This week on Basic Black: In the wake of the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, a look at Massachusetts' "stand your ground" proposal and recent efforts to pass or block the legislation. Also, the pending Supreme Court decision on the Obama administration's health care reform legislation: however they decide, what are the political ramifications for President Obama's re-election campaign and the impact on communities of color.

Our panel:
- Callie Crossley, host and executive editor, The Callie Crossley Show
- Kim McLarin, author and assistant professor of writing, literature, and publishing, Emerson College
- Peniel Joseph, professor of history, Tufts University
- Phillip Martin, senior reporter, WGBH Radio



(Image source via Creative Commons: xtopalopaquetl)

(Originally broadcast May 11, 2012)

President Obama surprised the world yesterday when his stance on same-sex marriage finished "evolving" and he came out in support of it. Will his position hurt or help his chances at re-election? How will it affect his relationship with black clergy? Will it alter his support in the black community?

Our panelists:
- Callie Crossley, host and executive editor, The Callie Crossley Show
- Kim McLarin, author and assistant professor of creative writing, Emerson College
- Phillip Martin, senior reporter, 89.7 WGBH Radio
- Lionel McPherson, associate professor of philosophy, Tufts University

Originally broadcast on October 26, 2012:

The deadline is fast approaching on a federal mandate for the Boston City Council to pass a plan that reorganizes the city’s voting districts. But there seems to be no clear consensus among council members, nor among many in Boston’s communities of color, on how to do it. The mayor has already vetoed two maps. A coalition representing African American, Asian, and Latino voters has vowed to sue if they are unsatisfied with the council's solution. Emotions are running high, and only ten days remain.

Our panelists:
- Latoyia Edwards, anchor, New England Cable News
- Phillip Martin, senior reporter, 89.7 WGBH Radio
- Kevin C. Peterson, executive director, New Democracy Coalition
- Alejandra St. Guillen, executive director, Oiste
- Sean Daughtry, political action chair, Boston branch, NAACP

Relevant links:
As deadline looms, state of play in redistricting
Gintautas Dumcius, Dorchester Reporter, October 26, 2012

Group pitches alternative voting maps to city council
Jeremy Fox, Boston Globe, September 29, 2012

More city council redistricting maps with Consalvo and Yancey verbal sparring
David Ertischek, Roslindale Patch, October 4, 2012

Redistricting map passes despite objections form Communities of Color Coalition and councilors of color
Mark Liu, Chinese Progressive Association, MySouthEnd.com, August 29, 2012

Boston City Council Census and Redistricting Committee


(Image source: FreeFoto.com)

Originally broadcast on November 2, 2012.

As the nation heads into election day on November 6, Basic Black considers the relevance of polls and the persistence of predictions. And what does it say about the candidates and this country that the race is so close?

In conversation:
- Latoyia Edwards, anchor, New England Cable News
- Phillip Martin, senior reporter, 89.7 WGBH Radio
- Peniel Joseph, professor of history Tufts University; Du Bois Fellow, Harvard University
- Robert Fortes, Republican strategist


(Photo: Early voting, Ohio 2012. Source: Associated Press.)

Originally broadcast November 9, 2012.

November 9, 2012: Election 2012 came to a close on November 6 as President Barack Obama was elected for a second term. The turnout numbers rivaled those of 2008, despite long lines at the polls and court cases challenging early voting rules. In addition to the huge percentage of African Americans who voted for him, Obama was swept to victory by the youth and Latino votes, as well as large contingents of women, working class, and educated white voters.

Our panel:
- Callie Crossley, host and moderator, Boston Public Radio, 89.7 WGBH Radio
- Peniel Joseph, professor of history, Tufts University
- Phillip Martin, senior reporter, 89.7 WGBH Radio
- Robert Fortes, Republican strategist

Related links:
Transcript of President Obama's acceptance speech

Transcript of Mitt Romney's concession speech



(Photo: President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Jill Biden acknowledge the crowd at his election night party on Wednesday, November 7, 2012. Source: Associated Press.)

February 8, 2013:

The Scottsboro Boys, The Central Park Five, Shawn Drumgold…in all of these cases, the accused were found guilty, only to be exonerated years later, sometimes decades later. This week on Basic Black, a conversation on searching for truth, justice delayed, and a judicial balm for wounded communities.


Our panel this week:
- Callie Crossley, host and moderator, Boston Public Radio, WGBH
- Kim McLarin, assistant professor of writing, literature and publishing, Emerson College
- Phillip Martin, senior reporter, 89.7 WGBH Radio
- Peniel Joseph, professor of history, Tufts University

May 31, 2013

A recent audit by the state revealed that Massachusetts paid welfare benefits to 1,160 dead recipients. In spite of the fact that, in terms of dollars, this is a very tiny fraction compared to the size of the program, and the majority of welfare and food stamp assistance are white, we'll discuss why the stereotype of the "welfare queen" persists. At the other end of the financial spectrum, we'll look at wealth: a recent report by Nielsen concluded that black spending power will reach $1 trillion dollars by 2015…but black wealth is declining. What are the factors contributing to the disparity?

