Cityscape

The holiday season is a time for celebrating with family, friends and colleagues. Quite often those get-togethers involve alcohol, and for that reason law enforcement officials say drunk driving is of particular concern right now. On this week's Cityscape, we're focusing our attention on drunk driving issues, including an interview with a Manhattan man who lost his 11-year-old daughter in a drunk driving accident in 2009.

As Halloween creeps closer, this week we’re exploring New York's creepy side with J.W. Ocker, author of The New York Grimpendium: A Guide to Macabre and Ghastly Sites in New York State. Also, forget trick or treating -- the founders of a Brooklyn-based candy company will tell us how to make candy in our very own kitchens. Jen King and Liz Gutman of Liddabit Sweets are out with a new candy cookbook.

With election day inching closer and closer, we’re focusing our attention on presidential politics on this week's Cityscape. We'll talk with an NYU religious studies professor about the role faith plays in politics. We'll also check in with a presidential studies professor at Hofstra University about the impact debates have on White House runs. And, we'll talk with a New York City-based artist who is making his creative voice heard this election season with an exhibit titled Your Land/My Land: Election ’12. The exhibit is being staged simultaneously at museums across the U.S., including at the New Museum in New York City.

New York City’s home to world famous art museums, like the MET, MoMA and the Guggenheim. But, on this week's Cityscape we’re discovering art in the unlikeliest of places – including a hair salon and hospital examination rooms

People spend a lot of time on the streets of Manhattan looking up at the skyscrapers that surround them. But not many people get to look at the city from above unless it’s from an observatory like the one at the Empire State Building or on Top of the Rock. On this week's Cityscape we’re seeing the city through the lens of two photographers with different vantage points. Alex MacLean photographs the city from the air and Stewart Mader captures unique views of New York (and occasionally other cities) from rooftops, balconies, and other vantage points above the street.

Every Saturday, WFUV's 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 Cityscape, we're doing what we always do -- making new discoveries (including an interview about a new species of ant uncovered in Manhattan) -- while asking you to do your part with a pledge of financial support.

As we move from summer to fall -- change is in the air. With that in mind we’re going with a theme of “change” on this week's Cityscape. We'll learn the science behind why leaves change color, find out how and why voices change, learn about the name changing process in New York City, and talk with a photographer who has documented the city's changing landscape.

New York City’s been home to and has inspired countless musicians over the years, from Bob Dylan to the Doo Wop group, Dion and the Belmonts. Musical history runs deep throughout the five boroughs. The South Bronx is the birthplace of hip hop and many punk and other types of rock bands got their start on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. On this week's Cityscape we're exploring the city's musical roots.

Amateur Night at Harlem's famed Apollo Theater has launched the careers of some of the world’s greatest artists, including Ella Fitzgerald and the Jackson Five. But, not all of them were initially well-received. On this week's Cityscape, we’re talking with Billy Mitchell, the Apollo's in-house historian, goodwill ambassador and tour director about the theater’s rich history.

Picture it. New York City minus the high-rise buildings. Anyone who wants to get a glimpse of what the city looked like before all of the concrete, should look no further than the New York Botanical Garden. On this week's Cityscape we’ll pay a visit to a 50-acre native forest in the Bronx. We'll also go foraging for food in Central Park, and we're not talking about looking for the nearest hot dog vendor. We're talking about seeking out edible plants. Believe it or not, Central Park is ripe for the picking.