunar new year, and we’re entering the Year of the Dragon. More than a billion people will be celebrating this weekend, including some in Florence. Bombyx is having a Lunar New Year celebration on Feb 10th, hosted by local author illustrator Grace Lin, who herself has written a book on the subject. We speak with her about some of the symbols and traditions that they’ll be teaching about during the festivities. New years often mean a look at the things you’d like to accomplish, and to that end we’re looking at economic equity. Team R3set was built to specifically look at the economic disparity of disenfranchised communities and built platforms and pathways to make them more resilient. We speak with co-founder John Lewis about why economic equity can be just as important as social equity, and why re-framing what that evening out looks like is vitally important. The new year also brings with it times to reflect on the things that have been done in the past. Mr. Universe, Hampshire College’s Salman Hameed reveals the legacy of Henrietta Leavitt, without whose work we may not have been able to explore as much of the universe as we are able to today, and at the apologies that are only now being offered for the disparagement of her research and ideas.

Today’s show is all about giving back. It’s in regular members of our community who come together to help our growing youth one on one. CHD’s Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County hosts the second annual “Big Love, Little Performances”, a fundraiser where the who’s who of the area come together to sing karaoke for the cause. Executive Director Susan Nicastro joins us to talk up how important mentors are, how great their need is, and mention how much “rick-rolling” will probably happen at this event. It’s in the preservation of the memory and legacy of an activist couple from Deerfield. Wally and Juanita Nelson were the impetus of many stalwarts in Greenfield, including the Farmer’s Market, and the Harvest supper. They lived a philosophy that has inspired many in the years before and after their passing. We talk with Bob Bady and Betsy Williams of the Nelson Legacy Project, itself a branch of the Nelson Homestead, about the influence of the couple’s practice of passivism, the classes they teach under this ideology, and more. And it’s in a community being delayed in it’s efforts to right itself. The Holyoke Public Schools have been in receivership since 2015. This past fall, mayor Joshua Garcia, acting in his capacity as chairman of the school committee, petitioned the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) for a release from that receivership. This past weekend, they were sent notification that the decision for that release would be deferred to a later date. But what does that delay mean in the interim for the schools and students of Holyoke? How is the state measuring the growth of a city’s educational focus against their expectations? We delve into the many repercussions with the Mayor, along with newly appointed vice-chair of the school committee Erin Brunelle, and Massachusetts Teachers Association President Max Page.

We sip wine from the turn of the century at State Street Wine & Provisions, Gush all about Dave Rothstein's latest surreal adventure of winning a snow sculpture contest, and celebrate The Colony's Motel's final show at Luthier's this bandcamp and Live Music Friday

We hang out with the host of our new show sibling, Carrie Saldo of NEPM's "The Rundown", explore more fallout from the shifting of the liquor licenses in Northampton with Parlor Room Collective executive director Chris Freeman, discover fun winter board games for the dark days with Justin Dowd of Start Playing Games, and Congressman Jim McGovern discusses the bipartisan Child Tax Credit, the connection between food and medicine and more

Today is all about moving around.

We talk about bringing more gender equity to the construction trades with Amy Calandrella of Western Mass Tradeswomen, speak with state senator Jo Comerford, and eat locally even in the winter with Executive Chef Charlie David at Champney's Restaurant and Tavern in Deerfield.

Sometimes you’ve got to fend for yourself and create the space you need to see in the world Take medicine for example. With the wreck that the American medical system is, and despite the lengths MassHealth goes to alleviate those woes, there are still a good number of folx who find themselves ineligible for health insurance. To their rescue comes the organization Volunteers in Medicine, who provide free accessible care to the people who find themselves in this situation. They are on the verge of opening a new location in Pittsfield, so we sit down with director and nurse practitioner Ilana Steinhauer to give us insight to their mission, and how having two locations will help them in their efforts to reshape what medicine looks like for the folx they serve and the greater community as well. We see it in sports as well, where gender equity (and overall costs too) can often leave some athletes by the wayside. For few sports is this more true than ice hockey, which makes a team that combines women from 11 different schools to make up their team all the more awesome. Longmeadow Girls Ice Hockey are not just one of the few women’s varsity hockey teams in the state, but they’re also in the middle of a 6 game winning streak. We head to their practice at the MassMutual Center to speak with team members, coaching staff, and the families of the players about the utility of the team, and building an outlet for ones passions as the team heads toward the end of a fundraiser they’ve started to raise money for their gear and travel costs. And it’s in the stars as well. Black holes are a hot topic around here, and it turns out in the realm of astronomy as well. Folx have been trying to figure out if black holes pre-date galaxies, or if it’s the other way around. Mr. Universe, Hampshire College’s Salman Hameed takes a look at this “Chicken or egg” problem and offers some solutions others have created lately.

