The Fabulous 413

Although the United States was never specifically a penal colony, it is hard to deny that systematic penal labor was crucial to the founding of the nation. We think it’s important to consider as we prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War. So today, we look at an art exhibit at Wistariahurst Museum that highlights the carceral system as we know it today. “Prison Reimagined" is a collection of artwork depicting U.S. presidents by incarcerated folx, organized by artistic director Caddell “Monty” Kivett from inside a correctional facility in North Carolina. We chat with Kivett and Wistariahurst’s director, Megan Seiler, about the power of this display and some of the systematic roadblocks that stood in the way.We also bring you back in time to yesterday’s party to celebrate 413 Day in Easthampton. We show you what Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll had to say when she stopped by the festivities and delivered a present from the Governor in person and in writing!And, we received another present on that stage from Mr. Universe, Salman Hameed of Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College, all while exploring the ways that galaxies are formed and photographed!

It is a day of information for the day of our area code, April 13, which we’ll be celebrating this Sunday in Easthampton, but it turns out we’re not the only ones!Because western Mass. is too celebrate-able for just one party, we talk to Liz Rosenberg of The Toy Box in Amherst to talk about their 413 day festivities, and learn about even more celebrations across the Bay State.We have Live Music Friday with Vince Thompson of Silvie’s Okay and learn of the two opportunities to check out his bittersweet and heartfelt take on country this coming week, including our own event this Sunday, and learn how he has opened up the spectrum in his music and beyond.And, a Tina Turner Memorial Wine Thunderdome in Easthampton with great repercussions as we sip with Laurie Clark and Miranda Brown at Tip Top Wine Shop to choose which wine to get sampled at a celebration for an area code that we think is fabulous.

The Berkshires has been a dance incubator and nesting place and incubator for nearly 100 years. So, today we head to the grounds of Jacob's Pillow in Becket to get a sneak peek at their upcoming festival.Jacob’s Pillow’s executive director, Pamela Tatge, is nearing a decade at the helm of the organization, and we hear about some of her highlights from this season and her tenure..And we talk to producing director Holly Jones about the curatorial nuances behind such an extensive festival while considering each dance company's experience level and genre, and how Jacob’s Pillow continues to influence dancers across the Berkshires and beyond.Plus, we talk to both about the long lasting connections in the highly anticipated season closer, Alvin Ailey.We even get a chance to see the brand new Doris Duke Theatre, which is nearly rebuilt from the ashes after a fire destroyed the facility at the start of the pandemic.

Last year, Phil Korman of CISA announced his retirement. And just recently, our friends at the organization have found someone to fill his shoes. We talk to the new director, Jennifer Core, to hear her connections to agriculture in western Mass. and beyond, and how her insights from her own farm help push the organisation’s mission further.Our resident Word Nerd, Emily Brewster of Merriam-Webster, will have us salivating as we search for the origins of spit, spitting image, spit-take, and how clones are sorta connected to all three. Plus, how you can hang out with her in person this weekend!And, we get our first-hand government rundown a day early as we speak with Rep. Jim McGovern about the nationwide protests this past weekend, the likelihood that his hunger-free future bill survives the rigors of both house and senate, tariff-aggedon 2025 and much more.Oh plus, it's our 500th show. No biggie.

We constantly strive to be renaissance people because knowledge is power, and everyone wants to be able to properly MacGyver things.But, never in the course of the show have we seen a farm that does it like Barberic Farms. So, we head to Shelburne to see all the adorable lambs get their legs and discover the myriad of pots that Barbara and Eric Goodchild have their hands in, from wool to iron to pickles to pianos and more. Speaking of education, we discover a new film inspired by real events in the valley with locally-based actors on its celluloid. “Urban Ed” follows four students as they navigate their school’s closure, and we speak with writer, director and educator Wade Wofford and one of the movie’s main actors, Kayla Staley, about their connections to the story and the landscape for smaller films. Plus, we also learn some history with Mr. Universe, Salman Hameed of Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College, who tells the tale of Greenland's colonization in the name of science in the late 19th century and the questionable results of those efforts.

It is National Poetry Month, and as the world could use more art [full stop], we broadcast live from the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst. We hear some of the reclusive poet’s work and about who was instrumental in getting her words posthumously published with the museum’s executive director, Jane Wald. Plus, we learn about some of the museum’s upcoming programs and exciting updates on the grounds with Brooke Steinhauser, senior director of programs, including the Phosphorescence series.We also hear insights and inspiring and heartbreaking works of two local poets who’ve participated in the series, Joan Kwon Glass and DeMisty Bellinger. Content Warning: Some of the work read in this episode contains mentions of death, child death, and suicide.

If the arts funding cuts are due to continue until morale proverbially improves, we’re pretty sure that means a lot is on the chopping block. Great birthday present for a nation 250 years young. At that juncture is Mass Humanities. Among it’s other initiatives like the 4th of July readings of Frederick Douglass and the Clemente Course for the Humanities, the organization is slated to be at the center of the state’s commemoration of the Revolutionary War. But just this week their federal grants were terminated. Director Brian Boyles joins us to talk about how the festivities may continue, and what can be done to support their efforts to bring more Massachusetts stories to life. In that vein, we’re supporting organizations aiding each other, especially if it’s highlighting a pivotal work that shifted the entire landscape of two mediums in its wake. Triplex cinemas is showing a restored version of 1948’s The Red Shoes in conjunction with Jacob’s Pillow, and we’ll speak with Professor emeritus Lynn Garafolo and curator and archivist Norton Owen about the auteurs it has influenced, and the impact it has hadLive Music Friday brings the Lucky Shots to the studio. They’ve just released their second album Second Tongue and are celebrating with a show at JJ’s Tavern tonight, but we’ll get the story of their shift in recording process when they make a visit with us.

