Connections Podcast

President Trump said this week that he wanted to send a message to “suburban housewives.” The President says he will protect suburbanites against crime and falling property values, and his plan to do that is to keep low-income housing out of the suburbs. The President says Americans spend their entire lives working their way up to a life in the suburbs, and it shouldn’t be disturbed by low-income housing. We’ve invited many local supervisors in the Rochester suburbs to join us. Here’s who

We talk with Guy Harrison, an author known for his work on skepticism and atheism. He joins us to discuss conspiracy theories, particularly those related to the coronavirus. In a recent piece for Psychology Today he wrote, "In the coming months, an avalanche of pandemic-related fantasies, lies, and medical fraud will continue to swarm the globe. There will be no limit to the absurdity and cruelty of bad information coming. Prepare to think well or prepare to be a victim, because poor thinking

Community members in Irondequoit are gearing up for a town-wide discussion about Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynold's book, "Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You." It's a remix of Kendi's bestselling book "Stamped" that's written in a conversational way for young readers. Our guests discuss the upcoming event and what they want readers to learn: Patrina Freeman , Irondequoit Town Councilwoman Brya Potter , 6th grade school counselor at East Irondequoit Middle School Greg Benoit , director of the

We continue our series of conversations with local superintendents about their districts' reopening plans. We're joined by the superintendents of the Brighton and Hilton Central School Districts, who discuss their learning models and policies related to testing, masking, and more for the fall. Our guests: Kevin McGowan , superintendent of Brighton Central School District Casey Kosiorek , superintendent of Hilton Central School District

On Monday, the New York Times reported on a new immigration rule proposed by the Trump administration: the President is considering allowing border officials to temporarily block American citizens or permanent legal residents from returning to the country if there's reason to believe they have been exposed to or have contracted the coronavirus. Meanwhile, land borders between the U.S. and Mexico and the U.S. and Canada remain closed to nonessential travel. While the administration says the move

The pandemic has led many people who want to start or grow their families to ask if they should put those goals on hold. There are concerns about health, about finances, and about when the threat of COVID-19 will end. The Wall Street Journal analyzed data from the Guttmacher Institute and found that 45 percent of 18 to 34-year-old women surveyed said they were changing their plans due to COVID-19. The pandemic has also affected birth rates in different ways around the world. This hour, we talk

We continue our series of conversations about reopening schools. This hour, we're joined by the superintendents of West Irondequoit Central School District and Honeoye Falls Lima Central School District. They share their districts' plans for reopening, including their policies for testing, masking, and more. Our guests: Aaron Johnson , superintendent of West Irondequoit Central School District Gene Mancuso , superintendent of Honeoye Falls Lima Central School District

Despite a lot of hype leading into the summer, we haven't seen many streets closed down to car traffic during the pandemic. Many businesses have been allowed to expand their outdoor seating, but there hasn't been a transformation of outdoor spaces like some advocates wanted. Was it a missed opportunity? Or was that unrealistic all along? We discuss it with our guests: Nate Polselli , advocate of new urbanism John Urlaub, co-owner of Rohrbach Brewing Company Michael Mills , director of the Geneva

This fall, Greece Central School District will operate under a hybrid model. Under the plan, most students will be in schools two days a week and then do remote learning for three days, but students also have the option to learn at home 100 percent of the time. Superintendent Kathleen Graupman says the model was selected after the district heard from thousands of parents and students. She joins us this hour to discuss Greece's plan. Our guest: Kathleen Graupman , superintendent of Greece Central

There's a lot of debate about whether it's safe for teachers to be back in classrooms this fall. But they aren't the only ones who could potentially be at risk in this pandemic. We talk to local cleaning staff members, food service workers, security officers, and bus drivers about their concerns. Our guests: Dan DiClemente, president of BENTE/AFSCME Local 2419 Wilbert Navedo, bus driver for the RCSD Joe Jackson, lead school safety officer at Edison Career ad Technology High School Victor Wilson,