Backstory: an Ithaca Voice podcast

Episode notes

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

Part I:

Surprise! There’s an unexpected two million dollar hole in the city budget after an accounting software error. What does that say about the city’s fiscal management? How will officials make up the deficit in what is already a tough budget year?

Part II:

In case that wasn’t scary enough for you, we’re taking a walk through Ithaca’s haunted history with the History Center in Tompkins County this Halloween. Did you know Cayuga Lake has its very own, shape-shifting, gender-bending, green-eyed lake monster?

We'll also be releasing a bonus episode with some of the spooky stories from this segment that didn't make it into the main show, so stay tuned!

Other notes:

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: Oct. 31, 2025

Produced and hosted by Megan Zerez.

Reported by Jimmy Jordan and Megan Zerez.

Cover photo by Casey Martin.

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

The debate over a proposed artificial intelligence (AI) data center in Lansing just got a lot more complicated. Town officials are considering a moratorium that could slow or block the project, but it might have some collateral damage. Town residents are split on whether the moratorium is in line with the town’s goals for the future. Meanwhile, TeraWulf, the company behind the data center, is starting to get frustrated.

Other notes:

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: Oct. 24, 2025

Produced and hosted by Megan Zerez.

Reported by Fernando Figueroa.

Cover photo by Casey Martin.

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

Part I: There’s a growing push against Flock, an AI powered system of cameras and gunshot detectors that allow police to track vehicles that they suspect to have been involved in a crime. But despite the pushback, it looks like the county is planning to keep the cameras up for at least another year.

Part II: How much should we pay our elected officials? That’s the charge of a new committee formed by the mayor this week. Some say a higher salary could make for more economic diversity in city leadership. Others aren't convinced.

Original air date: Oct. 10, 2025

Produced and hosted by Megan Zerez.

Reporting by Matt Butler, Jimmy Jordan and Megan Zerez.

Cover photo by Casey Martin.

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

Part I: The Ithaca City School District and the union that represents its roughly 600 teachers have been on a nearly four month hiatus from labor negotiations. Ithaca Teachers Association members have been without a contract since June. Meanwhile, the rhetoric has been heating up.

Part II: Local mental health provider Families and Children’s Services of Ithaca is ending its auxiliary programming, which includes programs that serve some of Ithaca’s most vulnerable children. It’s an example of how local service providers are navigating current funding struggles and the trickle down effects of federal funding cuts.

Original air date: Oct. 3, 2025

Produced by Megan Zerez.

Hosted and reported by Megan Zerez and Matt Butler.

Cover photo by Casey Martin.

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

This week on the podcast, a public spending double feature!

Part I: It's everyone's favorite time of year again: county budget season. Tompkins County is looking to tighten the belt. So what’s on the chopping block? What’s behind the budget crunch? And what's the best way to get involved?

Part II: Leaky roofs. Asbestos. A faulty heating system. Those are some of the issues that the Ithaca City School District says it needs to fix in its schools soon … if voters approve. There's a separate, off-cycle election this December. Will people come out to vote? And what's the price tag?

Stay tuned to the end for music from local country alternative band, The Dart Brothers.

Other notes:

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: Sept 26, 2025

Produced by Megan Zerez.

Hosted and reported by Megan Zerez and Matt Butler.

Photo illustration by Megan Zerez.

Additional music this episode from Ithaca-based band, The Dart Brothers, recorded live from Porchfest 2025. Follow them on Instagram or Spotify.

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

Part I: The head of Ithaca City School District, unexpectedly, was just approved for a contract extension. That’s despite the fact that Superintendent Dr. Luvelle Brown said last year he was not interested in extending his contract amid mounting public criticism. It’s not the first time he’s changed his mind about his future with the district.

Part II: Earlier this year, the city pitched an ambitious plan to provide basic services, like lockers, showers and charging stations, to help people transition out of homelessness. Initially, county officials signed on to help. But now, as the county weighs its budget for next year, that help doesn’t seem like such a sure thing anymore.

Other notes:

Transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors. Access it by clicking the transcript button on the embedded player.

This is the first time we've taken on a project like this and we want to know what you think. Fill out this survey or email audio(at)ithacavoice(dot)org. Thanks!

Original air date: Sept 19, 2025

Produced by Megan Zerez.

Hosted and reported by Megan Zerez and Matt Butler.

Cover photo by Casey Martin.

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

The artificial intelligence (AI) industry is growing … and so is the demand for the power-hungry banks of computers that power it.

Now there’s a plan to use the infrastructure in an old coal-fired power plant on Cayuga Lake to power a data center. TeraWulf, the main company behind the proposal, is touting the project as a greener way to power AI. Local officials and environmental advocates say they’re not so sure.

Other notes:

Transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors. Access it by clicking the transcript button on the embedded player.

This is the first time we've taken on a project like this and we want to know what you think. Fill out this survey or email audio(at)ithacavoice(dot)org. Thanks!

Original air date: Sept 12, 2025

Produced and hosted by Megan Zerez.

Reporting by Fernando Figueroa and Brian Crandall.

Cover photo by Casey Martin.

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

In 2023, the City of Ithaca and Tompkins County inked deals with Flock Safety, a company that provides Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered license plate cameras for law enforcement. The project received a state grant, and installation began earlier this year. Now there's over 70 of the devices capturing data on every vehicle that passes by.

Now, nearly two years later, there's growing outcry over the technology. What are advocates saying? And how have local officials responded?

Other notes:

Transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors. Access it by clicking the transcript button on the embedded player.

This is the first time we've taken on a project like this and we want to know what you think. Fill out this survey or email audio(at)ithacavoice(dot)org. Thanks!

Original air date: Sept 5, 2025

Produced and hosted by Megan Zerez.

Reporting by Jimmy Jordan and Megan Zerez.

Cover photo by Casey Martin.

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

There’s a huge government office complex planned for downtown Ithaca and it's been years in the works. But outside of county government, few people seem to know about the project.

The county's "Center of Government" complex would take up a significant part of a downtown block. Construction could take five years. And the price tag — currently $50 million — has increased. Even as the county inches closer to getting shovels in the ground, some legislators still have cold feet.

Other notes:

Transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors. Access it by clicking the transcript button on the embedded player.

This is the first time we've taken on a project like this and we want to know what you think. Fill out this survey or email audio(at)ithacavoice(dot)org. Thanks!

We'll be taking a break on the podcast next week for Labor Day.

Original air date: August 22, 2025

Produced and hosted by Megan Zerez.

Reporting by Matt Butler.

Cover photo by Casey Martin.

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

Part I: New York State wants Ithaca’s local wastewater treatment plant to make major and expensive upgrades to its treatment process. But local officials say all the necessary repairs could potentially double sewer bills . . . and they want the see hard data to prove that the wastewater plant’s discharge is a problem for Cayuga Lake.

Part II: The school year’s about to start for K-12 students, and with it a much anticipated statewide ban on cell phones in classrooms. What’s Ithaca City School District’s plan to implement the policy?

Editor’s note: transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors. Access it by clicking the transcript button on the embedded player.

Original air date: August 15, 2025

Produced by Megan Zerez.

Hosted by Megan Zerez and Matt Butler.

Reporting by Jimmy Jordan and Megan Zerez.

Cover photo by Casey Martin.