October 21, 2025 • 39 mins
We kicked off the program with four news stories and different guests on the stories we think you need to know about!
RUNNING DEEP: Bravery, Survival, and the True Story of the Deadliest Submarine of World War II.
Guest: Tom Clavin – NY Times best-selling author
Red Sox vs. Right Whales vs. the Cape: Which specialty MA license plate is most popular? Guest: Margie Cullen – USA Today New England Connect Reporter
National Disability Employment Awareness Month. How the Northeast Arc supports, trains and coaches people with disabilities so they are able to find work.
Guest: Michael Blunt - Employment Program Manager at the Northeast Arc
Kids need more independence. If only Massachusetts law would allow it…Addressing how parents can allow kids independence without fear of child neglect laws.
Guest: Andrew Haile - assistant teaching professor at Northeastern University School of Law
RUNNING DEEP: Bravery, Survival, and the True Story of the Deadliest Submarine of World War II.
Guest: Tom Clavin – NY Times best-selling author
Red Sox vs. Right Whales vs. the Cape: Which specialty MA license plate is most popular? Guest: Margie Cullen – USA Today New England Connect Reporter
National Disability Employment Awareness Month. How the Northeast Arc supports, trains and coaches people with disabilities so they are able to find work.
Guest: Michael Blunt - Employment Program Manager at the Northeast Arc
Kids need more independence. If only Massachusetts law would allow it…Addressing how parents can allow kids independence without fear of child neglect laws.
Guest: Andrew Haile - assistant teaching professor at Northeastern University School of Law
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's nice eyes, Dan Ray, I'm going you easy Boston's
News Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Well, I'm still dealing with this call for a couple
of weeks. It's one of those costs that just doesn't
leave you welcome in. Everybody. Hope you're doing well. You're
doing better than me. My name's Dan Ray. I'm the
host of Nightside, heard here every Monday through Friday night
from eight until midnight. Rob Brooks is back in the
control room and at Broadcast Central headquarters. As we say,
(00:26):
he'll take your phone calls beginning after nine o'clock. During
the first hour, we have four really interesting guests and
interesting topics coming up. Had a great show last night,
and we're gonna have another great show tonight. We will
talk during the nine o'clock hour with the Massachusetts State Auditor,
Diana Desauglio. She continues your fight to audit the state legislature.
(00:47):
That's kind of a revolutionary idea. How about that the
auditor is probably one of the toughest politicians on Beacon Hill,
and I think on this one she's absolutely right. Seventy
two percent of the voter's last fall specific I think
he gave her authority to audit the state legislature. Everyone
on Beacon Hill seems to be lined up against her,
at least anyone in position of authority, including the Senate President,
(01:10):
the Speaker of the House, and the Attorney General who
announced for reelection today, by the way, So we'll get
to all of that during the nine o'clock hour, and
then we do have some good news on gas prices.
They are not only down in Massachusetts and also nationwide,
they have hit a four year low. But before we
(01:30):
get to those two topics later in the hour, later
in the program, I want to introduce a very interesting
book to you, which I've just heard about. It's entitled
Running Deep Bravery Survival and the True Story of the
Deadliest Submarine of World War II. Thank goodness that the
deadliest submarine of World War Two was an American submarine,
(01:53):
the USS Tang Tanng. Tom Clavin, New York Times best
selling author, Tom, Welcome to I'm hoping. I'm assuming it's clad.
And if it's Claven, tell me please go right ahead.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
It is Claven bell answer to anything.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Well, it's okay, We'll make a Claven. No problem. That
is no problem at all. This I have not read
the book, but I had never heard of the USS Tang.
We had all heard of the Sullivan brothers, five of
them who died during World War Two. But this submarine
has an incredible record of success. Tell us about it
(02:28):
and then irony of it sinking and oaking, a few
crew members sinking itself and only a few crew members
survived who suffered torture in Japanese pow camps. Tell us
about the Tang and what it accomplished at a time
when the US Navy was really hurting after Pearl Harbor.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Exactly after Pearl Harvests devastation, there was really much of
a surface navy left for the US Navy. I mean,
destroyers have been killed off, the battleship had been sunk,
aircraft carriers sunk. But then you had the submarine force
that was basically untouched. And one of the submarines that
eventually emerged from that was the USS Tang. And it's
(03:11):
captain rich o'caine who was a New Hampshire native, so
he isexted to the New England area. And the Tang
was by most successful I mean that it was able
to go out there, roam the Pacific on five war patrols.
Think thirty three Japanese ships rescue pilots downed aircraft. Also,
(03:32):
just the idea that the tang might be lurking around,
said Japanese escorts and convoys, you know, rushing for the
nearest harbor instead of completing their mission. And Captain o'caine
was really the Audi Murphy of the US Navy. Some
people of a certain age will say Audie Murphy, right,
he was the most decorated Army soldier in World War Two.
Okaine was the most decorated Navy soldier and the Navy
(03:54):
officer in World War Two. Most people never heard of
the guy, which is too bad because he really was
one of the great heroes of World War Two. I
hope my book will will shed a light on that.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
So let me the word tang tng. I can remember
there was an orange drink, is what the astronauts drank
back when you and I were younger. How normally ships
are named after personnel. What was the tang named after?
Speaker 4 (04:21):
In World War Two submarines as opposed to the less
of than they were named after fish. Oh, and the
tang is a tropical fish about nine inches long. So
you have so, for example, one of the submarines. That's
a prominent place in my book Running Deep is called
the wahoo, and some of us know that the wahoo
is a fish. So it's just an interesting little sidebar
that many of them submarines in World War two were
(04:42):
named after fish, especially tropical fish.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
So the Tang took out thirty three Japanese surface vessels,
and then it had a malfunction with one of its
own torpedoes. As I understand it, I didn't read the
book on it want to. I want to ask you
some questions in which we can sort of with people's appetites. Here.
(05:06):
Did the torpedo leave the vessel? Did it explode?
Speaker 4 (05:09):
It?
Speaker 3 (05:09):
It did?
Speaker 2 (05:10):
It did?
Speaker 4 (05:11):
What happened was that, you know, one of the parts
of the book that I think is the most poignant
is that the torpedoes of World War Two, for the
first couple of years of the war were really inadequate.
They were badly manufactured. They were always problems with them,
so half the time they didn't explode, or they exploded
too soon before they got to their target. In the
case of the Tang, it had fired all of its
torpedoes and it had taken an entire Japanese convoy and sank.
(05:34):
Most of the ships in the convoy had one more
torpedo left, honed it on a wounded ship that they
thought could sink, fired its torpedo, and torpedo went to
certain distances and boomerang. It swung around and came back
and hit the Tang. Now, some of the captains, the
captain and a couple other guys on the bridge when
on the surface when the torpedo struck, they were thrown
(05:55):
into the water. Most of the guys in the tank
when the Tang sank to a hunt feet resting on
the bottom floor of the ocean, were killed by the explosion,
but there were some guys who were married alive. So
a big part of the story of the Tang and
of Running Deep is how these guys managed to escape,
not only escape the submarine, but actually make it to
(06:16):
the surface on an eighty feet up Wow.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
So let me ask you, why would a torpedo were
torpedoes known to boomerang? I mean, I can see a
torpedo might lose direction, but to come back one hundred
and eighty degrees to the vessel from which it was
fired is that? Yes? Obviously not normal? Is it unprecedented,
not at all.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
Unfortunately, in World War Two late nineteen forty three, many
of the torpedoes were defective. They were just not the
technology wasn't there. They were badly manufactured. And so you
have is it double whammy, because not only did the
submarine sneak up on a Japanese ship, for example, and
fire a torpedo that didn't work, there was a dut
It just bounced the hull, but also by firing that torpedo,
(07:02):
you gave away your position. Sure you could look down
from a destroyer or a Japanese merchant ship and see
that the wake of the torpedo coming close to you
didn't explode, nothing, no damage, but you can see where.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
It came from.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
And most Japanese convoys were escorted by destroyers who could
sail faster than submarines. So submarines not only did not
accomplish the mission, but they were in great danger after
they tried to get away depth chargers.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
So several of the men were picked up by the Japanese.
