Talking Politics Podcast: Recent Episodes
GBH
Talking Politics, GBH’s new politics podcast, is the spiritual heir to The Scrum and the audio version of a program that’s viewable Fridays at 7 on GBH Channel 2 and online at youtube.com/gbhnews. It’s hosted by Adam Reilly and features the other members of GBH News’ political team — Saraya Wintersmith, Mike Deehan, and Peter Kadzis — and an ever-expanding array of guests. If you’d like to suggest a topic, or to tell us what’s working and what isn’t, please drop us a line! You can email us at talkingpolitics@wgbh.org or find us at gbhnews.org/talkingpolitics.
The Democratic primary contest to succeed outgoing Attorney General Maura Healey has become one of the most interesting races in Massachusetts this election cycle. In this episode of the Scrum, labor lawyer Shannon Liss-Riordan discusses what she believe sets her apart from rivals Andrea Campbell and Quentin Palfrey. Plus, Politico’s Lisa Kashinsky and Yawu Miller of the Bay State Banner size up the Mass. GOP convention in Springfield and the Second Suffolk State Senate race, in which former Senator Dianne Wilkerson is trying to make an electoral comeback
The Federal Transit Administration announced this week that it's taking on an "increased safety oversight role" of MBTA after a series of troubling breakdowns, including the horrific death of Robinson Lalin, who was killed after after his arm got caught in the door of a Red Line train. Jim Aloisi of Transit Matters and Stacy Thompson of LivableStreets joined Adam Reilly to discuss what that could mean for agency's future and what the move says about state leaders' recent stewardship of the system.
Plus, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu's endorsement in the Suffolk County district attorney race created some serious tension this week between interim DA Kevin Hayden and his rival, Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo. GBH News' Saraya Wintersmith and State House News Service's Chris Lisinski joined Adam to analyze that, the latest twist in some North End restaurant owners' battle with the Wu Administration over outdoor dining fees, and the imminent passage of state legislation to give unauthorized immigrants access to drivers' licenses.
The idea that Massachusetts politics are exceptional dates back at least to John Winthrop's description of the young Massachusetts Bay colony as a "city on a hill." But while things are certainly different here, that doesn't necessarily mean they're better. Erin O'Brian and Jerold Duquette, the editors of "The Politics of Massachusetts Exceptionalism: Reputation Meets Reality," join Adam Reilly to deconstruct our lofty sense of self. Also, Democratic AG candidate Quentin Palfrey discusses his campaign and push to keep outside money out of that race. We'd like your feedback! Email us at talkingpolitics@wgbh.org--and while you're at it, subscribe to the GBH Politics newsletter at gbhnews.org/politicsnewsletter.
Massachusetts took a big step towards expending the gambling industry recently when the Senate passed a bill that would legalize sports betting---but there are some huge and potentially irreconcilable differences between the Senate plan and the one the House passed last year. Adam Reilly spoke with Shira Schoenberg, a reporter at Commonwealth magazine, and Father Richard McGowan, S.J., an associate professor of finance at Boston College's Carroll School of Management, about those discrepancies and whether a compromise is likely.
Also: campaign finance is taking center stage in two Democratic primaries, as AG candidate Quentin Palfrey calls on his opponents to reject Super PAC spending and Sonia Chang-Díaz urges Maura Healey to return donations from individuals linked to the fossil-fuel industry in the governor's race. The Boston Herald's Sean Phillip Cotter and GBH News's Saraya Wintersmith joined Adam to discuss those calls, former state Senator Dianne Wilkerson readying a run for her old seat, and more.
Senator Elizabeth Warren is sounding the alarm ahead of the midterm elections, calling on her fellow Democrats to focus squarely on Americans’ economic concerns to avoid a blowout in November. But does she have the influence to inspire President Biden and the rest of her party to act? Talking Politics Host Adam Reilly speaks with Robert Kuttner, the co-founder and co-editor of the American Prospect and a professor at Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management, about whether Warren’s political Rx would work — and whether another Warren presidential bid might be in the offing.
First, though, a new poll shows that Attorney General Maura Healey’s lead in the Democratic Massachusetts governor’s primary is pushing fifty percent. So how much time does Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz still have tos save her candidacy? Boston Globe Columnist Adrian Walker and Jenn Smith, a correspondent for the Dorchester Reporter and co-host of the Horse Race political podcast, sized up the state of the Democratic contest, as well as Republican candidate Chris Doughty's still-evolving description of his own political philosophy.
We'd like your comments, criticism, and suggestions! If you've got feedback of any sort, please email us at TalkingPolitics@wgbh.org or find us online at https://www.wgbh.org/news/talkingpolitics. And while you're at it, why not subscribe to the GBH Politics Newsletter? To sign up, visit https://gbhnews.org/politicsnewsletter.
Public meetings have been more transparent than ever thanks to remote access and participation adopted during the pandemic. But now, as safety protocols are lifted, there are signs the political establishment wants to go back to the way things used to be.
Advocates say it’s the wrong move — including Kade Crockford, the director of the Technology for Liberty Program at the ACLU of Massachusetts, and Dianna Hu, the chairwoman of the Boston Center for Independent Living. They join Adam Reilly to make the case for keeping politics accessible and transparent moving forward. Plus, GBH News City Hall Reporter Saraya Wintersmith and State House News Service Reporter Katie Lannan unpack new budgets from Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and the Massachusetts House, as well as Boston’s Pride-parade hiatus and the Massachusetts Senate’s climate bill and its discontents.
We'd like your comments, criticism, and suggestions! If you've got feedback of any sort, please email us at TalkingPolitics@wgbh.org or find us online at https://www.wgbh.org/news/talkingpoli.... While you're at it, why not subscribe to the GBH Politics Newsletter? Visit https://gbhnews.org/politicsnewsletter.
As Massachusetts drivers head back to the roadways, there’s been a troubling uptick in speeding and fatalities—prompting renewed interest in automated traffic cameras in Somerville and at the State House. Stacey Beuttell, the executive director of WalkBoston, and Mary Maguire, the director of public and government affairs for AAA Northeast, joined Adam Reilly to discuss the advantages and possible downsides of that technology.
But first: a years-long push to let unauthorized immigrants get drivers’ licenses is on the verge of succeeding at the State House. GBH News Politics Editor Peter Kadzis and Boston Business Journal Digital Editor Steph Solis joined Adam to examine the prospects for that proposal, as well as a push by State House staffers to unionize and a new Boston ad campaign that seeks to rebrand the city by rebranding the Boston accent.
We'd like your comments, criticism, and suggestions! If you've got feedback of any sort, please email us at TalkingPolitics@wgbh.org or find us online at https://www.wgbh.org/news/talkingpolitics. And while you're at it, why not subscribe to the GBH Politics Newsletter? If you’re interested, head to https://gbhnews.org/politicsnewsletter.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is taking some heat over the city’s outdoor dining policy for the North End, which includes fees absent in other neighborhoods and a shorter window. The Boston Globe’s Joan Vennochi and Boston Post-Gazette’s Pam Donnaruma join Talking Politics Host Adam Reilly to discuss Wu’s recent attempt for a compromise and how, exactly, the desires of Boston business owners should be balanced against the needs of residents.
Also: Massachusetts is one of the least affordable states when it comes to buying or renting a home. So why aren’t some possible solutions getting traction at the State House? Massachusetts State Representative Mike Connolly and Symone Crawford, the executive director of the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance.
In their first joint media appearance, Republican governor and LG candidates Chris Doughty and Kate Campanale join Adam Reilly to discuss their political identities, their take on outgoing Governor Charlie Baker’s anti-COVID efforts, and their priorities if they win. First, though, Yawu Miller of the Bay State Banner and Mike Deehan of GBH News recap the week in city and state politics, including Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s push to limit residential protests and raise new money for affordable housing.
One hundred days isn’t enough time to say whether Mayor Michelle Wu will be able to realize her biggest political goals, like creating a Boston Green New Deal or implementing some form of rent stabilization. But it’s an appropriate point for sizing up Wu’s early victories and setbacks — and asking whether she’s made good, so far, on her pledge to govern differently than her predecessors. Adam Reilly sizes up Wu’s tenure to date with his GBH News colleague Saraya Wintersmith, Abdallah Fayyad of the Boston Globe, and Gintautas Dumcius of the Dorchester Reporter.
Governor Charlie Baker’s second and final term is nearing its end, but the governor has a developing plan to shape Massachusetts politics for years to come. The Boston Globe’s Emma Platoff and Politico’s Lisa Kashinsky join Adam Reilly to discuss that topic. Also on the conversational agenda: Danielle Allen’s gubernatorial exit and critique of the #mapoli status quo, the pending reopening of the Massachusetts State House, Mayor Michelle Wu’s potentially problematic inaugural fundraising, and Wu’s determination to continue engaging with her sharpest critics. Plus, GBH News’s new Morning Edition hosts, Paris Alston and Jeremy Siegel, talk with Adam about what they think makes Massachusetts politics different—and how they plan to cover it differently.
When BPS superintendent Brenda Cassellius exits this spring after a three-year tenure, she’ll be the latest in a series of short-term leaders for the state’s biggest public-school system. So what will it take for her successor to turn things around? GBH News politics editor and Latyoa Gale — director of advocacy at Neighborhood Villages Action Fund and, like Peter, a BPS parent—join Adam Reilly with their thoughts.
But first: as COVID numbers drop, just how quickly should schools, businesses, and society at large get back to normal? As state and local officials plan some big changes, they’re getting pushback from critics who think they’re either moving too fast or not moving not fast enough. GBH News's Saraya Wintersmith and Mike Deehan join Adam to talk about what’s happening in Boston and beyond.
In this week’s Talking Politics debrief, Saraya Wintersmith, Peter Kadzis, and Adam Reilly size up Andrea Campbell and Rahsaan Hall’s bids for attorney general and Plymouth County district attorney; a new push for reparations in Boston; Republican gubernatorial candidate Geoff Diehl’s hiring of Trump confidante Corey Lewandowski; and secretary of state Bill Galvin’s push for more transparency in the governor’s office.
In the second segment, Adam is joined by Left of Center cofounder Mara Dolan and Jetpac head Mohammed Missouri to analyze Maura Healey’s moderate pitch as she starts running for governor; how it could impact the other Democratic candidates’ campaigns; and what, exactly, it means to be a “progressive” in Massachusetts politics in 2022.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was dealt a blow to her employee-vaccine mandate this week, when a court temporarily halted it from going into effect. But some argue she's still winning the bigger battle. Adam Reilly is joined by the Bay State Banner's Yawu Miller and UMass Dartmouth's Shannon Jenkins on that, their disappointment with the latest voting-rights legislation in the State House, Governor Charlie Baker's final state-of-the-state speech, and another new candidate in the race to replace Baker: Republican businessman and self-described moderate Chris Doughty, who may face an uphill battle in the age of Trump. Also, nearly two years into the pandemic, many parents and caregivers of kids under five are feeling left behind and, in some cases forgotten. What more could policymakers be doing to help them stay afloat, economically and psychologically? Adam is joined by GBH News' Craig LeMoult and Gladys Vega, of La Colaborativa, to discuss.
Ever since the Capitol insurrection, the fight over the future of voting rights has emerged as an issue of paramount importance, with Republican-controlled states taking steps to make voting more difficult and pave the way for the overturning of future elections and congressional Democrats trying, and failing, to advance legislation to create new national standards. So why are voting rights an afterthought at the Massachusetts State House? Adam Reilly talks it through with state Representative Erika Uyterhoeven and Cheryl Crawford, who heads the advocacy group MassVOTE. In the second segment, Adam discusses the increasingly fraught politics of protest with former Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson and former Mass. GOP chair Jennifer Nassour.
For years, the encampments at Mass and Cass embodied some of society’s most intractable problems — addiction, mental health, and homelessness — and constituted a crisis in their own right. Now they’re gone thanks to a new initiative by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. But will her solution hold? And what will the people who called Mass and Cass home do now? Adam Reilly talks it through with Tori Bedford, who’s been regularly reporting on Mass and Cass for GBH News. Next, GBH News senior editor Peter Kadzis and Boston Globe opinion columnist Marcela Garcia tackle those same questions, as well as Governor Charlie Baker’s appearance before the Legislature’s COVID-oversight committee and the possible return of rent control in Boston and beyond. The episode closes with two more GBH News reporters, Saraya Wintersmith and Craig LeMoult, discussing the protests outside Mayor Wu’s home and the impact COVID is having on psychiatric care in Massachusetts.
COVID has been political ever since the pandemic started. But as the omicron variant surges, disputes over authority, policy, and the tension public health and personal autonomy have become especially sharp. Adam Reilly sizes up these fault lines and how they could shift in the future with GBH News political editor PEter Kadzis, state Senator Becca Rausch, and “Java With Jimmy” host James Hills.
