December 4, 2024 • 39 mins
We kicked off the program with four news stories and different guests on the stories we think you need to know about!
Jay Willett – WBZ NewsRadio Reporter brings us what it means to 'split the G' when drinking a pint of Guinness - How Gulping Guinness Became an Online Phenomenon!
Cirque Dreams Holidaze: December 6-8 at the Boch Center Shubert Theatre! Aubree Willis – Dancer and Choreographer stopped by!
Dr. Trisha Pasricha – Ask a Doctor Columnist for WaPo told Dan fragrances may seem harmless. But the research is raising alarm.
Rebecca Webster – Local Salem, NH resident creates Giving Cart To Give Back To Her Community – Donations Go to The Salem Animal Rescue League. (Special thanks to The Eagle Tribune and reporter Jamie Costa for originally reporting this story!)
Ask Alexa to play WBZ NewsRadio on #iHeartRadio and listen to NightSide with Dan Rea Weeknights From 8PM-12AM!
Jay Willett – WBZ NewsRadio Reporter brings us what it means to 'split the G' when drinking a pint of Guinness - How Gulping Guinness Became an Online Phenomenon!
Cirque Dreams Holidaze: December 6-8 at the Boch Center Shubert Theatre! Aubree Willis – Dancer and Choreographer stopped by!
Dr. Trisha Pasricha – Ask a Doctor Columnist for WaPo told Dan fragrances may seem harmless. But the research is raising alarm.
Rebecca Webster – Local Salem, NH resident creates Giving Cart To Give Back To Her Community – Donations Go to The Salem Animal Rescue League. (Special thanks to The Eagle Tribune and reporter Jamie Costa for originally reporting this story!)
Ask Alexa to play WBZ NewsRadio on #iHeartRadio and listen to NightSide with Dan Rea Weeknights From 8PM-12AM!
Mark as Played
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 WBS, Boston's new radio,
and it.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Is a chilly Wednesday night. Indeed, Riches arriving a little early,
good evening. Everybody. Hope you're nice and toasty warm wherever
you are. I am broadcasting remotely and I am just fine.
I hope you are equally fine. My name is Dan Ray.
Thank you very much, Nicole. As we head towards the
(00:28):
midnight hour, Rob Brooks is back in the control room
at Broadcast Central at Broadcast Headquarters, and he'll set you
up for your phone calls beginning after nine o'clock. During
this hour, we'll be talking with four guests on various
and sundry topics. I think you'll be interested in all
four of them, that's for sure. We're going to cover
topics from from Gibs get his stout, I guess, to
(00:53):
a problem with certain fragrances and a giving card up
in New Hampshire. That's is going to benefit the Animal
Rescue League, as well as going to talk about a
dancer and the choreographers. We have lots to do this hour,
but before we get to all of that, let me
just remind you that on Monday night, we will be
once again the benefit of the wisdom of Harvard Admissions
(01:17):
Dean Director of Admissions at Harvard, Bill Fitzsimmons, and the
same status Director of Admissions at Boston College Grant Goslin.
So they will be with us beginning at eight o'clock
on Monday night. And if you have anyone in your
circle of family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances who have children or
(01:37):
them children themselves who are beginning the big quest to
get into the college of their choice or the college
that best fits them, this is must listen radio because
the amount of information that will be disgorged on Monday
night by Dean's Fitzsimmons and Goslin will be extraord So
(02:00):
please mark your calendar. Uh, if you've never listened to
Nightside before, that should be a night that everyone should
be tuned in. And then on December twentieth, we will
once again have our annual Nightside Charity Combine. As I've
mentioned to you a couple of times, these slots are
filling up quickly. If you're involved with a charity, or
if you particularly are the head of a charity, send
(02:22):
me an email at Danray at iHeartMedia dot com. And
if you've missed that, call Rob on our six one
seven two five four ten thirty line and he will
give you all of that information. You also can call Marita,
our producer during the day at seven eight one three
five zero one seven two six Rob. I hope you
(02:42):
wrote that number down so that you can give both
my email address and Marita's phone number. Tell us about
your charity or the charity that you're involved in with.
What is your purpose, who are you trying to help,
What do you need? Do you need more volunteers, do
you need perhaps an infusion of some cash. We have
some very generous Nightside listeners who every year arrive to
(03:04):
the occasion. It will be on Friday night, December twentieth.
You again will be interviewed from the comfort of your home.
There is no need for you to get in the
car on a December night and drive to Broadcast Centru. Nope,
we will do it remotely, just as we've been doing
it now for several years. Twelfth Annual Nightside Charity Combine. Now,
let us return to the festivities of the eight o'clock
(03:27):
hour this evening, and I want to welcome back. I
think it's his second time here. Jay correct me if
I'm wrong. Jay will Let a return appearance here on
the night Side News Update. Am I right or wrong
on that? Jay?
Speaker 3 (03:39):
You're completely correct.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Dan.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
It's great to be here, great to chat again. Thanks
for having me.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
You're very welcome. Well, I must tell you we're going
to talk about Guinness. I don't know if there are
any Irish roots in the will Let family tree, but
there's a lot of Irish roots in the Ray family tree.
But I'm not a fan of Guinness. Do you like Guinness? Oh? Yeah, yeah,
(04:09):
tell us tell us about this story. Because I had
never heard of this. I must tell you I had
a Guinness a little over fifteen months ago at the
Guinness factory in Dublin, and I asked for a Guinness
light and they actually have a Guinness light that you
can drink now, so I didn't have to like molasses
to me a Guinness. But that's okay. Tell us about
(04:31):
splitting the G. We're not talking about splitting the atom here.
This is not This is not heavy lift. Everyone will
be able to understand this.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
From Yeah, yeah, exactly. Not rocket science. It's pretty straightforward,
you know, pretty self explanatory. Splitting the G the G
in this case referring to the Guinness the letter in
the branding Guinness. So essentially to play this game you
need to at least two people, but this can be
(05:01):
played in a group setting as well, but you really
need that that Guinness pine glass, the one with the
harp and the Guinness printed right there on the glass.
And the objective of the game, uh is to get
the closest that you can with a full pint of
Glennis of Guinness to the middle of the g there
(05:22):
and whoever gets kind of the closest meniscus of foam
to that horizontal line wins the whole thing.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
You know.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
It's purely just used for pre games stuff like that,
just a fun game to play a night out with friends.
And it's funny you uh, you say you were in
Dublin because I actually lived in Dublin for a time
and I lived right across the streets from the storehouse,
So I did. I did, and so that was kind
(05:54):
of my way of knowing I was near home is
you can smell the hops in the air. So it's
just such a fond memory that you what were.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
You doing in Dublin, I assume, assuming it's legal and
everything that you can talk about when we go to
school there.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Yeah, well, definitely legal. I was studying abroad. I went
to Providence College and that was part of my study
abroad program. I chose Dublin. I do have family roots
in Galway. To answer your first question.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
So be there many times?
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Yeah, I love it.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Well that's great. So so you're a Guinness guy, which
is great. So you you were assigned the story or
maybe you came up with it yourself a reporter.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Yeah, yeah, a little bit of both.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
All Right, is this a difficult feat to accomplish? They
have to take a huge gulp of guinness, as I
understand that, and some are suggesting that's really not the
way to drink guinness, particularly if you like.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Yeah, yeah, I mean definitely not maybe the Connis Sewers game,
but it is kind of kind of what I think
the part the part of the reason why I think
it's become so popular and and that's kind of the
point I want to get at too, is that this
game has is definitely blown up. I mean I didn't
first hear about this until a couple of years ago,
and since then it's just been like I've seen people
(07:18):
doing it at bars left and right, so definitely becoming
kind of a household name. And I think what makes
it so popular is because even though it is a
big chug of beer, it's not demanding a full chug
of beer. And I think that's a little less intimidating,
you know, than than typical competitions that people hear about.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
You know, Yeah, I'll stick with my cores lights. To
be honest with you, I'm about on any sort of
beer spectrum. I'm about as far away from Guinness with
with with my Core's lights anybody could be. But you
could be heavy, Yeah, absolutely, Cad. Well, well, look that's
(08:03):
a great story. I'm glad that as you've explained that,
you explain it really well. Splitting the g's it's not
rocket science, but it's a lot of fun. I assume. Also,
like a certain card game of solitaire, you could you
could try to split the g by yourself, maybe get
some practice. Not you I'm talking about, but someone at home,
you know, just on their own, could could work on
(08:24):
splitting the G and I don't know, maybe go out
and challenge your friends and maybe win a few bar
bets as well, who knows. I mean, the possibilities are endless.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
J They truly are. It'd crack.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Well. Congratulations on your time in Dublin. That's a. That's
a great city to be and that that is for sure.
