Say More

If you ever thought opera was a dead art, you have never talked to Nina Yoshida Nelsen, the new artistic director of the Boston Lyric Opera. Nina, who is Japanese-American,  spent years feeling pigeon-holed playing Asian roles in Madame Butterfly but she says those feelings were just the start of an exciting conversation about the future of the art form. This week on Say More, Shirley talks to Nina about reimagining classics, exploring new stories, and singing in the shower. Email us at [email protected].

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It’s hard to say the exact mix of mystery and intrigue that causes a true crime story to blow up. But one thing is true: the viral stories tell us something important about ourselves. Right now in Massachusetts, many people are fervently following the trial over whether Karen Read murdered her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe. Some say she’s simply guilty, and some say she’s being elaborately framed by the police. Shirley Leung talks to Boston Globe reporter Sean Cotter and true crime podcaster Rebecca Lavoie about why this case has sparked so much interest. Email us at [email protected].

Read Sean's coverage of the Karen Read trial here.

Read Shannon Larson's Boston Globe overview of the case: Coverup claims, conspiracies, and a controversial blogger: A full breakdown of the Karen Read case

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Daniela Rus’s dream is to imbue the power of robotics with the wisdom of humanity. She runs MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. As part of his ongoing series on the promise and perils of AI, Globe Ideas Editor Brian Bergstein talks to Rus about her new book “The Heart and the Chip.” She says robots won’t just do our chores and work in our factories; they can teach us how to hit tennis balls like Serena Williams and defy gravity like Iron Man. She says your car won’t just drive you around — it might also be a friend. Email us at [email protected].

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Author Amy Tan doesn’t just watch birds, she “feels the life within them.” Amy’s new book, “The Backyard Bird Chronicles” takes us into her daily journal, drawing and musing on the lives of birds in her backyard in California. Shirley Leung talks to Amy about her breakthrough novel, “The Joy Luck Club,” the agony of fiction writing, and whether she considers herself an Asian-American writer or just a writer. Throughout her career, Amy has written extensively about mother-daughter relationships, which partly stems from her own experience. Amy says her late mother is present in every one of her works, even this one. Email us at [email protected].

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Climate change isn’t just one thing, it’s a million things. It’s “everything everywhere all at once,” according to acclaimed author and New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert. In her new book “H is for Hope,” Elizabeth goes through the letters of the alphabet explaining the complexities of climate change and musing on weather, power, hope, despair and everything in between.  She joins Shirley this Earth Week to discuss her approach to climate journalism and her agnostic feelings about hope.

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Doris Kearns Goodwin is a historian who is best known for writing about America's presidents, from Abraham Lincoln to Lyndon B. Johnson. She has a new book out, and this time it’s personal. In "An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s," Doris tells the story of her late husband Dick Goodwin, who was a speechwriter for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Dick was supposed to write the book, but when he passed away in 2018, Doris promised to finish it. This week on Say More, Doris talks to Shirley about the legacy of the 60s, her epic love story with Dick, and the unfinished story of America. Email us at [email protected]. 

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Khan Academy has taught millions of students the fundamentals of math and science, as well as topics ranging from economics to art history. As part of his ongoing series on the promise and perils of AI, Globe Ideas Editor Brian Bergstein talks to Khan Academy founder Sal Khan about the ways that artificial intelligence can (and will) revolutionize education. Sal introduces Brian to “Khanmigo,” an AI tutor that can personalize education for students and teachers. They discuss the benefits of AI in education and what guardrails need to be in place to keep kids safe. Email us at [email protected].

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If you liked our last episode with Frontline executive producer Raney Aronson-Rath, you might like this bonus episode. It’s from a new podcast called “Pulitzer on the Road” from our friends at the Pulitzer Prizes. The Boston Globe’s executive editor Nancy Barnes talks to Associated Press journalist Mstyslav Chernov about his Oscar-winning documentary “20 Days in Mariupol." The film is a stunning first hand account of the first days of war in Ukraine in the winter of 2022, produced by the AP and Frontline.

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Boston-based Frontline has been making documentaries for 40 years, and this year, they took home their first Academy Award for their documentary “20 Days in Mariupol”. The documentary is a first-hand account of the first days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the winter of 2022. The documentary contains gripping and heartbreaking stories of war. It also is a work of journalism, documenting the facts of war. Shirley talks to Frontline’s Executive Producer Raney Aronson-Rath about this film and what it takes to make documentaries that wake people up. Raney shares the game-changing media strategy sparked by her teenage son. Email us at [email protected]. 

Watch “20 Days in Mariupol” on the PBS website or on YouTube. 

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