The Fabulous 413

We're starting the week off with a bang! And that's literal in the case of the sun. Just in time for all your existential dread, Mr. Universe, Salman Hameed, talks to us about how the sun will eventually devour the Earth. The process is genuinely cool and we found out more about how this happens by watching another star eat one of its planets. For a good portion of May, that bang will bring a plethora of films of various shapes, genres, and sizes to the valley. The Easthampton Film Festival sees its second year and a huge expansion of programing to go along with that. Organizer Chris Ferry joined us in studio to chat about all the things you can see. He brought along Wally Marzano-Lesnevich and Melissa Dimetres, both local filmmakers who will be showing work over the course of the festival. And Monte went to Hampshire Pride this weekend, where he got to ask mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra, councilors Garrick Perry and Marissa Elkins, and police chief Jodi Kasper their feelings on the return of the festival. He also captured the proclamation that might have been hinted at previously.

Music, mezcal, and OSHA are what we're all about today! Don't think these things go together? Well, we're about to be the center of that particular Venn diagram. You may have heard about a death due to dust inhalation at a dispensary in Holyoke. We bring in reporter and UMass Professor Dusty Christensen, who recently wrote a more in depth article about this incident and other related issues for The Nation. We pick his brain about the inequities of cannabis production. One vice deserves another. So in honor of Cinco de Mayo (a distinctly Texan holiday, we learned) we enter the Mezcal Thunderdome with local chef and foodways activist Neftalí Durán, who lets us taste 2 very different mezcals straight from Oaxaca. He also lets us know how we all could be doing mezcal better. And since rock comes in all shapes, sizes, and ages, we get down with a few members of the infamous Young at Heart Chorus, who are putting a performance on this Sunday at the Academy of Music called "The Love Show". They are always a delight, even ask us to sing along! Who are we to refuse a request for backup singers?

It is wars in the stars day! Which means it's the day before Cinco de Mayo, often celebrated in ways that are... shall we say questionable. But Latinas 413 and Hot Plate Brewing are seeking to change all that, while still having fun in the process. They're hosting a Cinco de Mayo event at the brewery that day and we checked in with Sarah Real of Hot Plate, and Lilliana Atanacio, Perla Mendoza, and Laura Cabrera of Latinas 413 to hear more about the actual history of the holiday as well as what those festivities are going to entail. We mcgovern with Rep. Jim McGovern about the country's Cuba policies and his trepidation surrounding the news of the possible Umass Amherst Layoffs. But we also asked our Congressperson what his favorite Star Wars® character is, because it's May the fourth, and we are nerds at our core. We want to find out who else in the NEPM building is feeling the force, so we ask our colleagues about the saga that continues.

It's our 50th episode! Time to party! And we're not the only ones. Transhealth, an all queer run organization seeking equity and unity in gender care, is celebrating too! And although their official 2nd anniversary show is sold out, that doesn't mean that we can't party with them. CEO Dallas Ducar and development director Em Ayers swing through to let us know what the organization has gained so far and what they have on the horizon. Getting free things is totally a festivity and Free Comic Book Day is happening on May 6th, so we pestered Christian W.Z. Reader of Comics 'N More in Easthampton about their store's involvement with the event as well as the innovative ways they've figured out to get even more folx into comics. And we can't be formal at parties, not the fun ones anyhow. The Word Nerd, Emily Brewster senior editor at Merriam-Webster talks with our hosts about the casualizing of language: both spoken and written.

This weekend is Pride in Hampshire County! Yes, a whole month before the rest of the country! But Northampton Pride gets its start under much smaller and more dangerous circumstances. Dr. Jane Fleischman was there at the first few marches, back when it was the Gay and Lesbian Liberation March. Although she primarily digs into sexuality of folx later in life with her practice Speaking Of, LLC and her podcast Our Better Half, we speak with her about those beginnings and its initial progress. Once we examine the origins, we turn to its future as Hampshire Pride emerges phoenix-like from the ashes of its Northampton predecessor. Organizers Clay Pearson, Kayla Abney and Celina Almendarez join us to talk about the importance of preserving not just the Pride March itself, but queer spaces in general. They are just fantastically decked out in our studio and we have the pics to prove it.