It's a. It's so much fun and particularly when you're young,
and if you're willing to try to split the g
that's great. I went to how far did you live from?
We went to the factory, which is the big factory,
right you have.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
The storehouse I imagine, yeah, yeah, yeah, And.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
You paid for the tour and you got to you
got a free Guinness when you went upstairs, and I
just said, do you have a Guinness light? And they said, yes,
we do and it was very good. It was very good. Okay,
we'll lat WBZ news radio reporter, an international guy and
a connoisseur of Guinness. I'll never listen to your stories
(09:27):
in the same frame of mind again, mister Willett. Thank
you so much.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
All right, sounds good.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Talk to you soon. Thanks, Jay, appreciate it. Well you
get back. I when to talk about another form of
entertainment at the Back Center Schubert Theater December sixth through
the eighth. I hope I'm going to pronounce this correctly,
the Circu Dreams Holidays. We'll talk with Aubrey Willis, who's
a dancer and choreographer. If you're looking for a little
early Christmas or holiday entertainment, this just might be it.
(09:57):
Back on night Side, my name is Dan Ray. This
is WBZ Boston's News Radio ten thirty and your AM dial.
Feel free to get ready to call in. We're gonna
have some interesting guests later on tonight. We're gonna talk
about the out migration of people, particularly younger and wealthier
people leaving Massachusetts, Yes, for greener pastures and they're not
(10:18):
going to Ireland to drink guinness. We'll also talk later
on about I guess you'd call it a threat by
President Trump, President elect Trump, he had a message for
Hamas and basically release the hostages, Release the hostages, or
I'm gonna release the hounds. We will break that down
a little bit later tonight as well, back on Nightside.
(10:40):
Right after this, now back to Dan Ray live from
the Window World Nightside Studios on WBZ News Radio. Well,
all of a sudden cold weather ian the holidays or
upon us with us is Aubrey Willis. Aubrey Willis, you
are a dancer and a choreographer. Welcome to nightside.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Hi, Hi, thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Very welcome. So you were with circ Dreams Holidays, which
is uh? Is it a part of Cirk Disilay or
an offshoot? How would you describe it?
Speaker 1 (11:16):
So, Cirk Dreams Holidays is part of the v Star
Entertainment Group, which became of a subsidiary of Cirk Dissila
Entertainment Group a few years ago.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Easy for you to say, Okay, good So you get
you folks, and you're the you're a dancer and a choreographer.
You will be at the back center Schubert Theater. Uh.
This weekend, it looks like Friday, Yes.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Friday, Saturday and Sunday which six shows?
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Six shows? Yes, you gotta so we have?
Speaker 1 (11:53):
So we have on Friday the sixth, we have a
seven thirty pm show, Saturday we have an eleven A,
a three pm and a seven thirty pm show. And
Sunday we have a one pm and five pm show.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Wow. So Saturday you got a triple header and on
Sunday a doubleheader. I'll tell you that's going to be.
That's going to be a rough weekend. Tell us a
little bit how long has Cirked Dreams Holidays been a production?
I hope I'm using the correct term.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Yes, yes, it is a production. It's a Broadway style
holiday production that incorporates the serch acts as long as
amazing aerial acts, hangharing, artists, acrobatics, skippers and jugglers just
to name a feel. We are celebrating this year the
(12:46):
fifteenth season. So yeah, so fifteen years now.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
Yeah, yeah, Bill.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
These folks are tremendous athletes. They may be dancers and
you're a dancer and a choreographer, but they have to
be in fabulous condition to do what they do. How
do you find people who have the athletic ability to
perform some of these amazing feats?
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Just all around the world? Really, everybody and their talents
come from every continent of the world. And within our
states we have some Australians, we have some Hungarians, people
from Argentina and Brazil, you know, and we just go
down the line.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Are these are these people who have formally trained as
I use the word acrobats, that's probably not the proper term,
but what they do is acrobatic. Are they formally trained?
You just don't like pick people up off the street.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Obviously, the majority of everybody has train.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
They aspire to to be involved in circusole or or subsidiaries.
And are there schools where these folks learned to do
this amazing aerial gymnastics.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Yeah, so most of it is.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
There's there's a lot of.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Components into all these acts besides acrobatic elements. But majority
of the cast has all been trained for each and
each and every individual act.
Speaker 4 (14:31):
That they have that they are partaking in our shows.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
I'm assuming that this is this is this is not
work for the faint of hearted, for the faint of
heart or for people who were probably like me, on
the wrong side of fifty. What's the average age for
the performers in the in in this circu Dreams Holidays?
Speaker 5 (14:56):
What's there our show?
Speaker 1 (14:59):
We have all ages, all ages. I would say the
oldest is around forty two.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Yea in their fifty sixty, seventies or eighties. And if
they were I wanted to meet them. But how big
is the troupe? How many people will be performed in
the troop at these shows?
Speaker 1 (15:25):
In our cast we have about roughly thirty individuals. There
are six dancers, we have two duo components, which are
One of them is a duo erless act and another
is a duo roller skating act, and then everybody else
(15:49):
has their singular acts as well.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
And your performance season. Obviously, you're in Boston this weekend.
Where were you last weekend? I assume that you move
around the world, certainly at least across North America.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Yes, so just yesterday we were in Reading, Pennsylvania. Tomorrow
will be in Albany, New York, and then this Friday
will be in Boston. So we were traveling throughout sixty
cities in six weeks.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
So sixty cities in six weeks. When does the tour end?
When can any of your performers take a deep breath
and say, I'm relax. When does this sixty day tour end?
Speaker 3 (16:38):
Our?
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Tour ends January third, and we will be ending in Miami.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Well, that's a nice city to end in, that's for sure.
We have a big radio station here that is heard
all up and down the East Coast. So if you
want to mention a few of the other cities that
you'll be performing in after Boston, maybe we'll be able
to help you out, not only here in Boston, but
where do you can it yes, where do you go
from here?
Speaker 1 (17:04):
So after Boston, we will be in Manchester, New Hampshire,
all right, on December tenth at seven thirty. From there,
the next day we'll be in Bangor, Maine at seven thirty.
So the December eleventh, Wednesday, the next day, Thursday, December twelfth,
(17:27):
will be in Portland, Maine, our shows at seven thirty
as well, and then we'll be trailing back down the
coast to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania December thirteenth and fourteenth.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
All right, Well, that that'll get the word out in
advance of some of your performances, and of course here
in Boston here at the Box Center Schubert Theater, and
I'm sure that if anyone wants, and many people are
going to want, Box Center is a great location. As
a matter of fact that I heard Erdie Bok, who's
the namesake for that center, on the show the other night.
It's a fabulous venue. I don't know if you've been
(17:58):
there before, but it's great for the audience and it's
great for the performers. So Aubrey, thank you very much.
Where are you from? Roubrey? Originally? Are you? You're not annoying?
Speaker 1 (18:07):
I'm from San Antonio, Texas.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
I have listeners in San Antonio, Texas. Believe it or not.
So yes, it is a small world. Walt Disney had
his head it right. It is a small world after all.
