On the latest episode of The Codcast’s Health or Consequences, Paul Hattis interviews his normal co-host John McDonough and Cheri Andes about their work 20 years ago to secure passage of a landmark health care reform law.
Codcast
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What it means that a state ‘AI assistant’ will handle your data
This week on The Codcast, we dig into the new partnership between Massachusetts and OpenAI to roll out an AI assistant to help with daily governmental tasks. CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith is joined by Technology Secretary Jason Snyder, who says his goals include “democratizing innovation” and helping streamline bureaucratic systems like the DMV. Snyder discusses the contract with OpenAI, concerns around data privacy and bias in AI systems, and explains why the state is leaning so hard into AI adoption.
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Trying to measure primary care’s downward spiral
On the monthly Health or Consequences episode of The Codcast, John McDonough of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute talk with Barbra Rabson, president and CEO of Massachusetts Health Quality Partners. They discuss the primary care crisis, how data transparency improves patient outcomes, and tease upcoming recommendations from the primary care task force.
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The Bay State angle into the US Senate housing bill
This week on the Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Matt Noyes, director of state and federal advocacy for the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA). They dig into the Bay State implications of the sprawling bipartisan “meatball” of a housing bill that recently passed the US Senate, and take a look at how efforts at home might interact with federal policy.
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Immigration enforcement and declines in public school enrollment
This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporters Jennifer Smith and Hallie Claflin discuss Claflin‘s latest piece on how immigration enforcement step ups are impacting school enrollment. They zero in on the state’s Gateway Cities, which are home to a disproportionate share of Massachusetts‘s immigrant population and are sounding the alarm over the psychological and fiscal effects of federal enforcement actions on their school communities.
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How energy affordability in Massachusetts reached crisis mode
This week on The Codcast, we unpack how increasingly expensive utility bills are shaping the energy debate in Massachusetts and reaching a fever pitch on Beacon Hill. With energy costs now the top household concern in the Bay State, how should policymakers respond to the affordability crisis as power demand is expected to rise and with the due date on ambitious climate commitments creeping closer? Our guests, Kyle Murray, director of state program implementation in Massachusetts at the environmental nonprofit Acadia Center, and Dan Dolan, president of the New England Power Generators Association, hash it all out.
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How ‘universal’ is universal pre-K?
This week on The Codcast, we dive into Gov. Maura Healey’s “Gateway to Pre-K” agenda. By the end of 2026, her administration declared that every family of a 4-year-old in the state’s 26 Gateway Cities would have the opportunity – at low or no cost – to enroll their child in a preschool program that prepares them for kindergarten. But local providers say they won’t get there.
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‘Administrative fat’ or ‘amnesia’: How much should we spend on the MBTA?
This week on The Codcast, we dive into a long-running debate: is the significant growth in state funding for the T an acknowledgment that good public transit requires big public investment, or is it a reflection of out-of-control spending? CommonWealth Beacon senior reporter Chris Lisinski moderates a discussion with former Transportation Secretary Jim Aloisi and Pioneer Institute senior fellow Charlie Chieppo.
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Big tech is watching
This week on the Codcast – what does online surveillance look like in 2026? CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Kade Crockford, director of technology and justice programs at the ACLU of Massachusetts. They discuss the biggest misconceptions about data privacy online, why your information is valuable and vulnerable, and legislation proposed at the state level to limit who can see and sell user data.
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Regulating insurance as health care costs surge
On the monthly Health or Consequences episode of The Codcast, John McDonough of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute talk with Michael Caljouw, the state commissioner of insurance. They discuss new regulations for insurers, concerns about the stability and solvency of the Massachusetts health insurance system, and insurer consolidation.
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Unpacking the governor’s state budget proposal
This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon senior reporter Chris Lisinski hosts Viviana Abreu-Hernandez of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center and Jim Stergios of the Pioneer Institute for a discussion about Gov. Maura Healey’s fiscal year 2027 state budget proposal.
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‘No doubt it may get worse before it gets better’ — Breaking down the 2026 State of the Commonwealth.
