The Fabulous 413

We’re bringing color to the drab days of winter in New England with tulips, music, and aliens. The history of aliens and our curiosity about their possibility is a colorful one and we’ll speak with Mr. Universe, Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College’s Salman Hameed, about the ties between the conjectures of the late Erich von Däniken and the Apple+ tv show: Pluribus. The Springfield Symphony Orchestra is preparing to honor the memory of MLK Jr, and get folx to dance in their aisles. The program Let’s Groove Tonight brings the sounds of Detroit and Philly soul to their stage as conductor William Waldrop, soloist Cherise Coaches, and SSO president Heather Caissey Roberts show us how the orchestra gets down. And In Granby a young couple is bringing beauty to the season through a plethora of tulips. Bramble and Blooms is a brand new micro farm and flower CSA that are bringing more color to this the most bleached of seasons and we’ll speak with Lyle and Ryan Williams about the budding of this new business.

We’re back from vacation, and into more movies and books!We chat with local author and professor of creative writing at Emerson College Margot Douaihy about the brand new book in her Sister Holiday series that gets released tomorrow. Divine Ruin sees the queer almost-nun with vice and faith in equal measure thrust into the throes of the fentanyl epidemic at her school, and we’ll talk about the series’ beautifully flawed heroine, the power of faith, the mystery genre and much more before you can meet the author herself at the Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley on Tuesday, Jan 13th. Then it’s off to Turners falls where at the Shea Theater we got much insight to one of last year’s most intricate spectacles. Dennis Berardi, founder of the special effects company Mr. X, is the driving force behind the special effects not just of Frankenstein, but a great number of other movies and tv shows and an important part of Guillermo del Toro’s creative team. We speak with him about his history in the field, his work with del Toro especially with this rework of the Shelley classic, the nuances of making a movie look amazing, and the connections to local filmmaker and producer Bob Krzykowski that bring him to the area.

Celebrations everywhere as we careen into the last days of the year where all the holidays are all overlapping with each other. And as such, we’ll hear about the ways you can observe and connect with community for one of the newest of the season’s holidays: Kwanzaa. This year the Kwanzaa collective is already in the midst of their many celebrations and we’ll hear about the holiday’s origins, it’s lessons, and it’s importance in a land where holidays that center african diasporic community are actively being targeted. We’ll find out where the western mass Kwanzaa celebrations are happening with Ayanna Crawford and Dr. Amilcar Shabazz.Plus we’ll introduce you to not one, not two, but THREE of the acts you can catch on the very last day of the year at Northampton’s First Night Celebrations, with the synthy post rock plurality of Teen Driver, the combined forces of the jangly 90’s rock influenced Couchboy, and the straightforward rock of Daniel Hales of Frost Heaves and Hales to bring even more music into our studios.

The holidays blaze bright as we stumble into the last days of 2025. If holiday music is on your menu, we’ll show you how heading west can fill your ears with seasonal cheer. The Boston Pops are presenting a brass based holiday pops concert at Tanglewood, and the event is just a small part of a move for the grounds to host concerts year round. We’ll chat with principal musicians Mike Roylance, and Michael Winters, and Artistic Administrator for Tanglewood Learning Institute Mark Ruleison about the festivities and more. We also continue our survey of the many musicians who are playing at Northampton’s First Night by getting Bunnies into the studio. They may be the only band that includes a sitting city council member, and their sound is a fun, trippy, magnetic amalgam of storytelling and far out effects.Plus our weekly chat with congressman Jim McGovern gets a recap of his recent appearance on BBC World, the attempts to stem the tides of war in Venezuela, possible SNAP restrictions, the grim prospects of health care resolution, and after all that, his hopes for the coming new year.

We’ll start introducing you to some of the amazing performers taking stage at Northampton’s First Night Celebrations. This year over 100 musicians, actors, dancers, and more will delight folx as they ready to ring in the new year, and first on our docket is the East African centered sounds of Zikina, in yet another live music Wednesday to lift up the middle of your week. And although we know that "slop" topped Merriam Webster’s 2025 list and became word of the year, it’s just as interesting to see who was pretty close to the finish line, so we’ll chat with Word Nerd Emily Brewster about this year’s runners up for that distinction. Plus the local musical community has been rocked with the loss of Evelyn Harris, who has been a pillar of vocal music in this area for decades. We’ll talk about our experiences with her and her impact in Western Mass both in performance and practice.

It’s cold outside, but the cows are warm and we’ll head out to Ludlow to explore a farm that’s seen 5 generations of family stewardship. Bud Ellison of Ellison Farm was given a mission in his youth and he’s kept that and his cattle as local as possible, we’ll hear more about his process, and his farm’s ties to family and community. We’ll also meet Ricky McKinnie of the Blind Boys of Alabama, currently the longest tenured member of the band, who’ll talk about the group’s legacy, its advocacy, and its depth before you can see them perform holiday classics at the Hope Center for the Arts this Saturday Dec. 20. Plus just because hanging out with everyone in the holidays is fun for you doesn’t necessarily mean that it is for everyone in your life. So we welcome Janice Chaka, celebrated introvert interpreter, back to our studios to talk about her podcast and give some tips to fellow introverts, and the extroverts that love them, about surviving seasonal gatherings.

2025 is practically in hindsight which means that everyone is making lists. But dictionaries crown a top jewel of lexicon for the year, each using a different method to select the word that reigns supreme. We'll chat with Word Nerd Emily Brewster what her employer, Merriam-Webster, has discovered is its top word of the year. We’ll also look forward to February when creatives and justice seekers will converge on UMass Campus. The Black Artistic Freedom Conference is now in its 3rd year and has just opened registration for its day long offerings on Feb 21st. Organizer and founder Imani Wallace joins us to talk about the intersectionality of art and social justice, the evolution and impetus of the Black AF Conference, and what cool things you can win if you’re brave enough to get onstage. And Mr. Universe, Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College’s Salman Hameed, also gets nostalgic as we look back and review some of our favorite moments in Space and exploration from 2025, and a quick reminder of where you can discuss your favorites with others tomorrow.

