Moulton’s ambitious, expensive, and enthralling transportation vision

This week on the Codcast, Jennifer Smith explores artificial intelligence’s growing prominence in our everyday lives with Dr. Nir Eisikovits, professor of philosophy at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Eisikovits founded the school’s Applied Ethics Center (https://www.umb.edu/ethics) and has spent the past years thinking about the impact of AI on moral decision making and its unique relationship to work and creativity.

The promise and the pitfalls of everyday artificial intelligence.

This week on The Codcast, John McDonough of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute talk to CommonWealth Beacon's Bruce Mohl about what went wrong with Steward Health Care, and the different paths out of the current situation.

Steward: A cautionary tale complete with a Snidely Whiplash

CommonWealth Beacon editor Laura Colarusso is joined by fellow reporter Gin Dumcius to discuss Josh Kraft's candidacy, Mayor Wu's response, and top issues in this race.

Josh Kraft enters Boston mayoral race

This week on the Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith is joined by Kenzie Bok, head of the Boston Housing Authority, to discuss the threat of President Trump’s budget on rental assistance spending.

‘Forewarned is forearmed’ on housing voucher cuts

This week on the Codcast, Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Kimberly Budd sits down for a wide-ranging interview with CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith. They discuss trust in the judiciary, the role of the trial courts and the SJC, and if independence feels more achievable for state courts than the federal bench.

Chief Justice Kimberly Budd makes the case for the state courts

CommonWealth Beacon reporter Gintautas Dumcius interviews Boston Mayor Michelle Wu about her start in politics and being both an introvert and a politician, why she’s a Democrat, the super PACs crowding into this year’s election, and her media diet.

Michelle Wu | The introvert’s guide to being mayor

More than 800,000 people ride the T everyday. This week on the Codcast, reporter Gin Dumcias is joined by Phil Eng, General Manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority or "the T"  to talk about the state of the system and what lies down the track.

Keeping time with MBTA's Phil Eng

This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon executive editor Michael Jonas talks with reporter Jennifer Smith about a series of stories, parsing the sprawling Trump tax and spending bill. They discuss why it’s so hard to know if Opportunity Zones have been effective, and why affordable housing advocates are mixed on the administration’s approach to low-income renters.

Trump tax bill: the good, the mixed, and the still uncertain

The Bay State is already struggling with a primary care provider crisis, and the head of the largest not-for-profit health care system in Central Massachusetts sees an increasingly grim road ahead if current trends persist. 

This week on the monthly Health or Consequences episode of The Codcast, John McDonough of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute spoke with Eric Dickson, president and CEO of UMass Memorial Health

Can Mass. turn the health care crisis around? (with Eric Dickson)

This week on the Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon editor Laura Colarusso sits down with Gateway Cities reporter Hallie Claflin to talk about her recent reporting in Holyoke – where city leaders and housing developers have struggled to restore vacant mills and blighted industrial buildings. They discuss the costly environmental hazards associated with these projects, as well as state and federal funding barriers, weak market conditions, tariffs, and more.

Restoring blighted properties is easier said than done in Western Mass.

This week on the Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith sits down with Elyse Cherry, CEO of BlueHub Capital, to discuss the recent court decision that BlueHub violated consumer protection statutes around lending. Where does the case go next, and why did lawmakers push for new rules tailored to BlueHub’s controversial lending practices?

Elyse Cherry talks BlueHub predatory lending lawsuit

This week on the Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Rich Davey, who just finished his first year as CEO of Massport. They talk about his long history of ground transportation work, plans to improve air travel, and whether Boston actually could have handled the 2024 Olympics.

Blocking and tackling with Massport CEO Rich Davey

This week on the monthly Health or Consequences episode of The Codcast, John McDonough of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute spoke with Dr. Kiame Mahaniah, Massachusetts secretary of Health and Human Services, about looming Medicaid cuts, the primary care crisis, and how to make sure the vulnerable can still access health services.

Bracing for impact with Health and Human Services Secretary Kiame Mahaniah

This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith continues health care month coverage in a conversation with 1199SEIU executive vice president Cari Medina and Anestine Bentick, lead medical assistant at South Boston Community Health. They discuss existing pressures on stretched workforces, the impacts of recent closures, and how immigration policy bleeds into the health care space.