On this episode of Talking Politics, Sue O’Connell fills in for Adam Reilly (health and safety protocols). She and the rest of the GBH News political team—Saraya Wintersmith, Mike Deehan, and Peter Kadzis—size up the biggest end-of-the-year happenings, including Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s plan to address the longstanding crisis at Mass and Cass and Governor Charlie Baker’s refusal (so far) to implement a statewide mask mandate. In the second half of the show, Deehan, Kadzis, and Wintersmith identify the stories they’ll be watching most closely as 2022 begins.
Most of President Biden’s nominees had a much easier path to confirmation than Rachael Rollins, the Suffolk DA-turned-US Attorney for Massachusetts. So what is it about Rollins and her approach that gets Republicans so riled up? How will Rollins’ MO shift in her new role? And as Governor Baker gets ready to pick her replacement, what considerations are top of mind? Adam Reilly unpacks it all with GBH News’s Callie Crossley and Phillip Martin, who also size up the possibility of former state Senator Dianne Wilkerson running for her old seat. Afterward, Elijah Zeh of the Massachusetts Association of College Republicans and Ted Park of the College Democrats of Massachusetts weigh in on a new poll from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government that shows deep despair among members of Gen Z about the future of American democracy.
This week's announcement by Governor Charlie Baker (R-MA) that he won't see a third term threw Massachusetts politics into a state of upheaval. On the Democratic side, current candidates Ben Downing, Danielle Allen, and Sonia Chang-Diaz now face a bevy of prospective new rivals, including former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and former Boston mayoral candidate Annissa Essaibi George — which creates new pressure on another potential Democratic candidate, Attorney General Maura Healey, to finally make up her mind. On the Republican side, former state Rep Geoff Diehl could get company soon too, though the Mass GOP's allegiance to former President Trump and Trumpism seems deeper than ever. In the first episode of GBH News' Talking Politics, Political Reporter Adam Reilly unpacks it all with GBH State House Reporter Mike Deehan, Bay State Banner Senior Editor Yawu Miller, and Boston Globe Columnist Joan Vennochi.
Yes, Michelle Wu won big in this month’s mayoral election — but the idea of Boston returning to an elected school committee won even bigger, albeit in a nonbinding ballot question. In this episode of Boston’s Race Into History, City Councilors Ricardo Arroyo and Julia Mejia, who are driving the push for local legislation that would end the current mayorally appointed body, talk about what comes next. First, though, Peter Kadzis and Saraya Wintersmith join Adam Reilly to recap Wu’s last full week as mayor-elect.
Some Boston neighborhoods are filled with attractive homes, thriving businesses, and plenty of new construction. Others are visibly struggling — and more often than not, they’re areas where Bostonians of color outnumber their white counterparts. So how would Annissa Essabi George and Michelle Wu push to get the benefits of Boston’s booming economy to more people in more places? Adam Reilly discusses with former mayoral candidate John Barros, who also served as Mayor Marty Walsh’s chief of economic development, and Segun Idowu, President and CEO of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts.
First, though, make sure to catch a campaign update with Saraya Wintersmith and Peter Kadzis, who discuss (among other things) Boston voters’ seeming reversal on whether it’s important that the next mayor be someone who grew up in the city.
Once again, Boston’s Race Into History slides into the space usually occupied by The Scrum. In this episode, we size up Annissa Essabi George and Michelle Wu’s contrasting visions of policing and police reform — and get some sharp insights from Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell and Tanisha Sullivan, president of the Boston Branch of the NAACP. First, though, Saraya Wintersmith and Adam Reilly unpack recent developments on the campaign trail.
Boston’s mayoral candidates have been vowing to improve the city’s public schools for decades—but somehow, the system never quite manages to get where everyone says the want it to go. So what’s the hold-up? And what can the next mayor do—whoever she is—to make BPS work better? In this episode of Boston’s Race Into History, Adam Reilly talks it over with former mayoral candidate John Connolly, Ruby Reyes of the Boston Education Justice Alliance, and Xyra Mercer, a current BPS student and member of Boston’s school committee. First, though, Saraya Wintersmith joins Reilly to discuss recent developments on the mayoral campaign trail, including Annissa Essabi George’s new equity agenda and Senator Ed Markey’s endorsement of Michelle Wu.
On the latest episode of Boston’s Race Into History—which is borrowing the Scrum’s space from now through early November—we size up Annissa Essabi George and MIchelle Wu’s similarities and differences when it comes to the crisis at Mass and Cass and the bigger problems the situation there embodies. Our guests are former Boston City Council candidate Domingos DaRosa, Marla Smith of the South End-Roxbury Community Partnership, and Catherine D’Amato of the Greater Boston Food Bank. First, though, Saraya Wintersmith and Adam Reilly recap recent developments on the campaign trail, including Ayanna Pressley’s endorsement of Wu, Andrea Campbell’s push to play queenmaker, and Essaibi George’s sharpening attacks.
The Scrum is on hiatus through Boston’s final mayoral election, in part because we’re doing a limited-run show on Boston’s mayoral race, “Boston’s Race Into History.” You can watch it Fridays at 7 pm on GBH Channel 2, or find it at GBHNews.org or on YouTube — but we’re also going to post the audio of episodes here. Video doesn’t work for everyone, and we want as many people as possible to hear what Saraya Wintersmith, Adam Reilly, Peter Kadzis, and other contributors have to say on politics and policy as Election Day approaches.
In this episode, we’re sizing up Annissa Essaibi George and Michelle Wu’s contrasting approach to the affordable-housing crisis in the city. Next time, we’ll look at how the two finalists stack up on Mass & Cass, addiction, and homelessness.
GBH News reporter Adam Reilly welcomes local political experts who are closely watching Boston's mayoral race to see which of the five candidates will face each other in the race to the November elections, in a live event taped on the eve of the election.
GBH News City Hall reporter Saraya Wintersmith and WBZ political commentator Jon Keller lead the way with their reporting and historical context. Pollster Steve Koczela points out interesting data points in the race, and finally UMass political scientist Erin O'Brien meets up with Jax Van Zandt, host of the show Politics and Prosecco, to talk about the significance of the race to women and particularly women of color.
It’s an historic field of candidates. And five of them are battling for the voters' attention. They may be swimming in the same pool, but they are trying to find the lane that will bring them to victory and the mayor's office. You'll hear a lot of aquatic metaphors in this installment of The Scrum. So, brace yourselves.
Our political analysts, Professor Erin O’Brien from UMass Boston and Lisa Kashinsky of POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook, get into it with hosts Adam Reilly and Saraya Wintersmith.
“If you ask the candidates, of course they’re going to say they’re very different,” O’Brien said. “Most voters aren’t policy nerds like us, and so it’s more personality. And that’s why people are having a hard time choosing.”
GBH politics editor Peter Kadzis offers some context on recent developments -- the harbor development plan (scuttled) and the eviction moratorium (launched) -- with which you may or may not agree, but which will grab your attention.
As with last week’s episode, you can watch the discussion on video, here.
We’re closing in on Boston’s preliminary mayoral election, so this week, The Scrum asks: How did the city get here? A field with five major candidates who are all people of color, four of them women, in a city that has exclusively elected white men to the mayor’s post.
GBH News’ political editor Peter Kadzis gives a brief history lesson on local Boston politics. A lot of credit, Kadzis says, goes to Ayanna Pressley’s 2009 election to City Council.
Then Reilly and Wintersmith get into what this election is all about with Yawu Miller, the senior editor of the Bay State Banner, and Gin Dumcius, the managing editor of the Dorchester Reporter.
Until Sept. 14, The Scrum will be focusing its episodes on Boston’s preliminary mayoral election. Tune in next week to hear about the candidates “chasing the Walsh vote” and those who are aiming for a different part of the electorate.
Ever wish you could be in Peter’s kitchen while these episodes are taped? Well, now you can. The first video podcast version of The Scrum is available here:
https://www.wgbh.org/news/politics/2021/08/26/bostons-changing-political-dna-how-did-we-get-to-this-historic-group-of-mayoral-candidates
Excavating previously unknown details about a major media event is no easy task — but Edward-Isaac Dovere pulls it off admirably in his new book, “Battle For The Soul: Inside The Democrats’ Campaigns To Defeat Trump.” The book is packed with juicy background about weird personal proclivities (Bernie Sanders likes his hotel rooms cold) and awkward dynamics between candidates. And it pulls the curtain back on bigger, more important topics — like the internecine feud between Democratic progressives and moderates, and the party’s abiding uncertainty about how to respond to Trump and Trumpism. Listen to Dovere talk it through with Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly, and then go grab a copy of the book.
If you’re a Scrum listener, you know that Boston has a strong-mayor form of government, with the mayor holding almost all the cards when it comes to actual power and the city council limited structurally in its ability to push back. But now that could be on the verge of changing, thanks to a proposal championed by City Councilor Lydia Edwards that would drastically enhance the council’s ability to shape Boston’s $3 billion budget. In this episode, Edwards makes the case for the changes she’s pitching — which just got the stamp of approval from Acting Mayor Kim Janey — and Peter Kadzis offers some extra thoughts as voters prepare to have their say on the idea this fall.
It’s one of the more improbable comeback stories in recent memory: after tumbling from the political heights and doing time in prison, former State Senator Dianne Wilkerson has emphatically re-established herself as a political force in Boston. Adam Reilly talks with Philip Martin about his new story detailing Wilkerson’s fall and rise; the record and community loyalties that have made the latter possible; and Wilkerson’s ongoing insistence on seeing herself as a victim who was unjustly persecuted. First, though, Peter Kadzis sizes up the bigger meaning of House Speaker Ron Mariano’s ill-fated field trip from Beacon Hill to the South End to endorse Boston mayoral candidate Jon Santiago — who probably wishes he’d just issued a press release instead.
Right now, any talk about the 2022 Massachusetts governor’s race is likely to be speculative. Maybe Charlie Baker will seek a third term! Maybe Maura Healey will finally challenge him! But there’s one notable exception: Ben Downing, the former Democratic state Senator, is in and has already been running for months. In this episode, Adam Reilly and Mike Deehan chat with Downing about his vision for the state and how his biography informs his political worldview — but first, Adam, Peter Kadzis, and Bay State Banner senior editor Yawu Miller size up Downing’s potential Democratic rivals.
The death of Mikayla Miller, a 16-year-old from Hopkinton, is a deeply personal and emotional loss for her family. But since Miller's body was found last month, it's become something else: a case study in the distrust an increasingly wide segment of Americans have for law enforcement — and a political crisis for Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan, who's leading the investigation into Miller's death.
Zoe Mathews talks through what’s known, what remains unknown, and how things might develop, with two GBH reporters who've been following the case closely: Tori Bedford and Phillip Martin.
It’s been a busy — and high-stress — stretch for Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell. A supporter of Acting Mayor Kim Janey emailed Campbell supporters suggesting that she drop out of the race to clear a path for Janey’s election citywide, prompting Campbell, who’s been running since September 2020, to retort, “Black women candidates for public office are not interchangeable.” And the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association sparred with Campbell on Twitter, implying without evidence that she’d been complicit in the criminal activity of her brother Alvin — who’s accused of raping nine women while impersonating a rideshare driver — and/or of her deceased twin brother Andre, who died while being held by the state in pretrial detention. (The BPPA was irate that Campbell is holding up police grant money in the city council, and that she called out the union’s advocacy for accused child rapist and former BPPA head Patrick Rose.)
In this episode of the Scrum, Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly size up Campbell’s week from hell with their GBH News colleagues Saraya Wintersmith and Phillip Martin — and conclude that, unpleasant though it may have been for Campbell to weather, it may actually redound to her benefit when all is said and done.
He hasn’t been making headlines over the past few weeks, but Jon Santiago says he’s been laying the groundwork to win Boston’s 2021 mayoral contest — by landing key endorsements from elected officials, winning the support of unions, and talking with as many voters as possible. Santiago recaps his campaign’s progress in a conversation with Saraya Wintersmith and Adam Reilly. He also makes it clear that he has no intention of criticizing former Mayor Marty Walsh’s stewardship of the city — and suggests that Acting Mayor Kim Janey’s decision to delay Boston’s reopening may be a mistake. Plus, Santiago shares some biographical detail that may be unfamiliar even to close observers of Massachusetts politics.
There are certain stereotypes attached to Massachusetts State Government. The Senate is liberal; the House is (relatively) conservative; and they tend not to get along. When they do join forces, they’re often checked by the governor, and sometimes return the favor — though during Charlie Baker’s tenure, things have been pretty amicable.
Three months into Ron Mariano’s tenure as speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, though, the dynamics that have applied for years may be shifting in subtle but significant ways. Adam Reilly talks about Mariano’s style and its implications for policymaking with Mike Deehan, GBH News’s State House correspondent, and Shira Schoenberg of Commonwealth magazine.