In the words of R.I.S.E Fest co-founder Gina M. Krosoczka, "art of all mediums has been scientifically proven to increase self-esteem, foster community and connection, and process emotions, feelings, trauma and so much more."So, today, we’re learning about folx at the beginning of their artistic journeys, someone with unlikely displayed artistry and someone who has been making copious amounts of it. We’ve got a little extra live music for your week with Ari Hest before he takes the stage at the Parlor Room tonight. With over two decades under his belt, we find out about the Grammy-nominated artist’s Patreon project that has him releasing a new song every two weeks.Plus, your kids are extra alright when there’s art involved. Later this month, R.I.S.E Fest returns to provide two straight days of engaging workshops, performances, presentations and more. We hear from event co-founder and NYT-bestselling graphic novelist Jarrett J. Krosoczka about the importance of fostering the artistic inclination of kids, tweens and teens. And, our weekly chat with Rep. Jim McGovern may not last for 24 hours, but it definitely covers his thoughts on Sen. Cory Booker’s filibuster, ICE arrests at Red Fire Farm, tariffs, possible weekend protests and more.

We’re jumping into National Poetry Month with two poets, extra descriptive language and a former state senator.One of these things may not be like the others, but is relevant to a key moment in history. Former Poet Laureate of Northampton Richard Michelson has written a new children’s book on the first presidential Passover Seder, “Next Year in the White House.” We talk with him and Eric Lesser, former state senator and White House aide, about being at the table with the Obamas.In Shelburne Falls, another poet is celebrating a new work. UMass professor and Guggenheim fellow Martín Espada is releasing his new book of poems, “Jailbreak of Sparrows,” and we gain his insight on the nuances of collecting his pieces anew before his reading at Raven Used Books this weekend.Word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster, is encouraging us to be more descriptive with unusual words for very specific shapes.

Literacy equals liberation, and each can take several forms. To the letter of this equation, the western Massachusetts-based Literacy Project has been providing adult basic education programs and opportunities for 40 years. We talk with Executive Director Colleen Kucinski and Sagrario “Charro” Turner, a recent program graduate and commencement speaker, about filling this often overlooked gap in education, supporting participants to engage in meaningful and equitable learning to participate in the economic, social, cultural and civic community. And an event where you can celebrate the milestone with them!And the 4th annual Power of Truths Festival is happening this Friday and Saturday in Florence to harness the power of education and art for racial and social justice. We welcome back to the show festival co-founder Michael Lawrence Riddell, executive director of Self-Evident Education, and one of the festival performers, Washington DC-based emcee and author Sa-Roc.

New lands, and new works, and new looks oh my.We meet Margaret Russo, board president of the Scarlet Sock Foundation, whose mission it is to support works of social Justice theater. But how does a foundation come to such a specific niche. We’ll learn the history of the organization, about the many folx they support, and hear more on the free gala they’ll be hosting this SaturdayAnd we’ll head to Amherst to see the newest farm we’ve ever been to. Little Light Farm is taking a novel approach to CSAs, land conservation and preservation, and community connection, and they’re just getting started. New farm proprietor Emmy Smella talks to us about her plans for the plot of land, as well as some of the framework she’s established in starting a brand new farm. Plus PhD candidate at UMass, local historian Erika Slocumb outlines some of the recent changes that have been happening at the Stowe Center for Literary Activism, and how they’re shifting focus in their collection and in their curation, which might just shift some of your perspectives as well

This is about making big efforts in small places. We head to Pittsfield for one such endeavor. March 31 is Trans Day of Visibility, and Wander Berkshires is hosting a series of events to celebrate transgender and non-binary folx in a time when community members increasingly face endangerment and anti-trans legislation. We chat with founder Jay Santangello about the things he’s got planned for us all to enjoy and to make our neighborhoods inclusive. In Montague, the Bard comes alive all over town, bringing folx from all the way across the pond to breathe life into his words. The Montague Shakespeare Festival is in full swing with performances this weekend and the next, and we speak with artistic director Nia Lynn, artistic director; Kenny Butler, executive director; and Fiona Ross, director and lead practitioner, about what the second year of the festival has to offer. And Mr. Universe, Salman Hameed of Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College, remembers our eclipse fever from last year and tells us about 2 more eclipses, one of which you can see here in western Massachusetts, and dark energy in space (somehow those aren’t directly related).

If you’ve driven on Route 9 through the hilltowns, you’ve probably seen Beaver Brook Golf Course on the bend between Williamsburg and Northampton. But, there are some changes on the horizon for that gigantic parcel of land with the goal of expanding public access and climate resiliency.We talk with Kate Theoharides, Wendy Ferris and Mary Dettloff of the Trustees of Reservations about the goal to purchase the 200+ acres with help from the fundraising and conservation efforts of the public and surrounding towns.Live Music Friday brings author and banjoist Max Wareham to our shores before you can celebrate the recent release of his album. “DAGGOMIT!,” with him at a Watermelon Wednesday concert next Saturday.And, we get ready to feel the pain of EU tariffs in the next Tina Turner Memorial Wine Thunderdome. We explore one of the mother varieties at State Street Fruit Store in a return to Cabernet Franc as California challenges Loire on our palettes.

