Connections Podcast

The Rochester broadcasting industry has seen several longtime journalists leave the business in recent weeks. WXXI’s Hélène Biandudi Hofer left the station this summer after a long career on the air to join Solutions Journalism Network. Norma Holland left WHAM-TV on August 20 after 23 years on the air at the station. She’ll begin a new career at a digital marketing company called Digital Hyve this month. We sit down with them to discuss how the business has changed over their careers, the

According to data from the Monroe County Heroin Task Force, the number of deaths from opioid overdoses in Monroe County dropped to the lowest point in April, since tracking began. But since then, there's been a spike in the number of fatal overdoses. A local nonprofit called ROCovery Fitness is expanding to meet the needs of people throughout Monroe County and the Southern Tier who are struggling with different kinds of addiction. We sit down with ROCovery’s co-founder to discuss how the

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: Affirmative consent; Diversity in police forces, with Greece Police Department Officer Tiffani Gatson; Why it's more difficult to get rich in America.

The debate over next steps for improving the Rochester City School District continues, and 2018 New York State Teacher of the Year Christopher Albrecht has ideas. Albrecht is not a teacher in the RCSD, but he says everyone should care about the fate of the district. He joins us to share his thoughts on how to bring about positive change. In studio: Christopher Albrecht , fourth grade teacher at the Fred W. Hill School in Brockport, and 2018 New York State Teacher of the Year

Should anything be off the table when it comes to comedy? Are there topics or subjects about which comedians should not joke? The questions come after the recent broadcast of MTV’s Video Music Awards, where comedian Sebastian Maniscalco joked about safe spaces, trigger warnings, and participation trophies. Critics say he went too far and his jokes were out of touch. Others say the jokes were funny and he was just doing his job as a comedian, by poking fun. Comedian Dave Chappelle’s recent

We wrap up this year’s Summer of Food Series with a conversation about food trucks. From shaved ice to burgers, fires, and breakfast sandwiches, we sit down with the owners of Rochester's newest food trucks to discuss their dishes, the industry, and the trends owners are seeing as the popularity of food trucks continues to grow. Our guests: Rob Loncoa, owner of Rob’s Kabobs and Rob’s Al Dente Fidelio Rita, co-owner of Neno’s Gourmet Mexican Street Food Lemar Blue, owner of Snowie of WNY and

The Trump administration is planning to overhaul the food stamps program, known as SNAP. Republicans point to several high-profile fraud cases, despite the low overall rate of fraud in the SNAP system. The result, according to the administration, will be the removal of more than three million people from the SNAP benefit program. Our guests discuss the impacts: Pete Nabozny , policy director at The Children’s Agenda Tom Silva , community advocacy coordinator for Foodlink Marcia Coley, Curbside

The Trump administration is making changes to the Endangered Species Act, and critics say those changes will have a negative effect on the protection of certain species. We discuss the changes, which animals could be impacted, and how. Our guests: Matt Kelly , independent journalist, and creator and editor of The Bee Report Jim Howe , director of the Nature Conservancy in Central and Western New York Christopher Norment , professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Ecology at the

We sit down with Officer Tiffani Gatson, the first African American woman to join the Greece Police Department. Officer Gatson graduated from the police academy earlier this month. She told the Democrat and Chronicle that her appointment creates a positive image, and it feels surreal to be making history. She joins us in studio along with Greece Police Chief Patrick Phelan to talk about diversifying the police force and the implications a more diverse staff can have on police-community relations

We have a conversation about art, artists’ intentions, and how audiences perceive art. Earlier this summer, the Rochester-based band Joywave released a new song and music video that has generated conversation. “Like a Kennedy” features lead singer Daniel Armbruster playing former President John F. Kennedy on the day of his assassination. The song and the video have a tone and a message – both of which Armbruster addressed in advance of possible criticism. On YouTube, he wrote that the video is