The Fabulous 413

We learn how to play the bagpipes (sorta!) with Tina Harkness and Rick Rabe of the Springfield Kiltie Band, sit with Hector Flores and Denise Carlos of Las Cafeteras who are headed to Northampton for the Back Porch Festival, and learn the proper places to put prepositions with our resident wordster, Emily Brewster of Merriam Webster

It’s inevitable that new paths be forged. We see it in the 71 year tradition that has become the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Parade. It’s grown from a one day celebration of the Irish community, to a two day extravaganza recognized by the Library of Congress. Committee president Hayley Dunn joins us to talk about the evolution of the parade, and her role within it, as they gear up for the culmination of all their hard work this weekend in the Paper City. We see it in a place that we know well, that is now facing a labor standstill. The members of the UAW that work at Mass MoCA have been on strike for the past week, after 4 months of stalled negotiations. But this conflict and lack of resolution has repercussions that are reverberating far past the museum’s campus. NEPM’s Jill Kaufman explains some of the nuances involved as the stalemate continues. And it’s in what the future holds. A recent series of connected articles in Scientific American and Nature have looked at population projections for American towns and cities in the year 2100, and the generalized numbers are not looking great for rural Massachusetts. In fact the list in the article published in Mass Live about the findings cites an overwhelming number of Franklin County municipalities at the top of the list for population decline. So we chat with the trio of legislators who penned a retort to that article about “Ghost Towns”, listing 11 ways we as a commonwealth could address the issues these articles brought up. State Senator Jo Comerford, and State Representatives Natalie Blais and Susannah Whipps outline some of their concerns from the list, which is starting to gain traction on Beacon Hill.

Sometimes things we don’t expect come together. Like entirely new artistic direction. Musician Caroline Rose is preparing for a 2 night residency at Bombyx in Florence, expanding her latest album “The Art of Forgetting” with performances backed by the Metropolis Ensemble. We explore the coincidence of losing their grandmother plus a literal and figurative breakup that caused them to explore the nature of grief in song, and what going to the Grammy’s is like. And Mr. Universe, Hampshire College’s Salman Hameed, has a missing neutron star from Supernova 1987, Ramadan and it’s shifting end, and the recent Ocsars all converge on his horizons.

Music, wine, and a movie sounds like a good time, right? Sometimes, you gotta take that good time on the road. We heard about Juicebox from our Franklin County Wine Friend and sommelier Ken Washburn, who mentioned it’s opening as he opened his oldest bottle for us to try. We are always down for a field trip, so we make the journey to Shelburne Falls to visit this tiny gem of a wine bar and pit its amazing list of low intervention wines against each other for our Wine Thunderdome, which also gets a surprise guest! On occasion, you’re the good time itself. Dennis Crommett brings is very sweet and comfy sounds as a singer songwriter to the studio for Live Music Friday. We figure his upcoming set a the Back Porch Festival next week might lean heavily on his latest album “Get Gone'“ but we also get to be curious with the guitarist about the differences in playing for oneself, as opposed to the valley mainstays he’s also a part of: Winterpills and Spanish for Hitchhiking. And the Oscars are this weekend, and even though Kaliis has seen nearly none of the nominees, we get to ask some local figures who are a bit more involved with them about their picks and how important the awards can be. Filmmaker and actual academy member Larry Hott gives us some insight to the voting and viewing process, as well as what the actual award ceremony is like, while Amherst Cinemas programming director George Myers talks about how this period of time can be crucial to smaller community movie houses.

Collaboration can be magical, it’s true. We see it in a friendship that bloomed online and is benefiting a community facing agricultural crisis.Chef Neftali Duran talks about a fundraiser for Proyecto Rosenda. In addition to letting us know which Mezcal brands genuinely benefit the indigenous community that invented the spirit, we hear about how the non-profit he started to aid the area in reforestation, crop diversity, and climate change resilience is doing, and how Laura Reed got involved in wanting to help. There’s the amazing collaboration of promoters and musicians that are doing their best to expand the ears of the listeners of Western Mass. This weekend the Music CSA program Secret Planet hosts the festival An Almost Spring Weekender at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield, which will bring DJs, Bands and music makers from all over the world to the Berkshires. We chat with organizer Edo Mor, and have a performance by one of the band that is not only playing the festival, but at an additional show at The Drake on March 7th: Orchestra Gold. And our weekly chat with Congressman Jim McGovern delves into some of the more tedious aspects of his legislative calling, namely the State of the Union Address.