Today there's food for your tummies and your intellect, because that is how we roll.First, we head to Mesa Verde in Greenfield to learn about a new grant program to help small independent restaurants feed the community and meet their margins. We speak with Kate Lawless and Hannah Sobel of the Franklin County Community Development Corporation (FCCDC); Amy McMahon of Mesa Verde; and Valerie Hudson of Franklin County Community Meals Program (FCCMP) to hear about the state-wide initiative to help people in five counties to eat better while fueling local economies.For the latest Power of History segment, we celebrate the 100th birthday of Alain Locke's seminal piece, "The New Negro," that framed the start of the Harlem Renaissance. We talk with Clark University professor Ousmane Power-Greene about this work and the places where Black literature, art, music and thought thrived at the turn of the 20th century.And, Rep. Jim McGovern worries about the constitutional crisis we may be in, including similar worries within his own party close behind. And, he has tales to tell from his town meetings across his district, including the one that just happened in Greenfield.

Witnessing someone’s first experience with something is always fascinating. Lucky for the schools in our area, the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (SSO) has reinstated its program, “The Orchestra Moves,” to introduce local fourth graders to live classical music. Designed with global focus, the program aims to encourage students to interact with professional musicians and one another. To get a better grasp on the deep impacts of music, we hear from SSO President Paul Lambert, conductor Cailin Marcel Manson, narrator Brian Lapis, SSO education director Caitlin Meyer, school teachers and child attendees.And, Word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster, drops more knowledge on us with words that have two contradictory meanings. She opens the doorway to antagonyms, clipped from more places than you’d expect.

We are proverbially circling our wagons, which is to say we’re making everyone feel more welcome. Bloom Local has teamed up with Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity to create “Rooted Resilience: Intersectional Narratives of 2SLGBTQIA+ Creatives in Western Massachusetts,” a multimedia project dedicated to preserving and amplifying the marginalized voices of contemporary creatives in our region. It launches the evening of March 19 and will feature artists of all mediums to build and protect community in a time when some seek to do the opposite.We speak with organizers and performers, Luc Abbott, M. Rudder, Inde Francis and Hazel Basil, about the work they’re putting in on and offstage.And just across the bridge on Route 9, a garden center has stood for almost 6 decades, but around the time of the beginning of the pandemic, it saw a shift. We head to Hadley to make a visit to the worker-owned land of lush greenery, the Gardener’s Supply Center, formerly known as the Hadley Garden Center. Eric Tiedeman-Mau speaks with us about the evolution of the business and what folx are eager to get in the ground as spring arrives.

We’re digging into the past by bringing history up to the present, transcending language barriers and questioning colonization. “Lamentations of Nezahualcoyotl” is a new book of poems translated and retold by Amherst College professor, Restless Books founder and friend of the show Ilan Stavans. We find out where this work resides in the Mesoamerican timeline, the living languages that have kept it alive, the role colonialism has played in its journey and the ways language, written and oral, keeps time of its own.Since we could always use another star or two in the neighborhood, our resident astronomer, Salman Hameed of Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College, introduces us to our cosmic next door neighbor, Barnard’s star. Will we find those new stars with funding cuts at every juncture? There may be conjectures about that as well...

Capitol Hill has been awfully aggressive with a constant barrage of cuts to many federally funded programs and departments. Today, we show you how some of those cuts are directly impacting kids in western Massachusetts and beyond. School lunch programs are just one of the many slashes in the USDA, and we hear from Melanie Wilk, Brianna Jackson and Abby Getman Skillicorn about the Massachusetts Farm to School Program, its specific impact in Chicopee and what lays ahead without federal support.Which might incline one to imbibe. We find ourselves comfortably in Women’s History Month and, lucky for us, there are two awesome women behind Tip Top Wine Shop who bring us two Oregon wines from women-led vineyards for the latest Thunderdome.And, Live Music Friday brings world champion Cory Pesaturo to the studio before you can catch him at the next Watermelon Wednesday. We also talk with Paul Newlin, one of the originators of the Watermelon Wednesday series, which often does not occur on that central day of the week.

We’re headed to Whip City!But we’re not looking at whips, we’re checking out quilts! Internationally renowned fiber artist Ed Johnetta Miller currently has an exhibit showing in Westfield called “Journey Stories” that uses her work to highlight key moments in her life, and we’ll chat with the artist herself about the tales textiles can tell. It’s being shown at Westfield on Weekends Center, and we’ll chat with board member Kathi Bradford about the program, and the classes connected to the exhibit as well as get to check out some of Edjohnetta Miller’s work right here in the studio!And Congressman McGovern is having a hard week. In fact it’s been 7 straight weeks of difficulties, but this one sees the representative in the shadow of a government shutdown with a lot of fingers pointing at a lot of folx, and a slew of announcements about cuts in the USDA. All things we chat with him about today, and which folx may end up talking to him about when he’s here next week for his town hall

Although we are in the midst of a housing crisis, the Baystate is making changes. To hear how Gov. Maura Healy’s plans to combat this problem impacts us locally, we talk to Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Edward Augustus.And we gather flowers and herbs with Susan Pincus of Sawmill Herb Farm. We hear how a changing focus to perennials and moving to Montague has allowed for more community to blossom.Plus, Word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster, shows us a plethora of linguistic discoveries.

