July 2, 2026: Statewide freedoms

We conclude our trio of 250th focused Power of History talks with Clark University Professor Ousmane Power-Greene by looking at the years just after our official separation from England, our baby steps as a nation seeking to establish federal criteria, and the circumstances that led to Elizabeth "Mumbet" Freeman’s court case that would officially end slavery in the Bay State. On our nation’s birthday this weekend, you have an opportunity to expand your perspective to encompass the whole state. In Common:From the Berkshires to the Bay is a new program from GBH News that seeks to connect the stories of all 351 towns and cities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and we talk with host Jeremy Siegel about the series, the surprising facts he’s learned about our corner of New England, and the pilot episode that you can hear this weekend. And Congressman Jim McGovern is managing to survive summer in the DMV in this heatwave, a feat in and of itself, while simultaneously giving us his takes on recent SCOTUS decisions, his worries about possible executive branch intervention in the upcoming midterms, his thoughts on the nation’s birthday this weekend and more.