December 17, 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!
Mason Taylor – Professional bull rider competing in championship on a $1 Million Pro Bull Riders’ World Championship Race Winds Through the Manchester, NH and the Greater Boston Area on Dec. 20-21!
Tom Zaller - President and CEO of Imagine Exhibitions brings us Harry Potter: The Exhibition in Boston!
Tracy Clements – former school councilor & now an Education Strategist in Student Safety & Mental Health at GoGuardian described how technology is helping schools save students’ lives.
Yashin Manraj, CEO of Pvotal Technologies on the recent drone sightings…Are they a threat?
Ask Alexa to play WBZ NewsRadio on #iHeartRadio and listen to NightSide with Dan Rea Weeknights From 8PM-12AM!
Mason Taylor – Professional bull rider competing in championship on a $1 Million Pro Bull Riders’ World Championship Race Winds Through the Manchester, NH and the Greater Boston Area on Dec. 20-21!
Tom Zaller - President and CEO of Imagine Exhibitions brings us Harry Potter: The Exhibition in Boston!
Tracy Clements – former school councilor & now an Education Strategist in Student Safety & Mental Health at GoGuardian described how technology is helping schools save students’ lives.
Yashin Manraj, CEO of Pvotal Technologies on the recent drone sightings…Are they a threat?
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.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm done you busy Boston Radio. Nicole Davis, thank you
very much to call. Whatever happened to the Santa Claus rally.
There's supposed to be a Santa Claus Rally on the
Dow every year. This is not a good sign. How
are you tonight? Nicoli's still in the.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Oh, I'm here. I'm just trying to find Santa Claus.
I don't know where he went.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Well, I gotta tell you, maybe he's just working too
hard at the North Pole making all those toys. Ins Hi.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
You know he's got to hire more elms to get
it done.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Yeah, well, I never even thought of that. You know,
you cut right to the chase.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
You know, Rudolph, his nose costs more to run these days.
Energy prices are up. It's a tough time to be
Santa Claus. I don't don't I feel for the guy.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
I know, And this is his busy week. This is
the busiest week of the year.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
And I think we're all collectively stressing a bit, including Saint.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Nick's nine games and nine days. I mean, this is
this is like a Red Sox streak. July would be
going crazy. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
I mean, I'm not an economist, but my four oh
one k is not too happy right now. So hopefully
a little bit of a holiday break will help Wall
Street kind of shake it out.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
And it turned me a favorite. When it's time to panic,
will you let me.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Know as soon as I know you will be the
first person I.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Call it, yeah, because I don't want to panic too early. No.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
No, as soon as somebody who actually knows more about
these things lets me know, I'll pass it on. I promise.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
I'm fighting some sort of cold here. You're happy not
to be in the same building with me.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
I mean, I'm always happy to be in the same
building with you when I can, But it sounds like
you you wouldn't.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Be happy because I feel like I'm some sort of
a super spreader. I have no idea you've never been
hit with a cold of this magnitude at this time
of year. I feel like, oh my goodness, yeah, and
I've had all my shots, I've done everything right.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
There's a lot of up our respiratory stuff coming around,
pneumonia and colds and RSV and all that, So definitely
just be kind to yourself, hot tea and rest you
know it goes.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Oh yeah, no, I no rest for the week. Other week.
You know I've hit in both of those categories. Come
on now, well, begs Nicole. I'm sure I'll talk to you.
I'm here for the balance of the week. Oh, we'll
wish each other of merry Christmas and all of that
good stuff. Hopefully before the end of the week. Absolutely Friday,
talk soon, Okay. So that's a good all right, good evening.
(02:19):
Everybody welcome. I'm Dan Ray. Not feeling too great physically tonight.
I have no idea what this is. I haven't been
near anybody or anything. And boy, this is this is
a tough cold, if you want to call it that.
That I've been trying to battle for a couple of days.
So bear with me tonight. If you hit me, cough
a couple of times, Rob. You know our basic signal here,
(02:40):
so I can cough if I have to. I apologize
for coughing into the microphone while Nicole was on. But anyway,
we are ready for four hours of nights. I'm going
to talk with newishire Governor Chris Sanunu in the nine
o'clock hour. He's going to take phone calls. He's had
a really interesting well, he's had an interesting eight years
as governor. I believe he's the best governor in the
United States of America. I've said that in the year
(03:02):
many times, not back and off from But now we'll
talk with Chris Snunu later on tonight. I will prove
to you that we are the worst drivers in Massachusetts
anywhere in the country, but not for the reasons you think. Okay.
And then there's a very interesting indictment that came down yesterday,
a federal indictment of a Natick man who is charged
with conspiring to provide some nasty materials to the government
(03:26):
of Iran. And we'll talk about that as well, I
hope before the night is over. So we have a
jam packed show tonight. We're going to start it off
with four guests in our first hour. We call it
the night Side News Update. And I'm delighted to welcome
Mason Taylor, who's a professional bull r rider and he
is competing in a World Championship race that is going
(03:48):
to wind right through nearby Manchester, New Hampshire this weekend.
Mason Taylor, welcome to Nightside.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
How are you, great man? Thank you for having me well.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Thank you very much for joining us. That's a tough
profession you've picked out there. How long you've been riding
these bulls? Mason my whole life.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
But professionally, this is my seventh year in the PBR.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
So now let me ask you what is the I'm
a big sports guy. I know you know, the the
professional life expectancy of your career expectancy of a pro
football player isn't particularly long. NHL players, baseball players a
little longer. What's what's the sweet spot for bull riders?
When do you guys hit your peak? And when does
(04:33):
it does? Does all of that, you know, Joscelyn around
getting thrown jumping around to the back of a bull
with why does that start to weigh you out?
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Uh?
Speaker 4 (04:44):
You know, there's a there's a sweet spot between you know,
a ten and a twelve year career, depending on you know,
how old you are when you start, when you start.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
But uh, you know, if you.
Speaker 4 (04:57):
Can if you get on tour, you know, when you're
eighteen or not eighteen or even twenty, you know you
can you can ride pretty comfortably until you're thirty. You
can have a you can have a ten year career.
There where you know, you can take on some injuries
and be able to bounce back and.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Stuff like that. But as soon as uh, you know,
you hit.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
The age thirty, it sure is hard to kind of
bounce back from some injuries.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Oh, I hear you. There's certain injuries that that affects
certain athletes. Obviously, basketball players you get knees and ankle
injuries a lot. You know, pro football you could you
can have lower injuries in Major League Baseball, it's arm injuries.
I'm assuming that when you're riding bulls and big bulls
like you know you ride that, did you have a
(05:45):
wide variety of possible injuries that can impact you during
your career and then on throughout the rest of your life.
Right or wrong on that one, Oh?
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Absolutely correct?
Speaker 4 (05:54):
Man, Like every time that we nowed our head, there
is a chance of getting hurt, and you know kind
of on the scale of you know, being in an
automobile accident. You know, whenever you take on a wreck
of an eighteen hundred pound animal against one hundred and
fifty pound guy, it can break some stuff and knock
some stuff loose if things don't go just right.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
So tell us about the competition up in Manchester. This
is this coming Friday the twentieth and Saturday the twenty first.
I've never been to a bull riding competition, watched them
on television. I admire the courage that you guys have.
I mean it's amazing. I also admire the courage of
(06:39):
the folks who are out there on the floor who
are protecting you from the bulls. They call them the
rodeal clowns. But those gentlemen have to know exactly what
they're doing to make sure that those riders are not
trampled or heard any worse than they were are during
those eight seconds on top of the bull. Tell us
what's going to happen up in Manchester and what will
people see in Manchester. We don't get a lot of
(07:00):
bull riding in this part of the country, as.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
I'm sure you know, Yes, sir, so a man in Manchester.
Speaker 4 (07:07):
You know it's a two day event Friday Saturday, and
you know it is going to be everyone's going to
be able to witness the best, top thirty five guys
in the world against the top thirty five bulls in
the world. You know, that's why we're called the professional
bull riders, is because you know this is a professional sport,
and this is this is as good as it gets.
(07:30):
So you'll be able to go out there and watch
the best in the world do what they love.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
This is a dumb question, but that's I get paid
money to ask dumb questions. Smart questions and dumb questions.