Aubrey willis answering choreographer of Shirt Dreams Holidays December sixth
through the eighth Friday Night, a triple header on Saturday,
at a doubleheader on Sunday. Six shows in three days
(18:33):
at the Box Center Schubert Theater. You will not be disappointed.
Thanks so much, Aubrey for stopping by tonight. And maybe
we'll catch you the next time you're floating through Boston.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
Yes, for sure. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Dan, You're very welcome, Aubrey. Have safe travels. When we
get back, we're going to talk about fragrances. Fragrances, Yeah,
you know, people give a lot of fragrances at this
time of year. Fragrances at first may seem harmless, but
there's some research that is raising some alarm. Or We're
going to talk with doctor Tricia Pasrica. She's been a
guest before. She's the Ask a Doctor columnist for the
(19:10):
Washington Post. She's also Boston based. By the way, so
we'll talk with doctor Pashrika past Rika right after this
break news break at the bottom of the hour. It's Nightside,
Boston's news Radio one, and welcome back one of my
favorite guests, doctor Tricia Pashrika. She's the Ask a Doctor
(19:31):
columnist for the Washington Post. Doctor Pashrika, welcome back to Nightside.
Speaker 4 (19:36):
So glad to be back, Dan, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
So my notes say that fragrances may seem harmless. I
assume they're harmless. But you wrote a piece for the
Post that suggests that there's some research that is at
least raising alarms. And there's a word that I wouldn't
even try to pronounce pH th a la tes. What's
the correct pronunciation of that.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
That's a good question to start with. It's salates. So
the first thh is a silent one. But you're right
that it feels very esoteric.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Pharmacy. I always thought pharmacy was faim until I was
about ten years old. I figured out, Okay, that's the
pH so thaltes. Okay, tell us what the problem with
thalites are and how the heck did they get into
our fragrances.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
Yeah, I think this is data that you know You're
probably not alone and having not really heard about this
so much until recently. The data has really come to
light in the last five to ten years. But saltes
are a classic chemical that has been called by scientists
of endocrine disrupting chemicals or eedcs, and these types of
(20:45):
chemicals are everywhere, and all of these products we use
every day, and they basically interfere with our endocrine system.
And our endocrine system is composed of multiple glands. Our
thyroid glands are pituitary glands that regulate hormones. And people
might have heard of another was you know is so
called endercritidropt chemical pea fast. They've they've gotten a lot
(21:05):
of attention lately. But dalates and parabins they're commonly found
in a lot of personal care products like soaps, shampoos, fragrances,
and other beauty products, but there are in plenty of
other spaces. Honestly, they've been found even in our food
so they're pretty ubiquitous in our environments.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
So how does stuff like that get past the FDA?
I mean, I'm not a label reader. I know what
food I want, and I know what food's good for
me and what food's not good for me, and I
try to stay away from the stuff that's not good
for me. But I'm not somebody who's going to look
at every package of everything that I buy. And even
if you do, it's that small print that unless the
(21:44):
lighting is good and your eyes are perfect, you may
you may miss it anyway. That's what the FDA was
supposed to.
Speaker 4 (21:51):
Do for us, right, hyah, You're absolutely right. I mean
other countries, European Union, for example, they've cracked down a
lot harder on some of these chemicals than we have
here in the US. And why there's not sort of
more regulatory bands on some of these chemicals is like
a much larger topic. I think the thing that I've
(22:12):
discovered in reporting this piece that I found maybe most
concerning is that you know, just like you, I think
you know a lot of people don't stillly have time
to read the label so closely. We think we're picking
clean products for these types of chemicals. Stalates in particular,
companies don't actually have to write the word thalate as
one of the ingredients. You might read it and you
might not see that word and say, okay, fine, I'm
(22:33):
in the clear. But actually, as long as the word
fragrance is contained in the ingredients of some of these
products that actually sort of implies that it has a
salate in it in the US. And so when I
sort of internalized that message, I kind of went through
some of my own household products, took a lot of
the ingredients, and I was really surprised. I mean, the
word fragrance and added fragrance is in so much of
(22:55):
our daily products, our household cleaners, the stuff we put
on our skin and our faces, in our hair every day,
and so it's really something that you, as a consumer,
I have to kind of go that extra step to say, Okay,
I'm not just looking for Dallas, I'm really looking for
any added fragrance because that sort of implies that a
salade is present.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
So when you're talking about a fragrance, I just want
to make sure clear. Are we talking about, you know,
after shave and perfumes that men or women might use,
or are we talking about some additional fragrance that is
in our liquid soap or our dishwasher detergent that that
(23:34):
kind of reinforces that it's that smells good. Yeah, both
you and this is all the above question.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
Yeah, it's you know, it's unfortunately it's kind of all
of the above. So we're definitely talking about personal fragrances,
perfumes and colognes. We're also talking about personal care products
like the kinds of soaps and shampoos and conditioners that
are that are there all of these If you look
at the you know, unless it's a very specific company
that's really trying to do something healthy and clean, and
(24:04):
there are a few that do this, most of them
you will just see the word fragrance. And if that
word fragrance is there, it means it's this chemical added
fragrance that you know, as opposed to a natural fragrance
like lavender, lemon, that kind of thing that you have
to be wary of. These salts or these and other
endocrine disrupting chemicals, they've been linked to numerous health outcomes
(24:27):
that are not good for us. They increased insulin resistance,
cardiovascular disease, and other issues with neurodevelopment that are really
raising the alarm amongst scientists.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
How long have we, meaning the people who are supposed
to regulate these things, how long have they been aware
of the existence of these? Again, maybe can I use
the word chemicals or is that inappropriate.
Speaker 4 (24:56):
You can use the word chemisticals you know, own about
it for some time. In fact, the concerns about childhood
ex socire tistalets are high enough in the United States
that certain types of those chemicals have been banded children's
toys and items like pacifiers and baby bottles for several years.
But for whatever reason, and this is again like a
(25:16):
bigger issue in how things are regulated, that those bands
haven't extended to other personal care products which are certainly
being used by adolescents. I mean that between the adolescent
skin care market is thriving. Adolescents are very into using
perfumes and lotions and a twenty step skincare routine. Those
(25:36):
products have not been have not been regulated as tightly
as things like pacifiers and baby bottles, but we're all
getting exposed to them every day.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
Well, I'll tell you this is a frightening story. And
it's a frightening story because it's it's sort of like
it almost comes back to the chemicals that were outlawed,
you know, as a result of you know, some of
the investigative reporting that happened in the nineteen fifties and sixties.
(26:06):
And but you have you have these companies who have
their lobbyists on K Street in Washington, d C. I mean,
I'm thinking of Rachel carson Silent Spring right now as
I talk to you, And is this the next chapter
in Rachel Carson's Silent Spring or or is this the
is this something that is as I mean, potentially as
(26:28):
dangerous as what we thought was out of our out
of the products supply that we that we so cavalierly
buy at you know, at health stores or maybe not
health stores, but at pharmacies, at CVS and Walgreen's and
all these other different stores that we go into and
we assume the stuff that s on the shelf is
(26:48):
safe and good for us.
Speaker 4 (26:51):
Yeah, I think you're right that I think that level
of awareness is really becoming heightened the last couple of years.
And you know what I tell my patients is that,
you know, in the end, it's about the impact of
a habit of using these products, not so much. You know,
people will say that it's just a tiny sprits of perfume,
like that's not going to kill me, right, And I
talk to a toxicologist and during this reporting, and she
(27:12):
really advises everyone to avoid products with added fragrances, especially
parents of young children, adolescents. But you know, you know,
I consider this is like any other health decision you
might make, right, like one cigarette, one glass of wine.