They were taken to pow camps, and I assumed that
they were identified as sailors from this horrific submarine that
had cost so many Japanese lives, and they must have
paid for it while in captivity.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
That's a very good point because it's true they were
picked up when those survivors were picked up by the Japanese,
who were pretty angry because initially because they picked up
these guys who had been in the part of the
submarine that had destroyed their convoy. Eventually, in a pow camp,
they found out that Captain o'caine was the captain of
the deadliest submarine than the US Navy, and he was
subjected to especially bad torture and beatings. It's it's yeah,
(08:05):
I'm giving aways part of the story, but it's a
miracle that he survived.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
He me all the punishment they could give him.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Did any of these men, By the way, how many
was in the crew of the submarine at that time?
One hundred.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
There was about eighty men on the on the submarine
tank when it was when it was sunk, and nine survived.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Okay, So if the nine who survived, how many of
them were able to get home and and live out
their lives back in America.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
Well, the captain had ocaine made it back, including the
other eight men sdund and they kept each other alive
in these horrific conditions of the Japanese camp. But when
they got back to America, they found it very difficult
because they had been such a horrific experience. And it's
almost amusing. One guy came back and he landed at
(08:57):
the airport in California and his wife breathed him and
she introduced him to her husband. These guys had all
been because declared dead. Did she remarried? That happened to
a couple of the guys. A lot of marriages did
not last ocaine. Thankfully in his case. He went back
to New Hampshire, reconnected with his parents, reconnected with his
wife's family, who also knew Hampshire Girl. But he kept
(09:17):
a very quiet life because he always feelt guilty that
he had survived and that most of his crew had not.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Who was the last survivor of the crew? What hear
did they pass? If you know?
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Well, it's all the nickname both both light Bold lived
in ninety nine. He died during the pandemic.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Wow, what a story. Well, if the book's available, when
was the book published?
Speaker 3 (09:37):
How long's it been out today?
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Well?
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Perfect timing off the pressures, A great timing time of perfect.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Timing, perfect timing. Look, if you have anyone in your
family who is a history buff served in the military,
this is really a book you should get. It is
a great story. I'm going to get a copy, that's
for sure, and I hope many of my audi and
stew as well. It's coming up Christmas time, Honikah. You
(10:04):
know Thanksgiving. What what a what a great gift. Uh,
it would be for anyone who either loves military history
because this is a story they should know about. Tom Claven,
thank you so much for this. I I saw the
pitch and I pushed my producer on and I said,
I want this guy on the show. And you did
not disappoint. It's a great story.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Thanks you very much. And I hope you feel better.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Well. I feel lousy for two weeks, but you know
they you get these these coughs and colds and they
just hang on you.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
I know I know from experience myself.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Yes, feel better, all right, Tom, Thank you very much.
I appreciate it so much. Good night. When we talk
next with Marjorie Margie Margie, I should say Margie Margie,
simple Margie, not Marjorie Margie Cullen USA Today New England
Connect reporter, and she's going to bring us some information
about Massachusetts specialty license plates. All of you, now, what
(10:57):
do you think is the most popular specialty also called
danity plates, but specialty plates. The Red Sox, Right Wales,
who apparently are making a comeback, or the Cape. We'll
get answers to that with Margie Cullen coming back on Nightside.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
If you're on night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ,
Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Want to welcome Margie Cullen. She's a USA Today New
England Connect reporter. What is a New England Connect reporter, Margie, Margie.
Speaker 5 (11:28):
Oh, well, it does a little bit of everything. We're
kind of like a general New England news, breaking news.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Yeah, all right, So you have looked at an issue,
a controversy, a question we have in Massachusetts specialty license plates.
People can pay a little extra and support a cause
or a team or a geographic area. And I guess
there was a little bit of controversy as to which
(11:55):
plate is the most popular, the Red Sox, the Right
Whales or the Cave. What's going on?
Speaker 5 (12:02):
Yeah, Well, we looked into what would be what license
plate is the most popular in Massachusetts and Yeah, you
might think that it would be one that honors one
of our sports teams, the Red Sox or the Patriots,
but according to Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the most popular
plate is actually Cape Cod and the Islands.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Well, I noticed there's a story coming out tomorrow at
least one of the Boston newspapers at Herald that said
that the Right Whale, Right Whales are making a big comeback.
And of course we're always hoping that the Red Sox
can make a comeback, and those off years where they
don't win at all, they've won the most Major League
(12:43):
Baseball World Series championships in this century than any other
team in baseball. We're quick to remind people, But how
much of a lead I think that I've heard that
there was from my producer today that there was some
challenges to to the calculations. Is this a clear win
for Cape in the island? So are we going to
(13:05):
have a recount? How do we get to what's going on?
Speaker 5 (13:10):
It was a clear win. But when I looked into
this earlier this year, Cape Con the Islands was first,
with the Right Whale behind and the Red Sox after that.
But when I looked into it, recently, a new plate
celebrating two hundred and fifty years of America's independence has
bolted up to number two. So it only came out
(13:32):
in May and already more than twenty four thousand have
been issued, so it's now the number two most popular
plate after the cape.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Wow, so we have we have a new entry the
capes about I think I read in your article thirty
three thousands thousand.
Speaker 5 (13:49):
Yeah, well all, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
This new plate is making a run at it.
Speaker 5 (13:54):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. I mean it's a specialty two year
plate just for this, you know, is two fifty, so
maybe people are really wanting to celebrate.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Yeah. And also the two fifty doesn't come around very often.
I mean it's been you know, let me come around
one a quarter of a millennial. Actually, yeah, I bet
I've been an entire millennial since any two fifty came
around before. So yeah, there will a lot of I
just was wondering if you delved into this story. My
understanding is that it's not all that tough to get
(14:26):
a specialty plate, but you have to get at least
a minimum number of people to buy into the idea
before they will print the plates. So it's not as
if you can go in there with two of your
friends and pick up a specialty plate or have them
make a specialty plate for whatever cause you might be
interested in, you know, Uncle Harry's beer fund or something
(14:47):
like that.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
That doesn't work right, Yeah, you know, I don't know
the exact process to become a specialty plate, but yeah,
I don't think it can just be anything right now.
I think the R and B are for thirty seven
charitable organization plates. So like these specialty plates where like
the Cape Cod and the Island's Play, where proceeds go
(15:08):
to a certain charity.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Yeah, well, my understanding is that you have to get
a certain number of pledges or signatures of licensed automobile
owners who say that they would commit to the plate.
And I don't know if you have to raise a
certain amount of money and put it in some sort
of an escrow account. But once you make that, and
for some reason, the figure of fifteen hundred fits in
(15:33):
my head. So it's a challenge, but it's not an
overwhelming challenge. And if there are thirty seven plates, it
gets a little confusing out there because when you walk
through a parking lot and you see all the different
plates that might be around. It does get a little confusing.
(15:53):
And then we still have the vanity plates in Massachusetts.
I'm sure you're aware of that. That individuals can have.
They can quest as long as it's not obscene, a
combination of letters and numbers that might spell out, you
know whatever their favorite issue or you know there, they
have some limitations on that. I'm sure you're familiar with those, right,
(16:17):
so called community plates.
Speaker 5 (16:19):
Yeah, yeah, yes, I didn't look into that for this story,
but yes, I think that's a that's the thing you
can do too.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Okay, So let me talk to you about your career.
You been with USA Today here in New England for
a while.
Speaker 5 (16:31):
You a New Englander, Yeah, I'm from I'm from Massachusetts.
I've been with USA Day New England stuff for like
two years.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
And before that, will you this, I'm sure it is
not your first, uh position with a newspaper the size
of the USA Today. Did you work locally here before
you hooked on with the USA Today?
Speaker 5 (16:54):
You know, before before that? I actually got my masters
the Green California. But a while ago I did some
freelance reporting for the Needham Time.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
Oh sure, okay, And so people are going to want
to look forward to reading you. Are you in the
USA Today any specific day during the week, or do
you there? Are you there periodically when the story merits publication.
Speaker 5 (17:22):
I'm I'm always publishing stories on the USA Day's local
New England site, so like wick at Local Providence Journal,
basically all the New England Gannett owned sites. So there's yeah,
there's tons of them in the New England area, and
my stories are in them almost every day.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
So Gannett. Now, I'm a TV and radio guy. I
love newspapers and I love print portions of newspapers. So
has Gannett owned USA Today for some time? I didn't.