It is more than just our mornings that become eclectic this Monday. We bring another installment of "Meet the Mayor", this time heading up I-91 to Easthampton to chat with Nicole LaChapelle. A lot has happened in that city as of late, so we talk about it and her love of local music. Mr. Universe, Salman Hameed, comes with us to the re-opening of the Seymour Planetarium at Springfield Museums this past weekend. We get his thoughts on the update as well as some of their other exhibits! And Julie Lemieux of Windy Ridge Organics in Hawley stops through to speak about their interesting and innovative CSA program, and how they raise things off the farm as well!

With all of the stress of the week, we figured we would not only double but triple down on the relaxing today. We head to West Springfield for the Wine Thunderdome once again. It's Sardenga versus Tuscany as Michael Quinlan of Table & Vine brings us two Vermentinos to try out. Just ahead of their show at the Academy of Music, Langhorne Slim and John Craigie join us in studio. Each has a new album out, and although their songwriting styles seem very different from each other, their partnership dovetails them well, and as does their love for both The Beatles and the late Harry Belafonte. And pillar of the local rock scene, and endless font of stories about said scene, Ray Mason pays us a visit. He's got a new album coming out soon called "Is There Wiggle Room?" about which we are quite excited.

If you had no plans for this weekend, no worries, we've got you covered. There's so much happening in the 413 this weekend that we wish there were more hours in the day. A lot of those happenings involve hip-hop, where a legend in the genre is making an appearance in Easthampton this weekend. Large Professor performs at Daily Operation on Saturday and we chat with chef/owner David Schrier about how that's just one small part of keeping hip-hop vibrant in Western Mass. From there we go to Bombyx in Florence, where the 2nd Annual Power of Truths Festival is taking place on April 29th & 30th. The innovative and ambitious program seeks to inspire folx in order to create more equitable communities, and we chat with Michael Lawrence-Riddell of Self-Evident Education and Jared Bridgeman, aka Akrobatik about how Hip Hop is a large part of that picture and American history as a whole. This Saturday will also see the return of GreenNFit, a volunteer driven event heralded by Revitalize Springfield (a subset of Revitalize CDC). We talk with President & CEO Colleen Shanley-Loveless and Director of Programs Ethel Griffin about the impact of this program and others throughout the Connecticut River Valley. And we mcgovern with Rep. Jim McGovern, who is encountering and enduring difficult terrain on Capitol Hill.

We hope you like language because we're getting deep into it today. The Word Nerd, Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster here in Springfield pulls back the curtain to show the bones of how definitions actually work. Former poet laureate, and current professor at UMass, Karen Skolfield celebrates National Poetry Month with us by sharing some of her experiences and a bit of her work as well. At Smith College a production of La Ruta is running this weekend. The show examines the lives of women working and living around Juárez, and director, and new faculty member, Monica Lopez Orozco and one of the actors in the piece, Naidelyn Cruz join us to talk about the import and impact of the play. And tomorrow is McGoverning with Rep. Jim McGovern! Email your questions for the congressman to [email protected] or text us at [1-800-639-9120](tel:18006399120).

We got up to music, and farms, and moons today, oh my! Damany Gordon of Genuine Culture LLC in Holyoke is heralding a night of classic hip-hop in Springfield at White Lion Brewing this upcoming weekend. It honors the collective Native Tongues and we tap into why that group is so important and influential. We hear from Chelsea Gazillo of the American Farmland Trust about the Bay State's efforts to save small farms, as well as a preview of the story she'll be sharing as part of Field Notes, CISA's storytelling event happening this weekend. NEPM reporter Jill Kaufman keys us into a progressive and effective music therapy program happening in Franklin County. It's akin to other programs across the country seeing similar results and involving some big names as well. And Mr. Universe, Salman Hameed, shows us insights and connections between the moon, math, and Eid as Ramadan nears it's end.

Today was all about being both collegiate and past tense. First, Umass had a Bach Festival this weekend! As a part of the festivities, the Asian and Asian American Studies Arts and Culture Center brought three prominent composers and performers to campus to perform new works: Hyeyung Sol Yoon, Texu Kim, and Vijay Iyer. We talk with them about issues relating to western canon and how moving on from that influences their work now. And since climate change is very very real, and officially Earth day was this past Saturday (though an argument could be made that every day is Earth Day), we sat down with some folx from the Five College area to check in on what their particular campuses are doing regarding sustainability. It was a crowded house with Beth Hooker from Smith College, Sara Draper from Hampshire College, Ezra Small from UMass Amherst, and Weston Dripps from Amherst College (one day we'll catch them all). Each of their sustainability initiatives is gaining ground, and we got to hear about how they're collaborating with other colleges and universities in the Bay State to do even better.

