Connections Podcast

The number of people becoming part of the "sandwich generation" is growing. That's a group of parents responsible for raising children while caring for their aging parents. Conversations about death and dying are part of the aging process, and families often feel hesitant to have discussions about end-of-life wishes. An upcoming community-wide forum hopes to change that. The Rochester Academy of Medicine is hosting the series, which includes sessions on end-of-life care, nursing home and hospice

We've seen poverty reports in recent years that extensively show Rochester lagging far behind other cities its size across the country. A new report called "Hard Facts" indicates African American and Latino residents in the Rochester region fare much worse than their white counterparts on a number of issues: health; education; wages; and home ownership. Ed Doherty is the author of the report. He joins us in studio for the hour.

Librarians at the Irondequoit Public Library say they are in a unique position to help create a more inclusive community, and promoting diversity and understanding can start at a young age. That's why they've created the United Stories of America program. It's a pre-school storytime series with a social justice theme. Presenters include a female illusionist talking about gender identity, a disability rights activist, and more. We talk about the program and hear stories from two of its presenters

We recently heard from supporters of a New York State constitutional convention. Today, we hear from the opponents. They tell us that they don't think supporters fully understand why they have serious concerns about a convention. By opening up the state's foundational document, opponents fear that all kinds of catastrophes could result: workers losing protections; the environment losing safeguards. Our guests: Jesse Lenney , upstate regional political director for the Working Families Party Paul

It's the last of our second round of interviews with the candidates for Rochester mayor. Republican Tony Micciche is a county legislator who has deep disagreements about how the city is run. He says his background, which includes growing up poor in Rochester, makes him uniquely qualified.

Part of a presentation about sexual assault awareness at a local college has led to heated discussions about how the subject is taught. The presentation, which took place during a freshman orientation at RIT, included the Disney character, Roo, and the caption, "self-gratification can prevent sexual assault.” Critics say the graphic sends the wrong message. We’ll hear from a number of local colleges about how they educate students about the dangers of sexual assault. Our guests: Darci Lane

New research coming out of the University of Rochester shows humans are contributing more methane to the environment than scientists previously thought — as much as 25 percent more. Plus, despite what scientists previously thought, the risk of global warming triggering a release of natural methane is low. Researchers say that means reducing the use of fossil fuels could be even more important in the fight against climate change. Paleo-climatologist Vas Petrenko led the studies in Antarctica that

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 Vietnam War; A young man's struggle with addiction; "Sheet cake feminism;" How the solar eclipse can inspire children to learn about science and nature.

We often hear about big ideas and highly-funded projects whose goal is to help the community, but what about smaller, grassroots efforts that do the same? This hour, we highlight organizations and efforts that are building healthy neighborhoods and communities. Our guests: Debbie Sigrist, coordinator of the foot clinic at St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality Horace Medlock, guest and volunteer at St. Joseph's House of Hospitality Toyin Anderson, alumna of the Parent Leadership Training Institute

Recently, the conservative writer Matt Lewis wrote a piece for the Daily Beast called "The Insidious Libertarian-to-Alt-Right Pipeline." The piece included the tagline, "Is it just a phase they go through—or is there something about libertarianism that attracts, well, uh, you know, racist kooks?" Lewis explored how he thinks libertarianism is a gateway drug to the alt-right for some Americans. Is he right? What do libertarians think? What are the connections between libertarianism and the alt