Today has a distinctly femme bent. And a bit of awe as well, as these two xennials get to meet a Bay State musical Icon. Juliana Hatfield, in addition to her solo work, has been a part of Blake Babies, the Lemonheads, The Minor Alps, The I Don’t Cares, and a full swath of appearances alongside rock’s most influential voices, while influencing the next generation of guitarists as well. Her twenty second album Lightning Might Strike comes out today and a return to the textured, punchy rock that was her M.O. for years of her early career, while remaining full of lyrics and progressions that are full of emotions still being processed, and for Live Music Friday we’ll welcome her in to the studio to hear more of her newest sounds, and tales of her journey until now, including her move to western mass. And we head to Easthampton for a Wine Thunderdome with Lauren Clark and Miranda Brown (rocker in her own right) of Tip Top Wine Shop, as we explore rich sanguine sangioveses along with fledgling wine enthusiast from the NEPM Newsroom: Nirvani Williams.

Today has holiday gifts, tangible and intangible. As we explore a place for you to get locally made crafts and art this weekend. Yet Another Queer Pop-Up Market hosts its 3rd annual Winter Market in Eastworks this Saturday, Dec 13th, bringing artisans of all disciplines of the 2SLGBTQIA+ BIPOC communities together to share their wares and work. We’ll talk with organizers M and Jey about building space for community to create and thrive.We’ll also hear what people have been inspired to create. "30 Poems in November" is a fundraiser for the Center for New Americans, and many of the 90+ poets that participated will read their work at an event this Saturday, Dec 13th on Smith College’s Campus. We’ll speak with Executive Director Laurie Millman, and the chairperson of the 30 poems effort, Nerissa Nields, about the event, and the impact of recent ICE activity on their work. That activity in the Bay State also has congressman Jim McGovern concerned as well, and in our weekly chat we’ll address that as well as get an update on healthcare costs, the reserve’s interest rate cuts, an upcoming farmer bailout, the ongoing conflicts with Venezuela and more.

Wednesdays are becoming a tasty musical center to our week here, and today is no different as we gear up for another live music Wednesday with the extra dynamic and charming Irish ensemble Socks in the Frying Pan before they head just north of our studios to perform at the Iron Horse tonight, to hear sounds of Shane Hayes on accordion, Callum Bell on fiddle, and Aodán Coyne on guitar in their amazing blend of traditional and the right now. We’ll get simultaneously more global and more local with the Holiday Pops program from the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. The concert will feature a wealth of songs and symphonic arrangements from South America, the Carribean, and secular and sacred music of many types, and we’ll chat with conductor William Waldrop , soloist Florencia Cuenca, and SSO President Heather Caisse-Roberts about Saturday’s selections. And Word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster, knows that familiarity indoctrinates usage for the English language. So we’ll look at words that used to be trademarked, but now are just a part of our linguistic landscape.

It’s not technically winter, but it definitely looks like it, and in Amherst that means a new market is bringing fresh produce, carefully crafted artisan goods and more to the Bangs Center. The Amherst Farmer’s Market has officially started staying open to the public through the end of the year and we’ll chat with market manager David Machowski about his almost 4 decade tenure, and the wintery future of one of the more popular and populated Farmers Markets in the area. We’ll also meet someone who made their own way in the music Industry with accapella music that has grown to be much more. The renowned 10 time Grammy winning vocal group Take 6 comes to Springfield this Thursday, Dec. 11th to perform at the Hope Center for the Arts, and we speak with founding member Claude McKnight about the groups’ history, present, and aspirations. Plus look who got his book in an amicus brief! It’s professor Ousmane Power-Greene of Clark University! So we’ll look at the parts that got quoted, the context of the suit it is a part of, and the possible repercussions of the decisions that will follow, all of which pertain to birthright citizenship for another power of history.

We head to Granby where a new barn rises from the ashes of a past February’s tragedy at Red Fire Farm. They are in the middle of replacing the facility that burned to the ground almost two years ago, and doing it in a way that will help them provide more to the community, and that incorporates more of Western Mass into its structure. We get a tour from Ryan and Sarah Voiland and hear about how you can help them finish the project. We’ll also hear about a new foundation seeking to get more folx to read more work from the global south. Interlink Publishing has just launched the non profit Interlink Foundation, which aims to inform and expand public discourse on issues of global significance and preserve and archive cultural heritage in the face of erasure and censorship. We’ll speak with Michel and Hannah Moushabeck about this new endeavor, how it fits along with their current publishing house, and their upcoming holiday market where you can find out even more. Plus Mr. Universe, Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College’s Salman Hameed talks with us about returning to the asteroid Bennu, the important building blocks of life that can be found there, and what this could mean for us on earth and future explorations.

We start with the creative talents of our many interwoven communities. Not a Noplace is a nomadic QTBIPOC-focused open mic series inspired by a line from Lucille Clifton poem "what the mirror said." The events are a whole body experience, holding space and spotlighting marginalized voices and artistry in our area, and we’ll speak with organizer Camille Asia about their next occasion on Dec. 6th. We'll also hear the dreamy bedroom pop of the globetrotting Jeanines who get to join their western Mass and Brooklyn components in our studios for Live Music Friday before you can hear them at The Drake in Amherst tonight, and celebrate their recently released album “How Long Can It Last”.Plus as the days dwindle the time for bubbles is upon us, so we head to Provisions’ new home in Thornes Marketplace to sample sparkling wines in the Tina Turner Memorial Wine Thunderdome with Benson Hyde and Toni deLuca, and learn more about how you can sample the bubbly at their upcoming Champagne tasting.

