Spooky cinema is at an all-time commercial peak, and in recent years, folk horror -- a subgenre of horror focusing on nature, isolation and paranoia -- has taken over the mainstream. Its frights are derived from the scariest villain of all: ourselves. But the genre isn’t new. So why are these stories resonating with so many horror fans right now?

She’s known as the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in 1955 sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted over a year and inspired other nonviolent resistance. Her name – along with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – is the most recognizable of the civil rights icons. Yet, on this 20th anniversary of her death, there are efforts to sanitize her life story and erase her legacy from public archives, schoolbooks and libraries. Two historians join us to set the record straight.

District 7, one of Boston’s 9 city districts, was the most competitive race in September’s preliminary election. Eleven candidates fought to represent the district and to replace former District 7 City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, who resigned after pleading guilty to federal corruption charges. One of the two candidates hoping to win the job will address the district’s top ongoing concerns: affordable housing, economic development and public safety. With just days to go before the November election, we’re taking a closer look at District 7’s political past and present history with people who know it well.

She’s uncovered unexpected connections between her field of algebraic combinatorics and other areas in math and physics, making significant contributions to numerous mathematical fields and forging groundbreaking, cross-disciplinary collaborations. Theoretical mathematician Lauren K. Williams is one of four local 2025 MacArthur “Genius” Fellows. We talk with Lauren K. Williams for our annual series, “The Genius Next Door.” 

Thousands of Cabo Verdeans Americans have made their home in Greater Boston bringing with them the indigenous language of their ancestral homeland. Now through the efforts of a local retired teacher and writer, Cabo Verdean Creole has been captured in a dictionary – the formalization of a language that has been passed down primarily orally. In honor of the dictionary’s official publishing, we’re looking back on the conversation we had in January 2024 about the making of this dictionary and why it’s so important to Cabo Verdeans in the United States and abroad.

For the generation that weathered the AIDS epidemic and fought for same-sex marriage, finding community still poses a challenge. But in Boston, LGBTQ+ seniors have the Pryde — New England’s first affordable senior living community geared toward LGBTQ+ elders. A new GBH News documentary follows some of the Pryde’s first residents through the facility’s inaugural year. We proudly present an audio-only version of the documentary this week! Watch "Living In Pryde": https://www.youtube.com/@GBHNews

Sunday, October 5, marks the start of this year's Banned Books Week – an annual commemoration in support of free and open access to information. It’s a week celebrated  by authors, publishers, teachers and book lovers across the country, including librarians, many of whom are under attack as they fight for the freedom to read. That fight is the subject of a new documentary coming to Boston later this month. We speak with award-winning and Oscar-nominated director Kim Snyder and librarian Audrey Wilson-Youngblood to learn more. Listen to all the stories that are part of our year-long series on the anti-book-banning movement in America -- Unbound Pages: gbhnews.org/unboundpages

Ramon Lopez grew up on the U.S. border between Texas and Mexico, in a family of tireless working immigrants scraping to get by. Could young Ramon’s talents help change the future for himself and his family? In his new coming-of-age novel, “The Border Between Us,” author Rudy Ruiz chronicles Ramon’s story of heart and hope. It’s our October selection for Bookmarked: The “Under the Radar “Book Club” and part of our tribute to Hispanic Heritage Month. 

Festivals around the country are holding off on annual celebrations for Hispanic Heritage Month due to the looming threat of ICE. Plus, a new poll shows President Donald Trump’s favorability is slipping with Latino voters. And Bad Bunny wraps up his epic Puerto Rico residency -- it's our Latinx news roundtable!

Few traditions are more sacred than marriage, but when complicated legacies are involved, few traditions are more stressful. “The Ceremony,” celebrated playwright Mfoniso Udofia’s sixth entry in the generation-spanning Ufot Family Cycle of nine plays, finds that complicated connection in the engagement between Nigerian-American Ekong Ufot and Nepali-American Lumanthi Rathi, simultaneously examining Ekong’s fractured relationship with his immigrant father Disciple. We speak with the playwright and the CHUANG Stage production's two leading actors.

Recent findings show that one-third of American high school seniors lack basic reading skills -- the lowest numbers in more than three decades. Could a shift to a more linguistics-centered educational approach help turn those numbers around? Plus, it’s Hispanic Heritage Month, which means it’s time again for the annual CineFest Latino Boston Film Festival. We speak with its founder and director along with two filmmakers whose documentary, "Comparsa," is kicking off the festival.