We get into Greek wine for the latest thunderdome at Provisions in Longmeadow, talk about the intersection of art and equity with the folx from Art for the Soul Gallery and a workshop series they've recently launched, and have rising blues stars from the Berkshires Misty Blues head into the studios for Live Music Friday

We discover a multi generational collaboration between the School for Contemporary Dance and Thought and the Young at Heart Chorus that will open this weekend, cozy into a memoir by local author Anne Pikerton that holds grief and how we process it in new light, and Congressman Jim McGovern tackles his usual onslaught of issues on Capitol Hill and weighs in on the soon to be vacated State Senate seat in his home district of Worcester.

Things can truly change with more and intentional diversity. Take the medical field for example, where only 2.8% of doctors are Black women. A new documentary series is highlighting the stories of that select few and bringing them to a wider audience. Faces of Medicine is showing the first episode of this ongoing journey at several locations across western Massachusetts over the course of February, and we talk with the driving force behind this film, Dr. Khama Ennis, about the importance of seeing oneself in these settings both as patient and as colleague. Then we examine children’s books, where only 1% of the field depicts Indigenous/Native children. Adding to that number is Larry Spotted-Crow Mann’s latest book “The Adventures of Kehteau”. It’s the first in the Native Explorer Series, which will journey across various Native lands, through their customs and cultures teaching folx all the while of the people on whose land we still live. We get into the importance of seeing these cultures, and the ways to teach about them that the book suggests. And we’re being more diverse in our language as well. A question from Mike in Holyoke plunges our resident wordster, Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam Webster into a discussion about adjectives and how we qualify their intensity in a battle between “more” and the suffix “-er”.

We’re well aware that the music is everywhere. It’s in the slice of gay life in a lauded theater piece. The Easthampton Theater Company opens their production of Harvey' Fierstein’s Tony Award winning “Torch Song” this weekend at City Space’s Blue Room. The portrayal of the wants and growth of its main character Arnold Beckoff are an important snapshot of pre-AIDS era queer life in NYC and we chat with ETC president Michael Budnick and Wig/Costume/Makeup designer Jason Hayes (who has worked with Fierstein on other productions as well) about the importance of bringing this particular story back into the limelight now. And it’s even more present in a locally written opera that explores the liminal. John Aylward’s “Oblivion” is a one act opera taking a look at the afterlife and archetypes within, and has been described as David Lynch meets Dante. The cast recording was recorded in Florence at Bombyx and will get it’s radio premiere this weekend on Classical NEPM. We speak with the librettist, as well as collaborator, maestro and baritone in the cast Cailin Marcel-Manson about creating the work, and the importance of reducing space in modern classical works. And we head just across the road from the NEPM studios to Linden Towers, where Go Fresh Mobile Market makes a stop. There we chat with Manager Riley Gilroy and Assistant Manager Monica Hernandez about the importance of bringing local produce to the people at their 20+ stops over the course of the week, and how healing it can be to bring fresh fruits and vegetables to the people they see.

It’s not déjà vu we’re feeling, but there’s something familiar in the air. It’ll be in the annals of history as a talk about Shay’s Rebellion explores the untold stories of the conflict in new context. This Saturday January 27th sees local author Daniel Bullen present his book “Daniel Shays’s Honorable Rebellion” at the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, where the movement was fired upon, leading to the deaths of four participants. The book re-frames the context of the resistance from the propaganda of the times in a way that feels very familiar, and we look at how the commonwealth became a keystone of the national changes to come. It’s in a familiar set of octogenarians finding a new home that might invite more folx to their number. American International College has made the Young at Heart Chorus an artist-in-residence, meaning that the singers have a new home in Springfield, a new student body to interact with, and a new community to bring into their fold. We head over to their rehearsal to speak with Frank Borelli, director of Arts, Media and Design at AIC, about bringing the choral body to the campus, co-director Julia van IJken about joining the creative leadership, and with several members of the chorus about what this move can mean for their participation in the group. And Mr. Universe, Hampshire College professor Salman Hameed, shows us how it’s in how Japan has just become the fifth nation to land on the moon, despite the ensuing problems with landing. There’s always something new to discover in space, we find, and UMass is proving that with their aid in recent revelations about black holes.

We imbibe a few mocktails with Sean Billson at Jackalope for "Dry January", invite Muswell Hillbillies to the studio for Live Music Friday as they get ready for thier Tom Petty Tribute at The Drake in Amherst, and Boston Red Sox organist Josh Kantor plays your requests live.

We discover how Smith College Dining Services are furthering their efforts to be more plant based with help from the Humane Society, Discover the Black Legacy Project's mission to educate and create more racial equity through music and a concert happening in the Berkshires this weekend, and Congressman Jim McGovern gives us his weekly Capitol HIll Rundown.

