March 14, 2025 • 40 mins
We kicked off the program with four news stories and different guests on the stories we think you need to know about!
We discuss the upcoming heist film ANY DAY NOW which explores the true-ish art heist of Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum – written and directed by Boston native Eric Aronson. Movie Premiere is March 17th at the Somerville Theatre.
From Stage Fright to Fearlessness - a Paradigm-Shifting Approach to Public Speaking! With Lee Glickstein, founder of Speaking Circles International.
New England Aquarium Creates Retirement Home For Older Penguins with Kristen McMahon-Curator of Pinnipeds and Penguins for the NE Aquarium.
Major cities leaning into smart tech to keep celebrations secure, like St. Patrick Day celebrations, etc. How can AI be used for security? With Marc Jaromin, the Director of Public Safety at Futuri.
Listen to WBZ NewsRadio on the NEW iHeart Radio app and be sure to set WBZ NewsRadio as your #1 preset!
We discuss the upcoming heist film ANY DAY NOW which explores the true-ish art heist of Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum – written and directed by Boston native Eric Aronson. Movie Premiere is March 17th at the Somerville Theatre.
From Stage Fright to Fearlessness - a Paradigm-Shifting Approach to Public Speaking! With Lee Glickstein, founder of Speaking Circles International.
New England Aquarium Creates Retirement Home For Older Penguins with Kristen McMahon-Curator of Pinnipeds and Penguins for the NE Aquarium.
Major cities leaning into smart tech to keep celebrations secure, like St. Patrick Day celebrations, etc. How can AI be used for security? With Marc Jaromin, the Director of Public Safety at Futuri.
Listen to WBZ NewsRadio on the NEW iHeart Radio app and be sure to set WBZ NewsRadio as your #1 preset!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WBS, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Thank you, Nicole, and happy Saint Patrick's Day weekend to
you and yours into everyone out there. This is an
unofficial well it's an official three day weekend in Boston,
but for many of us we'll celebrate. We'll get three
days of celebrating in well, Friday night, Saturday, and good
part of Sunday. Welcome on in everyone as we move
(00:29):
into a Friday tgif we're wrapping up another week of
nights that we have some interesting topics to deal with. Tonight,
we're going to talk with the president of the Animal
Rescue League of Boston. He's the president and CEO, doctor
Edward Scatino, will join us to discuss some concerns regarding pets,
(00:49):
housing and in often cases people either with disabilities or
who are older. Also, some bad news for Karen Reid's
legal team yesterday late late yesterday. Probably read about it today,
and I know a couple of our callers wanted to
talk about it last night. Basically, she's going back to
trial and all three chargers her options have been exhausted
(01:11):
both in the state the State Court of Appeals here
in Massachusetts and also in the federal court. So that
is done, and then well we will talk Saint Patrick's day.
It's a couple of little bit later on tonight during
the twentieth hour. But first we have four interesting guests
to start off, none more interesting than the director of
(01:34):
the writer and the producer of a new film that's
just about to come out called any Day Now about
the art heist at Boston's Illabella Stuart Gardner Museum, and
it's characterized as it explores the Truish art heist. Welcome.
(01:56):
Eric Aronson is a Boston native. Hey, Eric, Welcome to
Night's Side.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Hi Dan, I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Yeah, how long you've been in this crazy movie business.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
I've been a screenwriter for about twenty five years in Hollywood,
writ and all kinds of crazy things. And this is
my first directorial film, and I've just been waiting for
the right time and the right story and I found
them both.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Well, I'll tell you, I've looked at the trailer. I
can't wait to see the film. Let's uh, why don't
you tell us what it's about. I know what it's about,
and I've watched the trailer, which is a great trailer.
It wants me to I want to see this movie,
to be really honest with you, so tell us, tell
us what you're doing here. You're recreating what might have happened.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
I guess, well, nobody knows what happened, right, so you have.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
What do we know? For a fact?
Speaker 4 (03:02):
We know that the museum was robbed, and it's thirty
fifth anniversary on Saint Patrick's Day. On the seventeenth, we're
actually having our Boston premiere of the movie at the
Summrville Theater and the movie I cut it to be
exactly the length of the robbery. So the movie itself,
(03:23):
this is eighty one minutes before credits. And it was
the night of the seventeenth, so it's early morning the eighteenth.
But I forgured I wasn't going to make people wait
up till one o'clock in the morning to watch this movie.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
But yes, but what's it about.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
Yes, it's about the Gardner heist happened. We all know
that we all know that nobody knows who did it,
and nobody knows where these paintings are and they haven't
come up. But what we do know for a fact
is that there are some pretty interesting characters associated with
this crime and around it, and I'm a character guy,
(04:00):
and I just took inspiration from some of some of
the ideas around it, and then I made my own
fictional version.
Speaker 5 (04:09):
Of of a one of what if happened?
Speaker 4 (04:11):
And what if this happened? And it's really in the
works of comedy and serious.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Go ahead in watching the trailer. UH. And you may
or may not know, but I've been around a long time,
and I was around as a TV reporter at the
time of the Gardner HEISTUH covered, amongst others, a lot
of the criminals in and around the Boston area. I
got a distinct just watching the trailer, got a little
(04:37):
little whiff of a whitey bulgeer type character.
Speaker 5 (04:41):
It's not actually it's more off beat.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
It's an it's more of an off beat I mean,
he can come across that way.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
It's it's he's an heart thief.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
But in the movie, in the movie itself, he's he's
he's doing bad, but he's also doing good. He's a
really interesting character. He's a It's played by Paul Gilfoyle,
who's a Boston native and just a wonderful, wonderful actor.
And he has this ability to do two things at once,
and not a lot of actors can do that. But
he's able to be menacing, and he's also clever and
(05:14):
cheekish and roguish, and you also kind of like him.
And even though he's reaching his hand in your pocket
and taking your money out of it.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Yeah, well you know, those were some of the characteristics
of Whitey Bulger. Over in South Boston. He was thought
of as a good bad guy, if you know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
Yeah, but he was really a bit you know. And
that's the other reason why I chose this story. I
chose this story because in my life, and I'm from
Boston and I live here. Now, there are two great
myths and the two mis and you hit on it
is the White Bulger myths and the Gardner heist. And
White Bulger is just not funny.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
No, he left a path of murder and broken people.
Absolutely so. Premieres on Monday, Saint Patrick's Day at the
Somerville Theater. How many showing this has to be shown
a lot of times? Or is this going to Is
(06:17):
it going to be available on Netflix? Tell us? How not?
Only are you going to create a great movie? And
I think it's going to be a great I think
it's a great movie just from watching the trailer. How
are you gonna make this? Turn this into a successful
financial effort as well? Is it going to go into
theaters across the country at some point after the premiere?
Tell me how it works.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Well, we're starting a limited release, so you have a
couple of ways that you can see this movie, Dan.
You can come to the premiere on Monday night at
Somerville or on the twenty first, which is I think
it's Thursday night. We are showing the film in a
couple of theaters. It's showing in New York in a
theater in Greenwich Village. It's also showing at the Magia
(07:00):
six seven for a week in here. And we're also,
which is unusual, but we're also releasing it online. So
if you want to see it anywhere in the country,
you can see it online. And we're just gonna leave
it out for a limited release starting on March twenty first.
We're gonna show it and then we're gonna pull it.
I just want to tip my toe in the water
(07:21):
and see what kind of appetite is and then we're
going to slowly roll out a bigger release in May.
But we've created a lot of ads for this movie
and they're just gonna start rolling out and you'll start
seeing some of them, and they're really fun. They're not
the movie. They're kind of stories around the movie, and
we're gonna push that out and see what happens.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
So let me ask you this, this is it sounds
to me like very creative release of this work, a
work of art above theft of art. Let's put it
like that. How can people if you can't get to
the Somerville Theater, if you can't get down a gra
village in New York on the twentieth, if you count wherever,
(08:04):
what's the way is it going to be on Netflix?
How can people I assume either rented or buy it.
