August 26, 2024 • 37 mins
We kicked off the program with four news stories and different guests on the stories we think you need to know about!
Recovering locked Facebook accounts is a nightmare. That’s on purpose, says Tatum Hunter – WaPo Tech Reporter.
Monday was National Dog Day! 5 ways to make a difference in the lives of our canine companions and help to take Massachusetts a no-kill state. With Aurora Velasquez, Director of Eastern Region for Best Friends Animal Society.
Sabrina Lam – Boston Globe correspondent tells us about a Celtics-themed corn maze at Kimball Farm in Haverhill.
U.S. centenarian population is projected to quadruple over the next 30 years, with Katherine Schaeffer - Research analyst at The Pew Research Center.
Ask Alexa to play WBZ NewsRadio on #iHeartRadio!
Recovering locked Facebook accounts is a nightmare. That’s on purpose, says Tatum Hunter – WaPo Tech Reporter.
Monday was National Dog Day! 5 ways to make a difference in the lives of our canine companions and help to take Massachusetts a no-kill state. With Aurora Velasquez, Director of Eastern Region for Best Friends Animal Society.
Sabrina Lam – Boston Globe correspondent tells us about a Celtics-themed corn maze at Kimball Farm in Haverhill.
U.S. centenarian population is projected to quadruple over the next 30 years, with Katherine Schaeffer - Research analyst at The Pew Research Center.
Ask Alexa to play WBZ NewsRadio on #iHeartRadio!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on BZ Boston's news video.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
And ironically, Jansen was also the last batter in today's
game in the bottom of the ninth for the Red
Sox when he struck out and the game ended. So
he was the last batter for the Blue Jays when
the game was suspended, and the last batter tonight when
the game ended a couple of months later. Pretty weird,
one of those weird things in the world. My name's
(00:27):
Dan Ray. I'm not weird. No no, no, no no.
I'm your talk show host. I am your voice of reason,
the guy who holds forth here Monday through Friday night
from eight until midnight, was along with Rob Brooks, who
was back in the control room getting set for all
of your phone calls, which will only begin after the
nine o'clock a newscast, because during this hour we talked
(00:49):
to four newsmakers, four people who have done a story
that might be of interest to you. I hope they'll
all be of interest to you. Coming up tonight at
nine o'clock, we'll be talking with the Auditor the State
Order of the Commwealth of Massachusetts, the Honorable Diana Desaglio.
She's just released an auditor of the Massachusetts Convention Center
(01:10):
Authority that drew a lot of attention discovering disturbing and
unlawful practices. Also going to talk about her push to
be in a non disclosure agreements in state government, as
well as a ballot question next November, which I'm supporting
and I hope all of you are as well, which
would give her as the state auditor, the right to
(01:32):
audit the state legislature. All of these issues, by the way,
I kind of all intertwined. We'll explain that, and then
later on tonight will Donald Trump and the Vice President
of the United States, Vice President Kamala Harris ever debate.
They're debating now whether they're going to debate on September
tenth on ABC. But before we get to all of
(01:53):
that a little bit later on, let's get to the
matter at he end. We're going to talk with Tatum
Hunter about the seemingly impossible, totally impossible task of recovering
your Facebook account if somehow, some way you either are
(02:14):
locked out by a hacker or you inadvertently lock yourself
out by not remembering your password. Tatum Hunter, Washington Post
Technical Technology reporter. Welcome, Tatum, How are you.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
I'm doing good. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
How difficult is it to get back into your Facebook account?
I find Facebook a complete enigma. I mean, it's a
mystery wrapped in an enigma. I have no idea. It's
like a Gordian knot why we even do it. God
only knows why this is easier than becoming an astronaut
(02:51):
or becoming the president of the United States. I think.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
You might be right. I found that once people lose
access to that Facebook account, they're shocked by the way
that they're kind of dumped into this, you know, healthscape
of not being able to get support, not being able
to get answers, and not being able to get back in.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
So it's sort of like a modern day purgatory. You
don't know, you can't get to heaven and you can't
I mean, it's well, maybe it's a hell of sort. Seriously,
why does Facebook make this so impossible? There's no way
to contact anyone. I wish I had Zuckerberg's number and
I'd call them directly. And Quesse, it's no longer even Facebook.
What do they call it now? Metta?
Speaker 3 (03:35):
Yeah, metas metas the umbrella you know company and then
you've got the app Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp inside of there,
and you know it's I'm glad you mentioned it because
I've found this to be true for Instagram as well,
that when people get locked out of their accounts, they
really really struggle to recover them. And that's because it
seems from the outside like Meta dedicates a starting start,
(03:58):
startlingly low number of resources to this problem. And part
of that might be because the easier you make account recovery,
the easier it becomes for hackers to take advantage of
that process. So making it hard to get into accounts
can be a good thing because it like keeps our
accounts safe. But then also they seem to kind of,
you know, not have employees enough employees dedicated to this,
(04:23):
to helping people, given that you know, millions and millions
of people have Facebook accounts and it's actually for a
lot of people this huge part of our lives where
we're coordinating work or childcare or other other important things.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Do they actually care at all? Honesty? I mean you
you really immersed yourself in this. I don't think they care.
I really don't.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
I think that you know, Facebook's real customers are advertisers. Right,
it's free to use if you're like you and me.
So you know, the people that are really beholden to
are the people paying money and that, and that's not
you and me. So I think that for them, the
cost of helping people with account recovery might be higher
than the cost of just losing a user here and
(05:09):
there and just kind of letting them, letting them languish.
But another problem arises because you know, somebody ends up
doing network and too often it's organizations like the Identity
Theft Resource Center, like the Federal Trade Commission kind of fielding,
and people like me in my inbox fielding these questions
(05:29):
about how to get back into a Facebook account because
the company itself doesn't seem to be helping.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
So is there any sort of I hate to bring
up the whole question of morality because I think that
we're not a particularly moral nation at this point. I
think everybody wants to get what they can get. Does
Facebook feel any sort of like moral obligation to the
people who they have accepted as members? I mean, people
have wedding pictures and babies pictures and important information on
(05:58):
their Facebook account. Don't and you have too you know,
two factor authentication, which is readily available. I mean, they
couldn't come up with a system which would allow them
to figure out first. And of course the most immoral
people of all are the hackers. You know, who's whose
idea of getting kicks and jolly's as opposed going out
(06:19):
and interacting with people, is to just hack into people's
accounts from the from the basements of their mother's home.
You know, it's so frustrating, and it's just so frustrating,
and you must be even more frustrated having gone through this.
Is there any morality involved in this at all? Or no?
Speaker 3 (06:36):
I think that's a beautiful question, and I think that
while it's while it's totally impossible to answer, I'm sure
there are individual employees a lot of these big tech
companies who who might care deeply about users and who
you know, want to make the world a better place.
But I think that it's important as users of technology
to remember that these companies are motivated by profit. And
(06:59):
you know, for example, well at Facebook, you know that
Zuckerberg's you know, famous line with move fast and break things,
and as in Facebook's history as a company, you know,
we've seen to get in again that they tend to
fix problems after they've come up and discover problems after
something horrible has happened, right, because they've scaled so profoundly,
(07:20):
so quickly. So I think that I think that it's
an interesting question because really, while we feel it really acutely, right,
you get locked out of your account, you're like, man,
Facebook doesn't even care about me, because it's word to
remember that, like, right.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
They didn't.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
They didn't care about you when you were in your
account either, But now you're feeling I.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Think there's the solution is for Congress to take away
that three twenty, that section three twenty protection from Facebook.