If you guys ever develop any sort of, if not
a friendship or respect, not only amongst the riders, but
amongst the bulls as well. I mean, I got to
assume these bulls are pretty intelligent animals. And when you
walk by them, you know, if they're in a pen,
(07:59):
there's something that you look at and you say, you
know that's you know, can you look at a bull
in any way, shape or form? And you know they're
talking about dog being man's best friend. I know that
bulls are not your best friend. They're your competitor. But
is there sort of a muture respect between what you
have to do and what they have to do?
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Oh? For sure, the bulls, you know, they are such
amazing athletes to be able to be eighteen hundred pounds
and jump a sigh as they do, and you know,
turn back as.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
Quick as they do.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
They they love what they do. They're bred for this,
So yeah, man, there's a great deal of respect that
all of us riders have towards the best bulls in
the world because we dank sure couldn't do it without them.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
No doubt about that. Well, Mason, I wish you best
of luck, your good health, no no injuries, and I
hope you guys have a big success. That's a great
arena out there. Have you been to Manchester before per
chance or no?
Speaker 3 (08:57):
Yes, sir, I've been up there twice now.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Yeah, it's a nice arena. It's a nice city out there,
and I know that you folks. Then our radio signal
gets all up and down the East coast of America,
if I'm not mistaken a week the week between Christmas
and the New Year's you're in nearby Auburn and New York,
and then you finish up in New York City the
(09:21):
first weekend of twenty twenty five. So you're coming into
this is sort of the climax of the season, Am
I correct in that?
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Yeah, this is what starts it off.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
You know, these first or these next next three or
four events is kind of what sets up who's going
to be fighting for a world title at the end
of the day, So, yes, sir, this is very much
in the heat of things.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
So how when's the season wrap up? I mean, I
know baseball, football, basketball and hockey and all of that,
and they have long years when you guys wrap up
every season.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
Man, our finals are in May for the individual season,
and then we have yeah, we have a deal called
ther Teams Championship that goes from July until November. So
a side of a month in there or a month
and a half in there, we are going, you know,
pretty much year round.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
We're all waves ridings.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Well, I did not realize that, Mason. Best of luck,
of good health. Where'd you grow up What part of
the country I'm assuming somewhere in the southwest.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
Yes, they're just twenty miles southeast to Dallas, Texas.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
All right, well, look enjoy, enjoy New England hospitality. Gonna
get a little cold this weekend, but you'll be indoors,
so that's okay. Thanks very much, Mason. I'll be watching
the results and rooting for you. Thank you very much
and hope to talk with you again.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Yes, sir, thank you very much for having me.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
You're very welcome Mason Taylor again. The professional bull riding Association.
They are going to be up in Manchester, New Hampshire
this weekend December twentieth and twenty first. Great, it's it's
a great spectacle. It's as simple as that, So enjoy it.
It's a good family event. Get up there and enjoy
(11:08):
it in advance of Christmas week. Back on nights Side
when we get back, we're going to talk about a
different sort of entertainment. That's a Harry Potter exhibit. My
name's Dan rayth is Nightside on WBC Boston's news radio.
Right here, ten thirty on your AM dial. Stay with
us now back to Dan ray live from the Window
(11:29):
World night Side Studios on WBZ News Radio. Well, for
those of you who are Harry Potter fans, there is
I guess opening tonight in Cambridge at Cambridge Side. I
think that's the old Galley is I'll be I'm sure
(11:50):
someone will set me straight on that. Harry Potter the
exhibition and it's going to be around for a while,
well into the new year. And I'd like to welcome
Tom Zalor Tom Zalor, how are you tonight?
Speaker 3 (12:06):
I'm great there. How are you doing?
Speaker 2 (12:08):
I'm doing fine. I gotta tell you if there's a
talk show host in America who knows less about Harry Potter,
you you probably are talking though, and my kids were
kind of past the Harry Potter age. So but I
know that this, this work, this this imaginary work of JK. Rowling,
(12:31):
took the world by storm. And you folks now have
this exhibition in Boston, but it's technically in Cambridge? Am
I right on that?
Speaker 3 (12:39):
That's true? I think you said it right. It's at
the Old Gallery what was previously called the Galley is
now called Cambridge Side.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
That's right, gotcha? Okay, sure, fine, okay, So tell us
what will people see? I mean, I know that there
are Harry Potter officionados and there are people who just
love it. Uh and and and as they say, I'm
just being honest with you. I wish I could ask
a whole bunch of insightful questions about Harry Potter. But
it's not. It's not my fourte So let me sit
(13:07):
back and listen and tell me. Let me learn a
little bit why this is so incredibly popular.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
No problem, I'll do it for the audience, all right,
those who know, if you will. So look what this
is is a is an enormous touring experience. It's over
thirty thousand square feet and there are over twenty five
different rooms where you get to go experience moments from
(13:33):
the films and the books as if you are in
the world of Harry Potter. So, in addition to sort
of recreating these environments that you feel very familiar to
the people who know it, we also have original props
and costumes that were warned by the characters and the
actors in the films. So you have Ron and Harry
and Hermione's robes, you have Draco Malfoy's outfit, you have
(13:56):
Luna love Good, you have all these things, and we've
just added a couple of new costumes to the exhibition.
One of them is a student from the herbology classroom
that your listeners will know what that means. And very
interesting Professor McGonagall, who was played by Maggie Smith. Her
outfit that she wore that's very recognizable in the Great
(14:19):
Hall when she sorted the incoming students into Hogwarts. So
it's a really cool experience for I will say to you,
I will challenge you Dan that if you will come
to the exhibition, even if you've never seen a movie
or never read the book. I'll bet if you go there.
I'd be willing to wager one dollar that if you
(14:42):
go to this experience, you will say, you know what,
I think I need to see this movie. I think
I need to read these books. I think the experience
is that good.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Yeah, well, it sounds to me like what you're talking
about is in immersive experience and an experience, and I
really feel like you're part of it. It's just not
going to a museum and looking at old books or
old statues or not that there's anything wrong with that, obviously,
but this sounds pretty exciting. And I suspect that who
(15:13):
give me an give me which generation? Who was that
with gen X and gen Z and you know, all
of these different When when did did the Harry Potter
experience explode? What years are we talking about?
Speaker 3 (15:27):
So we're talking about in the nineties, really when the
books came out in the late nineties and then the
film started. The first film came out, you know, twenty
two years ago. So what we call them genom generation
the generation that just was remember when people when these
books came out, people were waiting in line at midnight
(15:48):
at the Barnes and Noble or whatever the local bookstore
was back when there was those to be the first
one at the book and the movies came out, and
they came out sort of every year, every couple of years, whatever,
and so you have this generation of people who where now,
let's say, at the youngest age when a new movie
came out, maybe they're twenty eight or so, up to forty.
And so you have this this group of people who
(16:09):
are now starting their own families, some of those who
started younger having kids who are starting to read, and
they're passing on this, you know, like we grew up
with Mary, don't you remember Mary? Right, You've got Jimmy Stewart,
who's you know, who's at this Christmas time? And now
the new generation of the people who are in their
(16:31):
thirties are watching Harry Potter at the holidays. So it's
a Christmas fantastical moment where you're sitting down watching a
series of movies instead of a movie's in the nineteen thirties.
So our generation, I don't know how old you are,
but if you grew up watching it's a wonderful life.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
I'm on the wrong side of fifty that's all I
will admit to be really on. But anybody who's been
lost for a while knows how long I worked as
a TV reporter and now as a talk show hosted Austin.
And when they added up and they're like, why isn't
that guy dead? At this point, I don't me get it.
I mean, seriously, I'm well passed.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
How many did say to me tonight you're talking to him?
I thought he I didn't know he was still alive.
I'm just kidding.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
I hope, I hope you're joking with me. Beyond that,
I've been yeah, yeah, yeah, I've done the talk show
here now for eighteen years after having been an on
air reporter at WBZ in Boston. Are you a New
England or a Bostonian?
Speaker 3 (17:29):
I'm originally a Cleveland, Ohio and now I live in Atlanta, Georgia.
But I love Boston. I spent a lot of time
there and and I love uh, I love the community there,
and I think we have something really special that we've
had tremendous success. You know, We've had millions of people
see this exhibition.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Around the city. How many these are cities around the world.
How many other cities has Is this the first time
this this exhibition has been.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
In Boston, Yes, the first time it's been in Boston, yep.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
And so it's been already. I looked at some of
the media information. It's been in a lot of other
cities around the world. This this must be a tremendous
effort just to move all the items. Yeah, I mean
this is you talk about moving a professional sports team,
you know, on a on a on a Saturday, out
to play a football game or halfway you know, across
(18:21):
the country and then getting them back home on Sunday night.
