Connections Podcast

Harvey Weinstein's fall has reignited conversations about abuse of power, and how men in power tend to be protected in various ways. We discuss a range of related issues: how employment agreements can impact victims; what recourse victims have; how to change the culture of protection for predators. Our guests: Beth Cordello , chair of the employment law practice at Pullano & Farrow Barbara LeSavoy , director of the women and gender studies program at the College at Brockport Mary Jo Marino,

Can Rochester lure Amazon? What's the best way to improve city schools? Those are just some of the questions facing the next City Council, and we sit down with three more of the candidates: Andrew Hollister , Republican and Reform Parties Pam Davis , Working Families Party Matt Juda , Working Families and Women's Equality Parties

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: Access to water in South Sudan, with former Lost Boy, Salva Dut; The value of settlement houses; How climate change can impact human health and nutrition; How domestic violence impacts victims and families.

The movie It broke box office records for late summer, which means two things: Stephen King remains popular, and clowns remain horrifying. Okay, that second part is probably unfair, but Pennywise the Dancing Clown has cast a frightening figure in the film. So why are we so afraid of clowns? It didn't start with the book version of It, which dropped in the mid-1980s. In facts, it goes way back in literature. But modern-day clowns want to make the case that we don't have to be afraid. We explore

Sometimes we hear generalizations about how city schools stack up to suburban schools. Things like, “the suburbs have more amenities.” Those might include arts, computer labs, performance spaces, athletic equipment, music. Are those generalizations fair, and will the facilities modernization bring the city schools more in line with other local districts? Or are those generalizations off base? The Facilities Modernization Program is charged with updating and modernizing schools in the Rochester

Reports of domestic violence in Monroe County are down for the sixth year in a row, but the rates are still higher than the state average. While there’s value in studying statistics when it comes to this issue, each report of intimate partner violence reflects how the life of someone in our community has been impacted by trauma. Victims of domestic violence suffer from visible and hidden burdens, and often find it challenging to seek help. A new organization hopes to change that. We discuss how

When you think about the effects of climate change, perhaps your mind goes to drastic weather events, air pollution, or rising sea levels, but what about threats to human health and nutrition? Research shows that increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are decreasing the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables. This research isn't new. In fact, a small, but growing group of scientists has been stressing how CO2 can significantly impact plant growth and nutrition since the 1990s,

The Trump administration has argued that laws covering bias at work do not include or cover LGBTQ issues. This is, to say the least, perceived as a significant threat in the LGBTQ community. We focus on what the law does and does not do, and we talk about LGBTQ history in Rochester. Guests: Rowan Collins, educator with the Out Alliance Bob Crystal, founder of the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley, now known as the Out Alliance Matt Haag, member of Rochester City Council

Buzzfeed's Ben Smith, among other writers, are saying that Big Tech is in trouble. He says Facebook and Google are too big, too powerful, too complacent -- and soon, both consumers and Congress will come for them. Is he right? Is Facebook primed for a fall? We discuss a future in which Facebook falls, Google shrinks, and everyone posts fewer status updates. Our guests: Scott Malouf , attorney whose work focuses on the intersection between social media and the law Mike Johansson , lecturer at RIT

Salva Dut is the founder of Water for South Sudan . He's one of the 17,000 Lost Boys of Sudan who fled his village when war ravaged the country between 1983 and 2005. Dut walked thousands of miles from his home to Ethiopia, and then to Kenya, where he lived in refugee camps for years. In 1996, he came to the United States as a refugee, and realized how many Americans take food and water for granted. Back in Sudan, villagers must walk miles every day just to gain access to clean water. Dut made