Amelia Mason

Harvard custodial workers go on 2-day strike over pay Hundreds of workers walked off the job Monday after frustrations over wage increases.

“I am feeling disappointed, you know why? Because I [have] worked at Harvard 13 years,” said Newton Christian DeJesus, who lives in Medford and was at Harvard Yard Monday morning. “I have a family, I have a wife, I have a daughter. I have to do this.” https://bit.ly/3X3gfPY

Inside the Norman Rockwell Museum — and the distortions of his art The artist produced some of the most enduring images of the 20th century. A recent dustup over the use of his paintings by the Department of Homeland Security reveals that his work is still a potent s...

"Inside the Norman Rockwell Museum — and the distortions of his art"
November 14, 2025
By Amelia Mason, @shmabelia.bsky.social

www.wbur.org/news/2025/11...

huge improvement. I've always been suspicious of the concept of equality bsky.app/profile/nytd...

A Gazan photojournalist is immortalized in a new documentary Screening as part of the Boston Palestine Film Festival, “Put Your Hand on Your Soul and Walk” depicts one year of Palestinian photojournalist Fatma Hassona’s life in Gaza, culminating in her death in...

The Boston Palestine Film Festival is all this week. Tomorrow, they are screening a documentary about Fatma Hassona, a young Gazan photojournalist who was killed in an Israeli airstrike earlier this year, right before the film premiered at Cannes. My latest: www.wbur.org/news/2025/10...

We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.

WBUR Presents: The 2025 Makers The natural world has been a powerful muse for artists across the ages, and in our present era, engaging with our environment is more urgent than ever. Meet 10 local artists of color who are foregroun...

I'm very proud of this year's crop of Makers. These are local artists of color whose work engages with the natural environment, asking tough questions about climate change, sustainability and justice. I was lucky to get to profile two visionaries: @jakeblount.com and Andre StrongBearHeart

An update on the Town's efforts regarding the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building on District Ave: Since the initial demand for inspection was denied by Homeland Security, the Town’s legal team has taken additional steps to pursue access to the facility. A petition was filed with the Massachusetts District Court seeking an administrative order to allow an inspection, supported by affidavits from Congressman Seth Moulton and from an individual who was detained in the facility for multiple days (Marcelo Gomes Da Silva). After review, the court ultimately denied this petition, and there is no path to appeal this type of administrative order.

The town of Burlington has repeatedly attempted to gain access to the ICE facility there to do an inspection and has been repeatedly denied, including their latest attempt a few days ago. If you've read anything about the conditions there, you know what ICE is trying to hide. (h/t @srossmktg.com)

Evan Greer on making music to meet the moment Ahead of the release of her new album "AMAB/ACAB," the self-described queer anarcho-indie-punk musician spoke with WBUR's Amelia Mason about how her perspective has changed with age, what it means to ...

Excited to share this interview @wbur.org chatting about my new album, the early 2000s, the challenge of finding focus in a burning world, that kinda thing. Thanks so much for the fun convo @shmabelia.bsky.social !

Hope to see folks at the release party Sept 20! www.wbur.org/news/2025/09...

GBH cuts more than 40 staffers in new layoffs The layoffs come as public media faces increased scrutiny and funding threats from the federal government.

Thinking about the public media family at GBH right now www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...

Vote for your favorite local NPR Tiny Desk Contest entry WBUR is on the hunt for our Local Favorite. Which song do you think deserves the glory?

Which local Tiny Desk Contest entry do you think deserves the glory? Voting for the Massachusetts Fan Favorite closes this Thursday, June 5 at 11:59pm! www.wbur.org/news/2025/05...

Thanks for coming!

Lupe Fiasco's latest hip-hop collaborator? MIT The Grammy winning musician has composed songs inspired by MIT’s collection of public art.

Lupe Fiasco's latest hip-hop collaborator? MIT
www.wbur.org/news/2025/05... via @wbur.org @shmabelia.bsky.social

YouTube video by NPR Music Tiny Desk Contest Top Shelf 2025: Episode 1 with Bobby Carter and Robin Hilton

Boston’s own Eph See was featured on @npr.org Music's Tiny Desk Contest Top Shelf! NPR’s Robin Hilton said Eph See’s song “Malachi the Uber Driver” is the Tiny Desk entry he is most excited about this year. Check it out: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWcZ...