That's nothing con to what you guys do. Okay, So look.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
At if you're talking about over fifty trucks to bring
the exhibition there. So it's a massive endeavor to bring
it there. And we have a huge space and a
big team and a lot of people working together to
make this thing very special for a lot of people.
And then you work with.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
I know you're working with my friend Darren de Luca here.
So let's how can people get their tickets here in Boston?
Give us the magic website that they can they can?
Speaker 3 (18:54):
Yeah, well tonight, I mean Harry Potter the exhibition dot com. Uh,
you in theory. You should be searching Harry Potter Exhibition
Cambridge or Boston. You'll find it. It's very there's all
kinds of deals right now. There's a bunch of holiday specials.
It's a great time. People love to give gifts for
the holidays, and there's all kinds of packages. It's all online.
(19:15):
I want more people with the comments, but I will
just say that website, Harry Potter.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
I'm looking at it right now. It's a great website.
It looks to me like you've been in China. You've
been saying, Paulo Brazil in crackout Poland. I've been in
crack crackout Poland actually as a television reporter at Madrid.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
That's cool.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Yeah, this is this looks really interesting and I may
have to get on over there and you you open tonight.
It looks like I believe tonight you open, correct if
I'm reading that.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
Actually, we've been open. We've already had over one hundred
thousand people go through the exhibition in Boston, so it's
very popular already. But what we just announced was that
we've extended the exhibition until April twenty seventh, so it's
the weekend after Easter, and what we're doing now is
we were going to close on January fifth, but we've
(20:05):
had so much, such a huge demand, that we wanted
to expend it to the people in Boston and go
through the spring break. So it's a great opportunity to
buy holiday packages and just you know, really get out
and put look you'll be amazed. I really, I really
want you to come be my guest, and I'm challenging
you not to go through there and say, boy, I
really should watch one of these movies, because look.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
Whenever you go, I don't care who the professional performer is.
You know friends of mine who I'll take to a
sporting event and they'll know nothing about baseball, nothing about football,
and then get excited. Or you go and you listen
to a singer who you've never heard of before. I
remember going to a Celine Dion concert in the late
nineteen eighties, in the late nineteen eighties here at a
(20:50):
place called Great Woods and blown away. I had never
heard of it. I had no idea who she was.
But no matter, you go to see you know Jimmy
Buffer when he was around all these Willie Nelson that
they are just incredible performances, and I'm sure this exhibit
will blow people's minds as well. So I really thank
you Tom for having the patience to walk through this
(21:12):
with me. I just felt I wanted to be honest
with you and let you know that I'm I'm a
sports guy and a political guy, and this is something
that I got to learn more about. I appreciate very much.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Are you familiar with the game called Are you sure
the game called called quidditch?
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Quidditch? Yeah, I'm aware of that. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
Yeah, that's a professional sports game. And the people at Hogwarts,
so I think that quidditch could be I think it
could be. She covered on the on the station and
then come down to the exhibition. You could actually throw
quidditch ball through the through the goal at the exhibition,
so you could win.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Yeah, I used to. I used to pitch and play
play goaltender in hockey and I was a pitcher, uh
in high school in college. So yeah, I've noticed. The
one thing I hadn't noticed about Harry Potter was quiddit. Yeah,
but again, Tom, I really appreciate it. Thank you so
much for your time tonight. Okay, best of luck in Boston.
Enjoy the City. Thank you much, all right.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
I appreciate it. Good night.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
When we get back. When we get back, right after
the newscast's going to talk with Tracy Clements. She's an
expert dealing with student safety and mental health issues and
obviously in view of what happened yesterday at that Christian
academy in Madison, Wisconsin, this is a well timed interview.
Tracy Clements joins us on the other side of the break.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
You're on Night Side with Dan Ray on w Boston's
news Radio.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
Sadly, this is a very well timed interview and topic,
and I'm sure everyone will understand what I'm saying when
I put it that way. My guest is Tracy Clements.
She's a former school counselor now an education strategist in
student safety and mental health and God guardian. Tracy, Welcome
to Night's Side. Tough day yesterday around the country and
more specifically in Madison, Wisconsin. I don't know if this
(23:03):
was scheduled before that horrific event yesterday or not, but
either way, it's important to talk about it tonight. Welcome
to night Satt. How are you this evening.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
I'm doing well.
Speaker 5 (23:12):
Thanks for having.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Me so you're a fuller school counselor and an education strategist.
What's going on that so many kids, young students who
have the rest of their lives in front of them
are engaging in these horrific actions. And you know, I
know that some people say, well being guns or whatever
(23:34):
and all of that, but I just don't understand why
kids at fifteen or seventeen are destroying their lives and
destroying the lives of others. What am I missing?
Speaker 5 (23:49):
You know? I think every kid has their own reasons,
and the reasons are as varied as there are people.
But overall the bigger picture, I think kids have a
lot of stress on them in the world we live
in right now, and kids don't really get a chance
(24:09):
to shut off and get away from everything. I am old.
So when I was a kid, when we went home,
we just were able to relax, And children and teens
don't get that opportunity anymore. The world has become a
more stressful place.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Why is that? In the sense that I'm probably older
than you are. I was a student colle I graduate
from college in the seventies, law school in the mid seventies. Look,
school is competitive, there's no doubt about that. There's a
lot of pressure, social pressures. I'm assuming the social pressures
(24:50):
were just as bad kids in the fifties and sixties
as they are for kids now in the twenty twenties
or the twenty f deeds. There has to be something
fundamentally that has changed here. Is it the immersion that
young people have in this thing called the internet? Is
(25:11):
that the factor? Or or that there were just as
many incidents of this nature fifty years ago, we just
didn't hear about them. There weren't live TV crews everywhere.
Is that a factor?
Speaker 5 (25:23):
I think that's a big factor. I do think that
having access to the Internet and being online and connected
to the entire world provides an additional stressor for kids today.
But also before the Internet, we didn't know all of
the bad things that were going on in the world.
(25:45):
So I feel like, you know, people talk a lot
about the mental health crisis right now. I've been doing
this for more than thirty years, and it's been a
great for very long one.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
So in the in the few minutes that we have left,
how are we going to solve this problem? Tracy? What
what is the solution or what what is the battery
of solutions that have to be imposed because this has
to stop. I mean, whether it's New Town or whether
it's Juvaldi or now Madison, Wisconsin, and there's so many
other stops along the way. What what can be done?
(26:24):
What what can be changed in the curriculum? What can
be changed in the way we incorporate kids into schools?
Is it too competitive now? Is it? I'm just wondering,
is there maybe there's no magic pardon the punt here,
no magic bullet to solve this problem.
Speaker 5 (26:39):
You know, I think there's a lot of things we
can do to help move the needle. And I agree
there's no magic bullet. There's no one cure all. But
schools need to build systems of support, which is what
I did. When I was at Neoshow School District. We
were experiencing a bad suicide crisis. Of our suicide rates
(27:01):
were many times the national average, And you just put
one foot in front of the other and you start
doing everything you can. You bring communities together, you bring
parents together, You use technology to help you identify the kids,
which is how I landed in a technology company as
(27:21):
mental health professional, which is nothing I ever expected to do.
But at Gogardian what was at the district. We had
a tool called Beacon, and Beacon lived in the background
of the student's devices, and it uses machine learning to
identify when kids might be struggling with suicidality or if
(27:42):
they're accessing content that might indicate their arm towards others,
and it sent us an alert. And instead of having
to wait until kids were showing behavioral changes on the
outside or they had the nerve to come and ask
for help, we were able to identify some morning signs.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
So I assarch I assume that I'm speaking as a lawyer,
that my good friends in the Civil Liberties Union probably
are not thrilled with this idea.
Speaker 5 (28:11):
You know, there there has been some concern, and I
myself had concern in the beginning, but using it, I
found it to be just a really helpful tool. And
and that's what it is. It's a tool, and it
is It doesn't it's not magic, it doesn't do it
(28:33):
on its own.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Parent Did the parents sign off on this tool?
Speaker 5 (28:37):
Absolutely? Yeah, the parents, They sign off on it. And
then I recommend taking it a step further and holding
a parent knight to talk about not just what technology
you're using but all of the different things. So we
were to address our suicide problem in Neoshow. I did
(28:58):
Signs of Suicide, which was for kids, and training for teachers,
and I was bringing in outside mental health therapists and
to the school, and I had a committee of people
from the community, including parents, to help us figure out
what to do. Another thing was just teaching the basic skills.