When you live close enough to someone who's won multiple Nobel prizes and the Gandhi/King/Ikeda prize from Morehouse College, you have to get them in studio with you. You just have to do that. That is how we end up talking with Dr. Ira Helfand about the threat of nuclear war and all the things we can do to stop it, including the mission of the Back from the Brink Campaign. And that was such heavy conversation for the first day of the weekend that we needed to lighten our moods a little. Introducing: The Cocktail Thunderdome. Sean Billson of Judd's Restaurant at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke, who pits two variations of Corpse Reviver no. 2 against each other. And it's live music Friday, which we dig into with Noam Schatz of The Lucky Shots who have a new album that's just come out and a show on April 29th to celebrate that.

It is the 20th day of April, which is celebrated by many it turns out. But being in one of the few states with legal access to jazz cabbage is not without its nuances too. Payton Shubrick of 6 Bricks dispensary in Springfield, one of only 3 black woman owned in the whole state, chats with us to dig into some of the issues with equity and equality in the industry. (She also shares our fascination with antiquated terminology for cannabis.) Then we bring a pile of young actors from First Generation into the studio to give us a taste of Shout! Elevate! Inspire!: a performance they'll be a part of at Springfield Technical Community College this weekend alongside Samira Evans, Haneef Nelson and more. Julie Lichtenberg and James Arana of The Performance Project also let us know more places you can catch the show they excerpted. And after a week's hiatus, we are once again back to mcgoverning with Representative Jim McGovern, who shares his worries about guns, transgender kids, and other issues arising on Capitol Hill.

We're hoping to fit in with the cool kids today. Some of those cool kids are running on airport runways. We talk to Julie Kumble of Treehouse Foundation and Holly Lurgio of the Northampton Airport about the Runway 5k happening on April 23rd, where they'll be raising funds by letting people run where the airplanes roam (but not while the airplanes roam). We find out how Treehouse is changing the landscape of foster care and that yes, some folx do build their planes from kits. And other cool kids will be hanging out with Lindsay Patterson and Marshall Escamilla from the Tumble Science Podcast for Kids, who in addition to bringing their songs and knowledge to Meltdown in Greenfield this weekend, bring us tales about birds and blind scientists. But the coolest kids of all can go backwards in time with their words. Resident wordster, Emily Brewster of Merriam-Webster teaches us about a term coined by former NPR President Frank Mankiewicz and how it dates the evolution of technology.

Some stories are best told by the people who have actually lived them. But we can accompany those stories with pizza, because food is wonderful. Pizza Quest volume 3 hits the Berkshires as we make a stop, sadly without our amateur pizziaolo, to Betty's Pizza Shack in Lenox. Then, as it is still April and therefore still National Poetry Month, local poet and social worker Lauren Singer joins us with some of her work and updates on her many projects examining grief and adaptations to loss, including a new podcast. And CISA is preparing to host Field Notes, stories of our local foodways, at the Academy of Music. So we get a small preview of what will be onstage April 30th with Jacob Nelson and Trouble Erin Anne Gouch Mandeson. **Please note: The Lauren Singer readings mention child death.

We get to go both forward and backward in time today, which is fitting for a Monday somehow. Mr. Universe, Salman Hameed tells us about the ESA's new probe JUICE (already taking selfies in space), its mission to the moons of Jupiter, and the lengths we do to make sure the probe looks but doesn't touch. Then we digress quite a bit about pizza and semantics with Jarrett J. Krosoczka. He's got a new graphic memoir out called "Sunshine" that will receive a full cast reading treatment on April 18th at the Academy of Music in Northampton. We pick his brain about the origins of the book and the ways the events have influenced his life today. Plus it was the holiday that only 5 other states celebrate, and on which we look east to watch folx run 26.2 miles into the state capital. Neither of our hosts are particularly fond of running, however, so they look to you for other marathon-esque activities you may have participated in! (Do tell us at [email protected], we are curious indeed)

It was wicked warm out today. But just because it's warming up, doesn't mean we can't get comfy with it. The heat makes us think of white wine. In the Berkshires we have our very first set of white wines in the thunderdome, courtesy of Nejaime's Wine Cellars in Lenox. Our hosts Joe Nejaime and Xavier Letteron even threw an extra wrench into this showdown, for which we were entirely game. Our studios are currently being moved down the street to our new offices, but it's Friday, and having live music has become a fixture. So instead we headed to Northampton to meet Flora Reed and Philip Price of The Winterpills to do a live music Friday at The Parlor Room instead. With beverages and music covered, we just need a good read to round it out. Lucky for us, local author and Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Kidder has a new book out called "Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O'Connell's Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People". We chat with him about the people called to help, and how simple solutions don’t always suit complex problems. Cozy bases all covered. **Please note: The reading included from the Tracy Kidder book mentions suicidal ideation