Speaker 5 (17:54):
Yes, yeah, I think so before I got here, so
I'm not sure, but I think it is.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Okay, Well, I'll tell you this. I tend to read
USA Today when I'm traveling, and it's great. You can
always keep in touch with your hometown by reading USA Today.
It gives you. It gives you the great national news
stories when you're halfway across the country or all the
way across the country to see what's going on. And
(18:22):
I always love the column of the Fifty States, so
you can check out what happened in Massachusetts yesterday. In
USA today or wherever you live, wherever you live in
New England, well, we'll be following you here and we'll
figure out we'll watch this race now between the new
(18:43):
entrants as well as the Cape and Islands plate, so
this will be something to keep our eye on. Margie Cullin,
thank you very much for your time tonight. Appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (18:54):
Yeah, thanks for having me on.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
You're very welcome. When we get back after the news
at the bottom, we're going to talk about a little
bit of a more serious subject, and that is National
Disability Employment Awareness Month. The Northeast ARC supports trains and coaches,
trains and coaches people with disabilities so they're able to
find work. And we're going to be talking with Michael Blunt.
(19:16):
He's the employment program manager at the Northeast ARC, and
we'll later on this hour talk with an assistant teaching
professor at Northeastern School of Law who says kids need
more independence if only Massachusetts law would allow it, addressing
how parents can allow kids independence without fear of child
(19:36):
neglect laws. Interesting questions coming up will deal everyone will
understand National Disability Employment Awareness Month. We want to try
to help people who might be dealing with a slight disability,
find employment, gainful employment in our society. We'll be talking
with Michael Blunt on the other side of the break
and I'll remind you, as I have not reminded you recently.
(20:00):
Do you have the new iHeartRadio app? Okay, it's a
new app, new and improved, a real cool way for
you to be part of the Nightside broadcast by utilizing
the talkback feature. What you have to do is first
download for free the iHeartRadio app while you listen to
Nightside Live on WBC News Radio or at any time
(20:21):
during the day. But you can tap a red microphone
talkback button in the top right corner to send us
your personalized audio message. It can be a compliment or
a criticism. Just keep it clean, that's all we ask,
and we will play it back on Nightside. It's that simple.
Once again, hit that red microphone button in the top
right corner of the app while listening to night Side
and to send us your audio message. Try to keep
(20:42):
it to about thirty seconds. I think each tape gives
you thirty seconds, so you'll prepare something about twenty twenty
five seconds and you might hear yourself being played back
here on WBZ, just like you're going to hear the
news reporters in just a moment at the eight thirty news.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
You're on Night Side with Dan Ray on w Z
Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
My next guest is Michael Blunt. He's the Employment program
manager at the Northeast ARC. This is National Disability Employment
Awareness Month. Everyone knows the Northeast ARC is a great
organization has been around for decades in various locations, supporting
training and helping people with some disabilities find work that
(21:28):
they are able to really become part of the community.
Michael Blunt, welcome to Nightside. How are you, sir?
Speaker 6 (21:34):
I'm going well, Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
How long you've been with Northeast ARK.
Speaker 6 (21:39):
I have been with the Northeast ARC. It was nine
years last week actually.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Congratulations, congratulations in the anniversary. So, how this has to
be a very fulfilling position to watch people who are
dealing with some disability able to be involved in the workforce.
So tell us how generally it works for a family
(22:07):
when they have a child who has finished school and
now wants to find a job. And how do you
help people who have disabilities find gainful employment.
Speaker 6 (22:21):
Right, and you're completely right, is one hundred percent fulfilling.
You know, I can't imagine doing anything else. So usually
how it works is someone will come to us and they'll,
you know, we'll have a conversation with them, figure out
where they're at in their life and kind of what
their priorities are and what their goals are, and then
a lot of times we'll give them an evaluation, a
pre employment evaluation. And my coworker Rachel, she's our pre
(22:43):
employment program manager, and she handles all of like the
valuations and figuring out like the skills that these people
have and where they are, and then depending on what
they're interested in, because from there they could go to
you know, job development, and what that means is that
our job developers will sit with them and figure out
(23:05):
what sort of actual physical places they want to work
and they'll help them apply to all these places or
they'll come to my training program. So I have three
internship sites, one at Breaking Grounds Cafe and Mainstream and Peberty.
I have the others at Parcels and the Livery Tree
Mall where our offices are, and then we have another
one at Amazing Pizza in downtown sale on war Street
(23:29):
where they learn and gain experience in real in real
time out out in the community, but in a safe
space where they can learn, and then from there, when
when they're ready, we go and get them jobs out
in the community. So it's really a flexible program and
we try to move at the speeded individual because at
(23:49):
the end of the day, it's their life and their choices,
and we want them to celebrate those choices. So by
working with them and not you know, not necessarily forcing
something on them, but really truly giving them a career
that they want, we we really get to see how
how well their lives change, and we see things and
skills and see things and hear things that they were
(24:10):
told that they weren't able to do in the past
and now they are doing with such gusto. It's it's
hard not to be to be fulfilled while watching that.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Now, I'm assuming that one of the challenges that you
would have after you develop someone and find out what
they're interested in and and and what would uh you know,
challenge them and at the same time allow them to
uh do their do their work is to find a
way in which they can get to their job because
(24:41):
most people take that for granted, you jump on the
tee or you drive your car or in some cases
you're able to walk to work. How much of a
complicating factor is that for for the Northeast ark is
they run this program? Uh? And how is that a
situation that you can help with if if a company
(25:03):
is not let us say, very close to where the
person might have happens to live. How much of a
factor is that?
Speaker 6 (25:13):
It's a huge factor. A lot of times the people
that we find jobs that really it depends on how
comfortable they are with traveling and if they have transport.
So some people are you know, they're they have their
parents and some individuals we support, you know, drive themselves.
But a lot of the time we try to encourage
(25:35):
them to sign up for the rides or the rides
an mt mpt A program and that allows them to
go to places that they may not have rent reached
if they didn't have a car. But something else because
the ride is not is not always an option for people.
So we do provide like m bt A travel training,
so like taking the t taking the bus, and that's
(25:58):
something that we do provide for those those who that's
the better option.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Yeah. And by the way, I'm not here to criticize anything,
but i can tell you that I've had a lot
of complaints from listeners of mine, including one today about
the inadequacy of the ride. A friend of mine who
needed to use the ride today for a doctor's appointment
(26:24):
just a few blocks from where she lived. She was
told that she would be picked up for a six thirty.
The clinic opened at six point thirty at five oh
three in the morning. It was like it was literally
a two minute ride. But there's not a huge amount
of flexibility. I have another friend of mine who is
(26:47):
non sighted blind up in Lynn and he has had
a lot of problems. So again, I think it's something
that we should be aware of that a lot of
the folks who you're helping place and find work which
gives people a lot of purpose and a lot of
hope and a lot of drive, and our and our
(27:10):
tremendous success stories. The the just the logistics can can
work against that give us a couple of success stories
that that you'd like to be brag about. Here of
of folks who have taken advantage of the program and
are now gainfully employed. I'm sure you've got a couple
(27:30):
that would come to mind, I do, I do.
Speaker 6 (27:33):
So one person that comes to mind. His name is Greg.
He works for the law offices on on there's a
forgive me, I forget the I'm thinking on the name
of the office now but Washington Sheet in Salem. And
then we have another lovely individual name is Cheyenne and
she actually is a secretary at d d S and
(27:54):
she went through my breaking Grounds internship program a few
few years ago and now she is a secretary and
she's loving her job.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
So I'll ask you, not everybody knows what the d
DF is?
Speaker 6 (28:07):
What is your department services? Yes?
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Yes, there is so many of those acronyms that a
lot of folks in government get used to or people
who deal with folks in government, and we never take
take for granted that everybody in the audience can can
get can align those those those capital letters with the
name of the actual organization. Okay, so yeah, no, that's
(28:37):
I don't mean to put you on the spot there,
but I had to. I had to ask that question.
How can people who would like to help Northeast ARC
in this project, this continuing project, how can folks help you?