This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporters Jennifer Smith and Chris Lisinski talk about Gov. Maura Healey’s 2026 State of the Commonwealth speech. They compare her tone and policy position to earlier years, review reactions to the speech, and look ahead at what this says about Healey’s run for reelection.
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Filling the health care funding gaps
This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith unravels the latests state health coverage moves with Audrey Morse Gasteier, executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector, and Alex Sheff, senior director of policy and government affairs at Health Care For All.
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What do cities and advocates want from the Legislature in 2026?
This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks Lynn Mayor Jared Nicholson; Jennie Williamson, the state director of The Education Trust in Massachusetts; and Clark Ziegler, executive director of the Massachusetts Housing Partnership. They break down what has and hasn’t been a lawmaking priority; dive into the current relationships between cities, the state, and the federal government; and discuss their legislative wish list for the second half of the two-year cycle.
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What’s ahead in 2026 for CommonWealth Beacon. And, a lookback at our biggest stories from last year
On this end-of-year episode of The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon editor Laura Colarusso sits down with reporters Jennifer Smith, Chris Lisinski, Jordan Wolman, and Hallie Claflin to discuss their 2025 storylines and what they each plan to cover in the new year.
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‘The exits are growing, the entries are slowing’ in primary care
John McDonough and Paul Hattis talk with Zirui Song, associate professor of health care policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School and a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital. They discuss Song’s research and thoughts about the primary care crisis nationally and in Massachusetts, and dive into the promise and issues with private equity in health care.
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‘In every difficulty, there’s an opportunity,’ Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler says about developing a post-MCAS high school graduation requirement
On this week’s episode of The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon executive editor Michael Jonas sits down with Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler to discuss the work of a state commission tasked with proposing a new graduation requirement to replace MCAS.
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The politics of who gets a musical education
On this week’s episode of The Codcast, what it means when political forces come for the arts. CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Élider DiPaula, the new executive director of Project STEP — a 12-year music program focused on bringing students from underrepresented or marginalized backgrounds into the world of classical string music. The program lost a federal grant this spring, as did hundreds of other programs considered out of step with President Trump’s nationalist priorities for the arts.
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A showdown over Boston property tax rates
This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Greg Maynard, executive director of the Boston Policy Institute, as Boston the city council prepares for a Wednesday vote expected to raise taxes on single-family homes. Maynard says the administration is not moving quickly enough to inform the public about dire revenue forecasts or adopt new measures which could make up the difference.
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The Legislature breaks for the holidays and ballot season heats up
This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporters Jennifer Smith and Chris Lisinski check in as Beacon Hill heads into its winter break. Chris looks back at the end of year lawmaking hustle, and what was left for 2026, then turns to a possibly record-smashing number of ballot questions that could land before voters next November.
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Restoring civic discourse in an age of polarization
On this week’s episode of The Codcast, Jim Peyser, who served as secretary of education under Gov. Charlie Baker, talks with CommonWealth Beacon executive editor Michael Jonas about the yearlong series of essays he wrote for CommonWealth Beacon on the need for civil discussion of often controversial issues in an era of polarized debate.
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When health care access is a legal puzzle
On the monthly Health or Consequences episode of The Codcast, John McDonough of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute talk with Matt Selig, the executive director of Health Law Advocates. They discuss the blur between medical and legal access issues, the group’s history and capacity, and their current litigation focuses.
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Municipal budgets at the breaking point
Massachusetts Municipal Association Executive Director Adam Chapdelaine, Amesbury Mayor Kassandra Gove, and Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Executive Director Paul Craney join The Codcast to dive deep on the world of municipal finances in a panel discussion moderated by CommonWealth Beacon reporter Chris Lisinski. Guests unpack the various dynamics putting pressure on city and town budgets, consider the value of the tax-cap law known as Proposition 2½, and ponder who might be best equipped to provide relief.
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A year of strained systems and trust after Carney closures
This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporters Jennifer Smith and Hallie Claflin talk about Claflin’s deep dive into the fallout from Steward Health Care’s bankruptcy. Two communities – the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester and the rural Nashoba Valley – lost their community health centers. Just over a year later, the local emergency health systems are strained and residents say they still feel confused about why the state allowed their centers to close while others were saved.