That'll get their attention, that'll get the owners of Facebook's,
the people who run Facebook's attention they have. They have
a very protected realm. They can do whatever the hell
they want, and they going to be immune from from
(08:01):
all sorts of lawsuits. One of the few institutions in
this country that is immune from any form of legal action,
legal recourse. I think.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
I was going to say, for anyone who's not familiar
with section two thirty, it just means.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
That thirty I misspoke. I meant to say two thirty
I misspoke.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
I pull, Oh, you're fine. Yeah, Like it just makes
these companies, you know, they don't have legal liability for
what their users post. And there have been instances where
hackers have you know, posted, have posted you know, sex
abuse material, have have you know, gone on to spread
scams and fraud, and so that that happens as lower
(08:42):
hackers get their hands on accounts and go on to
post harmful stuff.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Every everything that is new is not necessarily good. I
think that's that's the rule of thumb, and Facebook would
be exhibit a in that in that category, Hunt Tatum,
I really enjoyed our conversation. I'm delighted that there are
people like you out there who know a lot about
this stuff than I do. And I hope that I'm
very serious. I hope that your work will basically mobilize
(09:10):
people to say get to their members of Congress and say, hey,
do something about this. You know you this is one
thing that Congress could actually have an impact on if
they wanted to. But I don't think this the lobbyist Facebook.
Lobbyists have too much money and too much influence. Tatum,
thanks so much for joining us. Love to have you back.
(09:30):
I enjoyed the conversation.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Thanks for having me, You're very welcome.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
When we get back, they say every dog has its day. Well,
today is the day for every dog. It is National
Dog Day. I'm going to talk with Aurora Velasquez about
how we can celebrate National Dog Day back on nights
out after this. Now back to Dan Ray Live from
the Window World Nice Side Studios. I'm WBZ News Radio. Well,
(09:58):
as I mentioned before, there's an old saying that every
dog has its day. Well, every dog has a day today,
It's National Dog Day. There are five ways to make
a difference in the lives of our canine companions and
helped to make Massachusetts totally a no kill state. With
me is Aurora Velasquez, the director of the Eastern Region
(10:20):
for Best Friends Animal Society. I love dogs, Aurora. Let
me tell you, all dogs, all cats, all pets go
to Heaven. How are you tonight, I'm great.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
That's how I end my show. My son has a
Shorky who I spent a lot of the weekend with
part Shorky, a Shorky, part Shitsu in part Yorky. My
daughter has a beautiful, beautiful Corgie that she adopted from
an animal shelter just about a year ago, and I
was once the proud and happy owner of I think
(10:53):
the best breed of all and that is a Cavalier
King Charles Spaniel. So what's going on? What can we
do to help make Massachusetts a state where all dogs
who are in shelters are allowed to prosper and find
it a forever home.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (11:11):
I love that question, especially today, So Best Friends Animal Society.
You know, our goal is to help the whole country
get to Nokie, and we want to see that happen
in twenty twenty five. The great news about Massachusetts is
you guys are almost there, and there are a couple
of really easy ways to get there. Get a ninety
(11:34):
percent savorate, which is how we define no kill. You know,
one of the most obvious, I think adoption. You know,
there are always people looking to bring new animals into
their home, and we want them to think adoption first.
You may have to go to the shelter a couple
of times, but new animals are coming in all the time.
You absolutely can find the exact pet that you're looking for,
(11:57):
or you may find one that surprises you. For folks
who aren't ready to adopt. You know, maybe that commitment
just isn't in the cards for them. Fostering is another
great option. Gives the animal break from the shelter. Shelters
can be really stressful and gives you, you know, a
cuddle buddy for the weekend or a hiking partner to
(12:19):
get you up off the couch and out into the world.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Yeah. Well that's what my daughter did. She actually went
to the Situate animal shelter. She was looking for a corgy,
and uh, I never realized what what what a lovable dog?
Mustard the corky his it's just incredible or these are great? Yeah,
I never realized it. I always thought of them as
(12:42):
kind of be Queen Elizabeth's dog or something, and they
would have to follow a few paces behind the queen
or something. But oh, Jess wants to play. And when
he sees you come downstairs in the morning, he howls
with delight. I mean he literally howls with delight. It's
it's that's sweet, amazing sound. And he wants to keep
as many people in the room. If someone leaves the room,
(13:07):
they have a hurting instinct. He will go get that
person and kind of force them back into the room.
It's amazingly an amazing dog, but all dogs are amazing
and I just think the work that you're doing is
so important. Also, you know, in some of our states
(13:27):
to our south, unfortunately there's a lot of pets who
are abandoned for some reason. I don't know why it
happens that way, but there's always new dogs and I'm
not so sure about cats, but new dogs coming up
from the south. Why is that? Why is it that
(13:50):
so many strays? Is it the weather that allows them
to survive down there that they couldn't survive in New England?
What's the what's the backstory on that? If you can
tell the.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
Weather certainly plays a part in it. You know, the
laws of nature. Animals reproduce when the weather is nice
and warm, and you know, are going to help young,
fragile animals survive. So certainly areas of the country where
a bit more temperate and they don't have the cold winters,
we definitely see more animals, you know, born into the community.
(14:24):
But also, you know, not every part of the country
is as fortunate as the northeast when it comes to
resources and industry. You know, there's a long history in
the northeastern part of the United States of business and agriculture,
and you know, just a whole host of resources that
(14:48):
really help communities be prosperous and not impacts not only
people but animals as well. You know, there's accessible veterinary care,
animals are spaded and neutered at higher rates than the
North Feast, and so all of those things really have
created a situation where New England is a little bit
(15:09):
ahead of many many other parts of the country. And
what's remarkable about that is, as you said, now part
of the country is lending a hand to other areas
that aren't as fortunate. We do see dogs and cats,
you know, transported into the New England area because sometimes
there are homes that can't find the exact right animal
(15:32):
they're looking for, but maybe a shelter in Alabama has them,
and so getting them over there and getting that dog
or cat into a home.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
So how can folks get in touch with your organization,
Best Friends Animal Society and what can they do to help?
Speaker 4 (15:49):
So everything goes through our website best Friends dot Org.
One thing that I love to recommend to people when
visiting our website is checking out our life saving dashboard
and that can give you everything from a national overview
of you know, what's happening in animal welfare across the country.
But then folks can also zoom into their state, their counties,
(16:12):
their community and see what's going on at the local shelters,
and you know, maybe you know, somebody sees a local
shelter that could use a hand, and maybe they decide
to volunteer and go in and walk some dogs or
donate some supplies, you know, soft beds and treats. So
it really can help folks not only have the big picture,
(16:33):
but understand and get involved locally, which is so important.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Sounds great, Aurora, Thank you so much, Thank you so
much for what you do. Thanks for joining us tonight
and keep us posted whenever you need to talk about
this issue. Or we are all ears here on nightside.
Trust me, we're all animal lovers here on nightside.
