Jazmin Aguilera

2 months ago | bostonglobe.com | Jazmin Aguilera |Andrew Ryan |Dugan Arnett

When it comes to the war on drugs, you could say the police are addicted to confidential informants. That’s the conclusion of a new Boston Globe Spotlight investigation into the pervasive and shadowy world of this police practice that is widely used and barely regulated. The story starts in New Bedford Massachusetts, where use of informants has had dramatic consequences.

Mar 19, 2025 | bostonglobe.com | Jazmin Aguilera

The story of Natalia Grace Mans has been told many times before — in news articles, magazine features, YouTube videos, podcasts, and even a three-part Investigation Discovery docuseries. She was born with a rare form of dwarfism and placed in an orphanage in Ukraine before coming to the United States to be adopted at the age of 7. The Barnett family took her in in 2010. What happened after that has been heavily disputed by those involved.

Mar 19, 2025 | bostonglobe.com | Jazmin Aguilera

Parental concerns about screen time aren’t new. 50 years ago, there was enough concern about the long term effects of watching television that it was dubbed ‘the idiot box.’ In the 80s, video games became the newest innovation to face parental resistance in the name of protecting the minds of impressionable youth. These days, social media and smartphones are the latest boogeymen occupying parent’s minds, and with good reason.

Mar 6, 2025 | bostonglobe.com | Jazmin Aguilera

In the battle for viewers' abbreviated attention spans, TV shows coming out in 2025 must make a choice: to embrace the fact that viewers will be tempted by the siren song of a second screen in their smartphones, or to compete with it. One route embraces distraction—shows with simpler or exaggerated plots, fewer characters, and repetitive if dramatic dialogue, designed for audiences toggling between TV and phone.

Feb 20, 2025 | bostonglobe.com | Jazmin Aguilera |Laura Crimaldi |Yvonne Abraham

Listen to more “Say More” episodes at globe.com/saymore and wherever you get your podcasts. If you like the show, please follow us and leave us a review. You can email us at [email protected]. The following is a lightly edited transcript of the Feb. 20 episode of the “Say More” podcast. Jazmin Aguilera: A note before we begin. This episode contains descriptions of suicide and violence. Take care while listening. Aguilera: Welcome to “Say More” from Boston Globe Opinion. I’m Jazmin Aguilera.