The Common

On this episode of The Common, WBUR State House reporter Walter Wuthmann joins host Darryl C. Murphy to recap the end of the state's legislative session. He tells us about the few bills that did get passed, and more importantly all the ones that didn't, and why. Then, Team Common hikes the Boston Walking City Trail with with founder, Boston-based journalist and trail builder Miles Howard. Listen to the podcast to hear the full episode.  Looking to enjoy the outdoors without leaving the city? The Boston Walking City Trail might be the perfect thing. Established in 2022 by Miles Howard (a journalist and urban trail builder based in Boston), the Walking City Trail is a community project connecting many of the city's most immersive green spaces into a continuous 27-mile route. The Common's team hiked the Franklin Park section with the trail-builder to learn more about how it came to be, as well as the benefits of urban hiking as an accessible entry into the outdoors for city residents. Here are some of our favorite things along the route: The Wizard of Franklin Park: Miles Howard claims that there's a hollowed out tree trunk in which someone painted a depiction of a Gandalf-like wizard. (We couldn't get through the brush to see it in person, though. But maybe you can! Send us a picture if you do.) Roxbury puddingstone: There's a lot of this in Franklin Park, and even around the neighborhood. It's a natural conglomerate, with small rocks and pebbles embedded inside. Fun fact: it's Massachusetts' official state rock. Bear dens: When the Franklin Park Zoo was built back in the late 1800s, it housed bears in these circular, caged-in dens, with spikes along the top to keep bears from climbing out. The abandoned cages are still there, all overgrown with plants, and all creatures are free to pass in and out these days. Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

The Common is back. Thank you to the listeners who stuck around while we planned for our new weekly format, and if you're new here, welcome to the party! Today, WBUR transportation reporter Andrea Perdomo-Hernandez joins host Darryl C. Murphy to give us the full download on the MBTA's new contactless fare system. Then, to kick off August, WBUR CitySpace assistant director Candice Springer gives us suggestions for how to spend the final hazy days of summer. Candice recommends... The Queen of Versailles Musical Bostonians have the opportunity to see this brand new, Broadway-bound musical adaptation of the 2012 documentary of the same name until Aug. 25. "The Queen of Versailles," starring Kristin Chenoweth and F. Murray Abraham, is being staged at the Emerson Colonial Theater in Boston. Independent Film Festival Boston's Hot Summer Nights IFFBoston, inspired by the series on the podcast You Must Remember This about erotic films from the '80s and '90s, presents a month-long retrospective into steamy movies from that era. You can catch classics like "Showgirls" (1995) and "Cruel Intentions" (1999) until Aug. 31 at the Somerville Theatre. Archery Games Boston Speaking of steam, maybe you need to let off a little with this unconventional athletic activity. Archery Games Boston lets you play out your wildest Katniss Everdeen dreams with competitive combat archery. Join a communal game or reserve a private one with friends, family or coworkers or at the Chelsea location. Don't worry, all projectiles are foam-tipped so no one will be taking an arrow to the knee here any time soon. (Please note that you have to be 7 years or older to join in a communal game.) The Moth StorySLAM: HOT MESS The Moth StorySLAM is an open-mic storytelling competition, open to anyone with a five-minute story to share on the night’s theme. The theme of this month's StorySLAM on Aug. 13 is "HOT MESS." Participants should prepare a five-minute story about spectacular chaos. Disheveled dramas and situations so tangled there is no hope of straightening things out. Come tell a story...or just enjoy the show! Field Trip: Board Game Night Back by popular demand, WBUR CitySpace is hosting another game night on Aug. 14. Free to all, come with friends or meet new ones playing a variety of games provided by Knight Moves Board Game Cafe. Snacks will be provided, grog available for purchase. Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