It’s been 5 years since the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic that has lasting impacts to this day. So today, we head to UMass Amherst to check in with virologist Mandy Muller to help us understand more of what was happening in the uncertain, confusing beginnings of the COVID-induced shutdown. Since coronaviruses are not her main focus, we also learn about her favorite virus, herpes, and get to see it up close in her lab.And, speaking of things with global impact, the Massachusetts Multicultural Film Festival is just one of the few places where you can see the 2025 Oscar-winning documentary, “No Other Land,” along with more films within the theme of “Documenting Dissent.” We speak with organizers Jim Hicks and Celia Sainz, and Mount Holyoke College professor Adriana Pitetta about the next three free movie screenings you can see to expand your celluloid borders.

We’re taking roads less traveled and encountering folx who are carving their own paths in history, not always in plain sight.A new queer-centered multipurpose space in Pittsfield is encouraging people of all walks of life to grab a camera and venture out. We head to WANDER Berkshires and meet with owner Jay Santangelo to show us around the space, give a little history of the building they occupy and how small dreams of a public dark room grew into so much more. The new book, “In Defiance: 20 Abolitionists You Were Never Taught in School,” celebrates the work of champions in the cause against slavery in America, including those who may be overlooked in history books. We chat with authors Tom Weiner and Amilcar Shabazz about the origins of the idea, some of the abolitionists they studied and what we can expect during their book launch at Odyssey Bookshop March 13.And Mr. Universe, Salman Hameed of Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College, walks us through some recent successes and failures with rockets as many witnessed the sorry defeat of the SpaceX rocket in the battle against gravity. He also tells us about some wondrous things in the heavens you can see this week sans telescope.

We’re kicking off 3 days of music with more than 60 artists across 10 venues across the city of Northampton. The 11th Back Porch Festival is here to turn our chilly western Massachusetts into a New Orleans-inspired roots and Americana extravaganza. Despite power outages across the city, with some quick thinking on the part of our engineers, we broadcast live and in the dark from the stage at The Iron Horse, one of those 10 venues!We hear how the changes in format and the lineup of artists are still resonating with the music lovers of western Mass. with Jim Olsen of Signature Sounds, whose own back porch show on WRSI, our alma mater, was the impetus of the whole thing. Before you ramble through the streets, we give you a taste of the program with the classic bluegrass sounds of Old Hat Stringband, the catchy licks of Jake McKelvie and an artist who is no stranger to the greater music scenes of Northampton, Mike Flood.An extra special thanks to Bart Rankin, Jared Libby, Cara Foster and everyone that helped us make this show happen!

Today we take a local perspective of global happenings in art, in the environment and in the legislature. It is the very beginning of maple season, and the Bay State is celebrating this weekend as many producers open their sugarhouses and welcome the public to see their operations up close. We take a trip to Shattuck Sugarhouse in Belchertown to chat with the mother-son team, Judy and Nick Shattuck, about their 50 years of turning sap into syrup and more. And a new program is headed to Springfield Symphony Orchestra (SSO) next week. “Eternal Echoes” takes timeless themes in music of connection, loss and community and pairs them with a local maestro, Cailin Marcel-Manson, a local soprano soloist, Jamie-Rose Guarrine. We sit with Manson, Guarrine and SSO President Paul Lambert about bringing these works and topics close to home. Plus, our weekly chat with Rep. Jim McGovern recounts the 47th president’s recent address to Congress, budget cuts to local environmental offices, the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of Congress on the DOGE debacle and more listener questions.

Today we are a bit playful, cause we all need more art and more laughter. So we bring back a guest from last week who’s got way too many projects going, one of which will be performing at the Back Porch Festival this weekend. Cowperson is the Americana outlet for Michael Hanson and Keith Dusoe, and we hear how this particular project stands out in its field from the rest in an impromptu Live Music Wednesday. It's also in the laughs just around the corner from our station because three decades of comedy are being celebrated at White Lion Brewery this Friday. We speak with the organizer and celebrant of the occasion, comedian Gerald Kelly, whose appearances span stage, screen, and beyond, about the night’s program which includes his sons.It’s in the words we use, some of which are not as proper as others, shall we say. Which is a great time for Word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior-editor at Merriam Webster, to chat us up on slang and how it has had an impact on English for centuries, which is wicked cool and hella fun, yo…

In the words of John M. McCrea, "we are widening the corridors and adding more lanes." In one case, this means expanding where art can go and who gets to make it. At Berkshire Community College, the Justice Dance Performance Project is presenting “Unmuting,” a piece that highlights the lives of incarcerated people in their own words and movements. We talk with director Judy Dworin about the importance of getting these tales outside both for the storyteller and audience.It is also in making more space for the art we love. In Williamstown, Images Cinema is making a huge push to raise funds to double their screening capabilities, and we sit with Executive Director Dan Hudson to talk about the need for more screen time, discuss the Oscars, and highlight the community built in each curated showing. And, speaking of community, we find out how, once again, bunnies are bringing us together to help those in need. Author and illustrator Mo Willems joins us at R. Michelson Galleries to discuss his new book, "Me and Other Bunnies," and this year’s benefit exhibition. We learn how to relate to one another while still staying true to oneself with animals, the cutest way to bring a little unity wherever you are.

It’s officially maple season, so we head for the forests to get a taste of the Bay State’s very first agricultural product, and the sweetest by far.We go as far west as we can to Hancock and Ioka Valley Farm where thousands of maple trees are being tapped to bring sweetness to our tables. Co-owner and third-generation farmer Missy Leab walks us through her farm's journey in maple production and how agro-forestry fits into the farm’s greater mission, including some delicious lemonade and some super cute cows. We also hear from Ben Crockett, Climate Smart Agricultural program manager at Berkshire Agricultural Ventures, to help us put forestry into a better perspective for local farms. And Mr. Universe, Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College's Salman Hameed, stumbles into the rocky territory of "astroturf astronauts" as a certain owner of Amazon prepares to send a mission of hand selected women on a space voyage. And, we take a quick pause from science to rundown of the Oscars.

