Danielle Allen is a scholar of Athenian democracy who has decided that she may have something to offer to the practice of democracy in 21st century Massachusetts. The Harvard professor announced in December that she was launching an exploratory run for governor,

Danielle Allen: A scholar eyeing a run for governor with a firm grounding outside the ivory tower

GLX manager Dalton wants to stick around

Boston journalists Yawu Miller of the Bay State Banner and Gin Dumcius of the Dorchester Reporter look back at Michelle Wu's landslide win in the Boston mayor's race and look ahead to what a Wu administration in City Hall could portend.

Michelle Wu's historic win: A look back and ahead

Interview with Josh Sharfstein, an architect of the Maryland health care rate-setting system.

Should we try a bit of Maryland in Mass.?

Rep. Jake Auchincloss is finishing his first year in Congress representing the state's 4th Congressional District. The Newton Democrat saw an insurrection at the Capitol and took an impeachment vote against the president in his first days in office. That set the tone for a year in which he said he's had to struggle to represent the values of his constituents -- Auchincloss won't co-sponsor legislation with any Republicans who voted against certifying the fairly conducted 2020 presidential election -- while also advancing their priorities through the give and take and often bipartisan cooperation and compromise needed to move legislation in Congress.

A tumultuous first year in Congress for Rep. Jake Auchincloss

2 mayors explain their ARPA spending strategies

Brownsberger and Day on the challenge of making sense of correctional spending

MNA chief: No shortage of nurses in state

Two key lawmakers say MBTA needs money, but also change

This week on the Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith is joined by Kenzie Bok, head of the Boston Housing Authority, to discuss the threat of President Trump’s budget on rental assistance spending.

‘Forewarned is forearmed’ on housing voucher cuts

This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Hallie Claflin talks with Dominick Pangallo, Mayor of Salem. Every year in October, Salem experiences a massive tourism boom as more than a million visitors flock to the site of the Salem Witch Trials for the spooky season. How does a small city of 45,000 manage the influx of tourists? How do Salem residents feel about the influx? And how lucrative is the tourism industry? Pangallo addresses these and encourages all to explore the great things Salem has to offer all year round.

www.hauntedhappenings.org 
www.salem.org

Who you gonna call? (with Salem Mayor, Dominick Pangallo)

On this week’s episode of The Codcast, what it means when political forces come for the arts. CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Élider DiPaula, the new executive director of Project STEP — a 12-year music program focused on bringing students from underrepresented or marginalized backgrounds into the world of classical string music. The program lost a federal grant this spring, as did hundreds of other Northeast programs considered out of step with President Trump’s nationalist priorities for the arts. DiPaula talks about his background as a Brazilian composer and performer, and what classical music sounds like, who it’s for, and who created it is both personal and political.

The political and the personal of who learns classical music (ft. Élider DiPaula)

On this week’s episode of the Codcast, Michael Jonas, executive editor of CommonWealth Beacon, sits down with Patrick Tutwiler, Massachusetts’ Secretary of Education. Tutwiler co-chairs a graduation council tasked with proposing new educational standards and assessments to replace the MCAS. Take a look behind the scenes.

Beyond the MCAS with Ed. Secretary Tutwiler

On the monthly Health or Consequences episode of the Codcast, John McDonough of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute talk with Zirui Song, associate professor of health care policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School and a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital. They discuss Song’s research and thoughts about the primary care crisis nationally and in Massachusetts, and dive into the promise and issues with private equity in health care.

‘The exits are growing, the entries are slowing’ in primary care (with Zirui Song)

On this end-of-year episode of The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon editor Laura Colarusso sits down with reporters Jennifer Smith, Chris Lisinski, Jordan Wolman, and Hallie Claflin to discuss their 2025 storylines and what they each plan to cover in the new year.

The 2025 CommonWealth Beacon reporter roundtable

This week on the Codcast – our second annual start-of-the year roundtable! CommonWealth Beacon senior reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Lynn Mayor Jared Nicholson; Jennie Williamson, the state director for research and advocacy organization The Education Trust in Massachusetts; and Clark Ziegler, the outgoing executive director of the quasi-public Massachusetts Housing Partnership, who is retiring after four decades at the helm. They discuss their legislative wish list for the second half of the two-year cycle, break down what has and hasn’t been a lawmaking priority, and dive into the current relationships between cities, the state, and the federal government.

What do cities and advocates want from the Legislature in 2026?