Team Common is still working on relaunching The Common as a longer weekly show. And we thank you so much for your patience. In the meantime, we want to share with you a project by WBUR’s own Barbara Moran and Science Quickly, a podcast from Scientific American. The past two days we’ve been sharing Barb’s in-depth reporting on Cape Cod’s water, and the pollution that has been increasingly threatening its safety. We also heard about some of the costly solutions the community is considering to help prevent further wastewater pollution. But what if there was a way to clean up the Cape’s waters without spending hundreds of millions of dollars? Some of you may have heard of it before on The Common…it’s called urine diversion, or “pee-cycling.”  Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

Team Common is still working on relaunching The Common as a longer weekly show. And we thank you so much for your patience. In the meantime, we want to share with you a project by WBUR’s own Barbara Moran and Science Quickly, a podcast from Scientific American. In today's episode, Barb looks at some of the big-ticket solutions that could help solve the Cape’s water problems — for a price.  Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

Team Common is still working on relaunching The Common as a longer weekly show. And we thank you so much for your patience. In the meantime, we want to share with you a project by WBUR’s own Barbara Moran and Science Quickly, a podcast from Scientific American. If you’re a regular listener of The Common, you might remember our episode with Barb on something taking place on Cape Cod called pee-cycling. Well, this series is a three-part deeper dive that looks into water pollution on Cape Cod, what’s causing it and how the Cape community is scrambling to fix it. Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

Team Common is currently working on our transition to a weekly show. We’ll be back this summer with new episodes. In the meantime, here’s one from our archives. Seniors are healthier, better educated and living longer than in generations past. In his series "The Third Act," WBUR Senior Political Reporter Anthony Brooks tells the stories of people who have embraced these years of late and mid-life to improve and re-invented themselves. Today, Anthony joins The Common with more on these stories, and what we can all take away from watching others age with purpose, regardless of our own life stage. Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

Team Common is currently working on our transition to a weekly show. We’ll be back this summer with new episodes. In the meantime, here’s one from our archives. Boston Little Saigon is one of the city’s four official cultural districts as designated by the state. Located in Fields Corner in Dorchester, the district was officially designated in 2021, but to its residents, Little Saigon has been an anchor for Vietnamese culture in the region for decades. To learn more about the district's food and experiences, and its place in the New England Vietnamese community, The Common toured Little Saigon with Annie Le, board president of Boston Little Saigon. This episode is part of WBUR's Field Guide to Boston, a station-wide effort to help you connect with the city's communities. Take a look at the team's trip around the district here: Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

Team Common is currently working on our transition to a weekly show. We’ll be back this summer with new episodes. In the meantime, here’s one from our archives. Boston is known for its host of historic landmarks, such as the Boston Tea Party and the USS Constitution, but there are also many historical stories and sites in the city that too often go unheard and unseen. Researcher and educator Joel Mackall seeks to change this through his Hidden History of Black Boston tours — a series of driving and walking tours that highlight the city's often untold Black history. WBUR reporter Arielle Gray joins The Common to discuss Mackall's Hidden History of Black Boston tour in the North End, which took her from the Rose Kennedy Greenway to the Copp's Hill Burying Ground. Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

Team Common is currently working on our transition to a weekly show. We’ll be back this summer with new episodes. In the meantime, here’s one from our archives. Massachusetts is one of only two states where it's illegal for landlords to charge an application fee to perspective renters. Even so, advocates say that these fees are on the rise as rental options in the region remain tight. WBUR Senior Reporter Simón Rios joins The Common to explain how landlord application fees differ from other legal fees you may face as a renter, and what these fees can tell us about the reality of being a landlord or renter in Massachusetts today. Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.

Team Common is currently working on our transition to a weekly show. We’ll be back this summer with new episodes. In the meantime, here’s one from our archives. We're big fans of trains here at The Common. And so is (formerly) Boston-based TikTok creator @jeddeo1, known for his deadpanned MBTA review series Adventures with Jed. In this episode, the team takes a trip down the Green Line E branch for their very own adventure with Jed. Watch the Jed's adventure to Heath street here.  Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.