Clinton - WGBH

Radio Spotlight
Innovation Station
Boston is known around the world as a hub of
ideas, tackling issues from renewable energy
and infrastructure to health care and technology
with innovative solutions. In October, radio host
Kara Miller launched a new program, Innovation
Hub, on 89.7 WGBH, Boston Public Radio, which
delves into the cool new ideas percolating in the
metro-Boston area, examining how they are born
and exploring what they mean for the future of
our society. An assistant professor of English at
the University of Massachusetts/Dartmouth,
where she teaches journalism, Miller’s articles
have appeared in The Boston Globe, The National
Journal, The Boston Herald, Boston Magazine and
The International Herald Tribune, and she’s been a
frequent panelist on WGBH’s Beat the Press. Miller
recently chatted with WGBH’s Jennifer Goebel
about her new program and why radio is an ideal
platform for talking about innovation.
QHow did the idea for Innovation Hub
come about?
was guest-hosting Greater Boston and we
A
I
were doing a segment on innovation, so I
asked friends and people in my social network to
point me in the direction of local innovators. I got
an incredible number of responses, and I realized
that we had something special here. I got referred
to inventors of medical devices, fashion pioneers,
groundbreaking patent lawyers—an amazing
range. I brought the idea to Phil Redo, 89.7 WGBH’s
managing director, and he felt it fit in well with
the station’s priorities, so we decided to launch a
show about what’s new and innovative in Boston.
QTell me about the program’s format.
A
The show is divided into two 30-minute
segments, and each half focuses on a “big
question”—it could be anything from urban
education to green energy, to government. Some
of the shows focus on actual physical inventions,
but others are more about big ideas. Essentially,
we start with a problem, such as “How can you
improve urban education?” Then we look at the
issues: Is the root of the problem that urban kids
have nowhere to go and nothing to do in the
afternoons? If that’s one of the roots, what kinds
of afterschool programs really work for kids? Each
show has two separate guest panels, and we aim
to feature people with different experiences and
points of view.
QWhat makes Boston a good place for
innovation?
A
Boston has great universities, which attract
young people who are coming up with all
kinds of ideas in technology, gaming, science,
retail. And the depth of the research community
and the great minds here create a perfect
environment for the incubation of new ideas.
When professors or students come up with ideas
for start-ups, they often want to stay close to
their schools, so they headquarter them here.
Kendall Square recently put in a “Walk of Fame”
for great innovators, a testament to the importance
the community places on ideas.
QWhy is radio a good platform for a
program like this?
A
Radio gives you a good chunk of time. You
can get into deep discussions, and the ideas
and innovations we’re talking about are so interesting
and appealing that they fit in a long-form
radio program better than they would in the
kinds of shorter, bite-sized segments that exist
on commercial radio and TV.
QWhat does it take to do a weekly hourlong
program like Innovation Hub?
A
A lot of preparation. Of course, one of the
biggest parts is booking the panel: getting
the guests we want, getting people who can speak
about what they are doing on the radio, and making
sure we have a good balance of perspectives.
I also have to do a lot of research and background
reading so that I understand the need for innovation,
and so that I can challenge the panel to
address the real issues and stumbling blocks that
have proven to be intractable in the past. I want
to be able to draw the panelists out and hear
what they have to say. Then people can judge for
themselves whether they think these innovations
will work.
QWhat drew you to doing this kind of
program?
A
My best qualification for hosting this program
is that I’m really interested in ideas of all
kinds: science, education, the economy, the arts.
Having that diverse range of interests, and being
fascinated by the work people are doing, is what
inspired this program. I’m an idea person, like so
many other NPR listeners, and I’m interested in
hearing how things are going to change, and how
the future is going to look before we’ve seen it.
QWhat accounts for the enduring
popularity of radio?
A
I think there are two reasons. First, radio has
that ability to allow long-form conversations.
I love listening to Teri Gross [Fresh Air] when she
has somebody on that I’m interested in hearing.
I want to hear them at length. And second, you
can’t watch television in your car or when you’re
doing something else, like cooking. But if you’re
getting dinner ready, let’s say, your body is occupied,
but your brain is listening to the radio. Also,
I sometimes like the fact that you don’t see people.
It allows you to get beyond what people look
like, and to focus on what they’re saying instead
of whether their haircut is any good, what they’re
wearing and other distractions.
QHow did you first connect to WGBH?
A
I grew up in Carlisle, Massachusetts, so my
connection to WGBH probably goes back to
when I was five years old watching Sesame Street
and other kids’ programs. I also liked Julia Child.
I remember once, when I was eight, my mom had
to take something to a party, so I wrote down a
Julia Child recipe for a chocolate cake, writing as
fast as I could to keep up with what she was saying.
It turned out really well, and since my mom
did not normally bake, we were all impressed.
My favorite program on television now is Charlie
Rose. He’s an idea person, too, and one of the
people who inspired me to become a journalist.
That’s really the best of what WGBH does: inspire
people. And I hope that’s one of the things
Innovation Hub will accomplish.
Tune in Innovation Hub Saturdays at 7am and
Sundays at 10pm on 89.7 WGBH, or listen online
anytime at wgbh.org/radio.
Schedules, program info, playlists: wgbh.org/897
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