Here in the throes of winter when the world slows, it becomes an interesting endeavor to seek out the ways we thrive. Take humans for example, where the accumulation of years is a thing that happens to most, and for which many are ill-prepared. However there’s a recently released documentary that looks at the connection and benefits of art later in life. Originally aired on Twin Cities PBS, “Art + Medicine: Healthy Aging” is getting a local screening at the Northampton Senior Center on Jan.19th. Featured in the film are two recent Florence transplants, actors Candace and Raye Birk, who will be speaking about the film in a post screening panel, and share with us stories about the doctor’s office that inspired the film And although this isn’t necessarily the time we think about growing things, we head up to Hadley to see the fruits of agricultural labor at a farm that is specifically designed to offer produce during these darkest, coldest months of the year. We meet owner Rosendo Santizo about creating a system that gets folx fresh local produce in the winter, their amazing storage system to preserve the bounty, and how the inherent co-operative nature of their farm helps all involved. Language itself is growing constantly, and we love that you have questions about it for our word nerd and resident wordster, Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam Webster. It just so happens that a listener in Shelburne Falls sent us an inquiry about the verb “to gift” and more, which allows us to dive right into that word’s history and the shortcuts we take, and we appreciate them for this.

January is when try our best to we ready ourselves for what’s to come. In some cases that’s aiding towns and municipalities in making environmental strides. The graduate program at The Conway School in Northampton has spend the last 50+ years subtly upending the status quo for their field by teaching whole-system sustainable land planning and design by working on real projects with real client partners in New England and adjoining states. Each January sees the new set of students embark on a set of new endeavors that they will develop over the course of the year, including ones in Holyoke, Springfield, Chicopee and more. We chat with program manager C.J. Lammers and board chair Bill Dwight about the details of this year’s six projects, and the importance of making municipal planning more ecologically sound. And we’re getting ready for the barrage that will be this year’s presidential election. Iowa’s primary results seem in direct opposition to the motions of Colorado and Maine to remove the 45th president from the ballot. It turns out that there’s efforts to remove him from the Massachusetts ballot as well. If you’re unsure why this has become a hotbed issue, we speak with a driving force behind the efforts to keep our penultimate president off the ballot in Michigan, Oregon, Illinois, Minnesota, and right here in Massachusetts. President of Free Speech for People John Bonifaz helps to explain how amendments added to our constitution during reconstruction are the force behind these efforts, and how that same amendment is being used to address more folx than just the former president.

It’s Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s Birthday! The second youngest of our federal holidays! But how exactly did we get to the point where his birthday ends up being nationally recognized? And what is the real legacy that the civil rights icon has left behind? Clark University Professor and Amherst Resident Ousmane Power-Green about the long road to federal observance, and the dichotomy between the public face of MLK that most are familiar with, and some of the more personal writing and actions that often gets put to the wayside. And speaking of folx that are important along that ongoing road of civil rights, Triplex Cinema is hosting two screenings of the Movie “Till”, which focuses on the relationship of mother and son and the aftermath of a murder that rocked the community. Following that showing will be a talk with screenwriter and producer Keith Beauchamp. The filmmaker joins us to talk about the ongoing efforts of civil justice, his origins in law, and how films like this seek to make folx more aware that terrible events like this do still happen today.

Even though it’s a new year, it’s still cool to revisit older things. Singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey is living this example this evening with a celebration of an album for which he’s just started a kickstarter. In addition to hearing his fantastic songs and getting a little advice, we get to hear his take on some of the nuances of recording, and why it’s still important to do to connect with audiences. Since we love music and absolutely want more of it, we head down the street to hang out at Symphony Hall. The Springfield Symphony Orchestra is hosting the program “Classics & Jazz” this weekend, an event put together in honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The event features all Black composers, two renowned and rising Black soloists, and an equally remarkable Black conductor/composer who designed the program and will have one of his own works featured. We join SSO president Paul Lambert, Conductor Damien Sneed, pianist Jason Flowers II, multi woodwinds and brass player Mebrakh Haughton-Johnson, and second violin Beth Welty just before their first rehearsal to talk about widening the perceived scope of Black music and how music is ever the bridge connecting communities and worlds together. It’s in our glasses also. We head to Franklin county to pop open a bottle of very, very old Rioja with Sommalier Ken Washburn. But it wouldn’t be a thunderdome without a second wine to compare it to, so we pit the 1947 Rioja against a similar one from 2017, and taste how the years have been to the vintage.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday is on Monday. And it’s one of those rare years where we get to celebrate the holiday created in his honor on his actual day of birth. For over a decade there’s been an event in Springfield celebrating the legacy of the civil rights icon, while simultaneously highlighting the talents and progress of the city’s youth. MLK Jr. Family Services President Shannon Rudder, Vice President for Inclusion and Community Engagement at Springfield College Calvin Hill, and executive director of Community Music School Eileen McCaffrey join us in studio to talk about the MLK Day Celebration; how it all got started, and how this year’s theme of “Living the legacy, Continuing the Dream” is a great motto for its future. That contemplation is certainly where we find Congressman Jim McGovern. We’ve just passed the anniversary of the Jan 6th insurrection, for which he was the last person to leave the house floor when rioters attacked Capitol Hill. We speak with him about the lasting effects of that event, the on-coming year of elections and more. And it’s just been announced that Bill Belichick is stepping down from his role coaching the Patriots. Some could say that this writing was on the wall, but what does this actually mean for the franchise? We bring in a couple of folx who know way more about football than we do: our friend and political consultant Ryan McCollum, and Monte’s favorite Patriots correspondent: His dad.