We’re seeing our landscapes change through art. In Northampton a new work looks at the way the railroad has changed the city over the past century through music, historical archives, and theater. Rhythm and Rails will be performed at the Forbes Library this Saturday and is indicative of the multimedia, multi-disciplinary work that Red Skies Music Ensemble puts together. Creative director Trudy Williams and members of the cast help us explore the ties of the Railroad to our time.We’ll also head out to Easthampton where a building full of artists are opening their doors to show the public what arts they are doing behind them this Dec 6, 7, and 13th. The Cottage St. Studios Open Studios only happens twice a year, so we join artist-art therapist Arielle Jessop-Humpage and bookbinder Lisa Hersey, two artists who’ll be participating, for a tour of the 5 floored facility and a sample of what beautiful works you might see this and next weekend. Plus our weekly chat with congressman Jim McGovern recaps the 43 miles walked last week for the food bank, the possible weaponization of SNAP against blue leaning states, war crimes in Venezuela and listener questions as well.

Today it is an incredibly overstuffed Live Music Wednesday, complete with icons and holidays and spectacle galoreAmericana legend Tony Trischka joins us ahead of his show tonight at the Iron Horse in Northampton. The renaissance banjo player has performed with Bela Fleck, Peter Rowan, Darol Anger, and way too many other notables to count, not to mention the bands and ensembles he’s led or been a part of, or the newer generation of players that have grown up listening to his incredibly versatile style, and we’ll get to chat with him about his career, latest album, and the joys of creating tonight's holiday spectacular. Then in Franklin County, the holidays are bringing the Franklin County Community Chorus together, under the direction of much beloved music director Paul Calcari, for a beautifully eclectic Holiday Concert this Sunday, Dec. 7th. We’ll hear a selection from a number of the chorus members, and hear about the appeal of making a more timeless program that you can see at this show on Sunday. And Word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior Editor at Merriam Webster runs ragged into a particularity of English that native speakers take for granted as we look at the ending -ed and the many ways and wheres that we pronounce it.

We head to Sunderland where a show that has become both timeless and indicative of ours is about to get on its feet for a cause. The radio play version of the timeless holiday tale “It’s A Wonderful Life” harnesses all of the goodwill of the movie, but lets your imagination roam. The mission driven theater company Valley Players will put on their version of this work over the next two weekends, complete with onstage sound effects, raising money for our neighbors: Wayfinders. We’ll talk with president Matteo Pangallo, director Chris Rohmann, John Bidwell of Wayfinders to talk about the collaboration and get hands on demonstrations of the wicked cool atmosphere of sounds that’ll be created by foley artist Chip Roughton about putting this production together. Perfect for Giving Tuesday!And we’ll head to Chicopee to see the evolution of a 117 year old family farm as it continues to bring fresh produce to the area in ways many don’t get a chance to see. McKinstry Farms and Market Garden may no longer be on its eponymous street, but the current generation has recently bloomed into a new market, a new greenhouse, a snack shack and ice cream and more. We’ll get a tour of the new facilities and talk with Nicole, Will, and Warren McKinstry about moving this family operation into the future.

We’re walking again, but this time at the end there’s a hot beverage and more awareness about issues and programs concerning domestic abuse in our area. This Sunday the 22nd Hot Chocolate Run for Safe Passage happens bringing literal thousands of folx to downtown Northampton to walk or run for their cause. We speak with executive director Marianne Winters and development director Natalie Ulrich about the scope of the organization, the goal for this years event, and how you can help them reach it. We’ll also hear how the federal cuts earlier this year brought folx together to create a whole new organization hoping to strengthen the ties and infrastructure of the area’s foodways. Resilient Valley is starting an ambitious campaign tomorrow on Giving Tuesday, and we’ll talk with members of their team about how land trusts, food banks, community health advocates and others are combining their powers to build an even better network. And Mr. Universe, Salman Hameed sits us down for a heart to heart about the facts of life and where planets come from, or at least how planetary discs help planets get born. Note: We mention the incorrect website for Safe Passage within this show, it is correctly linked within these show notes.

It’s day 3 of the March for the food Bank. But you, say, wasn’t it just the past two days? Isn’t that enough marching? The thing about it is that the march has never ventured west into the last county that the Food Bank supports…. UNTIL NOW. We’ll share how the very first Berkshires Mini march sounded from its start at Hot Plate Brewing to 3 locations all helping the nearly 30% of Pittsfield residents that are food insecure: The Dream Center, Mercado de Vida, and the Pittsfield Community Food Pantry, each with very different ways that they serve the people of the west-most part of the state. We’ll hear stories of the folx they see day in and day out, how the Food Bank aids their daily work, and more. Then we’ll hear from the Governor, who joined Monte for a second time on the march for the food bank. Maura Healey talks about the difficulties states are facing in light of the recent SNAP pauses and more and how hunger fits into the well-being of the state and its citizens, and how it affects some of the other issues currently on her docket. Plus we’ll hear yesterday’s totals from the March to End Hunger's end in Greenfield and tell you two places where you don’t have to walk to support the Food Bank with two musically driven events in Northampton happening tonight and Friday.