We're preserving and creating community today. We find out about a decades strong jazz jam session in Amherst being revitalized through the interest of more young people attending. Reporter Ben James takes us to The Drake to see what's going down. A group of 5th and 6th graders at Fort River School are just now learning how to change the world through their civic engagement class. They walk us through their projects with a little help from their teacher, Tim Austin. And one of those projects relates to educator and member of North-South America Chithue (the Tibetan Parliament in Exile)Thondup Tsering, who is helping to bring activist and poet Tenzin Tsundue to speak on UMass campus on April 17th about the release of his latest book, "ནང། Nowhere to Call Home". Together they paint a bigger picture of the importance of resistance, and the connections that resilience builds. And Greenfield drummer, drum tech for The Rolling Stones, and general awesome person in sound Don McAulay stopped in to help us celebrate the life of a pillar of the local music community, Stone Coyote's drummer Doug Tibbles, who we lost earlier this week.

It's fun when you discover things a little closer to home than you first thought. It's true of language and turns out it's true of grain too. Word Nerd Emily Brewster chats with us about prefixed words whose opposites pre-date their root word. We are quite gruntled to know there's a running list of them. Then we skip across the river to take a look at what was for quite some time the only malting house east of the Mississippi. Andrea and Christian Stanley of Valley Malt and Ground Up Grain moved their operation from Hadley to Holyoke, upgrading some of their equipment and products while they did it. Along with Phil Korman of CISA, we stopped into their new digs to take a tour, hear how their plans and business have evolved over the past decade and change, and eat goodies brought by their baking consultant: Deb Bernardini.

Let's take a look at houses. We dig into housing equity from more sides than one with H. John Fisher, fair housing manager for Way Finders in Springfield. Their 17th annual Fair Housing and Civil Rights Conference which will continue through the 13th, so we ask about some of the problems we can easily see, which of course leads to conversations about the ones we can't. Then we segue into poetry with someone who used to be a tenant lawyer. Martín Espada, poet and professor of English at UMass Amherst, joins us to chat about his work, it's connection to community, and the language that joins us all. He'll be reading at Greenfield Community College on April 12th, so we asked him to read for us too. (He obliged.) And just in case you maybe have a burning question for Rep. Jim McGovern, here's a quick reminder that you can send us your questions for him anytime! Just email [email protected], or text us at [1-800-639-9120](tel:18006399120), and we'll ask the congressman your query!

Mondays need a little beauty in them, and as we find ourselves right in the middle of National Poetry Month, it seems fitting to bring in a little lyricism to allay our daily doldrums. So we talk to one of the poet laureates of Easthampton, Jason Montgomery. Although he and his partner Alex Woolner will soon be stepping down from the position, that didn't stop us from talking about their various poetry projects at Attack Bear Press, and his art in and outside of the 50 Arrow Gallery, plus a cool form of poetry they'll be highlighting on April 13th. We spoke to the meter of buildings and architecture with Dylan Gaffney of Forbes Library's Local History & Special Collections, who will present a series of photographs documenting the evolving landscape of Northampton from 1887-1987. And we discovered the prose of space with Mr. Universe, Hampshire College's Salman Hameed, who showed us the magic of rogue black holes.

It's Good Friday! Good as in we have a pile of wicked good things we get into. First, in a confrontation months in the making, we invite NEPM's own Elizabeth Román to live taste test UK vs USA Cadbury Creme Eggs. Is there a difference that you can really notice? And just in time for passover, we head to Provisions to have two kosher wines enter the thunderdome! Benson Hyde and Bruce Amis let us sample some non-Manischewitz options available this holiday. Plus a musical double header! We catch band leader for Snarky Puppy, Michael League, on his way to sound check and ask him what's in store for their show at the UMass Fine Arts Center next week. Then local bluegrass heroes Poor Monroe stop into our very stripped down studios ahead of their concert at Gateway City Arts on Saturday to share their musical histories and some aquavit. Good things for your Friday, indeed.

