November 20, 2025 • 40 mins
We kicked off the program with four news stories and different guests on the stories we think you need to know about!
The disappearance of Jennifer Lynn Fay in Brockton in November 1989. Mother of teen who went missing 24 years ago calls for help.
Guest: Emily Sweeney – Boston Globe Cold Case Files Reporter
TWAS the Night Before…” by Cirque du Soleil. Show opens at the Wang on November 26 with 27 performances through December 14. at the Boch Center Wang Theatre. Cirque du Soleil's first holiday show, based on the classic poem “A Visit from Saint Nicolas”.
Guest: Maika Dubuc – professional dancer with Cirque du Soleil
The Comcast RISE program & this week’s event honoring 100 Boston area small businesses who received Comcast RISE grants.
Guest: Carolyne Hannan - Senior Vice President of Comcast’s New England Region
One in 10 children experiences sexual abuse before the age of 18—making it more common than any childhood illness or injury that parents routinely hear about preventing. A public health crisis that is largely preventable. Advice for parents on how to talk to their kids about sexual abuse like recognizing grooming behaviors, etc.
Guest: Dr. Bronwen Carroll - mother of four and pediatric emergency medicine physician at Boston Medical Center
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's nice size with Dan Ray, I'm doll you Easy,
Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Well, here we are. We've arrived on Thursday night and
it is about seven minutes after eight o'clock. We have
a little less than four hours of time together between
now and midnight. We're going to start off with four
interesting guests. This first eight o'clock hour, we'll be talked
with Emily Sweeney or the Boston Globe. She's the Cold
Case files reporter at the Globe. Also talk with a
(00:28):
professional dancer from Cirque de Solet, Micah Meka Dubuk will
get the correct pronunciation of that name. And then we'll
talk with a senior vice president of Comcast New England
Region about the Comcast Rise program. It's a great program.
They had their event last night and they were believe
it's one hundred businesses within the Greater Boston area who
(00:51):
who were awarded grants of thirty thousand dollars a piece.
It's about a three million dollar program to help start
companies new companies really get going. And then we will
talk with a mother of foreign a pediatric emergency medicine
physician at Boston Medical Center. She's written a book her
name is doctor bron Wennet Carroll, and one in ten
(01:14):
children experienced sexual abuse before the age of eighteen, make
it the most making it more common than any other
childhood illness or injury. Frightening statistic when you think about it.
But we're going to get to that, and oh, by
later on at nine o'clock, we will be speaking with
Boston Harold columnist and attorney Wendy Murphy about a piece
(01:37):
of legislation that has caused lots of questions to be raised.
It's entitled the Massachusetts Survivors Acted. May be inaptly named
because it may actually be the well we'll have. We
will have Wendy explain it. It's really interesting, and then
we'll talk about this latest crafile full involving President Trump. Yesterday,
(02:03):
some Democratic lawmakers were basically reminding military members about the UCMJ,
the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and that they did
not have to obey illegal orders. And the President now
has basically, i think, once again, risen to the bait,
(02:24):
if you will, and suggested that some, if not all,
of these lawmakers may have put themselves in a position
where they could be called seditionists, and he took it
even one step further and said that they could face
the death penalty. So again the language is heating up
in Washington, and we will have a conversation of that
(02:46):
beginning of ten tonight. But first off, Emily Sweeney, Boston
Globe Cold Case Files reporter. Emily, you have come up
with a case that goes back all the way to
nineteen eighty nine. So we're talking now about the case
that is what thirty six years old if I'm doing
my math correctly.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Yeah, you're doing the math right, jan I. This case
is really frustrating and sad. It involves a teenager, Jennifer
Lynn Fay, who is just sixteen years old when she
pretty much vanished without a trace in her own neighborhood
of Brockton on November fourteenth, nineteen eighty nine.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
How did this case come to your attention? Because this
is one that really seems to me as if it
should have been solved back then. She was in her neighborhood,
she was with friends. There's some tips that she might
be buried in a neighborhood's backyard. You know, break that
(03:53):
down for us, because this one seems to me one
that is evidently.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Solvable, right, you know, when she disappeared that that night,
they Jennifer was supposed to be babysitting her younger brother
and sister that night, but you know, she's a sixteen
years old. She got her cousin to kind of cover
for her so she could go out in the neighborhood
and hang out with some friends. And you know, she
(04:20):
was last seen, you know, by one of those friends,
you know, standing at the window of a brown truck.
And what's crazy is that, like, you know, she wasn't
far from her house, like she was like, you know,
minutes away. We're talking, and you know, she vanished without
a trace. And I talked to her mother, Dottie, and
(04:42):
her sister today and you know what's really strange is
that all of her you know, lifelong friends from the
neighborhood who she went to school with, you know, had
known for years after she disappeared, most of them, you know,
Dottie was saying, you know, didn't even inquire about her
(05:03):
whereabouts and wouldn't you know, wouldn't really talk to the
family or interact, And so you know, that leads them
to believe that, you know, maybe somebody knows something is
a really tight knit neighborhood in Brockton. Everybody knew each other.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Those people, over a period of thirty six years or so,
have grown older, probably had families of their own, and
maybe you scattered to the four winds.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
Yeah, you know, Dottie was saying that, you know, people
have grown up and now have children who are around
Jennifer's age when she disappeared or older. Yeah, and you know,
the hope is a family is really hoping that maybe
somebody will come forward and you know, give a conversations.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
That there were a couple of and if I'm wrong here,
you know, please don't let me put you in a
tough spot. That there were a couple of tips that
came into the local police down there that maybe her
remains were buried in a in a in a yard
not far from where she lived. That sounds crazy, but
(06:15):
but they all of those leads should be investigated. What
can you tell us about that?
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Yeah, So, I mean there's been a lot of a
lot of searches have been conducted over the years in
area ponds, all types of places, you know, especially where
like you know, places where teenagers hung out at the time.
And there was a tip that you know, she was
possibly you know, buried in like a backyard, you know,
(06:43):
or there was like talk of like under a pool.
There were a lot of you know, tips and rumors
going around and you know, there have there have been searches.
To this day, her body has not been found. And
I also just want to mention too that there's going
to be an event tomorrow night, actually fundraiser memorial events
(07:08):
if anybody's interested. It's open to the public in her
honor in Middleborough and a couple of the investigators who've
worked on the case, private investigators, we'll be on hand,
you know, to talk about the case.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
You know, given me why, I'm just curious why in
Middlebrough if you.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Know, you know, I'm not sure. It's at the Mitchell
Memorial Club on Elm Street in Middleborough. I've never been,
but there's going to be a fifty to fifty raffle
that type of thing, and uh yeah, it'll be a
you know, a time and it's open to the public.
And you know, I ask the family if it'd be
all right if I spread the word and you know,
the more of the area. So and just getting a
(07:51):
word out about this case Dan is really important. Because
you know, it seems like, you know, for Sunny Discippean,
the neighborhood full of kids and then none of the
kids are talking. It's weird, you know, Yes, it's very weird.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
It's a strange. It's a strange case, and if anyone
has information on it, you're hoping that maybe somebody had
a memory. And I'm reading one article that was written
in the Globe now it goes back to twenty thirteen
by Michelle Morgan Bolton about this case back then, and boy,
(08:29):
it just seems there were some possibilities here. I guess
there were two hundred and sixty people interviewed, you know,
at the time of her disappearance, and apparently no one
had any information that could lead to the location of
her of her remains. But boy, this one sounds to
(08:50):
me like it should be able to be solved fairly,
fairly easily. But I know you're going to stay on
it as always, and we appreciate. We get you every
other Thursday with another interesting case. What's really sad is
that these cases occur and time passes and parents die
and family members, families maybe dissolve or move away, and
(09:15):
it just seems that there's that moment in time, the
last moment they see their child. That child is frozen
in their mind at that age, and now here we
are thirty six years later. This young woman was sixteen
at the time. She would now be a little older
than fifty. It's these are tough stories, tough stories, Emily,
(09:39):
and we thank you for doing them again. Well, remind
us how people can get on the mailing list for
your columns at the Globe, the Cold Case Files at
the Globe.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
Yeah, so the Cold Case Files newsletter. You could subscribe
to it if you go to Globe dot com slash
cold Case Files and yeah, please sign up if you can,
and you know, try to spread the word about these cases,
because you know, somewhere out there, you know, there are
people that know what happens.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Yeah, well, let's let's let's hope that they get a break.
