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The Fabulous 413

Passover robots and a state Agriculture Department first

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MDAR's Ashley Randle with CISA's Phil Korman and hosts of Fab 413 (Kaliis Smith / NEPM)

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We bring extra springtime in the studio today, now that it's warm!

We welcome Ashley Randle, the first female-identifying commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. She tells about some of the department's plans, raising cows, and farming across the Bay State — both rural and urban.

Then we get into the very un-Jewish past of Springfield with editor and podcaster Mark Oppenheimer of the podcast "Unorthodox." He also keys us into some of the new traditions folx might see in their Passover festivities.

(Chag Sameach to those celebrating!)

And Rep. Jim McGovern sidesteps the indictment debacle. With that much-needed breath of fresh air, we instead learn how he's on the Congressional Robotics Caucus, that the caucus actually exists, and how his work with that group led to a recent visit to Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

And then, an alarming amount of Star Wars references happen. They may or may not be acronym-related.

The Fabulous 413 WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS ARTS & CULTURE RELIGION FOOD AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGY

Monte Belmonte

Christopher “Monte'' Belmonte is host and executive producer of NEPM's The Fabulous 413. He was born and raised in Massachusetts and has been a radio host in western Massachusetts for the last 20 years — the last 17 of them as host of Mornings with Monte on The River 93.9/WRSI.

See stories by Monte Belmonte

Kaliis Smith

Kaliis Smith is a radio host and producer for NEPM's The Fabulous 413. She was most recently host and producer at The River 93.9/WRSI where she appeared on Mornings with Monte for the Nerdwatch segment and hosted weekday evenings.

See stories by Kaliis Smith