We bring extra springtime in the studio today, now that it's warm! We welcome Ashley Randle, the first female-identifying commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR). She tells about some of the department's plans, raising cows, and farming across the baystate both rural and urban. Then we get into the not-so-Jewish past of Springfield with editor and podcaster Mark Oppenheimer of the podcast Unorthodox. He also keys us into some of the new traditions folx might see in their Passover festivities. (Chag Sameach to those celebrating!) And Rep. Jim McGovern sidesteps the indictment debacle. With that much needed breath of fresh air, we instead learn how he's on the congressional robotics caucus advisory committee, that the robotics caucus exists, and how his work on that committee lead to a recent visit to Worcester Polytechnic Institute. And then an alarming amount of Star Wars references happen. They may or may not be acronym related.

We all need a bit of reprieve from Tuesday's kerfuffle. So we dig into some books instead! NYT bestselling author, opera composer, and Kennedy Center education artist in residence, Mo Willems shows us his latest art exhibit, Wrecked Shapes. And we celebrate the 20th anniversary of perhaps his best known character: Pigeon. Then we head to Hatfield, where the largest collection of cookbooks resides! At least that's according to the Guinness Book of World Records, and its winner Lisa Ekus let us run rampant among its tomes while telling us how the massive assortment came to be. Her daughter Sally Ekus also gave us insight to the cookbook publishing industry and their place in it. Plus we hear some of your thoughts about the goings on, locally with the use of the word "Ladies" in Easthampton, and nationally with the aforementioned indictment! Tell us yours at [email protected] or text us at [18006399120!](tel:18006399120)

Hampshire College Astronomer Dr. Salman Hameed on the James Webb's deep dive into the TRAPPIST-1 system. Is there a planet there that could host life as we know it? Plus the unveiling of the Artemis I crew. And Hannah Moushabeck on her new book Homeland: My Father Dreams of Palestine with special guests her father, Michel, and her uncle, Gabriel. All three of these Moushabecks have a lifelong dedication to books, bookstores and publishing. We'll hear about those connections and how they link up to Western Mass.

Surprise! Former President Donald Trump was indicted yesterday, much to everyone's surprise. Western New England University Law Professor, Jen Taub, give us her take on the news. Tasting the King and Queen of Northern Italian wines in The Wine Thunderdome with the Wine Snobs from State Street Fruit Store, Deli, Wines and Spirits in Northampton. Jennifer Lee, from the Narragansett Tribe, on the Indigenous Voices screening at The Lava Center in Greenfield. And the band Cloudbelly, performing at The Drake in Amherst tonight.

A conversation with Congressman Jim McGovern in the wake of the Nashville shooting. Will a Republican controlled Congress take any steps? And why was Richard Gere hugging the congressman on the steps of The Capitol? Then a tour of a new exhibit as Mass MoCA called "to see oneself at a distance," with artists Suneil Sanzgiri and Tu Le. And an informal poll: Red Sox or Yankees? It's Opening Day form Major League Baseball. The 413 has divided allegiances. Where do your allegiances lie?

Comedian Jimmy Tingle and the FCCMP

Monte & Kaliis talk with Phil Korman from CISA and with Bob Lowry from Bueno y Sano about the history of that now iconic Western Mass Burrito shop. They even get a DoorDash delivery and a briefing about how DoorDash is impacting the restaurants and the communities the restaurants serve. And then a conversation with Lev BenEzra, executive director of The Amherst Survival Center about their upcoming Empty Bowls Dinner and about how a cut in pandemic era SNAP benefits is affecting the greater Amherst community.

This time we're bridging the gap between the page and screen. Big screens. Mr. Universe, Salman Hameed, puts on his other hat, that as a member of the directorial board for Amherst Cinema, to inform us about their Science on Screen series, starting with the film adaptation of "After Yang" (which is also a pretty great novella, if you're into reading it as well). We check in with NEPM Reporter Nirvani Williams who spoke with Northampton locals Gwen Agna and Shelley Rotner, authors of a new book for children on gender, "True You: A Gender Journey". And director/actor/screenwriter/novelist John Sayles stops by to talk about his impressive body of work, including his new book "Jamie MacGillivray: The Renegade's Journey", which he'll be promoting at Odyssey Bookshop later this week.