That's that's all they need, is just one piece of information.
At this point, I'm sure that who knows, whoever might
have you know, done something to her that night. They
may be dead now, so it might be just really
(10:30):
a question of bringing some closure to the family and
knowing and getting her into a cemetery spot, getting her
remains whatever's left to them at a place where the
family can can mourn her properly. Emily is always thank
you so much. You have a great weekend and happy Thanksgiving.
We won't be talking until a week from next Thursday.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
Yeah, I hope you have a great Thanksgiving. Dan, thanks
for having me.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Thanks so much, gentle, appreciate it. When we get back,
we're going to change topics and talk about the Circle
to Sole, a wonderful experience that comes to Boston periodically.
They'll be at the Wang Center beginning on November twenty sixth,
and seventh and twenty seventh, so it's six nights from
tonight all the way up until December fourteenth at the
(11:17):
Back Center Weighing Theater. It is the well. Were talking
one of the dancers coming up on the other break
on the other side of the break here at Nightside,
my name is Dan Ray. That was a sad story.
That's a sad story, but we'll lift your spirits a
little bit talking about maybe a way you can create
a new tradition for your family around the holiday season.
(11:38):
Back on Nightside right after this.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Night Side with Dan Ray on Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Well, Christmas is around the corner. Actually, Thanksgiving is around
the corner, and Christmas is a couple of blocks away,
but it's coming at us pretty quickly. And what better
way to celebrate Christmas in the holiday season then a
performance by the Cirqua Solat. The show opens at the
Wang the Box Center at the Wang Theater on November
(12:09):
twenty sixth and twenty seventh, and they will be there
through December fourteenth. It's called Twas the Night Before, based upon,
of course, the poem the classic poem A Visit from
Saint Nicholas with Us is Micah Dubuque, a professional dancer
with Sark de Sole. Micah. I hope I've pronounced that
name correctly. If I haven't, feel free to give me
(12:32):
the correct pronunciation.
Speaker 4 (12:35):
No, you're right, Mikah Davout, that's my name.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Well, thank you very much for confirming that we finally
got one right here. So how long have you danced?
You're a professional dancer. I'm always fascinated by other people
in the entertainment business and how they arrive at the
entertainment business. How did you become a professional dancer? If
I could ask.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
So, I actually have a lot of siblings and they
all danced before me. But we started dancing when I
was five and I've been dancing for fifteen years.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
So you are a young dancer. And how long have
you danced with Circa Sola?
Speaker 1 (13:16):
This is my second year with Shy.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
And I'm struggling. Does this mean Circle of the Sun?
My French is failing me right now? Is there a
French interpretation? I assume Shirk de Solet is French.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
Yes, served being circus in English? And then son, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
You're right, okay, all right, Well I got a little
bit of it correct anyway, So tell us about this production.
Twas the night before. I've watched some of the press
kit that you folks were sending to me, and I
have sent to me very colorful lot of young people.
I'm sure that I've watched you as one of the dancers.
(14:01):
How big a dance troupe do you bring to Boston?
Speaker 4 (14:06):
Well, there's six dancers in the show, and we are
the Tuks, and we bring Isabella, which is our main character,
through the land of the poem to find her spark
for Christmas. And that's kind of like the storyline. And
there's so many cool accident there's aerial straps, there's roller skating,
(14:27):
there's hair hanging. She literally hangs from her hair. There's
so many more they're crazy.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Wow. Now a show like this, is this one that
has been done previously or is this a first time
performance of this show this season? I know that there
are troops around the country, I believe. I looked at
the schedule and I think there's some shows going on
tonight in Wisconsin, and I know, did you have more
(14:54):
than one troop going around the country? But has this
show been Is this the first year of twas the
night before or has this sort of been an annual
event for Stark Disaway.
Speaker 4 (15:06):
Yeah, so the show actually started in twenty nineteen, So
this is the sixth annual year of this show, and
it started off with just one cast, and now there's
four teams in this sixth year.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
So when I'm always curious, I know more about sports
and politics than I do about theater. Obviously, with sports,
there's a training camp in football in the summer and
baseball in the spring, and then the season starts and
all of that tell us what your year has been like.
I assume that this whole year started at some point.
(15:45):
I'm guessing in the summer where you assembled the group
and basically, you know, practiced this performance before you hit
the road. Is that the way it works?
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (15:57):
So I can't speak for the acrobats, but I think
they start about early October, and we start in October
as well, and then we trained for about one and
a half to two months and then we just take
the show on the road and do up to fifty performances.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Now, since this is a show that is themed for
December twice the night before, do you carry this on
into the new year or do you switch to another
type of performance when twenty when the calendar turns to
twenty twenty six?
Speaker 4 (16:38):
Well, since this is Circus Oway's only Christmas show, it
stops around January early January, and then after that there's
plenty of other Circus away shows in like Vegas and
touring shows and Big Top. But the Christmas show is
specifically for December.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
All right, So let's let's get a good plug here.
It is at the Bok Center Wang Theater. Have you
been to Boston before?
Speaker 4 (17:06):
I have never been to Boston, so we are super
duper excited to be performing in Boston this year.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Well, you like it a lot, did you? Grow up
in the States. Whereabouts did you grow up?
Speaker 5 (17:19):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (17:19):
I grew up in Atlanta, so.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Sure, Okay, Well, Boston is a very you'll feel like
you're in Europe in different parts of Boston. It's a
great city to be in, particularly during the month of
late November and December. You're really going to be welcomed here.
And again. The performances started the twenty sixth and twenty
seventh and they go through December fourteenth. And it's at
(17:42):
the Box Center Wang Theater. Everybody knows where that is.
And I'm assuming that tickets can be purchased. Is there
a website that tickets can be purchased directly from Cirque
to sole A or do you just want people who
will be going just go to the Box Center and
purchase a ticket the the Box Center Wing Theater in Boston,
(18:03):
which which works better for for everyone? How you make
it easy for people who want to watch you dance
and and enjoy the show.
Speaker 4 (18:12):
Yeah, so you can either purchase them at the Boxcenter
dot org right now, or they're also on sale ats website.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Perfect. I assume that's circ Cirque de sole dot com.
I'm guessing yes, Okay, good all right, okay, Michael, thank
you very much, and and early welcome to Boston. We
have great restaurants, it's a it's a very safe, safe city. UH.
And and you will enjoy uh by day and certainly
(18:42):
and also by night. So enjoy Boston for the first time.
Very nice to meet.
Speaker 4 (18:49):
You for having me.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Very welcome. Congratulations on this show. I know a lot
of people. It's gonna be it's gonna be great for
the performers and great for the for the audience. Thank
you so much. Yes, thank you. Have a great night.
When we get back, right after the news at the
bottom of the hour, we're going to talk with Carolyn Hennon.
