Connections Podcast

“Why do we hate?” It’s a question we explore with two men whose paths have crossed after coming from very different perspectives. Pardeep Kaleka lost his father in 2012, when a white supremacist opened fire on a Sikh temple. Arno Michaelis helped form the gang that produced the mass shooter – that gang was the largest racist skinhead organization in the world. Now, Michaelis speaks out against racism and has written a book called “My Life After Hate.” He and Kaleka met for the first time in 2013

How is New York’s new “Red Flag” gun law supposed to work? The law is intended to stop gun violence before it happens. Can the law properly balance the rights of individuals with the desire for public safety? Who can legally remove firearms from individuals? What are the criteria? Who decides? An upcoming panel will pull together members of law enforcement, school leadership, attorneys, and more. But first, they discuss the Red Flag law on Connections. Our guests: Richard Dollinger , supervising

Civil War-era scholar Robert May is back in Western New York – this time, to discuss reality versus fables about how enslaved people were treated during the Christmas season. The last time May was here, he led a discussion about the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials. This time around, he discusses the theme of tearing down fairy tales of the Confederacy, and instead dealing with the true nature of American history. He'll give a presentation at the Seward House Museum. May's new book

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the veteran unemployment rate has been on the decline, but veterans report hurdles in reentering the work force. We talk with local veterans who discuss their experiences with the job market. Our guests: Laura Stradley , veteran, and executive director of the Veterans Outreach Center in Rochester Terry Winslow, veteran, and security manager for del Lago Resort and Casino Blair Morgan, veteran, and vice president of human resources at del Lago Resort and

On this Veterans Day, we talk with refugees who served the U.S. military as interpreters in Afghanistan and Iraq, and who have come to America on Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs). By law, the SIV process should take no more than nine months, but bureaucracy and backlogs have forced candidates to wait for years. For many interpreters, an SIV is a matter of life and death: interpreters who served with U.S. forces are considered traitors by the Taliban. This hour, our guests share the challenges they

Weekend Connections is a collection of some of the most noteworthy moments from the week on Connections with Evan Dawson. This episode includes conversations about: Lessons from Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel; Divisions within the Democratic Party; The delicate nature of offering social commentary during awards ceremonies.

When service members leave active duty for civilian life, they may face challenges. Female veterans report that they have specific hurdles that are hard to overcome — including a lack of social support. We sit down with several female veterans who share their stories, and a new project they worked on called Eyes Front . It’s a photography and writing collaboration where they’ve documented their experiences. We talk to them about what they want the community to know. In studio: Jennifer Wiese,

The CEO of a local green energy company says he’s discouraged that the discussion surrounding climate change and climate action have become about politics and morality. Kevin Schulte is the CEO of GreenSpark Solar, a residential and commercial solar energy company based in Rochester. In a recent op-ed , Schulte argues that the divisive discourse “is a bigger threat to our society than the climate crisis. To truly slow the earth from baking, we need every person to engage.” Schulte joins us to

We sit down with Princeton University history professor, Julian Zelizer. Zelizer is a scholar of American political history, with a focus on the second half of the 20th century and the 21st century. He joins us to discuss the roots of President Trump in American politics, the current impeachment inquiry, and his thoughts on the impact of this most recent election in states like Virginia and Kentucky, where Democrats won big. He's in Rochester for a presentation at the University of Rochester. In

A new play on stage at the JCC CenterStage is generating conversations about race in America. “Division Street” is the latest project by playwright Jason Odell Williams. It tells the story of an interracial couple in Hollywood after the white husband is nominated for a Golden Globe for playing a racist police officer. The play explores a range of issues, including race relations, cultural appropriation, and which voices are elevated in Hollywood and how. We discuss those issues with our guests: