Say More
Big ideas and big debates, explained through intimate conversations with the compelling personalities who shape them. AI and biotech. Higher education and health care. Climate and sustainability. Politics and the media. Culture and culture wars. Hosted by Boston Globe columnist Shirley Leung.
Episodes
October 16, 2025 • 28 mins
The exact causes of autism are unknown - but you wouldn’t know that from listening to President Trump and his health secretary RFK Jr., who recently announced Tylenol was to blame. The science behind the announcement is not solid - but more troublingly, it falls into an old pattern of blaming mothers for autism, which creates a culture of stigma, says Maura Sullivan, CEO of The Arc of Massachusetts, an advocacy group for people wit...
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October 9, 2025 • 24 mins
The Boston Museum of Fine Arts has announced a major reshuffle of its American Revolutionary War galleries. The goal, it says, is to tell an ‘inclusive’ story of America’s founding. Meanwhile, in Washington, President Trump has threatened the Smithsonian over similar moves. Globe editorial page editor Jim Dao talks to Ethan Lasser, curator of American Art at the MFA, about the museum’s plans and the threat of government censorship....
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October 2, 2025 • 29 mins
This is a re-run of the first episode of our series "The C-Word" which originally aired May 1, 2025.
Boston Globe columnist Shirley Leung is generally open about her personal life. But this is the first time she is talking publicly about her own experience with breast cancer. She was treated in Boston hospitals and underwent a mastectomy. Like so many others, she will spend the rest of her life getting tested to make sure she st...
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September 25, 2025 • 23 mins
President Donald Trump wants Harvard to cough up at least $500 million. Longtime Harvard professor Steven Pinker says it's extortion. And Harvard should do it anyway. Globe columnist Carine Hajjar, filling in for host Shirley Leung, talks to Steven Pinker about caving to the Trump administration and where to draw the line. Email us at saymore@globe.com.
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September 18, 2025 • 21 mins
The Market Basket board of directors fired its CEO, 'Artie T.' Demoulas, on September 9th after a very public - and very nasty - succession battle. Host Shirley Leung and Globe Business Reporter Jon Chesto get into the messy family dynamics and how other New England business dynasties manage to make it work. Email us at saymore@globe.com.
Check out more about the detailed family history of Market Basket on The Globe:https://www...
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September 11, 2025 • 17 mins
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu trounced challenger Josh Kraft in Tuesday’s preliminary election for Boston mayor. What makes Wu so successful? And can she be a model for Democrats nationally? Say More host Shirley Leung talks to Boston Globe politics reporter Emma Platoff and columnist Joan Vennochi about the ‘Trump effect’ on the mayoral election. Email us at saymore@globe.com.
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September 4, 2025 • 29 mins
It's perhaps never been more exhausting to be a mom. In her book, "Repair with Self-Care: Your Guide to the Mom's Hierarchy of Needs" author Leslie Forde calls on moms to find to put themselves first and prioritize their own health and well being, even when things are busy.
Leslie Forde joins host Shirley Leung on today's episode of Say More.
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August 28, 2025 • 39 mins
Today, we’re bringing you the third and final installment of The Outlaw Ocean podcast’s investigation into the shadowy work of the Libyan Coast Guard. The podcast looks into efforts to capture and detain migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea in the hopes of a new life in Europe.
This week’s episode describes how members of the Outlaw Ocean team were arrested and detained in Libya while they were investigating its network of mig...
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August 21, 2025 • 51 mins
More than 50 million people make their living working offshore on the two-thirds of our planet covered by water.
Today, we’re bringing you episode two from the second season of “The Outlaw Ocean,” a podcast from the Outlaw Ocean Project, a journalism non-profit that investigates human rights, forced labor, and environmental concerns on our planet's seas.
Today’s episode picks up where last week’s episode left off, so if you mis...
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August 14, 2025 • 30 mins
More than 50 million people make their living working offshore on two-thirds of our planet covered by water.