Today we hear the conclusion of walking for 3 days across 4 counties and 46 miles to raise awareness of hunger and food insecurity in western Mass as the 16th March for the Food Bank is in the midst of its longest leg, 26 miles from Hampshire into Franklin County. We’ll hear from many of the folx walking along the way including Food Bank Ex. Director Andrew Morehouse, State Reps Homar Gomez, Lindsay Sabadosa, and Mindy Domb, State Senator Jo Comerford, DA David Sullivan, hear about the agricultural side of this issue from CISA’s Ex Dir Jennifer Core and Farmer Ben Clark, while visiting more of the almost 200 food pantries and meal sites that the Food Bank of Western Mass supports day in and out including the Amherst Survival center and the unlikely hub of food insecurity that is UMass. Plus a check in with the man dressed as Fred Rogers himself, Monte Belmonte as he and others push two empty shopping carts north to Greenfield.

Today on the fabulous 413, the 16th March for The Food Bank of Western Mass. begins, and we follow the journeys of Monte Belmonte, and those who seek to help our community members facing hunger and food insecurity. We’ll take on two counties today, walking from Springfield, through Chicopee, Holyoke, Easthampton, and finally Northampton to raise awareness and hear stories; not just about those trying to make sure our neighbors are fed, but about what repercussions the recent issues concerning snap have inflicted on folx in our area.We’ll hear from US Reps Jim McGovern and Richie Neal, Ex. Director Andrew Morehouse, State Reps Pat Duffy and Shirley B. Arriaga, State Senator Jake Oliveira, mayors and marchers and more in addition to meeting folx in some of the food banks that count themselves among the 199 that the food bank supports across the 4 counties, as they push two empty shopping carts 17 miles north to raise awareness about the ongoing fight against hunger. And of course, as check in with the man dressed as Ernie from Sesame St himself.

NEPM’s Hunger Awareness week gets an endcap, with a tasty music sandwich, where the filling is birds. It starts at the Berkshire Botanical Garden, where the watercolor paintings of Robin Crofut-Brittingham’s new book, The Illuminated Book of Birds are currently on display through the end of the month. We speak with the author/artist about her work and her event at the exhibit on Nov. 29thThen we head to Holyoke to meet with the most beloved octegenarian chorus in the world. The Young at Heart Chorus is performing a concert this Sunday, Nov. 23 at the Academy of Music comprised entirely of protest songs of many flavors. We speak with co-musical director Bob Cilman and several of the performers about the ongoing need for songs that question the state of the world, and the ones that'll show up in their "10 Alarm Fire: We Won't Shut Up" program. And for Live Music Friday, LuxDeluxe are making their post Thanksgiving show at the Iron Horse in Northampton a tradition, but this year are turning the concert into a benefit for the Food Bank of Western Mass. We’ll get a taste of the good times to be had with them on November 28th.

NEPM’s Hunger Awareness week continues, and today our weekly conversation with Congressman Jim McGovern dials in on food insecurity. McGovern is one of the strongest anti-hunger advocates in Congress and today we’ll hear how fighting hunger used to be a bipartisan issue. And why and when that changed. We’ll separate fact from fiction when it comes to some of the narratives surrounding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP. And hear about his involvement in the 16th annual March for The Food Bank.While times may be tough and getting tougher for those who are hungry in this country, the US is a great place to be ultra-wealthy. Chuck Collins, the former heir to the Oscar Meyer fortune, has a new book called Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power are Ruining Our Lives and Planet. We’ll talk to the author about how billionaires may be impacting your everyday life more than you know. Chuck will be at the Odyssey in South Hadley tonight. And speaking of bookshops, dozens of them will descend on Northampton this weekend at the Northampton Antiquarian Book, Ephemera, and Book Arts Fair. We’ll talk rare editions, book bindings, and how this book fair is helping a local library with the book fair founder Mark Brumberg.

As NEPM’s Hunger Awareness Week continues, we head to another newer pantry just up the road from us here in Springfield. Born Free Food Pantry was birthed from a need in Six Corners to give access to the community to food and services that generally aren’t as easily available. We speak with founders Charlie Holmes and Terrence Lee, and other volunteers about feeding the people’s needs through faith and more. We also have an extra rare Live Music Wednesday with Jude Roberts, who we last saw as part of The Mammals. He’s got songs all his own, and a beautiful take on catchy folk in his latest album "The Olive and the Vine”, and we’ll give you a preview before you can see them for yourself at the Dream Away Lodge in Becket. Plus word Nerd Emily Brewster senior editor at Merriam Webster helps to explain the letters we don’t say and why as we explore the origins of silent letters in english words, and the historical occasions on which we sometimes say them.

Hunger awareness week continues here at NEPM, so, we’ll take you into one of the newest of the 199 organizations that the Food Bank of Western Mass works with in Western Mass at The Brick House in Turners Falls. Executive director Tom Taffe brings us into his small-but-mighty food pantry and tells us about the innovative new collaborative anti-hunger effort that several organizations in Montague have formed to fight hunger togetherWe’ll head to Chesterfield to a small but incredibly diverse farm that is no stranger to the workings of both Snap and HIP as they affect both the people who need their services and the farmers supplying the produce for those programs. Rachel and Tevis Roberston-Goldberg, who show us the incredible array of things they produce at Crabapple Farm from livestock, to houseplants, to produce and more, and the effect that federal and state programs have on us all. A new play at CitySpace in Easthampton about the fateful accident that paralyzed soul legend Teddy Pendegrass and scandalized his career opens Nov 21 & 22. The Night We Rode takes a new approach to looking at the event and we’ll speak with playwright Mercedes Loving-Manley and the man playing Teddy, Springfield’s own Terrell James Jones about humanizing the people involved, and the things left behind in getting a new play on it's feet.

