SPRINGFIELD – “And Another Thing,” New England Public Media’s  (NEPM) new public affairs program, will start out as a daily radio show heard at 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, but Maxie C Jackson III, NEPM’s chief content officer, explained to Reminder Publishing that radio is just the beginning.

Jackson explained the public affairs program will eventually be a TV show and appear on social media as well.

“We’re still building the airplane as we are flying,” he said.

The program started April 26 and will feature two reporters as hosts, Maya Shwayder and Dara Kennedy. In a written statement, they described the new program: “Host Maya Shwayder describes ‘And Another Thing’ like this, ‘Remember what it’s like to go to a party? You walk in and immediately notice a cluster of people having an animated discussion about something you really care about. You want to be part of it. That’s the environment that we’re building for ‘And Another Thing.’ Host Dara Kennedy adds, ‘We are excited to engage in news-driven, community-focused and inclusive conversations across platforms. Launching in the middle of a pandemic has highlighted that our region is polylithic; that we should dive into untold stories from lesser-heard voices that resonate with our audience during and, after the show.’”

Jackson said the content of the program “will be news driven … not dictated by the news cycle but cognizant of it.”

The production teams  would share the topic for the evening show through social media every morning, which give audience members the opportunity to voice their opinions. Using those comments, the two hosts would then include in the broadcast both local experts and listeners as part of the discussion, according to information supplied by NEPM.

Jackson said the process of making the audience part of the program is both “fascinating and challenging.”

He noted, “It’s the only live local production that brings these aspects all to the table.” He added, “We do think it’s one of a kind.”

The radio program will be produced at NEPM’s studios in Springfield and it will make the leap to television once renovations to the studios of NEPM are completed, he added.