Today is action packed with art nutrition for what ails you.We head to Amherst College to talk with director Jen Acker about actor Jeffrey Wright, author Percival Everett, Dr. Anthony Fauci and the other star studded guests coming to campus for this year's 10th annual LitFest.We also get a triple dose of music for this Live Music Friday. We’re joined by local star Ciarra Fragale, who is celebrating a new video, an upcoming album and an appearance at the Back Porch Festival next weekend. We’re also joined by the ever-amazing tag team, Peter Mulvey and his labelmate, Ruth Theodore, from across the pond. Both will take the stage at The Iron Horse this evening, so we hear some notes and how the current state of American affairs is impacting the international tour. And, on this last day of February, we’re already looking ahead to Women’s History Month. For those that indulge, we head to Lenox to hang out with the awesome purveyor, Mary Daire, at Dare Bottle Shop and taste two women-led vineyards for the Tina Turner Memorial Wine Thunderdome.

We’re tackling hunger from both coasts, or at least seeing how the west coast is combating food insecurity and reframing what the need to combat hunger looks like. Award-winning actor and comedian Kristina Wong is in the midst of a week long residency at UMass Amherst, culminating in a performance of her latest work #FoodBankInfluencer. We talk about her own experiences at food banks and some misconceptions about them before you can see her solo show on Feb. 28. And yes. We are still reeling from the loss of auteur David Lynch, so we head back to Great Barrington where the "Time to Wake Up: Tribute to David Lynch" series continues at Triplex Cinemas with the director’s very first film, “Eraserhead,” this weekend. Creative director Ben Elliott chats with us about the other films they’ll be showing to showcase Lynch’s contributions to the artform.And, our weekly chat with Congressmen Jim McGovern covers many listener questions on House votes regarding tariffs, the firing of the joint chiefs, our nation’s eerie resemblance to moments of the Velvet Divorce, and more issues relating to the very thorny landscape of Capitol Hill.

We’re witnessing the creation of important amalgams, fusions of culture and preservation At Mt. Holyoke College, a new opera entirely in the Chickasaw language will have its east coast premiere on Feb. 28. Loksi' Shaali' (Shell Shaker) by Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate combines elements of classical operatic styles with traditional songs, dances, and language of the Chickasaw people, and we chat with two cast members and maestro Tianhui Ng about broadening the scope of opera and how the campus played a part in its incubation. As for the city of Holyoke, it is in the conjunction of agriculture and municipal services. The Winter Farmers’ Market is bringing fresh produce to those who need it most amidst funding changes, shifts in leadership and other roadblocks that occur. Lisa Totz, interim director of the Holyoke Chamber of Commerce, joins us to talk about the ways the city is helping everyone to eat better. And, like, it’s in the way we talk. Word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster, joins us to explore the incredible usefulness of the word, “like,” because she was like, “it’s one of the most versatile four letter words.”

Today, we have nostalgia in all sorts of flavorsEspecially if you grew up watching roller derby on tv like we did. And if your dreams see you getting up on wheels with your friends and neighbors and creating a little chaos on the track, you’ll be happy to know that Pioneer Valley Roller Derby is hosting two recruitment sessions in the next few weeks. We talk with players Bash-it Hound and 23rd Century Fox Gorl (aka Bash and Fox) about the appeal of the game, and the many ways you can play it here. And it’s in the communities that have been built before. A new documentary takes a look at De Colores, an organization made to support lesbians of color in Northampton through the women who were a part of it, and we’ll chat with the team that brought De Colores: Defining Kinship, Finding Peace to screen: historian Erika Slocumb and multi disciplinary artist Michael HansonAnd speaking of screens and Northampton, if you miss the appeal of stepping into a brick and mortar location to choose your evening’s options rather than scrolling on a screen, then the community minded Vision Video is definitely for you. George Myers, Jesse Hassinger, and Bill Dwight still in process storefront of the non-profit to find out more about the efforts to get a full picture of what engendered the idea, and what they seek to build beyond the celluloid

Today’s show is jam packed with FACTSDid you know that there’s a whole day to celebrate and encourage reparations? Professor Ousmane Power-Greene of Clark University tells us more about this grassroots holiday effort to get more folx more acclimated to the concepts being proposed in today's Power of History.And did you know that only last week DOGE stripped away contracts with agencies that will affect many small farms in Western Mass and around the country? We’ll speak with Abby Ferla about the repercussions of these cuts at Foxtrot Farm, and why size may matter in the ways Federal funding comes to agriculture. How about the shortage of Primary Care Physicians in the Baystate? The NEPM Newsroom’s Karen Brown has just completed a series looking at the issue and how it relates not just in Massachusetts but nationwide and how both patients and doctors themselves are feeling the strain. Maybe you wanna find out about Asteroid 2024 YR4, which had a shift on the Torino Scale. Or perhaps a beloved Amherst College Astronomer we lost this week, both of which we’ll learn more about from Mr. Universe, Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College’s Salman Hameed.

