Illustration by Mark Matcho We’re celebrating three years with our dog. Before we got him, I could have predicted a few of the things that Muggsy was going to change. I’d get bumped down from four to five on the list of house favorites. Dog hair would end up on everything. Chair legs would get chewed. We’d have less couch space. Check. Check. Check. Check. Other things I couldn’t have foreseen—including how often I would be standing and walking in the wind, snow, cold, rain, rain, and rain. But this isn’t more venting about how much I hate rain because I hate my rain boots—because I got new ..read more

Who’s shaping the future of Boston? Our May 2024 cover will give you an idea. Our annual list of 150 Most Influential Bostonians features a kaleidoscope of powerbrokers who hail from government, finance, healthcare, education, entertainment, and more. They’re all playing a part in shaping a new and vibrant city. Find it here at Bostonmagazine.com and on newsstands now. Previously: The 150 Most Influential Bostonians of 2023 ..read more

The Moody Street Dam in Waltham / Photo by Norman Eggert/Alamy Stock Photo At dawn, fog rose from the surface of the Charles River. On that morning last autumn, songbirds darted over the water as I kayaked downstream through a wide channel lined by maples and oaks in the suburban semi-wilderness of Millis, Medfield, and Dover. The presence of people seemed faint, almost primitive. The river twisted through S-turns, the current silent but strong under my boat, pushing me along. The world felt wild. As soon as I reached Natick, though, everything changed. I found myself in a pond 100 yards acr ..read more

Power quintet Oren Sherman, Colette Phillips, Theo Tyson, Priscilla Douglas, and Rick Miller. / Photo by Malakhai Pearson Boston’s heavy hitters were all at Big Night Live for what’s become affectionately known as “The Sneaker Gala,” despite the official (and somewhat unwieldy) name of the MLK Embrace Honors: Friends & Family Sneaker Affair. Guests in their freshest kicks and formalwear raised some admiring eyebrows as they arrived for the party, where heavy apps were passed, the bartenders worked like whirling dervishes, and, in between air-kissing, guests played space-age arcade games ..read more

The author, with a portrait of her good friend, John O’Keefe. My phone was still on silent when I woke the morning of January 30, 2022, to four missed calls and a text from a friend that read, “Call me when you get up. I think something happened to John.” I dialed her number. “John who?” I asked as soon as she answered. “Your John. John O’Keefe,” she said, explaining that she had seen a tribute to John on Facebook that indicated he had passed away. While technically my ex-boyfriend, John was so much more than that. We met in 2001 and had a big love that evolved into a friendship spanning mor ..read more

Photo by Pat Piasecki It was a spectacular, sunny day on Cape Cod. And yet I was devastatingly sad. While my kids and wife were happily getting ready for the beach, gathering our sandcastle tools and packing up peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches and juice boxes, I had quietly stepped outside as I had several times over the past few months—to cry privately. Secretly. It was the summer of 2022, and I was nearly 15 years into a career in television news that most people would consider highly successful. I was the morning anchor at the legendary WBZ in Boston—the station I had grown up watching ..read more

AI is here to help. Or so it says. / Generated by Benjamen Purvis using AI IF YOU NEED… To Create Something TRY THESE ➔ ChatGPT Need some help writing an email or birthday card? Every week, more than 100 million people already rely on OpenAI’s generative chatbot to craft missives, shopping lists, essays, and more. Capable of processing natural human languages and inferring intention, ChatGPT comes in both free and paid versions and works best when treated as a conversation partner. To get started on good footing, try giving the chatbot a prompt that includes details of what you want the outc ..read more

Shirley Grispi (neé Rogers) was just 20 years old when she embarked on a decade-long romantic relationship with Stephen Flemmi, a violent Boston gangster. Unlike Grispi, some of his other girlfriends didn’t live to tell their stories. / Photo by Michael Adno When Shirley Grispi walked into a room, heads turned. Lots of them. But on that day in 1969, when the fit, tanned knockout strode into T.F. Green, then a little-used, second-tier airport, she was working hard not to call any attention to herself. Her bleached-blond locks had been tucked under a brunette wig. Her long, fluttering eyelashe ..read more

Generated by Benjamen Purvis using AI In one of America’s most vibrant tech hubs, Boston’s artificial intelligence innovation is thriving. Leading groundbreaking research labs to visionary startups, these 10 key figures stand at the forefront of Boston’s AI revolution, driving progress, and reshaping the way we live. Meet the people behind the machines. Editor’s Note: AI wrote the first draft of this introduction. See also: A Nuts-and-Bolts Guide to Boston’s AI Revolution The State Leaders Left: Yvonne Hao / courtesy of the Office of Maura T. Healey. Right: How AI interpreted Hao’s hea ..read more

Hersh jots down a few notes on the blackboard for his American Conservatism course at Tufts University. / Photo by Tony Luong On the first day of class in September, Tufts University undergrads scurry into Room 104, Barnum Hall, to grab a spot in one of the dozen rows of bright-red and yellow upholstered seats. They don’t know one another yet, so most of them have their heads down as they stare self-consciously at their phones. As the minutes tick by, the room fills up with young people in T-shirts, yoga pants, and crop tops (it’s 80 degrees outside, after all). Backpacks hit the floor as a ..read more