Speaker 4 (16:52):
Sounds great. Thank you so much, very welcome.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
And again, if you have a dog, or if it's
not too late, there's still three and a half hours
left in National Dog Day, him an extra give him
or her an extra treat, maybe a hug. Let us
sleep in the bed tonight. Whatever it is, Whatever it is,
making a special day for your dog, and I guess
you can do it for your cat as well, even
though it is National dog damn sure, there's a National
cat Day. Now. On the other side of the news break,
(17:17):
which is coming up, we'll be talking about a Boston
Celtics themed corn maze. Corn Maze is a big deal
and we got one coming up as we get into
the corn growing season and we get into the fall,
So this is one you may want to mark down
on your calendar. We'll explain it all right here on WBZ,
(17:39):
Boston's News Radio. By the way, you're listening to WBZ,
if you're listening to us in a car somewhere, or
you picked us up on your your radio at home
ten thirty in the am, I'll walk us in. And
if you can't pick us up for some whatever reason,
or you happen to be listening tonight and you can't
pick us up at home, you can always just go
(18:00):
to our iHeart radio app. It's free and you can
listen to WBZ News Radio, Boston's News Radio. My name's
Dan Ray. This is Nightside. We'll be back right after
these news break and a couple of messages.
Speaker 5 (18:15):
Night Side with Dan Ray, I'm Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
All right, it's getting two of that season. Labor Day
is that week away, okay, just just a week from
today as a matter of fact, and all of us,
of course, none of us are really happy about the
passing of summer, but there's nothing we can do about it.
But one of the great things about summertime in New
England is you can get out, go to some area farms,
pick some apples, or get lost in a corn maze.
(18:43):
Joining us is Sabrina Lamb. She's a Boston Globe correspondent. Sabrina,
Welcome to Nightside. How are you tonight?
Speaker 1 (18:51):
I'm doing very well. How are you doing?
Speaker 2 (18:53):
You're just great. You wrote an interesting piece which we
saw in the Boston Globe about a Boston celt esteemed
corn maze up at Kimball Farm in Havevir. I think
most people know about Kimball Farm. They've done this corn
maze project for some time now. Tell us a little
bit of the history of it, and tell us, obviously,
(19:15):
there's good reason to pick the Celtics for corn maze
this this year. They just won title number eighteen.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Yeah, so you're exactly right. They did pick this year
to do a Celtics steamed corn maze in light of
the eighteenth championship win. The owner, Tyler Kimball, and his
wife are very big fans of the Celtics, and I've
never done a Celtics themed corn maze, so they thought,
why not do it this year? And I know their
farm has been doing custom design corn maze since nineteen
(19:49):
ninety nine, so this will be their twenty fourth annual
custom maize. And they're very excited about this year because
it's not only personal to them because they're such big fans,
but you know a lot of people in Boston also
love the Celtics, so they're excited to bring that to
the community.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
So I have never been to a corn maze. I
have a friend of mine who got lost in a
corn maze once. Uh, it's a fun experience. Have you
ever done a corn maze yourself? You're up to I
have no idea how high the coin is at this point,
but I assume it's starting to get up up there
by the end of August. Correct.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Yes, I've heard that it's very high. Unfortunately, I've never
done a corn maze, which is surprising because I've done
all the other fall festivities like pumpkin patches and state
fairs and stuff, but never a corn maze. So I
guess this one would be a good opportunity to go
to my first one.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Now, tell as I understand it, there's a cost to participate,
both for adults and kids that I think to some
break for active duty military personnel, which is great. So
it takes a lot of effort to create this corn maze.
Anyone who has seen the people the picture in the
globe tell us what the area of view shows. Besides eighteen,
(21:05):
they also have Lucky the lepre call in the from
obviously ten thousand feet or five thousand feet. What do
you say?
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Yeah, So that aerial picture was taken a little bit
ago and put it on Facebook, and that's how the
globe actually found the farm and the corn maze. So
I spoke to Tyler. He said that the whole corn
maze is dedicated to different Celtics little themes. So there's
obviously the huge Lucky the Leprechaun on the right, and
(21:38):
in the center is the number eighteen kind of over
like a three leaf shamrock, obviously for their eighteen championship.
Underneath it is a horseshoe just just to represent like
a lucky horseshoe, and then on the right is a
long cursive just kimbal farm. And I believe they received
help from another Missouri based company actually called Precision Mases
(22:02):
to help them create the design and plant it all out.
And I know they planted the corn in June and
it took them around two to three days to have
everything kind of fully mowed in, so.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
They basically cut it out and all of that. And
how many did you get a sense from them, since
they've been doing this for nearly a quarter century, how
many people will venture up to haveoral to walk through
whatever themed corn maze they have developed any year? Is
I assume it's a pretty big attraction.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Yeah, yeah, I think that from my knowledge, it is
a pretty big attraction for them because people in the
area and just people Massachusetts in general, there's a big
thing with just very fun family funding false festivities. So
I know that also since this is like a very
long running the thing they do, that it's been pretty
well received. But I know that this year specifically, they've
(22:57):
seen an even bigger amount of people really being interested
in the corn maze and their best guess is that
you know at CEL sixteen, then people in Boston and
people in Massachusetts are just very, very passionate about their
sports teams.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
So did they give you some idea when you when
you did the story as to how many people they
might expect this year or any any estimates?
Speaker 1 (23:20):
No exact number. Unfortunately I did not get an exact number.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Okay, but I was hoping maybe for an estimate. I
assume that to do something of this complexity, it's not
something It's not like someone mowing their back lawn on
a half an acre and putting some of this. This
is a huge project. It's it's it's there's a charge
associated with going to it. I think, if I'm not mistaken,
(23:46):
you did describe that in the Global article. What's what
are the costs? It's it's not outrageously expensive, right.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
No, I wouldn't say so. I think, let me check.
It's fifteen dollars for adults, and then the four children
who are at thirteen and under it's eleven dollars, and
then there's an additional five dollars discounts for veterans and
active duty.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
So you can kind of just get lost in the
corn maze and meet other people and wear your Celtics
jerseys or whatever, and think about how good is going
to be when they win in nineteenth title next year.
And I think they have a pretty good shot at
it because this team has stayed together, and I assume
(24:27):
that at the farm there's probably some apple grooves and
other things that people can participate. It sounds like it
could be a great day Saturday or Sunday for the
entire family, great family entertainments.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
All right, Sabrina, thanks very much for having joined us.
We will follow this along and it'll be interesting. Maybe
we'll have Tyler Kimball come on as we get a
little closer to the day and he could answer some
of those questions about how many They must have some
idea about how many people will be going up there.
I bet you they expect big crowds this year. So
when when is it open? Now, by the way, that's
(25:02):
that's my last question. Is it available this weekend? If
people are anytime this week? Is? It's all set up
right at this.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Point, so not just yet next weekend, not this upcoming
weekend Labor day?
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Okay, so at the weekend after Labor Day. Glad I
asked that question, I would have had people Nightside listeners
heading to Haveril to no Avail. It's always the question
you almost don't ask, Sabrina. That is the most important
of all. Thanks for hanging with me. Appreciated, Sabrina. We'll
talk again, Okay.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Thanks, yes, of course, thanks.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
All right, when we get back, our final guest tonight
is going to talk about a very interesting phenomenon in
the next thirty years. The population of Americans living to
the age of one hundred and beyond. The centenarian population
is projected to quadruple over the next thirty years. We're
(25:58):
going to talk with Katerina Schaefer, a research analyst at
the Pew Research Center, Great Research Center. When we get
back here on Nightside, stay with us. My name's Dan Ray.
This is Nightside. We're going to be talking with State
Auditor Diana Desauglia about a number of issues she is
immersed in, and I gotta tell you she wants to
do her job. The legislature is not so keen about
(26:20):
the idea, but she's ready to go. All right, We'll
we'll talk to her right after the nine and we
will talk about one of the chances you know, some
of you and my audience might actually live to one
hundred or more. Hey, it's it's going to be happening
to some of you. Stay with us. We'll tell you
what your shots, what your chances are. Now back to
(26:42):
Dan ray Line from the Window World.
