Ian Prasad Philbrick
@ianprasad.bsky.social
I write Starting Point, The Boston Globe’s daily morning newsletter about the biggest news in Boston, New England, the country, and the world. Also a Mainer and New York Times alum. Sign up here: https://www.bostonglobe.com/newsletters/starting-point/
Maine's Aroostook County, where a fifth of residents get SNAP, overwhelmingly backed Trump last year. But as his administration cites the shutdown to try to cut benefits this month, Aroostook is struggling. Today's @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/07/n...
This Trump-voting county in Maine heavily relies on food stamps. The shutdown is hitting it hard. - The Boston Globe
About 20 percent of Aroostook County residents rely on SNAP benefits, which lapsed Saturday. The gap is too much for food banks to make up.
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November 7, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Maine's Aroostook County, where a fifth of residents get SNAP, overwhelmingly backed Trump last year. But as his administration cites the shutdown to try to cut benefits this month, Aroostook is struggling. Today's @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/07/n...
Streaks — and the photos that capture them — don’t just happen. So today’s Starting Point takes you behind the scenes of how “prepared luck” helped @bostonglobe.com photographer Matt Lee capture a moment of triumph for a team that’s been on a roll: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/05/n...
As the Patriots streak, a Globe photographer shoots - The Boston Globe
We’re taking you behind the scenes of how our photographer captured a moment of celebration as the Pats win game after game for the first time in years.
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November 5, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Streaks — and the photos that capture them — don’t just happen. So today’s Starting Point takes you behind the scenes of how “prepared luck” helped @bostonglobe.com photographer Matt Lee capture a moment of triumph for a team that’s been on a roll: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/05/n...
Today’s highest-profile races might not be in New England, but some of the country’s best pollsters are. For today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point, I spoke with them about where they think the biggest races stand www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/04/n...
For New England pollsters, Election Day ‘is a lot like the Super Bowl.’ Which will reign supreme? - The Boston Globe
The region’s large number of universities has made it a hotbed for political polling. But which will come the closest to the actual results?
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November 4, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Today’s highest-profile races might not be in New England, but some of the country’s best pollsters are. For today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point, I spoke with them about where they think the biggest races stand www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/04/n...
Reposted by Ian Prasad Philbrick
Great convo about literally building a better world.
“I am a progressive in the literal sense of the word, which is like, you need progress. [...] We will see if there’s pushback in Cambridge or not. [...] are people more scared about change than they are about the problem of high housing costs?”
“I am a progressive in the literal sense of the word, which is like, you need progress. [...] We will see if there’s pushback in Cambridge or not. [...] are people more scared about change than they are about the problem of high housing costs?”
The intra-Democratic debate over “abundance” can feel lofty and abstract. So for today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point, I asked Cambridge city councilor @burhanazeem.bsky.social about how the zoning law he passed this year put abundance principles into action: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/03/n...
The ‘abundance’ movement wants to build more housing, mass transit, and more. Can it save Massachusetts — and the Democrats? - The Boston Globe
A Q&A with Burhan Azeem, a Cambridge City Councilor whose new housing law marries abundance with economic progressivism
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November 3, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Great convo about literally building a better world.
“I am a progressive in the literal sense of the word, which is like, you need progress. [...] We will see if there’s pushback in Cambridge or not. [...] are people more scared about change than they are about the problem of high housing costs?”
“I am a progressive in the literal sense of the word, which is like, you need progress. [...] We will see if there’s pushback in Cambridge or not. [...] are people more scared about change than they are about the problem of high housing costs?”
The intra-Democratic debate over “abundance” can feel lofty and abstract. So for today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point, I asked Cambridge city councilor @burhanazeem.bsky.social about how the zoning law he passed this year put abundance principles into action: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/03/n...
The ‘abundance’ movement wants to build more housing, mass transit, and more. Can it save Massachusetts — and the Democrats? - The Boston Globe
A Q&A with Burhan Azeem, a Cambridge City Councilor whose new housing law marries abundance with economic progressivism
www.bostonglobe.com
November 3, 2025 at 4:39 PM
The intra-Democratic debate over “abundance” can feel lofty and abstract. So for today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point, I asked Cambridge city councilor @burhanazeem.bsky.social about how the zoning law he passed this year put abundance principles into action: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/03/n...