Interesting! I wish I'd chatted with you about it, I wasn't even aware of this issue (although there's always something you miss in the course of reporting I've found). Thanks for reading!

How Jill Medvedow transformed the ‘scrappy’ ICA into a Boston institution The Institute of Contemporary Art’s longtime director looks back on her legacy.

“ Museums are an incredible treasure trove of what people create and what mattered to us, right? What mattered to us: our inner lives, our outer lives, our political lives, our social lives.” -- Jill Medvedow @icaboston.bsky.social
www.wbur.org/news/2025/03...

How Jill Medvedow transformed the ‘scrappy’ ICA into a Boston institution www.wbur.org/news/2025/03... via @shmabelia.bsky.social

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I was looking at box office numbers for theaters but not at the streaming numbers. We've added a clarification to the post.

Convo with my friend from Hungary tonight who left after Orban’s election.

She said “your head will spin with all the wild stuff they try to pull, new things every day, but don’t take your eyes off the money. It’s all about the money, and what they’re stealing, and for whom.”

Kiah Duggins, Harvard Law graduate focused on civil rights, killed in D.C. plane crash - The Boston Globe The 30-year-old civil rights lawyer was scheduled to join the faculty at Howard University Law School in Washington, D.C., this fall, the university said Thursday.

A Harvard Law School graduate on the verge of joining the faculty at the nation’s most prestigious historically Black law school was killed in the D.C. plane collision.

Zuckerberg Says 'Everything I Say Leaks' in Leaked Meeting Audio "There are a bunch of things that I think are value-destroying for me to talk about, so I’m not going to talk about those."

"Everything I say leaks," Zuckerberg says in leaked meeting audio. "It sucks"

www.404media.co/zuckerberg-s...

In the era of segregation, Black actors and filmmakers made their own movies for their own audiences. On Sunday, the Somerville Theatre is screening one of the rare surviving examples. A reminder that art flourishes in even the most adverse conditions: www.wbur.org/news/2025/01...

A screenshot from USGS showing a recent earthquake near York Harbor, Maine

OK YES that was an earthquake, says USGS -- right off York Harbor in Maine. More to come: earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/...

There Is No Safe Word How the best-selling fantasy author Neil Gaiman hid the darkest parts of himself for decades.

I wrote about Neil Gaiman, and the women accusing him of sexual coercion, assault and abuse. www.vulture.com/article/neil...

Local Indigenous communities are reclaiming their food sovereignty From restaurants to seed stewarding, tribal members are working to reconnect with their foodways and culture. "Our food is our stories. It's our sovereignty," said chef Sherry Pocknett. "And without f...

“Our food is our stories ... It's our sovereignty. And without food, without the stories, there wouldn't be language.” - Chef Sherry Pocknett www.wbur.org/news/2024/11...

In kaleidoscopic R&B, Melo Green reinvents himself The Providence musician Chris Kazarian releases "Laminar Flow," his debut album as Melo Green. Its songs are raw and personal, rife with musical references close to Kazarian’s heart.

Did you know there are all kinds of geniuses you've never heard of quietly making brilliant music all over New England??? Melo Green is the just the latest to hit my radar. Please check out my feature on his deep, weird, beautiful album.

Pleased to announce I have taught a major international artist about the great Boston pastime of “Storrowing.” He is fascinated. “Why don’t you fix the bridges?” He asked. Then there would be no more Storrowing,”I explained.

Spiky and surreal, Hugh Hayden’s sculptures resist an easy reading A survey at the Rose Art Museum offers a probing look at the 41-year-old artist’s career as he rides a surge of admiring coverage for his large, eye-catching installations.

Rose Art Museum has a wild new exhibit.

“The unsettling combination of threatening and alluring is on dizzying display throughout the Rose’s survey of Hayden’s prolific last decade: a baby’s crib lined with thorns, basketball hoops woven from human-like hair …” — @shmabelia.bsky.social

Wild chart here. "Abortions were up 37% in Mass. last year, driven by patients from other states" www.wbur.org/news/2024/11...