Speaker 5 (26:45):
Nightside Studios on WBZ, the news radio.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Well, if you're listening to Nightside, then I have some
good news for you. The chances that you might live
to one hundred are much better than the chances of
your forebears. Your ancestors with us is Catherine, who's written
incorrectly when I introduced her earlier. It's Katherine Schaeffer. She's
a research analyst for the Pew Research Center. And Catherine,
(27:09):
this is I guess one of your areas of expertise.
How are you tonight? Right?
Speaker 5 (27:15):
How are you?
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Dan? Doing just fine? Doing just fine? Here? And look,
everybody thinks, oh, you know, how long will I live?
And now it looks like according to your research, our
sentitinarian population will quadruple over the next thirty years. What's
(27:36):
going on? I assume there's a number of factors that
are at play here.
Speaker 5 (27:41):
Yes, that is true. And I will say although the
number of centenarians is growing and will continue to grow.
It still is fairly unusual for folks to live to
be one hundred. In the United States. Right now, there
are only about one hundred and one thousand people who
are one hundred years or older, according to the Census Bureau.
(28:04):
So maybe a small, mid size city is worth Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Yeah, Well, Boston has a population about seven hundred thousand
at night. During the day because of all the people
coming in here becomes a much more active metropolitan area.
So it'd be about one seventh of Boston's you know,
maybe the size of Worcester or Providence, Rhode Island. But
(28:29):
it's still a lot of people. I think. I read
recently that the oldest living I think it was the
oldest living American passed away last week at the age
of one hundred and seventeen. We're just not built for
that sort of longevity. Why is it increasing? Is it
simply that as our population, and particularly baby boomers, start
(28:52):
to age. I mean, you have this here that it's
going to triple in the next few years and quadruple
over the next thirty years. I guess that would include
a lot of baby boomers in that category.
Speaker 5 (29:07):
It is true, so US population sixty five and older
in general is going to grow quite a bit over
the next thirty years, and as a subset of that
folks who are one hundred years or older. There are
several reasons for the numbers growing. My analysis didn't look
(29:31):
too much of those specific reasons, but a lot of
other researchers have weighed in on the topic, and just
in general, in the US and around the world, life
expectancies are increasing, and that's in part to just that
we have better medical care right than past generations did,
so people are able to live longer, healthier lives.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
I would also think that probably, and again I'm not
a researcher here, but I would think that we o
living in a society in a world when our jobs
there were fewer of the dangerous jobs. I mean people
used to There was a when we were an agricultural
society that a lot of people who are working on
the farm, and you you, when you're working with heavy
(30:14):
equipment and a mistake is made, it can be very costly.
Whereas if you're working as a CPA or you know,
a tax tax attorney, there's other than maybe you know,
stubbing stubbing your toe on your desk. I'm assuming that
is as this, as we have evolved as a society
(30:35):
from agrarian agricultural to where we are today, that has
to be a factor as well. I'm assuming.
Speaker 5 (30:44):
You know, it could well be. Like I said, my
research didn't look too much at that. But I also
imagine that, like I said, the healthcare aspect of it
helps too. Rite So if you stub your toe, you're
less likely to need to get it amputated.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
I would think, oh, yes, I definitely would think so,
but that that would be sort of the problem that
people in white collar jobs would face. So also, the
thing that is interesting to me that this year you
mentioned that we have about one hundred thousand centurians centerarians.
(31:21):
I should see sent ten aarians. Centenarians seventy eight seventy
eight percent women, twenty two percent men. So did your
research look at that factor at all or no?
Speaker 5 (31:38):
Yeah, this is an interesting, interesting trend. So we know
that women in general, pretty much anywhere you look in
the world have longer life expectancies than men do, and
there are a bunch of reasons for this, but this
is kind of what you're seeing with this group of centenarians, right,
(31:59):
because it's such a small portion of the population already.
So any trend that is playing out in the wider population,
you're going to see magnified here with this group of
aging adults.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
Oh sure, yeah, so.
Speaker 5 (32:13):
Yeah, and we do see so over the next thirty years,
we do see that men are going to make up
a slightly larger percentage of the hundred plus population, but
they'll still only be about a third. Women will far
outnumber them even still.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
But there's no reason for that that we know of,
other than maybe what women are more intelligent and take
better care of themselves than men. I'm still trying to
figure that out out. I think it has.
Speaker 5 (32:44):
I think it has. Like I said, not my my
area of expertise, so there's much more reading that your
listeners can do. But it does have something to do
with like with body physiology you mentioned the very physical
jobs before. Just typically men are more likely to be
(33:05):
doing a very physical, laborious job. It's really hard on
the body than women. And there are other factors too.
But like I said, anywhere you look in the world,
women have a longer life expectancy than men.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
Now, is this something that you have studied and gone
to school for I'm just curious, or at pure research
is a topic assigned to you? I mean, you've been
in a pure research for a while. How do you
get to study this subject, which obviously is a very
(33:41):
interesting subject? Is everyone hopes to live a full life.
I'm just curious. Is it something that you guys have
a luck of the drawer or you actually decide, Hey,
that's something I'm interested in. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (33:52):
So my background prior to Pew Research Center is I
was a journalist and I studied or I've covered public education,
so also studied it. So that's kind of my area
of expertise. And a very cool thing about my job
at Pere Research Center is on my team where like
the data journalism division of Pere Research Center, So I
(34:18):
get to cover a little bit of everything as long
as there is a news angle that I can pitch
to my boss. So I work with a lot of
census data and that's something that we really It's like
a button, bread and butter type of data source for
(34:39):
us because there's just so much that speaks to American
life and you can tie pretty much everything that Americans
are experiencing any news story. There's there's some census data
that's going to tell you how are Americans living that so,
and as you mentioned, there's always a news story about
(35:02):
someone who has lived to one hundred, someone who has
is studying longevity, and so that was kind of the
idea here was you know, we're hearing more about this,
but how common is it really?
Speaker 2 (35:20):
Now? Yeah, what your job is is this journalist and
trying to get to the bottom of it and figure out, Okay,
this you might you might identify the trend. But then
some of the questions that I've been asking you, because
I'm a journalist too, I'm always trying to figure out, well,
why it's always that there's another question why, Like the
little two year old kid who's who always asks why
why is the sky blow? Well let's why why? Why? Why? Uh?
(35:43):
And And clearly this is an area that that is
of interest to all of us. It's pure research. Still
you still guys done in Washington for the most part.
Speaker 5 (35:53):
Yes, yes, we are based in Washington, d C.
Speaker 2 (35:56):
It's a great organization. It's it's a great organization and
I follow it fairly closely. And again, if this is
just the perfect type story to look at and realize
that that as our lives go by, very few of
us will meet that we make this milestone. But all
(36:19):
of us are fascinated, and all of us wonder, I'm sure,
at some point in there in their own lives lives,
how long will I live? And will I live to
be one hundred? And the bad news is that the chances,
the odds are not in favor of it. Folks don't
don't plan on it. So anyway, thank you so much.
I really enjoyed talking to you, Catherine, and anything you
(36:41):
have on a few research that you ever want to
let us know about, we'd appreciate it, okay, because we'd
love to have you back.
Speaker 5 (36:47):
All right, Well, thank you so much, Dan, and I'd
be happy to come on the air anytime. So thank
you a call and enjoying the rest of your evening.