The intense national interest in Kim Janey’s ascension that her stewardship of Boston could change, or begin to change, perception of the city. It could also change the way the Boston sees itself. But there are some important caveats attached to the Janey era — starting with the fact that it could end in November, when Boston holds the final election to replace former mayor Marty Walsh.
Yawu Miller, the senior editor of the Bay State Banner, talks about what it’s been like as a Black Bostonian to watch the transfer of power from Walsh to Janey, and how the candidates who’ve already said they’re running can respond to the undeniable advantage Janey now enjoys. First, though, Janey gets some friendly advice from Jane Swift, who ran Massachusetts after Paul Cellucci became ambassador to Canada — and might have been elected in 2002, if Mitt Romney had turned his focus to Utah a bit earlier than he did.
The push for a more transparent Boston Police Department was one of the hallmarks of Marty Walsh’s second term. But now, as Walsh gets ready to head to Washington, his pick to run the BPD — Commissioner Dennis White — is on leave as the city investigates domestic-violence allegations that surfaced after his appointment.
In this episode of the Scrum, Saraya Wintersmith updates Adam Reilly on the status of that investigation and how the various candidates hoping to replace Walsh are addressing (or avoiding) the White controversy. Plus, Zoe Mathews talks with Somerville Journal reporter Julia Taliesin about Joe Curtatone’s impending mayoral exit and the electoral landscape his would-be successors will navigate.
Jeffrey Turco, a moderate Democrat who voted for former President Donald Trump in 2016, defeated a number of more progressive candidates in the 19th District special election primary to succeed former House Speaker Robert Deleo.
In this episode of the Scrum, Peter Kadzis talks with NBC10's Sue O'Connell and Liam Kerr of Priorities for Progress about the race itself, the role social media plays in elections and whether nationalizing local races is effective.
Are there lessons to be learned for the Boston Mayoral Race, and even the 2022 Gubernatorial race to come? Listen to find out.
The first two candidates in Boston’s 2021 mayoral race, Michelle Wu and Andrea Campbell, committed to running before labor-secretary-in-waiting Marty Walsh’s plans were clear. But Annissa Essaibi George took a different tack. In this episode of the Scrum, AEG talks with Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly about why she wouldn’t have run against Walsh; how she’d change Boston’s school system, including its school committee; how growing up in Boston with an Arab father shaped her worldview; and what she’d do to prevent any conflicts of interest between her career and her husband’s if she’s elected. As an added plus, she and Kadzis compare and contrast Dorchester accents.
It’s looking increasingly likely that the next mayor of Boston will be a female person of color — but for years, the city’s inability or unwillingness to elect anyone other than white men has been a defining trait. In Denver, meanwhile, which resembles Boston in several respects, three of the last four mayors have been people of color.
So what gives? Nearly a decade ago, GBH News senior editor Ken Cooper — who grew up in Denver, but has called Boston home for years — offered some answers in an article published by UMass Boston’s Trotter Review. He joined Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly to recap and update his findings — and to offer some thoughts on why, finally, Boston seems poised to change its electoral habits.
In the eyes of the electorate, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has been able to do no wrong for the vast majority of his time in office. The state’s troubled COVID-vaccine rollout is a notable, potentially damaging exception to that rule. Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly size up the situation, and its deeper lessons, with Joan Vennochi of the Boston Globe, who also has some pointed thoughts on the state of Boston as Mayor Marty Walsh prepares to head to Washington, D.C.
After the 2020 presidential election and the harrowing events that followed it—which are still playing out—the question of whether the United States can survive as a functioning polity is real and pressing. In this episode of the Scrum, Bay State Banner senior editor Yawu Miller joins Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly to size up where we’ve been and where we’re heading.
Now that Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is headed to Washington, you can’t swing a stick without hitting a potential mayoral candidate. But when Walsh’s plans were unclear, just two people had the guts to commit to running against him if he sought a third term — and Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell was one of them. In this episode of the Scrum, she talks with Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly about Boston’s progress in the Walsh years and what she would do differently as mayor. Campbell also speaks in depth about her twin brother, Andre, whose death in pretrial detention had a massive impact on the way she thinks about Boston politics.
If you pay attention to Boston politics, four-term city councilor Michelle Wu is a familiar figure, known for her electoral prowess and her determinedly progressive politics. But there are some aspects of Wu’s political identity that even her fans might not be familiar with — including her conception of how Boston politics intersect (or could intersect) with Massachusetts politics, and the impact her mother’s struggle with mental illness had on her approach to governance. In this episode of the Scrum, Wu, Peter Kadzis, and Adam Reilly discuss these topics — as well as Wu’s tough assessment of Governor Charlie Baker and Mayor Marty Walsh’s response to COVID.
Critics have argued for a while now that Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker isn’t doing enough to stem the spread of COVID-19 — relying instead on restrictions that were established weeks or months ago, and aren’t sufficient for the moment we find ourselves in. But over the past few days, as Massachusetts sets new records for reported daily cases and other key metrics head in the wrong direction, that frustration has reached a fever pitch. In this episode of the Scrum, two Boston epidemiologists — Sam Scarpino of Northeastern University and Cassandra Pierre of Boston Medical Center — make the case for the governor to do more, stat. Afterward, Peter Kadzis offers his take on that Baker’s getting right and what he should do differently.
Quick: if you hear the name “Joe Biden,” what places spring to mind? Delaware, for obvious reasons. Scranton, probably, along with the requisite dose of earthy Irish-American wisdom. But Boston should, too. The president elect didn’t grow up in this area, but some of Boston’s top political power brokers helped shape and guide his career — which was also defined, for years, by an embarrassing presidential setback inflicted by the campaign of one Mike Dukakis back in 1987.
In this episode of the Scrum, Adam Reilly talks through Biden’s #bospoli and #mapoli connections with Boston Globe op-ed columnist Scot Lehigh. First, though, Peter Kadzis sizes up Biden’s performance during one of the most bizarre political transitions in American history — and what the coming months have in store for a deeply conflicted Democratic Party.
If you’ve been around long enough, you still think of presidential elections as efficient events that provide clear answers in a finite period of time, exceptions to the rule notwithstanding ([cough] 2000 [cough]). But the 2020 election may shatter that romantic ideal once and for all — and when the dust settles and the results are in, whenever that is and whatever they are, we’ll still be facing huge questions about the future of American democracy. Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly talk about what we’ll be grappling with after the presidency is decided, and how to get from here to there without losing our minds, with help from four Scrum favorites: Sue O’Connell, Joan Vennochi, Wilnelia Rivera, and Yawu Miller.
You already know that the Electoral College lets candidates win the presidency while losing the popular vote (Donald Trump in 2016 springs to mind). But you might not know about the long history of failed attempts to reform or eliminate the institution — or how little guidance the Electoral College actually would actually provide in a close, hotly contested election like the one we’re currently having.
Spend a half hour with this Scrum, though — in which Peter Kadzis chats with Harvard’s Alex Keyssar, author of the new book “Why Do We Still Have The Electoral College?” — and you’ll gain that knowledge and more. (Warning: you may also be significantly more anxious about what the coming weeks may bring.)
If you haven’t paid close attention to the US Senate race between Ed Markey, the Democratic incumbent, and Kevin O’Connor, the Republican challenger, you might assume O’Connor is coming from the same place as the Massachusetts GOP: staunchly pro-Trump, and steadfastly opposed to all things Democratic. And if you have assumed that, O’Connor’s own messaging could be one reason why.
As it turns out, though, O’Connor’s political identity and philosophy are more nuanced than you might expect. In this episode of the Scrum, O’Connor makes his case to the unenrolled and Democratic voters whose support he’ll need to beat Markey in November — offering, in the process, some unexpected biographical details and assessments of Elizabeth Warren and Donald Trump. After Adam and O’Connor talk, Peter Kadzis weighs in with his assessment of O’Connor’s pitch.
In the wake of the first and only debate between Democratic US Senator Ed Markey and Republican challenger Kevin O’Connor, Peter Kadzis flashes back to the Kennedy-Romney race and sizes up the trajectory of the Mass. Republican Party in the quarter century hence. (He and Adam Reilly also take stock of O’Connor’s candidacy and political future.) Then it’s on to a Kadzis convo with presidential historian Ted Widmer, whose new book — Lincoln On The Verge: Thirteen Days To Washington — offers an instructive portrait of the nation in another moment of crisis.
When war broke out in his hometown of Sarajevo, Aleksandar Hemon turned what was supposed to be a brief stay in Chicago into an entirely new life — and went on to become a National Book Award finalist, a regular contributor to the New Yorker, and a professor at Princeton University. Now, though, Hemon has also become a political Cassandra, warning in stark terms that he sees the US sliding toward an outbreak of political violence akin to the eruptions that destroyed Yugoslavia.
In this episode, Adam Reilly talks with Hemon about the parallels he sees between Yugoslavia then and the US today. First, though, Peter Kadzis ponders Andrea Campbell’s newly announced candidacy for mayor of Boston, and how the politics of racial and ethnic identity will play out as Campell and Michelle Wu vie to become Boston’s first mayor of color.
Right now, the 2021 Boston mayor’s race has one (1) official candidate: at-large city councilor Michelle Wu, who made things official last week after months of speculation — and after the incumbent, Marty Walsh, gave her campaign an unconventional “soft launch” of his own. So how does Wu stack up against Walsh (if he runs) — and her fellow city councilor Andrea Campbell (ditto)? And what are the big takeaways from a new GBH News / MassINC poll on the state of the race and the issues on Boston voters’ minds? Peter Kadzis, Adam Reilly, and Saraya Wintersmith talk it through.
What to make of this week’s primary election? On the one hand, a slew of incumbent Democrats had credible challengers — which suggests an era of intra-party stasis and timidity has finally come to a close. Then again…those challengers all lost. So maybe incumbency still has some advantages? In this, the first Scrum of the GBH era, Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly kick it around with Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi — along with Joe Kennedy’s future and whether the drama in #mapoli is done for the year (spoiler: it isn’t).
After a brief hiatus, the Scrum returns with a pre-election conversation with Dr. Robbie Goldstein, the MGH physician who's challenging Congressman Stephen Lynch in the Eighth District Democratic primary.
First, though, Peter Kadzis offers some instant reaction to the strange, socially distant event that was the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
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What’s going on in Western Mass? In the past few weeks, the Massachusetts 1st Congressional District race between longtime incumbent Rep. Richard Neal and Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse has started to get competitive. Carrie Saldo, recent host of Connecting Points on WGBY in Springfield, and Matt Szafranski of Western Mass Politics and Insight, talk Adam Reilly through just how interesting the race has become, despite -- or maybe because of -- the challenges presented by campaigning in the middle of a pandemic.
But first, Peter Kadzis and Reilly give a status update on the state legislature, where it's looking like lawmakers may not get that summer off during an election year after all.
How does President Trump explain away his bad poll numbers? Pretty much the same way he deals with anything else negative: he insists they’re not real. What happened in 2016 makes it harder to push back at this than it might be; after all, nearly everyone thought Hillary Clinton was a lock, but it turned out she wasn’t. Still, according to #mapoli pollster extraordinaire Steve Koczela, this year’s presidential-polling model is a significant upgrade from its recent predecessor. He gives Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly a layperson’s guide, and also offers some thoughts on what it’s like to be a military veteran watching the nation struggle to meet the challenge of COVID.
First, though, Kadzis and Reilly size up a broadcast dust-up featuring Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and At-Large City Councilor Michelle Wu, who’s widely considered a likely mayoral challenger.
For more than two decades — first at the Boston Phoenix, and now at WGBH News — Dan Kennedy’s New England Muzzle Awards have chronicled threats to the First Amendment and freedom of expression in our fair region. But reading the 2020 Muzzles (as you should!) is one thing; hearing Dan talk about the worst of the worst with Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly is something else entirely. In this episode of the Scrum, the trio talks through the past year’s lowlights, which involve the Milton Public Schools, the Baker Administration, and Harvard University.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh’s designation of racism as a Boston public-heath crisis this month garnered plenty of headlines. But three months ago, Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo offered a similar assessment — and proposed the creation of an independent racial-equity office he said could start working to alleviate the problem.
On the heels of Walsh’s announcement, Arroyo offers his take on what the mayor is getting right when it comes to race (and COVID) and what he’s getting wrong. Arroyo also weighs in on Boston Police Commissioner William Gross’s surprise visit with US Attorney General Bill Barr. First, though, Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly talk about Gross’s confab, the Boston Police Department’s troubling penchant for stopping drivers of color, and Governor Charlie Baker’s push for a system that can license — and de-license — police officers across the state, which might include some new earning opportunities that strike critics as ill conceived.
