Podcasts
Podcasts
Tuesday, July 7, 202607/07/2026
Fighting for Freedom
7/7/26, Co-Host Amilcar Shabazz
Sen Paul Mark, Commission Chair of America 250 in Mass, on how and why we are celebrating the Declaration of Independence; also, freeing children from social media exploiters.
Amilcar Shabazz on freedom in our history, celebrating Juneteenth, & “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
Tom Weiner on “In Defiance: 20 Abolitionists You Were Never Taught in School.”
Monica Cage, owner of Crown by Cage & Sec of Black Business Assoc of Amherst Area on Black entrepreneurship in western Mass, community support & the road ahead.
Noah Bullock, Ex Dir, Cristosal, the Central American human rts org, on human rts abuses & the death of the rule of law in El Salvador & the tight friendship between Pres Trump &, El Salvador’s authoritarian right-wing President, Nayib Bukele.
Monday, July 6, 202607/06/2026
Facts Force
7/6/26, Co-Host Megan Zinn
Sen. Jo Comerford: Reading Frederick Douglass Together, recent Supreme Court decisions, the legislature’s approval of bonds for our future.
Writers Block — Megan Zinn interviews Cara Benson on “An Armsfull of Birds: A Personal Field Guide to Love, Loss, and Commitment” — at Broadside Bookshop this Wednesday.
Dr. Xiomara Herman, Amherst, Pelham & Amherst Regional School Superintendent: why is she leaving at the end of this school year?
Mayors Monday w/ Northampton’s Gina Louise Sciarra: the July 4 Naturalization Ceremony, the Declaration of Independence this Wednesday at Memorial Hall, and the FACT Force (Fiscal Assessment Community Taskforce) – the override in the City’s future.
Saturday, July 4, 202607/04/2026
Western Mass Business Show on 7.4.26 – Easthampton Council On Aging
In The Western Mass. Business Show
Join us as we have a robust conversation about the Easthampton Council on aging and enrichment center. We are joined by their Director Cynthia Tarail. She talks about how their programming is a two-way street and how they invite contribution, engagement, and leadership into everything that they do. A participant at the center Ron Contois talks about his experience of coming back to Easthampton and finding community at the center. We are also joined by Katya Shapiro, the Easthampton Public Library Director and Tom Geryk the veteran’s agent for Easthampton and Westhampton. Listen as we hear how they partner together and work concurrently to support the residents of the greater Easthampton area. Thank you for listening.
Thursday, July 2, 202607/02/2026
The Hustler Files Ep 169
WORTHY OF LOVE, DIGNITY AND HOPE
In this episode we return to Oregon to continue the story of CREW (Connecting Resources to Empower Women) and meet Client Services Specialist Kyle Black. Once incarcerated herself for almost three decades at Coffee Creek Correctional, Kyle now spends her days driving newly released women, from the same prison, to probation appointments, safe housing, treatment programs, and the first chapter of a new life. But these aren’t simply rides; they are conversations filled with fear, hope, shame, courage, grief, and possibility. Kyle speaks candidly about the tragic events that led to her incarceration, the decades she spent in prison, rebuilding a relationship with her daughter, and why every woman deserves to leave prison knowing someone believes in her future. Because sometimes the shortest journey becomes the one that changes everything.
Thursday, July 2, 202607/02/2026
“We have it in Our Power to Begin the World Over Again.” — Thomas Paine, 1776.
7/2/26, Co-Host Andy Bukowski.
Award-winning poet Martín Espada on “Shame” – the story of, his poem on, Alligator Alcatraz, featured in this month’s special edition of the Nation Magazine along with pieces by Jane Fonda, Bill McKibben, Zohran Mamdani, Bernie Sanders and other progressive luminaries.
Max Page, Pres of Mass Teachers Ass’n: ballot questions on taxes and rent control stuck from November’s ballot—for different reasons; Trump’s school voucher program in Mass; more $ for our schools?
Congressman Jim McGovern: celebrating the 250th, government dysfunction, the housing bill, wars in Iran, Ukraine & Gaza, USAID, Trump’s 2026 election-rigging plans, & reflections on the reflecting pool.
Kristin Neville, Ex Dir, Blues to Green, & Lorenzo Gaines, Social Media & Community Engagement Guru, on the next weekend’s joyous Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival – free and open to all—an amazing lineup of musicians.
