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Ian Prasad Philbrick

@ianprasad.bsky.social

280 followers 270 following 120 posts

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/

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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · 3d

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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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · 4d

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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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · 10d

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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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · 11d

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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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · 12d

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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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · 20d

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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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · 25d

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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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · 26d

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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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · 27d

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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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · Sep 8

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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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · Sep 4

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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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · Sep 2

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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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · Aug 27

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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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · Aug 26

Students across Massachusetts are encountering a changed landscape as they head back to school. For today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point, I asked @marcelanotes.bsky.social about how immigration enforcement, cell phone use, and more may be different this year www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/26/n...

‘It’s a difficult and fearful time for parents and students to navigate.’ - The Boston Globe

As students return to school this week, a Globe education reporter discusses how immigration, vaccination, and more may look different this year.

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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · Aug 25

A hurricane hasn’t made landfall in New England in decades, but the region still bears the material, human, and financial costs of even the storms that largely miss us. Today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/25/n...

A hurricane hasn’t hit New England in decades. That doesn’t mean the storms have missed us. - The Boston Globe

Hurricane Erin, which caused rain and dangerous surf, is a reminder of the collective costs of climate change.

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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · Aug 21

Charities like @bostonfdn.bsky.social, blue states, and ordinary people are trying to offset the Trump administration’s funding cuts and policy changes -- to the degree they can. Today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/21/n...

Under Trump, the federal government is stepping back. Charities, states, and others are stepping up. - The Boston Globe

From funding research to setting vaccine policy, other entities are trying to fill gaps left by the federal government. It still won’t be enough.

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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · Aug 20

Why is the WNBA resisting a bid to move the Connecticut Sun to Boston? I discussed the dynamic behind the standoff with ‪my @bostonglobe.com colleague @k8t-mac.bsky.social for today’s Starting Point www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/20/n...

The WNBA is wary of letting the Connecticut Sun move to Boston. This dynamic helps explain why. - The Boston Globe

Despite growing fan and investor excitement, the WNBA remains nervous about overextending.

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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · Aug 18

Boston may be getting a break from heat waves and smoky air today, but climate change virtually guarantees they’ll be back. So today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains what the city is doing to adapt to a hotter future www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/18/n...

Heat waves and poor air quality are here to stay. Here’s how Boston is adapting. - The Boston Globe

Climate change makes high temperatures and bad air more likely. But the city has ways to help.

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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · Aug 14

Crime has fallen in the nation’s capital. But Trump has cited two recent cases involving people with ties to Massachusetts to justify federalizing the police and sending the National Guard, today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/14/n...

Trump’s crackdown on Washington, D.C., has Massachusetts roots - The Boston Globe

Crime has fallen in the nation’s capital, but Trump has cited two recent cases involving people with ties to the state to justify sending the National Guard.

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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · Aug 13

More than a decade ago, a scandal over fraudulent cancer research unfolded on the watch of MIT’s future president. For today’s Starting Point, I spoke to the @bostonglobe.com reporter who uncovered new details about the story www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/13/n...

Inside a Globe story about a case of academic fraud that tested MIT’s president - The Boston Globe

The basics of the scandal have been known for years, but the Globe's reporting uncovered new details.

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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · Aug 12

Massachusetts gave American democracy a lot. But as today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains, it’s also the home state of partisan gerrymandering www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/12/n...

Where did gerrymandering come from? You can thank — or blame — a former Mass. governor - The Boston Globe

Elbridge Gerry approved a voting map meant to benefit his political party in 1812, giving a name to a controversial practice that continues today.

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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · Aug 7

Boston isn’t known for art deco, the famed and flashy architectural style that emerged a century ago. But as today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains, there’s still plenty of it to admire here -- if you know where to look www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/07/n...

Boston isn’t known for art deco. But to find it, ‘you just have to look up.’ - The Boston Globe

The city has plenty of the flashy, century-old architectural style to admire — if you know where to go.

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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · Aug 6

The Red Sox caught fire in July, winning 71 percent of the games they played that month. Today’s Starting Point goes behind the scenes of how a @bostonglobe.com photographer captured the thrill of a winning streak www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/06/n...

The Red Sox caught fire in July. Here’s how our photographer captured it. - The Boston Globe

In one of the Globe’s best photos from July, a player’s elated reaction "helps tell the story."

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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · Aug 5

Efforts to honor President John Adams with a DC memorial have faltered before. For today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point, I spoke to advocates including @lynch.house.gov about why they think the latest push is different www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/05/n...

In a city of monuments, John Adams is notably absent. The push to change that is gaining steam. - The Boston Globe

Efforts to honor the president and Massachusetts native with a memorial in Washington have faltered before. This time, advocates say, it’s real.

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Ian Prasad Philbrick @ianprasad.bsky.social · Aug 4

From Carter to Bill Clinton, Democrats out of power have repeatedly turned to Southerners to rescue the party’s brand and electoral fortunes. Today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point asks whether it might do so again, with insights from @thirdwaymattb.bsky.social‬ www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/04/n...

When Democrats get in trouble, they’ve often turned to southern saviors. Will they again? - The Boston Globe

As Democrats seek a path back to power, some think the party should look southward.

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