Connections Podcast

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

The Clarissa Street Reunion is the largest independently organized African American festival in Rochester. The annual event is set for Saturday, and organizers say they expect to see more youth engagement at this year’s festival. Teen Empowerment has been working with young people in the community to train them as history ambassadors for the area. The ambassadors say they’ve learned Clarissa Street is a microcosm of Rochester’s history – from music and black-owned businesses, to redlining,

In New York State, black women earn 65 cents for every dollar a non-Hispanic white male makes doing similar work. A local group is trying to change that. We talk to members of the Pay Equity Coalition in advance of the Black/African American Equal Pay Day rally and press conference on August 22. The date symbolizes how far into the year African American women must work, on average, to earn what non-Hispanic white men earned the previous year. Our guests share their experiences in the workplace

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison died last week at the age of 88. Morrison is perhaps best known for her work, “Beloved,” but her work spans six decades and includes novels, children’s books, plays, an opera, and more. As reported by Time Magazine, Morrison was largely ignored as a writer for about a decade in the 1970s, but that changed and she “widened the nation’s literary canon, serving as its conscience through trying times and establishing herself as the keeper of its

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: Gun laws, with Governor Andrew Cuomo; How gun violence affects families; The Gateways Music Festival, with RPO trumpeter Herb Smith.

We sit down with local poet Charlie Coté. His first full-length collection of poems, “I Play His Red Guitar,” laments and celebrates the loss of his 18-year-old son Charlie, who died from cancer in 2005. The poems are raw, emotional, and sensory – an examination of a father’s and a family’s grieving process. We talk with Coté about his collection, how writing helped him process his grief, the art of poetry, and more. In studio: Charlie Coté, author of “I Play His Red Guitar”

Earlier this week, Senator Chuck Schumer expressed his concerns about the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision to stop collecting data on bee populations in places like Rochester. WXXI reporter Noelle Evans covered this story, and the impact that a lack of research could have on New York’s agriculture and economy. Bee populations have been declining for decades due to climate change, changes in biodiversity, and pesticides. This hour, we talk about the USDA’s decision, the impact it could

Our Summer of Food series continues with a conversation about tipping etiquette. What is your standard tip when you visit a restaurant, bar, or coffee shop? 15 percent? 18 percent? 20 percent? Do you appreciate the devices that pre-determine a tip for you, or do you feel guilted into tipping because of them? A new survey from CreditCards.com shows millennials are "the worst tippers" in the U.S. -- but not for reasons that you might expect. Many millennials say they would prefer to see tipping

What is the definition of rape? The question after a handful of cases where judges showed bias toward young, privileged men accused of raping young women. In one case, the judge decided that a 16-year-old boy accused of raping a 16-year-old girl at a party would not be tried as an adult because he came from a good family; the judge said that traditional rape is defined, in part, as two or more males involved, either at gunpoint or weapon, manhandling a person into a secluded area. The ruling

We welcome candidates for Rochester City Council. Earlier this summer, we sat down with candidates running in the Democratic primary. Now that the race has wrapped up, we hear from candidates running on the Green and Republican Party lines. It’s an opportunity for the community to hear about the candidates’ platforms and priorities, and ask questions. In studio: Alex White , Green Party candidate in the South District Dave Sutliff-Atias , Green Party candidate in the Northeast District Chris