Are they do you need people who are volunteers to
help people give rides to her from work. Is that
part of the program? Tell us what? Uh you know
(28:59):
what Pep my listeners can do. You're you're located, I know,
Northeast Dark. What are you in Maldon? Correctly tell me
where you located?
Speaker 6 (29:08):
Our main offices are in Danvers, so we have we
have some on seuth Side Road and Devers and then
are our main offices are at Delivery Trea Mall.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
And Danvers all right, so that's a good location. How
can people want help? Obviously you always can use financial support,
give us a website of course.
Speaker 6 (29:26):
So it's just the Northeast Dark that work and any
any or and volunteering is a great way to help.
But also just like you know, if anyone out there
who has a small business and they want to do
something for their community, you know, this is a great
way to give back. And and even if you work
(29:49):
at a at a at a CVS or dunk and
don't you know anything, you know, word of mouth, you know,
spreading it, you know, spreading the mission and what we're
trying to do. And it's not about it's not about
you know, pitying people that we serve, but you know,
celebrating them and giving them a leg up.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
So the website again is Northeast ARC. Is that it? Yeah? Okay,
and that's spell out the word Northeast, which we know
how to spell an rc A R C ARC dot org.
All right, great, perfect, Thank you so much, Michael. Nice
to talk with you. We will talk again, I'm sure,
(30:26):
thank you so much.
Speaker 6 (30:26):
Okay, thank you so much. I have a good night.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
You're welcome. We get back. We'll talk with an assistant
teaching professor. Not exactly sure what an assistant teaching professor is.
We'll get an explainer on that, Andrew. I believe it's
pronounced Hale or Haley. We'll figure that one out. Rob
will get that for me.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
He's going to argue that kids in Massachusetts, if the
law would allow it, need more independence. I'm not sure
I necessarily agree. I'd love to know what the definition
of kids is. Uh. And we will find out when
we talk with Andrew Hale or Haley. Coming back on
night Side.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Night Side with Dan Ray on Boston's News Radio with.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
Me is professor Andrew Hale. He's an assistant teaching professor
at Northeastern University School of Law. I'm unfamiliar with the
term assistant teaching professor professor hale. I hope the appellation
professor was appropriate.
Speaker 7 (31:21):
That works out fine, Dan, thank you and thanks for
having me on no problem.
Speaker 2 (31:24):
When I went to law school back in the day,
there were that that phrase of assistant teaching professor. It
sounds almost inconsistent, but anyway, no problem. What do you
teach it at Northeastern? You deal with you know, family law,
I don't.
Speaker 7 (31:44):
I teach it in our basic first year course called
Legal Skills and Social Context, so it's sort of legal writing.
Plus we do community projects for organizations in Boston.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Yeah, that's that's good stuff because in law school back
in the day when I went, it was like you
hit the books for three years and they gave you
a degree and you were on your own. So's you're
concerned with the idea of kids needing more independence if
only Massachusetts law would allow it, and you address how
parents can allow kids independence without fear of child negleck laws.
(32:21):
I know that there was this concept a few years
ago of was it called free range children In some states,
some parents were getting into trouble because nine year olds
or eight year olds were out playing in playgrounds by
themselves without supervision. What are we talking about here? I
want you to explain it so I don't have a
(32:41):
you know, a misconception.
Speaker 7 (32:44):
Sure, Dan, to answer your previous question, I sort of
come at this not from a primarily professional interest, but
because I'm a dad. I have a nine year old
and seven year old, two girls. We live in Dorchester.
There has been a movement i'm sort of loosely called
free range parenting, which you might have heard.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
Oh I've done shows on that, believe me, Yes, go
right ahead for sure.
Speaker 7 (33:09):
Well, and what's interesting is, at least in my view,
I think the societal norms have shifted so much so
that what is today sort of free range parenting was
back in the day. I'm forty, I don't know how
old you are, Dan, but back in the day, it
was just parenting. And so I think the societal norms
(33:29):
have really shifted a sort of clamp down on parents
who may want to kind of give their children a
little bit more childhood independence. And that's certainly kind of
where I got into this issue.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
Yeah, no, and I think that's exactly what is And
I think the phrase free range of parenting or whatever
was an unfortunate you know, they sort of used the
term from free range chickens and free range poultry. And yeah,
I mean, look, I can remember as a kid back
(34:02):
in the day, and believe me, I'm a baby boomer,
so I'm well past forty okay, trust me on that.
And we would spend a lot of time up the
field playing baseball and you know, football during the summertime baseball,
and then during the winter time we'd go down to
the swamp. You know, we would have ice and play
hockey and parent. We wouldn't see our parents for a
(34:25):
lot of the day. And I assume that today that
probably would be frowned upon in some quarters.
Speaker 3 (34:32):
Yeah, you're absolutely right.
Speaker 7 (34:34):
And I wrote a piece for The Boston Globe recently
where I talked about my experience. I live in Dorchester, right,
I live in the city, so we live in a
fairly densely packed neighborhood. And like I said, my girls,
who are nine and seven, were at the phase. They're
pretty mature kids for their age, and I think we're
(34:55):
in a time of life where we're trying to give
them a little more leeway. You know, you can bike
around neighborhood. Maybe you could go down to the corner
store and pick up a gallon of milk, you know,
while I'm cooking, Or maybe you can play outside with
a friend. And what I found is that I've been
scolded more than once by my neighbors for, uh, oh,
don't you know, don't you let that girl walk ahead
(35:16):
of you on the street. You don't want to get
hit by a car. You don't want them to get abducted,
or something like that. And so, and what I realized
is there's kind of really the societal norms have shifted
so much that it makes it really tricky for parents
who are trying to give their kids the independence that
increasingly social psychologists and others are saying that kids need.
(35:37):
So that's been a challenge.
Speaker 2 (35:39):
When I was a kid, I can remember my father
would give me a quarter and send me up to
the Missus McElroy's variety store to buy him a pack
of Camel's nonfiltered. It'd be like nine years old walking
back smelling a pack of Camel's nonfiltered. I never took
up the habit. He dropped it when the Surgeon General's
report came out in nineteen sixty four, Thank God. But yeah,
(36:02):
I mean, I think there's a balance, and I think
that sometimes we need to recognize that different families raise
their children somewhat differently and that they're is not all
going to be by the norm. So I have kind
of had gone from being very skeptical of free range
parenting to thinking about it a little bit more and
(36:23):
probably coming over towards towards your point of view. Is
that where society is going or a society moving against
what you do?
Speaker 3 (36:31):
Well, Dan, it's interesting.
Speaker 7 (36:33):
I think it feels to me. And again I may
be getting only a certain perspective because I'm in these
conversations all the time with my peer parents right who
are raising kids right now, trying to figure out how
to do this. But it feels to me like we're
in a little bit of an inflection point. And you
may be familiar. There's a social psychologist whose name is
(36:54):
Jonathan hat who wrote a very influential book called The
Anxious Generation, and basically his the argument is that with
the rise of smartphones and the changing in parental norms,
that kids have really moved in a generation from a
play based childhood like all of us had like you
were just describing about playing hockey and being outdoors and
(37:16):
hanging out with your friends until the street lights come
on to nowadays parents who are much more sort of
tight and controlling of their kids. What are kids doing
if they're not outside playing hockey, they're looking at screens
And that really has led to a lot of problems,
such as a big rise in mental illness, particularly with
teenage girls. So that's something that we're really concerned about
(37:37):
and we want to push back on that. And I
do think we're starting to have these conversations society where
maybe we're seeing things shift back.
Speaker 2 (37:45):
Well, I'll tell you, I think it's an interesting conversation,
and maybe we can have you on the show, and
maybe we could do an hour and we do hours
from at nine, ten and eleven the balance of my
program where we incorporate listeners who call in, and maybe
we'll get some get some real life parents finding out
(38:06):
maybe if their attitudes have changed a little bit over time.
Because when free range parenting first became, I think in
the public eye, it was looked upon really skeptically, and
it didn't matter whether you were living in a community
where maybe crime was really relevant or living in one,
you know, in a in a different part of the
(38:28):
country or whatever, where that wasn't a factor. So I
might have my producer get back to him. We'll do
an hour some night and we'll incorporate listeners who will
call in and ask questions. We'll make comments fair enough.
