The Codcast

CommonWealth Beacon

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.

  1. Should kids be allowed to use social media?

    4 DNI TEMU

    Should kids be allowed to use social media?

    Policymakers in Massachusetts are increasingly eager to impose tighter restrictions on how young people use social media like Instagram and TikTok, repeatedly slamming the platforms for exploiting minors and fueling malaise. This week on The Codcast, we take a look at how the research of brain development overlaps with social media use, what regulatory attempts in other states and countries could teach Massachusetts, and what makes social media different from prior technology-fueled moral panics. . Host: Chris Lisinski, senior reporter for CommonWealth Beacon . Guests: John Wihbey, professor at Northeastern University and the author of “Governing Babel: The Debate over Social Media Platforms and Free Speech – and What Comes Next” Dr. Ana M. Martinez-Aleman, professor at Boston College commonwealthbeacon.org/30th

    36 min
  2. 20 years later: The grassroots story that changed health care

    13 KWI

    20 years later: The grassroots story that changed health care

    On April 12, 2006, at Faneuil Hall, Gov. Mitt Romney signed the Massachusetts Health Insurance Reform Act, commonly known as Chapter 58 or "RomneyCare." The groundbreaking legislation established the Massachusetts Health Connector, it expanded Medicaid, it required employers to provide insurance, it subsidized health care insurance for low income residents and ultimately drastically reduced the number of uninsured. In this month’s installment of Health or Consequences, John McDonough moves into the interviewee seat, along with Cheri Andes, the former Lead Organizer of Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, to tell the story of how they built and led the coalition behind the historic bill, and how RomneyCare laid the foundation for the Affordable Care Act. . Host: Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute Guests: John McDonough of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, former Director of Health Care for All Cheri Andes, Independent Consultant, former Lead Organizer of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO)

    42 min
  3. What it means that a state “AI assistant” will handle your data (with Technology Sec. Jason Snyder)

    6 KWI

    What it means that a state “AI assistant” will handle your data (with Technology Sec. Jason Snyder)

    This week on The Codcast, we dig into the new partnership between Massachusetts and OpenAI to roll out an AI assistant to help with daily governmental tasks. Jennifer Smith, reporter for CommonWealth Beacon, is joined by Technology Secretary Jason Snyder, who says his goals include “democratizing innovation” and helping streamline bureaucratic systems like the DMV. Snyder discusses the contract with OpenAI, concerns around data privacy and bias in AI systems, and explains why the state is leaning so hard into AI adoption. . Host: Jennifer Smith, senior reporter at CommonWealth Beacon . Guest: Jason Snyder, Massachusetts Secretary of Technology . Former Episodes on AI: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/massachusetts-leans-into-artificial-intelligence-with/id1111787258?i=1000718291407 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/does-ai-interfere-in-our-democracy/id1111787258?i=1000679690140 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/will-artificial-intelligence-make-or-break-newsrooms/id1111787258?i=1000638881832 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-promise-and-the-pitfalls/id1111787258?i=1000611239071

    32 min
  4. How is your experience of primary care?

    30 MAR

    How is your experience of primary care?

    After 28 years at the helm of Mass. Health Quality Partners, Barbra Rabson is stepping down. MHQP provides data on patient experiences of primary care. They bring stakeholders and patient representatives together to further their shared mission, improve healthcare quality and equity. On this months episode of 'Health or Consequences,' John McDonough and Paul Hattis ask Rabson about the impact of MHQP's approach in the midst of a primary care crisis. What do stakeholders need to improve patients' experience of primary care? How can we attract more primary care physicians? And, most importantly, how do we get out of the crisis? Guest: Barbra Rabson, President & CEO of Mass Health Quality Partners Hosts: Paul Hattis, Lown Institute John McDonough, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health https://www.mhqp.org/

    33 min
  5. The Massachusetts angle into the US Senate’s housing bill

    23 MAR

    The Massachusetts angle into the US Senate’s housing bill

    This week on the Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Matt Noyes, director of state and federal advocacy for the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA). They dig into the Bay State implications of the sprawling bipartisan “meatball” of a housing bill that recently passed the US Senate, and take a look at how efforts at home might interact with federal policy. Host: Jennifer Smith, senior reporter at CommonWealth Beacon Guests: Matt Noyes, director of state and federal advocacy for the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) Further Reading Links: https://commonwealthbeacon.org/ballot-questions/dueling-housing-ballot-measures-collide-with-frustrated-lawmakers/ https://commonwealthbeacon.org/housing/vacation-home-trends-add-to-massachusetts-housing-crunch/ https://commonwealthbeacon.org/housing/our-top-five-housing-stories-of-2025/ https://commonwealthbeacon.org/housing/researchers-find-mbta-housing-law-benefits-modest-so-far/ https://commonwealthbeacon.org/government/state-government/competitiveness-fears-weave-through-budget-hearings/ https://commonwealthbeacon.org/government/the-enigma-of-opportunity-zones/

    30 min
  6. Immigration enforcement ramps up and school enrollment tumbles

    16 MAR

    Immigration enforcement ramps up and school enrollment tumbles

    This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporters Jennifer Smith and Hallie Claflin discuss Claflin‘s latest piece on how immigration enforcement step ups are impacting school enrollment. They zero in on the state’s Gateway Cities, which are home to a disproportionate share of Massachusetts‘s immigrant population and are sounding the alarm over the psychological and fiscal effects of federal enforcement actions on their school communities. Host: Jennifer Smith, senior reporter at CommonWealth Beacon Guests: Hallie Claflin, Gateway Cities reporter at CommonWealth Beacon

    29 min
  7. The energy affordability crisis: How did we get here?

    9 MAR

    The energy affordability crisis: How did we get here?

    This week on The Codcast, we unpack how increasingly expensive utility bills are shaping the energy debate in Massachusetts and reaching a fever pitch on Beacon Hill. With energy costs now the top household concern in the Bay State, how should policymakers respond to the affordability crisis as power demand is expected to rise and with the due date on ambitious climate commitments creeping closer? Our guests, Kyle Murray, director of state program implementation in Massachusetts at the environmental nonprofit Acadia Center, and Dan Dolan, president of the New England Power Generators Association, hash it all out.

    33 min
  8. How 'universal' is universal pre-K? | with Amy Kershaw & Amy O'Leary

    2 MAR

    How 'universal' is universal pre-K? | with Amy Kershaw & Amy O'Leary

    This week on The Codcast, we dive into Gov. Maura Healey's "Gateway to Pre-K" agenda. By the end of 2026, her administration declared that every family of a 4-year-old in the state’s 26 Gateway Cities would have the opportunity – at low or no cost – to enroll their child in a preschool program that prepares them for kindergarten. But local providers say they won’t get there. Our guests, Department of Early Education and Care commissioner Amy Kershaw and Strategies for Children executive director Amy O’Leary, discuss how the state can achieve that lofty goal. Host: Hallie Claflin, Gateway Cities reporter at CommonWealth Beacon Guests: Amy Kershaw, commissioner of the Department of Early Education and Care. Amy O’Leary, executive director of the nonprofit advocacy organization Strategies for Children

    29 min
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O programie

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.

Informacje

  • Twórca
    CommonWealth Beacon
  • Lata aktywności
    2016 - 2026
  • Odcinki
    450
  • Klasyfikacja
    Dla wszystkich
  • Prawa autorskie
    © CommonWealth Beacon
  • Witryna programu
    The Codcast

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