Connections Podcast

What exactly is a demagogue? What is populism? Two grassroots groups, Action Together-Rochester and Indivisible Rochester, are presenting a panel discussion on the topics of demagoguery and populism. They’ll explore the history of demagogues and the ways to recognize aspects of demagoguery. Our guests: · Michael Brown, assistant professor in the Department of History at RIT · James Bowman, associate professor of English at St. John Fisher College · Tom Proietti, resident scholar in media at St.

It’s a bird…it’s a place…it’s Super City! Super City is Rochester’s first annual, multi-venue pop culture event, celebrating comics, anime, video games, cartoons, sci-fi, and pop culture characters (including super heroes!). The organizers of the event say they wanted to expand upon the Comic Con concept by taking it outside a convention center and making it more inclusive. This hour, we preview the Super City events with our guests. · Jason Hilton, founder of Super City, and founder and owner

Did you – or do you – turn to Facebook for news? The social media platform is hoping to become a trusted place for users to find news content. Last week, Facebook announced it’s offering news outlets like ABC News, Bloomberg, and the Washington Post millions of dollars for the rights to post headlines of those sources’ articles and previews of their stories in a dedicated news section on the site. Facebook executives say they want to launch that section before the end of the year. The company

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: Taking on the leadership role in the Rochester City School District, with new superintendent, Terry Dade; The legacy of Toni Morrison; The evolution of Rochester's Clarissa Street neighborhood.

We preview the 2019 Rochester Fringe Festival . We hear from a variety of new acts and festival organizers about what's on the docket this year. In studio: Erica Fee, producer of the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival Thomas Warfield, board member for the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival, chair of the board’s Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Committee, and performer with “Shoe Stories: 'My Life with 400 Pairs of Shoes'” Hattie Barnhill, director and choreographer for “Create a Space NOW”

Why go to church in 2019? It’s a question we explore with the new senior minister of First Unitarian Church of Rochester, Revered Shari Halliday-Quan, and with Revered Lane Campbell, the settled minister at First Universalist Church of Rochester. Halliday-Quan grew up in Los Angeles among a multicultural extended family before moving to New York City, where she met her wife, an opera singer. She and Campbell share their personal journeys to the church and their unique ministries. We also discuss

We continue our Summer of Food series with a conversation about two places with deep Finger Lakes roots, but new faces and visions. We welcome the teams from the Plum Point Lodge in Dundee and the Park Inn in Hammondsport. In studio: Dan Eaton, chef at the Park Inn Chelsea Reinhart, organic farm manager at the Park Inn Natalie Travis, general manager at the Plum Point Lodge and Sapalta Dining

We sit down with Terry Dade , the new superintendent of the Rochester City School District. Dade signed a three-year contract with the district, and started the job on July 1. Previously, he served as assistant superintendent in Fairfax County Public Schools in the Washington, D.C. area, where he led an effort to improve some of that district’s lowest-performing schools. Dade discusses his priorities for the RCSD and his ideas for making improvements in a number of areas. We also talk about the

Saturday Night Live recently parodied the Cellino & Barnes jingle; meanwhile, the Atlantic Monthly says the age of the jingle is over. Our guest is the man who wrote the Cellino & Barnes jingle, so you can direct your ire toward him. Ken Kaufman has written many such jingles, and he takes his craft seriously. We talk about the art of the jingle; the craft of the earworm; and whether he falls asleep thinking about calling 888-8888.

Leaders in Rochester continue to debate a proposed November referendum regarding a state takeover of the city school board. A judge recently ruled that such a referendum is illegal; Mayor Lovely Warren was deeply disappointed, and alleged that the current school board is intentionally preventing student success. We talk to two people with different views of the referendum and the path forward. Our guests: Van White , president of the Rochester City School Board Malik Evans , member of Rochester