It’s Hunger Awareness Week here at NEPM and that means all week we’ll be talking with folx involved with the fight against hunger, the proverbial boots on the ground here in Western Mass. We start at the top, with the head of the organization for which Monte will march next week, executive director for the Food Bank of Western Mass Andrew Morehouse. We’ll hear about the ways that inflation and reduced government outlets have affected their abilities to service the area’s 199 food pantries, and the increase in demand that’s occurred this year. Plus we’ll get into the newest leg for the march for the food bank, the Berkshire’s Mini March. Right next to the issue of hunger is that of housing insecurity. Bittersweet Lane is a new book that is a magical mix of memoir and hard looks at policy regarding public housing and the effect and issues surrounding the lack of housing in the Nation. We speak with the author Jamie Madden about his ongoing work on this subject, his thoughts on recent efforts regarding affordable housing and more before he reads at a launch event at Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley on Tuesday, November 18th.

Today on the fabulous 413, we’ll visit the subterranean home of a legacy Western Mass business that is about the change hands. Turn It Up CDs and more took over a basement in Northampton 30 years ago and the owners, Patrick Pezzati and Chandra Hancock are now turning over the keys to one of their longtime employees, Carson Arnold, who starting shopping at Turn It Up when he was 10 years old. We’ll hear about how a store selling physical media has managed to weather 3 decades of digital incursion.And if you were looking for a fun way to support The March for The Food Bank coming up in just over a week and don't want to walk any part of 43 miles, maybe pop into State St. Fruit Store or Coopers in Northampton where you can make a donation that will land you with a goody bag filled with wine and more. And in the Thunderdome, we’ll taste some indigenous Eastern Block grapes with our wine snob friends at State StreetAnd it’s Live Music Friday, we welcome back Gina Coleman and Diego Mongue from the Berkshire-based Misty Blues Band who bring their well rooted blues at De La Luz Soundstage in Holyoke tonight

We’re going from coast to coast in a new book from Alex Werth. On Loop is an examination of the collision of sound, politics, racism, and culture in Oakland, CA and explores the trajectory of influence they have had on the evolution of the city. We speak with the author before you have a chance to hear more about his writing and experiences at a book launch party this Tuesday, Nov 18 at 33 Hawley in Northampton. And in Amherst, we’re taking our own bodies to extreme to help support others. The CWC Chilly Challenge will bring people together to support the daily work of the Center for Women and Community this Saturday, Nov. 15th. We speak with Director of Programming and Development, Kathie Cravelli about the daunting prospect of dunking yourself in very cold water, as well as the services they provide beyond the campus of UMass. And the Government has just gotten back in session after the longest shut down in the nation’s history, but congressman Jim McGovern has many thoughts about that process and what it’s done to his party, plus the possible penalization of the bay state for its actions paying for the SNAP deficit, the albatross of the Epstein files and more.

Just because we’re old doesn’t mean we don’t wanna have fun.The Toy Box in Amherst wants to encourage you in that train of thought. This Thursday, November 13th, sees the store hosting it’s third “So You Think You’re Too Old For a Toy Store” event for those 21+ who may have gotten out of touch with their more playful sides. We head to the amusement stomping grounds to play with toys ourselves and hear what’s changed for year three of getting older folx to come be playful in their space with owner Liz Rosenberg. Plus at the Hope Center for the Arts, a pillar of Latin Jazz and more comes to play in Springfield this Friday. Arturo Sandoval has thrilled audiences around the world with a sound that is both technically dazzling and deeply expressive, earning multiple Grammy Awards, an Emmy, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He joins us to talk about his beginnings in Cuba, learning under Dizzy Gillespie, and key lessons for us all about creating and enjoying music, including at his show on November 14th. And word Nerd Emily Brewster helps us understand the difference between the lines we use grammatically as we pit hyphens, N-dashes, and M-dashes against each other in a SYNTAX THUNDERDOME, as we also examine how AI is confusing and conflating the three.

It’s veteran’s day, a holiday started after the end of world war I, the current evolution of Armistice Day has grown to encompass and honor those who’ve served in all of the conflicts since. But the change in the way those wars get waged in the following century has left more of a mark on both the way we approach military theaters, and those that enter them to fight. We chat with the director Catie Foertsch and executive producer Cptn. Tommy Furlong of “What I Want You to Know” a documentary that interviews combat veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts that have plagued this millenia about their expectations, experiences, and outcomes, before you have two opportunities to see this film in Great Barrington and Northampton this coming Saturday. We’ll also head to a tiny corner of Western Mass that sorta isn’t Springfield to see how a neighborhood CDC is helping more produce to be produced. Wellspring Cooperative took a quarter acre of ungrowable land, and built a greenhouse on top of it that’s bringing herbs and lettuces to the four counties and we’ll speak with Fred Rose and Farm manager Clive about what happens at Wellspring Harvest.

Today we examine the connective tissue of faith and culture. In Florence at the Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity this Thursday, a panel of musicians will come together to explore the ways sound and spirituality converge. Yearnings is a concert bringing together singers of several spiritual walks to look at the ways those beliefs sound and how the music of faith brings us all together. We’ll talk with the show’s creator Joey Baron, as well as its music director Kevin Sharpe about the collaborations that fuel the event. It’s Jewish Book month, and to celebrate, we’ll look at two new children’s books: one about a trailblazer for the Supreme Court, and one about the history of the celebration itself. What Louis Brandeis knows tells the history of the first Jewish justice, from his beginnings in Kentucky to the court cases that paved the way to his seat in the highest court and Fanny’s Big Idea shows Jewish Book week’s origins in the Boston library system. We’ll speak to the author of both books, Richard Michelson about writing history for young folx and what other tomes you can celebrate the month with. Plus Mr. Universe Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College’s Salman Hameed and plugs pop culture into the skies as we explore a great many connections including to the comet 3I/ATLAS.