She's a senior vice president for Comcast New England Region
(19:12):
and Comcast, through their Rise program, has held an event
this week honoring one hundred Boston areas small businesses, each
of whom received a thirty thousand dollars what's called the
Comcast Rise Grant. We will explain it all on the
other side of the break.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
You're on Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's
news radio.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
All right, welcome back everyone. Comcast has a program it's
called Rise Rise, and last night there was a big
event honoring one hundred Boston Areas small businesses who received
thirty thousand dollars, each of them thirty thousand dollars grant
to help get their business off the ground with us
(19:59):
is Caroline Caroline excuse me, Caroline Hennon, I got that right, correct, Caroline,
you did. Thanks so much, Dan, Senior Vice President of
Comcast New England Region. So tell us. We talked about
this in September, so I know a little bit about it,
but you know a lot about it. So there must
(20:22):
have been a big celebration last night. One hundreds area
small businesses competed for these grants of thirty thousand dollars.
Tell us first, what does each individual grant do for
each of these businesses? And then we can talk about
the scope of businesses, the type of businesses that you're
(20:43):
helping not only to get off the ground, but to
stay airborne.
Speaker 6 (20:48):
Okay, that sounds great. So you know, first of all,
let me tell you Comcast Rise is part of a
larger initiative called Project Up, which is Comcast one bill
initiative to connect people to the Internet and provide digital opportunity.
The Rise program specifically is really all about fueling the
(21:09):
growth of small businesses and helping them to help strengthen
their local communities. So the recipients that you were talking about,
they get a really comprehensive grant package, and it includes
a technology makeover from Comcast Business Creative Production, and a
media schedule for TV airtime from Comcast Advertising. They also
(21:31):
get educational resources, business consultation, and a five thousand dollars
monetary grant. So all of that adds up to the
thirty thousand dollars per business that you mentioned. And just
last night, we celebrated one hundred Boston area small businesses
as Comcast Rise recipients. It was really exciting.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Now, how many years has Comcast been doing this or
is this the inaugural program?
Speaker 6 (22:00):
Oh, this is actually our fifth year. We started back
in twenty twenty and since that time the program has
provided one hundred and sixty million dollars in monetary, marketing
and technology resources to more than fourteen thousand businesses across
the country.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
So do you do this every year in Boston or
is Boston picked this year and next year there'll be
some other cities picked.
Speaker 6 (22:25):
So Boston was picked this year. Every year it's different cities.
Our local teams nominate cities, and the company selects five
every year and we execute on this great program. It
takes us several months to select the recipients and start
the program with them.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Give that my listeners a sense of the variety of
businesses who you have helped in the last few days
and who won these grants last night. I assume it's
from small mom and pop businesses or startup companies, or
companies that are still probably emerging from the basement of
(23:07):
technicians and people who have great ideas.
Speaker 6 (23:11):
Exactly. Some of them are brick and mortar, some of
them are, you know, home based businesses. But it's restaurants,
it's last night, I met somebody who's a tequila distributor
professional services, even small businesses focused on the art. So
it really is a spectrum of businesses, and it's really
(23:35):
about helping them grow and helping them achieve their vision
for their business, whatever that might be.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
How big was well, the event obviously had to be
a big event. Was it held at a Comcast facility?
I just set the same for me last night. Was
it a downtown restaurant, downtown hotel? It was?
Speaker 6 (23:55):
It was Big Night Live, which everybody Knows is a
adjacent to the TV Garden, which is just an amazing venue.
We had at least a couple of hundred people there.
Seventy or one hundred Boston Greater Boston winners were there.
(24:15):
Many of them had family members with them. They were
just so proud of everything. We had a lovely event,
a panel, some good speakers, some good food, and at
the end of the evening a toast to our rise winners.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
So will you now does a Comcast work with them
going forward? They went to the event last night knowing
that they had won. But I assumed that you made
the decisions of all the businesses that applied at some
point of the last month or so.
Speaker 6 (24:49):
Yeah, So we've already started partnering with each recipient. They
found out that they were winners, I think a couple
of months ago. So we typically start with the tech
knowlogy makeover, which includes Comcast business an iPad and a
computer for their business. We've already completed fifty of the
(25:10):
one hundred technology makeovers, and then we have people working
with everyone so that they fully understand the breath of
the grant, the consulting resources, the educational resources, how to
get their TV Spot produced and set up their TV schedule.
(25:32):
So we've one interesting story where we heard last night
was from someone who you really put his five thousand
dollars grant to work. He tapped into the business consulting
resources and that really helped him understand the best place
to put the money into his business. And he invested
(25:54):
in marketing and equipment and is really convinced that this
is going to be This five thousand dollar unrestricted grant
is really going to pay dividends for him over time.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
Now, this I assume is the first year of the
Comcast has made the awards to Boston area businesses.
Speaker 6 (26:11):
Because it is it made it extra exciting for all
of us based in the New England area.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Okay, and how has it if there were four other
award years? I think you said, well, twenty twenty one,
twenty two, twenty three, twenty four, so this was really
the sixth year if you started in twenty twenty. How
successful generally? I'm sure that there are some businesses that
(26:38):
have gone through the roof, and there are probably some
that are still struggling to get off the ground. But generally,
how have the businesses that have received these grants done
in other areas, other parts of the country.
Speaker 6 (26:53):
You know, that's such a great question, Dan, and they've
done quite well. What we see five years in is
that the majority of these businesses are still open and
running and many of them are just you know, thriving.
I think when you are a small business owner, you
need to know so many things, and so many people
go in to a small business based on one thing
(27:15):
that they're good at. And what this program really does,
it's it's so comprehensive. It's really kind of a three
sixty approach to approaching their business, and so it really
does give them a leg up. We all know that
opening a small business, you know, can be risky, and
not all of them make it. But we have a
really really good track record with these recipients. We also
stay in touch with them. It's not one and done.
(27:38):
This is what I've heard from other recipients from years
ago that the Rise team is still in touch with them,
checking in how are you doing? You know. So it's
really an exciting thing to be a part of something
I'm very very proud of as an executive. But Comcast, well.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
This is exactly what a big company like Comcast do
to help people along the way. It's a great program.
I remember we talked about it in September. You gave
us a really clear explanation of it tonight, and I
just again thank Comcasts for on behalf of all of
these winners, and hopefully all of them will be successful
(28:17):
and they'll look back last night and the ceremony as
such a critical night in the development of their business.
I think it's a great effort. I wish more bigger
businesses out there would invest some time and help out
some of the smaller businesses, because obviously small business has
always been the backbone of America. We always think about
(28:39):
the big companies, you know, like Comcasts and others. But
on that pyramid there are a few big companies like
Comcasts at the top of the pyramid, and at the
base of the pyramid are all of these small businesses.
Mom and pop stores, but Daego's barbershops, you know, vetinarys,
you know veterinary clinics. They are what really does make
(29:00):
the country work and the country grow. And thanks very
much on behalf of all the winners. And I hope
that it gets back to Boston pretty soon. It will
be a few years. I'm sure that before would ever
get back here. But it sounds like you had a
great night last night, and I thank you for joining
us tonight. Thanks so much.