(29:20):
You know, this is what anger feels like, this is
what you do with How can.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
Parent groups get in touch with your organization if they're
looking for more information, they must be a website.
Speaker 5 (29:31):
Yes, our website is Goguardian dot com.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
That's pretty easy, all one word, Geoguardian, Googuardian dot com.
I went to a high school called Boston Latin School.
I don't know if you're familiar with it, but it's
the oldest public high school in America. Found that in
sixteen thirty five, Oh wow, and did my It was
basically Harvard University was formed to educate the graduates of
Boston Latin School. And when I was there in the
(29:57):
nineteen sixties, we had a dropout rate about two thirds.
It was very competitive. There was one guidance counselor, And
the only time you met the guidance counselor was when
he opened the front door called you. The office opened
the front door and directed you across the street to
the to the high school that you would then matriculate from,
which was across the street, a different high school. So
(30:19):
I just think that somehow, some way, there has to
be a way in which we can reach these kids.
It was the most competitive high school that you could
ever have imagined. You better be prepared jackets and ties.
You walked. You know, you had three minutes to walk
from classes. It probably was not the kindest educational experience,
(30:42):
but it was a pretty effective educational experience. And I
don't want to see too old school here, but you
may want to check it out at some point because
it was they told you look to your left and
look to your right. You know, one of you will
graduate from this school. That was your freshman orientation, so
they let you know what it was from day one.
(31:03):
That's that's for sure. It's like sort of the Marine
Corps of academia for kids going into either the seventh
grade or the ninth grade. Tracy Clements, thank you so
much for your time. Love to get you back and
talk more about this, maybe even do an entire hour
sometime after the first of the year. I think we
need more time than just a few minutes to talk
about this.
Speaker 3 (31:21):
Okay, So that sounds wonderful.
Speaker 5 (31:24):
Thanks, Thanks Gracy.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
I appreciate it very much. We get back when we
talk about a very topical subject, and that is drone sightings.
Recent drone sidings. Are they a threat? We will talk
to the CEO of a company called Pivotal. I guess
it's it's it's Pivotal. I guess they spell it a
little differently, Pivotal Technologies. We'll talk with that CEO right
(31:49):
after this break cod night Side.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
Now back to Dan ray Mine from the Window World.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Night Side Studios on w b Z, the news radio.
My guess is, yes, monrage Machine. I hope I'm pronouncing
your name correctly. He's the CEO of a company called
Pivotal Technologies. You're missing you're missing a volve there. Yes, yep,
(32:14):
you spelled tv O T A L. What happened to
the I.
Speaker 6 (32:19):
Makes it easier for trademark and registering domain names.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
I got it. I figured that was it, but I
just wanted to get it cleared up, that's all. How
are you tonight?
Speaker 3 (32:29):
Good?
Speaker 6 (32:29):
How about you good?
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Okay? Have you figured out what's going on with these drones?
Because nobody else has.
Speaker 6 (32:36):
I don't think we can say we have figured it out,
but we've been able to eliminate what it is not,
So I think, what do you what.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Do you think? What? What is it? What? Let's let's
eliminate it. What is it not?
Speaker 6 (32:50):
Well, I don't think it is aliens. I don't think
it is any sort of conspiracy from the government, and
I don't think it's any foreign power. So at least
based on the data we received so far, the reports
and the videos on social media, there's no evidence to
suggest any of that. So at least I think those
can be at least we now eliminated until new evidence
comes to light.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
If the aliens were gonna come here, why would they
go to New Jersey?
Speaker 3 (33:15):
And that is a great question, and.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
I'll let that one hang in there, Okay, So neither
one of us get a lot of trouble with our
listeners in New Jersey. I'm concerned when I hear the
White House say we don't know what it is, but
we know it's not a threat because if you don't
know what it is, how can how can you conclude
it's not a threat. That's what troubles me with this.
There's all sorts of rumors. I'm sure you've seen them
(33:40):
floating around. What's your best guess? I mean, do you
think this is a These are private companies? Are a
private company that is trying to test some new technology.
Your your company called Pivotal Technologies. I assume you're up
to up to speed of this.
Speaker 6 (33:58):
We don't do hardware, but we do a lot of
for governments and large enterprises. So I think based on
the reports, it seems that everything started on November seventeenth
or eighteenth, late at night, and that was when you
first got any reports that we can trace back. I
think in New Jersey. I think the FA investigated those
(34:19):
and they concluded that there was nothing legal or nothing
suspicious about them. But I agree with you. I think
the biggest problem in this case is that there's been
a lot of tepid and inconclusive government reports announcemental statements,
so that added to the confusion. We personally verified, like
we have any I that does some testing on social media,
(34:42):
on comments and everything, and so we've analyzed about two
hundred and seventeen different reports, and the majority of them
occurred between I think December ninth and fourteenth, and almost
all of them are just like, you know, I think
people having fun with it. They've seen the news and
they are just doing copycats or scared their neighbors. But
in most cases, a lot of the statements made by
(35:04):
people were you know, I think people who just started
paying attention and they are seeing lives or they're seeing activity,
and they're always correlating it with the drones. But in
many cases, I think that there's been a lot of activity,
or at least the most popular things shared on x
and TikTok. You could actually track the flight path of
the drone they reported with the videos, the angles, and
(35:26):
you could, you know, compare that with flight paths that
are registered with actual planes or private planes, and most
of them were actually private planes. So we have not
seen an actual video or report that conclusively said something
you're suspicious or a government or an interested drone most
of I think there's only been two arrests so far,
(35:47):
and those were near the Logan International Airport where it
was just individual flights.
Speaker 2 (35:52):
Those guys, Yeah, I'm familiar. We broadcast from Boston and
this has happened before. For some reason, you have some
knuckleheads and I'm using a technical term there obviously, who
think it's a great idea to fly drones near major airport.
There are also people like to fire you know, flash
lasers at cockpits. Right, there's also a problem and most
(36:16):
of those that's totally unrelated the correct stuff. My understanding
amongst people who are flying civilian drones, and I've never
flown a drone, never touched a drone, I had some
idea what they are. They're supposed to stay below four
hundred feet and they're supposed to always be within sight
of the civilian who's flying the drone. Is that correct?
Speaker 6 (36:37):
Yes, But unfortunately, as you know, nobody, there's a lot
of software modifications you can make to override, for example,
the basic limitations of the flight pass, and you have
a lot of add ons, and the communities that you know,
build and customize the three dfferent parts for their drone.
So it's unfortunately not very hard to customize and go
and buy commercial drones of pols to build your own drones.
(36:59):
I think a lot of the footage that you've seen
the larger drones that don't appear to be commercial, Those
were customized by either a small company, have been flown
for other years. Just now people are paying attention, So
there's a a different interest in.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
Is it your sense that this is a story that
is just going to drift off, that there will be
other stories that emerge and will stop talking about it,
or do you think that at some point, at some point,
maybe when the new administration comes in and they will say, okay,
this is what was going on. There were they were
tests being done by a private company, a private US company,
(37:36):
to see what the capacity of a certain new drone was.
Is it just says that we will ever get a
definitive answer, or that it will just this will disappear
into the fog of of government technology that we'll never have,
will never receive a definitive, satisfactory answer. What's your guess.
Speaker 6 (38:00):
I don't think we'll get a conclusive answer. I think
even if we switch with a new government and everybody
and they have a heightened transparency and are able to
communicate better than the current one, there probably will not
be any conclusive answer about it. I think even if
there was some military contractor or the Eddy contractor with
Tefan drones in the area. I don't think anybody wants
(38:23):
to talk about it, so we'll probably focus on something
else as soon as the new cycles find something more
interesting to talk about.
Speaker 2 (38:31):
All right, how could folks get more information about your company?
I'm sure that you have a website. Is it Pivotal
Technologies Pivotal being spelled without the letter.
Speaker 6 (38:41):
I, yes, it's p v O t L dot tech.
So that's where we have every boarding company for most
of the folks, I think.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
Okay, Pivotal dot tech dot com.
Speaker 6 (38:57):
No, no, there's no comm there's just dot tech.