Like Governor Charlie Baker, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh has been consistently supportive of the recent protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd last month. While he’s condemned violence and destructive behavior, Walsh has also backed the protesters’ right to make their voices heard, even during the COVID pandemic, and he’s made it very clear he’s sympathetic to their cause. But recently he went further, pledging to make Boston a national leader when it comes to racial reconciliation and justice.
It is — to put it mildly — an ambitious goal. But what would pursuing and attaining it actually mean? And what are the political risks if Boston voters decide Walsh can’t deliver on his promise? Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis talk it over with Yawu Miller, the senior editor of the Bay State Banner.
It’s an incredibly daunting moment: we’ve got an international pandemic, anti-police brutality protests sweeping the nation, and a president eager to use the US military against US citizens. Against that backdrop, Peter Kadzis has some thoughts about the problems plaguing law enforcement and how they could be addressed moving forward.
Getting people to ride the T as the COVID crisis fades won’t be easy. A Suffolk U. / WGBH News / Boston Globe poll showed that 25 percent of Massachusetts residents won’t be comfortable taking public transit even if there’s an effective vaccine, and right now that’s a distant possibility at best.
So how can the T get back on track as we head back toward some semblance of ordinary life? And how could cities and towns tweak their streetscapes to respond to the virus? Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly talk it over with Jim Aloisi, the former secretary of transportation and current board member of Transit Matters. First, though, Aloisi talks about how a treasure trove of his mother’s Italian recipes has sustained him through the pandemic — and at the end, he gives listeners one to try at home.
What if the central event of U.S. history has been fundamentally misunderstood? What if the ethos of the Confederacy didn’t just survive the Civil War, but actually came to dominate American politics and culture, right up to the present day? That’s the radical thesis proposed by Boston College historian Heather Cox Richardson in her new book, How The South Won The Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, And The Continuing Fight For The Soul Of America. She joins Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly to talk it over — but first, Kadzis and Reilly respond to Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s plan to reopen the state in the coming weeks, as this round of the COVID crisis begins to ebb.
In a time of general instability, it’s the most chaotic subplot in local politics. Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson claims he was attacked by immigrants who are in the US illegally on May 1, after they refused to get tested for COVID-19. The detainees and their advocates say Hodgson and his deputies were the aggressors. Meanwhile, state Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz was barred from entering the jail the day after the riot; multiple investigations are now underway; and a class-action lawsuit alleging dangerous conditions at the facility is working its way through court.
Adam Reilly talks with Chang-Diaz and Sarah Betancourt, who’s been covering the story for Commonwealth magazine, about the incident and its aftermath. But first, Peter Kadzis weighs in on a new Suffolk University / WGBH News / Boston Globe poll that shows Massachusetts residents committed to the ongoing fight against the coronavirus, even as economic pain mounts.
The thesis of Tufts political scientist Eitan Hersh’s new book is provocative, to say the least. In Politics Is For Power: How To Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action, And Make Real Change, Hersh argues that a big chunk of society — looking at you, well-educated white people! — have come to treat politics as a sort of spectator sport. They spend time on it, and plenty of energy, but it’s a fundamentally passive sort of engagement — and it doesn’t really get things done. Hersh talks Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly through his diagnosis; discusses some #mapoli figures who are actually doing politics right; and offers a suggestion or two for anyone who’d like to follow their lead.
How do you campaign effectively — and tastefully — in the middle of a pandemic? Why are candidates still risking their health, and ours, to get signatures to make the ballot? And why in God’s name did State Rep. Shawn Dooley (R-Norfolk) grind a carefully crafted moratorium on coronavirus-era evictions and foreclosures to a halt? Adam Reilly, Peter Kadzis, and newspaper publisher / political commentator-about-town Sue O’Connell kick it around, virtually.
A few weeks ago, he was suffering from what was probably COVID-19 himself. But now Steve Koczela, the president of the MassINC Polling Group, is (mostly) recovered — and he’s been diving into the way the Massachusetts coronavirus epidemic has changed the way Massachusetts thinks and acts. Adam Reilly talks with Steve about his own experience with the disease and his takeaways when it comes to attitudes and behaviors across the state. First, though, Adam and Peter Kadzis size up the end of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 Democratic presidential bid and what (if anything) Joe Biden can do to woo the Sanders faithful.
Like its predecessor, this episode of the Scrum is a largely coronavirus-free zone. Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly wrap up their conversation with Lizabeth Cohen, whose Bancroft-winning new biography of Ed Logue argues that the former Boston planning head and the concepts he championed have been unfairly maligned of late. (This part of the convo runs from Kevin White to the present; you’ll get a lot more out of it if you’ve already heard the first installment, which starts way back with James Michael Curley.)
But first…times being being what they are, it’s impossible to avoid the convergence of COVID-19 and politics. For a few minutes at the outset, Kadzis and Reilly ponder whether — as a listener or two has suggested — their assessment of Governor Charlie Baker’s leadership in the previous episode may have been overly generous.
A few minutes in, this Scrum becomes a coronavirus-free zone: Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly take a deep dive into Boston redevelopment with Lizabeth Cohen, the author of “Saving America’s Cities: Ed Logue and the Struggle to Renew Urban America in the Suburban Age,” which just won the coveted Bancroft Prize for excellence in American history. It’s the first half of their convo with Cohen; you’ll hear the second next week.
First, though, Kadzis and Reilly size up the recent performance, in these frightening, unprecedented times, of Governor Charlie Baker and Mayor Marty Walsh. (Spoiler: both get high marks, as does New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. President Donald Trump still has, uh, plenty of room for growth.)
One more thing: while we’re always happy to hear from you with suggestions and criticisms, we’d especially like to get your feedback now. So we’re urging listeners to use their phones to record and send us voice memos — about what you want from the Scrum moving forward, what you make of #mapoli’s response to the pandemic, and how you and your loved ones are holding up. If you do record, and even if you don’t, email us at scrum@wgbh.org. Or, as always, find us on Twitter: Peter’s @kadzis, Adam is @reillyadam, and our producer Zoe Mathews is @zoesmathews. Thanks for listening, and be careful out there.
Warren 2020 is no more, but the senator from Cambridge is still very much in the public eye, locally and nationally. Will she endorse? If so, who? And after a disappointing primary showing here in Massachusetts, what does she need to do to shore up her own position here at home? Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly kick it around.
Say this for Elizabeth Warren and her stalwart supporters: despite a rough start that includes disappointing results in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada, they’re keeping the faith — insisting that the race for the Democratic nomination will be a long one, and that the Massachusetts senator is still the candidate best situated to unite the party and take on Donald Trump in November, early outcomes be damned. So…does it pass the smell test? And just how high should expectations for Warren be in her own backyard? Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis talk it through with two high-profile Warren surrogates, Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu and Massachusetts State Senator Eric Lesser.
Elizabeth Warren is getting plenty of local love as she seeks the Democratic presidential nomination, with big names like Ayanna Pressley, Maura Healey, and Michelle Wu endorsing and advocating for her campaign. (Also in Warren’s camp: colleagues-turned-rivals Ed Markey and Joe Kennedy III, who probably won’t be canvassing together any time soon.)
But not every Massachusetts progressive thinks Warren is the way to go. In this episode of the Scrum, Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis talk with two of Bernie Sanders’ Massachusetts co-chairs, state reps Nika Elugardo and Mike Connolly, about why they’re backing Sanders and his movement over Warren and hers; the state of the Sanders campaign here in Massachusetts; and how Sanders’ 2020 candidacy compares with 2016.
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Elizabeth Warren finished fourth, and then cast herself as a savior in waiting for a fractured Democratic Party. Deval Patrick accused the media of destroying his campaign. And Bernie Sanders won — unless you think Pete Buttigieg won by making Sanders sweat, and/or you think Amy Klobuchar won by beating everyone’s expectations. Oh yeah, and what if Mike Bloomberg is actually the favorite?
Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly hash it out.
For the first test of the 2020 election, the Iowa caucus flunked out of school, after massive reporting delays led to a vacuum in results. The party has yet to declare a winner, and with New Hampshire looming, those in the lead lost any real media and fundraising boost they would have gotten from a clear victory.
In this episode, Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis pick through the failures of the Iowa caucus and reset the equilibrium ahead of New Hampshire, with Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi.
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Be honest: how closely are you following President Trump’s Senate impeachment trial?
Maybe you’ve tuned out altogether, since the outcome seems like a foregone conclusion. Maybe you’re checking the news sites or social media for the occasional update, or even tuning in to live coverage on cable or NPR on occasion.
Whatever your approach, though, you’re probably not following it anywhere near as closely as Heather Cox Richardson. For months, Richardson, a professor of history at Boston College, has been writing a daily digest of all things impeachment, titled Letters From An American — and to her surprise, it’s attracted a something of a cult following.
Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis sat down with Richardson and talked about why she started her project; what it’s been like to be continually immersed in a story many people actively avoid; what she’s learned that she didn’t know before; and what the stakes are for American democracy as the Senate weighs its options.
That thing Governor Charlie Baker said at the MLK Breakfast, right after Congressswoman Ayanna Pressley spoke…. Oof. Seriously, what was he thinking? Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis kick it around with their WGBH News colleague Phillip Martin, who was in the room when the governor opened his mouth and inserted his foot. Then, Kadzis chats with Reilly and another WGBH News colleague, Saraya Wintersmith, about their takeaways from #FITN campaign-trail quality time with former governors Deval Patrick and Bill Weld.
For months, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders were amiable rivals, vying for left-leaning voters and the Democratic presidential nomination without directly attacking each other. So much for that! After Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly size up the end of the Sanders-Warren detente, Peter chats with Kristin Johnson, a/k/a @krissycabbage, about why she and other Boston education activists are skeptical of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh’s big new push for public-school equity.
In 2016, then-publisher Joe McQuaid and the New Hampshire Union Leader aggressively called out then-candidate Donald Trump, accusing him of insulting the intelligence of Granite State voters and then opting not to endorse a Republican for the first time in a century. So what will they do for an encore? For starters, in just a few weeks, they’ll try to play kingmaker (or queenmaker) in the Democratic race.
McQuaid — who’s now editor at large, but will decide the paper’s endorsement along with his son, publisher Brendan McQuaid — sat down with Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the Democratic candidates, Trump’s takeover of the GOP, and the issues that matter most to New Hampshire voters. Listen closely, and you’ll hear some tantalizing clues about who might get the Union Leader’s coveted nod before New Hampshire votes.
The Washington Post’s Afghanistan Papers report was a deeply depressing read, establishing beyond a shadow of a doubt that the war was mismanaged from the outset and misrepresented by military and political leaders. So how did that expose read to the men and women who actually served there? Adam Reilly talks it over with Erik Edstrom, an Army vet and Bronze Star winner and author of the upcoming Un-American: A Soldier’s Reckoning Of Our Longest War. Plus, after watching nearly every minute of the House’s impeachment proceedings, Peter Kadzis offers his thoughts on where the process goes next — and what the political fallout will be.
For the better part of 2019, Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign seemed to be doing everything right. But then, about two months ago, her poll numbers started dropping instead of climbing — and the decline was precipitous.
So what went wrong, exactly? And what will it take for Warren to rebound? This episode of the Scrum starts with insights from the Washington Post’s Annie Linskey, who may know Warren better than any other journalist and says healthcare policy played a key role in Warren’s decline. Next, Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis talk with UMass Boston political scientist Erin O’Brien about whether other factors might be at play (gender, maybe?) and what it would take for Warren to regroup.
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It was a very Beacon Hill way to end 2019 — a flurry of legislating on various important topics that left observers saying 1) “Good job!” and 2) “What in God’s name took so long?”
In a conversation with WGBH News State House correspondent Mike Deehan, Senate President Karen Spilka talks about the Legislature’s big achievements; how she’d answer critics who question its pace; the state of Governor Charlie Baker’s agenda and the Senate GOP; and Deval Patrick’s presidential campaign (spoiler: she’s not overly enthused). First, though, Peter Kadzis shares some deep thoughts on possible presidential impeachment after watching a whopping 35 hours of testimony last week.
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If you follow Massachusetts politics, you know that moderate Republican activist and commentator Ed Lyons is a Charlie Baker superfan who really, really doesn’t like President Trump. In this episode of the Scrum, Lyons talks with Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis about a provocative thesis he floated recently in Commonwealth magazine — namely, that Baker is in the process of creating a de facto third party here in Massachusetts. First, though, Kadzis and Reilly size up Deval Patrick’s presidential launch — which (among other things) kept this episode from coming out last week, as originally scheduled.