To paraphrase one of our guests, the mountains were very much the backbone of this show. Nestled in them, we found ourselves back at the Clark Art Institute with director of communications Vicki Saltzman, perusing some of their new acquisitions and finding out how they are celebrating the 50th birthday of their building. The mountains were a large factor behind the two regions of wines we sampled as we once again entered the Wine Thunderdome. This time led by Michael Quinlan of Table & Vine in West Springfield, we get to experience a bit of a play on the concept, and get a bonus opinion in the room! And in the studio, we brought music that you can hear in the Berkshires this weekend at their Saturday show at the Egremont Barn. Mike Stinson and Johnny Irion swing by to regale us with a few selections from their brand new album ”Working My Way Down”. Correction: Within the show we refer to Egremont Barn as being in Stockbridge, which is in error. Egremont Barn is located in Egremont, MA.

In our plywood ramp to the weekend, we dig into some more art. We head to Williamstown to tour the Clark Art Institute with director of communications Vicki Saltzman and hear where the bones are buried. And also see the painting that was the founder's favorite. In mcgoverning with Rep. Jim McGovern, we hear about reading banned books to children at the Library of Congress. (There's tons of art in those, we hear) And former valley resident, current tv actor, fake judge, author, and comedian John Hodgman talked about his new series on Hulu, "Up Here." It's a musical comedy so we can now add "singer" to his long list of accomplishments. We ask his feelings on a small historical BBC production, just to be niche.

Illumination was the name of the game for us, in that it's spring so more things should be brought to light after a full season of dark times. And to that end we begin our new series "Meet the Mayors" with Holyoke's own, Joshua Garcia, who tells us not just of the fun fusion foods the St. Patrick's Day parade brings, but of many of the uphill battles the city faces as they move toward the future. It's hard to understand what's really happening with several grand juries and our former president, (even though he wasn't actually indicted or arrested today), so we asked professor at Western New England University School of Law, Jennifer Taub, to explain the intricacies to us. And love. Where is it? What is it? We go to resident wordster, Emily Brewster of Merriam-Webster to find out what the dictionary, and some enterprising patrons, have to say about the origins of the word "love". And we're taking questions and informal cases for John Hodgman, who'll be on the show tomorrow. send in your question to [email protected] or text to [1-800-639-9120](tel:18006399120) and maybe we'll ask the judge to give a verdict on your behalf!

What today needs is a little action; a little something to remind us that it's spring. So we dance with the Martha Graham Company as they arrive in Amherst and Storrs, CT with new and old work in tow. Artistic director Janet Eilber and current company dancer Anne Souder show us how legacy work can still innovate, and how far Graham's technique truly reaches. Then we head off to Sunderland to Thomas Farm & Dairy, where it is kidding season. No really, Laurie Cuevas' herd has had 40+ goat babies so far this season and that's just to start. Monte and Kaliis set out to hug them all, because they are the absolute cutest, and sample their cheeses while they are at it. Plus on the show for Wednesday, we begin our 'Meet the Mayors' segment with Holyoke mayor Joshua Garcia. Got a question for the mayor? Email [email protected] or send a text to [1-800-639-9120 ](tel:18006399120)and we may just ask your burning inquiry on the show!

As Sun Ra says: space is the place. So we brought folx into the studio who could bring us to the stars. Shelburne astronaut Dr. Cady Coleman joins us to bring light to life on the space station (she was there for nearly 6 months), including who gets to go these days. Also she tells us details of her training to become an astronaut, just in case you're looking into the process. The visit of one Space focused person surley deserves another. So we also have astronomer Dr. Salman Hameed, Mr. Universe himself, drop by to explore the details of the new spacesuits for the proposed moonwalk. And since our local astronaut is also a flutist making an appearance at The Drake in Amherst this weekend with the band, Minstrels in the Gallery, we invite that band's frontman Chris Devine, resident Ian Anderson impersonator, to play a tune and expound on the appeal of Jethro Tull.

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh uilig amuigh ansin! Ár gcéad seó le gach Aoi beo! For St. Patrick's Day, we decide to be extra Irish by learning the language! So we invite Fulbright Scholar Emer Maguire and Gerald Costello of Elms College to come and teach us a few phrases. They also give us a quick look at how the language has evolved and endured, even here in western Massachusetts! Rosemary Caine delights us with her harp and some traditional and original tunes with her band The Wild Irish Shenanigans, just before their shows in Northampton and Greenfield this weekend. And Sean Barry of Four Seasons Wine & Spirits opened our first whiskey thunderdome! Whose spirit will reign supreme? You'll have to listen to find out!

