Connections Podcast

We hear from local candidates about the results of Tuesday night's races - at least what we know at this stage. Many local races have not been called; the Monroe County Board of Elections will begin counting absentee ballots on November 16th. This hour, we hear from: Harry Bronson , winner of the 138th Assembly District Demond Meeks , winner of the 137th Assembly District race Sarah Clark , winner of the 136th Assembly District race Josh Jensen , winner of the 134th Assembly District race Paul

We discuss the spectrum of emotions that come with this election. We talk about how to deal with the stress, and how to communicate with friends and family. Our guest: Melanie Funchess , director of community engagement and family support at the Mental Health Association of Rochester, member of the Greater Rochester Black Agenda Group, and founder of the Black Healers Network

On this Election Day, we talk about different voting options -- mail-in, on-demand absentee, and early voting -- and what researchers say the data shows when it comes to outcomes. Do these measures expand voter participation in inclusive ways? Do they protect the secrecy of ballots? Our guests say the research says "no". Susan Orr and Jim Johnson are political science professors whose work (pre-pandemic) shows that mail-in ballots and other "convenience voting" measures add insecurities to the

Geva Theatre Center is kicking off its new season with what it's calling an innovative and unconventional production. "Recognition Radio" is a series of audio plays celebrating Black voices. The plays were written and directed by Black artists. Creative producer Esther Winter wrote, "American theatre has historically compartmentalized the roles Blacks have played within its structures. But the reckoning this country is experiencing is changing that. Our writing, acting, singing, and creating are

In 2017, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a $20 billion five-year plan to "combat homelessness and create affordable housing for all New Yorkers." This September, his office announced the availability of $158 million to advance the plan to combat homelessness. A number of local companies and nonprofit organizations have been working to create more affordable housing options for people in the Greater Rochester area. Some of those options are supportive housing, meaning they provide different forms

We talk with Rochester City School District Superintendent Lesli Myers-Small and Rochester Teachers Association President Adam Urbanski about the latest news from the district. Myers-Small announced Thursday that RCSD students with disabilities who are in specialized programs will have the option of returning to the classroom in-person four days a week, beginning in January. We discuss the plan, the surveys the district and the RTA sent to teachers, students, and families to help make the

Our guest is an attorney who worked on the Bush/Gore legal dispute over the 2000 election. Jeff Wadsworth was tasked with historical research that could offer some guidance on which ballots should count, and how to protect voting rights. A lot has changed since 2000, but Wadsworth says there are attorneys already working to deal with a close and contested election this time around. So what issues could cause a legal showdown in 2020? And what did we learn from Bush v Gore? Jeffrey Wadsworth ,

On Wednesday, the CEOs of Facebook, Twitter, and Google got into heated exchanges with members of Congress during a hearing about free speech online. Section 230 is a set of federal laws that prevents social media sites from being held liable for content they allow or remove from their sites. Democrats and Republicans differ on where they stand regarding how and to what extent the companies should patrol their sites. The companies' decisions are fluid. Recently, Twitter blocked an

As NPR reported this week, "women are back in 1988." That's because the share of women in the workforce is down to levels last seen in the late 1980s. President Trump told a rally on Monday, "We're getting your husbands back to work." But it's the women who are most severely impacted by pandemic job loss. We examine why that is, and what it will take to erase those losses. Our guests: Erika Rosenberg , president and CEO of the Center for Governmental Research Katherine Goldstein , journalist and

A new exhibition at Rochester Contemporary Art Center explores society's grappling with the post-truth era. "Trust, but verify" addresses how so-called "fake news" is affecting our present and could impact our future. We talk to some of the artists behind the project about their work and what they hope viewers learn from it. Our guests: Octavio Abundez, artist Eric Kunsman , artist who created the Fake News Archive project Erica Bryant , journalist Bleu Cease, curator and executive director of