This week on the Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon senior reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Audrey Morse Gasteier, executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector, and Alex Sheff, senior director of policy and government affairs at Health Care For All. Gov. Maura Healey announced last week that the state would use $250 million from the Commonwealth Care Trust Fund to assist some Massachusetts residents who have lost enhanced premium tax credits from the federal government. So how sustainable is that plan, and who gets left out?

Filling the health care funding gaps (with Audrey Morse Gasteier and Alex Sheff)

This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporters Jennifer Smith and Chris Lisinski talk about Gov. Maura Healey's 2026 State of the Commonwealth speech. They compare her tone and policy position to earlier years, review reactions to the speech, and look ahead at what this says about Healey's run for reelection. 

'It may get worse before it gets better' - Breaking down the 2026 State of the Commonwealth

Description: This week on the Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon senior reporter Chris Lisinski hosts a roundtable discussion to dive into the details of Gov. Maura Healey’s new $63.4 billion state budget proposal with Viviana Abreu-Hernandez, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, and Jim Stergios, executive director of the Pioneer Institute. Guests weigh in on the sustainability of proposed spending increases, if revenue from the so-called millionaires tax is being used as voters intended, and how changes in Washington, DC affect budgeting in Massachusetts.  
  
Host: 
Chris Lisinski, senior reporter for CommonWealth Beacon
   
Guests: 
Viviana Abreu-Hernandez, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center   
Jim Stergios, executive director of the Pioneer Institute

Unpacking the governor’s state budget proposal (with Viviana Abreu-Hernández and Jim Stergios)

On the monthly Health or Consequences episode of The Codcast, John McDonough of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute talk with Michael Caljouw, the state commissioner of insurance. They discuss new regulations for insurers, concerns about the stability and solvency of the Massachusetts health insurance system, and insurer consolidation.
 
Hosts: 
John McDonough of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health 
Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute 
 
Guest: 
Michael Caljouw, Commissioner of Insurance for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 


Regulating insurance amid surging health care costs (with Michael Caljouw)

This week on the Codcast – what does online surveillance look like in 2026? CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Kade Crockford, director of technology and justice programs at the ACLU of Massachusetts. They discuss the biggest misconceptions about data privacy online, why your information is valuable and vulnerable, and legislation proposed at the state level to limit who can see and sell user data.

Big tech is watching (with Kade Crockford)

This week on The Codcast, we dive into what can feel like a perennial story: the MBTA hurtling toward another financial shortfall that Beacon Hill needs to address. But at this point, is the significant growth in state funding for the T an acknowledgment that good public transit requires big public investment, or is it a reflection of out-of-control spending? Our guests, former Transportation Secretary Jim Aloisi and Pioneer Institute senior fellow Charlie Chieppo, debate that central question and more.  
  
Host: 
Chris Lisinski, senior reporter at CommonWealth Beacon
  
Guests: 
Jim Aloisi, former transportation secretary
Charlie Chieppo, senior fellow at the Pioneer Institute


Déjà vu and the MBTA fiscal cliff (with Jim Aloisi & Charlie Chieppo)

This week on The Codcast, we dive into Gov. Maura Healey's "Gateway to Pre-K" agenda. By the end of 2026, her administration declared that every family of a 4-year-old in the state’s 26 Gateway Cities would have the opportunity – at low or no cost – to enroll their child in a preschool program that prepares them for kindergarten. But local providers say they won’t get there. Our guests, Department of Early Education and Care commissioner Amy Kershaw and Strategies for Children executive director Amy O’Leary, discuss how the state can achieve that lofty goal.   
  
Host: 
Hallie Claflin, Gateway Cities reporter at CommonWealth Beacon 
  
Guests: 
Amy Kershaw, commissioner of the Department of Early Education and Care. 
Amy O’Leary, executive director of the nonprofit advocacy organization Strategies for Children 

How 'universal' is universal pre-K? | with Amy Kershaw & Amy O'Leary

This week on The Codcast, we unpack how increasingly expensive utility bills are shaping the energy debate in Massachusetts and reaching a fever pitch on Beacon Hill. With energy costs now the top household concern in the Bay State, how should policymakers respond to the affordability crisis as power demand is expected to rise and with the due date on ambitious climate commitments creeping closer? Our guests, Kyle Murray, director of state program implementation in Massachusetts at the environmental nonprofit Acadia Center, and Dan Dolan, president of the New England Power Generators Association, hash it all out.

The energy affordability crisis: How did we get here?

This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporters Jennifer Smith and Hallie Claflin discuss Claflin‘s latest piece on how immigration enforcement step ups are impacting school enrollment. They zero in on the state’s Gateway Cities, which are home to a disproportionate share of Massachusetts‘s immigrant population and are sounding the alarm over the psychological and fiscal effects of federal enforcement actions on their school communities.  
  
Host: 
Jennifer Smith, senior reporter at CommonWealth Beacon
  
Guests: 
Hallie Claflin, Gateway Cities reporter at CommonWealth Beacon

Immigration enforcement ramps up and school enrollment tumbles

This week on the Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Matt Noyes, director of state and federal advocacy for the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA). They dig into the Bay State implications of the sprawling bipartisan “meatball” of a housing bill that recently passed the US Senate, and take a look at how efforts at home might interact with federal policy.

Host:
Jennifer Smith, senior reporter at CommonWealth Beacon

Guests:
Matt Noyes, director of state and federal advocacy for the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA)


Further Reading Links: 

https://commonwealthbeacon.org/ballot-questions/dueling-housing-ballot-measures-collide-with-frustrated-lawmakers/ 

https://commonwealthbeacon.org/housing/vacation-home-trends-add-to-massachusetts-housing-crunch/ 

https://commonwealthbeacon.org/housing/our-top-five-housing-stories-of-2025/ 

https://commonwealthbeacon.org/housing/researchers-find-mbta-housing-law-benefits-modest-so-far/ 

https://commonwealthbeacon.org/government/state-government/competitiveness-fears-weave-through-budget-hearings/ 

https://commonwealthbeacon.org/government/the-enigma-of-opportunity-zones/ 


The Massachusetts angle into the US Senate’s housing bill

After 28 years at the helm of Mass. Health Quality Partners, Barbra Rabson is stepping down. MHQP provides data on patient experiences of primary care. They bring stakeholders and patient representatives together to further their shared mission, improve healthcare quality and equity. On this months episode of 'Health or Consequences,' John McDonough and Paul Hattis ask Rabson about the impact of MHQP's approach in the midst of a primary care crisis. What do stakeholders need to improve patients' experience of primary care? How can we attract more primary care physicians? And, most importantly, how do we get out of the crisis?   
    
Guest: 
Barbra Rabson, President & CEO of Mass Health Quality Partners    
  
Hosts: 
Paul Hattis, Lown Institute  
John McDonough, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health 
  
 https://www.mhqp.org/  

How is your experience of primary care?

This week on The Codcast, we dig into the new partnership between Massachusetts and OpenAI to roll out an AI assistant to help with daily governmental tasks. Jennifer Smith, reporter for CommonWealth Beacon, is joined by Technology Secretary Jason Snyder, who says his goals include “democratizing innovation” and helping streamline bureaucratic systems like the DMV. Snyder discusses the contract with OpenAI, concerns around data privacy and bias in AI systems, and explains why the state is leaning so hard into AI adoption.
.
Host: 
Jennifer Smith, senior reporter at CommonWealth Beacon 
. 
Guest: 
Jason Snyder, Massachusetts Secretary of Technology  
.
Former Episodes on AI:  
 
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/massachusetts-leans-into-artificial-intelligence-with/id1111787258?i=1000718291407  

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/does-ai-interfere-in-our-democracy/id1111787258?i=1000679690140  

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/will-artificial-intelligence-make-or-break-newsrooms/id1111787258?i=1000638881832  
 
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-promise-and-the-pitfalls/id1111787258?i=1000611239071

What it means that a state “AI assistant” will handle your data (with Technology Sec. Jason Snyder)

Transportation guru Fred Salvucci said on the Codcast that the proposed West Station is needed now to deal with congestion in Kenmore Square and the Seaport District, not future congestion caused by Harvard University's creation of a new neighborhood in the Allston Landing area.

Salvucci’s position is sharply at odds with the views of the Baker administration, which believes current ridership projections for the station are too low to justify building West Station in the near future. Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack has said it would be wise to hold off on West Station until around 2040 when Harvard's development plans for the area are more fully formulated. 

But Salvucci, who served 12 years as state transportation secretary under former governor Michael Dukakis and now teaches at MIT, said the transit connections offered by West Station are needed now to relieve existing congestion on the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Llyr's Album

Salvucci takes new tack on West Station

Soon-to-be Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark

!New episodes no longer posting to Soundcloud!

Tune into spirited debate, local stories, and insightful analyses with The Codcast. Hosted each week by a CommonWealth Beacon reporter, the half-hour policy podcast delves into the heart of Massachusetts’s most pressing and intriguing topics. Hear newsmakers, historians, and policy experts tackle statewide housing struggles, immigration policies, little-known histories, surprising political fights, and even take to the sea to visit rising offshore wind turbines.

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