What could the average person do who wants to see
the movie but maybe geographically can't get to where the
movie's being shown in a public venue.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
If you want to see it for a limited time
on March twenty first, and as long as you're in
the United States, you can go to Kinema, which is
like a specialty film website. But you'll see it on
all our ads. We're going to start pushing it out
on the end of the ads. But if you go
to Kinema, you'll see our movie. It's going to be
up there for a week or so and then we're
going to pull it so you'll have a little time
(08:41):
to see it starting on the twenty first, no matter
where you are.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Good, Okay. Yeah. The whole idea here is to tell
the to tell the story about your movie, about the story.
If I didn't think it was really it intrigued me.
The trailer I thought was great. I've seen a lot
of trailers, and I thought it was a really intriguing trailer.
It makes me want to go see the movie, and
(09:06):
I want I'm sure my audience are going to want
to go see it as well. So Eric, congratulations. Where
did you learn new craft? Did you go to school
back here in the Boston area or how did you
get involved in this real quickly?
Speaker 4 (09:19):
No, I was in politics. I was a speech writer
for the British politician. I couldn't have been any further
from what I'm doing. And then I just came home
one day and I sat here in Boston with a
friend of mine and I said, you know what I've
always wanted to do. I've always wanted to write a
script and he said do it. And I don't know why,
but just somebody else telling me that I could do it,
(09:40):
it just opened up everything for me. And then I
started writing, and I've been writing ever since. That's twenty
five years, and I've worked with a lot of people
in almost every studio and then this, and then I
decided now to try my hat handed directing.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Man, that's great that It's just amazing how people find
their way. People find it their way, and obviously you
found your way to something that you're passionate about, and
those are the type of people we love to talk to.
The movie is any Day Now. It's about the Gardener
Museum theft, and I recommend it highly. Eric. I appreciate
your time tonight. I hope to meet you someday. You
(10:15):
sound like a fascinating guy, so much. Appreciate it, all right,
Eric Aronson, Director, writer, producer of the movie any Day Now.
When we get back, we're going to switch and we're
going to talk. Are any of you afraid of public speaking?
I know I was at one point in time. I
really was. Though I've made a career of it and
(10:36):
I'm going to have the founder of speaking Circles International.
On the other side of this break, I'll remind you
listening to WBZ, Boston's News Radio ten thirty on your
AM dial. We're an iHeartRadio station. iHeart has a new podcast,
a new easy podcast, easy to download, It's free, and
(10:57):
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As a matter of fact, you'll be able to be
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(11:19):
a year, twenty four to seven, you'll be able to
listen to your favorite radio station. We'll be back with
another great Friday Night guest right after this.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
Nightside Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
When people ask others what they fear most, some people
will say snakes, some will say flying on an airplane,
but a lot of people actually say public. Speaking with
us is Lee Glickstein, founder of Speaking Circles International. Lee,
Welcome to Nightside. How are you tonight?
Speaker 5 (11:59):
Well, wonderful. Well, thank you for having me here, very welcome.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
So from stage fright to fearlessness. I've spent a lot
of years in the media, both as a television reporter
and now as a talk show host. I've really made
my career about speaking, either reporting or conducting programs like this.
And yet I can remember when I was a freshman
in college, terrified having to give a speech in front
(12:25):
of my classmates. So just not even a speech, a
short presentation. And I don't know how I got over
the fear. But how do you help people get over
that fear.
Speaker 5 (12:40):
Well, it really comes down to not thinking of that
public speaking, speaking to a whole group, but to one
person at a time. So anything he has halfway decent
one on one skill, and my I've worked with people
you know that is you know coachings who are perfect
on one.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Lee, we got a little bit, Lee, hold on for saying,
we got kind of some bad audio with you. I'm
going to ask my producer Rob to work with you
for a couple of seconds here to try to clean
up the line. Don't know what's going on, but I
want to hear everything you say. Well, Rob will get
us get you back on with us quickly. We're speaking
with Lee Glicksteinstein, a founder of Speaking Circles International. And
(13:24):
if you are someone who in your either your job
or in your community, you need to be able to
periodically appear in front of a group and speak. You
want to listen very carefully, carefully to what Lee has
to say. Lee, you're back and let's hope that we
got that audio improved a little bit.
Speaker 5 (13:40):
Go right ahead, Okay, So what I'm trying to say
is that if you if you think of it as
just one person at a time, never speaking to a group,
If if you just do one person at time, it
becomes a series of one on ones. And it really
involves developing the skill, the capacity by practicing in front
(14:06):
of a group to only be with one person at
a time, and when you're with them, even it's the
three seconds of five seconds to see them so they
feel seen the way you are at your best when
you're on you know, when you're having a one on
one sensitive conversation, you stay with the person, you you
keep you have your eyes available to the person. Well,
(14:27):
if you do that with a group of any size,
it doesn't mean you have to get to every single person.
You got one hundred hundred people there be with one
person at a time. The group will start to feel
that you're connected, that you're that you're with the whole group.
Everyone will feel it personally. You have to practice with
(14:48):
one person at a time, and that's you know, I've
created a practice ground, the speaking circle, where people get
say three minutes or five minutes, and the only instruction
is to be with one person at a time. You
don't even have to speak. Yeah, I did this with
stammerers in Dublin, Ireland. Scottish people. Of course, they're storytellers
(15:10):
and storytellers Scottish people who I know, so i'm talking Scottish.
I'm talking about Irish people who have trouble telling stories
because they spammer or losing so much. But when they
be with one person at a time and they're trying
to speak to the whole group.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
And so do you do you conduct these these seminars
or whatever you would call them, in person or is
this something that people can take this take your course.
That's what I'm trying to figure out here. I understand
the principle. One of the things I'll tell friends of
mine who are a little nervous, I'll say, well, just
(15:49):
speak to the audience. And I actually have a different theory,
and that is, you know, look up at the back
row and uh and pick some people out in the
back row, and the people down front will still feel
that you have eye contact with them. If you keep
your head down and you just look at the front row,
you're going to lose the rest of the audience. But
what can people do do they? You know, do you
(16:11):
do zoom conferences? How does this work?
Speaker 5 (16:14):
Yeah? Well, I do in person, but I also do
it on zoom. Since COVID hit, I had to figure
a way to do it without doing it in person.
I do it on zoom, and it really works on
zoom when with the protocol I use where when you
when you move from one person to another during your turn,
you call their name and they look into the camera
(16:36):
and you look at them on the screen. So we
got it to where it really works well on zoom.
Virtually you can practice it so that you can be
with one person at a time there and when you
translate that to the quote real world, yeah, it works
the same way. And yeah, yeah, I just want to say,
(16:59):
you said.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
If you look, please go ahead.
Speaker 5 (17:04):
If you look at somebody in the back row. You said,
when you look at people in the back row, people
upfront will feel connected. Yes, if you're truly looking at
anybody in the room, even in the twentieth row, and
you just don't hardly see their eyes, but you see
their being, that the whole everybody will feel connected. That's
(17:24):
how you create, that's how you you you solve the
sense that you know the people you're speaking to don't
feel they belong hardly anyone in your in your audience,
even if they're dressed well and they they look like
they're listening, they're going through their own stuff. They feel
alienated in their own way from the world. And if
(17:46):
you can create this field of belonging, this community, you're
very natural and people will listen at the next level
when you're with just one person at a time.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
All right, So, how can folks get in touch with
you if they currently have a fear of public speaking
and they can get more information from you. What's your website?
Speaker 5 (18:09):
Well, I love at Speaking circles dot com site.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Okay again this for some reason Lee our phone connection here.
I don't know if you're working on a headset or
if you're moving around a room. But we're losing you,
so give me.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
Let me do that.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Okay, let's do that again ahead, l e E.
Speaker 5 (18:34):
Yep, go ahead, Speaking Circles dot Com.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Okay, I heard it. I'm going to repeat it. L
E E dot at l E E at Speaking Circles
dot com.
Speaker 5 (18:50):
Dot com and yeah, email me there and we can
do we talk about zoom calls. They also have my
book be seen now, fearless speaker.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
All right, I wish we had a better connection. I
don't know if it's our lines or your phone, but
next time we'll clear these lines a little bit more effectively.