We’re celebrating a local band that is almost as old as we are, and that’s saying a lot because not many groups get to see 40 years. The Iron Horse is hosting the Lonesome Brothers’ birthday party where they and their friends will take the stage. We hear a couple songs and tales from the journey as they join us for Live Music Friday. And speaking of music to make your weekend bright, it’s getting close to Mardi Gras, and Nola flavor is coming to Springfield with the Fat Tuesday Jazz Night happening on Saturday. Organizer and Blues to Green director Kristen Neville visits the studios to talk about the impact this fundraiser has on arts programs in the area and all the event’s offerings to help bon temps to rollez.Plus, the Tina Turner Memorial Wine Thunderdome looks at two grapes and a border between them. We head to Provisions in Northampton to pit France against Spain and Beaujolais-Villages against Bobal.

We’re drawing connections in both likely and unlikely places. For instance the connection that those of the African diaspora have had with the land in the western hemisphere. The art exhibit Black Hands, Black Earth takes a look at the connections between people, earth, and the plants and people they’ve carried for generations. Artist and Educator Kerrita Mayfield walks us through her work and process to bring more of the roots of those connections to light. Or perhaps it’s in gambling, and the Bay State’s unlikely penchant for it. The new podcast Scratch and win takes a look at Massachusetts connection to the lottery, and how that relationship has evolved in a significantly different way to the rest of the nation. Documentarian Ian Coss joins us to explore the course of scratch tickets, the Numbers, Megabucks and more, and even tie some of those tales directly to Western Mass. And our weekly chat with Jim McGovern tackles the house budget, the prospect of working *with* DOGE, conspiracy theories about Elon Musk and the elections, and more questions from listeners about what comes next.

Congratulations parents, you’ve made it halfway through vacation week!Just in case you still need a little something to get your littles up and going, we get to take a totally age appropriate journey to the Holyoke Children’s Museum, where program director Emmy Garick and operations manager Julie Cologne let us run around like the kids we are at heart, and show us how the city itself continues to contribute towards learning and playOnce the kids are done, you might want to relax with a seasonal beverage and snacks to boot. Protocol in Amherst unexpectedly stumbled into seasonal fair, but local produce is influencing not just its food, but its bar menu and appeal to the burgeoning downtown scene as well, and operations manager Alden Peotter walks us through bringing a cosmopolitan approach to a rural setting and more. And the horrors abound at our dictionary in Springfield as Word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam Webster makes us face the vocab with the words we use to describe our fears (with apologies to the logophobes out there).

Malcolm X once said “Mississippi is anything South of the Canadian border.” And, when it comes to the legacy of slavery, northerners often tout our abolitionist history but overlook what happened above the Mason-Dixon line for the 200 years before abolition.So today, we introduce you to Charmaine A. Nelson, provost professor of Art History at UMass Amherst and founding director of the Slavery North Initiative, supporting research on the study of slavery in Canada and the American north. We hear how her background in art history has shaped Slavery North’s approach to tell this history. You can catch some of the tales she and her colleagues have discovered so far at a talk at Historic Northampton. And speaking of borders, we preview the documentary, “Borderland: The Line Within,” screening tomorrow at Amherst Cinema. The film discusses how the U.S. border is not just a geographic location, but is everywhere, creating a chilling effect for undocumented families under the threat of deportation. We talk with the director, Pamela Yates, and producer, Paco de Onis, about their work on and surrounding the film. We also speak to Jim Hicks, guest curator of the 32nd Massachusetts Multicultural Film Festival: Documenting Dissent, about this year’s free program.

It’s President’s Day. And what’s a thing that ties the two presidents we’re celebrating today? Slavery. So, today we are going to hunker down and talk Black history for the whole hour with three local historians. We talk with Smith College professor Jennifer DeClue on the overlooked histories those who were enslaved in the Connecticut River Valley, how women have been often left out of the slavery narrative, how the legacy of slavery is evident as you walk down Main St. even today and how you can learn all this and more through a talk she is giving through Historic Northampton Tuesday night. Clark University professor of history Ousmane Power-Greene will introduce us to two Black women who we all should know more about, one whom you would’ve found in the opera houses and one who you can find in your U.S. passport.And, UMass Amherst doctoral candidate and the Harriet Beecher Stowe Museum director of interpretation and visitor experience, Erika Slocumb, will talk with us about the challenges and importance of preserving oral history and how to preserve the present day.

Today we bring you 13 instruments to hear on both sides of the mountains this weekend.We head to Pittsfield to the 10 x 10 Upstreet Arts Festival where a celebration of short plays has grown to encompass the entire upstreet arts district and beyond. We chat with the director of the Office of Cultural Development of Pittsfield, Jen Glockner, and one of the festival performers, saxophonist Scott Robinson, who’ll bring 10 saxophones to the occasion, about the 11 days of arts and activities engulfing the city.And, local musician and ethnomusicologist Tim Eriksen stops by the studio for Live Music Friday before you can catch him in a rare solo show at The Parlor Room. In addition to hearing his interpretation of old American songs and sounds, he brings a bevvy of fascinating instruments with interesting stories for us to explore and keys us into a convention bringing Sacred Harp singing enthusiasts to the valley.Plus, one of our cinematic heroes is getting a posthumous celebration in Great Barrington. The Triplex Cinema starts their David Lynch festival tomorrow with the film “Wild at Heart,” and we talk with Creative Director Ben Elliott about the impact not just of Lynch’s work and style, but the importance of kicking off the “Time to Wake Up” series with this particular movie.

