NEPM

NEPM is a community-supported, independent non-profit organization based in Springfield, MA.

We provide people in western Mass. with a broad array of local and national programs from PBS and NPR, as well as locally produced programs, series, podcasts and specials.

Find all of our coverage at nepm.org

Candlewick Press

Nolan's 'Odyssey': WMass classics profs weigh in

Jill Kaufman

Even professors of classic literature enjoy a night out at the movies, and when it comes to the retelling of one of the most famous Greek poems, no matter their opinion of Christopher Nolan's latest film, they agree — the conversation about ancient texts has never been hotter.
Let the flyers fly? Northampton weighs community building vs. clutter

Jill Kaufman

Flyers advertising services, concerts and lost pets have long been part of urban culture. That's despite ordinances banning them. In Northampton, Massachusetts, a tension has been brewing in the last few months around its no-posting ordinance established in the 1970s. There's a movement to change it.

NEPM

How a real Mass. whale ship sailed off the map into a harrowing Pacific survival saga

Carrie Healy

Author Eric Jay Dolin discusses a 19th-century New Bedford whaling voyage that ended in a shipwreck and a clash of cultures in Palau.
NEPM

Springfield city clerk, councilor at odds over conflict of interest disclosure

Elizabeth Román

Springfield City Clerk Gladys Oyola-Lopez claims City Councilor Justin Hurst has created a hostile work environment after accusing her of not disclosing her financial interest in a development project.
NEPM

Mass. settings help author Kai Alonté explore the burnout of Black social performance

Carrie Healy

The Ghanaian-American novelist discusses using Boston to frame her characters' search for authenticity and a quiet reprieve from elite spaces.
NEPM

Mass. think tank urges state to avoid federal school voucher program

Phil Bishop

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center argues the federal program pulls state resources away from the public school system.
NEPM

Vincent Yu’s 'Seek Immediate Shelter': How a false missile alert unmasks a WMass community

Carrie Healy

The former Longmeadow resident shares how the 2018 Hawaii alert inspired his western Mass.-set debut novel, tracing the local fallout, satire, and trauma of a tech error.
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‘The Gatepost’ author Tim Weed on writing fiction: 'Root the story in something very familiar'

Carrie Healy

Vermont author Tim Weed grounds a fantastical story with smuggled Mesoamerican treasure and a mysterious missing father in the familiar hills of his home state in his new novel, "The Gatepost."
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Easthampton City Council passes resolution to hold ICE accountable under Mass. state law

Nirvani Williams

The Easthampton City Council passed a resolution on Wednesday calling for Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and the Northwestern district attorney to investigate and charge federal ICE agents when they violate state law.
NEPM

WMass DSA chapter sees bolstered membership amid national electoral wins

Phil Bishop

The River Valley Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America says voters are looking for more working-class-focused candidates.
NEPM

How WMass voices shaped pianist Lara Downes' traveling 'Declaration Quilt'

Carrie Healy

Ahead of her MASS MoCA concert, pianist Lara Downes explains how western Massachusetts voices and local history shaped her music and traveling "Declaration Quilt."
NEPM

'We The People' combines music and civil rights in the Berkshires

Karen Brown

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma has invited other performing artists and public intellectuals to his August residency at Tanglewood, including civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson.