
Illegal grow operations may be ‘tip of the iceberg’ in western Mass.
When police raided a house at 276 Amherst St. in Granby earlier this year, they described finding an “elaborate” marijuana grow operation with nearly 1,400 plants, an extensive lighting system for six grow rooms and a packaging operation. The person they arrested,...
The V-Spot with Yana Tallon-Hicks: Am I Polysaturated or Polyinfatuated?
Dear Yana, As a polyamorous person who’s having much more success building new connections these days, I worry sometimes that I am dating from a feeling of not enoughness-ness, in a way that keeps me too focused on the new and the possible, and not enough with the...
The Magic of Edibles
Tucked in the back of INSA’s Easthampton headquarters on Pleasant Street is a little slice of heaven. Like any restaurant with great food, the kitchen is where the action is at — and at INSA, it’s a place that combines the sweet smells of chocolate, sugar, and, yes,...
Stagestruck: Live on Screen
National Theatre Live, the series of live-capture high-def performances from the English stage, is back at the Amherst Cinema. Coming up: Philip Pullman’s “La Belle Sauvage,” a rap version “Cyrano” with James McAvoy, and a modern-dress makeover of “Henry V” with Kit Harington.
What’s 420 all about? (Sponsored Content)
Celebrate the cannabis holiday with Pleasantrees
Stagestruck: Movie/Theater Face-Off
In “The Flick,” at the Academy of Music this weekend, the usual roles are reversed. The audience is on the stage and the play is in the seats. Which makes sense: it’s set in an empty movie theater.
Keeping Tabs on Pot Purity
The machines inside Analytics Labs seem like futuristic, esoteric devices. Workers in lab coats move around instruments with names like Agilent High-Performance Liquid Chromatography System, performing what seems like complicated science experiments. But the work that...
Connecting creatives: The ArtsHub seeks to serve as a central online location for the creative community
The call went out for actors who were good at Shakespeare. It was quickly answered by a white-haired man in a black overcoat and low-brimmed hat: “Hath not a Jew eyes?” pleads Joe Vincent in a roiling voice. “If you prick us, shall we not bleed? If you tickle us,...
Monte Belmonte Wines: Something wicked this way comes
The witches in “The Scottish Play” warned of a monster of their own making. But this witch may become the best damned spot to go out. Something wicked AWESOME this way comes! Chef Michaelangelo Wescott is opening a new restaurant on Main Street in Northampton, in the...
The V-Spot: Help a New Top Hit Their Kinky Stride
Dear Yana, I’m a former power bottom now freshly-turned Dom in a new dynamic. I’ve been finding that when my sub and I are apart, I’ve got a lot of great ideas of new things to do with her. Though I always vow to myself to try out those things when I’m with her next,...
Taking it to the streets: UMass exhibit celebrates the work of documentary photographer Jill Freedman
When documentary photographer Jill Freedman died in 2019, she left behind a huge body of work focused on people living on the margins in urban American, on protestors against poverty and war, and on cops and firefighters doing their intense work day after day. “I...
Sessions
Check out our most recent performances in the playlist below, or click here to dig into interviews and related material!
O Cannabis: How To Grow Your Own Weed Outside
Does cannabis really grow outdoors in New England? Yes!

Valley Show Girl: Eavesdrop folk pop trio open up about their personal musical inspirations
I caught up with them recently to dive into their personal musical tastes and backgrounds. The trio pulled back the curtain a little to reveal what is on the inside of their inspiration.
The V-Spot with Yana Tallon-Hicks: How do I prepare for first-time sex?
By Yana Tallon-Hicks I recently began a new relationship and am something of a late bloomer (I’m in my mid-20s), so I have very little actual experience when it comes to physical intimacy with a partner. My boyfriend and I have discussed it a bit, and he’s very...

Staff Picks: Wet’suwet’en Nation fundraiser, Wishbone Zoë, Shelter Me: In Times of Need, and a Sherlock Holmes mystery
A fundraiser at Majestic Saloon for the Wet’suwet’en Nation, an indigenous group in the British Columbia region; experimentalist songwriter Wishbone Zoë is set to release her third album, French of the Bird; “Shelter Me: In Times of Need,” by Hadley native Steve Latham, is airing on WGBY-TV; a dramatic reading of Sherlock Holmes at the Hooker-Dunham Theater.

Beerhunter: Vanished Valley opens new taproom and kitchen in Ludlow
A few days ago, I stopped in at Vanished Valley’s Center Street headquarters, where the brewery was throwing a special grand opening party.

Stagestruck: Movie/Theater Face-Off
In “The Flick,” at the Academy of Music this weekend, the usual roles are reversed. The audience is on the stage and the play is in the seats. Which makes sense: it’s set in an empty movie theater.