We cover a lot of ground today! Rep. Jim McGovern gives us his thoughts on what's happening with the recent approval of Alaskan drilling, reparations, and pitfalls not to fall into while digging yourself out of all the snow we just got. Louise Dunphy of Celtic Crossings shows us a quick guide to all your Celtic entertainment this St. Patrick's Day weekend. Artistic director Kristen Van Ginhoven speaks on the importance of activism and theater working together, as her company WAM Theater gears up to present "What The Constitution Means to Me" in the spring. And we eat our way through Pizza Quest II! At the behest of listener Jennifer Vose (and several others), we try out Family Pizzeria Europa here in Springfield. (and as always if you have suggestions for places we should go for Pizza Quest, email us at [email protected] or text to [800-639-9120](tel:18006399120))

It's the Ides of March! Perfect time to look at the workforce! But much like Caesar getting senate approval, it's not easy to make a change if employment's what you seek. NEPM Senior Reporter Nancy Cohen shares a story about the digital divide as it applies to employment and western Massachusetts. This, of course, then inspires Monte and Kaliis to test their own digital skills, and the resiliency of recruiting websites for themselves. You may be surprised by their results. The Word Nerd, Emily Brewster leads us into arguably the most fun portion of the Merriam-Webster building: the dungeon...we mean basement. It's where they keep the fun words and sometimes the ones in time out. And, inspired by our work with words this week, Kaliis suggests a few word based games of varying mediums as Nerdwatch makes a brief, but triumphant, return.

We were all about speaking today. First we spoke to the earth, getting the low-down on winter agriculture with Alice Coleman of Stony Hill Farm in Wilbraham and Phil Korman of CISA. Then we got into the guts of linguistics and how it evolves with Amherst College professor Ilan Stavans through his new book "The People's Tongue: Americans and the English Language." The book features an essay by NEPM host and Merriam-Webster editor-at-large Peter Sokolowski, so we welcomed him into the studio as well. We're also looking for our next location for Pizza Quest, so if you've got a recommendation in either North Adams or Williamstown, send an email to [email protected], or text to 1-800-639-9120, and we may just feast at your spot! Disclosure: CISA is an underwriter of NEPM.

To break up your Monday doldrums, we brought out some big names. That, we're told, is how you do it. Mr. Universe, Dr. Salman Hameed, teaches us a lot about "moon time", and a little about how awesome the song "Naatu Naatu" is. (You can see videos about everything Monte and Mr. Universe chatted about at Kainaat Studios) Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll visited to explain the nuances of a new position developed for the current administration: Director of Rural Affairs, and we got to nerd out about policy. Dr. Mandy Muller gave us some clarity on where western Massachusetts is with COVID, as we celebrated the 3rd anniversary of "The Last Normal Day". And Dave Hayes, The Weather Nut, snow-casted with us, to preview the storm tonight as it passes our way!

Today is full of exciting things to put in your weekend schedule! Local musician Kimaya Diggs sings us selections from her brand new album "Quincy" just ahead of the CD release show at The Drake in Amherst on Saturday. Then we enter the Wine Thunderdome once again, this time accompanied by Benson Hyde and Bruce McAmis of Provisions. We get a look at terroir as well as a preview of the selections from the NEPM Wine and Food Lovers' Weekend, which starts tonight in Springfield. And cultural steward of the Nipmuc peoples Andre Strongbearheart Gaines Jr. teaches us about his involvement with the Smithsonian Crossroads: Museum on Main St series, which concludes on Sunday with an event at The Shea Theater in Great Falls.

There's music in the air today in the 413. First Rep. Jim McGovern joins us for some mcgoverning as we ask questions from you about this state we're in and the policies being made for us. Then conductor Keith Lockhart makes his debut appearance as Tanglewood correspondent! We ask him all about the new season of music up in Lenox, and about cool things happening in classical. And then real live singers in-studio as ethnomusicologist Tim Eriksen gives us a brief lesson on shape note singing, just in time for the Western Massachusetts Sacred Harp Convention, happening this March 11 and 12 in Northampton.

It's International Women's Day! Smack dab in the middle of Women's History Month! So we head to Puerto Rico to see what former Holyoke City Councilor Jossie Valentín, and her wife, Myriam Quiñones, are building there and why it felt right to leave the mainland and return home. Then we stroll around the corner to get our lexicon on with The Word Nerd at the Merriam-Webster headquarters. Plus we want your questions for Rep. Jim McGovern and our upcoming Tanglewood correspondent, Keith Lockhart! Email us at [email protected], or text to 800-639-6120 with your burning inquiries!