We’re finding new ways to learn, and helping those new ways to thrive. We head up to Greenfield to the Center School, whose innovative approach to making well-rounded and adjusted small humans has become a literal institution in the area. And as we get a tour of their new building with some of the staff and teachers there, we’ll hear about the change that inter-generational, integrated classrooms can have, and how a new fundraising campaign hopes to help them continue their educative work long into the future. We’ll also chat with multi-disciplinary artist and podcaster East Forest, who’ll perform at the Hope Center for the Arts this Saturday. We’ll hear how he links music to film and perhaps also to psychedelics, and the connections of various types he seeks to create in sound, and what spectacles will arrive in Springfield on November 8th. And at Tip Top Wine Shop in Easthampton, Lauren Clark and Miranda Brown take us to France for a Thunderdome that becomes a lesson about cork bleed and cork taint that is important for anyone who likes to imbibe.

We express ourselves and local history, and at the center of that venn diagram in Amherst, is hatsSo we head to the town to see how its millinery legacy is being honored and explored in 9 locations in an exhibit titled Hats. Anika Lopes of Ancestral Bridges shows us, through a number of the displays in businesses, museums and more, how the millinery industry of Amherst is tied to the black community, the educational legacy, and the cultural heritage of the people who’ve lived there. And even the film industry, as we chat with costumer Mona May, who in conjunction with the exhibit is coming to speak at Amherst Cinema this Monday to discuss the hats and her work in costuming along with a 30th anniversary showing of Clueless. And after a momentous election Tuesday this week, congressman Jim McGovern shares his thoughts on the results, the effects of the ongoing shutdown now in week 6 and whether there’s an end in sight, and his preparations for the upcoming March for the Food Bank.

There’s been a lot of reporting on SNAP as of late, and its fate, and that of those who rely on it, as the shut down rolls into its 6th week. And although it’s been partially filled, there’s still repercussions for that and organizations that aid with food insecurity nationwideSo we head to one of those organizations that is seeing the impact of the turmoil concerning the Supplementary Nutritional Assistance Program: The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. Ex. Dir. Andrew Morehouse speaks with us about what the program actually does, who uses it, and how its removal will impact it and the 199 food pantries of the 4 counties who depend on their services. We’ll also head to another point of community that’s been bringing together folx from all walks of life for 80 plus years. Hutghi’s at the Nook is a Westfield staple that consistently punches above its weight in it's weekly offerings, and we’ll speak with one of the current owners Kevin Gibeaux about the folx who gather in that space and what you can experience there. And word nerd Emily Brewster senior editor at Merriam Webster introduces us to a term that is not in the dictionary, but that keeps encyclopedias and other reference materials honest and original in their work: the mountweazel.

We’re extending our reach, and for the first time in our nearly 3 years of this show, we venture outside of the 4 counties of western Massachusetts to a facility that is closely tied to the work that many farmers in the 413 do: the raising of meat animals. We head to the other side of the Quabbin to Hardwick, just over the Hampshire border into Worcester County where Jennifer Core of CISA joins us to chat with Kate Stillman of Stillman Quality Meats about their brand new processing facility, one of the few of its kind in the area. We learn about the farm’s origins, and the shortfalls it found along the way, the process of constructing a new building to USDA Specs, and how you can help them finish it. Then Palestinian comic, actor, and more Alaa Shehada brings his story of hope, resilience, and the course of everyday life in his one man show The Horse of Jenin. Before the work comes to the Bowker Auditorium at UMass Fine Arts Center on Thursday Nov. 6 for the show's only US appearance this year, we ask about the refugee camp origins of his theater troupe and comedy work, and how humor helps convey the truth in one's story.

We are generally arts and culture heavy and politics light, but seeing as tomorrow is election day, and many positions are up for grabs locally, we figured we’d put a pause in that and go all in on one of the last contested races in W. MassSo today we focus our attention just across the river from our studios at NEPM to the mayoral race in West Springfield. We hear from the incumbent William C. Reichelt, the youngest mayor in the city's history, who’s seeking a 4th term, to hear about the programs he’s looking forward to implementing, his stance on the issues of schools and consolidation, the budget, moving public safety facilities, and more. And from the challenger, current councilor at large Daniel O’Brien, who’s served that seat for an equal amount of years, but has raised questions about Mittineague school, taxes for the town and those with fixed incomes, and even a reduction of the mayoral term back to 2 years. Plus, as a brief respite from the municipal debate, Mr. Universe, Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College’s Salman Hameed joins us to witness the beer-adjacent birth of a brand new baby solar system.

The veil is thin and thus we are getting down with the weird and uncanny, which ultimately is a mirror of ourselves. Which is to say that today, we’re getting all dressed up and festive for Halloween. Even the Shea Theater is getting all dressed up and bringing folx into its transformed bowels for an interactive evening of performance. A Happening V is inviting the public into the venue to experience this year’s theme “Bestiary”, with nods to a certain influential Orwell classic. We get a tour of the many rooms, ideas, and connections making up the two days of activity from some of the 60+ artisans collaborating to make the magic happen: Kat Adler, Mo Schweiger, Sam Perry, and Corey LaitmanIn Pittsfield, Wander is celebrating the 50th anniversary of a beloved cult classic with a showing and dance party. It’s pretty traditional to watch Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight, but some folx may not know that, or have even seen it before, so we’ll talk with Jay Santangelo about the film and the occasion, and other fun events that are happening in their all welcoming space. And our Franklin County Wine Friend and 2nd level sommelier Ken Washburn takes us into the southern hemisphere for two Chilean wines that are not too fancy, but full of surprises at the Leverett Village Co-Op.

