Connections Podcast

Students at RIT are making international news for a discovery they made related to medieval manuscripts. The students developed a system that uses ultraviolet-florescence imaging to read text that's invisible to the naked eye. In their process, they discovered lost text on a 15th-century manuscript, revealing it was a palimpsest -- a manuscript on parchment with multiple layers of writing. The discovery and the system the students created will help libraries around the world learn more about

We discuss the results of the Georgia Senate runoff elections and the impact they will have on the U.S. Senate. Democrat Raphael Warnock, an Atlanta pastor, defeated Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler. Warnock becomes Georgia's first Black senator, and the eleventh in U.S. history. The second runoff contest between Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican incumbent David Perdue has not yet been decided, but Ossoff is leading. If he is victorious, the Senate will be in a 50-50 tie, making Vice President

How are local school districts heading into the start of 2021? We talk with the superintendents of Brighton, Greece, and West Irondequoit Central School Districts about their plans for the pandemic winter. Parts of each of those towns were designated as Orange Zones before Thanksgiving. Under the state’s rules, school buildings within Orange Zones must close to in-person learning for at least four calendar days and cannot reopen until testing criteria is met. During his press briefing Monday,

“If Rochester is a 'City of the Arts,' why don't we fund the arts?” That’s the central question and the title of CITY Magazine’s January cover story . In a deep dive on the state of local arts funding, CITY editor David Andreatta and arts editor Rebecca Rafferty report that “Although dozens of organizations make up Rochester’s arts and cultural scene, Monroe County legislators did what they have done for decades and allocated most of the largesse to a handful of stalwart groups.” The formula and

President-elect Biden has been unveiling his selections for various Cabinet positions. The response has varied, depending on the choice. Biden selected former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack to be the Secretary of Agriculture; Vilsack held that position for all eight years that Biden was vice president. Tom Philpott of "Mother Jones" wrote that this was a chance to bring new energy to an important position, but instead, Biden delivered "stale white bread." On the other hand, Biden's selection of Rep.

The pandemic has hammered Black-owned businesses, according to new data from the National Bureau of Economic Research. The organization found that 41 percent of Black-owned businesses have closed during the pandemic, compared to just 17 percent of white-owned businesses. That's what makes Annette Campbell's story so unusual: she just opened her own business in Rochester called The Tax Experience. Campbell has overcome significant personal hardships, including financial hardships, and now hopes

We continue an annual Connections tradition by talking to different community members about their favorite books of the year. This year, we put the focus on librarians, whose work has changed during this pandemic. We about their “books of the year,” and about reading habits among patrons from across the community. Get a pen and paper so you can write a book list for yourself! Our guests: Anna Souannavong, director of the Gates Public Library (Brené Brown’s podcasts) Ron Kirsop, executive

We continue an annual Connections tradition by talking to different community members about their favorite books of the year. This year, we put the focus on librarians, whose work has changed during this pandemic. We about their “books of the year,” and about reading habits among patrons from across the community. Get a pen and paper so you can write a book list for yourself! Our guests: Zoe Davis, librarian at Gates Public Library (“Passing” by Nella Larsen) Cassie Guthrie, director of the

In April, "Sports Illustrated" published a piece titled, "Bursting the Bubble: Why Sports Aren't Coming Back Soon." Writer Stephanie Apstein surmised that there would be no basketball, no baseball, no football because positive COVID tests would shut everything down. It turns out that professional leagues have found a way to conduct their games, mostly without fans. What was the impact on sports fans' collective psyche in a year when we thought there would be no live sports? We talk about the

The Rochester housing market is still booming, despite the pandemic. Experts say the last five years have been a sellers' market, with the home supply dwindling more each year. Homes on the market are snapped up within days -- sometimes, with buyers waiving inspections. This hour, we talk with local realtors about the year in Rochester real estate. Our guests: Jim Yockel , CEO of the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors Tysharda Thomas, associate broker with New 2 U Homes LLC Mark Siwiec ,