We're not gonna be able to pin a bad outcome
on that one moment. But if you smoke just one
cigarette every single day for sixty years, then the story
starts to change. And that's what I think about when
(27:34):
you think about all of the personal care products you
use on a daily basis. I mean I use at
least five or six if I really think about it,
multiply that by three sixty five, maybe forty more years
of my life, and suddenly that one sprits you're using
every day is not so minutes ago after all.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Wow, Well, this is this is stuff that I hope
some of the other newspapers and investigative television and reports
pick up on because this is a frightening story. Truly
frightening story for me, because you like to think that, Okay,
we're in America and someone's out looking out for what
(28:10):
we're ingesting and what we're applying to ourselves. So doctor
Tricia Pashrika, you've again provide us with a great story.
One more time and look forward to our next conversation.
Speaker 4 (28:23):
My pleasure. Good to talk.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Great to talk with you as well when we get back,
when we talk about a really good story. This one
comes out of New Hampshire. A Salem, New Hampshire woman
has created a giving card to give back to her community.
This is interesting. Donations are going to go to the
Salem Animal Rescue League and you'll this is a real
feel good story. Coming back right after the break here
(28:47):
on a Wednesday night edition of Nightside. Now back to
Dan Ray live from the Window World Nightside Studios on
WBZ News Radio. Well, our next story comes to us
VI via the Ego Tribune and reported Jamie Costa, who
originally reported this story and we're following up on it tonight.
(29:10):
So we do want to credit the Ego Tribune and
Jamie Costa, the reporter involved who has introduced us. And
now we will introduce to you a Rebecca Webster. Rebecca
is a local Salem, New Hampshire resident who has come
up with a pretty creative idea at a lot of levels. Rebecca,
Welcome to Night's Side. How are you this evening?
Speaker 4 (29:31):
I'm good? How are you good?
Speaker 2 (29:33):
So you came up with this idea to basically to
give back to your community, which is really interesting. But
you're going to do it in a way in which
it's kind of an honor system, I guess. And all
the donations that are contributed to this to your effort
(29:55):
is actually going to go to a great cause, and
that is the Salem, New Hampshire and Rescue League. So
tell us how this works and how the genesis of
the idea.
Speaker 5 (30:08):
So I've always seen the little libraries around different towns,
and I thought they're a really neat idea, and you know,
I just wanted to do something a little bit different.
So my spin on that was, you know, I've got
a lot of goods and a lot of things, and
I decided to ask my husband to build me, uh
(30:32):
a little table that I could have some good than
goods and things on. And I call it Grantite Goodies
because we live on Granted app and in the Granite State. Yes, yes, exactly.
And he built me this beautiful cart and I have
(30:54):
just different items in there that I might not be
using much in my house. And I'm trying to have
different themes, you know, like Halloween, Halloween things, and you know,
some holiday things coming up and just trying to give
back to the community. And people can take things for
free and that's perfectly fine, or they can leave a
(31:18):
small donation for the same animal rescue league. And yeah,
it's working out really great.
Speaker 4 (31:25):
Communities are coming together.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
Yeah, when you talk about the little libraries, I know
exactly what you mean, and many people really do as well.
But for those who don't, there are these little sort
of like bookstands in certain communities where people can contribute
a book if they want, or just borrow a book
if they want to read the book and then return
the book. It's it's a great way for people to
(31:51):
maybe get some books off the bookshelves at home and
tidy up the bookshelves. What you do is give us
an example of some of the items that you just
have said, Hey, I don't need this anymore, but someone
else might need it. Let me put it out in
the car and in this by the way, was the
car sitting on your front lawn or where is it?
Just paint the picture for us.
Speaker 5 (32:14):
It's on it's on the front lawn. It's it's on
the edge of the front of our yard, by our
our fence in the corner and yeah, it's it's made
from reused palettes. And so I mean, right now, there
are a couple of plates out there. There's a couple
(32:37):
of different mugs. There's been some you know, picture frames
that I'm not using. There's been a pair of roller
blades that were pretty much brand new that have now
come and gone. But there's all different thing.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
You're telling me that you have a teenager or two
who has moved into the working world and they don't
have as much use for the roller blades these days.
Speaker 5 (33:05):
Exactly, yes, exactly.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Okay, And again it's the honor system. So you don't
put a price, and you don't say, oh, we recommend
for the roller blades a ten dollars donation. You basically
everything is there for the asking honor system, and people
can contribute how much or how little they might like
to contribute.
Speaker 5 (33:28):
Correct, Correct, it's the honor system. There's actually a notebook
also in there that there's a little note on it
that you know, just says, please leave this notebook here
and leave a note if you'd like. And lots of
community members have left me a note and like what
they've donated or maybe thanking me, or I took this
(33:51):
and this is just perfect for my own so it's
nice for me to read some of the notes that
the community members are leaving.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Just a few more of the items that you brought
from your home. Now, obviously you have have in effect
started to declutter your home when you take items that
are no longer of value to you or of use
to you or your family and move them out. I
mean a great example is the roller blades. Unless you're
going to take up a carreras a rollerblade or in
(34:21):
the roller derby, you didn't have any need for them.
But give us a few other examples of just everyday
items that you put out there and that people have taken.
Speaker 5 (34:33):
I've had some some kitchen you know, containers and things
that I'm not using that we're pretty brand new, so
I put those out there. During Halloween, I put out
some Halloween greeting cards, so if anybody wanted to send
somebody else a greeting card, I've put those out there.
(34:55):
Now I'm going to move into some holidaypping items and
some gifts for many ages. I've had a camera donators.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
I'll bet you probably have some Christmas decorations stored somewhere
in a spare room or an attic that maybe have
the light of day, or haven't seen a Christmas tree
in a number of years. I'm bet I'm guessing because
most of us have that.
Speaker 5 (35:27):
Yes, Yes, that's coming up next. Yes, and hopefully hopefully
the community likes the ones I pick.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
Okay, so how about this. Let me do this, if
you don't mind, I do want to give the address
so people who live in the in the Sale of
New Hampshire area will will know where to find you.
Said it's on Granite Street. I have no idea if
Granted Street is a big broad boulevard or if it's
a little side road in Salem, New Hampshire. I don't
want to put you in a situation where people are
(35:56):
breaking into your home or anything like that. You tell
me what works best for you.
Speaker 5 (36:02):
Sure it's thirty four Granted Ave in Salem, New Hampshire.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
Yeah, yeah, Well I think it's a fabulous idea and
as I say it, it gives you a little extra
space in your home. And when I'm actually thinking about it,
you had a husband who was great and a craftsman
who could build you a card in a display case.
Do you lead the stuff overnight or do you bring
in every evening.
Speaker 5 (36:28):
I leave it overnight. I usually check it in the morning,
and I check it at night. And if things like
tonight it's supposed to you know, there's going to be
some weather, so I took anything in that might be
you know, ruined by the weather. But yeah, I'm hoping
I can keep it up for all, you know, throughout
the winter and people will stop by and keep taking
(36:54):
items and bringing some gently used items over because the
community seems to be bringing a couple things over, which
is nice too.
Speaker 2 (37:02):
Yeah, so other people can declutter a little bit, but
they don't want to overwhelm. They don't want to bring
over the trunkload of things and leave them on your
front lawn. So let's hope everybody respects and appreciates what
you do and treat your front lawn and your neighborhood
very very nicely. And I think it's a great idea.
(37:22):
You know, Later this month we do the night Side.
We do this every year, We've done it now this
will be our twelfth year Nightside Charity Combine where we
basically highlight great charity ideas and if you're interested in
joining us, it's a brief interview like three or four
minutes on the night of December twentieth, which was my
(37:44):
last night of my broadcast year. That's my last night
of the year this year. We'd love to have you
join us. So do you have the number of my
producer Marita, who you spoke with or who texted you
today or emailed you or whatever the act she did? Oh? Yes,
I do. Yeah, if you're interested, keep them read.
Speaker 5 (38:05):
Yeah, that would be wonderful.
Speaker 2 (38:06):
We could incorporate you in this. It's on Friday night,
December twentieth. It's about only a three or four minute interview.