Speaker 2 (39:01):
Okay, good fine, Okay, that's that's that's that's new to me. Okay,
thank you very much. Ya Sheena appreciated very much. We'll
check back with you Lean. Thanks, thank you so much.
We get back, we'll be talking with the governor of
New Hampshire, christ I considered him to be the best
governor in the United States of America in the last
several years. Uh, And I make no bones about it.
(39:23):
I think he's been a really effective New Hampshire governor,
and I think that he has represented his party both
in New Hampshire and nationally extremely well, and we're going
to spend an hour. If you like to talk with Kristan,
you will be able to call, but you can either
start now or wait until the lines get full, and
then it might get frustrating. Back on night Side with
Christan Nunu, Governor of New Hampshire right after this
It's Night Side with Dan Ray.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm done you busy Boston Radio. Nicole Davis, thank you
very much to call. Whatever happened to the Santa Claus rally.
There's supposed to be a Santa Claus Rally on the
Dow every year. This is not a good sign. How
are you tonight? Nicoli's still in the.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Oh, I'm here. I'm just trying to find Santa Claus.
I don't know where he went.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Well, I gotta tell you, maybe he's just working too
hard at the North Pole making all those toys. Ins Hi.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
You know he's got to hire more elms to get
it done.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Yeah, well, I never even thought of that. You know,
you cut right to the chase.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
You know, Rudolph, his nose costs more to run these days.
Energy prices are up. It's a tough time to be
Santa Claus. I don't don't I feel for the guy.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
I know, And this is his busy week. This is
the busiest week of the year.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
And I think we're all collectively stressing a bit, including Saint.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Nick's nine games and nine days. I mean, this is
this is like a Red Sox streak. July would be
going crazy. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
I mean, I'm not an economist, but my four oh
one k is not too happy right now. So hopefully
a little bit of a holiday break will help Wall
Street kind of shake it out.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
And it turned me a favorite. When it's time to panic,
will you let me.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Know as soon as I know you will be the
first person I.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Call it, yeah, because I don't want to panic too early. No.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
No, as soon as somebody who actually knows more about
these things lets me know, I'll pass it on. I promise.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
I'm fighting some sort of cold here. You're happy not
to be in the same building with me.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
I mean, I'm always happy to be in the same
building with you when I can, But it sounds like
you you wouldn't.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Be happy because I feel like I'm some sort of
a super spreader. I have no idea you've never been
hit with a cold of this magnitude at this time
of year. I feel like, oh my goodness, yeah, and
I've had all my shots, I've done everything right.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
There's a lot of up our respiratory stuff coming around,
pneumonia and colds and RSV and all that, So definitely
just be kind to yourself, hot tea and rest you
know it goes.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Oh yeah, no, I no rest for the week. Other week.
You know I've hit in both of those categories. Come
on now, well, begs Nicole. I'm sure I'll talk to you.
I'm here for the balance of the week. Oh, we'll
wish each other of merry Christmas and all of that
good stuff. Hopefully before the end of the week. Absolutely Friday,
talk soon, Okay. So that's a good all right, good evening.
(02:19):
Everybody welcome. I'm Dan Ray. Not feeling too great physically tonight.
I have no idea what this is. I haven't been
near anybody or anything. And boy, this is this is
a tough cold, if you want to call it that.
That I've been trying to battle for a couple of days.
So bear with me tonight. If you hit me, cough
a couple of times, Rob. You know our basic signal here,
(02:40):
so I can cough if I have to. I apologize
for coughing into the microphone while Nicole was on. But anyway,
we are ready for four hours of nights. I'm going
to talk with newishire Governor Chris Sanunu in the nine
o'clock hour. He's going to take phone calls. He's had
a really interesting well, he's had an interesting eight years
as governor. I believe he's the best governor in the
United States of America. I've said that in the year
(03:02):
many times, not back and off from But now we'll
talk with Chris Snunu later on tonight. I will prove
to you that we are the worst drivers in Massachusetts
anywhere in the country, but not for the reasons you think. Okay.
And then there's a very interesting indictment that came down yesterday,
a federal indictment of a Natick man who is charged
with conspiring to provide some nasty materials to the government
(03:26):
of Iran. And we'll talk about that as well, I
hope before the night is over. So we have a
jam packed show tonight. We're going to start it off
with four guests in our first hour. We call it
the night Side News Update. And I'm delighted to welcome
Mason Taylor, who's a professional bull r rider and he
is competing in a World Championship race that is going
(03:48):
to wind right through nearby Manchester, New Hampshire this weekend.
Mason Taylor, welcome to Nightside.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
How are you, great man? Thank you for having me well.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Thank you very much for joining us. That's a tough
profession you've picked out there. How long you've been riding
these bulls? Mason my whole life.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
But professionally, this is my seventh year in the PBR.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
So now let me ask you what is the I'm
a big sports guy. I know you know, the the
professional life expectancy of your career expectancy of a pro
football player isn't particularly long. NHL players, baseball players a
little longer. What's what's the sweet spot for bull riders?
When do you guys hit your peak? And when does
(04:33):
it does? Does all of that, you know, Joscelyn around
getting thrown jumping around to the back of a bull
with why does that start to weigh you out?
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Uh?
Speaker 4 (04:44):
You know, there's a there's a sweet spot between you know,
a ten and a twelve year career, depending on you know,
how old you are when you start, when you start.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
But uh, you know, if you.
Speaker 4 (04:57):
Can if you get on tour, you know, when you're
eighteen or not eighteen or even twenty, you know you
can you can ride pretty comfortably until you're thirty. You
can have a you can have a ten year career.
There where you know, you can take on some injuries
and be able to bounce back and.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Stuff like that. But as soon as uh, you know,
you hit.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
The age thirty, it sure is hard to kind of
bounce back from some injuries.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Oh, I hear you. There's certain injuries that that affects
certain athletes. Obviously, basketball players you get knees and ankle
injuries a lot. You know, pro football you could you
can have lower injuries in Major League Baseball, it's arm injuries.
I'm assuming that when you're riding bulls and big bulls
like you know you ride that, did you have a
(05:45):
wide variety of possible injuries that can impact you during
your career and then on throughout the rest of your life.
Right or wrong on that one, Oh?
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Absolutely correct?
Speaker 4 (05:54):
Man, Like every time that we nowed our head, there
is a chance of getting hurt, and you know kind
of on the scale of you know, being in an
automobile accident. You know, whenever you take on a wreck
of an eighteen hundred pound animal against one hundred and
fifty pound guy, it can break some stuff and knock
some stuff loose if things don't go just right.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
So tell us about the competition up in Manchester. This
is this coming Friday the twentieth and Saturday the twenty first.
I've never been to a bull riding competition, watched them
on television. I admire the courage that you guys have.
I mean it's amazing. I also admire the courage of
(06:39):
the folks who are out there on the floor who
are protecting you from the bulls. They call them the
rodeal clowns. But those gentlemen have to know exactly what
they're doing to make sure that those riders are not
trampled or heard any worse than they were are during
those eight seconds on top of the bull. Tell us
what's going to happen up in Manchester and what will
people see in Manchester. We don't get a lot of
(07:00):
bull riding in this part of the country, as.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
I'm sure you know, Yes, sir, so a man in Manchester.
Speaker 4 (07:07):
You know it's a two day event Friday Saturday, and
you know it is going to be everyone's going to
be able to witness the best, top thirty five guys
in the world against the top thirty five bulls in
the world. You know, that's why we're called the professional
bull riders, is because you know this is a professional sport,
and this is this is as good as it gets.
(07:30):
So you'll be able to go out there and watch
the best in the world do what they love.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
This is a dumb question, but that's I get paid
money to ask dumb questions. Smart questions and dumb questions.
If you guys ever develop any sort of, if not
a friendship or respect, not only amongst the riders, but
amongst the bulls as well. I mean, I got to
assume these bulls are pretty intelligent animals. And when you
walk by them, you know, if they're in a pen,
(07:59):
there's something that you look at and you say, you
know that's you know, can you look at a bull
in any way, shape or form? And you know they're
talking about dog being man's best friend. I know that
bulls are not your best friend. They're your competitor. But
is there sort of a muture respect between what you
have to do and what they have to do?
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Oh? For sure, the bulls, you know, they are such
amazing athletes to be able to be eighteen hundred pounds
and jump a sigh as they do, and you know,
turn back as.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
Quick as they do.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
They they love what they do. They're bred for this,
So yeah, man, there's a great deal of respect that
all of us riders have towards the best bulls in
the world because we dank sure couldn't do it without them.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
No doubt about that. Well, Mason, I wish you best
of luck, your good health, no no injuries, and I
hope you guys have a big success. That's a great
arena out there. Have you been to Manchester before per
chance or no?