Today is everywhere, all at once. Or at least it’s trying to be. We check in with executive director of the Valley Community Development Corporation Alexis Breiteneicher to hear about some of the projects that the CDC has been doing around Hampshire County. Amidst their ecologically forward affordable housing projects they’re both starting and completing, we also delve into some of the issues that arise in the efforts to make sure that everyone has access to housing, and our hopes and fears concerning the governor’s housing bond bill. We bring Mare Berger, musical director of the Haydenville Congregational Church, to the studio to sings songs of peace. This is exactly what they’ll be doing at an event planned for this weekend, where on Jan. 13th the site will host an Interfaith Song Circle to mourn the continuing loss of life and ongoing devastation of Gaza. the gathering is also a free-will fundraiser for Middle East Children’s Alliance, and in addition to hearing a couple of the songs that will be a part of the meeting, we discuss the importance of coming together in grief during times like these. Then we head across the pond as well with Word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam Webster, because it looks like our dictionary here in Springfield is not the only one that designates a word of the year. We get into the word that topped the Oxford Dictionary’s WOTY list, and how the methodologies for the choosing are different between the two lexicography giants.

We’re checking in to take stock and just make sure we’re doing okay. Because not doing okay requires a change. In some cases that change is huge. Take Walker Farm at Whorttleberry Hill for instance, where proprietor Joan Walker left her previous career in the medical field to raise Devon Cattle humanely right at the point where Hampden County meets Worcester County. We speak with her about the importance of humane animal husbandry, learning the profession from the ground up, and through giant mouthfuls of delicious samples she gifts to the studio. It’s in the adjustment of people to new environments. The authorial team of Gwen Agna and Shelley Rotner have released another book about wellbeing titled “Finding Home: Words from Kids Seeking Sanctuary” with their focus this time being on refugee children. Once again, the book features local families and their stories and we chat with the two about the importance of seeing variety in the world around you, the impact that their book has had on the people they’ve read it to, and some of the controversies that have risen to meet their previous book, “True You”. And its in the ways we use art to heal. Multi-disciplinary artist Lonnie Holley is headed to The Drake in Amherst this week while on tour with Cleveland based Mourning [A] BLKstar. We speak with him about the state of the world, how art has helped him and can help others, and generally ground ourselves within his massive cosmos.

We’re back from vacation! And it turns out we’re not the only ones. Following a nine-month round of renovations, 33 Hawley Street is open once again. So we bring in some folx from the core trio of groups that make up the Northampton Arts Trust to talk about what that re-opening means for the greater western Massachusetts arts community. Co-director/steward at Available Potential Enterprises (A.P.E.) Kathy Couch, Managing Director for Northampton Center for the Arts Joanna Faraby Walker, and Executive Director for Northampton Open Media (NOM) P. Albert Williams gather to talk about what changes to expect at their official event during Northampton’s Art Walk on January 12th, as well as what an updated facility can offer everyone. We’re returning to the moon as well. Mr. Universe, Hampshire College’s Salman Hameed, A lot of missions from many organizations across the globe seem to be, which has created the issue of ownership. When spiritual beliefs, national integrity, and a profitable bottom line come into conflict, how can we parse out the real estate of cosmic bodies? And whose systems take precedence when human remains are involved? And we’re taking another look at two goals of The Bay State which have ended up at odds. Author/journalist/Smith College Professor Naila Moreira has recently published an article about the conflict between forest conservation efforts and the expansion of solar arrays entitled [“The Forest and the Trees: Western Mass’ Solar Siting Problem” ](http://The Forest and the Trees: Western Mass’ Solar Siting Problem)which takes a look at the varying environmental costs for good and ill of building solar farms in our region, especially with regards to clear cutting forests to make building sites for them. We dig into the root of this friction including what western Massachusetts’ Beacon Hill delegation is doing to lessen the stress and provide less environmentally stressful ways to help create more environmentally friendly energy ways.