We do the same thing. We just would condense what
we've done now in just a few minutes, and it
would be a way in which we could kind of
check back with you and see how you're doing. Okay, great,
sounds great. Thanks for backa congratulations, a great idea, and
(38:26):
I'll bet you there'll be some people who will be
initiating programs like the one you've described in their own communities.
You're a community hero. Thank you so much.
Speaker 5 (38:35):
Mary Christmas, thank you, Merry Christmas.
Speaker 2 (38:38):
All right, we'll be back right after the nine o'clock news,
and we're going to talk about what's called Massachusetts out migration.
There are more people leaving Massachusetts than are coming into
the state. And the ones that are leaving are people
that we need to keep here because they tend to
be younger, and they tend to be employed, very highly employed,
(38:59):
and highly compensated. We are losing a lot of very
important individuals, and we will explain it all in its
entirety coming up with a research associate at the Pioneer
Institute's name is Aiden Enwright. Will I can't say you're
going to enjoy this conversation, but it's going to certainly
open up a lot of people's eyes. Back on nightside
right after this
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WBS, Boston's new radio,
and it.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Is a chilly Wednesday night. Indeed, Riches arriving a little early,
good evening. Everybody. Hope you're nice and toasty warm wherever
you are. I am broadcasting remotely and I am just fine.
I hope you are equally fine. My name is Dan Ray.
Thank you very much, Nicole. As we head towards the
(00:28):
midnight hour, Rob Brooks is back in the control room
at Broadcast Central at Broadcast Headquarters, and he'll set you
up for your phone calls beginning after nine o'clock. During
this hour, we'll be talking with four guests on various
and sundry topics. I think you'll be interested in all
four of them, that's for sure. We're going to cover
topics from from Gibs get his stout, I guess, to
(00:53):
a problem with certain fragrances and a giving card up
in New Hampshire. That's is going to benefit the Animal
Rescue League, as well as going to talk about a
dancer and the choreographers. We have lots to do this hour,
but before we get to all of that, let me
just remind you that on Monday night, we will be
once again the benefit of the wisdom of Harvard Admissions
(01:17):
Dean Director of Admissions at Harvard, Bill Fitzsimmons, and the
same status Director of Admissions at Boston College Grant Goslin.
So they will be with us beginning at eight o'clock
on Monday night. And if you have anyone in your
circle of family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances who have children or
(01:37):
them children themselves who are beginning the big quest to
get into the college of their choice or the college
that best fits them, this is must listen radio because
the amount of information that will be disgorged on Monday
night by Dean's Fitzsimmons and Goslin will be extraord So
(02:00):
please mark your calendar. Uh, if you've never listened to
Nightside before, that should be a night that everyone should
be tuned in. And then on December twentieth, we will
once again have our annual Nightside Charity Combine. As I've
mentioned to you a couple of times, these slots are
filling up quickly. If you're involved with a charity, or
if you particularly are the head of a charity, send
(02:22):
me an email at Danray at iHeartMedia dot com. And
if you've missed that, call Rob on our six one
seven two five four ten thirty line and he will
give you all of that information. You also can call Marita,
our producer during the day at seven eight one three
five zero one seven two six Rob. I hope you
(02:42):
wrote that number down so that you can give both
my email address and Marita's phone number. Tell us about
your charity or the charity that you're involved in with.
What is your purpose, who are you trying to help,
What do you need? Do you need more volunteers, do
you need perhaps an infusion of some cash. We have
some very generous Nightside listeners who every year arrive to
(03:04):
the occasion. It will be on Friday night, December twentieth.
You again will be interviewed from the comfort of your home.
There is no need for you to get in the
car on a December night and drive to Broadcast Centru. Nope,
we will do it remotely, just as we've been doing
it now for several years. Twelfth Annual Nightside Charity Combine. Now,
let us return to the festivities of the eight o'clock
(03:27):
hour this evening, and I want to welcome back. I
think it's his second time here. Jay correct me if
I'm wrong. Jay will Let a return appearance here on
the night Side News Update. Am I right or wrong
on that? Jay?
Speaker 3 (03:39):
You're completely correct.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Dan.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
It's great to be here, great to chat again. Thanks
for having me.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
You're very welcome. Well, I must tell you we're going
to talk about Guinness. I don't know if there are
any Irish roots in the will Let family tree, but
there's a lot of Irish roots in the Ray family tree.
But I'm not a fan of Guinness. Do you like Guinness? Oh? Yeah, yeah,
(04:09):
tell us tell us about this story. Because I had
never heard of this. I must tell you I had
a Guinness a little over fifteen months ago at the
Guinness factory in Dublin, and I asked for a Guinness
light and they actually have a Guinness light that you
can drink now, so I didn't have to like molasses
to me a Guinness. But that's okay. Tell us about
(04:31):
splitting the G. We're not talking about splitting the atom here.
This is not This is not heavy lift. Everyone will
be able to understand this.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
From Yeah, yeah, exactly. Not rocket science. It's pretty straightforward,
you know, pretty self explanatory. Splitting the G the G
in this case referring to the Guinness the letter in
the branding Guinness. So essentially to play this game you
need to at least two people, but this can be
(05:01):
played in a group setting as well, but you really
need that that Guinness pine glass, the one with the
harp and the Guinness printed right there on the glass.
And the objective of the game, uh is to get
the closest that you can with a full pint of
Glennis of Guinness to the middle of the g there
(05:22):
and whoever gets kind of the closest meniscus of foam
to that horizontal line wins the whole thing.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
You know.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
It's purely just used for pre games stuff like that,
just a fun game to play a night out with friends.
And it's funny you uh, you say you were in
Dublin because I actually lived in Dublin for a time
and I lived right across the streets from the storehouse,
So I did. I did, and so that was kind
(05:54):
of my way of knowing I was near home is
you can smell the hops in the air. So it's
just such a fond memory that you what were.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
You doing in Dublin, I assume, assuming it's legal and
everything that you can talk about when we go to
school there.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Yeah, well, definitely legal. I was studying abroad. I went
to Providence College and that was part of my study
abroad program. I chose Dublin. I do have family roots
in Galway. To answer your first question.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
So be there many times?
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Yeah, I love it.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Well that's great. So so you're a Guinness guy, which
is great. So you you were assigned the story or
maybe you came up with it yourself a reporter.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Yeah, yeah, a little bit of both.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
All Right, is this a difficult feat to accomplish? They
have to take a huge gulp of guinness, as I
understand that, and some are suggesting that's really not the
way to drink guinness, particularly if you like.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Yeah, yeah, I mean definitely not maybe the Connis Sewers game,
but it is kind of kind of what I think
the part the part of the reason why I think
it's become so popular and and that's kind of the
point I want to get at too, is that this
game has is definitely blown up. I mean I didn't
first hear about this until a couple of years ago,
and since then it's just been like I've seen people
(07:18):
doing it at bars left and right, so definitely becoming
kind of a household name. And I think what makes
it so popular is because even though it is a
big chug of beer, it's not demanding a full chug
of beer. And I think that's a little less intimidating,
you know, than than typical competitions that people hear about.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
You know, Yeah, I'll stick with my cores lights. To
be honest with you, I'm about on any sort of
beer spectrum. I'm about as far away from Guinness with
with with my Core's lights anybody could be. But you
could be heavy, Yeah, absolutely, Cad. Well, well, look that's
(08:03):
a great story. I'm glad that as you've explained that,
you explain it really well. Splitting the g's it's not
rocket science, but it's a lot of fun. I assume. Also,
like a certain card game of solitaire, you could you
could try to split the g by yourself, maybe get
some practice. Not you I'm talking about, but someone at home,
you know, just on their own, could could work on
(08:24):
splitting the G and I don't know, maybe go out
and challenge your friends and maybe win a few bar
bets as well, who knows. I mean, the possibilities are endless.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
J They truly are. It'd crack.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Well. Congratulations on your time in Dublin. That's a. That's
a great city to be and that that is for sure.
It's a. It's so much fun and particularly when you're young,
and if you're willing to try to split the g
that's great. I went to how far did you live from?