Speaker 3 (08:57):
Yes, sir, I've been up there twice now.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Yeah, it's a nice arena. It's a nice city out there,
and I know that you folks. Then our radio signal
gets all up and down the East coast of America,
if I'm not mistaken a week the week between Christmas
and the New Year's you're in nearby Auburn and New York,
and then you finish up in New York City the
(09:21):
first weekend of twenty twenty five. So you're coming into
this is sort of the climax of the season, Am
I correct in that?
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Yeah, this is what starts it off.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
You know, these first or these next next three or
four events is kind of what sets up who's going
to be fighting for a world title at the end
of the day, So, yes, sir, this is very much
in the heat of things.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
So how when's the season wrap up? I mean, I
know baseball, football, basketball and hockey and all of that,
and they have long years when you guys wrap up
every season.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
Man, our finals are in May for the individual season,
and then we have yeah, we have a deal called
ther Teams Championship that goes from July until November. So
a side of a month in there or a month
and a half in there, we are going, you know,
pretty much year round.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
We're all waves ridings.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Well, I did not realize that, Mason. Best of luck,
of good health. Where'd you grow up What part of
the country I'm assuming somewhere in the southwest.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
Yes, they're just twenty miles southeast to Dallas, Texas.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
All right, well, look enjoy, enjoy New England hospitality. Gonna
get a little cold this weekend, but you'll be indoors,
so that's okay. Thanks very much, Mason. I'll be watching
the results and rooting for you. Thank you very much
and hope to talk with you again.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Yes, sir, thank you very much for having me.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
You're very welcome Mason Taylor again. The professional bull riding Association.
They are going to be up in Manchester, New Hampshire
this weekend December twentieth and twenty first. Great, it's it's
a great spectacle. It's as simple as that, So enjoy it.
It's a good family event. Get up there and enjoy
(11:08):
it in advance of Christmas week. Back on nights Side
when we get back, we're going to talk about a
different sort of entertainment. That's a Harry Potter exhibit. My
name's Dan rayth is Nightside on WBC Boston's news radio.
Right here, ten thirty on your AM dial. Stay with
us now back to Dan ray live from the Window
(11:29):
World night Side Studios on WBZ News Radio. Well, for
those of you who are Harry Potter fans, there is
I guess opening tonight in Cambridge at Cambridge Side. I
think that's the old Galley is I'll be I'm sure
(11:50):
someone will set me straight on that. Harry Potter the
exhibition and it's going to be around for a while,
well into the new year. And I'd like to welcome
Tom Zalor Tom Zalor, how are you tonight?
Speaker 3 (12:06):
I'm great there. How are you doing?
Speaker 2 (12:08):
I'm doing fine. I gotta tell you if there's a
talk show host in America who knows less about Harry Potter,
you you probably are talking though, and my kids were
kind of past the Harry Potter age. So but I
know that this, this work, this this imaginary work of JK. Rowling,
(12:31):
took the world by storm. And you folks now have
this exhibition in Boston, but it's technically in Cambridge? Am
I right on that?
Speaker 3 (12:39):
That's true? I think you said it right. It's at
the Old Gallery what was previously called the Galley is
now called Cambridge Side.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
That's right, gotcha? Okay, sure, fine, okay, So tell us
what will people see? I mean, I know that there
are Harry Potter officionados and there are people who just
love it. Uh and and and as they say, I'm
just being honest with you. I wish I could ask
a whole bunch of insightful questions about Harry Potter. But
it's not. It's not my fourte So let me sit
(13:07):
back and listen and tell me. Let me learn a
little bit why this is so incredibly popular.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
No problem, I'll do it for the audience, all right,
those who know, if you will. So look what this
is is a is an enormous touring experience. It's over
thirty thousand square feet and there are over twenty five
different rooms where you get to go experience moments from
(13:33):
the films and the books as if you are in
the world of Harry Potter. So, in addition to sort
of recreating these environments that you feel very familiar to
the people who know it, we also have original props
and costumes that were warned by the characters and the
actors in the films. So you have Ron and Harry
and Hermione's robes, you have Draco Malfoy's outfit, you have
(13:56):
Luna love Good, you have all these things, and we've
just added a couple of new costumes to the exhibition.
One of them is a student from the herbology classroom
that your listeners will know what that means. And very
interesting Professor McGonagall, who was played by Maggie Smith. Her
outfit that she wore that's very recognizable in the Great
(14:19):
Hall when she sorted the incoming students into Hogwarts. So
it's a really cool experience for I will say to you,
I will challenge you Dan that if you will come
to the exhibition, even if you've never seen a movie
or never read the book. I'll bet if you go there.
I'd be willing to wager one dollar that if you
(14:42):
go to this experience, you will say, you know what,
I think I need to see this movie. I think
I need to read these books. I think the experience
is that good.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Yeah, well, it sounds to me like what you're talking
about is in immersive experience and an experience, and I
really feel like you're part of it. It's just not
going to a museum and looking at old books or
old statues or not that there's anything wrong with that, obviously,
but this sounds pretty exciting. And I suspect that who
(15:13):
give me an give me which generation? Who was that
with gen X and gen Z and you know, all
of these different When when did did the Harry Potter
experience explode? What years are we talking about?
Speaker 3 (15:27):
So we're talking about in the nineties, really when the
books came out in the late nineties and then the
film started. The first film came out, you know, twenty
two years ago. So what we call them genom generation
the generation that just was remember when people when these
books came out, people were waiting in line at midnight
(15:48):
at the Barnes and Noble or whatever the local bookstore
was back when there was those to be the first
one at the book and the movies came out, and
they came out sort of every year, every couple of years, whatever,
and so you have this generation of people who where now,
let's say, at the youngest age when a new movie
came out, maybe they're twenty eight or so, up to forty.
And so you have this this group of people who
(16:09):
are now starting their own families, some of those who
started younger having kids who are starting to read, and
they're passing on this, you know, like we grew up
with Mary, don't you remember Mary? Right, You've got Jimmy Stewart,
who's you know, who's at this Christmas time? And now
the new generation of the people who are in their
(16:31):
thirties are watching Harry Potter at the holidays. So it's
a Christmas fantastical moment where you're sitting down watching a
series of movies instead of a movie's in the nineteen thirties.
So our generation, I don't know how old you are,
but if you grew up watching it's a wonderful life.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
I'm on the wrong side of fifty that's all I
will admit to be really on. But anybody who's been
lost for a while knows how long I worked as
a TV reporter and now as a talk show hosted Austin.
And when they added up and they're like, why isn't
that guy dead? At this point, I don't me get it.
I mean, seriously, I'm well passed.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
How many did say to me tonight you're talking to him?
I thought he I didn't know he was still alive.
I'm just kidding.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
I hope, I hope you're joking with me. Beyond that,
I've been yeah, yeah, yeah, I've done the talk show
here now for eighteen years after having been an on
air reporter at WBZ in Boston. Are you a New
England or a Bostonian?
Speaker 3 (17:29):
I'm originally a Cleveland, Ohio and now I live in Atlanta, Georgia.
But I love Boston. I spent a lot of time
there and and I love uh, I love the community there,
and I think we have something really special that we've
had tremendous success. You know, We've had millions of people
see this exhibition.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Around the city. How many these are cities around the world.
How many other cities has Is this the first time
this this exhibition has been.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
In Boston, Yes, the first time it's been in Boston, yep.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
And so it's been already. I looked at some of
the media information. It's been in a lot of other
cities around the world. This this must be a tremendous
effort just to move all the items. Yeah, I mean
this is you talk about moving a professional sports team,
you know, on a on a on a Saturday, out
to play a football game or halfway you know, across
(18:21):
the country and then getting them back home on Sunday night.
That's nothing con to what you guys do. Okay, So look.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
At if you're talking about over fifty trucks to bring
the exhibition there. So it's a massive endeavor to bring
it there. And we have a huge space and a
big team and a lot of people working together to
make this thing very special for a lot of people.
And then you work with.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
I know you're working with my friend Darren de Luca here.
So let's how can people get their tickets here in Boston?
Give us the magic website that they can they can?