What health care workers are feeling on the ground

This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Harvard professor Larry Lessig about the ill-fated attempt to restrict Super PAC contributions in Massachusetts and the successful effort in Maine that was struck down by the lower court. The Maine coalition thinks it has a shot at convincing higher courts, not to overturn Citizens United but to embrace an originalist argument to limit money in politics.

A Super PAC longshot (with Prof. Larry Lessig)

This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Michael Leary, director of media relations for Berkshire Health Systems. They dive into what makes Berkshire County such a complicated place for health care access – with rural towns, busier cities, college students, and of course the seasonal visitors looking to peep some leaves or take in the snowy mountains. The far flung region’s geography is a challenge on its own, and that’s before factoring in the system-wide staffing crunches and looming Medicaid cuts.

Health care challenges in the Berkshires (with Michael Leary)

This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Mark Williams, finance lecturer at the Questrom School of Business at Boston University. Now two weeks into the federal shutdown, Williams reviews an already bleak estimate of Massachusetts’s financial health if officials continue on their current spending path. Facing federal cuts, immigration policy changes, and the knock-on effects of the shutdown, Williams warns that the Bay State could be heading for a recession within a year.

Could the shutdown push Mass. toward recession? (with Mark Williams)

This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Hallie Claflin talks with Dominick Pangallo, Mayor of Salem. Every year in October, Salem experiences a massive tourism boom as more than a million visitors flock to the site of the Salem Witch Trials for the spooky season. How does a small city of 45,000 manage the influx of tourists? How do Salem residents feel about the influx? And how lucrative is the tourism industry? Pangallo addresses these and encourages all to explore the great things Salem has to offer all year round.

www.hauntedhappenings.org 
www.salem.org

Who you gonna call? (with Salem Mayor, Dominick Pangallo)

This week on The Codcast: Health or Consequences, John McDonough and Paul Hattis are joined by Audrey Gasteier, executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector. Gasteier discusses the current crisis facing residents of the commonwealth should the federal government fail to renew premium tax credits. 

The government shutdown's effects on the Mass. Health Connector (with Audrey Gasteier)

This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporters Jennifer Smith and Hallie Claflin talk about Claflin’s deep dive into the fallout from Steward Health Care’s bankruptcy. Two communities – the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester and the rural Nashoba Valley – lost their community health centers. Just over a year later, the local emergency health systems are strained and residents say they still feel confused about why the state allowed their centers to close while others were saved.

https://commonwealthbeacon.org/health-care/when-communities-lose-trust-one-year-after-steward-healths-bankruptcy-and-the-death-of-two-hospitals/ 

https://commonwealthbeacon.org/health-care/accord-pledges-234m-for-hospitals-health-centers/

A year after Steward closures, lost trust and betrayal

Massachusetts Municipal Association Executive Director Adam Chapdelaine, Amesbury Mayor Kassandra Gove, and Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Executive Director Paul Craney join The Codcast to dive deep on the world of municipal finances in a panel discussion moderated by CommonWealth Beacon reporter Chris Lisinski. Guests unpack the various dynamics putting pressure on city and town budgets, consider the value of the tax-cap law known as Proposition 2½, and ponder who might be best equipped to provide relief. 

https://commonwealthbeacon.org/economy/could-boston-face-an-urban-doom-loop/

https://commonwealthbeacon.org/government/healey-pitches-new-revenue-source-for-cities-and-towns-vehicle-surcharge/


Municipal budgets at the breaking point (with Adam Chapdelaine, Mayor Kassandra Gove, and Paul Craney)

On the monthly Health or Consequences episode of The Codcast, John McDonough of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute talk Matt Selig, the executive director of Health Law Advocates (HLA). They discuss the blur between medical and legal access issues, the group’s history and capacity, and their current litigation focuses.