Speaker 6 (29:16):
Well, thank you for your interest in the Rise program
and for having me on tonight. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
Pleasure. Okay, thank you, thank you much. We'll talk so
thank you very much when we get back. A tougher
topic to discuss, and we're going to talk about the
fact that one in ten children children being defined as
anyone under the age of eighteen, experienced sexual abuse before
the age of eighteen, making sexual abuse a more common
(29:44):
affliction than any other childhood illness or injury that parents,
of course routinely deal with. And we'll get talking with
doctor ron Wynn Carrol. She's a mother of for but
she's also a pediatric medicine physician at Boston Medical. She's
written a new book. We need to be talking about this,
that's the name of the book. We will be talking
(30:06):
with doctor Brown and Carolyn Carol right after this quick
break on Nightside.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
It's Nightside with Dan Ray on Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Delighted to welcome to Nightside doctor Bronwin Carroll. She's the
mother of four pediatric emergency medicine physician at Boston Medical Center,
Doctor Carroll, Welcome to Nightside.
Speaker 5 (30:31):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
We're going to talk about a tough subject, and that
is that ten percent of children experience sexual abuse before
the age of eighteen. I'm sure from many, many sources,
both in and out of the family, but is the
more I guess is it's more common than any other
(30:54):
childhood illness or injury. To me, that's a stunning statistic.
You have written a book we need to talk to
be talking about this. I haven't read your book, but
I did look at some of the promotions, and this
is something that you never thought you'd write a book about.
Speaker 5 (31:15):
No, not at all. I really fell into this by accident.
So as a pediatric er doctor, of course, I do
see children who've been sexually assaulted and sexually abused, and
as a mom at home, I spoke to my own
kids about staying safe, but I never thought about it
beyond that. Then, earlier this year, my daughter's teacher in
Cambridge was arrested for a possession of child sexual abuse materials,
(31:40):
and after that happened, the head of school asked me
to speak at a community forum for parents to talk about,
how do you explain this teacher's arrest to kids? So
I did that and afterwards those.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
How did you do that? Because I talk about such.
Speaker 5 (31:58):
A betrayal of us, absolutely, And one of the big
problems is that this term has entered into the parenting
lexicon of quote unquote trusted adult. And the problem is
is this teacher was a quote unquote trusted adult until
the moment of his arrest, and so how do you
(32:19):
break this down for kids? So I spoke to parents
about just speaking to kids about sexual abuse, generally, speaking
to kids about pornography, speaking to kids about child sexual abuse, imagery,
because the problem is is that large numbers of kids
are exposed to pornography on the internet, either intentionally or not.
So I spoke about all these subjects, and afterwards I
(32:40):
was just inundated with messages from parents and they all
said a version of the same thing, which was that
nobody had ever spoken to them about any of this before.
And so I sort of had this realization that it
seemed impossible that as a culture, we were not speaking
to parents, giving guidance or even talking about really the
(33:01):
biggest serious threat the kids face. And after I had
that sort of aha moment. I couldn't just go back
to business as usual.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
So you've written the book. I assume the book is available,
although this obviously.
Speaker 5 (33:18):
Not yet. Not yet, Okay, here's I've learned a lot
this year. I've learned, among other things, publishing. It's quite slow.
Speaker 2 (33:28):
The book.
Speaker 5 (33:29):
The book will be out at some point.
Speaker 3 (33:30):
I'm guessing twenty.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Five Nike activity in ers when you're probably dealing with
five patients time, sometimes simultaneously. It's it's a different pace
in publishing. So when will we likely be able to
put our hands on the book.
Speaker 5 (33:45):
I am guessing in twenty twenty seven, would be my guest.
But in the meantime, you know, I do feel a
sense of urgency about this because the unfortunate reality is
of incense born in the United States in twenty two.
It's estimated that probably around three hundred thousand of them
will be sexually assaulted in the next eighteen years. So
(34:07):
I don't particularly want to wait around for, as you say,
the publishing industry, which is not the speediest apparently, And
so I am trying to provide other resources to parents,
and so I have articles in psychology today and actually
the Sun Sentinel newspaper in Florida published an op ed
this week. There was an article in the huff Post,
(34:30):
and all of that can be found on my website.
I am new to social media, not really my thing,
but I recently did join Instagram, and there I provide
reels with talking points for parents and written scripts for
how parents can have these tough conversations.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
Well, that's great, and that's important to get information a
lot of parents, even though and I don't know if
you're from Boston originally or not, not that it matters,
but we had the big pedophile pre scandal with the
Catholic ch yes Boston that really broke yest nineties, and
uh it has you know, it has just shocked people
(35:10):
that again, you know, Catholic priests were involved in this.
We find out now that there are other clergymen from
men and women I guess from from other religions. And
we we read all the time about teachers and trusted individuals.
So let's talk about a couple of your website locations.
(35:31):
So you're on Instagram that you're easy to find on Instagram?
Speaker 5 (35:35):
Where else I am? I have a website so it's
Bronwyn Carol m D b r O n w e
n c A r r O l l m D.
That's on Instagram, that's on TikTok, and that is also
my website. So it's one thing to remember. It's easy
to find, you know. As you pointed out, children are
overwhelmingly assaulted by people who they know, and it is
(35:59):
you ually, the trusted priest, the friendly teacher, the beloved coach,
the you know, esteemed member of the community. And the
bad news is that those people are everywhere, so you
may not you know, you're not going to recognize them necessarily.
I always say that the biggest threat to your kids
(36:20):
may be the nicest guy you know. But the good
news is is child predators are like a football team
that keeps winning with a single play, and it's like
nobody's bothered to watch the tapes to figure that out.
So if we can just teach parents and kids to
recognize and defend the child predator play, we can really
(36:43):
make the world a safer place for kids.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
I am just going to do with your permission, just
go over the website one more time, so it's braun
sure and so it's b r w E N and
then the last name is Carol C A R R
O L L with MD at the end obviously indicating
doctor and it's dot com or or what is it?
Speaker 5 (37:08):
Yep dot com? Bronwyncarrol MD dot com.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
Okay, and there you empower parents to protect children. Here's
just a couple of questions. I've been through the parenting thing.
My children are in their thirties now, but we have
two grandchildren, a little boy who's three and a half
and a baby granddaughter who is just seven months old.
(37:33):
So can't talk to the baby granddaughter yet. But what
should I or what should their parents be doing with
the three and a half year When is it too
early to talk? And when when is it too late?
Speaker 3 (37:50):
Yep?
Speaker 5 (37:50):
So here's actually what I would say that you your
kids should do. You should talk to the baby granddaughter,
not because she's going to understand anything that you're saying,
but because it gives parents practice saying hard things. And
the three and a half year old is listening. So
the easiest place to start is with bodily autonomy. And
(38:12):
so while you're giving the baby girl a bath, probably
her big brother is playing nearby, and you talk about
how I'm giving you a bath because I'm your mom,
and we're going to keep you clean. But your body
is for you, it's not for anybody else. That's it simple.
We start there, then the next thing, and the three
(38:32):
and a half year old is old enough to begin this.
This is the single. If you're only going to give
your kids one message, what it should be is that
adults do not ask kids to keep secrets. Now, a
secret is different from a surprise. With a surprise, the
person's going to find out and be happy. So a
surprise is baking Daddy a cake for his birthday. Secrets
(38:53):
are different. With a secret, the person's never supposed to
find out, and if they did, they presumably wouldn't be happy.
So for child predators to succeed, they need three things.
They need access to a child, they need compliance from
the child, and they need to maintain secrecy. So if
kids just learned from an early age and we make
this a cultural norm that adults don't ask kids to
(39:16):
keep secrets, we can right there start keeping kids safer.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
I'll tell you that was a brilliant presentation in less
than a minute, I think everyone can absorb it again.
The website very simple b rn W E N BRON
When Carol c R R L L with an MD
dot com. I will look forward to having you back.
Maybe we'll have you back some night and spend an
(39:42):
hour and take phone calls from listeners.