We’re exploring the latest headlines from Western, Central, and Eastern Massachusetts in our first Massachusetts news roundtable, including the latest in the off-shore-wind saga, consolidated high school football teams in the Berkshires and Holyoke as a non-sanctuary city. Then, Callie heads to Portland, Maine, to check out the Portland Museum of Art's new exhibit, “David C. Driskell: Collector," juxtaposing Driskell's work with some of his collected works, including pieces by celebrated artists like Lois Mailou Jones, Edward Mitchell Bannister and Romare Bearden. RSVP to our FREE Bookmarked LIVE! event at Parkside Bookshop happening Wednesday, September 17, at 6:30 p.m.: bit.ly/UTRParkside

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes … divorce? Award-winning television host, actress and playwright Joy Behar goes from screen to stage in her new play, “My First Ex-Husband," premiering at the Huntington on September 12. We speak with Joy Behar and fellow iconic funny lady and cast member Jackie Hoffman about the show. Then, Olivia Blount squeaked through her employment interview to land the job of her dreams: working with the renowned Aubrey Merritt, a detective with a global reputation for solving impossible murder cases. Aubrey and Olivia’s Boomer - Gen Z relationship is at the heart of Liza Tully's new novel, “The World’s Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant" -- our September selection for Bookmarked: The Under the Radar Book Club.   RSVP to our Bookmarked LIVE! event at Parkside Bookshop: bit.ly/UTRParkside

Summer may be winding down, but we’re not ready to say goodbye just yet! This week, we go back to Cape Cod and the Islands for an encore of two of our favorite seaside segments. First, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the movie “Jaws" through analyzing its iconic score with two music professors, including a John Williams expert. Then, we meet a chemical oceanographer and MacArthur "Genius" based in Woods Hole who's studying some of the smallest organisms on the planet -- plankton.  RSVP to our Bookmarked LIVE! event at Parkside Bookshop: bit.ly/UTRParkside

We’ve just passed the half year mark  into the second Donald Trump presidency. This month, President Trump called for the end of mail-in ballots. What could that mean for future elections? States are pushing back against White House policies, and California Governor Gavin Newsom is taking a very public – and very snarky – approach. And early voting in Boston starts on August 30! We examine the latest news from the Boston mayoral race, as lead candidates Mayor Michelle Wu and challenger Josh Kraft battle over campaign finances. It’s an hour of political analysis with the Mass Politics Profs!

Don’t throw out your leftovers; they might be the best part of your next meal! Repurposing leftovers and using food scraps in recipes is part of the movement to reduce food waste. Cookbook authors Tamar Adler and Anne-Marie Bonneau join Callie Crossley to make the case for low and zero-waste tasty recipes that’ll save home chefs time and money while being environmentally friendly.

Massachusetts is a leader in the nationwide effort to reduce food waste, setting statewide standards on food scraps, supporting community-led efforts for food recovery, and ramping up assistance to schools and businesses. With fresh new insights and creative solutions, the fight against food waste is drawing new enthusiasts to an old environmental issue. How effective are the policies to reduce, donate and divert food waste?

In the past few years, Asian directors, actors, cast and crew have dominated award seasons – from “Parasite” to “Shogun” to “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” And culturally relevant Asian stories in film, on TV, and on streaming platforms continue to resonate with audiences – and bring in big bucks – around the world. So what Asian-led movies and shows should we be adding to our watchlists this summer?

A novel about a fictional school shooting, which captures the perspectives of all involved. A memoir which begins with a young person’s complicated journey questioning their sexual identity. And a novella detailing a year in the life of a young Latina living in Chicago as she approaches adolescence. In many cities and states, these storylines are at the heart of best-selling, critically acclaimed books that are no longer available in local schools or public libraries, because they’ve been banned. In this special edition of “Bookmarked: The Under the Radar Book Club,” we’re showcasing three authors who have written about subject matter targeted by organized book-banning campaigns. This episode is also part of Unbound Pages, our year-long series examining the anti-book-banning movement in America.

Restaurants are still recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns. Some of them didn’t make it, while the survivors adapted to the moment and have continued to evolve. The recent changes in dining out have reshaped the dining experience for customers who are more discerning than ever, as their entertainment budgets become tighter. Is it working?