Speaker 2 (36:55):
Will do that. I just have three more hours to
do on the radio, so you can enjoy the rest
of reading. I'm still working. Thanks much, Thank you very much.
When we get back, when I talk with the State
Arnor of the Comwalth in Massachusetts, one of our constitutionally
elected offices officers, and Diana Desauglia has she I think
is the most active state auditor in the history of
(37:18):
the Commonwealth. And she is breaking barriers and she's she
is someone who is not accepting of conventional wisdom. Let
me put it like that. She's going to be remembered
as a great state auditor because of her initiatives, and
I'm a big fan. We will talk with the auditor
right after the nine o'clock news on Nightside
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on BZ Boston's news video.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
And ironically, Jansen was also the last batter in today's
game in the bottom of the ninth for the Red
Sox when he struck out and the game ended. So
he was the last batter for the Blue Jays when
the game was suspended, and the last batter tonight when
the game ended a couple of months later. Pretty weird,
one of those weird things in the world. My name's
(00:27):
Dan Ray. I'm not weird. No no, no, no no.
I'm your talk show host. I am your voice of reason,
the guy who holds forth here Monday through Friday night
from eight until midnight, was along with Rob Brooks, who
was back in the control room getting set for all
of your phone calls, which will only begin after the
nine o'clock a newscast, because during this hour we talked
(00:49):
to four newsmakers, four people who have done a story
that might be of interest to you. I hope they'll
all be of interest to you. Coming up tonight at
nine o'clock, we'll be talking with the Auditor the State
Order of the Commwealth of Massachusetts, the Honorable Diana Desaglio.
She's just released an auditor of the Massachusetts Convention Center
(01:10):
Authority that drew a lot of attention discovering disturbing and
unlawful practices. Also going to talk about her push to
be in a non disclosure agreements in state government, as
well as a ballot question next November, which I'm supporting
and I hope all of you are as well, which
would give her as the state auditor, the right to
(01:32):
audit the state legislature. All of these issues, by the way,
I kind of all intertwined. We'll explain that, and then
later on tonight will Donald Trump and the Vice President
of the United States, Vice President Kamala Harris ever debate.
They're debating now whether they're going to debate on September
tenth on ABC. But before we get to all of
(01:53):
that a little bit later on, let's get to the
matter at he end. We're going to talk with Tatum
Hunter about the seemingly impossible, totally impossible task of recovering
your Facebook account if somehow, some way you either are
(02:14):
locked out by a hacker or you inadvertently lock yourself
out by not remembering your password. Tatum Hunter, Washington Post
Technical Technology reporter. Welcome, Tatum, How are you.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
I'm doing good. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
How difficult is it to get back into your Facebook account?
I find Facebook a complete enigma. I mean, it's a
mystery wrapped in an enigma. I have no idea. It's
like a Gordian knot why we even do it. God
only knows why this is easier than becoming an astronaut
(02:51):
or becoming the president of the United States. I think.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
You might be right. I found that once people lose
access to that Facebook account, they're shocked by the way
that they're kind of dumped into this, you know, healthscape
of not being able to get support, not being able
to get answers, and not being able to get back in.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
So it's sort of like a modern day purgatory. You
don't know, you can't get to heaven and you can't
I mean, it's well, maybe it's a hell of sort. Seriously,
why does Facebook make this so impossible? There's no way
to contact anyone. I wish I had Zuckerberg's number and
I'd call them directly. And Quesse, it's no longer even Facebook.
What do they call it now? Metta?
Speaker 3 (03:35):
Yeah, metas metas the umbrella you know company and then
you've got the app Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp inside of there,
and you know it's I'm glad you mentioned it because
I've found this to be true for Instagram as well,
that when people get locked out of their accounts, they
really really struggle to recover them. And that's because it
seems from the outside like Meta dedicates a starting start,
(03:58):
startlingly low number of resources to this problem. And part
of that might be because the easier you make account recovery,
the easier it becomes for hackers to take advantage of
that process. So making it hard to get into accounts
can be a good thing because it like keeps our
accounts safe. But then also they seem to kind of,
you know, not have employees enough employees dedicated to this,
(04:23):
to helping people, given that you know, millions and millions
of people have Facebook accounts and it's actually for a
lot of people this huge part of our lives where
we're coordinating work or childcare or other other important things.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Do they actually care at all? Honesty? I mean you
you really immersed yourself in this. I don't think they care.
I really don't.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
I think that you know, Facebook's real customers are advertisers. Right,
it's free to use if you're like you and me.
So you know, the people that are really beholden to
are the people paying money and that, and that's not
you and me. So I think that for them, the
cost of helping people with account recovery might be higher
than the cost of just losing a user here and
(05:09):
there and just kind of letting them, letting them languish.
But another problem arises because you know, somebody ends up
doing network and too often it's organizations like the Identity
Theft Resource Center, like the Federal Trade Commission kind of fielding,
and people like me in my inbox fielding these questions
(05:29):
about how to get back into a Facebook account because
the company itself doesn't seem to be helping.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
So is there any sort of I hate to bring
up the whole question of morality because I think that
we're not a particularly moral nation at this point. I
think everybody wants to get what they can get. Does
Facebook feel any sort of like moral obligation to the
people who they have accepted as members? I mean, people
have wedding pictures and babies pictures and important information on
(05:58):
their Facebook account. Don't and you have too you know,
two factor authentication, which is readily available. I mean, they
couldn't come up with a system which would allow them
to figure out first. And of course the most immoral
people of all are the hackers. You know, who's whose
idea of getting kicks and jolly's as opposed going out
(06:19):
and interacting with people, is to just hack into people's
accounts from the from the basements of their mother's home.
You know, it's so frustrating, and it's just so frustrating,
and you must be even more frustrated having gone through this.
Is there any morality involved in this at all? Or no?
Speaker 3 (06:36):
I think that's a beautiful question, and I think that
while it's while it's totally impossible to answer, I'm sure
there are individual employees a lot of these big tech
companies who who might care deeply about users and who
you know, want to make the world a better place.
But I think that it's important as users of technology
to remember that these companies are motivated by profit. And
(06:59):
you know, for example, well at Facebook, you know that
Zuckerberg's you know, famous line with move fast and break things,
and as in Facebook's history as a company, you know,
we've seen to get in again that they tend to
fix problems after they've come up and discover problems after
something horrible has happened, right, because they've scaled so profoundly,
(07:20):
so quickly. So I think that I think that it's
an interesting question because really, while we feel it really acutely, right,
you get locked out of your account, you're like, man,
Facebook doesn't even care about me, because it's word to
remember that, like, right.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
They didn't.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
They didn't care about you when you were in your
account either, But now you're feeling I.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Think there's the solution is for Congress to take away
that three twenty, that section three twenty protection from Facebook.