Speaker 7 (38:42):
Yeah, that'd be great and I'd be happy to do it.
Speaker 2 (38:44):
Professor Hale, very nice to meet you. You teach you
a great law school. I went to law school. I'm
a terrier and you're a husky. So this room for
good law schools and post rival Thank you, at least
on this issue, that's for sure. Thank you very much, Professor.
When we get back, we'll be talking with the Massachusetts
State Auditor, Diana Desaglio, about her fight to audit the
(39:08):
state legislature. This is an issue that I strongly agree
with the auditor. The legislature is holding out eventually. Voters
approved this audit process a year ago by a vote
of seventy two percent, overwhelming We'll talk with the auditor
right after the nine o'clock news here on Nightside
It's nice eyes, Dan Ray, I'm going you easy Boston's
News Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Well, I'm still dealing with this call for a couple
of weeks. It's one of those costs that just doesn't
leave you welcome in. Everybody. Hope you're doing well. You're
doing better than me. My name's Dan Ray. I'm the
host of Nightside, heard here every Monday through Friday night
from eight until midnight. Rob Brooks is back in the
control room and at Broadcast Central headquarters. As we say,
(00:26):
he'll take your phone calls beginning after nine o'clock. During
the first hour, we have four really interesting guests and
interesting topics coming up. Had a great show last night,
and we're gonna have another great show tonight. We will
talk during the nine o'clock hour with the Massachusetts State Auditor,
Diana Desauglio. She continues your fight to audit the state legislature.
(00:47):
That's kind of a revolutionary idea. How about that the
auditor is probably one of the toughest politicians on Beacon Hill,
and I think on this one she's absolutely right. Seventy
two percent of the voter's last fall specific I think
he gave her authority to audit the state legislature. Everyone
on Beacon Hill seems to be lined up against her,
at least anyone in position of authority, including the Senate President,
(01:10):
the Speaker of the House, and the Attorney General who
announced for reelection today, by the way, So we'll get
to all of that during the nine o'clock hour, and
then we do have some good news on gas prices.
They are not only down in Massachusetts and also nationwide,
they have hit a four year low. But before we
(01:30):
get to those two topics later in the hour, later
in the program, I want to introduce a very interesting
book to you, which I've just heard about. It's entitled
Running Deep Bravery Survival and the True Story of the
Deadliest Submarine of World War II. Thank goodness that the
deadliest submarine of World War Two was an American submarine,
(01:53):
the USS Tang Tanng. Tom Clavin, New York Times best
selling author, Tom, Welcome to I'm hoping. I'm assuming it's clad.
And if it's Claven, tell me please go right ahead.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
It is Claven bell answer to anything.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Well, it's okay, We'll make a Claven. No problem. That
is no problem at all. This I have not read
the book, but I had never heard of the USS Tang.
We had all heard of the Sullivan brothers, five of
them who died during World War Two. But this submarine
has an incredible record of success. Tell us about it
(02:28):
and then irony of it sinking and oaking, a few
crew members sinking itself and only a few crew members
survived who suffered torture in Japanese pow camps. Tell us
about the Tang and what it accomplished at a time
when the US Navy was really hurting after Pearl Harbor.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Exactly after Pearl Harvests devastation, there was really much of
a surface navy left for the US Navy. I mean,
destroyers have been killed off, the battleship had been sunk,
aircraft carriers sunk. But then you had the submarine force
that was basically untouched. And one of the submarines that
eventually emerged from that was the USS Tang. And it's
(03:11):
captain rich o'caine who was a New Hampshire native, so
he isexted to the New England area. And the Tang
was by most successful I mean that it was able
to go out there, roam the Pacific on five war patrols.
Think thirty three Japanese ships rescue pilots downed aircraft. Also,
(03:32):
just the idea that the tang might be lurking around,
said Japanese escorts and convoys, you know, rushing for the
nearest harbor instead of completing their mission. And Captain o'caine
was really the Audi Murphy of the US Navy. Some
people of a certain age will say Audie Murphy, right,
he was the most decorated Army soldier in World War Two.
Okaine was the most decorated Navy soldier and the Navy
(03:54):
officer in World War Two. Most people never heard of
the guy, which is too bad because he really was
one of the great heroes of World War Two. I
hope my book will will shed a light on that.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
So let me the word tang tng. I can remember
there was an orange drink, is what the astronauts drank
back when you and I were younger. How normally ships
are named after personnel. What was the tang named after?
Speaker 4 (04:21):
In World War Two submarines as opposed to the less
of than they were named after fish. Oh, and the
tang is a tropical fish about nine inches long. So
you have so, for example, one of the submarines. That's
a prominent place in my book Running Deep is called
the wahoo, and some of us know that the wahoo
is a fish. So it's just an interesting little sidebar
that many of them submarines in World War two were
(04:42):
named after fish, especially tropical fish.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
So the Tang took out thirty three Japanese surface vessels,
and then it had a malfunction with one of its
own torpedoes. As I understand it, I didn't read the
book on it want to. I want to ask you
some questions in which we can sort of with people's appetites. Here.
(05:06):
Did the torpedo leave the vessel? Did it explode?
Speaker 4 (05:09):
It?
Speaker 3 (05:09):
It did?
Speaker 2 (05:10):
It did?
Speaker 4 (05:11):
What happened was that, you know, one of the parts
of the book that I think is the most poignant
is that the torpedoes of World War Two, for the
first couple of years of the war were really inadequate.
They were badly manufactured. They were always problems with them,
so half the time they didn't explode, or they exploded
too soon before they got to their target. In the
case of the Tang, it had fired all of its
torpedoes and it had taken an entire Japanese convoy and sank.
(05:34):
Most of the ships in the convoy had one more
torpedo left, honed it on a wounded ship that they
thought could sink, fired its torpedo, and torpedo went to
certain distances and boomerang. It swung around and came back
and hit the Tang. Now, some of the captains, the
captain and a couple other guys on the bridge when
on the surface when the torpedo struck, they were thrown
(05:55):
into the water. Most of the guys in the tank
when the Tang sank to a hunt feet resting on
the bottom floor of the ocean, were killed by the explosion,
but there were some guys who were married alive. So
a big part of the story of the Tang and
of Running Deep is how these guys managed to escape,
not only escape the submarine, but actually make it to
(06:16):
the surface on an eighty feet up Wow.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
So let me ask you, why would a torpedo were
torpedoes known to boomerang? I mean, I can see a
torpedo might lose direction, but to come back one hundred
and eighty degrees to the vessel from which it was
fired is that? Yes? Obviously not normal? Is it unprecedented,
not at all.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
Unfortunately, in World War Two late nineteen forty three, many
of the torpedoes were defective. They were just not the
technology wasn't there. They were badly manufactured. And so you
have is it double whammy, because not only did the
submarine sneak up on a Japanese ship, for example, and
fire a torpedo that didn't work, there was a dut
It just bounced the hull, but also by firing that torpedo,
(07:02):
you gave away your position. Sure you could look down
from a destroyer or a Japanese merchant ship and see
that the wake of the torpedo coming close to you
didn't explode, nothing, no damage, but you can see where.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
It came from.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
And most Japanese convoys were escorted by destroyers who could
sail faster than submarines. So submarines not only did not
accomplish the mission, but they were in great danger after
they tried to get away depth chargers.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
So several of the men were picked up by the Japanese.
They were taken to pow camps, and I assumed that
they were identified as sailors from this horrific submarine that
had cost so many Japanese lives, and they must have
paid for it while in captivity.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
That's a very good point because it's true they were
picked up when those survivors were picked up by the Japanese,
who were pretty angry because initially because they picked up
these guys who had been in the part of the
submarine that had destroyed their convoy. Eventually, in a pow camp,
they found out that Captain o'caine was the captain of
the deadliest submarine than the US Navy, and he was
subjected to especially bad torture and beatings. It's it's yeah,
(08:05):
I'm giving aways part of the story, but it's a
miracle that he survived.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
He me all the punishment they could give him.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Did any of these men, By the way, how many
was in the crew of the submarine at that time?