Bill Belichick’s second career — coaching collegiate football at UNC — is off to a bad start. But as today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains, Belichick is hardly the first star to struggle after making a career pivot www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/30/n...
It’s not just Bill Belichick. Career pivots sometimes flop, even for the rich and famous. - The Boston Globe
Stars like Michael Jordan and Beyoncé have struggled to branch into new areas, too. But there also some common pitfalls to avoid.
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October 30, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Bill Belichick’s second career — coaching collegiate football at UNC — is off to a bad start. But as today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains, Belichick is hardly the first star to struggle after making a career pivot www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/30/n...
Will Massachusetts’ new pay transparency law, which takes full effect today, succeed in reducing gender and racial wage gaps? Today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explores: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/29/n...
Massachusetts’ wage transparency law takes effect today. Here’s what that means for you. - The Boston Globe
Requiring companies to post salary ranges may help boost earnings for women and people of color. But questions remain about how it will actually work.
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October 29, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Will Massachusetts’ new pay transparency law, which takes full effect today, succeed in reducing gender and racial wage gaps? Today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explores: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/29/n...
“For hundreds of years we’ve been bending water to our will,” my colleague @shankman.bsky.social told me for today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point about the threat that flooding poses to Massachusetts. Now “the water is pushing back.” www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/28/n...
‘The water is pushing back’: A Globe reporter on how rising seas and heavy rains threaten Mass. communities - The Boston Globe
Climate change is bringing about a wetter New England. In some Boston neighborhoods and Massachusetts towns, that future is already here.
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October 28, 2025 at 3:46 PM
“For hundreds of years we’ve been bending water to our will,” my colleague @shankman.bsky.social told me for today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point about the threat that flooding poses to Massachusetts. Now “the water is pushing back.” www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/28/n...
The ongoing government shutdown is just the latest partisan fight over Obamacare, which continues to loom over our politics 15 years after it became law. And as today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains, Massachusetts is a big reason why: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/27/n...
All these years later, we’re still fighting about Obamacare. Is it Massachusetts’ fault? - The Boston Globe
Mitt Romney’s model, Ted Kennedy’s death, and the health care compromises that help explain the partisan standoff over funding the federal government.
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October 27, 2025 at 4:58 PM
The ongoing government shutdown is just the latest partisan fight over Obamacare, which continues to loom over our politics 15 years after it became law. And as today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains, Massachusetts is a big reason why: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/27/n...
ICE has detained several Brazilian teenagers living in Mass. in high-profile cases this year. Today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point tells the story of how so many Brazilian immigrants came to live here in the first place: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/22/n...
Trump’s immigration crackdown has targeted Brazilian communities in Massachusetts. Here’s how they got here. - The Boston Globe
The story of how so many Brazilians came to live in the state helps explain why several have been at the center of recent high-profile ICE detentions
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October 22, 2025 at 3:39 PM
ICE has detained several Brazilian teenagers living in Mass. in high-profile cases this year. Today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point tells the story of how so many Brazilian immigrants came to live here in the first place: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/22/n...
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is cruising to a second term even as the leaders of other Democratic cities struggle. Today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explores 4 reason why: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/21/n...
Michelle Wu is bucking the trend of unpopular Democratic mayors with smart politicking, good optics, and a bit of luck - The Boston Globe
As Wu is set to clinch a second term unopposed next month, she has a level of support that would thrill a third-world dictator.
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October 21, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is cruising to a second term even as the leaders of other Democratic cities struggle. Today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explores 4 reason why: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/21/n...
Adopting symbols of American patriotism is often a smart tactical choice for protest movements. So for today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point, I asked a few people at my neighborhood “No Kings” protest on Saturday about why they chose to do so: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/20/n...