We went to the factory, which is the big factory,
right you have.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
The storehouse I imagine, yeah, yeah, yeah, And.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
You paid for the tour and you got to you
got a free Guinness when you went upstairs, and I
just said, do you have a Guinness light? And they said, yes,
we do and it was very good. It was very good. Okay,
we'll lat WBZ news radio reporter, an international guy and
a connoisseur of Guinness. I'll never listen to your stories
(09:27):
in the same frame of mind again, mister Willett. Thank
you so much.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
All right, sounds good.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Talk to you soon. Thanks, Jay, appreciate it. Well you
get back. I when to talk about another form of
entertainment at the Back Center Schubert Theater December sixth through
the eighth. I hope I'm going to pronounce this correctly,
the Circu Dreams Holidays. We'll talk with Aubrey Willis, who's
a dancer and choreographer. If you're looking for a little
early Christmas or holiday entertainment, this just might be it.
(09:57):
Back on night Side, my name is Dan Ray. This
is WBZ Boston's News Radio ten thirty and your AM dial.
Feel free to get ready to call in. We're gonna
have some interesting guests later on tonight. We're gonna talk
about the out migration of people, particularly younger and wealthier
people leaving Massachusetts, Yes, for greener pastures and they're not
(10:18):
going to Ireland to drink guinness. We'll also talk later
on about I guess you'd call it a threat by
President Trump, President elect Trump, he had a message for
Hamas and basically release the hostages, Release the hostages, or
I'm gonna release the hounds. We will break that down
a little bit later tonight as well, back on Nightside.
(10:40):
Right after this, now back to Dan Ray live from
the Window World Nightside Studios on WBZ News Radio. Well,
all of a sudden cold weather ian the holidays or
upon us with us is Aubrey Willis. Aubrey Willis, you
are a dancer and a choreographer. Welcome to nightside.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Hi, Hi, thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Very welcome. So you were with circ Dreams Holidays, which
is uh? Is it a part of Cirk Disilay or
an offshoot? How would you describe it?
Speaker 1 (11:16):
So, Cirk Dreams Holidays is part of the v Star
Entertainment Group, which became of a subsidiary of Cirk Dissila
Entertainment Group a few years ago.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Easy for you to say, Okay, good So you get
you folks, and you're the you're a dancer and a choreographer.
You will be at the back center Schubert Theater. Uh.
This weekend, it looks like Friday, Yes.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Friday, Saturday and Sunday which six shows?
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Six shows? Yes, you gotta so we have?
Speaker 1 (11:53):
So we have on Friday the sixth, we have a
seven thirty pm show, Saturday we have an eleven A,
a three pm and a seven thirty pm show. And
Sunday we have a one pm and five pm show.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Wow. So Saturday you got a triple header and on
Sunday a doubleheader. I'll tell you that's going to be.
That's going to be a rough weekend. Tell us a
little bit how long has Cirked Dreams Holidays been a production?
I hope I'm using the correct term.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Yes, yes, it is a production. It's a Broadway style
holiday production that incorporates the serch acts as long as
amazing aerial acts, hangharing, artists, acrobatics, skippers and jugglers just
to name a feel. We are celebrating this year the
(12:46):
fifteenth season. So yeah, so fifteen years now.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
Yeah, yeah, Bill.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
These folks are tremendous athletes. They may be dancers and
you're a dancer and a choreographer, but they have to
be in fabulous condition to do what they do. How
do you find people who have the athletic ability to
perform some of these amazing feats?
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Just all around the world? Really, everybody and their talents
come from every continent of the world. And within our
states we have some Australians, we have some Hungarians, people
from Argentina and Brazil, you know, and we just go
down the line.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Are these are these people who have formally trained as
I use the word acrobats, that's probably not the proper term,
but what they do is acrobatic. Are they formally trained?
You just don't like pick people up off the street.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Obviously, the majority of everybody has train.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
They aspire to to be involved in circusole or or subsidiaries.
And are there schools where these folks learned to do
this amazing aerial gymnastics.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Yeah, so most of it is.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
There's there's a lot of.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Components into all these acts besides acrobatic elements. But majority
of the cast has all been trained for each and
each and every individual act.
Speaker 4 (14:31):
That they have that they are partaking in our shows.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
I'm assuming that this is this is this is not
work for the faint of hearted, for the faint of
heart or for people who were probably like me, on
the wrong side of fifty. What's the average age for
the performers in the in in this circu Dreams Holidays?
Speaker 5 (14:56):
What's there our show?
Speaker 1 (14:59):
We have all ages, all ages. I would say the
oldest is around forty two.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Yea in their fifty sixty, seventies or eighties. And if
they were I wanted to meet them. But how big
is the troupe? How many people will be performed in
the troop at these shows?
Speaker 1 (15:25):
In our cast we have about roughly thirty individuals. There
are six dancers, we have two duo components, which are
One of them is a duo erless act and another
is a duo roller skating act, and then everybody else
(15:49):
has their singular acts as well.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
And your performance season. Obviously, you're in Boston this weekend.
Where were you last weekend? I assume that you move
around the world, certainly at least across North America.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Yes, so just yesterday we were in Reading, Pennsylvania. Tomorrow
will be in Albany, New York, and then this Friday
will be in Boston. So we were traveling throughout sixty
cities in six weeks.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
So sixty cities in six weeks. When does the tour end?
When can any of your performers take a deep breath
and say, I'm relax. When does this sixty day tour end?
Speaker 3 (16:38):
Our?
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Tour ends January third, and we will be ending in Miami.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Well, that's a nice city to end in, that's for sure.
We have a big radio station here that is heard
all up and down the East Coast. So if you
want to mention a few of the other cities that
you'll be performing in after Boston, maybe we'll be able
to help you out, not only here in Boston, but
where do you can it yes, where do you go
from here?
Speaker 1 (17:04):
So after Boston, we will be in Manchester, New Hampshire,
all right, on December tenth at seven thirty. From there,
the next day we'll be in Bangor, Maine at seven thirty.
So the December eleventh, Wednesday, the next day, Thursday, December twelfth,
(17:27):
will be in Portland, Maine, our shows at seven thirty
as well, and then we'll be trailing back down the
coast to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania December thirteenth and fourteenth.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
All right, Well, that that'll get the word out in
advance of some of your performances, and of course here
in Boston here at the Box Center Schubert Theater, and
I'm sure that if anyone wants, and many people are
going to want, Box Center is a great location. As
a matter of fact that I heard Erdie Bok, who's
the namesake for that center, on the show the other night.
It's a fabulous venue. I don't know if you've been
(17:58):
there before, but it's great for the audience and it's
great for the performers. So Aubrey, thank you very much.
Where are you from? Roubrey? Originally? Are you? You're not annoying?
Speaker 1 (18:07):
I'm from San Antonio, Texas.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
I have listeners in San Antonio, Texas. Believe it or not.
So yes, it is a small world. Walt Disney had
his head it right. It is a small world after all.
Aubrey willis answering choreographer of Shirt Dreams Holidays December sixth
through the eighth Friday Night, a triple header on Saturday,
at a doubleheader on Sunday. Six shows in three days
(18:33):
at the Box Center Schubert Theater. You will not be disappointed.
Thanks so much, Aubrey for stopping by tonight. And maybe
we'll catch you the next time you're floating through Boston.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
Yes, for sure. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Dan, You're very welcome, Aubrey. Have safe travels. When we
get back, we're going to talk about fragrances. Fragrances, Yeah,
you know, people give a lot of fragrances at this
time of year. Fragrances at first may seem harmless, but
there's some research that is raising some alarm. Or We're
going to talk with doctor Tricia Pasrica. She's been a
guest before. She's the Ask a Doctor columnist for the
(19:10):
Washington Post. She's also Boston based. By the way, so
we'll talk with doctor Pashrika past Rika right after this
break news break at the bottom of the hour. It's Nightside,
Boston's news Radio one, and welcome back one of my
favorite guests, doctor Tricia Pashrika. She's the Ask a Doctor
(19:31):
columnist for the Washington Post. Doctor Pashrika, welcome back to Nightside.