Speaker 3 (18:54):
Yeah, well tonight, I mean Harry Potter the exhibition dot com. Uh,
you in theory. You should be searching Harry Potter Exhibition
Cambridge or Boston. You'll find it. It's very there's all
kinds of deals right now. There's a bunch of holiday specials.
It's a great time. People love to give gifts for
the holidays, and there's all kinds of packages. It's all online.
(19:15):
I want more people with the comments, but I will
just say that website, Harry Potter.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
I'm looking at it right now. It's a great website.
It looks to me like you've been in China. You've
been saying, Paulo Brazil in crackout Poland. I've been in
crack crackout Poland actually as a television reporter at Madrid.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
That's cool.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Yeah, this is this looks really interesting and I may
have to get on over there and you you open tonight.
It looks like I believe tonight you open, correct if
I'm reading that.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
Actually, we've been open. We've already had over one hundred
thousand people go through the exhibition in Boston, so it's
very popular already. But what we just announced was that
we've extended the exhibition until April twenty seventh, so it's
the weekend after Easter, and what we're doing now is
we were going to close on January fifth, but we've
(20:05):
had so much, such a huge demand, that we wanted
to expend it to the people in Boston and go
through the spring break. So it's a great opportunity to
buy holiday packages and just you know, really get out
and put look you'll be amazed. I really, I really
want you to come be my guest, and I'm challenging
you not to go through there and say, boy, I
really should watch one of these movies, because look.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
Whenever you go, I don't care who the professional performer is.
You know friends of mine who I'll take to a
sporting event and they'll know nothing about baseball, nothing about football,
and then get excited. Or you go and you listen
to a singer who you've never heard of before. I
remember going to a Celine Dion concert in the late
nineteen eighties, in the late nineteen eighties here at a
(20:50):
place called Great Woods and blown away. I had never
heard of it. I had no idea who she was.
But no matter, you go to see you know Jimmy
Buffer when he was around all these Willie Nelson that
they are just incredible performances, and I'm sure this exhibit
will blow people's minds as well. So I really thank
you Tom for having the patience to walk through this
(21:12):
with me. I just felt I wanted to be honest
with you and let you know that I'm I'm a
sports guy and a political guy, and this is something
that I got to learn more about. I appreciate very much.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Are you familiar with the game called Are you sure
the game called called quidditch?
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Quidditch? Yeah, I'm aware of that. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
Yeah, that's a professional sports game. And the people at Hogwarts,
so I think that quidditch could be I think it
could be. She covered on the on the station and
then come down to the exhibition. You could actually throw
quidditch ball through the through the goal at the exhibition,
so you could win.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Yeah, I used to. I used to pitch and play
play goaltender in hockey and I was a pitcher, uh
in high school in college. So yeah, I've noticed. The
one thing I hadn't noticed about Harry Potter was quiddit. Yeah,
but again, Tom, I really appreciate it. Thank you so
much for your time tonight. Okay, best of luck in Boston.
Enjoy the City. Thank you much, all right.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
I appreciate it. Good night.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
When we get back. When we get back, right after
the newscast's going to talk with Tracy Clements. She's an
expert dealing with student safety and mental health issues and
obviously in view of what happened yesterday at that Christian
academy in Madison, Wisconsin, this is a well timed interview.
Tracy Clements joins us on the other side of the break.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
You're on Night Side with Dan Ray on w Boston's
news Radio.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
Sadly, this is a very well timed interview and topic,
and I'm sure everyone will understand what I'm saying when
I put it that way. My guest is Tracy Clements.
She's a former school counselor now an education strategist in
student safety and mental health and God guardian. Tracy, Welcome
to Night's Side. Tough day yesterday around the country and
more specifically in Madison, Wisconsin. I don't know if this
(23:03):
was scheduled before that horrific event yesterday or not, but
either way, it's important to talk about it tonight. Welcome
to night Satt. How are you this evening.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
I'm doing well.
Speaker 5 (23:12):
Thanks for having.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Me so you're a fuller school counselor and an education strategist.
What's going on that so many kids, young students who
have the rest of their lives in front of them
are engaging in these horrific actions. And you know, I
know that some people say, well being guns or whatever
(23:34):
and all of that, but I just don't understand why
kids at fifteen or seventeen are destroying their lives and
destroying the lives of others. What am I missing?
Speaker 5 (23:49):
You know? I think every kid has their own reasons,
and the reasons are as varied as there are people.
But overall the bigger picture, I think kids have a
lot of stress on them in the world we live
in right now, and kids don't really get a chance
(24:09):
to shut off and get away from everything. I am old.
So when I was a kid, when we went home,
we just were able to relax, And children and teens
don't get that opportunity anymore. The world has become a
more stressful place.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Why is that? In the sense that I'm probably older
than you are. I was a student colle I graduate
from college in the seventies, law school in the mid seventies. Look,
school is competitive, there's no doubt about that. There's a
lot of pressure, social pressures. I'm assuming the social pressures
(24:50):
were just as bad kids in the fifties and sixties
as they are for kids now in the twenty twenties
or the twenty f deeds. There has to be something
fundamentally that has changed here. Is it the immersion that
young people have in this thing called the internet? Is
(25:11):
that the factor? Or or that there were just as
many incidents of this nature fifty years ago, we just
didn't hear about them. There weren't live TV crews everywhere.
Is that a factor?
Speaker 5 (25:23):
I think that's a big factor. I do think that
having access to the Internet and being online and connected
to the entire world provides an additional stressor for kids today.
But also before the Internet, we didn't know all of
the bad things that were going on in the world.
(25:45):
So I feel like, you know, people talk a lot
about the mental health crisis right now. I've been doing
this for more than thirty years, and it's been a
great for very long one.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
So in the in the few minutes that we have left,
how are we going to solve this problem? Tracy? What
what is the solution or what what is the battery
of solutions that have to be imposed because this has
to stop. I mean, whether it's New Town or whether
it's Juvaldi or now Madison, Wisconsin, and there's so many
other stops along the way. What what can be done?
(26:24):
What what can be changed in the curriculum? What can
be changed in the way we incorporate kids into schools?
Is it too competitive now? Is it? I'm just wondering,
is there maybe there's no magic pardon the punt here,
no magic bullet to solve this problem.
Speaker 5 (26:39):
You know, I think there's a lot of things we
can do to help move the needle. And I agree
there's no magic bullet. There's no one cure all. But
schools need to build systems of support, which is what
I did. When I was at Neoshow School District. We
were experiencing a bad suicide crisis. Of our suicide rates
(27:01):
were many times the national average, And you just put
one foot in front of the other and you start
doing everything you can. You bring communities together, you bring
parents together, You use technology to help you identify the kids,
which is how I landed in a technology company as
(27:21):
mental health professional, which is nothing I ever expected to do.
But at Gogardian what was at the district. We had
a tool called Beacon, and Beacon lived in the background
of the student's devices, and it uses machine learning to
identify when kids might be struggling with suicidality or if
(27:42):
they're accessing content that might indicate their arm towards others,
and it sent us an alert. And instead of having
to wait until kids were showing behavioral changes on the
outside or they had the nerve to come and ask
for help, we were able to identify some morning signs.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
So I assarch I assume that I'm speaking as a lawyer,
that my good friends in the Civil Liberties Union probably
are not thrilled with this idea.
Speaker 5 (28:11):
You know, there there has been some concern, and I
myself had concern in the beginning, but using it, I
found it to be just a really helpful tool. And
and that's what it is. It's a tool, and it
is It doesn't it's not magic, it doesn't do it
(28:33):
on its own.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Parent Did the parents sign off on this tool?
Speaker 5 (28:37):
Absolutely? Yeah, the parents, They sign off on it. And
then I recommend taking it a step further and holding
a parent knight to talk about not just what technology
you're using but all of the different things. So we
were to address our suicide problem in Neoshow. I did
(28:58):
Signs of Suicide, which was for kids, and training for teachers,
and I was bringing in outside mental health therapists and
to the school, and I had a committee of people
from the community, including parents, to help us figure out
what to do. Another thing was just teaching the basic skills.
(29:20):
You know, this is what anger feels like, this is
what you do with How can.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
Parent groups get in touch with your organization if they're
looking for more information, they must be a website.
Speaker 5 (29:31):
Yes, our website is Goguardian dot com.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
That's pretty easy, all one word, Geoguardian, Googuardian dot com.
I went to a high school called Boston Latin School.
