Connections Podcast

The third African American Roman Catholic female priest will be ordained on Saturday, and she’s in Rochester. Reverend Myra Brown is an associate pastor and deacon at Spiritus Christi Church. We talk to Reverend Brown about her 25 years in the ministry, her anti-racism initiatives, and her efforts to help people in poverty.

What would Susan B. Anthony say about the current social and political environment? According to scholars, not “abortion is murder.” That was the final line in a sketch on Saturday Night Live last week, where the ghost of Susan B. Anthony (played by Kate McKinnon) interacts with a group of women visiting the Susan B. Anthony Museum and House. The museum took to social media to respond, tweeting, "For the record #SNL, #SusanBAnthony supported sex education, birth control and family planning. She

After weeks of crisis in The Gambia, is the small African nation on the precipice of stability -- or will the tumult exacerbate a refugee crisis? The short story is that The Gambia was ruled by a rather typical strongman figure, who lost a surprising election this fall and declared that he would accept the results. Days later, he changed his mind and declared a national emergency. Now he's in exile, and Gambians around the world are taking a fresh look at the possibility of finally returning

Governor Cuomo released his 2017-2018 spending plan on Tuesday, and many lawmakers have criticized him for a lack of transparency. We sit down with Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb , who feels that the governor has left both lawmakers and taxpayers out of the loop. We discuss the governor's free college tuition plan; aim for direct care workers; taxes; and anything else listeners want to discuss.

What would change if you found out, overnight, that your life expectancy had doubled? Maybe a lot. Maybe nothing. But for Gabe Weil, it changed everything: he had muscular dystrophy, and understood what that meant. A film called Gabe tells his remarkable story -- a story of confronting actual life-and-death choices on a daily basis. For Gabe, that meant deciding whether to eat real food or get a G-tube. It meant travel and risks that could end his life. O ur Dialogue on Disability series

Here's a timely subject: “Cybersecurity & Privacy in the Age of Terrorism." That's the topic for the upcoming Ewing Series lecture at FLCC. Yes, we discuss hacking, and how secure our own information is. We also discuss how to balance security with personal privacy. Our guests: Stewart Baker , partner in Steptoe & Johnson LLP, former first assistant secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and former general counsel of the National Security Agency Josephine Wolff

We talk about creative therapies for children with autism. Research proves that art can directly impact brain development in people with autism. We talk about the benefits of activities that incorporate music, dance, film, visual arts, writing, and more. We also preview the documentary, Generation A: Portraits of Autism and the Arts , which airs Thursday, January 26 at 10 p.m. on WXXI-TV. Our guests: Katie McGowen, autism coordinator at CP Rochester and Happiness House Lisa Peck, recreational

Saturday's series of marches and demonstrations around the world were remarkable in size, scope, and meaning. We discuss the focus of the movement, and the goals for the future. Our guests: Miriam Zinter , activist who marched in the Women's March on Washington Bob Good, longtime activist who marched in the Women's March on Washington Nicole Black , co-organizer of the Rochester rally w with Action Together Rochester - Stronger Together Western NY Bonnie Butkas, leader of Action Together

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 local professor's trip to Iraqi Kurdistan and how she views oil as a human rights issue; The dangers and realities of human trafficking; SNAP and food options for people living in poverty; The value of art.

The New York Times set off a kind of firestorm with a front-page story on food stamps, or SNAP benefits. The story pushed the claim that soft drinks are the number one purchase for households that use SNAP. It turns out that the Times did a rather loose job at interpreting the data, and critics say the article became a vehicle to malign Americans in poverty. So we start there: what did the article get right, and what did it get wrong? And then we discuss the best ways to promote access to