It is the spooky times, and as such it’s time to delve into the many uncanny fables new and old of the area with Folklorist, journalist, and explorer of the unexplained Jeff Belanger, who in addition to being our guide to the more interesting tales of New England, is also celebrating the release of his latest book: Wicked Strange, and two upcoming shows on our very own NEPM-TV. We’ll also head to Easthampton to learn more about the inaugural run of the F*ing Awesome Game Show. A labor of love and time and effort we’ll hear about from mastermind Hors d’Oeuvres about their call to make a game show for Western Mass, the many props and inspirations that have contributed to the experience, and how you can participate in making it even better. And congressman Jim McGovern has a lot on his mind. We pepper him with listener questions about the shutdown, now in week 4, military operations in the Gulf of Mexico, and the precarious positions of SNAP benefits and health insurance for Americans in need. Plus we'll get his take on the upcoming NYC election, which may indicate a greater sea change.

It is not just New England’s prettiest season, it is very nearly the best time of the year. To one of the hosts of this show, that means Franklin County Cider Days, which showcases all the ways the apple is integrated into the agriculture of the area, from sweet cider to hard, to classes on orchard stewarding and donuts and more. We head to one of the events many locations: New Salem Orchard where 100+ year old trees continue to grow on one of the most idyllic spots in the area just west of the Quabbin, where the inimitable Carol Hillman talks about the importance of her farm to the health of folx and community. We also hear about another community education effort and how you can help it continue. Self Evident Education highlights underrepresented histories through educational materials and documentaries, and is one of the many organizations that saw grant availability disappear with the current administration. We speak with executive director Michael Lawrence-Riddell and board member Ousmane Power-Greene about the importance of exploring uncomfortable truths about ourselves to grow into a stronger nation, and how you can aid their efforts to continue doing so. And Word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster shows us how language loses a bit of its edge as we explore words that have fallen prey to Semantic bleaching.

Today we meet the challenger for the seat of mayor in North Adams.Scott Berglund is a new arrival to the city, but is already full of ideas about its progress. We sit with the candidate to learn about this first foray into politics, especially as a relatively new resident, his views on housing, senior benefits, and some criticisms of the current administration’s projects and communication with the public and more. There’s a story hiding in and around each grave of the 175yr old Pittsfield Cemetery. The Berkshire Historical Society gives tours around the more notable denizens of the resting place. We wander the grounds with director Lesley Herzberg to meet some of the important figures, learn cool quirks about the location, and discover the difficulties involved with preserving this particular part of Berkshires legacy. And tonight, Tuesday, Oct. 28th at the Iron Horse, you’ll have a chance to see Autumn Defense take the stage in support of their latest album Here and Nowhere. But first, you’ll meet Pat Sansone, John Stirrat, James Haggerty, and Greg Wieczorek here at the NEPM studios to talk about their sound and the 10 year hiatus between releases.

We turn our attention to a third city in western Mass that is having an election this year, North AdamsThe first of those candidates is the incumbent Jennifer Macksey, who is seeking a third term in the office. We’ll explore some of the issues that arose in a recent debate including housing, staffing, and transparency at City Hall, as well as hear more of how she’s currently leading the city into new projects. We’ll also check out a crop that is well suited to the Berkshires: Chicken! And cows and pigs as it turns out, and Square Roots Farm is raising all of the above. We meet with proprietor Michael Gallagher, and Jake Levin of Berkshire Agricultural Ventures to hear about his journey to farming, and some of the lengths the farm has gone to insure a more ethical meat for the people. And Mr. Universe, Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College’s Salman Hameed puts on his film buff hat to talk about Gulliermo del Toro’s latest movie Frankenstein, and takes a closer look at the science-y core of its fiction sandwich, and the questions about humanity the work still poses.

Today we revel in entertainment delights of many varieties In Northampton, a heady melange of visual art, music, performance, and personal experience have come together for a series of performances that center a current exhibit. How to Bear the Unbearable Body is on display at the APE Gallery and each Friday of the exhibit has involved a performance related to the piece and we speak with Visual Artist Emily Orling, and composer/director Cesar Alvarez of their performance incubator Spirits go Blah about the work, collaborating, and much more. We also see how local can be haute couture. It’s FAB Passion Fashion Week here in Springfield bringing 13 local designers to the fore and crafting a unique experience of community with fashion at its center. We talk with founder Richie Richardson of Fab Fashion, and casting director Jerry Jordan Brown about the nuances of the event, and the importance of elevating local talent beyond their own expectations. Live Music Friday brings the dance forward, LCD Sound System inspired sounds of Rival Galaxies to the NEPM studios before you can catch their set at Hutghi’s at the Nook this Saturday, October 25th. And we’ll go adjacent to wine for this week’s thunderdome at Provisions in Northampton much like they’ll do in their upcoming move into Thornes Marketplace as we taste wine influenced Whiskeys to prepare for a festival at their Amherst location this weekend. Content warning: Our conversation with Emily Orling and Cesar Alvarez references suicide

Today, we dabble with our fascination of the darker elements of daily lifeA new series showing second wave noir films is starting at the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington. From Chinatown, to Night Moves, to Point Blank and beyond, each film takes the unrest in our culture and distills it and we’ll speak with creative director Ben Elliot and board member Emmy-nominated director Matthew Penn about the appeal of watching stark realities on screen.. Plus we’ll hear from the force behind the Secret Planet Music CSA Edo Mor, who’re bringing the afro-dance-psych band Dogo du Togo to the Iron Horse this Saturday. But the show will also be a resurgence of a culinary popup from Mor that he’s launched in the past, so we’ll hear from the renaissance man himself about the history and culture of the Sabich. Plus our weekly chat with US Representative Jim McGovern, who’s getting ready for the upcoming march for the food bank, but definitely has thoughts about the government being shutdown for nearly a month, plus we’ll get his reflections on the no kings day protests, and your listener questions.

