May 19, 2026: Legoland and Arrowhead

June 12, 2026: Golden football Revue

Today has a lotta music, and a little international flair Tanglewood [https://www.bso.org/tanglewood] is getting a visit from folx who play some of the smoothest music around. The Yacht Rock Revue [https://www.yachtrockrevue.com] started in Georgia on a whim, but now brings the sounds of the late 70s and early eighties to stages worldwide, even to their original tunes We speak with Nicholas Niespodziani frontman and multi instrumentalist for the band about the inspirations of these tunes and the spectacle they’ll bring to the Berkshires on June 21st [https://www.bso.org/events/yacht-rock-revue-2026?performance=2026-06-21-14%3A30] Live Music Friday brings a brand new band polycule into the studio. The Golden Hours [https://thegoldenhoursofficial.com/home] began as an immersive music experience, but has evolved beyond to be its own creative entity, a blend of the bands The Lowland Hum [https://www.lowlandhum.com/] and David Wax Museum [https://www.davidwaxmuseum.com/]. We’ll hear a sample of what this sonicly-united ensemble will perform on the Iron Horse stage in Northampton on Sunday, June 14th [https://theparlorroom.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket/#/events/a0SV500000B42T7MAJ].  And the many games of the FIFA Wold Cup are underway, but perhaps you are as lost as I am on that front, lucky us, NEPM’s own Cara Foster is here to give us a bit of insight to the game and it’s global dominance everywhere, except the US it seems.

June 11, 2026: 413 Gives Ancestral bridges

It’s 413 Gives Day [https://nepm.org/413gives] So of course the fabulous 413 is going to double down on the goodwill of our neighbors coming together to support other organizations who also lost their federal funding just like we did by speaking with one more non-profit from the Berkshires who you may help.  So we speak with the executive director of the Elizabeth Freeman Center [https://elizabethfreemancenter.org/], Divya Chaturvedi. The organization have been helping those who have experienced domestic abuse and sexual assault in the Berkshires with their ongoing survival for 50 years. We learn about their incredibly extensive programming that spans the entirety of the county, the ways they’ve learned to adapt to the needs of the community, and the ripples of impact they see relating to this loss of federal infrastructure.  Then we head to Amherst to connect celebrations with history. Ancestral Bridges is hosting its 6th Juneteenth [https://www.ancestral-bridges.org/] celebration this Sunday, and has discovered direct ties between the town, the Massachusetts 54th, and that holiday’s origins in Galvaston Texas. We speak with Anika Lopes, Deborah Bridges, Christina Miles, and Pam Tillis about the festivities and their discoveries.

June 10, 2026: Get free

We celebrate freedom for all with a Juneteenth event that brings all of the community together. Arise for Social Justice has been honoring the holiday with a free celebration connecting folx of all walks of Springfield life with music food and services they may need and more. Executive Director Tanisha Arena joins us to talk about the party they’re throwing, and her journey to this work.  We’re also looking at the immigrant experience through fiction and firsthand accounts. Restless books has just published the award winning collection People who live alone talk too much which highlights the incredible intimate moments of immigrants interacting with American culture in New York, and we speak with author Sofi Stambo about the appeal of short fiction, and how it can connect these snapshots to something greater.  And as pride month continues, we look at the language surrounding the LGBTQIA2S+ community itself with word nerd Emily Brewster, because those words have come as long a way as we have, and the linguistic history of Gay and Queer are just as fascinating as the times and folx they have represented over the centuries.

June 9, 2026: Corners of resilient pride

Festivities are coming to downtown Greenfield for Franklin County Pride this weekend. This ninth iteration is bringing even more folx, music, and organizations together to celebrate the rainbow of identities present. We speak with Heather, Fritz, and Tolja about this year’s festivities and the impact that political climate has on their efforts to make sure the community stays safe and seen.  We continue to highlight the organizations of our area for 413 Gives Day with Resilient Community Arts. Founded in the pandemic, the non-profit seeks to create more arts access and equity to kids, teens and their grownups across Hampshire and Hampden counties. We chat with director Maddie McDougall and youth coordinator Libby Keller, both of whom are teachers in their day jobs, about the impact they’ve seen the arts make, and the gaps that the loss in federal funding leaves.  And speaking of pandemic shifts, Carrot Corner Farm came to be when one family moved from their boat on the coast to a vegetable shaped parcel in North Amherst, and we’ll chat with co-owner Eli Mior about his introduction to agriculture and the innovative practices they’ve been implementing

June 8, 2026: Knox Speaks

Today is all about communication and immigration, which, let’s not forget, does include the founding fathers. And the founding itself might not have happened if an intrepid young bookseller hadn’t taken some initiative to bring a veritable pile of weapons to Boston from a conquered fort in New York to chase away the British.  Local historians have gathered together to map out more of Henry Knox’s course through the Berkshires east with 59 canons and more, and that information is now available in a new book released by the Berkshire Historical Society. We’ll talk with authors Bernard Drew of Great Barrington; Gary Leveille of the Great Barrington Historical Society; Rob Hoogs, Monterey Historical Society; Ron Bernard, Sandisfield Historical Commission; and Tom Ragusa, Otis Historical Commission about Ye Trodden Path and learn how you can celebrate the book's release with them at Arrowhead in Pittsfield this Wednesday June 11th. [https://berkshirehistory.org/event/authors-talk-and-book-signing-ye-trodden-path/]  And we continue our highlights of organizations that you can help through 413 Gives Day [https://www.nepm.org/more413Gives] by chatting with Caroline Gear, executive director of the international Language institute [https://ili.edu/], who’s been with the school for 40 of its 42 years. We learn the principles of how their model was built, and the changes 4 decades have made in the institution. And Caroline gives us a glimpse of the impact the rhetoric surrounding immigrants and funding changes for education have made in their offerings and outlook.