January 11, 2024: Collaboration in rememberance

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday is on Monday. And it’s one of those rare years where we get to celebrate the holiday created in his honor on his actual day of birth. For over a decade there’s been an event in Springfield celebrating the legacy of the civil rights icon, while simultaneously highlighting the talents and progress of the city’s youth. MLK Jr. Family Services President Shannon Rudder, Vice President for Inclusion and Community Engagement at Springfield College Calvin Hill, and executive director of Community Music School Eileen McCaffrey join us in studio to talk about the MLK Day Celebration; how it all got started, and how this year’s theme of “Living the legacy, Continuing the Dream” is a great motto for its future.

That contemplation is certainly where we find Congressman Jim McGovern. We’ve just passed the anniversary of the Jan 6th insurrection, for which he was the last person to leave the house floor when rioters attacked Capitol Hill. We speak with him about the lasting effects of that event, the on-coming year of elections and more.

And it’s just been announced that Bill Belichick is stepping down from his role coaching the Patriots. Some could say that this writing was on the wall, but what does this actually mean for the franchise? We bring in a couple of folx who know way more about football than we do: our friend and political consultant Ryan McCollum, and Monte’s favorite Patriots correspondent: His dad.