Does Michelle Wu’s ticket-topping win mean she’ll run for mayor? Is a city council comprised mostly of women and people of color a purely symbolic development, or something more? And what’s next for Dudley (a/k/a Nubian) Square? Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly size up these storylines, and a few others, with Sue O’Connell of NECN and Yawu Miller of the Bay State Banner. It’s both the #bospoli fix you want and the #bospoli fix you need.
There are plenty of interesting subplots when it comes to this year’s Boston City Council elections. Will Michelle Wu top the at-large ticket, paving the way for a mayoral run? Will the council end up majority woman, and/or majority person of color? And what’s going to happen in District 9, a/k/a Allston-Brighton — a neighborhood where the pace of change has been dauntingly fast of late?
In this episode, Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly tackle the latter topic in a conversation with the two candidates vying to represent District 9, which just happens to be where the WGBH mother ship is located: legislative aide Craig Cashman and neighborhood activist Liz Breadon, who finished first and second in an extremely close preliminary race back in September. Take a listen.
Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu has been everywhere over the past few months — campaigning against fare hikes at the “T,” calling out the Boston Herald for some questionable cover art, and now calling for the abolition of the very powerful, deeply entrenched Boston Planning and Development Agency.
Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly talk about why she thinks the BPDA needs to go, what it would take to actually make it happen, and whether Mayor Marty Walsh’s defense of the agency passes muster. Also discussed: how the role of a Boston City Councilor has changed during Wu’s six years in office, and what the implications of an majority-female Boston City Council would be.
The last time Marty Walsh sat down with the Scrum, he was wrapping up his first year as mayor. Now, as he approaches the six-year mark, Walsh finds himself in an unusual position: after winning a second term in a landside in 2017, he’s mentioned as a possible candidate for governor and US Senate — but he’s been forced to play defense after scandals at City Hall, and some political observers speculate that he’s just not enjoying his job as much as he used to.
In a wide-ranging interview at City Hall, Walsh spoke with Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly about (among other things) his political future, Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu’s push to abolish the Boston Planning and Development Agency, and how his own battle with alcoholism informs the way he thinks about opioid addiction.
Instead of their usual deep dive into one subject, Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis take a different tack in this episode of the Scrum — chatting with their WGBH News colleagues Saraya Wintersmith, Isaiah Thompson, and Mike Deehan about, respectively, how Elizabeth Warren’s playing in Iowa, the still-unfolding scandal inside Boston’s Zoning Board of Appeal, and why a long-awaited hands-free cell phone bill is in limbo at the State House.
If you don’t live in Fall River, the mess that city’s currently grappling with — namely, a mayor who’s been indicted not once but twice by the Feds, yet is still in office and could, theoretically, be reelected this fall — is simultaneously diverting and comforting. Come for the over-the-top scandal; stay for the reassuring fact that, however bad things may seem in your city or town, at least they’re not Fall River bad.
If you’re a Fall River resident, though, or if you’ve got deep ties the community, the picture looks very different. In this episode, Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly head south and talk about the mood on the ground with Bob Kerr, a legendary journalist and longtime Fall River resident, and Lynne Sullivan, who edited the Fall River Herald News when Correia was elected, indicted, beat a recall election, and then was indicted again. Also discussed: what Correia’s second indictment says about the state of the burgeoning marijuana industry in Massachusetts and elsewhere, and why Correia’s superfans are staying loyal as his prospects grow increasingly dim.
It’s the biggest story in Boston politics — a scandal that’s been brewing in City Hall ever since John Lynch, a former employee at the Boston Planning and Development Agency, admitted that he took a $50,000 bribe from a developer and, in return, convinced a member of Boston's Zoning Board of Appeal to allow a project in South Boston to move forward, thereby netting the developer in question an extra $500,000.
The scandal is still unfolding. Depending on where it goes next, it could spell trouble for Boston Mayor Marty Walsh if and when he seeks a third term. But one thing is already clear: Lynch’s guilty plea, and the surrounding circumstances detailed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, raise troubling questions about the way development has worked in the city for decades.
Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly talk it over with Yawu Miller, the senior editor of the Bay State Banner, who’s reported extensively on how Boston development seems to favor the well connected and leave ordinary residents feeling powerless and frustrated.
It’s easy to forget, given the media’s obsession with a hypothetical Ed Markey-Joe Kennedy III Senate primary contest, but the Democratic 2020 Senate race is already a three-person contest. As Kennedy continues his political Hamlet act, labor lawyer Shannon Liss-Riordan and foster-kid-turned-corporate-executive Steve Pemberton have committed to challenging the incumbent — and they say they’re in for the long haul, regardless of what Kennedy ultimately decides. Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly speak with Liss-Riordan and Pemberton about their campaigns and then size up their prospects (spoiler: they’re impressed).
Since Ronald Reagan's 1980 election, two general rules governed Washington: at home, markets know best; abroad, when in doubt, intervene.
Donald Trump's election scotched all that. Attempting to fashion an ideologically lucid agenda for the right, several hundred conservative intellectuals and activists gathered in Washington for a conference called "National Conservatism". Peter Kadzis was there, and spoke with (among others) writer and editor Daniel McCarthy, a mover and shaker in this ongoing project. After that convo, Adam Reilly gets Kadzis‘s take on what it all means.
For a traditionally slow time of year, it’s been a remarkably busy stretch in local politics. Marty Walsh is experiencing one of the roughest stretches in his mayoralty; Elizabeth Warren’s presidential stock is at an all-time high; and Charlie Baker is (once again) touting improvements to the MBTA but refusing to actually ride it. Reilly and Kadzis size it all up, starting with the recent crackdown by Boston police on denizens of what’s known, for better or worse, as Methadone Mile.
The second round of Democratic debates has come and gone, but did the state of play actually change? Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly kick it around with their colleague Phillip Martin, WGBH News’s senior investigative reporter. Also discussed in this episode: Politico’s take on how African-American journalists feel about media coverage of the presidential race to date, and the very important question (for Phillip and Adam, at least) of who qualifies as “Midwestern.”
Two members of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh’s administration are currently on trial in federal court, accused of illegally forcing the Boston Calling music festival to use union labor back in 2014.
Isaiah Thompson, who’s covering their trial for WGBH News, breaks down the case against Kenneth Brissette, Boston’s head of tourism and entertainment, and Timothy Sullivan, the city’s intergovernmental affairs chief, which he calls rife with ambiguity. Then Thompson, Peter Kadzis, and Adam Reilly size up the political implications of the proceedings.
First, though, Peter offers his take on what Robert Mueller’s congressional testimony tells about culture and politics in the 21st century. Spoiler alert: it’s not uplifting.
It was a chilling moment: an eager crowd calling for an American citizen and United States congresswoman to be sent back to her native Somalia, as the president of the United States — whose protracted denunciation sparked their chant — silently let it run its course. But what’s become a story about malignant American nativism started out, not too long ago, as a story about a tactical, ideological, and generational split inside the Democratic Party. After a quick back-and-forth with Peter Kadzis, Adam Reilly sizes up the Squad versus Nancy Pelosi versus Donald Trump with Jen Deaderick, the author of She the People, and Tina Opie, a management professor and organizational-behavior specialist at Babson College.
It is, at this point, a storied July 4 tradition: WGBH news contributor and media critic extraordinaire Dan Kennedy looks back at the past 12 months and details a set of egregious, embarrassing cases in which the First Amendment was brazenly flouted.
In this episode of the Scrum, Kennedy discusses his personal (un)favorites with Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis — who has some interesting things to say about violations that involve #mapoli.
After you’ve listened, be sure to check out the full 2019 New England Muzzle Awards here — and make sure to catch the 2019 Campus Muzzle Awards, too.
They were messy, stressful, and boring, depending on the moment—and they’re going to have a major impact on the Democratic landscape as the party seeks its next nominee. Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly size up two nights of debates with Paul Singer, their WGBH News colleague and ex-USA Today politics editor. Don’t miss the debut of Kadzis and Singer’s 2020 Democratic Power Rankings (TM) at the very end.
We’re doing something different in this episode. Instead of bringing his wisdom incrementally, over the course of a Q and A with a guest or two, Peter Kadzis steps into the spotlight — weighing in on the politics of MBTA dysfunction and CNN’s decision to stick Elizabeth Warren in the JV Democratic debate, even though her campaign seems to be surging.
Now that Brett Kavanaugh is on the U.S. Supreme Court, filling a seat that could have been occupied by Merrick Garland, there’s a real chance that Roe v. Wade — the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion — will be overturned. As red states try to force the issue by passing a bevy of restrictive new laws, blue states are moving in the opposite direction, passing legislation aimed at consolidating and expanding abortion rights.
Case in point: Massachusetts, where a bill dubbed the ROE Act gets a State House hearing on Monday, June 17. Still, despite the Commonwealth’s progressive reputation, the bill’s passage hardly a sure thing. Among other things, it’s received a cool reception from Governor Charlie Baker, who says he doesn’t support late-term abortions (which would be easier to obtain if the ROE Act becomes law) and that Massachusetts women are already protected in the event of a Roe v. Wade reversal.
Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis dig into the ROE Act’s details — and its political prospects — with two key supporters: State Senate President Emerita Harriette Chandler, who filed the bill, and Rebecca Hart Holder, the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts.
The election of Donald Trump can seem overdetermined, to use academic parlance: from Russian skulduggery to Hillary Clinton ignoring Wisconsin to racism stoked by the election of first black president, a million different factors explain Trump’s win and Clinton’s loss.
But what if Obama himself deserves a significant measure of blame? That’s the provocative contention of Reed Hundt, a card-carrying member of the Democratic establishment who served on Obama’s transition team. Hundt was, and is, a huge fan of the 44th president — but in his book “A Crisis Wasted: Barack Obama’s Defining Decisions,” he argues that by not responding to the economic meltdown of 2008 with sufficient ambition and alacrity, Obama inadvertently gave us the political reality we’re living in today.
In this episode of “The Scrum,” Peter Kadzis speaks with Hundt about what he thinks Obama got wrong, and why — then sizes up Hundt's thesis with Adam Reilly.
Just a few hours after special counsel Robert Mueller broke his silence — pushing back at AG Bill Barr’s characterization of the Mueller Report, and pointedly reminding Congress that it does, in fact, have the authority to impeach President Trump — Congressman Jim McGovern joined Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly.
His takeaway on Mueller’s comments? It’s time to stop worrying about how impeachment might play at the polls, and for the House Judiciary Committee to open a formal inquiry into whether impeachment is warranted. Or, as McGovern put it: “We’re beyond talking about this in terms of political implications. We have to do what’s right.”
After Peter Kadzis sizes up the recent dalliance between Wynn Resorts and MGM over the controversial Everett casino, Adam Reilly talks with Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera — who recently raised eyebrows by rage-tweeting about the massive Democratic presidential field and calling Congressman Seth Moulton a non-essential candidates. Then, it’s back to Kadzis — who says Rivera’s concerns are legit.
Governor Charlie Baker, the state’s most powerful Republican, has offered Massachusetts as a model for the way politics should be, saying our civility and pragmatism set us apart. But under new chair Jim Lyons, the Massachusetts GOP has moved in a very un-Baker-like direction, accusing Democrats of hating America and seeking to perpetrate infanticide. So what’s driving the party’s shift? And is it a smart way to grow Republicans’ paltry presence (Baker notwithstanding) in Massachusetts politics? Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis talk it through with Stephanie Murray of Politico, WGBH News’s own Mike Deehan, and Boston Broadside editor Lonnie Brennan, who’s bullish on Lyons’ approach.
If Pete Buttigieg wins the Democratic presidential nomination, he’ll make history as the first openly gay nominee from either party. Politically speaking, Buttigieg’s orientation offers some advantages: it sets him apart from the other white men in the race; gives him access to a national donor base; and could attract voters eager to participate in a “first,” a la Barack Obama’s election in 2008.
Still, Buttigieg’s sexuality also carries some political risks — and the reaction inside the LGBTQ community might not be as uniformly positive as you’d think. Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis talk it through with Sue O’Connell, host of NECN’s The Take and co-publisher of Bay Windows, the LGBTQ Boston paper, and Susan Ryan-Vollmar, the former Bay Windows editor and Boston Phoenix news editor.
Is Michelle Wu Boston’s mayor in waiting? That’s the contention of the Atlantic, which recently published a glowing profile of the at-large city councilor. But would Wu actually challenge incumbent Marty Walsh — especially since sitting mayors are notoriously tough to beat?
Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis talk it through with Yawu Miller of the Bay State Banner and Joan Vennochi of the Boston Globe (spoiler alert: signs point to yes). Then the foursome tackles two other #bospoli topics of note: the 2019 city-council elections, which could end with that body controlled by women and people of color, and the soon-to-be-completed search for Boston’s new school superintendent, which has elicited some frustration among BPS parents.