That'll get their attention, that'll get the owners of Facebook's,
the people who run Facebook's attention they have. They have
a very protected realm. They can do whatever the hell
they want, and they going to be immune from from
(08:01):
all sorts of lawsuits. One of the few institutions in
this country that is immune from any form of legal action,
legal recourse. I think.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
I was going to say, for anyone who's not familiar
with section two thirty, it just means.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
That thirty I misspoke. I meant to say two thirty
I misspoke.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
I pull, Oh, you're fine. Yeah, Like it just makes
these companies, you know, they don't have legal liability for
what their users post. And there have been instances where
hackers have you know, posted, have posted you know, sex
abuse material, have have you know, gone on to spread
scams and fraud, and so that that happens as lower
(08:42):
hackers get their hands on accounts and go on to
post harmful stuff.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Every everything that is new is not necessarily good. I
think that's that's the rule of thumb, and Facebook would
be exhibit a in that in that category, Hunt Tatum,
I really enjoyed our conversation. I'm delighted that there are
people like you out there who know a lot about
this stuff than I do. And I hope that I'm
very serious. I hope that your work will basically mobilize
(09:10):
people to say get to their members of Congress and say, hey,
do something about this. You know you this is one
thing that Congress could actually have an impact on if
they wanted to. But I don't think this the lobbyist Facebook.
Lobbyists have too much money and too much influence. Tatum,
thanks so much for joining us. Love to have you back.
(09:30):
I enjoyed the conversation.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Thanks for having me, You're very welcome.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
When we get back, they say every dog has its day. Well,
today is the day for every dog. It is National
Dog Day. I'm going to talk with Aurora Velasquez about
how we can celebrate National Dog Day back on nights
out after this. Now back to Dan Ray Live from
the Window World Nice Side Studios. I'm WBZ News Radio. Well,
(09:58):
as I mentioned before, there's an old saying that every
dog has its day. Well, every dog has a day today,
It's National Dog Day. There are five ways to make
a difference in the lives of our canine companions and
helped to make Massachusetts totally a no kill state. With
me is Aurora Velasquez, the director of the Eastern Region
(10:20):
for Best Friends Animal Society. I love dogs, Aurora. Let
me tell you, all dogs, all cats, all pets go
to Heaven. How are you tonight, I'm great.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
That's how I end my show. My son has a
Shorky who I spent a lot of the weekend with
part Shorky, a Shorky, part Shitsu in part Yorky. My
daughter has a beautiful, beautiful Corgie that she adopted from
an animal shelter just about a year ago, and I
was once the proud and happy owner of I think
(10:53):
the best breed of all and that is a Cavalier
King Charles Spaniel. So what's going on? What can we
do to help make Massachusetts a state where all dogs
who are in shelters are allowed to prosper and find
it a forever home.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (11:11):
I love that question, especially today, So Best Friends Animal Society.
You know, our goal is to help the whole country
get to Nokie, and we want to see that happen
in twenty twenty five. The great news about Massachusetts is
you guys are almost there, and there are a couple
of really easy ways to get there. Get a ninety
(11:34):
percent savorate, which is how we define no kill. You know,
one of the most obvious, I think adoption. You know,
there are always people looking to bring new animals into
their home, and we want them to think adoption first.
You may have to go to the shelter a couple
of times, but new animals are coming in all the time.
You absolutely can find the exact pet that you're looking for,
(11:57):
or you may find one that surprises you. For folks
who aren't ready to adopt. You know, maybe that commitment
just isn't in the cards for them. Fostering is another
great option. Gives the animal break from the shelter. Shelters
can be really stressful and gives you, you know, a
cuddle buddy for the weekend or a hiking partner to
(12:19):
get you up off the couch and out into the world.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Yeah. Well that's what my daughter did. She actually went
to the Situate animal shelter. She was looking for a corgy,
and uh, I never realized what what what a lovable dog?
Mustard the corky his it's just incredible or these are great? Yeah,
I never realized it. I always thought of them as
(12:42):
kind of be Queen Elizabeth's dog or something, and they
would have to follow a few paces behind the queen
or something. But oh, Jess wants to play. And when
he sees you come downstairs in the morning, he howls
with delight. I mean he literally howls with delight. It's
it's that's sweet, amazing sound. And he wants to keep
as many people in the room. If someone leaves the room,
(13:07):
they have a hurting instinct. He will go get that
person and kind of force them back into the room.
It's amazingly an amazing dog, but all dogs are amazing
and I just think the work that you're doing is
so important. Also, you know, in some of our states
(13:27):
to our south, unfortunately there's a lot of pets who
are abandoned for some reason. I don't know why it
happens that way, but there's always new dogs and I'm
not so sure about cats, but new dogs coming up
from the south. Why is that? Why is it that
(13:50):
so many strays? Is it the weather that allows them
to survive down there that they couldn't survive in New England?
What's the what's the backstory on that? If you can
tell the.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
Weather certainly plays a part in it. You know, the
laws of nature. Animals reproduce when the weather is nice
and warm, and you know, are going to help young,
fragile animals survive. So certainly areas of the country where
a bit more temperate and they don't have the cold winters,
we definitely see more animals, you know, born into the community.
(14:24):
But also, you know, not every part of the country
is as fortunate as the northeast when it comes to
resources and industry. You know, there's a long history in
the northeastern part of the United States of business and agriculture,
and you know, just a whole host of resources that
(14:48):
really help communities be prosperous and not impacts not only
people but animals as well. You know, there's accessible veterinary care,
animals are spaded and neutered at higher rates than the
North Feast, and so all of those things really have
created a situation where New England is a little bit
(15:09):
ahead of many many other parts of the country. And
what's remarkable about that is, as you said, now part
of the country is lending a hand to other areas
that aren't as fortunate. We do see dogs and cats,
you know, transported into the New England area because sometimes
there are homes that can't find the exact right animal
(15:32):
they're looking for, but maybe a shelter in Alabama has them,
and so getting them over there and getting that dog
or cat into a home.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
So how can folks get in touch with your organization,
Best Friends Animal Society and what can they do to help?
Speaker 4 (15:49):
So everything goes through our website best Friends dot Org.
One thing that I love to recommend to people when
visiting our website is checking out our life saving dashboard
and that can give you everything from a national overview
of you know, what's happening in animal welfare across the country.
But then folks can also zoom into their state, their counties,
(16:12):
their community and see what's going on at the local shelters,
and you know, maybe you know, somebody sees a local
shelter that could use a hand, and maybe they decide
to volunteer and go in and walk some dogs or
donate some supplies, you know, soft beds and treats. So
it really can help folks not only have the big picture,
(16:33):
but understand and get involved locally, which is so important.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Sounds great, Aurora, Thank you so much, Thank you so
much for what you do. Thanks for joining us tonight
and keep us posted whenever you need to talk about
this issue. Or we are all ears here on nightside.
Trust me, we're all animal lovers here on nightside.
Speaker 4 (16:52):
Sounds great. Thank you so much, very welcome.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
And again, if you have a dog, or if it's
not too late, there's still three and a half hours
left in National Dog Day, him an extra give him
or her an extra treat, maybe a hug. Let us
sleep in the bed tonight. Whatever it is, Whatever it is,
making a special day for your dog, and I guess
you can do it for your cat as well, even
though it is National dog damn sure, there's a National
cat Day. Now. On the other side of the news break,
(17:17):
which is coming up, we'll be talking about a Boston
Celtics themed corn maze. Corn Maze is a big deal
and we got one coming up as we get into
the corn growing season and we get into the fall,
So this is one you may want to mark down
on your calendar. We'll explain it all right here on WBZ,
(17:39):
Boston's News Radio. By the way, you're listening to WBZ,
if you're listening to us in a car somewhere, or
you picked us up on your your radio at home
ten thirty in the am, I'll walk us in. And
if you can't pick us up for some whatever reason,
or you happen to be listening tonight and you can't
pick us up at home, you can always just go
(18:00):
to our iHeart radio app. It's free and you can
listen to WBZ News Radio, Boston's News Radio. My name's
Dan Ray. This is Nightside. We'll be back right after
these news break and a couple of messages.