We’re out to party on our last show of the year! For us, those celebrations definitely mean some bubbles. We head out to a collaborative champagne/sparkling wine tasting in Lenox. There, sisters Mary Daire of Dare Bottleshop & Provisions and Molly Lyon-Joseph of Pizzeria Boema, along with Boema’s manager Jane Burns, help us sample some of the more interesting selections and the nuances that will make their food pairings work so well. And although it’s the end of the year, we’re fast approaching First Night, the city-wide festival thrown by Northampton to welcome the changing of our calendars. But why is it called First Night, isn’t that a Boston thing? We talk with organizer Steve Sanderson of the Northampton Arts Council about the event’s moniker and some of the planned events, including acts Father Hotep and Love Crumbs who join him in the NEPM studios for Live Music Friday. And speaking of music, Monte and Kaliis discuss the end theme song and accidental movie twin of a French film left off of their lists yesterday, and for which they each have an odd fondness.

With only 10 days left in the year, we’re looking at end of year celebrations and what we’ve accomplished in the past 355 days. To that end, we speak with Congressman Jim McGovern for our weekly mcgoverning just after he visits the area to join in the celebrations of Good Ben Clark of Clarkdale Fruit Farm’s appointment as Person of the Year, in addition to looking at the year in governance and the election year ahead. As the year ends, so does a venue we’ve loved over the past 12 years. But one of Gateway City Arts last shows will feature the multi-faceted musician Mystic Bowie and his band Talking Dreads. We chat with the once member of Talking Heads offshoot, The Tom Tom Club, about the things that drive him creatively, and bring collaborators Jason Metcalf and Dan Thomas in to talk about the beauty of musical collaborations, especially in dub, and what to expect at their Dec 28th concert. Monte and Kaliis discuss their favorite seasonal movies, including a controversial pick with their director Tony Dunne, and look over the photos they received after asking for the best local light displays.

As the holidays encroach, we have lots to contemplate. That includes the lyrics of the songs sung around this time of year. The Word Nerd, our resident wordster Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster, locates some of the more archaic maxims from the tunes of the season so we can explore the merriment of bygone carols. and it’s in the ways the world is changing. Hip-hop MC and Author Tem Blessed and artist Mike LaRiccia have teamed up to create the graphic novel series “Planeta Blu” which looks at the intersection of climate change, class and racial equity, and afro-futurism. We delve into their meeting, influences and inspirations for the book, and the importance of seeing oneself in one’s visions for the future. And it might be in finding a gift for that special nerd in your life. If that’s the case, Kaliis has some recommendations for games the tabletop board game lover in your life. This time around she recommends Intrepid, Red 7, Chicken, and the Tiny Epic Series.

There’s a little irony in there being so much to do at the end of the year, as if the last day of 2023 itself is a deadline. And some of the celebrations coming are ones that may be unfamiliar to you. Kwanzaa might just be the least understood of the late fall/early winter, year-end holidays, but the Kwanzaa Collective is here to not just teach us of the 7 days themselves, but to encourage the community to come out and celebrate together. Umass Professor Amilcar Shabazz and Educator Ayanna Crawford join us in studio to talk about Kwanzaa’s origins, meaning, and how you can celebrate right here in Western Massachusetts. Then we head to Hadley for the many head of dairy cows and more at Barstow’s Longview Farm, Dairy Store, and Bakery. We chat with Denise Barstow Manz, communications manager, about their herd and bakery, the effects of the floods on them, and their amazing anaerobic combuster, and how important keeping food local is at this very moment. And Mr. Universe, Hampshire College’s Salman Hameed, gives us his year end recommendations and one last astral event for which you make want to keep an eye on the skies.

Twas a week before X-mas and all through the show we were getting excited for what’s coming. For some of us that means parties. And when one of your previous guests heads south to get their party on at The White House, you ask them all you can about it so you can live vicariously through their experience. Western New England Professor of Law Jennifer Taub has just come back from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, and gives us all the sordid details about getting your holiday on with a pile of podcasters in the president’s house. For some of us that means engaging with the wealth of myths, legends, and figures connected with the wide swath of holidays at the end of the year. We chat with folklorist Jeff Belanger about some of the tales we encountered in his latest book, “The Fright Before Christmas: Surviving Krampus and Other Yuletide Monsters” about all the solstice oriented things that go bump in the snow. And for some of us, that’s getting ready for the parties of next year. One such party only happens every other year up in North Adams. 2024 will see the return of Solid Sound, the Wilco curated 3-day festival at Mass MoCA, and they’ve just announced the lineup earlier today. We get Jeff Tweedy, frontman for Wilco, Tweedy, and more to walk us through some of the highlights of this years participants, and why hosting this festival at an art museum has become a perfect partnership.

