Podcasts
Podcasts
Friday, July 17, 202607/17/2026
Opting In and Opting Out
7/17/26, Co -Host Josh Silver.
MTA rank-and-file member Max Page w/ Anthony Clough from the Mass Budget and Policy Center: should Massachusetts opt into the federal school voucher program? Clough provides a completely understandable explanation of the issue and explains why the answer should be a resounding No.
Amherst College Prof Austin Sarat on Trump’s speech last night. Will the President try to rig, and can he sabotage, the Midterms?
Rep Lindsay Sabadosa takes on the most contentious issues before the state legislature now.
Political Good with Josh Silver: Rep Sabadosa stays with us, and we discuss ICE on the streets and in court houses and other sensitive locations in Massachusetts. Plus the Rep’s take on the ballot questions.
Friday, July 17, 202607/17/2026
The Hustler Files Ep 171
THE WOMEN OF DYING ON THE INSIDE
America’s prisons were built for punishment, not to become nursing homes. Across the United States, thousands of incarcerated men and women are growing old behind bars, facing chronic illness, declining health, and the possibility that prison will also become the place where they die. This week we speak with Emmy Award-winning journalist and attorney Cherri Gregg and investigative journalist Yvonne Latty, co-creators of the powerful NEW podcast series Dying on the Inside: Women Lifers at Muncy Prison. Together they discuss what they discovered inside Pennsylvania’s oldest women’s prison, the women serving life sentences, the emotional toll of reporting these stories, and the larger questions surrounding redemption, aging, justice, and compassion. They also explore Pennsylvania Senate Bill 1400 and why the conversation about elderly incarcerated people is becoming one of the most urgent issues facing corrections today. Sometimes the hardest stories to tell are the ones that ask us to reconsider what justice looks like decades after a sentence begins.
Thursday, July 16, 202607/16/2026
The Fires This Time
7/16/26. Co-Host Andy Bukowski.
Dr. Jonathan Bayuk on health threats from the fires, cyclosporiasis & the lone-star tic. Also finding a doc & securing medical care.
Dan Crowley, Ex Ed, Daily Hampshire Gazette & Greenfield Recorder, on today’s biggest stories: “Distant fires bring smoky skies;” “Body of missing man is discovered; “‘Meet the moment,’” disability advocates urge;” “Kratom bans being considered;” “City discussing gender affirmation ordinance.”
Silverthorne Theater’s Ezekiel Baskin, Ash Governman & Mary Beth Brooker on “Deep Blue Sound”—tonight is opening night & this play will be their last production at Hampshire College.
All That Jazz with Ruth Griggs and Ryan Hollander, Northampton Jazz Fest bd member & producer: behind the scenes, his remarkable music & Summer on Strong.
Wednesday, July 15, 202607/15/2026
On the Home Front
7/15/26, Co-Host — Brian Adams
“Hatfield on the Home Front” w/ Meg Baker, curator, Hatfield Historical Museum: the beginnings of the Revolutionary War – here, in 1774.
Carolyn Misch, Northampton’s Director of Planning and Sustainability: rewilding land in the City and an update on Picture Main Street.
Jim Johnson, Smith College Prof Emeritus (after 52 years as a professor!) of Sports and Exercise Science: preparing for the World Cup, the heat, the competition & caring for yourself—his most recent Gazette column.
Cool Films with Larry Hott: Larry reviews “John Candy: I Like Me” and the recent documentaries on Steve Martin and Martin Short and their focus on home and fathers.
Tuesday, July 14, 202607/14/2026
Credit Where Credit Is and Isn’t Due
7/14/26, Co-Host Amilcar Shabazz
Rep Pat Duffy: the commemoration for the airmen who died when their B17crashed into Mt Tom –why she attends, what it says & why it matters; also, the Economic Development Bill the House just passed.
Hadley School Super Anne McKenzie: the federal tax credits that will support private schools, part of Trump’s “BBB” legislation — how it will work, what effects it will have, the arguments for and against.
Milan Clark, Amherst Media’s Media & Broadcasting Mananger: the League of Women Voters show (League Talk), community engagement, & how you can become a producer.
Duke Goldman, Negro League expert and BIG baseball fan on why the All-Star Game is ridiculous; why baseball owners are hell-bent on killing the golden goose & destroying the sport; the Home Run Derby on Netflix?! And the book he is writing about Monte Irvin and integrating baseball.
