Cityscape

Mental illness is a topic a lot of us are reluctant to talk about. That’s due in large part to the many misconceptions about mental illness, which can lead to a wide variety of problems, from discrimination at work to difficulty finding housing. Coming up in June, WFUV's Strike a Chord campaign will turn its attention to helping to combat the stigma of mental illness. We're getting a jump start on that campaign on this week's Cityscape as we sit down with actress Glenn Close and members of her family who are living with mental illness. Close co-founded an organization called Bring Change 2 Mind, which works to address misconceptions about mental illness.

Her story reads like a Hollywood film: A woman who seems healthy is quarantined on a remote island off New York City because it’s feared she’s spreading a deadly disease.

Mary Mallon – better known as Typhoid Mary -- spent much of her life quarantined on North Brother Island.  So close, but yet so far away from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan.  She was the first known healthy carrier of typhoid fever. Author Mary Beth Keane penned a novel based on Mary Mallon's life. It's called "Fever," and we're talking with her on this week's Cityscape.

Sunday is Mother’s Day. A day to celebrate moms and all they do. But not any one relationship between a mother and child is the same. On this week's Cityscape, we’re exploring the role of mothers in our lives and in society. Our guests include the founder of the Museum of Motherhood in Manhattan.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 masterpiece novel “The Great Gatsby” will once again come to life on the silver screen next week. The latest film adaptation of the novel stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire. The movie promises roaring 20s' glamor, excess and excitement, but we thought, why should Hollywood have all the fun? On this week's Cityscape, we’re looking back on the 1920s in New York City – the music, the fashion, the dancing, and even the mobsters.

New York City is a great big playground for kids. Take a journey through the five boroughs and you’ll find plenty of kid-friendly activities, from museums to outdoor fairs. On this week's Cityscape, we'll explore many of the cool things kids can see and do in New York City. We'll also talk with the author of a new book that helps young learners gain a better understanding of the Big Apple’s rich history.

Each week Cityscape explores the people, places and spirit of New York City in new and unique ways. We journey to fascinating places and meet interesting people, but we wouldn’t be able to do that without support from listeners who appreciate this kind of programming. 

On this week's edition of Cityscape, we're revisiting some of our favorite segments while asking for your support.  Segments include a Queens couple who live with 23 parrots, our last interview with the late Mayor Ed Koch, the owner of Manhattan by Sail, and the authors of New York Neon and Garden Guide NYC.

In the musical Annie, the lead character meets and comforts a stray dog named Sandy. Every dog that’s played Sandy since Annie’s world premiere in 1976 has been a rescue. On this week's Cityscape, we'll meet the man who found and trained that original Sandy, and has since turned countless other shelter animals into Broadway and Hollywood stars. William Berloni writes about rescuing animals and turning them into stars in his book Broadway Tails: Heartfelt Stories of Rescued Dogs Who Became Showbiz Superstars.

As the song goes, if you can make it here, you’ll make it anywhere.  A lot people come to New York City to follow their dreams, but the road to fulfillment can sometimes be a bumpy one. On this week's Cityscape we're looking into the challenges people sometimes face as they try to make it in New York City, including artists and new immigrants.

On this edition of Cityscape, we're exploring some traditional Easter themes with inspiration from rabbits and dyed eggs. We'll get advice from the International House Rabbit Society on how to best take care of a rabbit, and we'll also talk with the owners of Long Island City-based Manic Panic, an internationally renowed hair dye and cosmetics company known for their funky hair dye colors. And we'll check in with a moving company that fits the theme only in name. The moving company "Rabbit Movers" has a staff comprised entirely of artists.

How does one go from rubbing elbows with likes of Bette Davis and Elizabeth Taylor to finding themselves in the midst of the Attica Prison riot in 1971?  Our guest on this edition of Cityscape is David Rothenberg.  Rothenberg is the founder of the Fortune Society, an organization that helps ex-convicts get their lives back on track. He launched the Fortune Society in 1967, but before that he was a press agent for some of the most successful Broadway productions of the 20th century, including Richard Burton’s Hamlet and Hair. So what lured him away from the bright lights of Broadway to a life of helping people leaving the dark world of prison?  Rothenberg joins us to talk about his new book Fortune in My Eyes:  A Memoir of Broadway Glamour, Social Justice and Political Passion.