The end of the year brings with it all sorts of celebrations. Some are the kind we make for ourselves. The Holiday Queer BIPOC Makers Market in Holyoke this Saturday, Dec 16th is one such endeavor. At a time when we are actively encouraging folks to think more locally with their spending this giving season, this particular market is shining light on those creators that may not be as illuminated as others. We speak with organizer Ebbie Russell, about making this market accessible on both sides of the table, and how vital it is to see oneself when opening one’s wallet. Speaking of making the celebrations you want to see in the world, local singer songwriter Kimaya Diggs is hosting her 3rd Annual Kimaya Diggs and Friends Holiday show at The Drake in Amherst this Saturday as well. She joins us for Live Music Friday and elaborates on what makes a good holiday song and why making this seasonal festivity has become so important. Any celebration around this time of year needs bubbles, so we head out to West Springfield to enjoy sparkling wine with Table & Vine Wine Ambassador Michael Quinlan. No not champagne, but cremeaux as we learn in this session of the Tina Turner Wine Thunderdome. But we also discover how much flavor those without the appellation can still pack into a glass. And Congressman Jim McGovern, though a day late, is no less passionate about his positions on Capital Hill as we hear about the many confrontations he’s encountered on the house floor in these last days of the body being in session.

It’s our 200th show! What better way than to celebrate with a live show in an idyllic location preserved in honor of someone who made some of the more iconic holiday illustrations of the 20th Century? So we head southwest to Stockbridge to the Norman Rockwell Museum, where we’re able to get insights to the place’s namesake and his contribution to the evolution of American art with chief curator Stephanie Plunkett. Though the museum delves deeply into Rockwell’s work, it also shows exhibits of work adjacent to the legacy he left behind, and we’re able to discover all of the tangents they’ve brought together for the season. We also speak with some of the folx creating “Bring Back the Movies: Holiday Edition” this weekend. It’s a second incarnation of a fundraiser for Great Barrington’s Triplex CInemas presented over the summer, the event will see nationally known Berkshires actors give readings and reinterpretations of classic holiday movie scenes onstage at Simon’s Rock at Bard College. Director Michelle Joyner, and actors and real life couple Jayne Atkinson and Michel Gill help us explore what’s compelling about artistic re-imaginings like these, especially when they involve sing-a-longs, and why events of this ilk are vital in order to invigorate local art scenes. And it wouldn’t be a live show without music, and we’re lucky that once-Pittsfield-now-Lenox resident Billy Keane is able to stop by to talk about his show at the Egremont Barn on Dec. 16th. He’s got a new album he put out earlier this year, and we’re able to talk about his process of songwriting in the many musical endeavors we’ve seen him be a part of over the years.

We’re suckers for unexpected love stories. Like the one between dinosaurs and local history. An unlikely pairing to be sure, but one you can discover this weekend at the Great Greenfield Dinofest. We chat with Tim Neuman from the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association and artist Christopher Janke about this ecclectic combination of the region’s paleontological and abolitionist histories, and how the many events throughout the weekend’s free festivities can bring us all closer to Greenfield’s storied past. There’s one near the bomb as well. In this case, two activists lobbying the globe to put down their nuclear arms and start thinking critically about the encroaching environmental benchmarks that we, as a planet, are hoping to avoid. Timmon Wallis and Vicki Elson, nobel prize winners for their work on nuclear armament who fell in love with each other through the cause, give us a preview of Wallis’ latest book “Warheads to Windmills: Preventing Climate Catastrophe and Nuclear War”. They show some ways in which laying down our weapons really could save the world, which is at the core of work of their organization Nuclearban.us. And Word Nerd Emily Brewster, our resident wordster and senior editor at Merriam-Webster, continues our perusal of the would-be words of the year, including her very favorite.

The ways in which the community comes together are some of the most beautiful things that happen in Western Mass. And come together we did this year after two unseasonable frosts decimated tree fruits and the floods of July and seemingly unending rains have left our farms and farmers limping into next year. In response, a vast array of remedies came to the fore to help the agriculture of western Massachusetts. We chat with MDAR director Ashley Randle about the $20 million in relief funds that her department has just finished allocating, how the funds are helping over 300 farms across the Bay State, and how the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources plans to prepare for more of these disasters in the future. The punk scene of old collaborates with that of the new for a fundraiser at JJ’s Tavern. Several local bands will convene at the Florence venue to raise money for Translate Gender. Organizer Kevin Schmith joins us to give us a glimpse of the western Mass punk scene that was, and how DIY spirit can both aid and strengthen the community, even across age and gender divides. And such community action totally deserves a sweet treat. Lucky for all of us, Baked goods and more are on offer at Blossoming Acres Farm in Southwick. Even luckier, the farm has made it possible for you to make those baked goods a part of your CSA. We speak with proprietor Lenita Bober about their innovative farm share, how both private and public programs have helped the farm in light of the calamitous weather of this year, and some tasty activities happening at their farm stand this weekend.