One hundred.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
There was about eighty men on the on the submarine
tank when it was when it was sunk, and nine survived.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Okay, So if the nine who survived, how many of
them were able to get home and and live out
their lives back in America.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
Well, the captain had ocaine made it back, including the
other eight men sdund and they kept each other alive
in these horrific conditions of the Japanese camp. But when
they got back to America, they found it very difficult
because they had been such a horrific experience. And it's
almost amusing. One guy came back and he landed at
(08:57):
the airport in California and his wife breathed him and
she introduced him to her husband. These guys had all
been because declared dead. Did she remarried? That happened to
a couple of the guys. A lot of marriages did
not last ocaine. Thankfully in his case. He went back
to New Hampshire, reconnected with his parents, reconnected with his
wife's family, who also knew Hampshire Girl. But he kept
(09:17):
a very quiet life because he always feelt guilty that
he had survived and that most of his crew had not.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Who was the last survivor of the crew? What hear
did they pass? If you know?
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Well, it's all the nickname both both light Bold lived
in ninety nine. He died during the pandemic.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Wow, what a story. Well, if the book's available, when
was the book published?
Speaker 3 (09:37):
How long's it been out today?
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Well?
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Perfect timing off the pressures, A great timing time of perfect.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Timing, perfect timing. Look, if you have anyone in your
family who is a history buff served in the military,
this is really a book you should get. It is
a great story. I'm going to get a copy, that's
for sure, and I hope many of my audi and
stew as well. It's coming up Christmas time, Honikah. You
(10:04):
know Thanksgiving. What what a what a great gift. Uh,
it would be for anyone who either loves military history
because this is a story they should know about. Tom Claven,
thank you so much for this. I I saw the
pitch and I pushed my producer on and I said,
I want this guy on the show. And you did
not disappoint. It's a great story.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Thanks you very much. And I hope you feel better.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Well. I feel lousy for two weeks, but you know
they you get these these coughs and colds and they
just hang on you.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
I know I know from experience myself.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Yes, feel better, all right, Tom, Thank you very much.
I appreciate it so much. Good night. When we talk
next with Marjorie Margie Margie, I should say Margie Margie,
simple Margie, not Marjorie Margie Cullen USA Today New England
Connect reporter, and she's going to bring us some information
about Massachusetts specialty license plates. All of you, now, what
(10:57):
do you think is the most popular specialty also called
danity plates, but specialty plates. The Red Sox, Right Wales,
who apparently are making a comeback, or the Cape. We'll
get answers to that with Margie Cullen coming back on Nightside.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
If you're on night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ,
Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Want to welcome Margie Cullen. She's a USA Today New
England Connect reporter. What is a New England Connect reporter, Margie, Margie.
Speaker 5 (11:28):
Oh, well, it does a little bit of everything. We're
kind of like a general New England news, breaking news.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Yeah, all right, So you have looked at an issue,
a controversy, a question we have in Massachusetts specialty license plates.
People can pay a little extra and support a cause
or a team or a geographic area. And I guess
there was a little bit of controversy as to which
(11:55):
plate is the most popular, the Red Sox, the Right
Whales or the Cave. What's going on?
Speaker 5 (12:02):
Yeah, Well, we looked into what would be what license
plate is the most popular in Massachusetts and Yeah, you
might think that it would be one that honors one
of our sports teams, the Red Sox or the Patriots,
but according to Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the most popular
plate is actually Cape Cod and the Islands.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Well, I noticed there's a story coming out tomorrow at
least one of the Boston newspapers at Herald that said
that the Right Whale, Right Whales are making a big comeback.
And of course we're always hoping that the Red Sox
can make a comeback, and those off years where they
don't win at all, they've won the most Major League
(12:43):
Baseball World Series championships in this century than any other
team in baseball. We're quick to remind people, But how
much of a lead I think that I've heard that
there was from my producer today that there was some
challenges to to the calculations. Is this a clear win
for Cape in the island? So are we going to
(13:05):
have a recount? How do we get to what's going on?
Speaker 5 (13:10):
It was a clear win. But when I looked into
this earlier this year, Cape Con the Islands was first,
with the Right Whale behind and the Red Sox after that.
But when I looked into it, recently, a new plate
celebrating two hundred and fifty years of America's independence has
bolted up to number two. So it only came out
(13:32):
in May and already more than twenty four thousand have
been issued, so it's now the number two most popular
plate after the cape.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Wow, so we have we have a new entry the
capes about I think I read in your article thirty
three thousands thousand.
Speaker 5 (13:49):
Yeah, well all, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
This new plate is making a run at it.
Speaker 5 (13:54):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. I mean it's a specialty two year
plate just for this, you know, is two fifty, so
maybe people are really wanting to celebrate.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Yeah. And also the two fifty doesn't come around very often.
I mean it's been you know, let me come around
one a quarter of a millennial. Actually, yeah, I bet
I've been an entire millennial since any two fifty came
around before. So yeah, there will a lot of I
just was wondering if you delved into this story. My
understanding is that it's not all that tough to get
(14:26):
a specialty plate, but you have to get at least
a minimum number of people to buy into the idea
before they will print the plates. So it's not as
if you can go in there with two of your
friends and pick up a specialty plate or have them
make a specialty plate for whatever cause you might be
interested in, you know, Uncle Harry's beer fund or something
(14:47):
like that.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
That doesn't work right, Yeah, you know, I don't know
the exact process to become a specialty plate, but yeah,
I don't think it can just be anything right now.
I think the R and B are for thirty seven
charitable organization plates. So like these specialty plates where like
the Cape Cod and the Island's Play, where proceeds go
(15:08):
to a certain charity.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Yeah, well, my understanding is that you have to get
a certain number of pledges or signatures of licensed automobile
owners who say that they would commit to the plate.
And I don't know if you have to raise a
certain amount of money and put it in some sort
of an escrow account. But once you make that, and
for some reason, the figure of fifteen hundred fits in
(15:33):
my head. So it's a challenge, but it's not an
overwhelming challenge. And if there are thirty seven plates, it
gets a little confusing out there because when you walk
through a parking lot and you see all the different
plates that might be around. It does get a little confusing.
(15:53):
And then we still have the vanity plates in Massachusetts.
I'm sure you're aware of that. That individuals can have.
They can quest as long as it's not obscene, a
combination of letters and numbers that might spell out, you
know whatever their favorite issue or you know there, they
have some limitations on that. I'm sure you're familiar with those, right,
(16:17):
so called community plates.
Speaker 5 (16:19):
Yeah, yeah, yes, I didn't look into that for this story,
but yes, I think that's a that's the thing you
can do too.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Okay, So let me talk to you about your career.
You been with USA Today here in New England for
a while.
Speaker 5 (16:31):
You a New Englander, Yeah, I'm from I'm from Massachusetts.
I've been with USA Day New England stuff for like
two years.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
And before that, will you this, I'm sure it is
not your first, uh position with a newspaper the size
of the USA Today. Did you work locally here before
you hooked on with the USA Today?
Speaker 5 (16:54):
You know, before before that? I actually got my masters
the Green California. But a while ago I did some
freelance reporting for the Needham Time.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
Oh sure, okay, And so people are going to want
to look forward to reading you. Are you in the
USA Today any specific day during the week, or do
you there? Are you there periodically when the story merits publication.
Speaker 5 (17:22):
I'm I'm always publishing stories on the USA Day's local
New England site, so like wick at Local Providence Journal,
basically all the New England Gannett owned sites. So there's yeah,
there's tons of them in the New England area, and
my stories are in them almost every day.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
So Gannett. Now, I'm a TV and radio guy. I
love newspapers and I love print portions of newspapers. So
has Gannett owned USA Today for some time? I didn't.
Speaker 5 (17:54):
Yes, yeah, I think so before I got here, so
I'm not sure, but I think it is.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Okay, Well, I'll tell you this. I tend to read
USA Today when I'm traveling, and it's great. You can
always keep in touch with your hometown by reading USA Today.