We sit with all-around food justice championer Liz O'Gilvie who is taking part in CISA's storytelling event Field Notes this Sunday, hear about the 40+ year legacy of Girls Inc of the Valley with Jess Colson, and get into a listener question about resurging pronounciations with resident wordster Emily Brewster

It’s an emotional rollercoaster, today’s show. First, the ups: The Back Porch Festival is headed back to Northampton next weekend, March 15-17. Last year the event expanded to include more music, more venues, and more genres than ever before and Signature Sounds is keeping that momentum up this year with the most content we’ve ever seen. Jim Olsen, joins us to talk about the good musical trouble the organization is getting up to with musicians from near and far this weekend. The downs are twin flames. Red Fire Farm suffered incredible losses due to a blazing inferno in the middle of February at their Granby location. Despite the destruction of their barn, farmstand, a greenhouse, and more from the blaze, their farming life continues, especially at this busy time of year for folx in agriculture. We take a visit to the site of the fire with proprietors Ryan and Sarah Voiland to talk about what happened, how they’re proceeding, and how the community and state can help them to endure. And one that straddles. Winners of NPR’s 2017 Tiny Desk Contest, Tank & The Bangas are currently on tour celebrating the 10th anniversary of their first album “Think Tank”. They’ve come a long long way from those open poetry mic nights and we talk with Tarriona “Tank” Ball about the journey that they’ve taken and what the future holds for their ever rising star.

It’s not that we’re seeing double, but we are getting things in twos. There has been a wave of municipalities calling for ceasefires regarding the conflicts between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza. The Amherst town council is poised to vote on one this very evening. But how effective are measures like these in a domestic or international context? We get two different approaches and opinions on this from the Leyla Moushabeck, Uri Straus, and Josna Rege from Amherst 4 Ceasefire as well as Amherst Town councilor and sponsor of the resolution Pat De Angelis, and from Owen Zaret, secretary of the Jewish Federation of Western Mass about each of their views on approaching what one town can do to confront the ongoing struggles in Gaza. There’s the correlation between a classic piece of American Fiction and one western Massachusetts woman’s lineage as well. Author Mickey Rathbun has just released “The Real Gatsby: George Gordon Moore-A Granddaughter's Memoir” about the very compelling correlation between the work of fiction and the real-life story of her grandfather. We chat about discovering this story and what those parallels mean to her today. And there’s sequels of course, even when they aren’t really sequels. Which is to say that Mr. Universe, Hampshire College’s Salman Hameed, saw Dune this weekend and has some thoughts to share on the subject.

We drink Croatian wine with winemaker Kreso Petrekovic, take a tour of the Dr. Seuss exhibits at Springfield Museums as they gear up for celebrations honoring his birthday, welcome back the Northampton Record Fair with organizer Justin Cohen, and have a harmonious Live Music Friday with the trio Eavesdrop

It's the 320th anniversary of the Deerfield Raid, but much has been learned about the incident in the intervening years. So we speak with author and historian James Swanson who has just released a new book about this moment in early American history. “The Deerfield Massacre: A Surprise Attack, a Forced March, and the Fight for Survival in Early America”. Before he comes to Deerfield Academy this weekend to speak about the book, he chats with us about some of the details surrounding the event, how it’s been portrayed over the course of American History, and some parallels we might note to global events. And we see some of the items he mentions at Deerfield’s Memorial Hall Museum. In addition to bringing Swanson to speak about the incident on March 3rd, they’ve just updated their exhibit to be more inclusive of the many people and voices involved. It all still surrounds the one surviving door of the conflict, and we chat with curator Ray Radigan and curatorial assistant Lindsay Kruzlic about the shifts in perspective and how those get represented in their many displays. Plus our weekly chat with congressman Jim McGovern sees the representative beset with a series of delays causing much consternation.

It is absolutely the time to explore the idea of freedom. This is especially true for us here in Massachusetts; a place that has always had a connection to the pursuit of liberty but also a much murkier connection to the legacy of enslavement. We chat with local historian Cliff McCarthy, who has participated in some of the local initiatives to recover more of these histories including Freedom Stories of the Pioneer Valley, about some figures that are tied to the specific black history of Western Mass. It’s the whole conceit behind the recent exhibit at the Williams College Museum of Art. We continue our exploration of Emancipation: The Unfinished Project of Liberation with curator Destinee Filmore and see how history has been interwoven throughout the collection, and question how color and stance can both influence how we see ourselves, and how we free ourselves. And Word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster, takes a gander at a listener question about graciousness as it seems in the modern era, people have liberated themselves from the phrase “You’re Welcome” .

We get a sneak peek of CISA's upcoming event Field Notes with Tessa White Diemand of Diemand Farms in Wendell, look at the intersections of the humanities and environmental work with professor Malcom Sen of UMass, and take a tour of the exhibit "Emancipation" at the Williams College Museum of Art with curator Destinee Filmore.

We take a glance at the Point/Counterpoint speaker series with moderator professor Ilan Stavans, hear about a corporate lunar landing and what that could mean for the future of the moon with Mr. Universe, and head to Pittfield to get a taste of the Carribean at the newest eatery on North St.: BB's Hot Spot.

We take Live Music Friday on the road to hang out with punk rock duo Film & Gender, check out a new fabric store in Holyoke that's on a mission to conserve both broadway and hollywood fabrics and your clothes, hear about CSA week with CISA and Mark Rutkowski of Rivershed Farm, and make our own birthday-styled Wine Thunderdome.

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.