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.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been a frigid, unforgiving winter, but sometimes, that doesn't matter if you're a young person in an unsafe situation and feel you need to get away, quick. Instead of leaving them on the streets to suffer in the elements, "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" is working overtime to make sure homeless, at-risk, and runaway youth have a secure, warm place to stay. Executive Director Elisabeth Jackson returns to the show this week to talk about her team's efforts on the front lines and why so many youth find themselves without a safe place to go.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With another round of bitter, Arctic cold coming into the region, you may want to crank the heat and keep your house toasty warm. Unfortunately, many Massachusetts residents are nervous about doing so because the cost of energy is so high these days, and doesn't appear to be getting much better anytime soon. An under-utilized program called HEAP can offer some relief, but community action groups say many residents don't even realize they qualify. Liz Berube, Executive Director of Citizens for Citizens in Fall River, shares all the details with Nichole on this week's show.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

February is Black History Month, and the Freedom Trail Foundation in Boston is celebrating by offering "African-American Patriots" tours. These special tours highlight Black Bostonians, civil rights leaders, politicians, and others who helped to shape the city, and our country, as we know it today. Kelli Strong, a guide with the Freedom Trail Foundation, returns to the show to share all the information you need about these meaningful tours.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For more than a century, the Melrose Symphony Orchestra has been performing for the community, sharing the joy of live music with people of all ages. This winter, they've been busy preparing for a pair of concerts in March that will appeal to opera lovers, local kids, and everyone in between! Yoichi Udagawa, the Symphony's longtime Conductor and Musical Director, returns to the show to talk with Nichole about the Orchestra's storied history, how they try to make classical music accessible to every music lover, and details of the upcoming shows.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dynamic pricing, like surging rideshare prices during a storm, has been around for some time. Companies are now embracing a tactic called "algorithmic pricing", where the personal data it gets from your shopping habits, apps, discount cards, browsing, and much more is used to set prices for you, personally, in real-time for various items. Noah Giansiracusa, Bentley University professor and author of "Robin Hood Math", joins the show to break down how this all works and explain what it means for the future of shopping.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's rare these days to save your memories in a physical photo album, but there's nothing like being able to hold a photo or family artifact in your hands to remember loved ones. In an increasingly digital world, two Harvard Business School students decided to embrace generative AI to capture and preserve memories through illustrated books, which they're now doing with a new kiosk at the Harvard COOP. Co-founder Brayan Romero talks with Nichole about the technology, how his family motivated its development, and how you can try it out for yourself.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.