Families on the South Shore have relied on, and enjoyed, their local YMCA for more than a century, and that's not changing anytime soon! Tens of thousands of people utilize the South Shore YMCA's programs each year, which include everything from youth programs to social services like a food pantry. Newly appointed President and CEO Trevor Williams says they've got a blueprint to expand their offerings to assist even more residents over the coming years. He talks with Nichole about their new "Together We Thrive" plan and the upcoming "Taste of the South Shore" event.

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Lovers of the fiber arts and all things witchy are making their way to Salem, Massachusetts next month for the upcoming Fiber Witch Festival! With trolley tours, a maker's market, and a special sea-themed gala, it's an enchantingly creative celebration of crafters and the supernatural. Ana Campos, the festival's founder and owner of Circle of Stitches in Salem, joins Nichole to share all the details.

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While Massachusetts, and especially Greater Boston, are often seen as a hub of progress and innovation, that's not always the case when it comes to wage equity. There have been some advancements to shrink the gap, but there's also a first-in-the-nation program in Boston working with city officials and local businesses to try and eliminate that gap completely. Kim Borman, Executive Director of the Boston Women's Workplace Council, shares their latest wage inequity data with Nichole and discusses their efforts.

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Oftentimes, when your local library is putting on a book sale, it's held at the library itself. In Nahant, they're doing a cleanout of some rare titles that, in some cases, haven't seen the light of day in decades. What's different here is that they're doing it on eBay, opening up bid opportunities from all over the world. Nori Morganstein, Director of the Nahant Public Library, discusses their decision to go digital with this latest book sale, and why it's necessary to part ways with some of these aged books.

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March 17th is known to many as Saint Patrick's Day, but for Bostonians, it's also Evacuation Day. Centuries ago, during the buildup of the American Revolution, Boston was a city under siege. It took a drastic, strategic standoff by Patriot colonists at Dorchester Heights to send the British sailing off to Canada, and it all played out on what we now know as Evacuation Day. Jonathan Lane, Executive Director of Revolution 250 in Boston, joins the show to tell the dramatic story and share details of this year's commemoration in Dorchester.

This segment is the seventh interview in our series "Revolutionary Roots", where we take a closer look at the stories, people, events, and local ties that connect New England to the nation's 250th anniversary in 2026.

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Tens of thousands of books in the Berkshire Community College library were put in storage a few years back so the school could do some much-needed renovations to the building. Recently, when staff were preparing to bring the books back, they made a tragic discovery - most of the collection was destroyed. Richard Felver, the Dean of the Library and Learning Commons at BCC in Pittsfield, joins Nichole to explain what happened to the books, and share the story of their unexpected pivot that was bolstered by help from the academic community.

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For centuries, the team at what's now known as Gather in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, has been leading the charge on the Seacoast to ensure no one goes hungry. They're finding all kinds of different ways to offer up nutritious, affordable food to those who need it, including the recent opening of their Community Food Center. Executive Director Anne Hayes talks with Nichole about their long history of work in the community and shares information about their many resources for residents of New Hampshire and Maine.

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There's a movement in Massachusetts to introduce a new type of election: "all-party primaries". The idea is simple: let everyone run in the primary elections together for any given race, regardless of party, and the best candidates will come out on top. This potential ballot measure is being pushed by the "Coalition for Healthy Democracy", which says such elections will make elections more competitive and transparent. Harvard University professor and former gubernatorial candidate Danielle Allen discusses their efforts with Nichole on this week's show.

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It takes a lot of important attributes to be a successful gardener: patience, kindness, empathy, determination, and discipline, among others. These are just some of the many important lessons students in Cambridge and Boston Public Schools are learning through partnerships with Cambridge non-profit "City Sprouts". Susan Diller, Executive Director of City Sprouts, joins Nichole to explore how the program teaches local kids these valuable skills through hands-on learning in the dirt, and share details about their upcoming conference for educators and gardeners.

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