I’VE SPENT THE LAST MONTH thinking and writing about how some of the most in-demand parts of Massachusetts – specifically the Cape and Islands – are feeling squeezed by simultaneous climate and housing crises. That’s affecting who can live there and when, with serious implications for what it means to be a place that’s resilient to changing tides and changing workforce needs. 

Our policy and civic life podcast, The Codcast, is usually recorded from our studio on Beacon Hill. While that’s great for bringing in folks who live and work around the state’s political center, the local reporter in me is always excited to get back out into the cities and towns all over the commonwealth. 

So “environment month,” as we’ve been calling April, was a chance to do that. Our team got to schlep out to Provincetown on a Wednesday evening for an intimate live recording of The Codcast in the gorgeous town hall with some excellent local guests. This was a partnership with CAI, the NPR station for the Cape and Islands, so reporter Eve Zuckoff wore two hats in co-moderating the panel and offering her own perspective as someone who lives on and covers the region. 

There were also two other climate related conferences on the Cape that week – the Northeast Sea Grant Consortium’s annual meeting and the Big Blue Conference, which is the Cape Cod Blue Economy Foundation’s annual industry conference. We’re glad to be part of a topical broader conversation as climate experts and local planners alike grapple with the reality of a second Trump administration hostile to much of their work, and so thankful for the live audience that chose to spend an hour with us.

Our guests, by the way, were: 

• Jay Coburn – president and CEO of the Community Development Partnership – the non-profit community development corporation serving the eight towns of lower Cape Cod
• Mark Borrelli, a coastal geologist and director of the Coastal Processes and Ecosystems Laboratory (or CaPE Lab). 
• Timothy Famulare – the community development director for Provincetown, formerly the town’s environmental planner and conservation agent. 

Each of them brought their own expertise to help us dig into what it means to live and plan responsibly on the Cape and Islands, understanding the realities of climate change and the housing crunch as a collective crisis.  

We hope to do more local pop-up podcasts events to delve into how state-wide issues are impacting municipalities across Massachusetts. If there’s an issue in your area that you think might make sense for a focused look, my inbox is always open. 

So, enjoy our live Provincetown podcast and thank you to everyone who’s been reading our climate coverage this month.