The 2018 midterms yielded plenty of political continuity in Massachusetts, but there were also some big changes — including Ayanna Pressley’s win over Mike Capuano and, on Beacon Hill, the exit of House Ways and Means chair Jeffrey Sanchez, who was ousted in the Democratic primary by Nika Elugardo. That development, in turn, yielded a promotion for Representative Aaron Michlewitz of the North End, who’s stepped into Sanchez’s old role as maestro (on the House side, at least) of the Massachusetts budget process. WGBH News State House correspondent Mike Deehan talked with Michlewitz about his new gig, how he put his first-ever House budget together, and whether he’d be interested in another promotion down the road. Peter Kadzis hosts.
Race, gender, class, crime: a host of hot-button issues are at play in the simmering dispute between Rachael Rollins, the new, reform-minded Suffolk County District Attorney, and Republican Governor Charlie Baker. Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis unpack the subtexts with Yawu Miller, senior editor of the Bay State Banner, and some extra help from activist Monica Cannon-Grant.
Joe Biden has struck a penitent note ever since a New York magazine piece described a very uncomfortable interaction between him and a Nevada politician a few years back. But how far does forced contrition go in the #MeToo era — especially when your reputation precedes you? Adam Reilly talks it over with Wilnelia Rivera, the president of Rivera Consulting and senior advisor to Ayanna Pressley’s groundbreaking 2018 congressional run. Also discussed: the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s eyebrow-raising move to crack down on campaigns just like Pressley’s, which have energized the party but also raised fears among the Democratic old guard. After Reilly and Rivera chat, Peter Kadzis offers his own take on this awkward Democratic moment.
Yes, Ayanna Pressley unseated Mike Capuano — and yes, four women currently hold statewide elected office. Still, after nearly a year of reporting and analysis, WGBH News digital editor Laura Colarusso says it’s way too hard for women to break into Massachusetts politics. Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis talk with Laura about the status quo and how it might change — and Peter gives the Democrats some free advice on how not to handle the still-unreleased Mueller report.
The timing is unusual, to say the least: fresh off a failed (and widely panned) push to unseat Nancy Pelosi as House Speaker, Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton now says he’s seriously considering running for president. Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis unpack what Moulton might be thinking with Scott Ferson, who helped Moulton become a congressman back in 2014 and is now advising him as he ponders a White House bid. Plus, Kadzis sizes up how the latest iteration of the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast — which featured a new host, State Senator Nick Collins — stacked up to breakfasts past.
Another week, another substantive policy proposal from Elizabeth Warren, who says it’s long past time to knock Amazon, Facebook and Google down to size. So could it actually happen? Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis talk with Dan Primack, the business editor at Axios, who says the titans of tech aren’t trembling just yet — but that a trust-busting wave might be in Silicon Valley’s future.
In the month and a half between Elizabeth Warren’s unofficial and official presidential launches, did she gain momentum or lose it? Is Seth Moulton serious about seeking the White House? And how does the Democratic equation shift with the entry of Amy Klobuchar, who jumped in the race the same weekend as Warren? The Boston Globe’s Joan Vennochi joins Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly for some mid-winter kibitzing.
Last month, a blog post by a retired Beacon Hill lobbyist made waves in local
political circles because it details one of state government's most verboten
subjects: how legislation and the wheels of power really work in the State
House. In a conversation with WGBH's Mike Deehan, Phil Sego details his
experience working with lawmakers and why he tells voters not to "confuse
what goes on in this building with democracy."
Has Marty Walsh lost his mojo? And what's with the press (e.g., the Boston Globe editorial board) trying to pressure Elizabeth Warren out of the 2020 presidential race?
Both of these questions were recently posed by Globe columnist Joan Vennochi, who's got a well-honed knack for provocation but has been on a particular tear of late when it comes to local politics. She joins Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly to discuss she thinks Walsh is struggling; what the mayor thought of her column (spoiler: he didn't love it); and whether Warren is being held to an unrealistic standard as she inches closer to a presidential bid.
Yes, Governor Charlie Baker won re-election by a big margin. And yes, two members of House Speaker Bob DeLeo’s leadership team lost their jobs after challenges from the left. But what’s that actually going to mean for Massachusetts policymaking and politics over the next couple of years?
While skulking around the margins of a MassINC chess tournament downtown, Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly put that question to Mike Deehan of WGBH News and Katie Lannan of State House News Service, whose answers contain plenty of deep #mapoli insight. Also weighing in: WGBH News contributor and scribe-for-hire Andy Metzger and Gintautas Dumcius of MassLive and the Springfield Republican.
Get your thoughts in order. Sue O’Connell of NECN, Stephanie Murray of Politico, Dan Kennedy of Northeastern University, Marcela Garcia of the Boston Globe, and Callie Crossley and David S. Bernstein of WGBH News join Scrum hosts Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis to make sense of the political season that closes on November 6. Since past is prologue, this episode should help you keep your head screwed on properly.
The core of this week’s Scrum is a convo with Peter Tedeschi, who’s taking on incumbent Democratic Congressman Bill Delahunt in the MA9 race. Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly had two goals: kick the tires on a candidate who’s impressed the GOP establishment and has a decent shot at victory; and figure out how moderate Massachusetts Republicans not named Baker are pitching themselves in the Trump Era. First, though, Peter K. tries to explain Senator Elizabeth Warren’s unexpected pre-election admission that she is, in fact, interested in a presidential run — just like her Republican opponent Geoff Diehl’s been saying all along.
It’s been a rough few days for Jay Gonzalez. A new Suffolk University poll shows him trailing Governor Charlie Baker by 27 percent in the governor’s race, and his plan to tax the endowments of deep-pocketed colleges and universities hasn’t gone over too well. But all is not necessarily lost! In this episode of the Scrum, the Boston Globe’s Joan Vennochi joins Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly to discuss three things Gonzalez might be able to use to his advantage between now and November: the terrifying gas blasts in the Merrimack Valley; Baker’s endorsement of State Rep Geoff Diehl in the US Senate race; and the enthusiastic support of Senator Elizabeth Warren, Diehl’s opponent.
Ayanna Pressley’s win over Mike Capuano was the big national story coming out of Massachusetts’ September 4 primary, but there were some other dramatic developments, too — including Rachael Rollins’ win in the Suffolk DA race and the ouster of two members of House leadership, Ways and Means chair Jeffrey Sanchez and majority whip Byron Rushing. Lawyer and activist Nika Elugardo and physician Jon Santiago, Sanchez and Rushing’s victorious challengers, join Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly to discuss their wins, the change they hope to bring to the House, and who they’ll back in the next election for House Speaker.
With the drama-packed Massachusetts primary just a few days away, Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis size up recent developments and home-stretch storylines to watch with their colleague Mike Deehan, Mass Live’s Gin Dumcius, and Twitter’s own @ScamwellTarley, Topics covered include Mike Capuano going 0 for 2 with the Boston Globe and Herald; whether Charlie Baker should be praised or blamed for not debating Scott Lively; and what’s at stake for Boston Mayor Marty Walsh on September 4.
Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley and Congressman Mike Capuano clashed recently in a debate sponsored by UMass Boston, the Boston Globe, and WBUR; in a few days, they’ll meet for another tete-a-tete hosted by WGBH News’s Jim Braude. Which parts of the incumbent’s and challenger’s pitches are working, and which are falling flat? And what — if anything—should Capuano and Pressley do differently in the race’s final weeks? Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis talk it over with the Globe’s Joan Vennochi and Yawu Miller of the Bay State Banner — and delve into some state-level primary fights that also pit progressive incumbents against progressive challengers.
33 minutes of pure politics. Former Mass. state official and political operative Beth Lindstrom is one of three Republicans seeking the GOP’s blessing to challenge Democratic incumbent Elizabeth Warren for a seat in the U.S. Senate. State Senator Geoff Diehl and businessman John Kingston are her competitors. This episode of the Scrum opens with a consideration of Republican front-runner Diehl (00:00 – 05:12); moves on to an extended interview with Lindstrom, including a discussion of President Donald Trump and the Helsinki summit with Russian President Putin (05:13-28:32); and closes with speculation on how a race against Warren might play out (28:33-32:34).
Peter Kadzis flies solo in this episode, talking with WGBH News contributors Dan Kennedy and Harvey Silverglate about their annual compendium of threats to or diminishments of free speech. Some big names in this year’s edition: Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, Boston Police Commissioner Bill Evans, former President Barack Obama, and President Donald Trump — plus UMass Boston, Tufts, and Northeastern.
Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis examine the two biggest political stories of the moment: the demise of the “Millionaires’ Tax” ballot question, and Governor Charlie Baker’s break with the Trump Administration over forced parent-child separations at the US-Mexico Border. Then Jennifer Smith of the Dorchester Reporter and Molly Boigon of WGBH News explain how — in the midst of a punishingly hot real estate market -- an uninhabitable, decrepit wreck of a house on a classic Savin Hill street has been able to resist the efforts of Boston City Hall to turn it into something, well, middle class. It’s a bizarre case study in zombie real estate.
There were two big developments at the 2018 Massachusetts Democratic Party
convention: challenger Josh Zakim getting an endorsement in the secretary
of state's race over six-term incumbent Bill Galvin, and Jay Gonzalez winning
the endorsement for governor in resounding fashion over Bob Massie. But the
convention also highlighted the awkward fact that, with the general election
just five months away, Democrats aren't sure whether to attack Republican
Governor Charlie Baker or ignore him. WGBH News's Adam
Reilly, Peter Kadzis, and Mike Deehan size up what happened in Worcester
with Zakim, Mass Dems chair Gus Bickford, and Quentin Palfrey, who won the
convention's endorsement for lieutenant governor — and get some instant analysis and insight from
Gintautas Dumcius of Mass Live and the Springfield Republican and Lauren
Dezenski of Politico.
Boston’s overheated real-estate market is already changing the its fundamental character, and there’s grave concern that, in the future, lower- and middle-class people simply won’t be able to call the city home. Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis speak with Boston City Councilors Lydia Edwards and Michelle Wu, who say there’s still time to craft policies to keep that from happening — and describe in detail what they think needs to be done. (Listen for a cameo from Cass, Councilor Wu’s charming younger son.)
Scott Lively's 27 percent showing at the Massachusetts
Republican state convention demonstrates that the hard right is a force to be
reckoned with. That it took two ballots for Trump-supporting U.S. Senate candidate
Geoff Diehl to clinch the GOP endorsement shows that the Trumpians are not
muscle bound, well, at least not ripped. An exhausted but ebullient Diehl
joined the Scrum minutes after the convention was gaveled to its close. Other
guests include: Michael Jonas of Commonwealth Magazine, Republican delegates Ed
Lyons and Amy Carnevale. And from the WGBH political team: Antonio Caban, Mike
Deehan, Adam Reilly, and Peter Kadzis.
It’s been a tempting narrative every since Stan Roseberg’s hold on his former post began to slip away: compared to the tightly controlled, almost mechanical Massachusetts House, the Mass. Senate is a body in disarray. But does the storyline hold up? Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly kick it around with Mike Deehan, WGBH News’s State House correspondent, and State House News Service reporter Katie Lannan.
Dan Kennedy’s new book, “The Return of the Moguls: How Jeff Bezos and John Henry Are Remaking Newspapers for the Twenty-First Century,” is more than just a look at how two highly regarded newspapers are adapting to the way we live now. It’s also a clear-eyed, often bracing inquiry into whether modern business realities and habits of mind can coexist with the high-quality journalism that’s driven American civic life for decades. Kennedy, who’s a WGBH News contributor, discusses his conclusions with WGBH News reporter Adam Reilly and senior editor Peter Kadzis, both of whom he previously worked with at the late, lamented Boston Phoenix.
Move over, Elizabeth Warren—there’s another #mapoli luminary stirring speculation of a 2020 presidential run. Former Governor Deval Patrick’s recent comments to an NPR affiliate in Kansas City, Missouri have stoked talk that he might be eyeing the White House, and there’s other circumstantial evidence that suggests it’s not just idle chatter. But how likely is it that Warren and Patrick would both get in the race?
In this episode of the Scrum, WGBH senior editor Ken Cooper offers some inside intel which indicates Patrick may have been contemplating a run for a while; Peter Kadzis argues that signs point to Patrick being very serious about a bid; and Adam Reilly waxes nostalgic about Patrick’s ability to make everyone he talks to feel like they’re being listened to with the utmost attentiveness. Taking a different tack: former Patrick campaign manager / current Setti Warren senior advisor John Walsh, who urges Cooper, Kadzis, and Reilly not to treat Patrick for President as a done deal...yet.
The Scrum rounds out its conversations with the Democratic candidates for governor with Setti Warren, the former mayor of Newton. Yawu Miller, senior editor at the Bay State Banner, joins WGBH News’s Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly for the conversation.
This is first of three Scrum conversations with candidates for Mass. Governor.
