Connections Podcast

The New York State Legislature passed the Child Poverty Reduction Act. The goal of the legislation is to cut childhood poverty in half within ten years. Now, the bill awaits Gov. Andrew Cuomo's signature. Our guests discuss the legislation and how to achieve its goals: Assemblymember Harry Bronson , District 138 Larry Marx , CEO of The Children’s Agenda Aqua Porter , executive director of the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative

Summer Book Week continues. In this hour, we have a deep conversation with journalist and author Sasha Issenberg about his new book, "The Engagement," telling the story of how same-sex marriage went from a legal impossibility to a legal reality for all Americans over just a quarter of a century. Our guest: Sasha Issenberg , author of "The Engagement" This hour also includes a conversation with Dr. Bill Valenti about his summer reading and his new book, "AIDS: A Matter of Urgency."

Especially over this past year, many of us have experienced remarkable levels of stress. It's bad for you, right? Not necessarily. A local professor says in some ways, stress can be a good thing, pushing us forward to do things we wouldn't otherwise be able to accomplish. Our guest: Jeremy Jamieson , associate professor of psychology at the University of Rochester

Summer Book Week continues with a conversation with two poets with local connections. In the first part of the show, we talk with Rochester-based author Sarah Freligh about her new book, "We." Freligh is the author of “Sad Math,” winner of the 2014 Moon City Press Poetry Prize and the 2015 Whirling Prize from the University of Indianapolis. In the second half-hour, a conversation with Elana Bell, author of "Mother Country," published in 2020 by Rochester's BOA Editions. Mother Country examines

Tuesday night’s primary marked a new chapter in local politics. Rochester City Councilman Malik Evans won the Democratic primary, essentially making him Rochester’s next mayor. City Council and the County Legislature saw significant shakeups as well. This hour, we talk to some of Tuesday night’s winners. Our guests: Malik Evans , winner of the Rochester mayoral Democratic primary William Burgess , winner of the Democratic primary for Monroe County Legislature District 29 Mitch Gruber , winner of

Summer Book Week continues with a conversation with journalist Lisa Napoli about her new book, "Susan, Linda, Nina and Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR." Plus, we hear all week from prominent Rochesterians about what they're reading this summer. Today, we hear from State Senator Jeremy Cooney . Our guest: Lisa Napoli , journalist and author of "Susan, Linda, Nina and Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR"

Conspiracy theories -- or, more precisely, "conspiracism" -- have become a bigger part of American political life in the last few years. How do they get traction, and how do proponents of fact-based politics counter that trend and get us back to a more normal time? Our guest: Scott Tyson , assistant professor of political science at the University of Rochester

Summer Book Week gets underway, and we start with a panel discussion about the state of the literary and publishing industries as we emerge from the pandemic. Plus, we hear all week from prominent Rochesterians about what they're reading this summer. Today, we hear from the Democrat & Chronicle's Gary Craig , author of "Seven Million" and the forthcoming "The Prison Guard's Daughter." Our guests: Peter Conners , publisher and executive director of BOA Editions Chad Post , publisher for Open

It hasn't been a very funny year for comedy. It's an art form that needs an audience, which has been hard to do during the pandemic. Now, local comics are getting back on the stage, and we talk with them about how the scene has survived and what happens next. Our guests: Shirelle Kinder, local comic Devin Hott, director of communications at the Focus Theater and member of the Focus Theater house team, The Urge Dario Joseph, local comic

What's on your summer reading list? Are you looking for suggestions? Summer Book Week is back on Connections June 21 through June 25!