Speaker 5 (39:44):
If that would work for you, I would love that.
I want to spread the word, and I so appreciate
your supporting me in getting this message out there.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
Sounds great, Doctor Carroll, appreciate it. Hope you and your
family have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Speaker 5 (40:00):
Enjoy those grandchildren.
Speaker 2 (40:01):
I sure will. When we get back, we're going to
be talking with an attorney from Boston. She's been on
the show before. You know where is Wendy Attorney Wendy Murphy,
And we're going to talk about a piece of legislation
and that she believes is very dangerous at the legislature.
We'll be back on night Side right after the nine
o'clock news
It's nice size with Dan Ray, I'm doll you Easy,
Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Well, here we are. We've arrived on Thursday night and
it is about seven minutes after eight o'clock. We have
a little less than four hours of time together between
now and midnight. We're going to start off with four
interesting guests. This first eight o'clock hour, we'll be talked
with Emily Sweeney or the Boston Globe. She's the Cold
Case files reporter at the Globe. Also talk with a
(00:28):
professional dancer from Cirque de Solet, Micah Meka Dubuk will
get the correct pronunciation of that name. And then we'll
talk with a senior vice president of Comcast New England
Region about the Comcast Rise program. It's a great program.
They had their event last night and they were believe
it's one hundred businesses within the Greater Boston area who
(00:51):
who were awarded grants of thirty thousand dollars a piece.
It's about a three million dollar program to help start
companies new companies really get going. And then we will
talk with a mother of foreign a pediatric emergency medicine
physician at Boston Medical Center. She's written a book her
name is doctor bron Wennet Carroll, and one in ten
(01:14):
children experienced sexual abuse before the age of eighteen, make
it the most making it more common than any other
childhood illness or injury. Frightening statistic when you think about it.
But we're going to get to that, and oh, by
later on at nine o'clock, we will be speaking with
Boston Harold columnist and attorney Wendy Murphy about a piece
(01:37):
of legislation that has caused lots of questions to be raised.
It's entitled the Massachusetts Survivors Acted. May be inaptly named
because it may actually be the well we'll have. We
will have Wendy explain it. It's really interesting, and then
we'll talk about this latest crafile full involving President Trump. Yesterday,
(02:03):
some Democratic lawmakers were basically reminding military members about the UCMJ,
the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and that they did
not have to obey illegal orders. And the President now
has basically, i think, once again, risen to the bait,
(02:24):
if you will, and suggested that some, if not all,
of these lawmakers may have put themselves in a position
where they could be called seditionists, and he took it
even one step further and said that they could face
the death penalty. So again the language is heating up
in Washington, and we will have a conversation of that
(02:46):
beginning of ten tonight. But first off, Emily Sweeney, Boston
Globe Cold Case Files reporter. Emily, you have come up
with a case that goes back all the way to
nineteen eighty nine. So we're talking now about the case
that is what thirty six years old if I'm doing
my math correctly.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Yeah, you're doing the math right, jan I. This case
is really frustrating and sad. It involves a teenager, Jennifer
Lynn Fay, who is just sixteen years old when she
pretty much vanished without a trace in her own neighborhood
of Brockton on November fourteenth, nineteen eighty nine.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
How did this case come to your attention? Because this
is one that really seems to me as if it
should have been solved back then. She was in her neighborhood,
she was with friends. There's some tips that she might
be buried in a neighborhood's backyard. You know, break that
(03:53):
down for us, because this one seems to me one
that is evidently.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Solvable, right, you know, when she disappeared that that night,
they Jennifer was supposed to be babysitting her younger brother
and sister that night, but you know, she's a sixteen
years old. She got her cousin to kind of cover
for her so she could go out in the neighborhood
and hang out with some friends. And you know, she
(04:20):
was last seen, you know, by one of those friends,
you know, standing at the window of a brown truck.
And what's crazy is that, like, you know, she wasn't
far from her house, like she was like, you know,
minutes away. We're talking, and you know, she vanished without
a trace. And I talked to her mother, Dottie, and
(04:42):
her sister today and you know what's really strange is
that all of her you know, lifelong friends from the
neighborhood who she went to school with, you know, had
known for years after she disappeared, most of them, you know,
Dottie was saying, you know, didn't even inquire about her
(05:03):
whereabouts and wouldn't you know, wouldn't really talk to the
family or interact, And so you know, that leads them
to believe that, you know, maybe somebody knows something is
a really tight knit neighborhood in Brockton. Everybody knew each other.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Those people, over a period of thirty six years or so,
have grown older, probably had families of their own, and
maybe you scattered to the four winds.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
Yeah, you know, Dottie was saying that, you know, people
have grown up and now have children who are around
Jennifer's age when she disappeared or older. Yeah, and you know,
the hope is a family is really hoping that maybe
somebody will come forward and you know, give a conversations.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
That there were a couple of and if I'm wrong here,
you know, please don't let me put you in a
tough spot. That there were a couple of tips that
came into the local police down there that maybe her
remains were buried in a in a in a yard
not far from where she lived. That sounds crazy, but
(06:15):
but they all of those leads should be investigated. What
can you tell us about that?
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Yeah, So, I mean there's been a lot of a
lot of searches have been conducted over the years in
area ponds, all types of places, you know, especially where
like you know, places where teenagers hung out at the time.
And there was a tip that you know, she was
possibly you know, buried in like a backyard, you know,
(06:43):
or there was like talk of like under a pool.
There were a lot of you know, tips and rumors
going around and you know, there have there have been searches.
To this day, her body has not been found. And
I also just want to mention too that there's going
to be an event tomorrow night, actually fundraiser memorial events
(07:08):
if anybody's interested. It's open to the public in her
honor in Middleborough and a couple of the investigators who've
worked on the case, private investigators, we'll be on hand,
you know, to talk about the case.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
You know, given me why, I'm just curious why in
Middlebrough if you.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Know, you know, I'm not sure. It's at the Mitchell
Memorial Club on Elm Street in Middleborough. I've never been,
but there's going to be a fifty to fifty raffle
that type of thing, and uh yeah, it'll be a
you know, a time and it's open to the public.
And you know, I ask the family if it'd be
all right if I spread the word and you know,
the more of the area. So and just getting a
(07:51):
word out about this case Dan is really important. Because
you know, it seems like, you know, for Sunny Discippean,
the neighborhood full of kids and then none of the
kids are talking. It's weird, you know, Yes, it's very weird.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
It's a strange. It's a strange case, and if anyone
has information on it, you're hoping that maybe somebody had
a memory. And I'm reading one article that was written
in the Globe now it goes back to twenty thirteen
by Michelle Morgan Bolton about this case back then, and boy,
(08:29):
it just seems there were some possibilities here. I guess
there were two hundred and sixty people interviewed, you know,
at the time of her disappearance, and apparently no one
had any information that could lead to the location of
her of her remains. But boy, this one sounds to
(08:50):
me like it should be able to be solved fairly,
fairly easily. But I know you're going to stay on
it as always, and we appreciate. We get you every
other Thursday with another interesting case. What's really sad is
that these cases occur and time passes and parents die
and family members, families maybe dissolve or move away, and
(09:15):
it just seems that there's that moment in time, the
last moment they see their child. That child is frozen
in their mind at that age, and now here we
are thirty six years later. This young woman was sixteen
at the time. She would now be a little older
than fifty. It's these are tough stories, tough stories, Emily,
(09:39):
and we thank you for doing them again. Well, remind
us how people can get on the mailing list for
your columns at the Globe, the Cold Case Files at
the Globe.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
Yeah, so the Cold Case Files newsletter. You could subscribe
to it if you go to Globe dot com slash
cold Case Files and yeah, please sign up if you can,
and you know, try to spread the word about these cases,
because you know, somewhere out there, you know, there are
people that know what happens.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Yeah, well, let's let's let's hope that they get a break.
