Boston

How does a kid from Cambridge who went to good schools and had friends and teachers who loved him go on to co-stage the Boston Marathon bombings?

The Scrum podcast promises to talk politics & media "from Beacon Hill to the Beltway," and this week we took that literally. David S. Bernstein gathered up a few "Bostonians in exile" at the NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C.-- Boston Globe Washington correspondent Matt Viser; and USA Today reporter Donovan Slack.

Behold South Boston's annual St. Patrick's Day breakfast-- the most Boston of Boston political traditions, where "the self-important celebrate the self-obsessed".

How do you fight a fight that seems like a forgone conclusion? The Scrum's Adam Reilly headed to City Hall to speak with two volunteers behind the No Boston Olympics team.

The Scrum podcast takes a closer look at Governor Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh's governing during one of the biggest snow weeks in Massachusetts history. Plus, how long will "Dear Leader" (aka House Speaker Robert DeLeo) stay on as Speaker?

As Boston Mayor Marty Walsh wraps up his first year in office, The Scrum sat down with him to size up what he was pleased with, what was more challenging than he expected— and more personal topics including why Mayor Menino's passing has changed the way he feels about his job, and his ability to balance being an active member of the recovery community with a job that requires non-stop attention.

From the Boston Globe's cozy bureau high atop the State House (pictured), reporters Frank Phillips and Jim O'Sullivan churned out stories that could make the difference between the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat in election 2014.

WGBH News reporter Adam Reilly and contributing editor Peter Kadzis on the third and final debate between Boston mayoral candidates John Connolly and Marty Walsh.

KADZIS: Last night's final Boston mayoral debate between John Connolly and Marty Walsh left me with three over-arching impressions: 

1) Walsh put in his strongest performance yet, but Connolly still won because of a greater command of details, especially the punch lists he provided for what he's looking for in a Police Commissioner and a School Superintendent.

2) At this point, I doubt the debate will change many voter's minds, but it will influence journalists and political commentators, which might have impact.

3) It's clear that both candidates see the key to winning this election as two-fold, holding on to their respective bases while carrying communities that compromise the city's majority-minority neighborhoods -- particularly those of African Americans. Still, my eyebrows popped when Connolly and Walsh agreed that the police department was tinged with racism. I agree there are problems, but I thought the allegation of racism went too far. Perhaps I'm oversensitive. I cut my teeth as a young reporter during the busing years and saw real, unvarnished, overt racism in action. God knows, both the police and fire departments have serious diversity issues (as do the trade unions), but they are too complex to be boiled down to a single word.

On Twitter this afternoon, my WGBH colleague (and former Boston Phoenix compadre) David Bernstein argues that mayoral candidate John Connolly's previous work as a lawyer doesn't deserve the front-page treatment it got in today's Globe. As David puts it: "[S]omebody tell me what the issue is with Connolly's legal work. Anybody. Speak now or forever etc..."

The issue, I think, is that sometimes Connolly acts like he was never a lawyer at all.