Connections Podcast

The mayor of Ithaca has declared the city to be a “free range kids city.” Mayor Svante Myrick says he believes in the power of play, and Ithaca’s proclamation supports parents who give their kids unsupervised, unstructured play time. This hour, we discuss the free-range parenting movement and how unstructured play can impact child development. We also talk about the barriers to free-range play and how parents can overcome them. Our guests: Erick Stephens , parent engagement specialist for the

Rochester has a Holiday Village , complete with an outdoor skating rink. Last weekend saw thousands of people come out to shop for local goods, eat, and skate. And there was a common refrain: This is what towns used to feel like. But is that true? Do we become overly nostalgic, constructing narratives of the past that are overly positive? We talk about that, and we explore how the winter village could become a permanent December fixture. In studio: Jenna Knauf, owner of Bella Events Group and co

A debate erupted over social media when pop culture reporter and Billy Eichner advised parents-to-be to consider how they would react if they found out their child was gay. Eichner says if parents don't think they could handle that news, they shouldn't become parents at all. We talk to guests about their own experiences, both as children and parents, and we discuss the reactions to Eichner's comments. In studio: Tamara Leigh, director of communications for the Out Alliance and mother of two Kim,

We continue an annual Connections tradition of discussing new and interesting ideas for gift giving during the holiday season. This time of year, many of us feel the obligation to get gifts for others. Sometimes, it’s all about just checking a box – buying something and wrapping it up because we feel we have to. Can we do gifts differently? Our guests share their ideas for how to de-emphasize the commercialism of the season. In studio: Gwen P. Scott, actor Dina Strasser, writer and educator Rev.

Stink bugs are just about everywhere, but good news: we’re releasing samurai wasps to kill them. If that perhaps doesn’t sound like a perfect idea, the experts are here to assuage your concerns. They explain how releasing one species to kill another can be effective, and they take us into the weird and effective world of these wasps. Our guests: Jack Werren , professor of biology at the University of Rochester Peter Jentsch , entomologist at Cornell University Ruth Blackwell, owner of Mud Creek

The Rochester City School District is in search of a new superintendent, while digesting the recent Acquino report. That report offered a tough assessment of the RCSD, claiming that often, decisions are made with the interests of adults in mind, not children. Our guests discuss the report and the search for new leadership. In studio: Justin Murphy , education reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle Van White , Rochester City School Board President Natalie Sheppard , Rochester City School Board

Author Andrew Sullivan wrote a piece about religion that has lit up the internet, with praise from some, like David Brooks, calling it one of the finest pieces on religion ever written. The criticism has been just as intense, with many atheists pushing back against Sullivan's contention that every human being is religious, and even atheists are religious people. It's akin to the notion that for atheists, their religion is science. Our guests discuss why they think these views are condescending

Former Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt is speaking out about a video that caught him getting into a physical altercation with a woman. Hunt says he was embarrassed by the video and hoped to be given another chance in the NFL after he was released from the Chiefs. Was firing him the right move? Some critics say releasing him won't help his potential rehabilitation, and it was bad for both Hunt and the victim. Should rehabilitation have been part of the team's decision-making? We

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: A speech Frederick Douglass made about Abraham Lincoln in 1876; How empathy can be taught; Understanding dyslexia; Hilda Rosario Escher's journey from growing up in poverty in Puerto Rico to becoming president of Ibero.

We sit down with the outgoing and incoming presidents of the Ibero-American Action League . Angelica Perez-Delgado has been named the organization’s new president and CEO. This comes after longtime president Hilda Rosario Escher announced she would be leaving Ibero to pursue other opportunities. This hour, they join us to discuss Ibero’s present work and how they hope to see it evolve in the future. We also discuss a range of issues affecting the Latino community.