The non-profit Outlaw Ocean Project is dedicated to exploring human rights violations, forced labor, and environmental problems that plague the world’s oceans. Over the next few weeks, we’re bringing you a three-part story from the second season of The Outlaw Ocean podcast.
Today, in part 1, Outlaw Ocean explores the eff...
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August 7, 2025 • 29 mins
It wasn’t long ago that finding an Asian American novelist in a local bookstore felt like finding a rare flower. Today, the options overflow.
Viet Thanh Nguyen was on the leading edge of that wave. His first novel, The Sympathizer, won the Pulitzer Prize in 2016. Since then he has written a sequel, a collection of short stories, books for children, and a book about the Vietnam War. He’s also become an important public intellectu...
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July 31, 2025 • 29 mins
In 2018, the Supreme Court struck down a law that banned sports betting, and ushered in a new era of gambling.
Sports betting has become a multi-billion dollar industry. It’s as ubiquitous as it is lucrative.
In his new book “Losing Big: America’s Reckless Bet on Sports Gambling” Jonathan Cohen argues that the rise of online sports betting, fueled by the convenience of mobile phones, is leading to an out-of-control industry th...
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July 24, 2025 • 27 mins
Democrats are at a crossroads. According to recent polling from CNN, just 28% of Americans view the party favorably. The lowest rating in the poll’s 30-plus year history.
Critics say the party lacks vision, and fails to connect with voters. Some say, the party is out of touch. Others believe it’s simply gone too far to the left. But there are new voices looking to dictate a path forward for Democrats, as they work to gain back tru...
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July 17, 2025 • 21 mins
The Michelin Guide is known for identifying the crème de la crème of dining in the nation’s hottest cities. And for the first time, it’s coming to Boston. Today on Say More, Shirley Leung is joined by Boston Globe Restaurant Critic Devra First to discuss what Michelin means for the city, and how the challenges facing Boston restaurants, including high rents and the steep cost of living, are impacting industry workers and diners a...
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July 10, 2025 • 22 mins
It's a uniquely challenging time for our nation's medical community. The Trump administration has set its sites on slashing federal funding for healthcare and research by tens of billions of dollars, which could be catastrophic for the NIH and CDC.
Funding is tenuous to say the least. Then there's mounting political pressure to restrict access to care for low income families on Medicaid plus care for at-risk health groups like tr...
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July 2, 2025 • 12 mins
The 4th of July. What does it mean to you?
This week it's America's birthday, a day that recognizes the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a blueprint for Democracy. It's a celebration that comes around every year, yet this time it feels different.
Globe Opinion asked readers and community members to reflect on what it means to be an American today. Tune into this special episode featuring a heartfelt collection of voice...
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June 26, 2025 • 26 mins
Kevin Sack is a longtime reporter who spent much of his career writing long-form pieces for the New York Time. Then in 2015, he helped cover one of the most horrific massacres in recent US history, the killing of nine parishioners who were attending Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
The story launched Sack on what would become a 10 year project to document the history of...
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June 19, 2025 • 33 mins
Today, we’re sharing a special episode from Endless Thread, a podcast from our friends at WBUR.
Brooke Eby was 33 when she was diagnosed with ALS. Since then, she’s gained a huge following for her honest and often hilarious videos about the realities of living with the disease. In this episode, Brooke speaks with Endless Thread hosts Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson about the long road to her diagnosis, how humor has helped ...
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June 12, 2025 • 23 mins
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement is making itself known in Massachusetts. Federal immigration officials say they’ve arrested nearly 1,500 people over the last month in what they're calling, “Operation Patriot.” ICE officers have taken people off the streets, on their way to school, and from courthouses. They’ve made it clear that the Commonwealth is a target. Today on Say More, Boston Globe Politics Reporter Samant...
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June 5, 2025 • 25 mins
With the moving of tassels and tossing of caps, the school year has come to a close at Harvard. And what a tumultuous year it has been. President Donald Trump has gone to war with the nation's most elite university. The White House has canceled a sweeping array of grants and contracts worth billions of dollars with no plans to let up. Then, in late May, Trump moved to prohibit international students from enrolling at Harvard. Harva...
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