Wednesday, July 1, 202607/01/2026
Dredging Things Up
July 1, 2026, Co-Host Brian Adams
District Attorney for Hampshire and Franklin Counties David Sullivan reviews this week’s Supreme Court decisions – a sobering assessment.
Catherine (Cat) McEachern from ServiceNet’s Autism Connections on the Autism Prom, the Blue Envelope Bill, autism’s stigma—or not, & her journey.
Rosalie Starvish, Water Resource Engineer: the Mill River, Smith College, dredging or not; culverts and Conway – stream restoration; & when a lake is a pond –an existential question for limnologists—and you!
Cool Films with Larry Hott. Larry recommends “Marty, Life is Short” and “Steve (Martin)—a Documentary in Two Pieces.”
Tuesday, June 30, 202606/30/2026
Looking Ahead
6/30/26 Co-Host Amilcar Shabazz
Lisa Wong, So Hadley Town Administrator: overrides, budget-busting health insurance costs, what towns and cities are saying to each other.
Tara Jacobs, Governor’s Councilor, on pardons, commutations, judicial confirmations & parole board nominees.
Salman Hameed, professor and astronomer, on cotton-candy planets, signs of life, Project Hail Mary & airbags in space.
Laurie Millman & Urszula Wolanska-Fettes, from the Center for New Americans, on becoming a citizen & the July 4th ceremony.
Monday, June 29, 202606/29/2026
Staking Our Ground
6/29/26, Co-Host — Megan Zinn.
Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, Founder of National Martyrs Day, July 5, honoring social justice warriors who died for the cause. Prof Browne-Marshall is the author of “A Protest History of the United States,” an award-winning playwright, and a Professor of Constitutional Law.
Writers Block. Megan Zinn interviews Debra Curtis on “Laws of Love and Logic,” sisterhood, forgiveness, and the complicated nature of love. Smith College plays a part.
Eric Nakajima, Holyoke Dir of Planning & Econ Devel: new data centers have been banned in the City—why?
“A Stake in the Ground 1774”—opening soon in Historic Deerfield, the resonance of dissent and revolution, with Historic Deerfield’s Claire Carlson and Plays in Place Producing Artistic Dir Patrick Gabridge.
Saturday, June 27, 202606/27/2026
Western Mass Business Show on 6.27.26 – Downtown Amherst Foundation/The Drake
In The Western Mass. Business Show
Join us as we speak to Claudia Pazmany Executive Director of the Downtown Amherst Foundation aka the Drake. Many know Claudia from her roles around the region including ED of the Amherst Chamber of Commerce and Development Director at the MLK Center in Springfield. She is joined by Gabrielle Gould, Founder and President of the Board at the Downtown Amherst Foundation and families face around the greater Amherst area in her past role as ED of the Amherst BID. The Drake has been a huge economic driver for downtown Amherst since it’s inception in April of 2022. Learn how ticketed events add to the vibrancy and economic development of a town and how partnership is the way we must move forward together. We are also joined by Lincoln Allen, Manager of the Drake and Chris Freeman, ED of the Iron Horse in Northampton. Miles for Music is an 8.1 mile run from the Drake to the Iron Horse on September 13th to coincide with the Taste of Northampton. Be a part of the action and sign up early at runreg.com or go to www.thedrakeamherst.org for more information. Thanks for listening.
Friday, June 26, 202606/26/2026
The Hustler Files Ep 168
BEFORE WE CALLED IT SOCIAL JUSTICE, THERE WAS FREDERICK DOUGLASS
In the annals of American history there is one speech delivered in 1852, by a former slave, that stood at the precipice of what today, we call social justice. This week on The Hustler Files Dr. LaToya Bosworth of Mass Humanities explores the enduring legacy of Frederick Douglass and the Massachusetts statewide initiative, Reading Frederick Douglass Together. His speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” still resonates around the world, and each year in Massachusetts, from public parks to correctional facilities, communities gather to read Douglass’s powerful words aloud, discovering that his message about freedom, justice, humanity, and hope, the building blocks of social justice, remains as relevant today as ever. In honor of America’s 250th Anniversary, Dr. Bosworth discusses storytelling, historical memory, invisible barriers, community healing, and why understanding our shared past may be one of the most important ways to shape our future. Because some stories aren’t just history, they’re still changing lives.