Jay Gonzalez is one of the three hopefuls vying for the Democratic
nomination for governor of Massachusetts. The winner will face off against
incumbent Republican Charlie Baker this November.
Gonzalez sat down recently with WGBH News Scrum podcast hosts Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis. Shira Schoenberg, who covers the State House for The
Springfield Republican and masslive.com, joined the conversation.
Single
payer health care, the millionaires tax, and the proper role of state
government were among the topics discussed.
Republican Governor Charlie
Baker's 2018 State of the Commonwealth speech doubled as the unofficial start
of his re-election bid, and highlighted some of the major hurdles his
would-be challengers face (e.g., Democratic goodwill and Baker's artfully
crafted post-partisan persona). Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis were on scene
to offer instant analysis, and also got some keen insights from their WGBH
colleague Mike Deehan, Mass Live reporter Gin Dumcius, Politico's Lauren
Dezenski, and State Senator Karen Spilka--who didn't respond quite as
enthusiastically to Baker's speech as many of her Democratic colleagues.
Right before Thanksgiving, the Trump Administration said it would end Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for about 60,000 Haitians who’ve lived and worked legally in the US since Haiti was hit by a devastating 2010 earthquake. The expectation now is that they’ll return to Haiti by July 2019 — and face deportation if they don’t. The Scrum sat down with State Senator Linda Dorcena Forry, who’s a Haitian American and that community’s local standard-bearer, to discuss how she learned about the Trump Administration’s decision; what she hopes will happen next; and whether she thinks Boston Mayor Marty Walsh might have to make good on his dramatic vow to shelter possible deportees inside Boston City Hall.
We know Boston Mayor Marty Walsh
was just re-elected by a big margin. Look closer at the results of Boston's
municipal election, though, and some provocative themes and questions start to
emerge. The Scrum dove into the results at the Banshee Pub in Dorchester with a
panel of media experts — Meghan Irons of the Boston Globe, Yawu Miller
of the Bay State Banner, and Jennifer Smith of the Dorchester Reporter — and
then took some sharp questions from the audience.
In less than one week, Boston voters will either give Mayor Marty Walsh a second term or hand the reins of the city government to his challenger, City Councilor Tito Jackson. The Scrum invited Walsh and Jackson to answer a few lingering questions and then make their final pitch to the electorate. Walsh wasn't able to participate, but Jackson was. Take a listen as he makes his case.
We've reached the stretch drive in Boston's mayoral race, with one Marty Walsh-Tito Jackson debate already on the books and one more slated for October 24. Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis talk to Boston political scribe extraordinaire David Bernstein about the questions he thinks Jackson and Walsh still need to answer before voters head to the polls on November 7.
Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis hash out the result of Boston's mayoral primary with Joan Vennochi of the Boston Globe and Yawu Miller of the Bay State Banner.
In this post-summer hiatus Scrum, Adam Reilly talks to Boston Globe legal affairs reporter Maria Kramer and WGBH reporter Phillip Martin about the recent nominee for Mass. US Attorney Andrew E. Lelling, what the scope of the US Attorney's powers are, and what a Trump nominated US Attorney may do.
Attorney Harvey Silverglate and Dan Kennedy, an associate professor of journalism at Northeastern University, joined Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis to talk about this year’s annual Muzzle Awards.
WGBH's Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis talk to Senator Jamie Eldridge and political scientist Peter Ubertaccio about the intra-party challenges of Massachusetts' Democratic party.
WGBH'S Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis talk to mayoral candidates Robert Cappucci and Joseph Wiley.
WGBH’s Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis were joined by Maureen Dahilland Heather Foley from Caught Up, the podcast from Caught in Southie, to talk about the political highs and lows of South Boston.
WGBH’s Peter Kadzis was joined by MassLive’s Gin Dumcius, Politico’s Lauren Dezenski, and WGBH’s Mike Deehan to grade the performances of Massachusetts’ political leaders.
Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis talked to WGBH Reporter Isaiah Thompson about the Winthrop Square Tower and the shadow it could cast over Boston Common and the Boston Planning and Development Authority.
For this special crossover episode of The Scrum, Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis were joined by the two hosts of The Lincoln Review Podcast, Republican interpreters Jeff Semon and Ed Lyons.
Unseating an incumbent Boston mayor is never easy: it hasn’t happened since 1949, when John Hynes beat James Michael Curley. But that doesn’t fully capture the magnitude of the challenge facing City Councilor Tito Jackson. Jackson’s opponent, Mayor Marty Walsh, has been generating favorable media coverage all year as he pushes back hard against the Trump Administration. What’s more, Jackson is trying to recover from a rough week that included a Boston Globe story about his years as a pharmaceutical rep who marketed opioids — and an incident with a WGBH News reporter that led Jackson to issue an apology. Jackson sat down with Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis to discuss those developments, the state of his campaign, race in the city, and the challenge of running for mayor in the age of Trump.
Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis sat down with Brianna Wu recently to talk about her Congressional campaign against entrenched incumbent Rep. Steven Lynch and why she deserves your vote.
Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis dive deep into the 2017 St. Patrick's Day Breakfast and what it tells us about the state of Mass. Politics with Gintautus Dumcius of Mass Live and the Springfield Republic and Lauren Dezenski, author of Politico's Massachusetts Playbook.
A recent report from US News & World Report ranked Massachusetts as the best state in the country. Gov. Charlie Baker made the media rounds after the report was released, including an interview on CBS This Morning, touting the greatness of the state. With everything in the Massachusetts apparently going so well, how is any candidate challenging the Governor going to have a chance in the upcoming gubernatorial race? To help answer this question, WGBH's Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly were joined by the former chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party John Walsh.
The country feels like it is already in disarray after only one week of Trump's Presidency. Trump's onslaught of executive orders, specifically his Immigration ban, have caused a swell of activist and civil rights advocates to protest against the President and the legality of the ban. WGBH's Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis were joined by Politico's Lauren Dezenski and MassLive's Gintautas Dumcius to discuss how Trump's immigration ban will impact the people of the commonwealth and its politics.
How, exactly, should the press engage the Trump Administration? Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly kicked the question around with media critic Dan Kennedy, WGBH News contributor and author of the blog Media Nation. Take a listen.
WGBH's Adam Reilly, Mike Deehan, and Peter Kadzis discuss Mayor Walsh's State of the City address.
Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis spoke with American foreign policy and military expert Andrew Bacevich about the strikingly militaristic nature of President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.
Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis were joined by Shira Schoenberg, who covers the State house for the Springfield Republican and Mass Live.com, and Charlie Chieppo, a former denizen of the State House under ex-Governor Mitt Romney and now the head of Chieppo Strategies LLC, to discuss Charlie Baker's $98 million dollar budget cuts.
Adam Reilly talks to Kade Crockford, director of the technology for liberty program at the ACLU, about the Boston Police Department’s push to monitor social media
Adam Reilly was joined by Andy Metzger from the State House News Service, Mike Deehan from WGBH, and Lauren Dezenski from Politico speculated on possible Democratic candidates for governor in 2018 and if Newton Mayor Setti Warren will run.
Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis joined a panel of guests including former national poet laureate Robert Pinsky and the editor of The Editorial Heidi Legg for a conversation at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge about what happens now after Trump's election.
How long can the era of good feelings last on Beacon Hill? As the 2018 statewide races for governor and other constitutional offices approach, signs are beginning to appear that the we're-all-in-this-together jamboree atmosphere may be ending. To assess the situation, the Scrum polled three State House working scribes: Gintautas Dumcius of MassLive, Lauren Dezenski of Politico, and Mike Deehan of WGBH News.
Adam Reilly and Mike Deehan are joined by all four candidates running for Suffolk County Register of Deeds: Democrat Steve Murphy and independents Joe Donnelly, John Keith, and Margherita Ciampa-Coyne
Adam and Peter are joined by Rasaahn Hall, who directs the racial justice program at the ACLU of Massachusetts and State Senator Jason lewis, who co-chairs the Legislature’s public health committee and chairs the Senate’s special committee on marijuana, for a conversation on ballot 4, which would legalize marijuana.
Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis were joined by Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson and The Massachusetts State Director of Families for Excellent Schools Keri Rodriguez Lorenzo for a debate on ballot question two which would lift the cap on charter schools in Massachusetts
Adam and Peter are joined by Ira Stoll--the author of "JFK, Conservative" and a contributor to the New York Sun and Las Vegas Review-Journal to talk about Trump and his performance at Monday's debate.
Adam and Peter talk to Occupy Alums State Rep. elect for Sommerville and Cambridge Mike Connolly and Cambridge City Councilor Nadeem Mazen about the influence of Occupy's ideals on local politics.
Adam and Peter are joined by Dan Kennedy to discuss his article, "Five Reasons Why The Media Is Piling On Clinton And Giving Trump A Pass," and if the media is to blame for Trump's meteoric rise.
Democratic strategist John Walsh and UMass Boston political science chair Erin O'Brien join Adam and Peter to talk about if a strong Democratic candidate could push Charlie Baker out of office.
Adam Reilly interviews Nadia Alawa from NuDay Syria about Syrian refugees, Trump's plans for extreme vetting, and how she thinks the President should intervene. Then Adam is joined by Peter Kadzis and David Bernstein for a Scrum roundtable.
Sean Wilentz, a professor of American history at Princeton, talks to Peter Kadzis about the legacy of three Boston politicians who made it to the Oval Office: John Quincy Adams, Calvin Coolidge, and John F. Kennedy.
Adam Reilly hosted a live Scrum on the state of the MBTA and the green line extension at the Brass Union in Somerville
Adam Reilly, Peter Kadzis, and The Boston Globe's Joan Vennochi discuss the growing problems at the Boston Latin School and how Mayor Walsh has been handling the situation.
In this episode, Adam Reilly, Peter Kadzis, and David Bernstein break down how Trump and Clinton responded to the shooting in Orlando.
Princeton historian Sean Wilentz and writer of "The Politicians & The Egalitarians: The Hidden History of American Politics," discusses the inevitability and history of party politics.
The Vice President of IBEW local 2222 Kevin Holland and CWA Local 1400 executive board member and Vice President for Southeastern Mass. Greg Irving joined Adam to talk about the Verizon strike.
It's been a pretty rough stretch for Marty Walsh. In recent days, the Boston mayor has seen his name linked to a federal labor probe in the pages of the Boston Globe; watched the Grand Prix of Boston, an event he staunchly supported, go up in smoke; and--last but definitely not least--battled the incredible painful scourge of kidney stones. What does Walsh's bad week and a half tell us about his mayoralty? And might it be enough to get some intrepid would-be challenger to challenge Walsh in the next mayoral election? Scrum regulars Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis kicked those (and other!) questions around with Meghan Irons, who covers Boston City Hall for the Globe, and Lauren Dezenski, who writes Politico's Massachusetts Playbook. Take a listen--and when you're done, leave a comment letting us know whether you think Walsh's bad stretch matters or not.
It's one of the defining political debates of 2016 here in Massachusetts—but so far, we haven't seen or heard supporters and opponents of legalizing recreational marijuana sitting down face-to-face to hash things out. (Get it???) Enter the Scrum!
There's a big Massachusetts Senate election coming up in less than a week, #mapoli fans. The Scrum asked all seven candidates to come in for a sort of political speed-dating session.
Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson joined reporter Adam Reilly and WGBHNews.org Senior Editor Peter Kadzis to discuss proposed cuts to the school budget, the extension of the BRA’s redevelopment powers, and whether or not he’d ever consider challenging Mayor Marty Walsh for his seat.
Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly of WGBH News took in this year's breakfast at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center--then sized up the proceedings as they were winding down, along with Lauren Dezenski of Politico Massachusetts and Gintautaus Dumcius of MassLive.com and the Springfield Republican.
Donald Trump is a larger-than-life personality and, barring any major development, looks poised to win the Republican nomination. Our two guests this week look abroad at two international figures—Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Haitian President Michel Martelly—and ask: what can happen when big personalities take the reins?
The Brothers Bernstein—Scrum co-founder David and his brother, Bloomberg View pundit and political scientist Jonathan—joined WGBH News regulars Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis to consider the state of the 2016 Election.
McKay Coppins, senior political writer at Buzzfeed News, weighs in on the Republican race for the presidential nomination (and explains what it's like to get in a flame war with Donald Trump.)
He wears a boot on his head, once dumped glitter on an opponent during a debate, and wants to fund time travel research so he can go back and kill Baby Hitler. His name is Vermin Supreme, and he wants your vote in 2016.
Our crack roundtable (or scrumtable, if you will) tackles some of the biggest headlines in #mapoli and beyond.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh gave his second State of the City address Tuesday night at Symphony Hall. Afterward, the Scrum caught up with a bevy of political observers to get their take on what the mayor had to say--and what he decided to omit or gloss over.