Panel:
- Callie Crossley, host, Under The Radar, 89.7 WGBH Radio
- Kim McLarin, author, Divorce Dog: Men, Motherhood, and Midlife
- Peniel Joseph, professor of history, Tufts University
- Phillip Martin, senior reporter, 89.7 WGBH Radio

May 8, 2015 This week Basic Black opens with a follow-up look at the events in Baltimore with a conversation about black leadership and variations on the “blue wall of silence.” Later in the show: as tensions in Baltimore increased, it was the White House Correspondents Dinner which included a few jokes on the state of race relations, that took center stage in many media outlets; and just after the state of emergency in Baltimore was lifted, the comedy duo Key and Peele premiered a sketch called “Negrotown”… we ask, when is the right time for satire?


Panelists:
- Latoyia Edwards, Anchor, New England Cable News
- Phillip Martin, Senior Reporter, WGBH News
- Kim McLarin, Associate Professor of Writing, Literature, and Publishing, Emerson College
- Peniel Joseph, Professor of History, Tufts University
- Emmett G. Price III, Associate Professor of Music, Northeastern University and author of The Black Church and Hip Hop Culture


Photo: (Left) Scene from “Negrotown” Key & Peele, Comedy Central. (Right) Protesters demonstrate as a curfew imposed in the aftermath of rioting following Monday's funeral for Freddie Gray goes into effect Friday, May 1, 2015, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

​​This done, see that you take no longer days, But send the midwife presently to me. -Aaron Titus Andronicus        Act IV, scene ii      Line 166 Let's be clear here. The 'this done' that the speaker is referring to is the burying of the body of the nurse he just killed. And the reason he...

Today, we received this message from the leadership of the Shakespeare Association of America. It's intended for the Shakespeare theatre members of SAA, but has farther reaching implications so we felt it was important to share on our blog and elsewhere. --------------- American members of the SAA have the chance to make a diffe...

 Shakespeare has been my frequent companion for almost fifty years, during which time I have studied his works in school, read them for pleasure, attended hundreds of performances, watched dozens of film versions of the plays, and spent many hours listening to audio productions during morning and afternoon commutes. And for the past twenty yea...

shearch.me is a free Progressive Web App that searches Shakespeare's plays, poems and sonnets including locations and stage directions. It's quick, works on desktop or mobile, and it uses the wonderful PlayShakespeare texts. Because it's a Progressive Web App, you can use it like a website (just go to shearch.me in a web browser) or you can add it ...

Shakespeare’s Globe’s Richard III, directed by Elle While, is an entertaining, poignant, and timely rendition of a history play...

“Extreme Shakespeare” – a show using the original stage practices of Shakespeare’s time, where actors arrive with their lines...

In 1703, only a century and change after Shakespeare wrote Much Ado About Nothing, the first houses were built...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, produced by the Great Lakes Theater in repertoire with the musical Into the Woods, is...

The candidates are all in Iowa stumping for caucus votes, but Brady is here to round up the latest primary news, like whether TV debates are having a bigger effect on the primary than old-school retail politics. Plus: what Donald Trump rallies have in common with arena rock concerts or screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and campaign voicemails magically transformed into garbled emails!

This primary's days are numbered - and we've got what you need to get ready for Tuesday. Primary expert Dante Scala tells Brady why the first-in-the-nation vote can break your heart, yet keep you coming back for more. Plus, how New Hampshire is and isn't like the rest of the country. And a hero public radio reporter saves a First in the Nation landmark.

Brady didn’t get much sleep, but he’s all over dissecting the action that unfolded in Tuesday’s New Hampshire Republican Primary. A rundown of the three words that defined the day, a deeper look at the politics that ran the race, a glimpse into the future, and favorite reporter moments from the 2016 trail. Stay tuned for the Democratic edition wrap-up episode!

Brady still hasn't gotten any sleep, but he’s all over dissecting the action that unfolded in Tuesday’s New Hampshire Democratic Primary. A rundown of the three words that defined the day, a deeper look at the politics that ran the race, and favorite reporter moments from the 2016 trail. If you missed it, check out our Republican edition wrap-up episode!

Imagine there's a virus living inside you. This virus is harmless. Most of the time. But then, something causes it to change and it could kill you unless you take one dose of a powerful drug. Now imagine there is a critical shortage of this drug. This is the scary scenario at the heart of the debut novel by Hanover resident and Dartmouth professor Charles Wheelan. It's called The Rationing, but this isn't a book about a disease. It's a political satire about how the United States government handles the unfolding public health crisis. Personalities clash. Political ambitions get in the way of productive discussion. Fake News opportunists muddy the waters and foreign countries take advantage of a vulnerable United States. Charles Wheelan joined NHPR's Peter Biello to talk about his new book.