Ahead of time. We'll figure it out. Lee Clickstein, thank
you very much, the founder of Speaking Circles International. You're
very welcome. When we get back, we're gonna get a
little closer to home. I'm going to talk with Kristin McMahon.
(19:24):
She's the curator of pinnipeds and penguins. I don't even
know what a pinny pt is, but I think I'm
going to find out and penguins for the New England Aquarium.
My name's Dan Ray. This is Nightside. Here comes the News.
Be back in about three three and a half minutes.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
It's Night Side With on Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Well, I am delighted to welcome Kristin McMahon. She's the
curator of pinnipeds and penguins for the New England Aquarium.
I have a daughter, Kristin, who is a She is
very accomplished, but if she could have your job. She
loves animals, obviously, as you love animals and you love penguins.
(20:09):
I was just told by Rob what a penny pet is.
I'd never heard the word before, and I'm not going
to fake it and make people think that I'm particularly intelligent,
but tell us what a penny pet is, because I
had never heard that word.
Speaker 6 (20:25):
So, a pinnapad is a seal or a sea lion.
We actually have five leaned carb fields at the aquarium
and five California sea lions. So pinnapad means like penna
or pinned ear. They have ears that you can see
just like you know they hear with the ears. They're
very audible. And so pinnaped means feather footage, meaning like
(20:47):
fins or fin footed. So if you look at their
flippers on their hind flipper area, they look almost feather
like because they have a structure that looks very adaptable
for water.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Yes, okay, here talk now, we know what pinnipeds are,
but we're here. We'll come back and talk about pinnipeds
another time, but we're here to talk about penguins. And
I have and I saw a video the other day.
I forget which TV station it was here in Boston.
I switch around. You have a retirement home for older penguins.
Sounds great if you're an older penguin. Tell us about it.
Speaker 6 (21:21):
Okay, Yeah, we actually have over fifty penguins at the aquarium,
and forty of those are called African penguins, and our
African penguin colony is at least fifty percent in a
geriatric category. So we decided to have a special section
of that exhibit be for special animals that are of
an older age and have medical conditions or have not
(21:44):
quite the same abilities they had when they were younger.
So African penguins live about ten to fifteen years in
the wild, and the penguins that are now in this
assisted living retirement area are actually in their thirties and
later twenties, so they're quite old, and in fact, they're
doubling their life span at the aquarium. So it's pretty incredible.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Incredible, So why is this such a disparity. Obviously, on
the one hand, you must take very good care, medical
care and otherwise, but that can account for such a
dramatic disparity. Are penguins as they get older, do they
become prey for other animals or fish in the wild.
Speaker 6 (22:31):
Absolutely. When the penguins get older, they get less mobile,
they get weaker. They're definitely picked off more easily by
their predators such as sharks or large seals. Different things
will eat penguins, and the penguins, as I said, live
about ten to fifteen years in the wild. They also
have a lot of threats out in the wild, such
as pollution, lack of habitat, human encroachment, and actually finding
(22:56):
prey which they prey on fish. The oceans are over
fish and the pollutions also affecting the fisheries as well,
so they have trouble finding proper nutrition. So not only
do they necessarily fall to predation because they're weaker, but
also they're not living as long as they would in
an aquarium setting. You know, the aquarium, we put animal
(23:17):
welfare as a top priority, and they get restaurant quality fish,
vitamins and vet care and a lot of care from
our trainers every single day, so they tend to live
longer and this longevity has been great for us to
learn more and more about this species.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Now, when I think about penguins, obviously, I think about
the Pittsburgh penguins and Sydney Crosby. Only kidding, only kidding.
I'm sure you've heard that joke before. The penguins. You
think of penguins as being, you know, coming from the
south of South America, from the from Antarctica. Is is
(23:54):
that their natural habitat or are they in other parts
of the world.
Speaker 6 (24:01):
Yeah, so that's a great question. A lot of people
think of penguins and they think of snow, like the
penguin species that are in Antarctica. But the penguins that
we have are from South America. They're from Africa, so
South Africa, so Namibia and South Africa area where the
African penguins are from. That's where they get their name
African penguins. And we also have Southern rock hopper penguins
(24:23):
that are from warmer climates as well, so they don't
live in a snowy habitat, but they live on rocks
and ledges and a pebbly shore, and they can actually
be in warmer temperatures. So living in that habitat makes
it very accessible to living in outdoor exhibits in different
places around the country, so you'll see African penguins in
many different aquariums. The thing that's really interesting about African
(24:46):
penguins is there's such an important species to have in
human care because they are critically endangered. So that's really
scary because that means they could be functionally extinct in
the wild in ten to fifteen years, which is not
very long. So we put a high priority on our
breeding program with the African penguins, and we do that
(25:06):
through an organization called the SSP, the Species Survival Program,
where we do thoughtful breeding plans working with others us
in aquariums to make sure we have genetic diversity represented
with this species.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Okay, so here's my question, and we don't script questions here,
so if I ask you something that you cannot answer,
feel free. Are the penguins from Antarctica and the African
penguins Are they from the same family, Are they cousins
or were they somehow separated when the ice caps, you know,
(25:42):
separated billions of years ago. How similar are the penguins
from Antarctica to the penguins who are now, you know,
in Africa.
Speaker 6 (25:52):
That's a great question, and they are. They are related.
They're very similar, and they're both obviously species of birds,
and they are flightless birds, so they have a lot
in common. They both species eat fish, so the cold
weather penguins and the warm weather penguins have a lot
of the same adaptations. The cold weather penguins have much
higher feather counts than the warmer weather penguins. You also
(26:17):
see the African penguins have some bare patches of skin
around their eyes that can actually look pink at times,
and they can regulate their temperature in that way, so
they have a little less coverage of feathers than the
cold weather penguins such as the king penguins or the
emperor penguins. So there's a lot of different species that
live in the colder climates, and there's several species that
(26:37):
live in the warmer climates as well, and they're all related,
and they all lay eggs and that's how they have
their offspring. They hatch just like any other birds, they'll hatch.
Different penguin species will lay either one egg or two eggs,
and that's called a clutch, the number of eggs that
they lay, and so they do have some differences as well,
(26:58):
but again they are relatives they have they're in that
same family, and it's the avian family because they're species
of birds.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Now my understanding, the treatment that you give them is
truly world class. And not only do they get great
food and all of that, that you actually administer eye drops.
How do you administer eye drops to a penguin? I
mean do you literally have to hold the bird and
(27:28):
hold their heads? I'm serious when I say that. You know,
the easy answer is how do you you know? How
do you put eye drops in a penguin? Very carefully?
Speaker 3 (27:37):
Is?
Speaker 2 (27:37):
It would be the comedic answer, But how do you
do something like that? That has to be quite a challenge.
Speaker 6 (27:45):
It really is the best part of our job, and
that is providing the best welfare for the animals by
doing husbandry training, which is a fancy word for health care.
So we want them to voluntarily participate in these healthcare
behaviors so that we can give them really great care
and have our veterinarian team get close to them, examine
(28:05):
them and help diagnose anything proactively. So we start out
by building a relationship with each animal, and that's by
spending quality time with them and reinforcing them and giving
them fish and giving them scratches. They naturally preen themselves
and other birds, so basically use their beak to work
on the feathers and keep those feathers clean and good
(28:27):
and good condition. So we also do a little scratch
with them which simulates that creening. So we have different
ways to reward or reinforce them and build the relationships.
And from there we can start to pick them up
examine their feet. We can pick them up and kind
of hold them on our lap and administer eye drops
and then we of course want them out of the
water for at least two minutes to let the eye
(28:48):
drop soak in. So it's important to have that not
only that relationship, but that's time spent with the animal
where you can have that duration and have them come
in your lap, getting that medical exam, eye drop, put
them on the scale to get a weight. We actually
take them upstairs to get X rays on them. We'll
get voluntary blood samples on different animals as well. And
(29:11):
you mentioned kind of the pinnipeds earlier, so they're mammals,
so they tend to be even further along in these
behaviors that I'm talking about, because mammals pick up a
little quicker on some of the training and then birds
take a little bit longer. So each type of animal
has a little bit of a different learning curve, if
that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
And it all makes total sense, and I'm assuming it.
