Backstory: an Ithaca Voice podcast

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This week, a round up of some of the biggest stories we’ve been covering lately.

A bank robbery started this week out with a jolt at a local credit union. And New York state officials seem poised to finally move on several major projects that have been delayed for years: the dredging of Cayuga Inlet and replacing the leaky, aging Dryden Lake Dam. Meanwhile, city officials are making slow progress on a worker protections bill that was first proposed in 2024. They should have a first draft of the bill within 90 days. A Black farmer and educator won a $100,000 settlement after years of racist and sexist harassment from her former neighbor. And Cornell bans processing wild game meat in its dorms.

Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors.

Original air date: Aug 4, 2026.

Produced and edited by Megan Zerez

Hosted by Fernando Figueroa and Hailea Potter.

Reporting by Megan Zerez, Fernando Figueroa, Hailea Potter and Eddie Velazquez.

Cover photo by Casey Martin.

Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts.

If you don’t have kids, you may not think about the school board — or its internal politics — very often. But the school board’s impact goes way beyond the classroom.

In Ithaca, the school board has more influence on a property tax bill — and by extension, housing costs — than any other elected body. Take a look at a property tax bill of a homeowner in the Ithaca City School District, and it’s clear the district’s taxes rate are significantly higher than those of either Tompkins County or the City of Ithaca.

The Ithaca City School District’s Board of Education just started their new term. And already, it’s looking like there’s a major shift in the balance of power.

Editor's note: The cover art uses a photo depicting the 2025-2026 Ithaca City School District's Board of Education, not the current board.

Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors.

Original air date: July 28, 2026

Produced and reported by Megan Zerez

Hosted by Jimmy Jordan

Cover photo by Fernando Figueroa

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When Ira McKinley went to Wegmans to drop off cans to recycle on June 13, he noticed a commotion outside. A dog was attacking an older woman, its teeth tearing into her stomach. Bystanders seemed frozen as they filmed the incident on their phones. The grocery store security guard was nowhere to be seen. McKinley, frustrated, decided to step in and help.

Eventually, the police came. But they were more interested in McKinley, not the dog or her handler. And ultimately, it was McKinley who was arrested.

How did we get from a man saving someone from an attacking dog to that same man being arrested for trespassing? And what role does community outcry play in the way that things shake out?

Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors.

Original air date: July 21, 2026

Produced and hosted by Megan Zerez.

Reported by Fernando Figueroa and Hailea Potter

Cover photo by Casey Martin

Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts.

Trumansburg’s one and only GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance returns this week for the 34th year. We’re going back to the roots with one of the festival’s co-founders, local musician Jeb Puryear.

Plus, a round-up of news from town halls across the county.

Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors.

Segment 2 original air date: July 18, 2025

Produced by Megan Zerez

Hosted by Megan Zerez and Matt Butler

Cover photo by Alyvia Covert

Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts.

From the start, Asteri Ithaca was supposed to represent a bold response to Ithaca’s most pressing housing and economic problems.

One hundred eighty one new affordable apartment units. A brand new conference center. A plan to provide housing to forty formerly unhoused families. All in the heart of downtown Ithaca.

It’s been two years since Asteri Ithaca first welcomed residents. Four months since the city temporarily declared the building “unfit for human habitation.” And while the building has since re-opened, a lot has changed since then.

Now, in a major reversal, there's now over fifty eviction filings against residents.

This week on Backstory: how the Asteri dream fell apart.

Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors.

Original air date: July 7, 2026

Produced and hosted by Megan Zerez.

Reported by Jimmy Jordan, Megan Zerez, Hailea Potter, Matt Butler and Fernando Figueroa.

Cover photo by Matt Butler

Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts.

In an old cemetery just behind East Hill Plaza, there’s a little known secret buried just a few feet underground. As we speak, they’re sleeping underground by the millions … not zombies, not vampires, but native ground dwelling bees. Cornell researchers believe it’s the largest population of these bees anywhere in the world.

Researcher Jordan Kueneman is one of the scientists who study this population of bees … and why cemeteries, of all places, play such a big role in pollination and biodiversity.

Much of this research also depends on the efforts of citizen scientists across the world observing species and phenomena right in our backyards.

This conversation was recorded in early May, just as these bees were entering their most active, above-ground phase. While Kueneman says this particular group has retreated back underground until next spring, you can still get involved here.

Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors.

Original air date: June 30, 2026

Produced and hosted by Megan Zerez.

Cover photo by Bryan Danforth/Cornell University

Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music or wherever you get podcasts.

Today is Election Day in statewide primary races. While there's not as much on the ballot this primary, some of the offices up for grabs come November do come with a lot of power.

Plus, some of the other headlines we've been following.

We're trying a more "bite-sized" format this week, but next week, we'll return with a full sized episode.

Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors.

Original air date: June 23, 2026

Produced and edited by Megan Zerez.

Reported by: Megan Zerez, Hailea Potter, Jimmy Jordan and Fernando Figueroa.

Cover photo by Casey Martin.

Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music or wherever you get podcasts.

Energy costs are going up. From gas prices to electric bills, it’s hard not to notice. But very soon, the electric and gas bill for the average Ithaca home could see an even larger increase. And yes, there’s lots of international issues that impact costs. But one of the biggest reasons is closer to home than you think.

There’s a complex and little-known process going on right now that could have a big impact on how much we pay for electricity. New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) is asking state regulators for a rate hike that could raise the average electric and gas bill by almost $800 a year.

This week on Backstory: the NYSEG rate case.

You can submit a public comment as part of the rate case using New York State's Public Service Departments portal here. Read other filings in the case here.

Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors.

Original air date: June 16, 2026

Produced and hosted by Megan Zerez.

Reported by Jimmy Jordan

Cover photo by Casey Martin

Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music or wherever you get podcasts.

When Kathy Bernson moved to Ithaca, she was just looking for a quiet, artsy little town to settle down in. But like many, she soon learned that the housing market in Ithaca comes with a fair share of roadblocks. And when you’re 75 and on a fixed income, those roadblocks are even harder to get past.

It’s no secret that the housing market in Ithaca can be brutal. Renters face intense competition, ailing apartments and rents well above the regional average. For some older Ithacans, the odds are even more challenging.

This week on Backstory: how Ithaca's housing crisis is affecting older adults.

Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors.

Original air date: June 9, 2026

Produced and hosted by Megan Zerez.

Print story reported by Kate Collins

Cover photo by Kate Collins

This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence and makes reference to racist and sexist slurs. Sensitive listeners may want to skip this one.

Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music or wherever you get podcasts.

When does an act of violence become an act of self defense? Does the use of racist, sexist slurs make a verbal threat more credible? How long should someone expect to wait for the police when they feel they’re in danger?

Last July, Kaciana Camel was walking with her then-two year old daughter on Elmira Road. They had just seen someone fleeing after stealing an electric bicycle. But now the bicycle’s owner was shouting at her. He accused her of being involved in the theft. He called her racist and sexist slurs. Camel, who told the man she was pregnant, said he threatened to “deflate” her.

Over the phone, her fiancee told her to call 911. The police didn’t respond soon enough to intervene. But her fiancee, Autreyu Massaline, did.

Massaline later told the jury he had grabbed “the closest knife” and raced over. It was a Cuisinart kitchen knife. Eight inches long. Purple.

What happened next would later become the subject of a complex criminal case touching on race, 9-1-1 response times and the question of self defense.

This week on Backstory: the trial of Autreyu Massaline.

Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors.

Original air date: June 2, 2026

Produced and hosted by Megan Zerez.

Reported by Hailea Potter

Cover photo by Casey Martin