Speaker 5 (18:15):
Night Side with Dan Ray, I'm Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
All right, it's getting two of that season. Labor Day
is that week away, okay, just just a week from
today as a matter of fact, and all of us,
of course, none of us are really happy about the
passing of summer, but there's nothing we can do about it.
But one of the great things about summertime in New
England is you can get out, go to some area farms,
pick some apples, or get lost in a corn maze.
(18:43):
Joining us is Sabrina Lamb. She's a Boston Globe correspondent. Sabrina,
Welcome to Nightside. How are you tonight?
Speaker 1 (18:51):
I'm doing very well. How are you doing?
Speaker 2 (18:53):
You're just great. You wrote an interesting piece which we
saw in the Boston Globe about a Boston celt esteemed
corn maze up at Kimball Farm in Havevir. I think
most people know about Kimball Farm. They've done this corn
maze project for some time now. Tell us a little
bit of the history of it, and tell us, obviously,
(19:15):
there's good reason to pick the Celtics for corn maze
this this year. They just won title number eighteen.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Yeah, so you're exactly right. They did pick this year
to do a Celtics steamed corn maze in light of
the eighteenth championship win. The owner, Tyler Kimball, and his
wife are very big fans of the Celtics, and I've
never done a Celtics themed corn maze, so they thought,
why not do it this year? And I know their
farm has been doing custom design corn maze since nineteen
(19:49):
ninety nine, so this will be their twenty fourth annual
custom maize. And they're very excited about this year because
it's not only personal to them because they're such big fans,
but you know a lot of people in Boston also
love the Celtics, so they're excited to bring that to
the community.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
So I have never been to a corn maze. I
have a friend of mine who got lost in a
corn maze once. Uh, it's a fun experience. Have you
ever done a corn maze yourself? You're up to I
have no idea how high the coin is at this point,
but I assume it's starting to get up up there
by the end of August. Correct.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Yes, I've heard that it's very high. Unfortunately, I've never
done a corn maze, which is surprising because I've done
all the other fall festivities like pumpkin patches and state
fairs and stuff, but never a corn maze. So I
guess this one would be a good opportunity to go
to my first one.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Now, tell as I understand it, there's a cost to participate,
both for adults and kids that I think to some
break for active duty military personnel, which is great. So
it takes a lot of effort to create this corn maze.
Anyone who has seen the people the picture in the
globe tell us what the area of view shows. Besides eighteen,
(21:05):
they also have Lucky the lepre call in the from
obviously ten thousand feet or five thousand feet. What do
you say?
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Yeah, So that aerial picture was taken a little bit
ago and put it on Facebook, and that's how the
globe actually found the farm and the corn maze. So
I spoke to Tyler. He said that the whole corn
maze is dedicated to different Celtics little themes. So there's
obviously the huge Lucky the Leprechaun on the right, and
(21:38):
in the center is the number eighteen kind of over
like a three leaf shamrock, obviously for their eighteen championship.
Underneath it is a horseshoe just just to represent like
a lucky horseshoe, and then on the right is a
long cursive just kimbal farm. And I believe they received
help from another Missouri based company actually called Precision Mases
(22:02):
to help them create the design and plant it all out.
And I know they planted the corn in June and
it took them around two to three days to have
everything kind of fully mowed in, so.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
They basically cut it out and all of that. And
how many did you get a sense from them, since
they've been doing this for nearly a quarter century, how
many people will venture up to haveoral to walk through
whatever themed corn maze they have developed any year? Is
I assume it's a pretty big attraction.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Yeah, yeah, I think that from my knowledge, it is
a pretty big attraction for them because people in the
area and just people Massachusetts in general, there's a big
thing with just very fun family funding false festivities. So
I know that also since this is like a very
long running the thing they do, that it's been pretty
well received. But I know that this year specifically, they've
(22:57):
seen an even bigger amount of people really being interested
in the corn maze and their best guess is that
you know at CEL sixteen, then people in Boston and
people in Massachusetts are just very, very passionate about their
sports teams.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
So did they give you some idea when you when
you did the story as to how many people they
might expect this year or any any estimates?
Speaker 1 (23:20):
No exact number. Unfortunately I did not get an exact number.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Okay, but I was hoping maybe for an estimate. I
assume that to do something of this complexity, it's not
something It's not like someone mowing their back lawn on
a half an acre and putting some of this. This
is a huge project. It's it's it's there's a charge
associated with going to it. I think, if I'm not mistaken,
(23:46):
you did describe that in the Global article. What's what
are the costs? It's it's not outrageously expensive, right.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
No, I wouldn't say so. I think, let me check.
It's fifteen dollars for adults, and then the four children
who are at thirteen and under it's eleven dollars, and
then there's an additional five dollars discounts for veterans and
active duty.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
So you can kind of just get lost in the
corn maze and meet other people and wear your Celtics
jerseys or whatever, and think about how good is going
to be when they win in nineteenth title next year.
And I think they have a pretty good shot at
it because this team has stayed together, and I assume
(24:27):
that at the farm there's probably some apple grooves and
other things that people can participate. It sounds like it
could be a great day Saturday or Sunday for the
entire family, great family entertainments.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
All right, Sabrina, thanks very much for having joined us.
We will follow this along and it'll be interesting. Maybe
we'll have Tyler Kimball come on as we get a
little closer to the day and he could answer some
of those questions about how many They must have some
idea about how many people will be going up there.
I bet you they expect big crowds this year. So
when when is it open? Now, by the way, that's
(25:02):
that's my last question. Is it available this weekend? If
people are anytime this week? Is? It's all set up
right at this.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Point, so not just yet next weekend, not this upcoming
weekend Labor day?
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Okay, so at the weekend after Labor Day. Glad I
asked that question, I would have had people Nightside listeners
heading to Haveril to no Avail. It's always the question
you almost don't ask, Sabrina. That is the most important
of all. Thanks for hanging with me. Appreciated, Sabrina. We'll
talk again, Okay.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Thanks, yes, of course, thanks.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
All right, when we get back, our final guest tonight
is going to talk about a very interesting phenomenon in
the next thirty years. The population of Americans living to
the age of one hundred and beyond. The centenarian population
is projected to quadruple over the next thirty years. We're
(25:58):
going to talk with Katerina Schaefer, a research analyst at
the Pew Research Center, Great Research Center. When we get
back here on Nightside, stay with us. My name's Dan Ray.
This is Nightside. We're going to be talking with State
Auditor Diana Desauglia about a number of issues she is
immersed in, and I gotta tell you she wants to
do her job. The legislature is not so keen about
(26:20):
the idea, but she's ready to go. All right, We'll
we'll talk to her right after the nine and we
will talk about one of the chances you know, some
of you and my audience might actually live to one
hundred or more. Hey, it's it's going to be happening
to some of you. Stay with us. We'll tell you
what your shots, what your chances are. Now back to
(26:42):
Dan ray Line from the Window World.
Speaker 5 (26:45):
Nightside Studios on WBZ, the news radio.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Well, if you're listening to Nightside, then I have some
good news for you. The chances that you might live
to one hundred are much better than the chances of
your forebears. Your ancestors with us is Catherine, who's written
incorrectly when I introduced her earlier. It's Katherine Schaeffer. She's
a research analyst for the Pew Research Center. And Catherine,
(27:09):
this is I guess one of your areas of expertise.
How are you tonight? Right?
Speaker 5 (27:15):
How are you?