Today has many meetings of culture.We speak with the third and final candidate for mayor of Easthampton: JT Tirrell, current councilor at-large, who has a unique perspective on the population and its growth as the only Easthampton native on the ballot. We’ll hear about his ties to the Williston Northampton School, the other public offices he's held, and visions for some of the public services the city offers.We’ll also see the shift of perspective of a nation as they themselves shrug out of colonial rule with a new exhibit at Smith College Museum of Art. "Michel Kameni: Portraits of an Independent Africa" explores the work of the studio photographer over his decades of practice and curator Aprile Gallant shows us some of the nuances of his work, the subtle changes to the museum itself now that it is free to the public, and learn how that public can come immerse themselves in Kameni's style at an event on Nov. 14. And Word Nerd Emily Brewster senior editor at Merriam Webster takes our oversimplified opinions to the presses as we explore the origin of the word "stereotype," and other words in English birthed from publishing.

Today, we spend time with our second of the Easthampton mayoral candidates: Lindsi Sekula. She currently serves as the executive assistant to the mayor for the city, and was the very first to announce her candidacy. We ask about her vision for the office, especially now after working with two mayors, the importance of some of the city’s initiatives, and get her take on the temperature of a race with three candidates who already work very closely with each other. We’ll also learn more about the ways the Bay State is helping kids get closer to their foodways. It’s Massachusetts Farm to School Month and despite federal cuts, the state has thrown its support into this program that gets the products of local farms into public schools. We speak with Abby Getman-Skillicorn, special projects manager, and Mistelle Hannah, Northampton schools nutrition director, about the ways this program is ahead of its class. And local author Catherine Newman is celebrating the release of a brand new novel. "Wreck" sees the family introduced in her previous work "Sandwich" wrestling with uncertainty and grief and evolving family dynamics in a way that is compelling and personal, and very much rooted in western Mass., and we’ll chat with the author before you can meet her in person at an event in South Hadley next week through Odyssey Bookshop.

Last month we got to talk with the mayoral candidates for Northampton before their primary, and this month we’ll look at the three candidates for the neighboring city of Easthampton who didn’t have a primary because they use ranked choice voting. First up is the person who moved into the mayoral seat after former mayor Nicole LaChappelle vacated: Salem Derby. The last person to declare their candidacy, Derby has served on Easthampton’s city council for almost the whole millennium, and we’ll chat with him about his change of heart regarding the position, and more. We’ll also head to Great Falls, where the seeds of the 16th March for the Food Bank are sprouting and visions of costumes are dancing in the heads of the creative team at Swanson’s Fabrics. We’ll get a glimpse of who Monte might be dressed as on his 43 mile trek from Springfield to Greenfield. And Mr. Universe, Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College's Salman Hameed, wants us to go outside and look at what in ancient times would have been portents of catastrophe, but now we know they are just wicked cool comets you can see this time of year (provided of course the skies clear up).

We’ll head over to the 3 County Fairgrounds, the new home of Recordville’s Northampton Record Fair. Over 60 record dealers, vintage shops, and a lot more amenities come with the change in space, and we speak with organizers DJ Studebaker Hawk and Janice Chaka, as well as vendor Gio Zuniga whose Spin That Records will be tabling there about the changes and mainstays happening this weekend at their event, and get to hear the exploits of Janice's own crate digging.

In Williamstown, four local businesses will come together to celebrate the season and how their respective avenues dovetail snugly with each other. The Cricket Creek Farm Fall Picnic happens this weekend, and we’ll speak with Kat Hand of Berkshire Cider Project, Justin Adkins of Wild Soul River, Chef Swifty of Door Prize and Anna Halpin Healy representing Cricket Creek Farm itself about the fun festivities ahead, and getting the public to see how they are all connected.

Today has writing, reading, AND arithmetic. The Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics has been ongoing since the College’s founding, established and fostered by the late professor emeritus David Kelly and encouraging innovative thinking for high school students. We speak with part of the filmmaking team that’s created a documentary about the program before you can watch a free screening of “Hunting Yellow Pigs” on Saturday, October 18th. We’ll also encourage you to write more and better. The Write Angles Conference is a well established event in the valley that now is under the purview of the Straw Dogs Writers Guild. We speak with Morgan Sheehan and Michael Favala Goldman about the many offerings at the convention, and how writing groups like these can help with your own craft.

Today we're heading to one of the most eastern points in Franklin County and a new work of theater that is seeking to bridge divides among us. Swamped is a new work exploring family and connection in an incredibly intimate and nuanced ways and we speak with playwright and director Court Dorsey as well as actors Izzy Miller, Joe Laur, and Heather Willey about the work, about theater's place in their corner of the 978, and the many improvements made to the place the play will be performed over the next two weekends: The Wendell Meetinghouse.

Today we've got some music to serenade the end of the week. We’ll head to Northampton where a theater company has narrowed their focus performing only musicals. And this weekend they open with one of the more difficult offerings from Steven Sondheim. K&E Theatre Group takes on Sunday in the Park with George and we speak with members of the company explore challenges of putting on a show that is about more than just a painting, and the appeal of musicals overall.We’ll also chat with composer Rafiq Bhatia about his two solo albums from this year that paint very different sonic landscapes. The Oscar nominated member of Son Lux performs at the Hope Center for The Arts in Springfield tonight and we'll delve into how they make such picturesque modern sounds, and look at the difference between his many varied projects.And for Live Music Friday Norma Dream joins us to celebrate the release of their newest album before you can party with them at their album release party at Bombyx in Florence. And it’s actually a pizza party so it’s extra cool.