That's that's all they need, is just one piece of information.
At this point, I'm sure that who knows, whoever might
have you know, done something to her that night. They
may be dead now, so it might be just really
(10:30):
a question of bringing some closure to the family and
knowing and getting her into a cemetery spot, getting her
remains whatever's left to them at a place where the
family can can mourn her properly. Emily is always thank
you so much. You have a great weekend and happy Thanksgiving.
We won't be talking until a week from next Thursday.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
Yeah, I hope you have a great Thanksgiving. Dan, thanks
for having me.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Thanks so much, gentle, appreciate it. When we get back,
we're going to change topics and talk about the Circle
to Sole, a wonderful experience that comes to Boston periodically.
They'll be at the Wang Center beginning on November twenty sixth,
and seventh and twenty seventh, so it's six nights from
tonight all the way up until December fourteenth at the
(11:17):
Back Center Weighing Theater. It is the well. Were talking
one of the dancers coming up on the other break
on the other side of the break here at Nightside,
my name is Dan Ray. That was a sad story.
That's a sad story, but we'll lift your spirits a
little bit talking about maybe a way you can create
a new tradition for your family around the holiday season.
(11:38):
Back on Nightside right after this.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Night Side with Dan Ray on Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Well, Christmas is around the corner. Actually, Thanksgiving is around
the corner, and Christmas is a couple of blocks away,
but it's coming at us pretty quickly. And what better
way to celebrate Christmas in the holiday season then a
performance by the Cirqua Solat. The show opens at the
Wang the Box Center at the Wang Theater on November
(12:09):
twenty sixth and twenty seventh, and they will be there
through December fourteenth. It's called Twas the Night Before, based upon,
of course, the poem the classic poem A Visit from
Saint Nicholas with Us is Micah Dubuque, a professional dancer
with Sark de Sole. Micah. I hope I've pronounced that
name correctly. If I haven't, feel free to give me
(12:32):
the correct pronunciation.
Speaker 4 (12:35):
No, you're right, Mikah Davout, that's my name.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Well, thank you very much for confirming that we finally
got one right here. So how long have you danced?
You're a professional dancer. I'm always fascinated by other people
in the entertainment business and how they arrive at the
entertainment business. How did you become a professional dancer? If
I could ask.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
So, I actually have a lot of siblings and they
all danced before me. But we started dancing when I
was five and I've been dancing for fifteen years.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
So you are a young dancer. And how long have
you danced with Circa Sola?
Speaker 1 (13:16):
This is my second year with Shy.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
And I'm struggling. Does this mean Circle of the Sun?
My French is failing me right now? Is there a
French interpretation? I assume Shirk de Solet is French.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
Yes, served being circus in English? And then son, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
You're right, okay, all right, Well I got a little
bit of it correct anyway, So tell us about this production.
Twas the night before. I've watched some of the press
kit that you folks were sending to me, and I
have sent to me very colorful lot of young people.
I'm sure that I've watched you as one of the dancers.
(14:01):
How big a dance troupe do you bring to Boston?
Speaker 4 (14:06):
Well, there's six dancers in the show, and we are
the Tuks, and we bring Isabella, which is our main character,
through the land of the poem to find her spark
for Christmas. And that's kind of like the storyline. And
there's so many cool accident there's aerial straps, there's roller skating,
(14:27):
there's hair hanging. She literally hangs from her hair. There's
so many more they're crazy.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Wow. Now a show like this, is this one that
has been done previously or is this a first time
performance of this show this season? I know that there
are troops around the country, I believe. I looked at
the schedule and I think there's some shows going on
tonight in Wisconsin, and I know, did you have more
(14:54):
than one troop going around the country? But has this
show been Is this the first year of twas the
night before or has this sort of been an annual
event for Stark Disaway.
Speaker 4 (15:06):
Yeah, so the show actually started in twenty nineteen, So
this is the sixth annual year of this show, and
it started off with just one cast, and now there's
four teams in this sixth year.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
So when I'm always curious, I know more about sports
and politics than I do about theater. Obviously, with sports,
there's a training camp in football in the summer and
baseball in the spring, and then the season starts and
all of that tell us what your year has been like.
I assume that this whole year started at some point.
(15:45):
I'm guessing in the summer where you assembled the group
and basically, you know, practiced this performance before you hit
the road. Is that the way it works?
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (15:57):
So I can't speak for the acrobats, but I think
they start about early October, and we start in October
as well, and then we trained for about one and
a half to two months and then we just take
the show on the road and do up to fifty performances.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Now, since this is a show that is themed for
December twice the night before, do you carry this on
into the new year or do you switch to another
type of performance when twenty when the calendar turns to
twenty twenty six?
Speaker 4 (16:38):
Well, since this is Circus Oway's only Christmas show, it
stops around January early January, and then after that there's
plenty of other Circus away shows in like Vegas and
touring shows and Big Top. But the Christmas show is
specifically for December.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
All right, So let's let's get a good plug here.
It is at the Bok Center Wang Theater. Have you
been to Boston before?
Speaker 4 (17:06):
I have never been to Boston, so we are super
duper excited to be performing in Boston this year.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Well, you like it a lot, did you? Grow up
in the States. Whereabouts did you grow up?
Speaker 5 (17:19):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (17:19):
I grew up in Atlanta, so.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Sure, Okay, Well, Boston is a very you'll feel like
you're in Europe in different parts of Boston. It's a
great city to be in, particularly during the month of
late November and December. You're really going to be welcomed here.
And again. The performances started the twenty sixth and twenty
seventh and they go through December fourteenth. And it's at
(17:42):
the Box Center Wang Theater. Everybody knows where that is.
And I'm assuming that tickets can be purchased. Is there
a website that tickets can be purchased directly from Cirque
to sole A or do you just want people who
will be going just go to the Box Center and
purchase a ticket the the Box Center Wing Theater in Boston,
(18:03):
which which works better for for everyone? How you make
it easy for people who want to watch you dance
and and enjoy the show.
Speaker 4 (18:12):
Yeah, so you can either purchase them at the Boxcenter
dot org right now, or they're also on sale ats website.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Perfect. I assume that's circ Cirque de sole dot com.
I'm guessing yes, Okay, good all right, okay, Michael, thank
you very much, and and early welcome to Boston. We
have great restaurants, it's a it's a very safe, safe city. UH.
And and you will enjoy uh by day and certainly
(18:42):
and also by night. So enjoy Boston for the first time.
Very nice to meet.
Speaker 4 (18:49):
You for having me.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Very welcome. Congratulations on this show. I know a lot
of people. It's gonna be it's gonna be great for
the performers and great for the for the audience. Thank
you so much. Yes, thank you. Have a great night.
When we get back, right after the news at the
bottom of the hour, we're going to talk with Carolyn Hennon.
She's a senior vice president for Comcast New England Region
(19:12):
and Comcast, through their Rise program, has held an event
this week honoring one hundred Boston areas small businesses, each
of whom received a thirty thousand dollars what's called the
Comcast Rise Grant. We will explain it all on the
other side of the break.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
You're on Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's
news radio.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
All right, welcome back everyone. Comcast has a program it's
called Rise Rise, and last night there was a big
event honoring one hundred Boston Areas small businesses who received
thirty thousand dollars, each of them thirty thousand dollars grant
to help get their business off the ground with us
(19:59):
is Caroline Caroline excuse me, Caroline Hennon, I got that right, correct, Caroline,
you did. Thanks so much, Dan, Senior Vice President of
Comcast New England Region. So tell us. We talked about
this in September, so I know a little bit about it,
but you know a lot about it. So there must
(20:22):
have been a big celebration last night. One hundreds area
small businesses competed for these grants of thirty thousand dollars.