‘We need to take back the flag’: Why patriotic symbols were all over the ‘No Kings’ protests - The Boston Globe
Adopting icons of American patriotism is often a smart tactical choice for protest movements. Some of the most successful ones in US history have done so.
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October 20, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Adopting symbols of American patriotism is often a smart tactical choice for protest movements. So for today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point, I asked a few people at my neighborhood “No Kings” protest on Saturday about why they chose to do so: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/20/n...
Around 600 kids in Massachusetts’ child welfare system go missing each year. For today’s Starting Point, I spoke with two of my @bostonglobe.com colleagues who pieced together the tragic fate of one of those runaways www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/09/n...
Globe reporters pieced together the tragic fate of a runaway kid in Mass. Here’s how they did it. - The Boston Globe
600 kids in the state’s child welfare system go missing each year. Many are high-risk teenagers who sometimes don’t come back.
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October 9, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Around 600 kids in Massachusetts’ child welfare system go missing each year. For today’s Starting Point, I spoke with two of my @bostonglobe.com colleagues who pieced together the tragic fate of one of those runaways www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/09/n...
Some photographs have a way of defining presidencies. Will this image — which shows the aftermath of an immigration raid in Mass., taken by @bostonglobe.com photographer Craig Walker — end up being one of them? www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/08/n...
‘She’ll probably never let her daughter go again’: How a Globe photographer captured an image for our political moment - The Boston Globe
The photo, of a child whose father was arrested by ICE, shows the aftermath of Trump’s aggressive approach to immigration enforcement in Massachusetts
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October 8, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Some photographs have a way of defining presidencies. Will this image — which shows the aftermath of an immigration raid in Mass., taken by @bostonglobe.com photographer Craig Walker — end up being one of them? www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/08/n...
A renowned doctor accused of abusing hundreds of patients — and a medical system that should have stopped him sooner. Today’s Starting Point goes inside a wrenching new investigation from the @bostonglobe.com Spotlight team: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/02/n...
5 takeaways from a Spotlight investigation into a Boston doctor accused of abuse - The Boston Globe
Hundreds of patients have accused Dr. Derrick Todd of using his credentials and charisma to abuse them while working at Boston-area hospitals
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October 2, 2025 at 3:21 PM
A renowned doctor accused of abusing hundreds of patients — and a medical system that should have stopped him sooner. Today’s Starting Point goes inside a wrenching new investigation from the @bostonglobe.com Spotlight team: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/02/n...
The Red Sox beat the Yankees last night, continuing an exciting stretch for Greater Boston sports. Today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point checks in on where the region’s other major pro teams stand: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/01/n...
It’s an exciting moment for Boston sports. Here’s where the major teams stand. - The Boston Globe
The Sox beat the Yankees, the Pats have had a solid start to the season, and the region’s other pro teams are taking steps to recover.
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October 1, 2025 at 2:56 PM
The Red Sox beat the Yankees last night, continuing an exciting stretch for Greater Boston sports. Today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point checks in on where the region’s other major pro teams stand: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/01/n...
It’s looking likely that the federal government will shut down at midnight. Today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains that would mean for New England: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/30/n...
From national parks to Head Start, here’s what a government shutdown could mean for you - The Boston Globe
Federal funding will run out at midnight unless Congress reaches a last-minute deal, and New England will feel the effects.
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September 30, 2025 at 4:27 PM
It’s looking likely that the federal government will shut down at midnight. Today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains that would mean for New England: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/30/n...
The 1775 British bombardment of Portland, Maine — then called Falmouth, Mass. — is one of the Revolutionary War's uglier yet largely forgotten episodes. I watched a reenactment of the attack and wrote about it for today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/22/n...
George Washington called it ‘an outrage.’ The Declaration condemned it. This Maine city reenacted it. - The Boston Globe
Portland recreated the 1775 British bombardment and burning of the town then known as Falmouth, Mass., commemorating a largely forgotten horror of the Revolutionary War.