I just got to ask one final quick question here.
I assume that these penguins come to know you just
as you come to know them.
Speaker 6 (29:43):
Absolutely. And the neat thing about this geriatric assisted living
section of the exhibit is right now, there's six birds
in that section, and eventually they'll be eight, and we
do very specifically identifying which animals we want in that
section of the habitat. It's a commer area, it's a
little more serene, not quite as active. We also can
(30:04):
get close up observations on these six to eight birds
at any time. Now. All of our birds have bracelets
on their wings or their flippers, and those are on
the left for males, on the right for females, and
each one's a different color, so you're right, we know
exactly which bird is which. So for instance, Durban is
one of the birds in that area. He's thirty one
(30:25):
years old and he actually only has one eye. He
had to have an eye surgery because he had a
chronic eye issue. So you'll see him out there. He
only has one eye, but he's doing great with that,
and that one eye that he has, he does get
the eye drops. So we'll put him on our lap
and we'll give him those eye drops several times a day,
and he's very calm and relaxed with that. Will actually
give him a little back scratch to reinforce him.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
So it's wrong with nothing wrong with a good backscratch. Christen,
I'm past my break, but this has been a great conversation.
The New England Aquarium everyone knows where it is. Get
out there and now you'll get a chance to look
at the penguins and explain the habitat to your children
or to your guests. But the New England Aquarium something
(31:09):
everyone should in the Boston area should visit at least
every year or so. Thanks so much, Kristin. You're a
font of information and I had a lot of questions
and you answer them all and I thank you very
much for your time tonight, and let's do it again
in the next few weeks and pick up pick up
something else, some other issue dealing with the aquarium. I
love animals, as does my daughter. Thank you so much.
Speaker 5 (31:31):
That sounds great.
Speaker 6 (31:32):
Thank you, Good night.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Kristin McMahon, the curator pittibeds and penguins at the New
England Aquarium. We come back. We're going to talk about
how can AI be used to increase security, Oh like,
let's say, at a parade in South Boston coming up
this week, and we'll talk about it right after the break.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
night Side Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Welcome back everyone, Big Saint Patrick's Day Parade in Boston
this weekend, in South Boston this weekend. Then every city
has big events during the course of the year, and
of course there are all sorts of the quadrennial events
like the Olympic Games and Championships, Super Bowls, World Series,
and we're becoming more and more concerned about those, you know,
(32:22):
high level activities becoming potentially the target of terrorism. With
US is Mark Jerman. He's the director of public Safety
at a company called Futuri fut U RII. Major cities
now are basically thinking about smart technology to keep celebrations secure.
And of course when you think about new developments, you
(32:45):
have to think about artificial intelligence AI. Mark Jerriman, Welcome
to Nights Out. How are you.
Speaker 5 (32:51):
Good?
Speaker 2 (32:52):
Thank you tell us about Futuri. That's the company that
you're a director of public safety. For give us a
little bit of brief on that, and then talk about
what you're able to do with AI that was not
even probably anticipated or imagined twenty or twenty five years ago.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
Well exactly future. He is fifteen years old. It is
a leader in the AI technology, seven thousand partners, twenty
two countries, twenty different patents, and really we focus on
using the latest and most modern technology to enhance the
processes and with Beacon, it really is about transforming emergency
(33:34):
alerts and protecting the public.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Okay, So give us as maybe some if not actual
examples of hypothetical examples of what AI could do at
a Super Bowl or a World Series or an Olympic
game this year that never could even been imagined when
the Super Bowl first started in the late nineteen sixties,
(33:58):
so the world series started at three.
Speaker 3 (34:01):
Sure, so imagine for a moment we're looking at some
of the most recent stats of FEMA. Seventy three percent
of Americans don't receive alerts in due time. It's an
average delay of twelve minutes. The issue isn't that the
alerting authorities the first responders aren't getting the messaging out.
(34:25):
It's that they're not getting received in time. Our technology
has changed in such a way that people are walking
around with phones in their hands now, So what to
your analogy? Eas system was built in the nineteen seventies
based on two hundred and forty four characters. Now of
a short burst of information at the right time, Unfortunately,
(34:46):
we now live in a digital environment, or or fortunately
we live in a digital environment, and getting that information
out in real time across multi platforms, to multi devices,
in multi languages and being able to geotarget it. That's
what artificial intelligence can do today. It enhances what the
emergency manager's job is and what they're doing.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
Okay, so you think can get information to people if
there's a tornado coming, or if there's a tsunami coming
or something like that, but also there's a security aspect
of it. So what can you do with for example,
drone technology surveying a crowd of fifty sixty one hundred
thousand people that never could have been contemplated even a
(35:30):
few years ago.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
So with what we do with Beacon, that getting that
information out to the public in real time is the
focus and what we do meant I'll use the example
of the LA fires. You know, we have a major
situation going on. Sheriff's Department has one hundred and fifty
six different alerting authorities with all of that information. Unfortunately,
(35:56):
what happens is there isn't a coordinated effort to get
the right information now to the right people. So if
you're using drones and your example, and you have access
to the right information, you can enter that information once
geo target to a very specific area, and most importantly,
you're not limited to that short burst of information. You
can tell the story specifically, get the information out, get
(36:20):
it into people's hands, immediately, tell them where they need
to go, how they need to get there.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Okay, So one of the things that I know there
was a lot of controversy of several years ago facial recognition,
and they tried to run that at Super Bowls, So
they were looking for people who would be problematic. Have
we gone past that? Is that already old school facial recognition?
Speaker 3 (36:45):
Well, that's so I mentioned now the life cycle of
an emergency event, right there is the before the prevention moment,
there is the reactive in the moment, and then there's
the remediation moment following. What the technology is available today,
it allows you to handle those moments in different times.
You're talking about preventing a moment and being able to
(37:06):
get that information that that gets that allows the emergency
management teams to be in front of an event, you know,
when you're talking about tornadoes or you're talking about hurricanes. Sure, different,
different type of element of of how you're using and
that's what that's what really Beacon focuses on. It's the
ability to get that information out in real time to
(37:29):
the people that need moment.
Speaker 2 (37:30):
Yeah, and again you keep saying, Beacon, is this a
different company that you work in conjunction.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
With the can part of future technology?
Speaker 2 (37:39):
Gotcha?
Speaker 5 (37:39):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (37:40):
And it is sure that I just want to make
sure my audience understands and they don't get lost in
the in the situation, so you are not necessarily saying Okay,
if there's somebody coming to an event with bad intent,
we have an ability to pick them up. But if
there's a hurricane comment or if there's a there's an
earthquake which produces a suit mei uh, and there's a
(38:01):
little bit of time to let people know to get
either to get to high ground or get into the
get into the hurricane and get into the tornado cellar.
That's where your technology is going to save lives.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
And imagine if you will, and actually the real life
scenario last summer with Hurricane Milton, you have to evacuate
an area of the size of Tampa. But being able
to use technology in a sense of allowing one zone
to go and then a second zone to go and
a third zone to go, and being able to direct
people very specifically with depth in depth information on how
(38:37):
to go, it allows that to be a much smoother,
a much safer a moment in the life cycle of
the event.
Speaker 2 (38:46):
Perfect. Perfect. So, Mark, how can folks who want to
be more interested in this, I'm not sure who your
either constituents or consumers are. How can folks get more
information or get in touch with you?
Speaker 3 (38:59):
You so Beacon always on dot com is available to
give more information. Uh, we can also go to info
at Beacon always on dot com. Either websites will be
able to give you more detail on what we do
and how we do it.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
Okay, For some reason, my notes say fetories, So that's
why I have been referencing futory and any confusion that
I might have caused, I apologize for. Just give us
that web those websites one more time.
Speaker 3 (39:28):
It's Beacon always on dot com and info at Beacon
always on dot com.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
Perfect. Okay, Mark, thank you very much. Interesting development. Sounds
like a company that is really up and running. A
lot of the AI stuff seems to be on the horizon.