Tell us first, what does each individual grant do for
each of these businesses? And then we can talk about
the scope of businesses, the type of businesses that you're
(20:43):
helping not only to get off the ground, but to
stay airborne.
Speaker 6 (20:48):
Okay, that sounds great. So you know, first of all,
let me tell you Comcast Rise is part of a
larger initiative called Project Up, which is Comcast one bill
initiative to connect people to the Internet and provide digital opportunity.
The Rise program specifically is really all about fueling the
(21:09):
growth of small businesses and helping them to help strengthen
their local communities. So the recipients that you were talking about,
they get a really comprehensive grant package, and it includes
a technology makeover from Comcast Business Creative Production, and a
media schedule for TV airtime from Comcast Advertising. They also
(21:31):
get educational resources, business consultation, and a five thousand dollars
monetary grant. So all of that adds up to the
thirty thousand dollars per business that you mentioned. And just
last night, we celebrated one hundred Boston area small businesses
as Comcast Rise recipients. It was really exciting.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Now, how many years has Comcast been doing this or
is this the inaugural program?
Speaker 6 (22:00):
Oh, this is actually our fifth year. We started back
in twenty twenty and since that time the program has
provided one hundred and sixty million dollars in monetary, marketing
and technology resources to more than fourteen thousand businesses across
the country.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
So do you do this every year in Boston or
is Boston picked this year and next year there'll be
some other cities picked.
Speaker 6 (22:25):
So Boston was picked this year. Every year it's different cities.
Our local teams nominate cities, and the company selects five
every year and we execute on this great program. It
takes us several months to select the recipients and start
the program with them.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Give that my listeners a sense of the variety of
businesses who you have helped in the last few days
and who won these grants last night. I assume it's
from small mom and pop businesses or startup companies, or
companies that are still probably emerging from the basement of
(23:07):
technicians and people who have great ideas.
Speaker 6 (23:11):
Exactly. Some of them are brick and mortar, some of
them are, you know, home based businesses. But it's restaurants,
it's last night, I met somebody who's a tequila distributor
professional services, even small businesses focused on the art. So
it really is a spectrum of businesses, and it's really
(23:35):
about helping them grow and helping them achieve their vision
for their business, whatever that might be.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
How big was well, the event obviously had to be
a big event. Was it held at a Comcast facility?
I just set the same for me last night. Was
it a downtown restaurant, downtown hotel? It was?
Speaker 6 (23:55):
It was Big Night Live, which everybody Knows is a
adjacent to the TV Garden, which is just an amazing venue.
We had at least a couple of hundred people there.
Seventy or one hundred Boston Greater Boston winners were there.
(24:15):
Many of them had family members with them. They were
just so proud of everything. We had a lovely event,
a panel, some good speakers, some good food, and at
the end of the evening a toast to our rise winners.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
So will you now does a Comcast work with them
going forward? They went to the event last night knowing
that they had won. But I assumed that you made
the decisions of all the businesses that applied at some
point of the last month or so.
Speaker 6 (24:49):
Yeah, So we've already started partnering with each recipient. They
found out that they were winners, I think a couple
of months ago. So we typically start with the tech
knowlogy makeover, which includes Comcast business an iPad and a
computer for their business. We've already completed fifty of the
(25:10):
one hundred technology makeovers, and then we have people working
with everyone so that they fully understand the breath of
the grant, the consulting resources, the educational resources, how to
get their TV Spot produced and set up their TV schedule.
(25:32):
So we've one interesting story where we heard last night
was from someone who you really put his five thousand
dollars grant to work. He tapped into the business consulting
resources and that really helped him understand the best place
to put the money into his business. And he invested
(25:54):
in marketing and equipment and is really convinced that this
is going to be This five thousand dollar unrestricted grant
is really going to pay dividends for him over time.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
Now, this I assume is the first year of the
Comcast has made the awards to Boston area businesses.
Speaker 6 (26:11):
Because it is it made it extra exciting for all
of us based in the New England area.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Okay, and how has it if there were four other
award years? I think you said, well, twenty twenty one,
twenty two, twenty three, twenty four, so this was really
the sixth year if you started in twenty twenty. How
successful generally? I'm sure that there are some businesses that
(26:38):
have gone through the roof, and there are probably some
that are still struggling to get off the ground. But generally,
how have the businesses that have received these grants done
in other areas, other parts of the country.
Speaker 6 (26:53):
You know, that's such a great question, Dan, and they've
done quite well. What we see five years in is
that the majority of these businesses are still open and
running and many of them are just you know, thriving.
I think when you are a small business owner, you
need to know so many things, and so many people
go in to a small business based on one thing
(27:15):
that they're good at. And what this program really does,
it's it's so comprehensive. It's really kind of a three
sixty approach to approaching their business, and so it really
does give them a leg up. We all know that
opening a small business, you know, can be risky, and
not all of them make it. But we have a
really really good track record with these recipients. We also
stay in touch with them. It's not one and done.
(27:38):
This is what I've heard from other recipients from years
ago that the Rise team is still in touch with them,
checking in how are you doing? You know. So it's
really an exciting thing to be a part of something
I'm very very proud of as an executive. But Comcast, well.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
This is exactly what a big company like Comcast do
to help people along the way. It's a great program.
I remember we talked about it in September. You gave
us a really clear explanation of it tonight, and I
just again thank Comcasts for on behalf of all of
these winners, and hopefully all of them will be successful
(28:17):
and they'll look back last night and the ceremony as
such a critical night in the development of their business.
I think it's a great effort. I wish more bigger
businesses out there would invest some time and help out
some of the smaller businesses, because obviously small business has
always been the backbone of America. We always think about
(28:39):
the big companies, you know, like Comcasts and others. But
on that pyramid there are a few big companies like
Comcasts at the top of the pyramid, and at the
base of the pyramid are all of these small businesses.
Mom and pop stores, but Daego's barbershops, you know, vetinarys,
you know veterinary clinics. They are what really does make
(29:00):
the country work and the country grow. And thanks very
much on behalf of all the winners. And I hope
that it gets back to Boston pretty soon. It will
be a few years. I'm sure that before would ever
get back here. But it sounds like you had a
great night last night, and I thank you for joining
us tonight. Thanks so much.
Speaker 6 (29:16):
Well, thank you for your interest in the Rise program
and for having me on tonight. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
Pleasure. Okay, thank you, thank you much. We'll talk so
thank you very much when we get back. A tougher
topic to discuss, and we're going to talk about the
fact that one in ten children children being defined as
anyone under the age of eighteen, experienced sexual abuse before
the age of eighteen, making sexual abuse a more common
(29:44):
affliction than any other childhood illness or injury that parents,
of course routinely deal with. And we'll get talking with
doctor ron Wynn Carrol. She's a mother of for but
she's also a pediatric medicine physician at Boston Medical. She's
written a new book. We need to be talking about this,
that's the name of the book. We will be talking
(30:06):
with doctor Brown and Carolyn Carol right after this quick
break on Nightside.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
It's Nightside with Dan Ray on Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Delighted to welcome to Nightside doctor Bronwin Carroll. She's the
mother of four pediatric emergency medicine physician at Boston Medical Center,
Doctor Carroll, Welcome to Nightside.
