The Fabulous 413 Podcast

Today is a family affair.

We speak with director, writer, producer Llewellyn Smith of Blue Spark Collaborative, who has been making documentary films of all lengths and topics for over four decades. From Eyes on the Prize, to Poisoned Water, to Race: The Power of an Illusion, to his producing role in the PBS series American Experience, the filmmaker is no stranger to the platform that Public Media offers. Now helming an independent company, his latest film When Machines Prescribe offers a chilling look at the Medical system and the histories it holds that have devastating repercussions in today. Well explore the work hes done inside and outside of Public Media, the future of the films he makes, and perhaps get a family story or two out of him because it just so happens, he's Kaliis' uncle.

And Mr. Universe, Kainaat Studios and Hampshire Colleges Salman Hameed, joins Monte to take a closer look at an exo-planet, that is moving in ways that are puzzling for such a system, including that the binary stars of its system seem to be co-parenting it, and what that means for us observing similar systems in the future.

Today, we have two tales of community celebration alike in virtue, where well head deep into the Hilltowns, and get out on the river

A celebration of the once incredibly plentiful anadromous fish of the Connecticut River who are currently fighting their way upstream to spawn in northern waters. The inaugural Shad Fest happens this Sunday so we head to Holyoke to witness the fish elevator and hear about the incredible festivities with festival organizer Stephanie Moore. And a glimpse of the important role Shad has played in the areas history and ecosystem with Andrew Fisk, Northeast Regional Director for American Rivers.

Well also celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Westhampton Public Library opening with a collection of tales of people from the area about the impact of our foodways. The Hampshire County Food Policy Council is opening the exhibit Sharing Stories, Creating Change", featuring a new story from a family thats been farming in the area for 80 years. And we hear from Storytelling Circle Coordinator Kristen Whitmore and Community Story Archive Coordinator Alexandra Mello about the impact personal stories can have in our community and beyond.

Today we deal with matters of great importance.

Like the true nature of Hadley’s asparagus supremacy. We know that Hadley grass used to get shipped to the Queen of England, but how different is it from the spears grown in other western mass locales, or even other spots across the globe?

To get ready for our very own Asparagus Festival happening at the Hadley Commons this weekend, we bring grass from three different locations to the NEPM studios and conduct our own experiment to see if we, ourselves, can tell the difference between Asparagus grown in three different locations, including Hadley. 

And we’ll learn more about traversing the 91 corridor for a very good cause when Tara Brewster and Chelsea Kline drive by the studio to tell us how a VW bus and a donated bed are helping to raise money for the Cancer Connection with their fundraising event “Grateful Bed” 

Plus, a check in with congressman Jim McGovern who'll address the "Big 'Beautiful' Bill" in the middle of the room, a slew of listener questions about CPB, PBS, and NPR funding, ICE activity, and his own upcoming visit to the NEPM Asparagus Festival on Saturday. 

 We’re exploring all the colors of the rainbow, cause it’s PRIDE MONTH, ya’ll. 

The Queer Joy Chorus recently became the Queer Joy Collaborative and is celebrating its first year in their new incarnation. This Sunday they’ll throw the first ever Queer Joy Fun Fair with activities, singing, food, and more at Smith Voc, and we’ll chat with Mara Levi and Micki McInnis about the shift.

And in the Berkshires, an innovative incubating theater teams up with a NY theater company to tell lost histories in song. The Big Gay Speakeasy happens June 13th and 14th at the Adams theater and we speak with Adams Theater founder and artistic director Yina Moore and Life Jacket Theater Artistic Director Travis Russ about the production, their collaboration, and the music telling the tales of those lost. 

Plus word Nerd Emily Brewster digs into a listener question about poisonous words we don’t often get to use as we explore the similarities and differences of baleful, baneful, bale and bane.

Today we're talking about sweet things. 

Even when we’re talking about hard things to watch. This Saturday, The Triplex Cinema shows a special screening of the Oscar winning 1984 film The Killing Fields, which details the experiences of two journalists in Cambodia in 1975 at the beginning of the Khmer Rouge uprising. We chat with one of the stars of that movie who’ll be on hand at the theater for a post-movie Q & A, actor Sam Waterston. 

Plus it’s Pride Month, officially, and the pride celebrations are rolling out all over the 413. On June 7th you can join the celebrations with the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Greenfield as Franklin County Pride gathers all for their parade and festivities. We speak with Cynthia Fritz, Jake Krain, and Heather Mahoney about all the celebrating through the rainbow they’ll be bringing downtown on Saturday. 

And its in jars, cause that’s where the jam goes. In Conway a passion project has become a whole career turning berries and other fruit into low and no sugar spread-ables. We chat with Devon Whitney-Deal of Beaumont’s Berries about her pivot from working corporate jobs and managing the Greenfield Farmer’s Market to picking fruits, and making jam.

(and if you're curious about the version of Technotronic's "Pump Up The Jam" that Kaliis mentioned, you can see it here, performed by Damien Robitalle)