Today we’re taking a closer look at the folx telling stories about themselves in new ways and through new avenuesIncluding much beloved author of children’s books and more, local legend Jane Yolen. A new picture book has just been released about her earliest work titled "Janie Writes a Play: Jane Yolen’s First Great Story", which proves there’s no age restrictions on coming up with a great tale. And that book’s author has a tale of her own also. Heidi E. Y. Stemple joins us to talk about writing this book about her mother, how narrative clearly runs in the family, and how you can celebrate the heroine of the story and her 86th birthday this Saturday at High Five Books in Florence. We’ll also find out about a storytelling event in Florence.The second Queer Story Slam is happening at Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity this weekend exploring all expressions of love and desire in the tales being told onstage, and we’ll chat with organizers Wylder Ayres and Reen Smith about the power of seeing these lives in their own words, and how those visions reinforces community. And our weekly chat with Congressman Jim McGovern tackles the possibilities of constitutional crisis, the consequences of lying in senatorial confirmation hearings, the budget, his vote on a recent bill concerning fentanyl and how you can ask your questions of the representative IN PERSON very soon.

It’s a pre-Valentine’s Day extravaganza for those of you celebrating, with wine and chocolate and innuendosWe’ll take you to the heart of Thorne’s Marketplace in Northampton, where chocolate dreams are being made real from the worlds of pure imagination. Dan McKenney of Firetype Chocolate talks about his unlikely journey into confectionery, the impacts that climate change has on making sweets locally, and the many delicious treats you can get from their location year roundThen we head up to the hilltown hinterlands to get a taste of an extra special beverage. Headwater Cider is making Ice Wine with their apple bounty and we chat with proprietor Peter Mitchell about his apples and the many ciders they’re fashioning in Hawley, and with Doctoral Candidate Elizabeth Garofalo of UMass Extension about the science helping those apples to thrive.And word nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam Webster, shows us yet another evolution of language with a delve into algospeak, including a little exploration into the other online based language variations that got us to here.

Today, we have live music, history and a cultural journey. A virtuoso on the national instrument of Puerto Rico, cuatrista Fabiola Mendez, makes a visit to the studios. We find out about her call to educate the public on the cuatro and its versatility and the other projects her music has connected her to, including a children’s series you might have seen on NEPM TV. And, we also speak with an extra-local connection to the instrument. William Cumpiano has been making cuatros and guitars for many decades right here in the valley. We ask him about his luthiership and the history of the instrument he's been called not just to make but to document the history thereof with the Puerto Rican Cuatro Project.And, the Power of History is also strengthened by four this month as Clark University professor Ousmane Power-Greene takes a look at the long lasting impacts of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), including now-contentious diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and what its removal may mean for all of us.

We’re giving lots back to the community in these very grey days of February while learning how greater community has helped us as well.The Lift Every Voice lecture series returns to the valley this week with a theme, "Resilience and Resistance: The Fight for Justice in the Age of Regression," bringing speakers from all parts of Black culture to Springfield all month. We talk with organizers Bishop Talbert Swann and Ayanna Crawford as well as tomorrow’s featured speaker, UMass professor Whitney Battle-Baptiste, about the ongoing importance of the event, the community members they’re honoring and who is coming to broaden our perspectives this year. The Center for Human Development's Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Hampshire county are bringing the community together to sing at the Big Love Little Performances fundraiser at the Iron Horse Feb. 13. But, how can karaoke improve the lives and wellbeing of the Hampshire County youth? We find out from organizers Tara Brewster and Ann Walsh.And, Mr. Universe, Salman Hameed of Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College, continues to be alarmed by federal cuts to research, programming and international aid and the impact they may have on the scientific community. Particularly, he tells us a story about the impact of USAID that hits very close to home.

We're bringing you a well rounded course of music and context. Live Music Friday brings Le Vent du Nord to the studios ahead of their show in South Hadley this evening. The group has spent decades seamlessly blending new and old french folk songs into their repertoire, and they tell us about the appeal of preserving and growing those traditions.We also spend time with rising bass phenom Endea Owens. From Detroit to Julliard to Jon Batiste's band on The Late Show to humanitarian work with the Community Cookout, she's been making a name for herself everywhere. We hear about her inspirations and many collaborations before you can catch her band onstage at the UMass Fine Arts Center tonight. The Super Bowl is this weekend, but it's been a struggle to see equity in the field. Professor Ousmane Power-Greene joins us for another Power of History segment to look at the legacy of Black quarterbacks in the NFL, the evolution of the halftime show and where Kendrick Lamar's presence fits in that line. And, we head back to our origins in the Tina Turner Memorial Wine Thunderdome at State Street Fruit Store where we eschew the call for hearty reds in these cold times for a touch of spring in French rosé instead.

We get to find out more about “MORE LOVE,” curated concert series put together by Secret Planet, De La Luz Soundstage and Original Ting Music to bring the best electronic dance music from around the globe to Holyoke.We speak with one of the folx taking to the turntables this Saturday, Deejay Theory, about bringing the sounds of the Bay area to the Bay state, digging into some of the lesser known genres that will totally get you grooving and venturing the dance music landscape as a whole.And Secret Planet’s own Edo Mor joins to talk about the impetus for the event some of the other ways the international music “CSA” is bringing the sounds of the world to the 4 counties of western Mass., including their upcoming Almost Spring Weekender.Plus, our weekly chat with Rep. Jim McGovern addresses a LOT of listener questions. We gain his take on Elon Musk’s recent actions, the plight of the U.S.Treasury and USAID, cryptocurrency and more.

