Connections Podcast

There are more than 1.5 million charitable organizations in the United States. Thousands are formed each year. So how is a small organization, formed in Rochester and focused on helping kids in Kenya, going to survive? We sit down with the ambitious Daphne Pariser , who believes she has the unusual formula for launching an international effort and making it thrive. Humans for Education is growing, and is aiming to build a healthcare clinic that can serve 2,000 Kenyan families. We talk about how

We continue our series of conversations with candidates for Rochester City Council. This hour, we hear from candidates for the East District seat. They discuss their platforms and priorities, and they answer your questions. In studio: Michael Geraci Wayne Harris Mary Lupien Stanley Martin Bryce Miller

A new book called “Paying for Pollution” makes the case for a carbon tax in America. Author Gilbert Metcalf is an internationally-recognized expert on climate policy and carbon taxes. He’s currently a professor of citizenship and public service and economics at Tufts University. Metcalf is in Rochester as a guest of the World Affairs Council to discuss climate change policy and the Green New Deal, but first, he joins us on Connections.

Tom Hamburger is an investigative reporter for the Washington Post whose work focuses on the intersection of money and politics. That beat led him to cover President Trump and Russia – but perhaps not in the way that most Americans understand. Hamburger has focused on stories like Trump Tower Moscow, and the possible financial entanglements between the Trump family and Russian interests. Hamburger discusses his coverage, and the ongoing questions regarding the influence of money in politics.

A recent event at the Islamic Center of Rochester asked how anti-Semitism, anti-black racism, and Islamophobia connect. A number of young activists joined together to answer that question, and to discuss how to counter white supremacy. We talk to some of those activists about what they learned, and about how to change hearts and minds. In studio: Mara Ahmed , activist, artist, and filmmaker at Neelum Films Assata Evans, sophomore at World of Inquiry School, and restorative practices trainer

George Orwell’s dystopian novel, “1984,” was published 70 years ago this week. In a recent piece for the “New Yorker,” Louis Menand writes that unlike other books with similar themes, “1984” has remarkable staying power – “an amazing run as a work of political prophecy” – as it looked at a world 35 years into the future. In 2017, the novel saw a surge in sales and rose to the top of the Amazon best-seller list. This hour, we sit down with fiction writers and creative writing teachers to discuss

A young, gay activist in the United Methodist Church made headlines earlier this year when he appealed to the church to accept him and his LGBTQ peers. J.J. Warren is a student at Sarah Lawrence College and a certified candidate for ministry. At an annual conference in February, the church voted to uphold its ban on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage. Warren is in town to speak at Asbury First United Methodist Church, which is considering leaving the denomination. He joins us on Connections,

We sit down for our final conversation with candidates for Rochester City School Board before the primary. This hour, we're joined by Ricardo Adams , Andria Bryant , and Howard Eagle to discuss their platforms and their thoughts on the possible state takeover of the district.

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: The value of voting as part of civic life, with Eric Liu, former policy advisor for President Clinton; Place names that are racist or offensive; The climate crisis, and what's happening with climate action in New York State; The journeys of local refugees. Evan Dawson talks about what matters to you on Connections, every weekday from

A new book from a Swedish philosopher aims to give new meaning to atheism. Martin Hagglund argues that for too long, atheists have allowed their views to be maligned as having no sense of meaning. Instead, he writes that when there is no everlasting life to come, every hour of every day becomes imbued with deep meaning. His book is not only a call for a reevaluation of meaning; it’s a call for a fresh look at economic systems that allow some people more freedom of time than others. Our guests