I don't know if you're familiar with it, but it's
the oldest public high school in America. Found that in
sixteen thirty five, Oh wow, and did my It was
basically Harvard University was formed to educate the graduates of
Boston Latin School. And when I was there in the
(29:57):
nineteen sixties, we had a dropout rate about two thirds.
It was very competitive. There was one guidance counselor, And
the only time you met the guidance counselor was when
he opened the front door called you. The office opened
the front door and directed you across the street to
the to the high school that you would then matriculate from,
which was across the street, a different high school. So
(30:19):
I just think that somehow, some way, there has to
be a way in which we can reach these kids.
It was the most competitive high school that you could
ever have imagined. You better be prepared jackets and ties.
You walked. You know, you had three minutes to walk
from classes. It probably was not the kindest educational experience,
(30:42):
but it was a pretty effective educational experience. And I
don't want to see too old school here, but you
may want to check it out at some point because
it was they told you look to your left and
look to your right. You know, one of you will
graduate from this school. That was your freshman orientation, so
they let you know what it was from day one.
(31:03):
That's that's for sure. It's like sort of the Marine
Corps of academia for kids going into either the seventh
grade or the ninth grade. Tracy Clements, thank you so
much for your time. Love to get you back and
talk more about this, maybe even do an entire hour
sometime after the first of the year. I think we
need more time than just a few minutes to talk
about this.
Speaker 3 (31:21):
Okay, So that sounds wonderful.
Speaker 5 (31:24):
Thanks, Thanks Gracy.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
I appreciate it very much. We get back when we
talk about a very topical subject, and that is drone sightings.
Recent drone sidings. Are they a threat? We will talk
to the CEO of a company called Pivotal. I guess
it's it's it's Pivotal. I guess they spell it a
little differently, Pivotal Technologies. We'll talk with that CEO right
(31:49):
after this break cod night Side.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
Now back to Dan ray Mine from the Window World.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Night Side Studios on w b Z, the news radio.
My guess is, yes, monrage Machine. I hope I'm pronouncing
your name correctly. He's the CEO of a company called
Pivotal Technologies. You're missing you're missing a volve there. Yes, yep,
(32:14):
you spelled tv O T A L. What happened to
the I.
Speaker 6 (32:19):
Makes it easier for trademark and registering domain names.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
I got it. I figured that was it, but I
just wanted to get it cleared up, that's all. How
are you tonight?
Speaker 3 (32:29):
Good?
Speaker 6 (32:29):
How about you good?
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Okay? Have you figured out what's going on with these drones?
Because nobody else has.
Speaker 6 (32:36):
I don't think we can say we have figured it out,
but we've been able to eliminate what it is not,
So I think, what do you what.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Do you think? What? What is it? What? Let's let's
eliminate it. What is it not?
Speaker 6 (32:50):
Well, I don't think it is aliens. I don't think
it is any sort of conspiracy from the government, and
I don't think it's any foreign power. So at least
based on the data we received so far, the reports
and the videos on social media, there's no evidence to
suggest any of that. So at least I think those
can be at least we now eliminated until new evidence
comes to light.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
If the aliens were gonna come here, why would they
go to New Jersey?
Speaker 3 (33:15):
And that is a great question, and.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
I'll let that one hang in there, Okay, So neither
one of us get a lot of trouble with our
listeners in New Jersey. I'm concerned when I hear the
White House say we don't know what it is, but
we know it's not a threat because if you don't
know what it is, how can how can you conclude
it's not a threat. That's what troubles me with this.
There's all sorts of rumors. I'm sure you've seen them
(33:40):
floating around. What's your best guess? I mean, do you
think this is a These are private companies? Are a
private company that is trying to test some new technology.
Your your company called Pivotal Technologies. I assume you're up
to up to speed of this.
Speaker 6 (33:58):
We don't do hardware, but we do a lot of
for governments and large enterprises. So I think based on
the reports, it seems that everything started on November seventeenth
or eighteenth, late at night, and that was when you
first got any reports that we can trace back. I
think in New Jersey. I think the FA investigated those
(34:19):
and they concluded that there was nothing legal or nothing
suspicious about them. But I agree with you. I think
the biggest problem in this case is that there's been
a lot of tepid and inconclusive government reports announcemental statements,
so that added to the confusion. We personally verified, like
we have any I that does some testing on social media,
(34:42):
on comments and everything, and so we've analyzed about two
hundred and seventeen different reports, and the majority of them
occurred between I think December ninth and fourteenth, and almost
all of them are just like, you know, I think
people having fun with it. They've seen the news and
they are just doing copycats or scared their neighbors. But
in most cases, a lot of the statements made by
(35:04):
people were you know, I think people who just started
paying attention and they are seeing lives or they're seeing activity,
and they're always correlating it with the drones. But in
many cases, I think that there's been a lot of activity,
or at least the most popular things shared on x
and TikTok. You could actually track the flight path of
the drone they reported with the videos, the angles, and
(35:26):
you could, you know, compare that with flight paths that
are registered with actual planes or private planes, and most
of them were actually private planes. So we have not
seen an actual video or report that conclusively said something
you're suspicious or a government or an interested drone most
of I think there's only been two arrests so far,
(35:47):
and those were near the Logan International Airport where it
was just individual flights.
Speaker 2 (35:52):
Those guys, Yeah, I'm familiar. We broadcast from Boston and
this has happened before. For some reason, you have some
knuckleheads and I'm using a technical term there obviously, who
think it's a great idea to fly drones near major airport.
There are also people like to fire you know, flash
lasers at cockpits. Right, there's also a problem and most
(36:16):
of those that's totally unrelated the correct stuff. My understanding
amongst people who are flying civilian drones, and I've never
flown a drone, never touched a drone, I had some
idea what they are. They're supposed to stay below four
hundred feet and they're supposed to always be within sight
of the civilian who's flying the drone. Is that correct?
Speaker 6 (36:37):
Yes, But unfortunately, as you know, nobody, there's a lot
of software modifications you can make to override, for example,
the basic limitations of the flight pass, and you have
a lot of add ons, and the communities that you know,
build and customize the three dfferent parts for their drone.
So it's unfortunately not very hard to customize and go
and buy commercial drones of pols to build your own drones.
(36:59):
I think a lot of the footage that you've seen
the larger drones that don't appear to be commercial, Those
were customized by either a small company, have been flown
for other years. Just now people are paying attention, So
there's a a different interest in.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
Is it your sense that this is a story that
is just going to drift off, that there will be
other stories that emerge and will stop talking about it,
or do you think that at some point, at some point,
maybe when the new administration comes in and they will say, okay,
this is what was going on. There were they were
tests being done by a private company, a private US company,
(37:36):
to see what the capacity of a certain new drone was.
Is it just says that we will ever get a
definitive answer, or that it will just this will disappear
into the fog of of government technology that we'll never have,
will never receive a definitive, satisfactory answer. What's your guess.
Speaker 6 (38:00):
I don't think we'll get a conclusive answer. I think
even if we switch with a new government and everybody
and they have a heightened transparency and are able to
communicate better than the current one, there probably will not
be any conclusive answer about it. I think even if
there was some military contractor or the Eddy contractor with
Tefan drones in the area. I don't think anybody wants
(38:23):
to talk about it, so we'll probably focus on something
else as soon as the new cycles find something more
interesting to talk about.
Speaker 2 (38:31):
All right, how could folks get more information about your company?
I'm sure that you have a website. Is it Pivotal
Technologies Pivotal being spelled without the letter.
Speaker 6 (38:41):
I, yes, it's p v O t L dot tech.
So that's where we have every boarding company for most
of the folks, I think.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
Okay, Pivotal dot tech dot com.
Speaker 6 (38:57):
No, no, there's no comm there's just dot tech.
Speaker 2 (39:01):
Okay, good fine, Okay, that's that's that's that's new to me. Okay,
thank you very much. Ya Sheena appreciated very much. We'll
check back with you Lean. Thanks, thank you so much.
We get back, we'll be talking with the governor of
New Hampshire, christ I considered him to be the best
governor in the United States of America in the last
several years. Uh, And I make no bones about it.
(39:23):
I think he's been a really effective New Hampshire governor,
and I think that he has represented his party both
in New Hampshire and nationally extremely well, and we're going
to spend an hour. If you like to talk with Kristan,
you will be able to call, but you can either
start now or wait until the lines get full, and
then it might get frustrating. Back on night Side with
Christan Nunu, Governor of New Hampshire right after this
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