Former President Barack Obama was in Newark on Saturday to stump for Governor Phil Murphy's reelection and kick off New Jersey's in-person early voting period. This year marks the first time the state will offer in-person early voting, which runs through October 31st.   "You can't be tired. Go out there!" Obama told a crowd gathered at Weequahic Park in the city's South Ward. "You are going to decide this election and the direction of New Jersey and this country for generations to come. Do not sit this one out!" Obama urged voters to turn out early, vote by mail or show up on Election Day, which is November 2nd. A Democratic governor has not been reelected in New Jersey since 1977. 

Now that we can return to the theater, so many shows are opening — or reopening — all at once that it can be hard to keep track of what is out there and what's worth seeing. WNYC’s Culture editor Jennifer Vanasco talked to Weekend Edition host David Furst about two shows she liked that opened recently: "Thoughts of a Colored Man" on Broadway and "PS" at Ars Nova.  

Weekend Edition Saturday host David Furst and WNYC's Brigid Bergin talk about early voting. 

After launching in parts of Harlem this summer, New York City is planning to expand a pilot program that enables 911 to dispatch teams that are led by social workers to mental health calls instead of the NYPD. The B-HEARD program will cover all of Harlem by early November before expanding into the Bronx. But new data released Friday suggests that even as the program’s reach grows, 911 operators still send the overwhelming majority of mental health calls — about three of every four — to police teams. It’s a protocol that New Yorkers with mental illness, their family members and mental health advocates have fought to change in recent years. For more on the story, head to Gothamist.