Speaker 5 (30:31):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
We're going to talk about a tough subject, and that
is that ten percent of children experience sexual abuse before
the age of eighteen. I'm sure from many, many sources,
both in and out of the family, but is the
more I guess is it's more common than any other
(30:54):
childhood illness or injury. To me, that's a stunning statistic.
You have written a book we need to talk to
be talking about this. I haven't read your book, but
I did look at some of the promotions, and this
is something that you never thought you'd write a book about.
Speaker 5 (31:15):
No, not at all. I really fell into this by accident.
So as a pediatric er doctor, of course, I do
see children who've been sexually assaulted and sexually abused, and
as a mom at home, I spoke to my own
kids about staying safe, but I never thought about it
beyond that. Then, earlier this year, my daughter's teacher in
Cambridge was arrested for a possession of child sexual abuse materials,
(31:40):
and after that happened, the head of school asked me
to speak at a community forum for parents to talk about,
how do you explain this teacher's arrest to kids? So
I did that and afterwards those.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
How did you do that? Because I talk about such.
Speaker 5 (31:58):
A betrayal of us, absolutely, And one of the big
problems is that this term has entered into the parenting
lexicon of quote unquote trusted adult. And the problem is
is this teacher was a quote unquote trusted adult until
the moment of his arrest, and so how do you
(32:19):
break this down for kids? So I spoke to parents
about just speaking to kids about sexual abuse, generally, speaking
to kids about pornography, speaking to kids about child sexual abuse, imagery,
because the problem is is that large numbers of kids
are exposed to pornography on the internet, either intentionally or not.
So I spoke about all these subjects, and afterwards I
(32:40):
was just inundated with messages from parents and they all
said a version of the same thing, which was that
nobody had ever spoken to them about any of this before.
And so I sort of had this realization that it
seemed impossible that as a culture, we were not speaking
to parents, giving guidance or even talking about really the
(33:01):
biggest serious threat the kids face. And after I had
that sort of aha moment. I couldn't just go back
to business as usual.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
So you've written the book. I assume the book is available,
although this obviously.
Speaker 5 (33:18):
Not yet. Not yet, Okay, here's I've learned a lot
this year. I've learned, among other things, publishing. It's quite slow.
Speaker 2 (33:28):
The book.
Speaker 5 (33:29):
The book will be out at some point.
Speaker 3 (33:30):
I'm guessing twenty.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Five Nike activity in ers when you're probably dealing with
five patients time, sometimes simultaneously. It's it's a different pace
in publishing. So when will we likely be able to
put our hands on the book.
Speaker 5 (33:45):
I am guessing in twenty twenty seven, would be my guest.
But in the meantime, you know, I do feel a
sense of urgency about this because the unfortunate reality is
of incense born in the United States in twenty two.
It's estimated that probably around three hundred thousand of them
will be sexually assaulted in the next eighteen years. So
(34:07):
I don't particularly want to wait around for, as you say,
the publishing industry, which is not the speediest apparently, And
so I am trying to provide other resources to parents,
and so I have articles in psychology today and actually
the Sun Sentinel newspaper in Florida published an op ed
this week. There was an article in the huff Post,
(34:30):
and all of that can be found on my website.
I am new to social media, not really my thing,
but I recently did join Instagram, and there I provide
reels with talking points for parents and written scripts for
how parents can have these tough conversations.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
Well, that's great, and that's important to get information a
lot of parents, even though and I don't know if
you're from Boston originally or not, not that it matters,
but we had the big pedophile pre scandal with the
Catholic ch yes Boston that really broke yest nineties, and
uh it has you know, it has just shocked people
(35:10):
that again, you know, Catholic priests were involved in this.
We find out now that there are other clergymen from
men and women I guess from from other religions. And
we we read all the time about teachers and trusted individuals.
So let's talk about a couple of your website locations.
(35:31):
So you're on Instagram that you're easy to find on Instagram?
Speaker 5 (35:35):
Where else I am? I have a website so it's
Bronwyn Carol m D b r O n w e
n c A r r O l l m D.
That's on Instagram, that's on TikTok, and that is also
my website. So it's one thing to remember. It's easy
to find, you know. As you pointed out, children are
overwhelmingly assaulted by people who they know, and it is
(35:59):
you ually, the trusted priest, the friendly teacher, the beloved coach,
the you know, esteemed member of the community. And the
bad news is that those people are everywhere, so you
may not you know, you're not going to recognize them necessarily.
I always say that the biggest threat to your kids
(36:20):
may be the nicest guy you know. But the good
news is is child predators are like a football team
that keeps winning with a single play, and it's like
nobody's bothered to watch the tapes to figure that out.
So if we can just teach parents and kids to
recognize and defend the child predator play, we can really
(36:43):
make the world a safer place for kids.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
I am just going to do with your permission, just
go over the website one more time, so it's braun
sure and so it's b r w E N and
then the last name is Carol C A R R
O L L with MD at the end obviously indicating
doctor and it's dot com or or what is it?
Speaker 5 (37:08):
Yep dot com? Bronwyncarrol MD dot com.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
Okay, and there you empower parents to protect children. Here's
just a couple of questions. I've been through the parenting thing.
My children are in their thirties now, but we have
two grandchildren, a little boy who's three and a half
and a baby granddaughter who is just seven months old.
(37:33):
So can't talk to the baby granddaughter yet. But what
should I or what should their parents be doing with
the three and a half year When is it too
early to talk? And when when is it too late?
Speaker 3 (37:50):
Yep?
Speaker 5 (37:50):
So here's actually what I would say that you your
kids should do. You should talk to the baby granddaughter,
not because she's going to understand anything that you're saying,
but because it gives parents practice saying hard things. And
the three and a half year old is listening. So
the easiest place to start is with bodily autonomy. And
(38:12):
so while you're giving the baby girl a bath, probably
her big brother is playing nearby, and you talk about
how I'm giving you a bath because I'm your mom,
and we're going to keep you clean. But your body
is for you, it's not for anybody else. That's it simple.
We start there, then the next thing, and the three
(38:32):
and a half year old is old enough to begin this.
This is the single. If you're only going to give
your kids one message, what it should be is that
adults do not ask kids to keep secrets. Now, a
secret is different from a surprise. With a surprise, the
person's going to find out and be happy. So a
surprise is baking Daddy a cake for his birthday. Secrets
(38:53):
are different. With a secret, the person's never supposed to
find out, and if they did, they presumably wouldn't be happy.
So for child predators to succeed, they need three things.
They need access to a child, they need compliance from
the child, and they need to maintain secrecy. So if
kids just learned from an early age and we make
this a cultural norm that adults don't ask kids to
(39:16):
keep secrets, we can right there start keeping kids safer.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
I'll tell you that was a brilliant presentation in less
than a minute, I think everyone can absorb it again.
The website very simple b rn W E N BRON
When Carol c R R L L with an MD
dot com. I will look forward to having you back.
Maybe we'll have you back some night and spend an
(39:42):
hour and take phone calls from listeners.
Speaker 5 (39:44):
If that would work for you, I would love that.
I want to spread the word, and I so appreciate
your supporting me in getting this message out there.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
Sounds great, Doctor Carroll, appreciate it. Hope you and your
family have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Speaker 5 (40:00):
Enjoy those grandchildren.
Speaker 2 (40:01):
I sure will. When we get back, we're going to
be talking with an attorney from Boston. She's been on
the show before. You know where is Wendy Attorney Wendy Murphy,
And we're going to talk about a piece of legislation
and that she believes is very dangerous at the legislature.
We'll be back on night Side right after the nine
o'clock news
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