February 20, 2025: Just beneath the surface

We’re drawing connections in both likely and unlikely places. For instance the connection that those of the African diaspora have had with the land in the western hemisphere. The art exhibit Black Hands, Black Earth takes a look at the connections between people, earth, and the plants and people they’ve carried for generations. Artist and Educator Kerrita Mayfield walks us through her work and process to bring more of the roots of those connections to light.  Or perhaps it’s in gambling, and the Bay State’s unlikely penchant for it. The new podcast Scratch and win takes a look at Massachusetts connection to the lottery, and how that relationship has evolved in a significantly different way to the rest of the nation. Documentarian Ian Coss joins us to explore the course of scratch tickets, the Numbers, Megabucks and more, and even tie some of those tales directly to Western Mass. And our weekly chat with Jim McGovern tackles the house budget, the prospect of working *with* DOGE, conspiracy theories about Elon Musk and the elections, and more questions from listeners about what comes next.