Sounds to me like you're here now. So thank you
very much for joining us tonight and being here now.
Mark Jarmansure Beacon. Thanks, Mark, appreciate it very much. All Right,
(39:55):
when we get back, we will get to the matters
at hand. We're going to talk with the pre is
the Animal Rescue League of Boston about pets and pets
being housed and what might be able to be done
to actually make it easier for people, particularly people maybe
who do not have a lot of money, to be
able to have a pet, and to house a pet
(40:18):
with them, not only for companionship, but for safety and
comfort of animals other than that spend time in animal shelters.
We'll explain it all right after this news break at
the top of the hour one night side
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WBS, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Thank you, Nicole, and happy Saint Patrick's Day weekend to
you and yours into everyone out there. This is an
unofficial well it's an official three day weekend in Boston,
but for many of us we'll celebrate. We'll get three
days of celebrating in well, Friday night, Saturday, and good
part of Sunday. Welcome on in everyone as we move
(00:29):
into a Friday tgif we're wrapping up another week of
nights that we have some interesting topics to deal with. Tonight,
we're going to talk with the president of the Animal
Rescue League of Boston. He's the president and CEO, doctor
Edward Scatino, will join us to discuss some concerns regarding pets,
(00:49):
housing and in often cases people either with disabilities or
who are older. Also, some bad news for Karen Reid's
legal team yesterday late late yesterday. Probably read about it today,
and I know a couple of our callers wanted to
talk about it last night. Basically, she's going back to
trial and all three chargers her options have been exhausted
(01:11):
both in the state the State Court of Appeals here
in Massachusetts and also in the federal court. So that
is done, and then well we will talk Saint Patrick's day.
It's a couple of little bit later on tonight during
the twentieth hour. But first we have four interesting guests
to start off, none more interesting than the director of
(01:34):
the writer and the producer of a new film that's
just about to come out called any Day Now about
the art heist at Boston's Illabella Stuart Gardner Museum, and
it's characterized as it explores the Truish art heist. Welcome.
(01:56):
Eric Aronson is a Boston native. Hey, Eric, Welcome to
Night's Side.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Hi Dan, I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Yeah, how long you've been in this crazy movie business.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
I've been a screenwriter for about twenty five years in Hollywood,
writ and all kinds of crazy things. And this is
my first directorial film, and I've just been waiting for
the right time and the right story and I found
them both.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Well, I'll tell you, I've looked at the trailer. I
can't wait to see the film. Let's uh, why don't
you tell us what it's about. I know what it's about,
and I've watched the trailer, which is a great trailer.
It wants me to I want to see this movie,
to be really honest with you, so tell us, tell
us what you're doing here. You're recreating what might have happened.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
I guess, well, nobody knows what happened, right, so you have.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
What do we know? For a fact?
Speaker 4 (03:02):
We know that the museum was robbed, and it's thirty
fifth anniversary on Saint Patrick's Day. On the seventeenth, we're
actually having our Boston premiere of the movie at the
Summrville Theater and the movie I cut it to be
exactly the length of the robbery. So the movie itself,
(03:23):
this is eighty one minutes before credits. And it was
the night of the seventeenth, so it's early morning the eighteenth.
But I forgured I wasn't going to make people wait
up till one o'clock in the morning to watch this movie.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
But yes, but what's it about.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
Yes, it's about the Gardner heist happened. We all know
that we all know that nobody knows who did it,
and nobody knows where these paintings are and they haven't
come up. But what we do know for a fact
is that there are some pretty interesting characters associated with
this crime and around it, and I'm a character guy,
(04:00):
and I just took inspiration from some of some of
the ideas around it, and then I made my own
fictional version.
Speaker 5 (04:09):
Of of a one of what if happened?
Speaker 4 (04:11):
And what if this happened? And it's really in the
works of comedy and serious.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Go ahead in watching the trailer. UH. And you may
or may not know, but I've been around a long time,
and I was around as a TV reporter at the
time of the Gardner HEISTUH covered, amongst others, a lot
of the criminals in and around the Boston area. I
got a distinct just watching the trailer, got a little
(04:37):
little whiff of a whitey bulgeer type character.
Speaker 5 (04:41):
It's not actually it's more off beat.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
It's an it's more of an off beat I mean,
he can come across that way.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
It's it's he's an heart thief.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
But in the movie, in the movie itself, he's he's
he's doing bad, but he's also doing good. He's a
really interesting character. He's a It's played by Paul Gilfoyle,
who's a Boston native and just a wonderful, wonderful actor.
And he has this ability to do two things at once,
and not a lot of actors can do that. But
he's able to be menacing, and he's also clever and
(05:14):
cheekish and roguish, and you also kind of like him.
And even though he's reaching his hand in your pocket
and taking your money out of it.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Yeah, well you know, those were some of the characteristics
of Whitey Bulger. Over in South Boston. He was thought
of as a good bad guy, if you know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
Yeah, but he was really a bit you know. And
that's the other reason why I chose this story. I
chose this story because in my life, and I'm from
Boston and I live here. Now, there are two great
myths and the two mis and you hit on it
is the White Bulger myths and the Gardner heist. And
White Bulger is just not funny.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
No, he left a path of murder and broken people.
Absolutely so. Premieres on Monday, Saint Patrick's Day at the
Somerville Theater. How many showing this has to be shown
a lot of times? Or is this going to Is
(06:17):
it going to be available on Netflix? Tell us? How not?
Only are you going to create a great movie? And
I think it's going to be a great I think
it's a great movie just from watching the trailer. How
are you gonna make this? Turn this into a successful
financial effort as well? Is it going to go into
theaters across the country at some point after the premiere?
Tell me how it works.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Well, we're starting a limited release, so you have a
couple of ways that you can see this movie, Dan.
You can come to the premiere on Monday night at
Somerville or on the twenty first, which is I think
it's Thursday night. We are showing the film in a
couple of theaters. It's showing in New York in a
theater in Greenwich Village. It's also showing at the Magia
(07:00):
six seven for a week in here. And we're also,
which is unusual, but we're also releasing it online. So
if you want to see it anywhere in the country,
you can see it online. And we're just gonna leave
it out for a limited release starting on March twenty first.
We're gonna show it and then we're gonna pull it.
I just want to tip my toe in the water
(07:21):
and see what kind of appetite is and then we're
going to slowly roll out a bigger release in May.
But we've created a lot of ads for this movie
and they're just gonna start rolling out and you'll start
seeing some of them, and they're really fun. They're not
the movie. They're kind of stories around the movie, and
we're gonna push that out and see what happens.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
So let me ask you this, this is it sounds
to me like very creative release of this work, a
work of art above theft of art. Let's put it
like that. How can people if you can't get to
the Somerville Theater, if you can't get down a gra
village in New York on the twentieth, if you count wherever,
(08:04):
what's the way is it going to be on Netflix?
How can people I assume either rented or buy it.
What could the average person do who wants to see
the movie but maybe geographically can't get to where the
movie's being shown in a public venue.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
If you want to see it for a limited time
on March twenty first, and as long as you're in
the United States, you can go to Kinema, which is
like a specialty film website. But you'll see it on
all our ads. We're going to start pushing it out
on the end of the ads. But if you go
to Kinema, you'll see our movie. It's going to be
up there for a week or so and then we're
going to pull it so you'll have a little time
(08:41):
to see it starting on the twenty first, no matter
where you are.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Good, Okay. Yeah. The whole idea here is to tell
the to tell the story about your movie, about the story.
If I didn't think it was really it intrigued me.
The trailer I thought was great. I've seen a lot
of trailers, and I thought it was a really intriguing trailer.
It makes me want to go see the movie, and
(09:06):
I want I'm sure my audience are going to want
to go see it as well. So Eric, congratulations. Where
did you learn new craft? Did you go to school
back here in the Boston area or how did you
get involved in this real quickly?
