Yesterday, Missouri executed 55-year-old Marcellus Williams, ignoring calls from prosecutors and the victim’s family asking the state to spare his life. We discussed the ethics of the death penalty and how listeners feel about it.

GBH executive arts editor Jared Bowen discussed a notorious vandal who smashed an Ai Wei Wei sculpture, plus, "Laughs in Spanish" at the SpeakEasy and "Urinetown" at Lyric Stage.

Harvard national security expert Juliette Kayyem discussed our nation's history of political violence and the context of today's violent rhetoric.

NBC Boston's Sue O'Connell discussed Biden's final speech to the UN and Ellen DeGeneres' new Netflix special.

Then, we talked about chicken tenders and nuggets for six minutes on why Americans hate to love the little chicken snacks.

Naturalist Sy Montgomery zoomed in to discuss her recent trip to Ecuador diving with giant manta rays and a Rhode Island community mourning the loss of their 20-year-old library tarantula, Beezus.

Then, we asked about your best and worst excuses for getting out of commitments. Sorry, we have worm brain.