For much of human history, human beings have waged war against each other. In the new novel by Marko Kloos, that tendency to wage war remains as strong as ever more than a thousand years into the future. Aftershocks is an adventure story as well as a portrait of a technologically-advanced civilization struggling to maintain the peace after a devastating war. Kloos spoke with NHPR’s Peter Biello.

This week marked the launch of the second annual edition of The People's Book, a collection of literary works and visual art created by New Hampshire writers and artists.

If you've ever been on a college campus or a public park, you may have seen desire lines. Those are those well-worn paths carved by travelers who, for whatever reason, preferred a route that diverged from the ones carefully cured in concrete by city or campus planners.

When New Hampshire author John Brighton was six years old, his family bought a lakeside farm in Washington, a small town in New Hampshire's Sullivan County.

When Cindy Copeland was in seventh grade in the early 1970s, an English teacher encouraged her to become a writer. Shortly after that, the Keene resident landed an internship as a “cub reporter” with a local journalist, following her to public meetings and learning how question people powerful people—most of them men. And Cindy did all this while navigating the tricky minefield of fraught friendships, cliques, and bullying that so often characterize life in junior high.

Alexandria Peary is New Hampshire’s new poet laureate, and she’s ramping up her work as the state’s official advocate for poetry and the literary arts more broadly. As part of her work as poet laureate, she’s been reading work sent to her by New Hampshire poets.

In Concord-native Meredith Tate’s new novel, a young woman is kidnapped after a drug deal goes badly. To summon help, she has an out-of-body experience. Her quest to give her sister clues about where she is and how she got there serves as the central action of the book, which is called The Last Confession of Autumn Casterly. Tate spoke about it with NHPR's Peter Biello.

In New England, the Waterman name is like mountain royalty. But beyond a tight circle of outdoors-people, they're not a household name. Today, we tell the story of one of the most influential voices in American wilderness philosophy, Laura Waterman, and how she has changed following the death of her husband.

Clouds will be thickening Saturday night, with rain showers developing late. Expect rainy conditions on Sunday, with temperatures hovering above the seasonal average of 50 degrees.

Expect cloudy skies with sporadic rain showers for our Sunday. Breezy winds out of the south-southeast 10-20 mph. This week, temperatures will stay above the seasonal average, reaching the 50s.

Temperatures will trend upwards for Sunday evening into early Monday morning. A cold front moving eastward from the Dakotas will bring a chance of rain showers on Monday. Look for above-average temperatures this week with highs in the lower to mid-50s.

Rain showers will begin moving in from southern Minnesota early Tuesday, marking the arrival of the last low pressure system before a drier pattern sets in from Wednesday through Friday. Expect highs in the mid-40s on Tuesday, with temperatures gradually warming to the low 50s by Friday.

A milder and direr weather pattern sets up by Thursday across Minnesota.

Dense fog is expected early Wednesday morning, reducing visibility to less than one-quarter of a mile at times. Spotty sunshine will break through with mainly dry conditions. A pleasant warming trend will follow with temperatures reaching the mid-50s by Friday.

It’s warm for now. But a weak La Niña should produce a colder winter than last year.

A weak weather system will bring scattered light rain showers this weekend.

Cloudy skies and scattered showers will persist into Sunday morning as a low-pressure system tracks from southeastern Minnesota into central Wisconsin. Temperatures will cool briefly to seasonal averages on Monday, followed by a warm-up and breezy winds as the week wraps up.

Expect lingering cloud cover into Sunday night, with northwesterly winds picking up. A dry cold front will pass through, causing temperatures to dip slightly on Monday. After that, a pleasant warming trend is expected through the end of the work week.

Chilly high pressure has settled in behind the weekend system. High temperatures will be cooler Monday and Tuesday, but near normal. The next chance of rain develops Wednesday. 

November has started off wetter than usual, with several weather systems moving through since the Halloween rain and snow event. Despite the much needed rainfall, we continue to see precipitation deficits since early September.

We’ll have another day of cool sunshine Tuesday. The next system will develop rain showers for Wednesday. Temperatures will be warming up by Friday and Saturday. 

Asst. Prof. Koichiro Ito explains research on regulations increasing average size of vehicles

Prof. David Meltzer discusses research to quantify doctor-patient relationship

Asst. Prof. Koichiro Ito explains research on regulations increasing average size of vehicles

President Robert J. Zimmer and Northwestern president discuss safe spaces and discourse on campus

Asst. Prof. Koichiro Ito finds fuel economy standards push manufacturers to make bigger cars

In Q&A, Asst. Prof. Kathleen Belew discusses research on white power movements

Prof. Howard Nusbaum explains audio phenomenon

Behavioral economist Sendhil Mullainathan to join Booth faculty as University Professor