Speaker 4 (09:19):
No, I was in politics. I was a speech writer
for the British politician. I couldn't have been any further
from what I'm doing. And then I just came home
one day and I sat here in Boston with a
friend of mine and I said, you know what I've
always wanted to do. I've always wanted to write a
script and he said do it. And I don't know why,
but just somebody else telling me that I could do it,
(09:40):
it just opened up everything for me. And then I
started writing, and I've been writing ever since. That's twenty
five years, and I've worked with a lot of people
in almost every studio and then this, and then I
decided now to try my hat handed directing.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Man, that's great that It's just amazing how people find
their way. People find it their way, and obviously you
found your way to something that you're passionate about, and
those are the type of people we love to talk to.
The movie is any Day Now. It's about the Gardener
Museum theft, and I recommend it highly. Eric. I appreciate
your time tonight. I hope to meet you someday. You
(10:15):
sound like a fascinating guy, so much. Appreciate it, all right,
Eric Aronson, Director, writer, producer of the movie any Day Now.
When we get back, we're going to switch and we're
going to talk. Are any of you afraid of public speaking?
I know I was at one point in time. I
really was. Though I've made a career of it and
(10:36):
I'm going to have the founder of speaking Circles International.
On the other side of this break, I'll remind you
listening to WBZ, Boston's News Radio ten thirty on your
AM dial. We're an iHeartRadio station. iHeart has a new podcast,
a new easy podcast, easy to download, It's free, and
(10:57):
you can make WBZ on your on your podcast your
first preset, which means you will be never far from home.
As a matter of fact, you'll be able to be
in touch with home, whether you're at Boston City Hall,
the State House, or anywhere in the world. With the
touch of a button, make BZ your first preset on
the iHeart app, and three hundred and sixty five days
(11:19):
a year, twenty four to seven, you'll be able to
listen to your favorite radio station. We'll be back with
another great Friday Night guest right after this.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
Nightside Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
When people ask others what they fear most, some people
will say snakes, some will say flying on an airplane,
but a lot of people actually say public. Speaking with
us is Lee Glickstein, founder of Speaking Circles International. Lee,
Welcome to Nightside. How are you tonight?
Speaker 5 (11:59):
Well, wonderful. Well, thank you for having me here, very welcome.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
So from stage fright to fearlessness. I've spent a lot
of years in the media, both as a television reporter
and now as a talk show host. I've really made
my career about speaking, either reporting or conducting programs like this.
And yet I can remember when I was a freshman
in college, terrified having to give a speech in front
(12:25):
of my classmates. So just not even a speech, a
short presentation. And I don't know how I got over
the fear. But how do you help people get over
that fear.
Speaker 5 (12:40):
Well, it really comes down to not thinking of that
public speaking, speaking to a whole group, but to one
person at a time. So anything he has halfway decent
one on one skill, and my I've worked with people
you know that is you know coachings who are perfect
on one.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Lee, we got a little bit, Lee, hold on for saying,
we got kind of some bad audio with you. I'm
going to ask my producer Rob to work with you
for a couple of seconds here to try to clean
up the line. Don't know what's going on, but I
want to hear everything you say. Well, Rob will get
us get you back on with us quickly. We're speaking
with Lee Glicksteinstein, a founder of Speaking Circles International. And
(13:24):
if you are someone who in your either your job
or in your community, you need to be able to
periodically appear in front of a group and speak. You
want to listen very carefully, carefully to what Lee has
to say. Lee, you're back and let's hope that we
got that audio improved a little bit.
Speaker 5 (13:40):
Go right ahead, Okay, So what I'm trying to say
is that if you if you think of it as
just one person at a time, never speaking to a group,
If if you just do one person at time, it
becomes a series of one on ones. And it really
involves developing the skill, the capacity by practicing in front
(14:06):
of a group to only be with one person at
a time, and when you're with them, even it's the
three seconds of five seconds to see them so they
feel seen the way you are at your best when
you're on you know, when you're having a one on
one sensitive conversation, you stay with the person, you you
keep you have your eyes available to the person. Well,
(14:27):
if you do that with a group of any size,
it doesn't mean you have to get to every single person.
You got one hundred hundred people there be with one
person at a time. The group will start to feel
that you're connected, that you're that you're with the whole group.
Everyone will feel it personally. You have to practice with
(14:48):
one person at a time, and that's you know, I've
created a practice ground, the speaking circle, where people get
say three minutes or five minutes, and the only instruction
is to be with one person at a time. You
don't even have to speak. Yeah, I did this with
stammerers in Dublin, Ireland. Scottish people. Of course, they're storytellers
(15:10):
and storytellers Scottish people who I know, so i'm talking Scottish.
I'm talking about Irish people who have trouble telling stories
because they spammer or losing so much. But when they
be with one person at a time and they're trying
to speak to the whole group.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
And so do you do you conduct these these seminars
or whatever you would call them, in person or is
this something that people can take this take your course.
That's what I'm trying to figure out here. I understand
the principle. One of the things I'll tell friends of
mine who are a little nervous, I'll say, well, just
(15:49):
speak to the audience. And I actually have a different theory,
and that is, you know, look up at the back
row and uh and pick some people out in the
back row, and the people down front will still feel
that you have eye contact with them. If you keep
your head down and you just look at the front row,
you're going to lose the rest of the audience. But
what can people do do they? You know, do you
(16:11):
do zoom conferences? How does this work?
Speaker 5 (16:14):
Yeah? Well, I do in person, but I also do
it on zoom. Since COVID hit, I had to figure
a way to do it without doing it in person.
I do it on zoom, and it really works on
zoom when with the protocol I use where when you
when you move from one person to another during your turn,
you call their name and they look into the camera
(16:36):
and you look at them on the screen. So we
got it to where it really works well on zoom.
Virtually you can practice it so that you can be
with one person at a time there and when you
translate that to the quote real world, yeah, it works
the same way. And yeah, yeah, I just want to say,
(16:59):
you said.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
If you look, please go ahead.
Speaker 5 (17:04):
If you look at somebody in the back row. You said,
when you look at people in the back row, people
upfront will feel connected. Yes, if you're truly looking at
anybody in the room, even in the twentieth row, and
you just don't hardly see their eyes, but you see
their being, that the whole everybody will feel connected. That's
(17:24):
how you create, that's how you you you solve the
sense that you know the people you're speaking to don't
feel they belong hardly anyone in your in your audience,
even if they're dressed well and they they look like
they're listening, they're going through their own stuff. They feel
alienated in their own way from the world. And if
(17:46):
you can create this field of belonging, this community, you're
very natural and people will listen at the next level
when you're with just one person at a time.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
All right, So, how can folks get in touch with
you if they currently have a fear of public speaking
and they can get more information from you. What's your website?
Speaker 5 (18:09):
Well, I love at Speaking circles dot com site.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Okay again this for some reason Lee our phone connection here.
I don't know if you're working on a headset or
if you're moving around a room. But we're losing you,
so give me.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
Let me do that.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Okay, let's do that again ahead, l e E.
Speaker 5 (18:34):
Yep, go ahead, Speaking Circles dot Com.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Okay, I heard it. I'm going to repeat it. L
E E dot at l E E at Speaking Circles
dot com.
Speaker 5 (18:50):
Dot com and yeah, email me there and we can
do we talk about zoom calls. They also have my
book be seen now, fearless speaker.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
All right, I wish we had a better connection. I
don't know if it's our lines or your phone, but
next time we'll clear these lines a little bit more effectively.
Ahead of time. We'll figure it out. Lee Clickstein, thank
you very much, the founder of Speaking Circles International. You're
very welcome. When we get back, we're gonna get a
little closer to home. I'm going to talk with Kristin McMahon.
(19:24):
She's the curator of pinnipeds and penguins. I don't even
know what a pinny pt is, but I think I'm
going to find out and penguins for the New England Aquarium.
My name's Dan Ray. This is Nightside. Here comes the News.
Be back in about three three and a half minutes.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
It's Night Side With on Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Well, I am delighted to welcome Kristin McMahon. She's the
curator of pinnipeds and penguins for the New England Aquarium.