Reporter Adam Reilly and WGBHNews.org Senior Editor Peter Kadzis sat down with Michelle Wu, the first Asian-American Boston City Council President.
It's not easy being green—just as Governor Charlie Baker. This week, The Scrum takes a look at his renewable energy plans.
Our usual order of business around here at The Scrum is to ask #mapoli a lot of questions. But this week, we kept is simple: what's on your holiday wish list this year?
The move by the Tufts Medical School faculty—full-time, tenured doctors and researchers, not part-time adjuncts—to unionize and affiliate with the S.E.I.U. could open a new chapter in the history of organized labor. And it's happening in our own backyard.
Here we are again: wrestling with the aftermath of a mass shooting in the United States. Adam Reilly, Peter Kadzis, and David Bernstein look at how policymakers struggle to respond, time and time again.
The Scrum sits down with Juliette Kayyem, host of the Security Mom podcast, and veteran foreign correspondent Charlie Sennott, head of The GroundTruth Project, to go beyond the headlines of the Paris attacks. Plus, Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly analyze Governor Charlie Baker's stance on Syrian refugees.
Reporter Adam Reilly sits down with Mark Perrone, the CEO of Grand Prix of Boston, about bringing a largescale sporting event to Boston in the wake of Boston 2024’s failed Olympic bid.
The world of Massachusetts politics can be a little Boston-centric. Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis sat down with Senate President Stan Rosenberb—who represents a few of the state's western districts—to talk about what folks around here get wrong about the Wild West.
The Scrum goes on a road trip to visit Joe McQuaid, the legendary editor of the New Hampshire Union Leader—a newspaper that has a particularly strong influence over the presidential primary season.
To many, Evan Falchuk was the posterchild of the anti-Olympics movement in Massachusetts. Now that the bid is dead, what's next for Falchuk and his political party, the United Independent Party?
Has the gun control debate in Washington turned Congressman Seth Moulton from idealist to cynic? David Bernstein, Peter Kadzis, and Adam Reilly of WGBH News caught up and took stock of the Bay State's movers and shakers in D.C.
With high approval ratings, a formidable war chest, and a close working relationship with the state's Republican governor, is Mayor Marty Walsh already on track to be Boston's "mayor for life?" Adam met up with Gintautas Dumcius of Mass Live and Shirley Leung of the Boston Globe on the windswept steps of City Hall Plaza.
Boston's preliminary city council elections were pretty quiet...except in District 4. Callie Crossley, host of Under the Radar, and Valerie Linson, executive producer of Basic Black and Open Studio, explain political newcomer Andrea Joy Campbell's surprise defeat of incumbent Charles Yancey.
Trump’s still in full swing, Clinton’s under fire, and Biden might jump in. Let Peter Kadzis be your guide through the presidential race’s summer of disruption. Featuring pollster David Paleologos of Suffolk University, Joan Vennochi of The Boston Globe, and Politico’s Ben Schreckinger.
Reporter Adam Reilly sat down with Pete Stidman, the outgoing leader of the Boston Cyclists Union, to talk about the politics of getting around on two wheels in the city.
Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly sit down over doughnuts to debrief last night's GOP debate. Which candidate should get to graduate from the children's table? Which one revealed himself to have the intellectual heft of an empty pair of underpants?
Boston's bid for Olympic glory is officially dead (R.I.P.) So WGBH State House News reporter Mike Deehan gathered a mountain of nachos and a crack panel at the Banshee Pub in Dorchester to ask: where did it all go wrong? Kelley Gossett of No Boston Olympics, Shirley Leung of the Boston Globe, and Lauren Dezenski of the Dorchester Reporter break it down, with The Scrum's own Adam Reilly moderating.
The Scrum sits down with Massachusetts AFL-CIO president Steve Tolman to talk about the Pacheco Law and the MBTA, the Olympics, and how to meet the love of your life on the commuter rail.
This week, The Scrum has Olympics fatigue. So host Peter Kadzis turns his eye to the national scene, and asks David Bernstein and WGBH contributor Mara Dolan: how on Earth are Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump doing so well in the polls in New Hampshire right now?
The Scrum gets booted from the Boston Public Library when Adam Reilly, Peter Kadzis, and The Boston Globe's Joan Vennochi try to discuss the dysfunction plaguing the institution in the Central Branch's courtyard.
The Scrum marvels at the remarkable civility in the State House over the proposed MBTA fiscal control board, and chats with Congressman Seth Moulton about his first few months on the job.
How does a kid from Cambridge who went to good schools and had friends and teachers who loved him go on to commit the Boston Marathon bombings? Now that the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is over, reporter Adam Reilly sat down once again with WBZ's Jim Armstrong and Boston.com's Hilary Sargent to talk about their reflections on the case and the questions that remain unanswered.
Right now, the parameters of the 2016 presidential race seem pretty clear. Hillary Clinton will run the safest possible campaign en route to the Democratic nomination. Meanwhile, every Republican hopeful will argue that only he--or she--has what it takes to stop her. But not everyone sees 2016 in such stark, Hillary-centric terms. Erica Sagrans and her compatriots at Ready for Warren still think there's a chance they'll convince Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren to challenge Clinton--and that, whether she runs or not, Warren's ideas and beliefs are already shaping the race as a whole.
Three questions this week: How does a reporter's personal life shape his or her coverage? What's the best way to engage Tsarnaev conspiracy theorists? Was this trial necessary for bombing survivors-- and Boston as a whole? WBZ-TV reporter Jim Armstrong and Boston.com senior columnist Hilary Sargent joined The Scrum's Adam Reilly at the Lincoln Pub this week.
Are the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries too rural, too white, too unrepresentative? The Scrum's Peter Kadzis checked in with two reporters with boots on the ground in the primary states- Des Moines Register politics reporter Jennifer Jacobs and the Boston Globe's James Pindell.
This week we finally took our tag- "from Beacon Hill to the Beltway"- literally. David S. Bernstein gathered up a few of our favorite "Bostonians in exile"-- Boston Globe Washington correspondent Matt Viser; and USA Today reporter Donovan Slack-- and talked Elizabeth Warren, Ted Cruz's campaign roll out got right; and which "bozos" are messing up John Kerry's legacy. Plus, what it's like to be a Bostonian in Washington, and Matt and Donovan's time in a "small concrete box inside a large concrete box", aka Boston City Hall.
How do you fight a fight that seems... unwinnable? The Scrum headed to City Hall this week to talk with two fighting the Boston 2024 power: Chris Dempsey and Kelley Gossett of No Boston Olympics.
You could argue that Charlie Baker is Governor of Massachusetts today is because many people thought he would be a better manager for the state than Martha Coakley. Management skills have long been Baker's calling card and it's one of his percieved strengths, but what specifically does it mean to manage the way Charlie Baker does? Now that he's got a few months under his belt, The Scrum sat down with Gov. Baker at his new digs in the State House to find out.
This week, The Scrum podcast took a closer look at Governor Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh's governing during one of the biggest snow weeks in Massachusetts history. Plus, how long will "Dear Leader" (aka House Speaker Robert DeLeo) stay on as Speaker? And are DeLeo and Baker simpatico when it comes to end goals?
Media, politics & the ties that bind Bill and Linda Dorcena Forry. Each week on The Scrum we talk about media and politics, and this week we're talking with a Boston couple who have their feet in both worlds.
On the day Deval Patrick takes the "lone walk" out of the State House, The Scrum podcast gives Patrick his final report card and reflects on new Governor Charlie Baker's taste in music.
We turned The Scrum over to the musically-inclined reporter/producer/composer Edgar B Herwick III this week for a Scrum remix we call 'Scrum-Pa-Pum-Pum'. Happy holidays!
Will the Mass. Democrats who backed Republican Charlie Baker in the recent governor's race pay a price? Also in this episode: Charlie Baker's resolutions for 2015; David Bernstein surfaces; Democratic analyst Mara Dolan joins us.
As he wraps up his first year in office, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh sat down with The Scrum to size up his first year in office. From race, to recovery, to the possibility of a Boston Olympics, to pressure from the press.
For a while it seemed like Democratic political strategist Doug Rubin had the political Midas touch. The Scrum spoke with the Mass. Democrats' go-to guy about reversals of political fortune.
Boston Globe reporters Jim O'Sullivan and Frank Phillips on how gatekeepers decide who and what to keep behind the gates, how they manage spin from the campaigns, and what the media hit and missed during the hotly contested 2014 campaigns.
Former Mass. Senator Mo Cowan dishes on Mitch McConnell's M.O., what Charlie Baker learned from Deval Patrick, and why he's not ruling out a return to public life.
People said the 2014 Massachusetts governor's race was boring, but man, what a finish! The Scrum takes a closer look at what the heck happened. WBZ reporter Jon Keller, and Mike Deehan of Massterlist drop in. Recorded live at the Banshee in Dorchester.
If you turn on the TV between now and November 4th, be prepared to see lots of political ads. This week, The Scrum podcast bring you the good, the bad, and the unfair in the world of Massachusetts and Boston campaign ads.
Why do some candidates for higher office get a certain amount of respect and attention and some don't? The Scrum took a closer look at the struggle that some candidates face trying to get media coverage and the public to see them as contenders. Featuring interviews with gubernatorial candidates Evan Falchuk and Jeff McCormick.
The Scrum spoke with former Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift about a possible Romney run for president in 2016, why ladies seem to love (or at least like) Charlie Baker; whether the national GOP has drifted too far to the right; inoculating against the three H's (hair, hemlines and husbands); and the legacy of the late Governor Paul Cellucci.
Former Mass. gubernatorial candidate Shannon O'Brien dishes to the Scrum about just how taxing running for governor is; what Baker has that Romney lacked; and what Coakley has to do (and shouldn't do) to become the first female governor of Massachusetts.
Boston Mayor Tom Meninio's casts himself as quite the prophet for American politics in his new book, Mayor for a New America.
The Scrum team heads to historic Faneuil Hall for a gubernatorial forum featuring all the candidate and finds itself impressed by the performance of Evan Falchuck, who's running as an independent. Also discussed: Will "Sweetheartgate" complicate Charlie Baker's courtship of women voters?
A closer look at the strategy to get more pro-choice Democratic women in office with Emily's List executive director Stephanie Schriock and we meet Scrum Primary Challenge top-prognosticator Heather Foley.
The Scrum goes to the Democrats' post-primary "unity breakfast". Our first impromptu political guest Juliette Kayyem stops by and drops some "goddamn" knowledge.
The Scrum gazed into the crystal ball this week with blogger Rob Eno, publisher of Red Mass Group.
Frank sized up Boston's political and racial evolution since the 1970s, offered his predictions for what'll happen in D.C. if the Republicans retake the U.S. Senate, and defended Obama's foreign policy.
Is banning the video of James Foley's execution on Twitter a mistake? Has President Obama's response to unrest in Ferguson been effective?
The Scrum raps with Democratic attorney general Warren Tolman about his bid to become the state's top law-enforcement officer.
Why aren't more politicians aren't embracing Market Basket employees' push to reinstate Arthur T. Demoulas as CEO? Boston Mayor Marty Walsh's dismissal of corruption in the Probation Department draws a rebuke from two Boston City Councilors. Also, does anyone really care who the Kennedys want to see get the Democratic nomination for president in 2016? The Scrum kicks it all around from the parking lot of the Somerville Market Basket.
Why did Boston Mayor Marty Walsh go on a live radio show and defend former probation department chief John O’Brien? Plus Ted Landsmark and the BRA, and let the gubernatorial mudslinging begin: Steve Grossman's growing super PAC presence.
Healey discussed a host of topics, from how she'd target State House corruption if elected to whether current AG Martha Coakley is being aggressive enough in negotiations with Partners Healthcare. Also, casinos, gun control, and Market Basket.
Massachusetts GOP chair Kirsten Hughes on why she thinks the Probation dept. trial will help Republicans--and why the furor over the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision won't hurt GOP frontrunner Charlie Baker.
The O'Brien probation trial finally gets interesting, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh cuts a casino deal, and the Supreme Rally for Women's Equality. In this episode: David Bernstein, Peter Kadzis, Adam Reilly, Joanna Weiss.
The 4th of July, freedom of speech, and personal liberties. The Scrum talks over the 2014 Muzzle Awards with media critic Dan Kennedy.
The state's highest court ruled that Massachusetts voters will be able to vote on whether the state's casino gambling law should be repealed. What does the ruling mean for Massachusetts politics?
Martha Coakley's Scott Brown apology tour continues--and while Coakley and her rivals Steve Grossman and Don Berwick all identify with the term "progressive," its meaning is nebulous at best.
Adam Reilly, Peter Kadzis and David Bernstein look at Martha Coakley's AG problem, Cantor's big win in Virginia, and why the media is so obsessed with Hillary Clinton.