Speaker 4 (19:36):
So glad to be back, Dan, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
So my notes say that fragrances may seem harmless. I
assume they're harmless. But you wrote a piece for the
Post that suggests that there's some research that is at
least raising alarms. And there's a word that I wouldn't
even try to pronounce pH th a la tes. What's
the correct pronunciation of that.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
That's a good question to start with. It's salates. So
the first thh is a silent one. But you're right
that it feels very esoteric.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Pharmacy. I always thought pharmacy was faim until I was
about ten years old. I figured out, Okay, that's the
pH so thaltes. Okay, tell us what the problem with
thalites are and how the heck did they get into
our fragrances.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
Yeah, I think this is data that you know You're
probably not alone and having not really heard about this
so much until recently. The data has really come to
light in the last five to ten years. But saltes
are a classic chemical that has been called by scientists
of endocrine disrupting chemicals or eedcs, and these types of
(20:45):
chemicals are everywhere, and all of these products we use
every day, and they basically interfere with our endocrine system.
And our endocrine system is composed of multiple glands. Our
thyroid glands are pituitary glands that regulate hormones. And people
might have heard of another was you know is so
called endercritidropt chemical pea fast. They've they've gotten a lot
(21:05):
of attention lately. But dalates and parabins they're commonly found
in a lot of personal care products like soaps, shampoos, fragrances,
and other beauty products, but there are in plenty of
other spaces. Honestly, they've been found even in our food
so they're pretty ubiquitous in our environments.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
So how does stuff like that get past the FDA?
I mean, I'm not a label reader. I know what
food I want, and I know what food's good for
me and what food's not good for me, and I
try to stay away from the stuff that's not good
for me. But I'm not somebody who's going to look
at every package of everything that I buy. And even
if you do, it's that small print that unless the
(21:44):
lighting is good and your eyes are perfect, you may
you may miss it anyway. That's what the FDA was
supposed to.
Speaker 4 (21:51):
Do for us, right, hyah, You're absolutely right. I mean
other countries, European Union, for example, they've cracked down a
lot harder on some of these chemicals than we have
here in the US. And why there's not sort of
more regulatory bands on some of these chemicals is like
a much larger topic. I think the thing that I've
(22:12):
discovered in reporting this piece that I found maybe most
concerning is that you know, just like you, I think
you know a lot of people don't stillly have time
to read the label so closely. We think we're picking
clean products for these types of chemicals. Stalates in particular,
companies don't actually have to write the word thalate as
one of the ingredients. You might read it and you
might not see that word and say, okay, fine, I'm
(22:33):
in the clear. But actually, as long as the word
fragrance is contained in the ingredients of some of these
products that actually sort of implies that it has a
salate in it in the US. And so when I
sort of internalized that message, I kind of went through
some of my own household products, took a lot of
the ingredients, and I was really surprised. I mean, the
word fragrance and added fragrance is in so much of
(22:55):
our daily products, our household cleaners, the stuff we put
on our skin and our faces, in our hair every day,
and so it's really something that you, as a consumer,
I have to kind of go that extra step to say, Okay,
I'm not just looking for Dallas, I'm really looking for
any added fragrance because that sort of implies that a
salade is present.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
So when you're talking about a fragrance, I just want
to make sure clear. Are we talking about, you know,
after shave and perfumes that men or women might use,
or are we talking about some additional fragrance that is
in our liquid soap or our dishwasher detergent that that
(23:34):
kind of reinforces that it's that smells good. Yeah, both
you and this is all the above question.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
Yeah, it's you know, it's unfortunately it's kind of all
of the above. So we're definitely talking about personal fragrances,
perfumes and colognes. We're also talking about personal care products
like the kinds of soaps and shampoos and conditioners that
are that are there all of these If you look
at the you know, unless it's a very specific company
that's really trying to do something healthy and clean, and
(24:04):
there are a few that do this, most of them
you will just see the word fragrance. And if that
word fragrance is there, it means it's this chemical added
fragrance that you know, as opposed to a natural fragrance
like lavender, lemon, that kind of thing that you have
to be wary of. These salts or these and other
endocrine disrupting chemicals, they've been linked to numerous health outcomes
(24:27):
that are not good for us. They increased insulin resistance,
cardiovascular disease, and other issues with neurodevelopment that are really
raising the alarm amongst scientists.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
How long have we, meaning the people who are supposed
to regulate these things, how long have they been aware
of the existence of these? Again, maybe can I use
the word chemicals or is that inappropriate.
Speaker 4 (24:56):
You can use the word chemisticals you know, own about
it for some time. In fact, the concerns about childhood
ex socire tistalets are high enough in the United States
that certain types of those chemicals have been banded children's
toys and items like pacifiers and baby bottles for several years.
But for whatever reason, and this is again like a
(25:16):
bigger issue in how things are regulated, that those bands
haven't extended to other personal care products which are certainly
being used by adolescents. I mean that between the adolescent
skin care market is thriving. Adolescents are very into using
perfumes and lotions and a twenty step skincare routine. Those
(25:36):
products have not been have not been regulated as tightly
as things like pacifiers and baby bottles, but we're all
getting exposed to them every day.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
Well, I'll tell you this is a frightening story. And
it's a frightening story because it's it's sort of like
it almost comes back to the chemicals that were outlawed,
you know, as a result of you know, some of
the investigative reporting that happened in the nineteen fifties and sixties.
(26:06):
And but you have you have these companies who have
their lobbyists on K Street in Washington, d C. I mean,
I'm thinking of Rachel carson Silent Spring right now as
I talk to you, And is this the next chapter
in Rachel Carson's Silent Spring or or is this the
is this something that is as I mean, potentially as
(26:28):
dangerous as what we thought was out of our out
of the products supply that we that we so cavalierly
buy at you know, at health stores or maybe not
health stores, but at pharmacies, at CVS and Walgreen's and
all these other different stores that we go into and
we assume the stuff that s on the shelf is
(26:48):
safe and good for us.
Speaker 4 (26:51):
Yeah, I think you're right that I think that level
of awareness is really becoming heightened the last couple of years.
And you know what I tell my patients is that,
you know, in the end, it's about the impact of
a habit of using these products, not so much. You know,
people will say that it's just a tiny sprits of perfume,
like that's not going to kill me, right, And I
talk to a toxicologist and during this reporting, and she
(27:12):
really advises everyone to avoid products with added fragrances, especially
parents of young children, adolescents. But you know, you know,
I consider this is like any other health decision you
might make, right, like one cigarette, one glass of wine.
We're not gonna be able to pin a bad outcome
on that one moment. But if you smoke just one
cigarette every single day for sixty years, then the story
starts to change. And that's what I think about when
(27:34):
you think about all of the personal care products you
use on a daily basis. I mean I use at
least five or six if I really think about it,
multiply that by three sixty five, maybe forty more years
of my life, and suddenly that one sprits you're using
every day is not so minutes ago after all.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Wow, Well, this is this is stuff that I hope
some of the other newspapers and investigative television and reports
pick up on because this is a frightening story. Truly
frightening story for me, because you like to think that, Okay,
we're in America and someone's out looking out for what
(28:10):
we're ingesting and what we're applying to ourselves. So doctor
Tricia Pashrika, you've again provide us with a great story.
One more time and look forward to our next conversation.
Speaker 4 (28:23):
My pleasure. Good to talk.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Great to talk with you as well when we get back,
when we talk about a really good story. This one
comes out of New Hampshire. A Salem, New Hampshire woman
has created a giving card to give back to her community.
This is interesting. Donations are going to go to the
Salem Animal Rescue League and you'll this is a real
feel good story. Coming back right after the break here
(28:47):
on a Wednesday night edition of Nightside. Now back to
Dan Ray live from the Window World Nightside Studios on
WBZ News Radio. Well, our next story comes to us
VI via the Ego Tribune and reported Jamie Costa, who
originally reported this story and we're following up on it tonight.