I have a daughter, Kristin, who is a She is
very accomplished, but if she could have your job. She
loves animals, obviously, as you love animals and you love penguins.
(20:09):
I was just told by Rob what a penny pet is.
I'd never heard the word before, and I'm not going
to fake it and make people think that I'm particularly intelligent,
but tell us what a penny pet is, because I
had never heard that word.
Speaker 6 (20:25):
So, a pinnapad is a seal or a sea lion.
We actually have five leaned carb fields at the aquarium
and five California sea lions. So pinnapad means like penna
or pinned ear. They have ears that you can see
just like you know they hear with the ears. They're
very audible. And so pinnaped means feather footage, meaning like
(20:47):
fins or fin footed. So if you look at their
flippers on their hind flipper area, they look almost feather
like because they have a structure that looks very adaptable
for water.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Yes, okay, here talk now, we know what pinnipeds are,
but we're here. We'll come back and talk about pinnipeds
another time, but we're here to talk about penguins. And
I have and I saw a video the other day.
I forget which TV station it was here in Boston.
I switch around. You have a retirement home for older penguins.
Sounds great if you're an older penguin. Tell us about it.
Speaker 6 (21:21):
Okay, Yeah, we actually have over fifty penguins at the aquarium,
and forty of those are called African penguins, and our
African penguin colony is at least fifty percent in a
geriatric category. So we decided to have a special section
of that exhibit be for special animals that are of
an older age and have medical conditions or have not
(21:44):
quite the same abilities they had when they were younger.
So African penguins live about ten to fifteen years in
the wild, and the penguins that are now in this
assisted living retirement area are actually in their thirties and
later twenties, so they're quite old, and in fact, they're
doubling their life span at the aquarium. So it's pretty incredible.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Incredible, So why is this such a disparity. Obviously, on
the one hand, you must take very good care, medical
care and otherwise, but that can account for such a
dramatic disparity. Are penguins as they get older, do they
become prey for other animals or fish in the wild.
Speaker 6 (22:31):
Absolutely. When the penguins get older, they get less mobile,
they get weaker. They're definitely picked off more easily by
their predators such as sharks or large seals. Different things
will eat penguins, and the penguins, as I said, live
about ten to fifteen years in the wild. They also
have a lot of threats out in the wild, such
as pollution, lack of habitat, human encroachment, and actually finding
(22:56):
prey which they prey on fish. The oceans are over
fish and the pollutions also affecting the fisheries as well,
so they have trouble finding proper nutrition. So not only
do they necessarily fall to predation because they're weaker, but
also they're not living as long as they would in
an aquarium setting. You know, the aquarium, we put animal
(23:17):
welfare as a top priority, and they get restaurant quality fish,
vitamins and vet care and a lot of care from
our trainers every single day, so they tend to live
longer and this longevity has been great for us to
learn more and more about this species.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Now, when I think about penguins, obviously, I think about
the Pittsburgh penguins and Sydney Crosby. Only kidding, only kidding.
I'm sure you've heard that joke before. The penguins. You
think of penguins as being, you know, coming from the
south of South America, from the from Antarctica. Is is
(23:54):
that their natural habitat or are they in other parts
of the world.
Speaker 6 (24:01):
Yeah, so that's a great question. A lot of people
think of penguins and they think of snow, like the
penguin species that are in Antarctica. But the penguins that
we have are from South America. They're from Africa, so
South Africa, so Namibia and South Africa area where the
African penguins are from. That's where they get their name
African penguins. And we also have Southern rock hopper penguins
(24:23):
that are from warmer climates as well, so they don't
live in a snowy habitat, but they live on rocks
and ledges and a pebbly shore, and they can actually
be in warmer temperatures. So living in that habitat makes
it very accessible to living in outdoor exhibits in different
places around the country, so you'll see African penguins in
many different aquariums. The thing that's really interesting about African
(24:46):
penguins is there's such an important species to have in
human care because they are critically endangered. So that's really
scary because that means they could be functionally extinct in
the wild in ten to fifteen years, which is not
very long. So we put a high priority on our
breeding program with the African penguins, and we do that
(25:06):
through an organization called the SSP, the Species Survival Program,
where we do thoughtful breeding plans working with others us
in aquariums to make sure we have genetic diversity represented
with this species.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Okay, so here's my question, and we don't script questions here,
so if I ask you something that you cannot answer,
feel free. Are the penguins from Antarctica and the African
penguins Are they from the same family, Are they cousins
or were they somehow separated when the ice caps, you know,
(25:42):
separated billions of years ago. How similar are the penguins
from Antarctica to the penguins who are now, you know,
in Africa.
Speaker 6 (25:52):
That's a great question, and they are. They are related.
They're very similar, and they're both obviously species of birds,
and they are flightless birds, so they have a lot
in common. They both species eat fish, so the cold
weather penguins and the warm weather penguins have a lot
of the same adaptations. The cold weather penguins have much
higher feather counts than the warmer weather penguins. You also
(26:17):
see the African penguins have some bare patches of skin
around their eyes that can actually look pink at times,
and they can regulate their temperature in that way, so
they have a little less coverage of feathers than the
cold weather penguins such as the king penguins or the
emperor penguins. So there's a lot of different species that
live in the colder climates, and there's several species that
(26:37):
live in the warmer climates as well, and they're all related,
and they all lay eggs and that's how they have
their offspring. They hatch just like any other birds, they'll hatch.
Different penguin species will lay either one egg or two eggs,
and that's called a clutch, the number of eggs that
they lay, and so they do have some differences as well,
(26:58):
but again they are relatives they have they're in that
same family, and it's the avian family because they're species
of birds.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Now my understanding, the treatment that you give them is
truly world class. And not only do they get great
food and all of that, that you actually administer eye drops.
How do you administer eye drops to a penguin? I
mean do you literally have to hold the bird and
(27:28):
hold their heads? I'm serious when I say that. You know,
the easy answer is how do you you know? How
do you put eye drops in a penguin? Very carefully?
Speaker 3 (27:37):
Is?
Speaker 2 (27:37):
It would be the comedic answer, But how do you
do something like that? That has to be quite a challenge.
Speaker 6 (27:45):
It really is the best part of our job, and
that is providing the best welfare for the animals by
doing husbandry training, which is a fancy word for health care.
So we want them to voluntarily participate in these healthcare
behaviors so that we can give them really great care
and have our veterinarian team get close to them, examine
(28:05):
them and help diagnose anything proactively. So we start out
by building a relationship with each animal, and that's by
spending quality time with them and reinforcing them and giving
them fish and giving them scratches. They naturally preen themselves
and other birds, so basically use their beak to work
on the feathers and keep those feathers clean and good
(28:27):
and good condition. So we also do a little scratch
with them which simulates that creening. So we have different
ways to reward or reinforce them and build the relationships.
And from there we can start to pick them up
examine their feet. We can pick them up and kind
of hold them on our lap and administer eye drops
and then we of course want them out of the
water for at least two minutes to let the eye
(28:48):
drop soak in. So it's important to have that not
only that relationship, but that's time spent with the animal
where you can have that duration and have them come
in your lap, getting that medical exam, eye drop, put
them on the scale to get a weight. We actually
take them upstairs to get X rays on them. We'll
get voluntary blood samples on different animals as well. And
(29:11):
you mentioned kind of the pinnipeds earlier, so they're mammals,
so they tend to be even further along in these
behaviors that I'm talking about, because mammals pick up a
little quicker on some of the training and then birds
take a little bit longer. So each type of animal
has a little bit of a different learning curve, if
that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
And it all makes total sense, and I'm assuming it.
I just got to ask one final quick question here.
I assume that these penguins come to know you just
as you come to know them.