When medical access is a legal puzzle (with Matt Selig)

On this week’s episode of The Codcast, Jim Peyser, who served as secretary of education under Gov. Charlie Baker, talks with executive editor Michael Jonas about the yearlong series of essays he wrote for CommonWealth Beacon on the need for civil discussion of often controversial issues in an era of polarized debate. Peyser says a healthy democracy depends on our ability to move past the current moment, where opponents are often characterized not as adversaries but enemies, and complex issues, which often involve difficult trade-offs and not just matters of right and wrong, are often reduced to strident – and simplistic – slogans. 
.
.
https://commonwealthbeacon.org/author/james-peyser/ 

Restoring civic discourse in an age of polarization (with Jim Peyser)

On this week’s episode of The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporters Jennifer Smith and Chris Lisinski check in as Beacon Hill heads into its winter break. Chris looks back at the end of year lawmaking hustle, and what was left for 2026, then turns to a possibly record-smashing number of ballot questions that could land before voters next November.

The Legislature breaks for the holidays and ballot questions heat up

How much of Boston’s tax needs should fall on residents? The question is splitting City Hall and the business community, as dropping commercial property values and rising home values threaten a 13 percent residential tax hike in 2026. This week on the Codcast, Greg Maynard, executive director of the Boston Policy Institute, joins CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith as the city council prepares for a Wednesday vote expected to raise taxes on single-family homes. Maynard, who has butted heads with Mayor Michelle Wu since his think tank’s founding, says the administration is not moving quickly enough to inform the public about dire revenue forecasts or adopt new measures which could make up the difference.

Showdown over Boston tax rates, ft Greg Maynard

On this week’s episode of The Codcast, what it means when political forces come for the arts. CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Élider DiPaula, the new executive director of Project STEP — a 12-year music program focused on bringing students from underrepresented or marginalized backgrounds into the world of classical string music. The program lost a federal grant this spring, as did hundreds of other Northeast programs considered out of step with President Trump’s nationalist priorities for the arts. DiPaula talks about his background as a Brazilian composer and performer, and what classical music sounds like, who it’s for, and who created it is both personal and political.

The political and the personal of who learns classical music (ft. Élider DiPaula)

On this week’s episode of the Codcast, Michael Jonas, executive editor of CommonWealth Beacon, sits down with Patrick Tutwiler, Massachusetts’ Secretary of Education. Tutwiler co-chairs a graduation council tasked with proposing new educational standards and assessments to replace the MCAS. Take a look behind the scenes.

Beyond the MCAS with Ed. Secretary Tutwiler

Transportation guru Fred Salvucci said on the Codcast that the proposed West Station is needed now to deal with congestion in Kenmore Square and the Seaport District, not future congestion caused by Harvard University's creation of a new neighborhood in the Allston Landing area.

Salvucci’s position is sharply at odds with the views of the Baker administration, which believes current ridership projections for the station are too low to justify building West Station in the near future. Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack has said it would be wise to hold off on West Station until around 2040 when Harvard's development plans for the area are more fully formulated. 

But Salvucci, who served 12 years as state transportation secretary under former governor Michael Dukakis and now teaches at MIT, said the transit connections offered by West Station are needed now to relieve existing congestion on the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Llyr's Album

Salvucci takes new tack on West Station

Everyone has an opinion on the polarizing topic of immigration reform, but rarely do immigrants get to be in the presence of key decision makers who determine their fates. Student Estefany Pineda and community organizer Jose Palma got that opportunity recently, when Pineda attended the State of the Union as a guest of US Rep. Ayanna Pressley, and Palma testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee.
 
Pineda is a recipient of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which gives legal status and work authorization to those brought into the country illegally by their parents as minors. Palma, who came to the US in 1999 after a natural disaster in El Salvador, has temporary protected status, which allows him to live and work legally here as well.
 
Pineda and Palma described the challenges faced by immigrants under President Trump's administration on the Codcast. While they represent different groups of immigrants, Pineda and Palma say the best way forward for both of them is to find a pathway to citizenship through the recently proposed Dream and Promise Act. The new legislation, proposed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other House leaders, is the first to seek permanent legal residency for both groups of immigrants.

Immigrant voices on immigration reform

Tune into spirited debate, local stories, and insightful analyses with The Codcast. Hosted each week by a CommonWealth Beacon reporter, the half-hour policy podcast delves into the heart of Massachusetts’s most pressing and intriguing topics. Hear newsmakers, historians, and policy experts tackle statewide housing struggles, immigration policies, little-known histories, surprising political fights, and even take to the sea to visit rising offshore wind turbines.

CommonWealth Beacon

Popular tracks