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Dan? Doing just fine? Doing just fine? Here? And look,
everybody thinks, oh, you know, how long will I live?
And now it looks like according to your research, our
sentitinarian population will quadruple over the next thirty years. What's
(27:36):
going on? I assume there's a number of factors that
are at play here.
Speaker 5 (27:41):
Yes, that is true. And I will say although the
number of centenarians is growing and will continue to grow.
It still is fairly unusual for folks to live to
be one hundred. In the United States. Right now, there
are only about one hundred and one thousand people who
are one hundred years or older, according to the Census Bureau.
(28:04):
So maybe a small, mid size city is worth Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Yeah, Well, Boston has a population about seven hundred thousand
at night. During the day because of all the people
coming in here becomes a much more active metropolitan area.
So it'd be about one seventh of Boston's you know,
maybe the size of Worcester or Providence, Rhode Island. But
(28:29):
it's still a lot of people. I think. I read
recently that the oldest living I think it was the
oldest living American passed away last week at the age
of one hundred and seventeen. We're just not built for
that sort of longevity. Why is it increasing? Is it
simply that as our population, and particularly baby boomers, start
(28:52):
to age. I mean, you have this here that it's
going to triple in the next few years and quadruple
over the next thirty years. I guess that would include
a lot of baby boomers in that category.
Speaker 5 (29:07):
It is true, so US population sixty five and older
in general is going to grow quite a bit over
the next thirty years, and as a subset of that
folks who are one hundred years or older. There are
several reasons for the numbers growing. My analysis didn't look
(29:31):
too much of those specific reasons, but a lot of
other researchers have weighed in on the topic, and just
in general, in the US and around the world, life
expectancies are increasing, and that's in part to just that
we have better medical care right than past generations did,
so people are able to live longer, healthier lives.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
I would also think that probably, and again I'm not
a researcher here, but I would think that we o
living in a society in a world when our jobs
there were fewer of the dangerous jobs. I mean people
used to There was a when we were an agricultural
society that a lot of people who are working on
the farm, and you you, when you're working with heavy
(30:14):
equipment and a mistake is made, it can be very costly.
Whereas if you're working as a CPA or you know,
a tax tax attorney, there's other than maybe you know,
stubbing stubbing your toe on your desk. I'm assuming that
is as this, as we have evolved as a society
(30:35):
from agrarian agricultural to where we are today, that has
to be a factor as well. I'm assuming.
Speaker 5 (30:44):
You know, it could well be. Like I said, my
research didn't look too much at that. But I also
imagine that, like I said, the healthcare aspect of it
helps too. Rite So if you stub your toe, you're
less likely to need to get it amputated.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
I would think, oh, yes, I definitely would think so,
but that that would be sort of the problem that
people in white collar jobs would face. So also, the
thing that is interesting to me that this year you
mentioned that we have about one hundred thousand centurians centerarians.
(31:21):
I should see sent ten aarians. Centenarians seventy eight seventy
eight percent women, twenty two percent men. So did your
research look at that factor at all or no?
Speaker 5 (31:38):
Yeah, this is an interesting, interesting trend. So we know
that women in general, pretty much anywhere you look in
the world have longer life expectancies than men do, and
there are a bunch of reasons for this, but this
is kind of what you're seeing with this group of centenarians, right,
(31:59):
because it's such a small portion of the population already.
So any trend that is playing out in the wider population,
you're going to see magnified here with this group of
aging adults.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
Oh sure, yeah, so.
Speaker 5 (32:13):
Yeah, and we do see so over the next thirty years,
we do see that men are going to make up
a slightly larger percentage of the hundred plus population, but
they'll still only be about a third. Women will far
outnumber them even still.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
But there's no reason for that that we know of,
other than maybe what women are more intelligent and take
better care of themselves than men. I'm still trying to
figure that out out. I think it has.
Speaker 5 (32:44):
I think it has. Like I said, not my my
area of expertise, so there's much more reading that your
listeners can do. But it does have something to do
with like with body physiology you mentioned the very physical
jobs before. Just typically men are more likely to be
(33:05):
doing a very physical, laborious job. It's really hard on
the body than women. And there are other factors too.
But like I said, anywhere you look in the world,
women have a longer life expectancy than men.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
Now, is this something that you have studied and gone
to school for I'm just curious, or at pure research
is a topic assigned to you? I mean, you've been
in a pure research for a while. How do you
get to study this subject, which obviously is a very
(33:41):
interesting subject? Is everyone hopes to live a full life.
I'm just curious. Is it something that you guys have
a luck of the drawer or you actually decide, Hey,
that's something I'm interested in. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (33:52):
So my background prior to Pew Research Center is I
was a journalist and I studied or I've covered public education,
so also studied it. So that's kind of my area
of expertise. And a very cool thing about my job
at Pere Research Center is on my team where like
the data journalism division of Pere Research Center, So I
(34:18):
get to cover a little bit of everything as long
as there is a news angle that I can pitch
to my boss. So I work with a lot of
census data and that's something that we really It's like
a button, bread and butter type of data source for
(34:39):
us because there's just so much that speaks to American
life and you can tie pretty much everything that Americans
are experiencing any news story. There's there's some census data
that's going to tell you how are Americans living that so,
and as you mentioned, there's always a news story about
(35:02):
someone who has lived to one hundred, someone who has
is studying longevity, and so that was kind of the
idea here was you know, we're hearing more about this,
but how common is it really?
Speaker 2 (35:20):
Now? Yeah, what your job is is this journalist and
trying to get to the bottom of it and figure out, Okay,
this you might you might identify the trend. But then
some of the questions that I've been asking you, because
I'm a journalist too, I'm always trying to figure out, well,
why it's always that there's another question why, Like the
little two year old kid who's who always asks why
why is the sky blow? Well let's why why? Why? Why? Uh?
(35:43):
And And clearly this is an area that that is
of interest to all of us. It's pure research. Still
you still guys done in Washington for the most part.
Speaker 5 (35:53):
Yes, yes, we are based in Washington, d C.
Speaker 2 (35:56):
It's a great organization. It's it's a great organization and
I follow it fairly closely. And again, if this is
just the perfect type story to look at and realize
that that as our lives go by, very few of
us will meet that we make this milestone. But all
(36:19):
of us are fascinated, and all of us wonder, I'm sure,
at some point in there in their own lives lives,
how long will I live? And will I live to
be one hundred? And the bad news is that the chances,
the odds are not in favor of it. Folks don't
don't plan on it. So anyway, thank you so much.
I really enjoyed talking to you, Catherine, and anything you
(36:41):
have on a few research that you ever want to
let us know about, we'd appreciate it, okay, because we'd
love to have you back.
Speaker 5 (36:47):
All right, Well, thank you so much, Dan, and I'd
be happy to come on the air anytime. So thank
you a call and enjoying the rest of your evening.
Speaker 2 (36:55):
Will do that. I just have three more hours to
do on the radio, so you can enjoy the rest
of reading. I'm still working. Thanks much, Thank you very much.
When we get back, when I talk with the State
Arnor of the Comwalth in Massachusetts, one of our constitutionally
elected offices officers, and Diana Desauglia has she I think
is the most active state auditor in the history of
(37:18):
the Commonwealth. And she is breaking barriers and she's she
is someone who is not accepting of conventional wisdom. Let
me put it like that. She's going to be remembered
as a great state auditor because of her initiatives, and
I'm a big fan. We will talk with the auditor
right after the nine o'clock news on Nightside
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