Speaker 6 (29:43):
Absolutely. And the neat thing about this geriatric assisted living
section of the exhibit is right now, there's six birds
in that section, and eventually they'll be eight, and we
do very specifically identifying which animals we want in that
section of the habitat. It's a commer area, it's a
little more serene, not quite as active. We also can
(30:04):
get close up observations on these six to eight birds
at any time. Now. All of our birds have bracelets
on their wings or their flippers, and those are on
the left for males, on the right for females, and
each one's a different color, so you're right, we know
exactly which bird is which. So for instance, Durban is
one of the birds in that area. He's thirty one
(30:25):
years old and he actually only has one eye. He
had to have an eye surgery because he had a
chronic eye issue. So you'll see him out there. He
only has one eye, but he's doing great with that,
and that one eye that he has, he does get
the eye drops. So we'll put him on our lap
and we'll give him those eye drops several times a day,
and he's very calm and relaxed with that. Will actually
give him a little back scratch to reinforce him.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
So it's wrong with nothing wrong with a good backscratch. Christen,
I'm past my break, but this has been a great conversation.
The New England Aquarium everyone knows where it is. Get
out there and now you'll get a chance to look
at the penguins and explain the habitat to your children
or to your guests. But the New England Aquarium something
(31:09):
everyone should in the Boston area should visit at least
every year or so. Thanks so much, Kristin. You're a
font of information and I had a lot of questions
and you answer them all and I thank you very
much for your time tonight, and let's do it again
in the next few weeks and pick up pick up
something else, some other issue dealing with the aquarium. I
love animals, as does my daughter. Thank you so much.
Speaker 5 (31:31):
That sounds great.
Speaker 6 (31:32):
Thank you, Good night.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Kristin McMahon, the curator pittibeds and penguins at the New
England Aquarium. We come back. We're going to talk about
how can AI be used to increase security, Oh like,
let's say, at a parade in South Boston coming up
this week, and we'll talk about it right after the break.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
night Side Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Welcome back everyone, Big Saint Patrick's Day Parade in Boston
this weekend, in South Boston this weekend. Then every city
has big events during the course of the year, and
of course there are all sorts of the quadrennial events
like the Olympic Games and Championships, Super Bowls, World Series,
and we're becoming more and more concerned about those, you know,
(32:22):
high level activities becoming potentially the target of terrorism. With
US is Mark Jerman. He's the director of public Safety
at a company called Futuri fut U RII. Major cities
now are basically thinking about smart technology to keep celebrations secure.
And of course when you think about new developments, you
(32:45):
have to think about artificial intelligence AI. Mark Jerriman, Welcome
to Nights Out. How are you.
Speaker 5 (32:51):
Good?
Speaker 2 (32:52):
Thank you tell us about Futuri. That's the company that
you're a director of public safety. For give us a
little bit of brief on that, and then talk about
what you're able to do with AI that was not
even probably anticipated or imagined twenty or twenty five years ago.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
Well exactly future. He is fifteen years old. It is
a leader in the AI technology, seven thousand partners, twenty
two countries, twenty different patents, and really we focus on
using the latest and most modern technology to enhance the
processes and with Beacon, it really is about transforming emergency
(33:34):
alerts and protecting the public.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Okay, So give us as maybe some if not actual
examples of hypothetical examples of what AI could do at
a Super Bowl or a World Series or an Olympic
game this year that never could even been imagined when
the Super Bowl first started in the late nineteen sixties,
(33:58):
so the world series started at three.
Speaker 3 (34:01):
Sure, so imagine for a moment we're looking at some
of the most recent stats of FEMA. Seventy three percent
of Americans don't receive alerts in due time. It's an
average delay of twelve minutes. The issue isn't that the
alerting authorities the first responders aren't getting the messaging out.
(34:25):
It's that they're not getting received in time. Our technology
has changed in such a way that people are walking
around with phones in their hands now, So what to
your analogy? Eas system was built in the nineteen seventies
based on two hundred and forty four characters. Now of
a short burst of information at the right time, Unfortunately,
(34:46):
we now live in a digital environment, or or fortunately
we live in a digital environment, and getting that information
out in real time across multi platforms, to multi devices,
in multi languages and being able to geotarget it. That's
what artificial intelligence can do today. It enhances what the
emergency manager's job is and what they're doing.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
Okay, so you think can get information to people if
there's a tornado coming, or if there's a tsunami coming
or something like that, but also there's a security aspect
of it. So what can you do with for example,
drone technology surveying a crowd of fifty sixty one hundred
thousand people that never could have been contemplated even a
(35:30):
few years ago.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
So with what we do with Beacon, that getting that
information out to the public in real time is the
focus and what we do meant I'll use the example
of the LA fires. You know, we have a major
situation going on. Sheriff's Department has one hundred and fifty
six different alerting authorities with all of that information. Unfortunately,
(35:56):
what happens is there isn't a coordinated effort to get
the right information now to the right people. So if
you're using drones and your example, and you have access
to the right information, you can enter that information once
geo target to a very specific area, and most importantly,
you're not limited to that short burst of information. You
can tell the story specifically, get the information out, get
(36:20):
it into people's hands, immediately, tell them where they need
to go, how they need to get there.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Okay, So one of the things that I know there
was a lot of controversy of several years ago facial recognition,
and they tried to run that at Super Bowls, So
they were looking for people who would be problematic. Have
we gone past that? Is that already old school facial recognition?
Speaker 3 (36:45):
Well, that's so I mentioned now the life cycle of
an emergency event, right there is the before the prevention moment,
there is the reactive in the moment, and then there's
the remediation moment following. What the technology is available today,
it allows you to handle those moments in different times.
You're talking about preventing a moment and being able to
(37:06):
get that information that that gets that allows the emergency
management teams to be in front of an event, you know,
when you're talking about tornadoes or you're talking about hurricanes. Sure, different,
different type of element of of how you're using and
that's what that's what really Beacon focuses on. It's the
ability to get that information out in real time to
(37:29):
the people that need moment.
Speaker 2 (37:30):
Yeah, and again you keep saying, Beacon, is this a
different company that you work in conjunction.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
With the can part of future technology?
Speaker 2 (37:39):
Gotcha?
Speaker 5 (37:39):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (37:40):
And it is sure that I just want to make
sure my audience understands and they don't get lost in
the in the situation, so you are not necessarily saying Okay,
if there's somebody coming to an event with bad intent,
we have an ability to pick them up. But if
there's a hurricane comment or if there's a there's an
earthquake which produces a suit mei uh, and there's a
(38:01):
little bit of time to let people know to get
either to get to high ground or get into the
get into the hurricane and get into the tornado cellar.
That's where your technology is going to save lives.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
And imagine if you will, and actually the real life
scenario last summer with Hurricane Milton, you have to evacuate
an area of the size of Tampa. But being able
to use technology in a sense of allowing one zone
to go and then a second zone to go and
a third zone to go, and being able to direct
people very specifically with depth in depth information on how
(38:37):
to go, it allows that to be a much smoother,
a much safer a moment in the life cycle of
the event.
Speaker 2 (38:46):
Perfect. Perfect. So, Mark, how can folks who want to
be more interested in this, I'm not sure who your
either constituents or consumers are. How can folks get more
information or get in touch with you?
Speaker 3 (38:59):
You so Beacon always on dot com is available to
give more information. Uh, we can also go to info
at Beacon always on dot com. Either websites will be
able to give you more detail on what we do
and how we do it.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
Okay, For some reason, my notes say fetories, So that's
why I have been referencing futory and any confusion that
I might have caused, I apologize for. Just give us
that web those websites one more time.
Speaker 3 (39:28):
It's Beacon always on dot com and info at Beacon
always on dot com.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
Perfect. Okay, Mark, thank you very much. Interesting development. Sounds
like a company that is really up and running. A
lot of the AI stuff seems to be on the horizon.
Sounds to me like you're here now. So thank you
very much for joining us tonight and being here now.
Mark Jarmansure Beacon. Thanks, Mark, appreciate it very much. All Right,
(39:55):
when we get back, we will get to the matters
at hand. We're going to talk with the pre is
the Animal Rescue League of Boston about pets and pets
being housed and what might be able to be done
to actually make it easier for people, particularly people maybe
who do not have a lot of money, to be
able to have a pet, and to house a pet
(40:18):
with them, not only for companionship, but for safety and
comfort of animals other than that spend time in animal shelters.
We'll explain it all right after this news break at
the top of the hour one night side
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