It gives you. It gives you the great national news
stories when you're halfway across the country or all the
way across the country to see what's going on. And
(18:22):
I always love the column of the Fifty States, so
you can check out what happened in Massachusetts yesterday. In
USA today or wherever you live, wherever you live in
New England, well, we'll be following you here and we'll
figure out we'll watch this race now between the new
(18:43):
entrants as well as the Cape and Islands plate, so
this will be something to keep our eye on. Margie Cullin,
thank you very much for your time tonight. Appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (18:54):
Yeah, thanks for having me on.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
You're very welcome. When we get back after the news
at the bottom, we're going to talk about a little
bit of a more serious subject, and that is National
Disability Employment Awareness Month. The Northeast ARC supports trains and coaches,
trains and coaches people with disabilities so they're able to
find work. And we're going to be talking with Michael Blunt.
(19:16):
He's the employment program manager at the Northeast ARC, and
we'll later on this hour talk with an assistant teaching
professor at Northeastern School of Law who says kids need
more independence if only Massachusetts law would allow it, addressing
how parents can allow kids independence without fear of child
(19:36):
neglect laws. Interesting questions coming up will deal everyone will
understand National Disability Employment Awareness Month. We want to try
to help people who might be dealing with a slight disability,
find employment, gainful employment in our society. We'll be talking
with Michael Blunt on the other side of the break
and I'll remind you, as I have not reminded you recently.
(20:00):
Do you have the new iHeartRadio app? Okay, it's a
new app, new and improved, a real cool way for
you to be part of the Nightside broadcast by utilizing
the talkback feature. What you have to do is first
download for free the iHeartRadio app while you listen to
Nightside Live on WBC News Radio or at any time
(20:21):
during the day. But you can tap a red microphone
talkback button in the top right corner to send us
your personalized audio message. It can be a compliment or
a criticism. Just keep it clean, that's all we ask,
and we will play it back on Nightside. It's that simple.
Once again, hit that red microphone button in the top
right corner of the app while listening to night Side
and to send us your audio message. Try to keep
(20:42):
it to about thirty seconds. I think each tape gives
you thirty seconds, so you'll prepare something about twenty twenty
five seconds and you might hear yourself being played back
here on WBZ, just like you're going to hear the
news reporters in just a moment at the eight thirty news.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
You're on Night Side with Dan Ray on w Z
Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
My next guest is Michael Blunt. He's the Employment program
manager at the Northeast ARC. This is National Disability Employment
Awareness Month. Everyone knows the Northeast ARC is a great
organization has been around for decades in various locations, supporting
training and helping people with some disabilities find work that
(21:28):
they are able to really become part of the community.
Michael Blunt, welcome to Nightside. How are you, sir?
Speaker 6 (21:34):
I'm going well, Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
How long you've been with Northeast ARK.
Speaker 6 (21:39):
I have been with the Northeast ARC. It was nine
years last week actually.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Congratulations, congratulations in the anniversary. So, how this has to
be a very fulfilling position to watch people who are
dealing with some disability able to be involved in the workforce.
So tell us how generally it works for a family
(22:07):
when they have a child who has finished school and
now wants to find a job. And how do you
help people who have disabilities find gainful employment.
Speaker 6 (22:21):
Right, and you're completely right, is one hundred percent fulfilling.
You know, I can't imagine doing anything else. So usually
how it works is someone will come to us and they'll,
you know, we'll have a conversation with them, figure out
where they're at in their life and kind of what
their priorities are and what their goals are, and then
a lot of times we'll give them an evaluation, a
pre employment evaluation. And my coworker Rachel, she's our pre
(22:43):
employment program manager, and she handles all of like the
valuations and figuring out like the skills that these people
have and where they are, and then depending on what
they're interested in, because from there they could go to
you know, job development, and what that means is that
our job developers will sit with them and figure out
(23:05):
what sort of actual physical places they want to work
and they'll help them apply to all these places or
they'll come to my training program. So I have three
internship sites, one at Breaking Grounds Cafe and Mainstream and Peberty.
I have the others at Parcels and the Livery Tree
Mall where our offices are, and then we have another
one at Amazing Pizza in downtown sale on war Street
(23:29):
where they learn and gain experience in real in real
time out out in the community, but in a safe
space where they can learn, and then from there, when
when they're ready, we go and get them jobs out
in the community. So it's really a flexible program and
we try to move at the speeded individual because at
(23:49):
the end of the day, it's their life and their choices,
and we want them to celebrate those choices. So by
working with them and not you know, not necessarily forcing
something on them, but really truly giving them a career
that they want, we we really get to see how
how well their lives change, and we see things and
skills and see things and hear things that they were
(24:10):
told that they weren't able to do in the past
and now they are doing with such gusto. It's it's
hard not to be to be fulfilled while watching that.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Now, I'm assuming that one of the challenges that you
would have after you develop someone and find out what
they're interested in and and and what would uh you know,
challenge them and at the same time allow them to
uh do their do their work is to find a
way in which they can get to their job because
(24:41):
most people take that for granted, you jump on the
tee or you drive your car or in some cases
you're able to walk to work. How much of a
complicating factor is that for for the Northeast ark is
they run this program? Uh? And how is that a
situation that you can help with if if a company
(25:03):
is not let us say, very close to where the
person might have happens to live. How much of a
factor is that?
Speaker 6 (25:13):
It's a huge factor. A lot of times the people
that we find jobs that really it depends on how
comfortable they are with traveling and if they have transport.
So some people are you know, they're they have their
parents and some individuals we support, you know, drive themselves.
But a lot of the time we try to encourage
(25:35):
them to sign up for the rides or the rides
an mt mpt A program and that allows them to
go to places that they may not have rent reached
if they didn't have a car. But something else because
the ride is not is not always an option for people.
So we do provide like m bt A travel training,
so like taking the t taking the bus, and that's
(25:58):
something that we do provide for those those who that's
the better option.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Yeah. And by the way, I'm not here to criticize anything,
but i can tell you that I've had a lot
of complaints from listeners of mine, including one today about
the inadequacy of the ride. A friend of mine who
needed to use the ride today for a doctor's appointment
(26:24):
just a few blocks from where she lived. She was
told that she would be picked up for a six thirty.
The clinic opened at six point thirty at five oh
three in the morning. It was like it was literally
a two minute ride. But there's not a huge amount
of flexibility. I have another friend of mine who is
(26:47):
non sighted blind up in Lynn and he has had
a lot of problems. So again, I think it's something
that we should be aware of that a lot of
the folks who you're helping place and find work which
gives people a lot of purpose and a lot of
hope and a lot of drive, and our and our
(27:10):
tremendous success stories. The the just the logistics can can
work against that give us a couple of success stories
that that you'd like to be brag about. Here of
of folks who have taken advantage of the program and
are now gainfully employed. I'm sure you've got a couple
(27:30):
that would come to mind, I do, I do.
Speaker 6 (27:33):
So one person that comes to mind. His name is Greg.
He works for the law offices on on there's a
forgive me, I forget the I'm thinking on the name
of the office now but Washington Sheet in Salem. And
then we have another lovely individual name is Cheyenne and
she actually is a secretary at d d S and
(27:54):
she went through my breaking Grounds internship program a few
few years ago and now she is a secretary and
she's loving her job.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
So I'll ask you, not everybody knows what the d
DF is?
Speaker 6 (28:07):
What is your department services? Yes?
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Yes, there is so many of those acronyms that a
lot of folks in government get used to or people
who deal with folks in government, and we never take
take for granted that everybody in the audience can can
get can align those those those capital letters with the
name of the actual organization. Okay, so yeah, no, that's
(28:37):
I don't mean to put you on the spot there,
but I had to. I had to ask that question.
How can people who would like to help Northeast ARC
in this project, this continuing project, how can folks help you?
Are they do you need people who are volunteers to
help people give rides to her from work. Is that
part of the program? Tell us what? Uh you know
(28:59):
what Pep my listeners can do. You're you're located, I know,
Northeast Dark. What are you in Maldon? Correctly tell me
where you located?
Speaker 6 (29:08):
Our main offices are in Danvers, so we have we
have some on seuth Side Road and Devers and then
are our main offices are at Delivery Trea Mall.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
And Danvers all right, so that's a good location. How
can people want help? Obviously you always can use financial support,
give us a website of course.
Speaker 6 (29:26):
So it's just the Northeast Dark that work and any
any or and volunteering is a great way to help.
