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Spencer Buell

Staff Writer at Boston Magazine

Spencer Buell is a staff writer for Boston, covering news, politics, technology, the T, legal weed, french fries, bears, Brady, and beer. He used to be a news reporter for Metro Boston and the Arlington Advocate.

@spencerbuell
City Life

As Coronavirus Keeps Boston at Home, the Mandarin Is Offering Room Service

The Back Bay hotel has pivoted to offering food delivery, cleaning services, and massages to Bostonians hunkering down.

City Life

The New Normal in Boston: Everything Is Canceled

It’s gonna hurt. But we know what we need to do to stop the spread of coronavirus.

City Life

Buying Weed at Boston’s First Pot Shop with Shaleen Title

Massachusetts’ most outspoken cannabis regulator says the future is bright for legal marijuana.

City Life

A Guide to Etiquette in the Age of Coronavirus

Stop hugging, hoarding, and making your employees come in with the sniffles. And if you won’t do it for yourself, do it for me.

City Life

Why Do We Need the Bowdoin Stop, Anyway?

Alone and nearly useless, its existence is a reminder that commuters deserve better, starting with the Red-Blue connector.

City Life

Six Things Everyone Gets Wrong about the Boston Massacre

It wasn’t even a massacre, and other misconceptions about the 250-year-old killings.

City Life

The Best and Least Boring Ideas for What to Do with the Hynes Convention Center

You don’t get an opportunity like this every day. Here’s how Boston could seize the moment.

City Life

“If I Could Give This Rock Zero Stars, I Would”

A national treasure or an overrated pebble? On Yelp, it’s all in the eyes of the reviewer.

City Life

My Lunch with the Hunger Striker Who Took on Charlie Baker

Professor Nathan Phillips put his stomach on the line to protest a controversial natural gas link. Now, he tells me about taking on the governor and why refusing to eat for two weeks is not a diet he would recommend.

City Life

Will We Fall for Gondolas Again?

The ultimate shiny object in transit is back!

City Life

Next Election, Massachusetts Should Have the First Primary

No one state should have all this power. But if anyone’s going to claim first-in-the-nation status, it might as well be us. (We pretty much invented America, so it’s only fair.)

City Life

Why Massachusetts Should Legalize Magic Mushrooms

With untapped clinical potential and a cleaned up image, psychedelics are the next frontier in legalization—and we’re better poised than almost anywhere else to make the most of it.

City Life

The Indicted Harvard Professor’s Other Double Life: Pumpkins

Harvard chemist Charlie Lieber allegedly had a secret seven-figure pact with the Chinese government. He also grew honest-to-God massive pumpkins.

City Life

Who’s Winning the Endorsement Popularity Contest?

A Bostonian’s guide to which local power brokers are supporting who in the 2020 Democratic primary—and what that says about the state of politics here right now.

Arts & Entertainment

Confirmed: Rage Against the Machine Is on the 2020 Boston Calling Lineup

What to expect at the festival this year, including some Boston rock royalty and an all-local comedy showcase.