Connections Podcast

Like the local food movement, Read Local is a program that seeks to get readers to enjoy books grown right in their own back yard. It is a book club and event series, highlighting books published by publishing houses based right here in Rochester. The idea is to read the book, meet the author, and support local businesses along the way. We meet author Josefine Klougart, and we discuss a range of issues, including translations and foreign books, the health of publishing, and more. Our guests:

Recently, we heard from Nazareth College President Daan Braveman, who wanted to stress the point that the cost of college is not rising as quickly as many people seem to think. That's because the sticker price is not the same as the actual price most students pay. But University of Rochester graduate and author Kevin Connell counters that there is indeed a crisis in higher education. His new book, Breaking Point, is being released, and Connell is back in Rochester for a book talk. First, he

A brand new report on poverty is out, and it shows almost no improvement in our region. To be fair, the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative is a 15-year plan. No one said things would flip in a year or two. But what can we learn from the newest numbers? Our guests will sort it out. In studio: Ann Johnson, ACT Rochester senior directorEd Doherty, author of the original poverty reportHenry Fitts, City of Rochester Innovation Team

Forget the presidential election. Why don't Americans get more involved in local politics? Why don't they vote in primaries, or organize, or care about down-ballot races? The presidency gets most of the attention, but the down-ballot races impact our lives on a daily basis. So maybe it's time to change the fact that many Americans don't know who represents them in various levels of government. Our guests: Tim Kneeland, chair of the department of history and political science at Nazareth

Is American satire dead? Author Malcolm Gladwell says it is. Think Tina Fey was great as Sarah Palin? Gladwell calls it "toothless." Jimmy Fallon as Donald Trump? Pathetic, made even worse by Trump's repeat appearances on the show. Gladwell says the best satire is not just about an accurate portrayal; it's about making a point, and moving the public. But is Gladwell being unfair? Are there great satirists working today? Our panel discusses the value of satire, and why we don't see nearly as much

81 percent of Americans say they can handle their money well, but only 37 percent can pass a basic financial literacy test. Oops. ESL is teaming up with Rochester Young Professionals and hosting a listening party at WXXI studios on September 29. Targeted to young professionals. the topics include how to build a better job, the trend of home buying among young professionals, and strategies for dealing with student loan debt. The debt piece is particularly timely given that in the fall, student

Harvest is coming, but Western New York remains deeply impacted by a season of severe drought. Can you see it? Probably not; in New York State, drought doesn't look like it does in California. But we're working through the most significant regional drought in decades. How does it impact farms? What should we expect, from crop to crop? Is climate change involved? Our guests explore those questions and more: Klaas Martens, local farmerMatt Kelly, freelance writer and photographer

Actor Richard Dreyfuss joins us; he's the keynote speaker at the upcoming East House Hope and Recovery Luncheon. Dreyfuss talks about his work on the issue. We then discuss how housing is critical to recovery, and how treatment options are changing. Our guests: Richard DreyfussJennifer Faringer, director of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence - Rochester AreaDavid Putney, director of community services and director of the Monroe County Office of Mental HealthGreg Soehner,

David Denby is a writer and a lover of classic literature who wanted to know if modern students could be taught to love and value great books. Maybe it's a question that's been around for centuries: How can we make kids love books? But it's more challenging, seemingly intractable now. Kids read texts. They rarely read books. Denby set out to know whether it's possible to bring the classics into the hearts and minds of students in Manhattan, and Westchester, and an impoverished district in

Our guest is Dr. Alexander Strasser, one of 19 survivors from the Kinder Transport. Strasser's story is part of the new documentary from Ken Burns called Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War. It focuses on a little-known story of an American minister and his wife who rescued refugees and dissidents in Europe before and after the start of World War II. The 90-minute film tells the story of Waitstill and Martha Sharp, a Unitarian minister and his wife from Wellesley, Massachusetts, who left their