As the year winds to a close, we start to review all we’ve been through over the past ~50 weeks. And in that way, our minds continuously harken back to the nigh catastrophic weather we had this year. From the frosts to the floods and the ongoing rains that have kept our end of the state sodden, it’s been a trying year for agriculture across the board. The public and private sector collaboration initiated by the Governor has just concluded it’s distribution, so we check in with Phil Korman of CISA on what lessons we can take from the Massachusetts Farm Resilliency Fund reaching the end of its current run. We’re reminiscing on astronomical events said weather makes unwatchable for us, including one that helps us to understand more of how stars work. Mr. Universe, Hampshire College’s Salman Hameed, talks about an eclipse of the star Betelgeuse and its eventual supernova, plus how gamma rays help with that detection. And as the holidays approach, and frankly in light of the weather disasters of this year, we consider how we can do our part to mitigate some of the environmental impacts we impart. One of the easiest and most accessible ways we can do that is through recycling. But it turns out that many of us have been doing recycling all wrong, and with a season of gift wrap and present packaging approaching, we check in with Arlene Miller and Amy Donovan of the Springfield Materials Recycling Facilities Advisory Board to learn some of the true “do”s and “don’t”s of this particular ecological practice.

It is a massively busy weekend here in Western Mass. Or perhaps just an extremely jam-packed Saturday, December 9th. That’s in no small part due to the largess of art going on in Northampton this weekend. We bring in Anne Thalheimer, an organizer behind the Lowbrow Craft Fair, one of the longer running makers markets in Noho, and one of four happening in that town on Dec. 9th. We get into the specifics of her particular gathering, how well their new home at First Churches suits them, and some of the fun local wares we’re all eager to patronize. That day will also see the return of the State Street Deli, Wine, & Spirits Gala after a covid-induced hiatus. We amp ourselves up for the event by trying two of the wines that will be on display at the Northampton store, both “big” red wines, and we bring a guest taster along for the ride: NEPM reporter Nirvani Williams. We’re no strangers to marching, and this weekend will also see a walk from Northampton to Springfield that calls for a ceasefire in the West Bank on December 10th. The local chapter of Jewish Voices for Peace is behind this feat, and we speak with Kaia Jackson and Charlie Hollenbeck about the nuances and need for efforts like this. And local folk legend Tracy Grammer visits the studio for Live Music Friday. She’s got two, count ‘em two, shows happening over the next few days, and in addition to hearing selections from her latest album, she shares her experiences in re-recording the work of her late partner, Dave Carter, and the lessons of enduring the evolving musical landscape. Note: The March for Palestine has been postponed to December 16th due to inclement weather. More information can be found on their website.

There’s plenty to illuminate here in the 413 this week. Including the holiday that is literally all about illumination and resilience. It’s the first day of Hannukah, so we check in with Rabbi Amy Wallk of Temple Beth El in Springfield about the weeklong celebration, including its origins, the nature of modern participation in the holiday, and its significance in light of the ongoing conflict in the West Bank. There’s light being shown on our connections with each other as well. The band ReBelle will host “Love for Humanity” a combination concert and teach-in at the Northampton Center for the Arts on Dec. 10th. We sit with the driving force behind the band, Manou Africa and Kalpana Devi, as well as one of their children and former bandmates, Naia Kete, to get a preview of the way they use music and connection to transcend and build community. Speaking of that community, a study has recently been released that examines the import and impact of the arts on their greater communities. Considering that all areas of the arts have and are taking longer to recover from the pandemic than expected, its a welcome area of scrutiny. VP of research for Americans for the Arts, Randy Cohen, stops through the studio to share their hopeful findings and what this may mean for the future of the arts in our area and possibly the country. And our weekly chat with Congressman Jim McGovern covers how un-enlightening the recent republican debates were, as well as developments regarding the ongoing plight of national hunger within the USDA.

‘Tis the season for caring. Actually every season is the season for caring, but we doubly feel it in the cold. So we’re bringing our donations to where the beats are plentiful and the rhymes don’t stop. Hip Hop for the Homeless X arrives in Massachusetts for the first time ever on Dec. 7th at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke. We chat with organizer Joey Batts and a couple of MCs you can see onstage at the event, Catalyst and Force, about the importance of giving back to the community with your art, and sharing the spotlight with upcoming talent. And we’re bringing the love and support to the transgender and genderfluid communities also. Transhealth has nearly quadrupled in size as an organization over the course of the year, with as much growth if not more in the patients they seek to help. But parties can also be healing, and they are throwing a shindig at the Marigold Theater in Easthampton on Dec. 9th. The Holigay Party aims to spread joy and good grooves as much as it raises much needed funds for their burgeoning community of care, and we chat with director Dallas Ducar about the changes they’ve seen through the last few months, and about how letting go can be healthy for you too. And it turns out that we care not just about Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year (“authentic” in case you missed it), but it’s bridesmaids as well. So resident wordster, Emily Brewster, our word nerd and senior editor from Merriam-Webster, takes us through a handful of the words that will not be brides this year, but still deserve a little time in the sun.

