May 5, 2026: A tale of two Berkshires

Today is all connected to the BerkshiresIn a new novel from Longmeadow native Vincent Yu, a small town and the base of the westerly mountains is rocked by a sudden alert about their imminent demise. What follows is the subject of the novel Seek Immediate Shelter, which highlights several Asian-American citizens of the fictional town of "Beckitt" and their connections to this mistake. We speak with the author about the novel, with its many twists, turns, and local easter eggs,  before you can meet him in person at the Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley on Wednesday night, May 6th. We’ll also head to the very real city of Pittsfield to chat with our next Mayor of the Month: Peter Marchetti. Hot off the heels of a meeting with the many other mayors of the baystate we get to learn from him about Pittsfield’s housing issues and economic drive. Plus we’ll hear about his volunteer work with Berkshire Pride, and learn how the recently launched 413 link bus service is starting to make a difference for the folx of his city, and much much more.