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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...