(29:10):
So we do want to credit the Ego Tribune and
Jamie Costa, the reporter involved who has introduced us. And
now we will introduce to you a Rebecca Webster. Rebecca
is a local Salem, New Hampshire resident who has come
up with a pretty creative idea at a lot of levels. Rebecca,
Welcome to Night's Side. How are you this evening?
Speaker 4 (29:31):
I'm good? How are you good?
Speaker 2 (29:33):
So you came up with this idea to basically to
give back to your community, which is really interesting. But
you're going to do it in a way in which
it's kind of an honor system, I guess. And all
the donations that are contributed to this to your effort
(29:55):
is actually going to go to a great cause, and
that is the Salem, New Hampshire and Rescue League. So
tell us how this works and how the genesis of
the idea.
Speaker 5 (30:08):
So I've always seen the little libraries around different towns,
and I thought they're a really neat idea, and you know,
I just wanted to do something a little bit different.
So my spin on that was, you know, I've got
a lot of goods and a lot of things, and
I decided to ask my husband to build me, uh
(30:32):
a little table that I could have some good than
goods and things on. And I call it Grantite Goodies
because we live on Granted app and in the Granite State. Yes, yes, exactly.
And he built me this beautiful cart and I have
(30:54):
just different items in there that I might not be
using much in my house. And I'm trying to have
different themes, you know, like Halloween, Halloween things, and you know,
some holiday things coming up and just trying to give
back to the community. And people can take things for
free and that's perfectly fine, or they can leave a
(31:18):
small donation for the same animal rescue league. And yeah,
it's working out really great.
Speaker 4 (31:25):
Communities are coming together.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
Yeah, when you talk about the little libraries, I know
exactly what you mean, and many people really do as well.
But for those who don't, there are these little sort
of like bookstands in certain communities where people can contribute
a book if they want, or just borrow a book
if they want to read the book and then return
the book. It's it's a great way for people to
(31:51):
maybe get some books off the bookshelves at home and
tidy up the bookshelves. What you do is give us
an example of some of the items that you just
have said, Hey, I don't need this anymore, but someone
else might need it. Let me put it out in
the car and in this by the way, was the
car sitting on your front lawn or where is it?
Just paint the picture for us.
Speaker 5 (32:14):
It's on it's on the front lawn. It's it's on
the edge of the front of our yard, by our
our fence in the corner and yeah, it's it's made
from reused palettes. And so I mean, right now, there
are a couple of plates out there. There's a couple
(32:37):
of different mugs. There's been some you know, picture frames
that I'm not using. There's been a pair of roller
blades that were pretty much brand new that have now
come and gone. But there's all different thing.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
You're telling me that you have a teenager or two
who has moved into the working world and they don't
have as much use for the roller blades these days.
Speaker 5 (33:05):
Exactly, yes, exactly.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Okay, And again it's the honor system. So you don't
put a price, and you don't say, oh, we recommend
for the roller blades a ten dollars donation. You basically
everything is there for the asking honor system, and people
can contribute how much or how little they might like
to contribute.
Speaker 5 (33:28):
Correct, Correct, it's the honor system. There's actually a notebook
also in there that there's a little note on it
that you know, just says, please leave this notebook here
and leave a note if you'd like. And lots of
community members have left me a note and like what
they've donated or maybe thanking me, or I took this
(33:51):
and this is just perfect for my own so it's
nice for me to read some of the notes that
the community members are leaving.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Just a few more of the items that you brought
from your home. Now, obviously you have have in effect
started to declutter your home when you take items that
are no longer of value to you or of use
to you or your family and move them out. I
mean a great example is the roller blades. Unless you're
going to take up a carreras a rollerblade or in
(34:21):
the roller derby, you didn't have any need for them.
But give us a few other examples of just everyday
items that you put out there and that people have taken.
Speaker 5 (34:33):
I've had some some kitchen you know, containers and things
that I'm not using that we're pretty brand new, so
I put those out there. During Halloween, I put out
some Halloween greeting cards, so if anybody wanted to send
somebody else a greeting card, I've put those out there.
(34:55):
Now I'm going to move into some holidaypping items and
some gifts for many ages. I've had a camera donators.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
I'll bet you probably have some Christmas decorations stored somewhere
in a spare room or an attic that maybe have
the light of day, or haven't seen a Christmas tree
in a number of years. I'm bet I'm guessing because
most of us have that.
Speaker 5 (35:27):
Yes, Yes, that's coming up next. Yes, and hopefully hopefully
the community likes the ones I pick.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
Okay, so how about this. Let me do this, if
you don't mind, I do want to give the address
so people who live in the in the Sale of
New Hampshire area will will know where to find you.
Said it's on Granite Street. I have no idea if
Granted Street is a big broad boulevard or if it's
a little side road in Salem, New Hampshire. I don't
want to put you in a situation where people are
(35:56):
breaking into your home or anything like that. You tell
me what works best for you.
Speaker 5 (36:02):
Sure it's thirty four Granted Ave in Salem, New Hampshire.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
Yeah, yeah, Well I think it's a fabulous idea and
as I say it, it gives you a little extra
space in your home. And when I'm actually thinking about it,
you had a husband who was great and a craftsman
who could build you a card in a display case.
Do you lead the stuff overnight or do you bring
in every evening.
Speaker 5 (36:28):
I leave it overnight. I usually check it in the morning,
and I check it at night. And if things like
tonight it's supposed to you know, there's going to be
some weather, so I took anything in that might be
you know, ruined by the weather. But yeah, I'm hoping
I can keep it up for all, you know, throughout
the winter and people will stop by and keep taking
(36:54):
items and bringing some gently used items over because the
community seems to be bringing a couple things over, which
is nice too.
Speaker 2 (37:02):
Yeah, so other people can declutter a little bit, but
they don't want to overwhelm. They don't want to bring
over the trunkload of things and leave them on your
front lawn. So let's hope everybody respects and appreciates what
you do and treat your front lawn and your neighborhood
very very nicely. And I think it's a great idea.
(37:22):
You know, Later this month we do the night Side.
We do this every year, We've done it now this
will be our twelfth year Nightside Charity Combine where we
basically highlight great charity ideas and if you're interested in
joining us, it's a brief interview like three or four
minutes on the night of December twentieth, which was my
(37:44):
last night of my broadcast year. That's my last night
of the year this year. We'd love to have you
join us. So do you have the number of my
producer Marita, who you spoke with or who texted you
today or emailed you or whatever the act she did? Oh? Yes,
I do. Yeah, if you're interested, keep them read.
Speaker 5 (38:05):
Yeah, that would be wonderful.
Speaker 2 (38:06):
We could incorporate you in this. It's on Friday night,
December twentieth. It's about only a three or four minute interview.
We do the same thing. We just would condense what
we've done now in just a few minutes, and it
would be a way in which we could kind of
check back with you and see how you're doing. Okay, great,
sounds great. Thanks for backa congratulations, a great idea, and
(38:26):
I'll bet you there'll be some people who will be
initiating programs like the one you've described in their own communities.
You're a community hero. Thank you so much.
Speaker 5 (38:35):
Mary Christmas, thank you, Merry Christmas.
Speaker 2 (38:38):
All right, we'll be back right after the nine o'clock news,
and we're going to talk about what's called Massachusetts out migration.
There are more people leaving Massachusetts than are coming into
the state. And the ones that are leaving are people
that we need to keep here because they tend to
be younger, and they tend to be employed, very highly employed,
(38:59):
and highly compensated. We are losing a lot of very
important individuals, and we will explain it all in its
entirety coming up with a research associate at the Pioneer
Institute's name is Aiden Enwright. Will I can't say you're
going to enjoy this conversation, but it's going to certainly
open up a lot of people's eyes. Back on nightside
right after this
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.