Monday, July 13, 202607/13/2026
Beginnings and Endings
6/13/26, Megan Zinn — Co-Host
Nancy Gertner, U.S. Dst Ct Judge (ret) & Harvard Law Professor: what the recent Supreme Court’s recent decisions mean for democracy, the future, & all of us.
Daniel Mason, the superlative, award-winning novelist on a nationwide book tour — tonight at the Odyssey Books in South Hadley– on “Country People.”
It’s Mayors Monday w/ Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia: the ban/moratorium on data centers in his city & the $2million/yr in tax revenues one (!) could bring; then, summer in the City.
“And Death Shall Have No Dominion”— the community’s response this weekend.
Kemper Carlsen, Clinical Director, Fisher Home Hospice in Amherst: hospice & end-of- life care—what it is; also, their 20th anniversary & a $100,000 endowment campaign.
Friday, July 10, 202607/10/2026
The Hustler Files Ep 170
YOU CAN’T CHANGE TOMORROW UNTIL YOU HEAL YESTERDAY
You don’t have to be incarcerated for this conversation to matter. We all have had a yesterday experience that shaped us, wounds that followed us, and patterns we sometimes don’t even realize we’re repeating. This week we conclude our first-ever trilogy with a most meaningful yet simple lesson. Over the past few episodes, we introduced you to Oregon’s Transformative Justice Community, their innovative programs at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, and the volunteer-run CREW Safe Rides program that helps women return home safely after release from prison. Now we turn to what may be the foundation for lasting change. Educator and Transformative Justice Community co-founder Taryn VanderPyl, along with healing curriculum developer Tressa Jumps share a new trauma-informed healing curriculum created specifically for incarcerated women. Together, they explore why lasting transformation begins long before release, how unresolved childhood trauma often shapes adult choices, the difference between healing and simply serving a sentence and why understanding what happened to someone can be just as important as understanding what they did. Because it just may be that healing is one of the most powerful forms of rehabilitation.
Friday, July 10, 202607/10/2026
Touching
7/10/26, Co-Host-Josh Silver
MTA President, about to become rank & file member, Max Page: a touching, feel-good story — the Tartan Army, school buses, the World Cup, a magnificent contribution, & Good Morning America; MTA accomplishments during his Presidency & his return to UMass; the labor movement’s recent past and immediate future.
Community Action’s Lev Ben-Ezra (Exec Dir) & Lisa LaPierre (Dir, Youth & Workforce Dev): a win-win-win for the community—well-paying jobs, free training while providing good and safe housing.
Political Gold with Josh Silver & his guest Joe Lyman: audit the legislature, the governor & the courts—really? Boston Globe investigations, transparency & public record requests. Touches a nerve.
Josh Silver on Maine’s U.S. Senate race—who will replace Graham Platner what qualities should the candidate have?
ArtBeat w/ Donnabelle Casis & Kiah Tinkham of Waterway Arts in Turners Falls: “Please Touch”— we tell you why.
Thursday, July 9, 202607/09/2026
Eyes, Ayes and Ears
7/9/26, Co-Host- Andy Bukowski
Karen Giuliano, UMass Prof & Co-Director of the Elaine Marieb Center for Nursing and Engineering Innovation: her just-published break-through study at UMass that will make hospitals safer and improve patient care, using eye-tracking technology.
Rep Aaron Saunders: the ayes have it –approved by the legislature –money for UMass & research, the Bright Act, the Protect Act, and closing a criminal law loophole of sexual exploitation.
Helen Kahn, Farmers Market Manager for Grow Food Northampton – a feast for your eyes –the Tuesday Market, this week’s produce, HIP & your Bicycle Benefit.
All That Jazz with N’hmptn Jazz festival Pres Ruth Griggs & extraordinary musicians Ed Brainerd (trumpet, flugelhorn & piano) & Ethel Lee (vocals) – listen to this!
Wednesday, July 8, 202607/08/2026
Fascinating Facts and Fallacies
July 8, 2026, Co-Host Brian Adams
Lynn Griesimer, Amherst Town Councilor: new schools, new library, new h.s. principal, a new school superintendent on the horizon. Welcome to Amherst, pop 17,000 (summer) 40,000 (when student are back).
Hillary Caws-Elwitt, Nature and Environment Book Group Coordinator at Forbes Library: we start with “Total Garbage” and go from there.
Richard Joyce, Conservation Biologist at Xerces Society: everything you wanted to know about fireflies here and now, lighting up our night sky.
Cool Films with Larry Hott: Larry recommends watching “Natchez,” an extraordinary film on heritage tours—whose heritage—slave owners or enslaved persons? And the names of streets in Northampton.