Part of this show has always been highlighting the cool places in our area and then wonderful things that they get up to. One of those places that we’ve repeatedly mentioned events has recently announced that they’re closing their doors to public events after Dec. 31st. Gateway City Arts in Holyoke was a game-changer for the local scene for a little over a decade, and we talk to owners and renovators Vitek Kruta and Lori Divine about the highs and lows of operating a venue of its ilk, and the plight of the arts in general. Another one of those places is a tiny comics shop in Easthampton that is constantly engaging with the greater community and local authors. One of those authors is giving a reading of his recent children’s book at this store, Comics ‘N’ More, this weekend. Jason Perkins tells us a bit of his process for writing “Rock Stars Don’t Nap”, including the inspiration he took from his family, and the fun extras the live reading might involve. And lastly, we’re big fans of people building community. The Majestic Saloon in Northampton is absolutely one of those places that does this, being an explicitly queer-driven and friendly space. Saturday, Dec. 9th sees them host the 2nd Annual Queer Winter Maker’s Market. Although it’s one of four makers markets happening in Downtown Northampton that day, it’s only the beginning of what the location has in store for the day. We speak with organizer Alex Noonan of Dead Eye Prints, and Majestic Saloon owner Kayla Manzi about the importance of holding safe joyful spaces for the LGBTQIA+ community, and the magic they use to get all of those people into their tiny-but-mighty space.

We’re hungry over in these parts. So we head out for Pizza Quest volume VII. It’s been a minute since we last evaluated a pie, and so we head to Berkshire Mountain Pizza Cafe & Bakery in Pittsfield. The location comes with some major pedigree, including a recommendation from Mary Daire of Dare Bottleshop & Provisions. The cafe does not, however, come with indoor seating, so we’re forced to do some adjusting on the fly. After that, we’re in the mood for something sweet. Enter Dick Connor of Red Barn Honey Company in Northampton, who is harvesting the product of the pollenators across the Connecticut River Valley. But wait, what are bees and their keepers up to in the Winter? In addition to exploring the cavern of difference in taste honeys can have from each other, we find out how the apiaries fair in the cold months coming and how they collaborate with local farms and orchards to bring us the sweet treat we so enjoy. And we’re hungry for knowledge as well. Self-Evident Education’s mission is to teach authentically on the histories of race and resistance in America and they have recently made two films about lesser known figures in abolition, both of which will be shown at Smith College on Dec. 5th. We sit with the composer/musical director of “If You Cross This Line, We All Die”, Khalif Neville, and SEE’s executive director Michael Lawrence-Riddell to talk about these stories and the importance of telling BIPOC stories of abolition.

The earth is in abundance on today’s show. And although that’s the case, we’re of the opinion that it is far too cold to be out in the forest to appreciate the beauty of the trees right now. Despite that, there’s a bounty of things we can harvest from them that aren’t the wood themselves. This is at the core of Forestopia’s products and practices. We sit with proprietor Gregory Mori to find out all about the fun and unusual things trees can offer us, and why agro-forestry can be an empowering endeavor. Earth is always at the core of our wine tastings, and this is especially so when we have the opportunity to pit two different locations against each other for the same grape. The Tina Turner Memorial Wine Thunderdome heads to Provisions in Longmeadow, where Benson Hyde and Bruce McAmis help us to continue our exploration of Syrah. And let us know how to taste some bubbly at their locations over the next few weekends. And rooted is a good adjective for the sounds of Kendra Morris, for as psychedelic as her music gets, it’s grounded in funk and soul as well. She and her band stop the the studios for Live Music Friday just before they head up to 10 Forward in Greenfield for their show in honor of her latest album “I Am What I’m Waiting For”. We use the opportunity to gush about her videos, and dig into some of her song’s subject matter.

Stages and performance have always been a hub of resistance. We see it in two Argentinean Maestros making their way across New England teaching their craft to the young old and everyone in-between. Cesar Lerner and Marcello Moguilevsky have been playing music together for over 40 years, during which their klezmer based sound has snowballed into so much more, bringing along with it the many influences they’ve encountered along the way. Between their many shows in the area, We hear a taste of them in the studios, while also getting a chance to chat with the duo about the recent elections in their home country, and what that means for art and artists when they return. We witness it in the manipulation of gender whose siren call was too strong to ignore. Joe Dulude II has done makeup for Broadway, film, and beyond, but came to his own drag much later in life. That drag persona takes over The Shea Theater in Turners Dec. 1 & 2nd for “A Drag for the Holidays”. Mr. Drag is much more than just a personality, however, and we discover how playing with gender can expand everyone’s horizons. And our weekly chat with Congressman Jim McGovern gives us a March for The Food Bank post-mortem and more.