But also just like you know, if anyone out there
who has a small business and they want to do
something for their community, you know, this is a great
way to give back. And and even if you work
(29:49):
at a at a at a CVS or dunk and
don't you know anything, you know, word of mouth, you know,
spreading it, you know, spreading the mission and what we're
trying to do. And it's not about it's not about
you know, pitying people that we serve, but you know,
celebrating them and giving them a leg up.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
So the website again is Northeast ARC. Is that it? Yeah? Okay,
and that's spell out the word Northeast, which we know
how to spell an rc A R C ARC dot org.
All right, great, perfect, Thank you so much, Michael. Nice
to talk with you. We will talk again, I'm sure,
(30:26):
thank you so much.
Speaker 6 (30:26):
Okay, thank you so much. I have a good night.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
You're welcome. We get back. We'll talk with an assistant
teaching professor. Not exactly sure what an assistant teaching professor is.
We'll get an explainer on that, Andrew. I believe it's
pronounced Hale or Haley. We'll figure that one out. Rob
will get that for me.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
He's going to argue that kids in Massachusetts, if the
law would allow it, need more independence. I'm not sure
I necessarily agree. I'd love to know what the definition
of kids is. Uh. And we will find out when
we talk with Andrew Hale or Haley. Coming back on
night Side.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Night Side with Dan Ray on Boston's News Radio with.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
Me is professor Andrew Hale. He's an assistant teaching professor
at Northeastern University School of Law. I'm unfamiliar with the
term assistant teaching professor professor hale. I hope the appellation
professor was appropriate.
Speaker 7 (31:21):
That works out fine, Dan, thank you and thanks for
having me on no problem.
Speaker 2 (31:24):
When I went to law school back in the day,
there were that that phrase of assistant teaching professor. It
sounds almost inconsistent, but anyway, no problem. What do you
teach it at Northeastern? You deal with you know, family law,
I don't.
Speaker 7 (31:44):
I teach it in our basic first year course called
Legal Skills and Social Context, so it's sort of legal writing.
Plus we do community projects for organizations in Boston.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Yeah, that's that's good stuff because in law school back
in the day when I went, it was like you
hit the books for three years and they gave you
a degree and you were on your own. So's you're
concerned with the idea of kids needing more independence if
only Massachusetts law would allow it, and you address how
parents can allow kids independence without fear of child negleck laws.
(32:21):
I know that there was this concept a few years
ago of was it called free range children In some states,
some parents were getting into trouble because nine year olds
or eight year olds were out playing in playgrounds by
themselves without supervision. What are we talking about here? I
want you to explain it so I don't have a
(32:41):
you know, a misconception.
Speaker 7 (32:44):
Sure, Dan, to answer your previous question, I sort of
come at this not from a primarily professional interest, but
because I'm a dad. I have a nine year old
and seven year old, two girls. We live in Dorchester.
There has been a movement i'm sort of loosely called
free range parenting, which you might have heard.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
Oh I've done shows on that, believe me, Yes, go
right ahead for sure.
Speaker 7 (33:09):
Well, and what's interesting is, at least in my view,
I think the societal norms have shifted so much so
that what is today sort of free range parenting was
back in the day. I'm forty, I don't know how
old you are, Dan, but back in the day, it
was just parenting. And so I think the societal norms
(33:29):
have really shifted a sort of clamp down on parents
who may want to kind of give their children a
little bit more childhood independence. And that's certainly kind of
where I got into this issue.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
Yeah, no, and I think that's exactly what is And
I think the phrase free range of parenting or whatever
was an unfortunate you know, they sort of used the
term from free range chickens and free range poultry. And yeah,
I mean, look, I can remember as a kid back
(34:02):
in the day, and believe me, I'm a baby boomer,
so I'm well past forty okay, trust me on that.
And we would spend a lot of time up the
field playing baseball and you know, football during the summertime baseball,
and then during the winter time we'd go down to
the swamp. You know, we would have ice and play
hockey and parent. We wouldn't see our parents for a
(34:25):
lot of the day. And I assume that today that
probably would be frowned upon in some quarters.
Speaker 3 (34:32):
Yeah, you're absolutely right.
Speaker 7 (34:34):
And I wrote a piece for The Boston Globe recently
where I talked about my experience. I live in Dorchester, right,
I live in the city, so we live in a
fairly densely packed neighborhood. And like I said, my girls,
who are nine and seven, were at the phase. They're
pretty mature kids for their age, and I think we're
(34:55):
in a time of life where we're trying to give
them a little more leeway. You know, you can bike
around neighborhood. Maybe you could go down to the corner
store and pick up a gallon of milk, you know,
while I'm cooking, Or maybe you can play outside with
a friend. And what I found is that I've been
scolded more than once by my neighbors for, uh, oh,
don't you know, don't you let that girl walk ahead
(35:16):
of you on the street. You don't want to get
hit by a car. You don't want them to get abducted,
or something like that. And so, and what I realized
is there's kind of really the societal norms have shifted
so much that it makes it really tricky for parents
who are trying to give their kids the independence that
increasingly social psychologists and others are saying that kids need.
(35:37):
So that's been a challenge.
Speaker 2 (35:39):
When I was a kid, I can remember my father
would give me a quarter and send me up to
the Missus McElroy's variety store to buy him a pack
of Camel's nonfiltered. It'd be like nine years old walking
back smelling a pack of Camel's nonfiltered. I never took
up the habit. He dropped it when the Surgeon General's
report came out in nineteen sixty four, Thank God. But yeah,
(36:02):
I mean, I think there's a balance, and I think
that sometimes we need to recognize that different families raise
their children somewhat differently and that they're is not all
going to be by the norm. So I have kind
of had gone from being very skeptical of free range
parenting to thinking about it a little bit more and
(36:23):
probably coming over towards towards your point of view. Is
that where society is going or a society moving against
what you do?
Speaker 3 (36:31):
Well, Dan, it's interesting.
Speaker 7 (36:33):
I think it feels to me. And again I may
be getting only a certain perspective because I'm in these
conversations all the time with my peer parents right who
are raising kids right now, trying to figure out how
to do this. But it feels to me like we're
in a little bit of an inflection point. And you
may be familiar. There's a social psychologist whose name is
(36:54):
Jonathan hat who wrote a very influential book called The
Anxious Generation, and basically his the argument is that with
the rise of smartphones and the changing in parental norms,
that kids have really moved in a generation from a
play based childhood like all of us had like you
were just describing about playing hockey and being outdoors and
(37:16):
hanging out with your friends until the street lights come
on to nowadays parents who are much more sort of
tight and controlling of their kids. What are kids doing
if they're not outside playing hockey, they're looking at screens
And that really has led to a lot of problems,
such as a big rise in mental illness, particularly with
teenage girls. So that's something that we're really concerned about
(37:37):
and we want to push back on that. And I
do think we're starting to have these conversations society where
maybe we're seeing things shift back.
Speaker 2 (37:45):
Well, I'll tell you, I think it's an interesting conversation,
and maybe we can have you on the show, and
maybe we could do an hour and we do hours
from at nine, ten and eleven the balance of my
program where we incorporate listeners who call in, and maybe
we'll get some get some real life parents finding out
(38:06):
maybe if their attitudes have changed a little bit over time.
Because when free range parenting first became, I think in
the public eye, it was looked upon really skeptically, and
it didn't matter whether you were living in a community
where maybe crime was really relevant or living in one,
you know, in a in a different part of the
(38:28):
country or whatever, where that wasn't a factor. So I
might have my producer get back to him. We'll do
an hour some night and we'll incorporate listeners who will
call in and ask questions. We'll make comments fair enough.
Speaker 7 (38:42):
Yeah, that'd be great and I'd be happy to do it.
Speaker 2 (38:44):
Professor Hale, very nice to meet you. You teach you
a great law school. I went to law school. I'm
a terrier and you're a husky. So this room for
good law schools and post rival Thank you, at least
on this issue, that's for sure. Thank you very much, Professor.
When we get back, we'll be talking with the Massachusetts
State Auditor, Diana Desaglio, about her fight to audit the
(39:08):
state legislature. This is an issue that I strongly agree
with the auditor. The legislature is holding out eventually. Voters
approved this audit process a year ago by a vote
of seventy two percent, overwhelming We'll talk with the auditor
right after the nine o'clock news here on Nightside
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.