Today we get a little tricksy and build connections right underneath our very eyesIncluding a father son combination bringing folx together in communities near and far. We’ll speak with Tom and Stefan Weiner, who’ll bring a polar plunge raising money for Palestine and a queer centered concert both in Northampton this weekend. We’ll hear how they’ve come to their respective causes including the Palestinian House of Friendship, a little about their family, and a lot about the change communication can bring. And last week we got a little into the possible effects of a federal freeze on funding where education is concerned, and that might hit one of the more effective programs that’s been supported by those funds: Head Start. We chat with executive director of Holyoke Chicopee Springfield Head Start, Nicole Blais to find out if the youth really will be alright if the program ends up on the federal chopping block. Plus word nerd Emily Brewster tackles a listener question about the pronunciation of word mischievous as the senior editor at Merriam Webster helps us examine this tricky wicket and a few others like it.

Today, we have kids, food, drink, and an organization that connects them all!At Holyoke High School, the students are putting a William Golding classic on its feet as they perform Lord of the Flies this weekend. One might say that the presentation is an inspired choice and we’ll talk with Holyoke High School Theater Company director and theater teacher Bevan Brunelle and cast member sophomore Darius Baez about choosing to have this work as their winter production.We’ll also meet another of the storytellers taking the stage at CISA’s Field Notes event on Saturday. Kyle Zegel from Just Roots joins us to talk about how their farm evolved from a community garden into so much more, including participating in several innovative commonwealth initiatives encouraging healthy eating throughout the bay stateAnd we’re singing the trees into good health, which sounds very pagan, and it sorta is! We’ll hear all about traditions old and new when we speak with Kat Hand and Matt Brogan of Berkshire Cider Project about their wassailing event at Tourists in North Adams on Sunday, and how bringing community together in the cold times can actually help local agriculture in addition to getting you a nice warm beverage.

Now, more than ever, you probably need a good laugh and, perhaps, a reason to be hopeful. So we’re doing both with an added dose of science for good measure. We head to Hadley where a comedy dream has come to life and has continued to grow in the past 10 years. Happier Valley Comedy may have started on a personal dare, but it has since become a philosophy of improv that can apply to any aspect of human interaction. We chat with Pam Victor and Scott Braidman about how to craft community around and with the chaos as the organization enters its second decade. There’s a new audio documentary exploring the lives of lifelong activists and idealists Wally and Juanita Nelson in their own words and through the perspectives of people who knew them. We speak with one of the producers of the “Eyes on Freedom: Evolving Gifts of Simple, Nonviolent Living,” Carrie Kline, and get you ready to hear the whole piece in person later this week at their community listening sessions.And, Mr. Universe, Salman Hameed of Kainaat Studios and Hampshire College, shows us how life may be finding more ways in space as the OSIRIS-REx mission returns with fascinating discoveries about amino acids on the asteroid Bennu.

We’re recuperating a lot after this week and, in that renewal process, we’re getting more in touch with ourselves and others. We bring local singer-songwriter Heather Maloney in for Live Music Friday to celebrate the release of her new album, “Exploding Star,” full of songs that almost didn’t see the public eye. We hear how art and grief have shaped her songwriting process in this new collection of songs and get a preview of her sold out two-night residency at the Iron Horse next week. And UMass Amherst is preparing to host the Black Artistic Freedom Conference (Black AF) bringing folx together to explore the expansion of education in a more equitable and modern way. We speak with Imani Wallace, otherwise known as Lyrical Faith, about the intersection of art, activism, and education.Plus, it’s the very last day of January, and we almost made it dry for the whole month. Alas, we return to our old ways back to West Springfield to taste two Veneto wines with Michael Quinlan at Table & Vine for our first Wine Thunderdome of 2025.

We’re putting the many in multi-disciplinary and putting on our party hats because there’s anniversaries aheadThe LAVA Center in Greenfield is about to celebrate its fifth birthday this weekend, adjacent to the Winter Carnival festivities. Their scope is so broad that it’d be easier to narrow down what they don’t do, so we head up to the city formerly known as a town’s center to get a glimpse of what the organization has been up to in this half decade with manager Vanessa Query.We’re also meeting the friends made along the way in music with a trio of folx taking the stage at the Iron Horse tomorrow night, the duo High Tea and singer-songwriter Wallace Field are co-billing a performance in Northampton on the 31st, and we’ll have all three in the studio to talk about new things on the horizon, and the communal nature of the music scene in the area. And our weekly chat with Representative for the 2nd district Jim McGovern is a doozy. If we thought last week was a hotbed of crazy activity, this week said to "hold its beer", and steers our conversation through the Fed funding freeze, constitutional crises concerning the balance of power, censorship with the NIH and CDA, reader questions, Guantanamo and immigration and ICE and more.

We’re digging into a difficult time in the country’s history that folx are still reckoning with to this day, through a new novel from a multi disciplinary artist who has spent his whole life shining light on struggles like it. We’re joined by actor, director, script writer, producer and most importantly in this case, Author John Sayles to discuss his latest novel “To Save the Man", and find out from that man himself the appeal and difficulties of portraying the Carlisle Indian School as a living breathing character itself without shying away from the lasting consequences the institution has and had on Indigenous and non-indigenous populations in the United States, before you can meet the author tomorrow night at the Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley. (we also let you know where you can do a deeper dive through a beloved NPR program on the Carlisle Indian School's connection to football) We also take a term right out of the kitchen and into the realm of the Word Nerd as the senior Editor at Merriam Webster fires us through the origins of the phrases “86” and Deep Six”.