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September 22, 2025 at 5:16 PM
The 1775 British bombardment of Portland, Maine — then called Falmouth, Mass. — is one of the Revolutionary War's uglier yet largely forgotten episodes. I watched a reenactment of the attack and wrote about it for today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/22/n...
Maine’s senior senator has dispatched one experienced challenger after another. Could a political novice who’s never sought or held elected office finally unseat her? In today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point, meet three candidates who hope the answer is yes www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/17/n...
Susan Collins has been a fixture in Washington for decades. Could a political outsider finally oust her? - The Boston Globe
The Republican senator from Maine has put down challenges from a variety of Democrats over the years. These three nonpoliticians hope to break the cycle.
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September 17, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Maine’s senior senator has dispatched one experienced challenger after another. Could a political novice who’s never sought or held elected office finally unseat her? In today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point, meet three candidates who hope the answer is yes www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/17/n...
Skin crawling? It might be climate change. As today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains, warmer temperatures and heavier rain are bringing creepy and dangerous bacteria, bugs, and diseases to New England www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/16/n...
Climate change is bringing creepy — and dangerous — bacteria, bugs, and viruses to New England - The Boston Globe
From waterborne bacteria blooms to mosquito-borne viruses, global warming might already be making your skin crawl.
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September 16, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Skin crawling? It might be climate change. As today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains, warmer temperatures and heavier rain are bringing creepy and dangerous bacteria, bugs, and diseases to New England www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/16/n...
Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky has become Trump’s main Republican antagonist in Congress over the Jeffrey Epstein case. And as I learned reporting today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point, Massie got his professional start in Massachusetts www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/15/n...
This Kentucky Republican is bucking Trump over Epstein. He got his start in Massachusetts. - The Boston Globe
Thomas Massie went to MIT and founded a company here, displaying some of the qualities that have since made him a thorn in Trump’s side.
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September 15, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky has become Trump’s main Republican antagonist in Congress over the Jeffrey Epstein case. And as I learned reporting today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point, Massie got his professional start in Massachusetts www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/15/n...
The Boston mayoral campaign will narrow to two contenders tomorrow. But as today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains, the two losing candidates could continue to shape the race’s dynamics going forward www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/08/n...
Two candidates will be eliminated from the Boston mayoral race. But their ideas may not. - The Boston Globe
Even policies on the political margins sometimes gain popularity with voters.
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September 8, 2025 at 3:14 PM
The Boston mayoral campaign will narrow to two contenders tomorrow. But as today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains, the two losing candidates could continue to shape the race’s dynamics going forward www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/08/n...
As Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies to Congress, today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains the 5 major ways he’s dismantling public health as America has known it for decades, including by ousting experts and spouting misinformation www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/04/n...
5 ways Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is dismantling public health as we know it - The Boston Globe
From changing vaccine rules to spouting misinformation, Trump’s health secretary is undermining the country’s capacity to combat disease, experts warn
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September 4, 2025 at 3:06 PM
As Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies to Congress, today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains the 5 major ways he’s dismantling public health as America has known it for decades, including by ousting experts and spouting misinformation www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/04/n...
Accidental drownings are one of the leading causes of death among children. Today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains what Boston and Massachusetts are doing to prevent more of those tragedies from happening here www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/02/n...
Saving lives, one swim lesson at a time - The Boston Globe
City and state programs offer free lessons in swimming and safety for kids and adults.
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September 2, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Accidental drownings are one of the leading causes of death among children. Today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains what Boston and Massachusetts are doing to prevent more of those tragedies from happening here www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/02/n...
From smashing car windows to targeting people without criminal records, ICE is embracing more aggressive tactics to drive up detentions in Massachusetts and beyond. Today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/27/n...
In Massachusetts and beyond, ICE agents have become more aggressive as they try to drive up arrest numbers - The Boston Globe
From smashing car windows to targeting people without criminal records, ICE is embracing a more forceful approach.
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August 27, 2025 at 1:51 PM
From smashing car windows to targeting people without criminal records, ICE is embracing more aggressive tactics to drive up detentions in Massachusetts and beyond. Today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/27/n...