There's a Maple Sugar Moon tonight and sweetness in the air. Just in time for Massachusetts Maple Month, for which we travel to Granville to see the official first tap at Maple Corner Farm. Amy Traverso, food editor of Yankee Magazine, joins us to discuss highlights of her career and some cool things to expect this weekend at NEPM's Wine & Food Lovers’ Weekend. And we travel north and head underground to Ten Forward, a new decidedly inclusive artspace helmed by Ang Buxton (and their partner Alex Noonan). They tell us all the cool things going down in their part of Greenfield, even though we were sadly remiss with the Star Trek puns.

Today is all about competitions...sorta. We speak with head coach Lynn Hersey, director of sports and recreation Kristin Hughes, and professor Sam Intrator about the interconnected history of Smith College and women's basketball just as their current team win the regional championship and earn a place in the NCAA Division III’s sweet 16. Then Mr. Universe joins us to explain whether or not space is for everyone, and defend his Oscar picks. And we embark on Pizza Quest: our ongoing journey to find the best pizza western Massachusetts has to offer. Our first stop is near and dear to downtown Springfield, Red Rose!

As the snow times beckon once again, we give you a few things to uplift your weekend! The folx behind Tumble: Science Podcast for Kids give us a quick look at their new winter special coming up, and we talk about... that thing that everybody does. Then the Wine Son and Yankee Sippah invite us into their basement for the first ever "wine thunderdome": two wines enter, one wine leaves. And just ahead of his performance at the Academy of Music as a part of the John Prine tribute for the Back Porch Festival, Peter Mulvey joins us in studio to talk about why Prine was so important, and to regale us with a song or two!

A little old a little new, a lotta ruckus on today's show! Playwright/musician/creator extraordinaire Diana Oh joined us to discuss “My H8 for the Gr8 American Theater,” their show they've brought back to their alma mater, Smith College, this weekend. Along with Daphne Hwang Spencer, a current student and actor in the production, we take a look at some of the issues that show brings to light. The Glad Machine brings us the power-pop sounds of their latest album “Hey!” just ahead of their CD release show at The Divine Theater in Holyoke this weekend. Good rock and roll for what ails us! And we finally check in with Rep. Jim McGovern to let us know how things are going down within the beltway. (A weekly chat with McGovern will be a regular thing here on The Fabulous 413, so if you have questions for them you’d like for us to ask, you can email us at [email protected], or call/text us at 800-639-9120.)

It's the first day of Women's History Month! (and our first week anniversary, woo!) We talk with up-and-coming folk-punk artist Sunny War about all the cool things in their latest album “Anarchist Gospel,” and the realities of large tour schedules. Then professor Lydia Moland delved into the interesting history of another Lydia, abolitionist Lydia Maria Child, including her connection to Florence. We talk to her about her recent book on the subject. And Springfield's own wordster, Emily Brewster, the word nerd, takes us on a tour of the Merriam-Webster headquarters and shows us where the truly huge dictionaries live. Plus we read some of your notes about your snow days, which were delightful!

This weekend Northampton will be full of great music as part of the Back Porch Festival. We chat with organizer Jim Olsen of Signature Sounds about who's coming, how the festival is growing, and what's great about bringing music to western Massachusetts. Then it's off to a small corner of Springfield where Jorge Sosa and the crew of Mi Tierra make some of the best tortillas in the country out of corn grown right here in the four counties (and we try our best not to eat them all). And for all you cold weather enthusiasts, Monte joins a few locals for an icy delight: The Polar Plunge. Hear why some of your neighbors put themselves through this and hear Monte experience his first dip below the ice. Plus we wanna hear how your snow day is going! Send us a text at (800) 639-9120! Hey look! We can get texts now! IT’S THE FUTURE.

What do Massachusetts State Rep. Natalie Blais, former Northampton mayor David Narkewicz, and author Patricia Lee Lewis have in common? Each was an aide in to the late U.S. Rep. John Olver, who represented western Massachusetts first on Beacon Hill, and later in Washington, D.C. We speak with them about the man, his legacy, and how his passion to help his community encouraged them to do the same. We're also joined by Mr. Universe, Dr. Salman Hameed, who gives us a bit of insight on UFOs as they return to the zeitgeist, including an alleged sighting right here in the Berkshires. Plus Dave Hayes, The Weather Nut, weighs in on the storm coming through this evening and explains our sledding prospects.