Hear UR

On a clear day in April, onlookers standing in Mt. Hope Cemetery were  met with an astounding sight: Canada. This was the Rochester Mirage of  1871. Normally 400 feet below the horizon, the shore on the other side  of Lake Ontario loomed closer than ever, with the lake itself seeming to  have engulfed the northernmost half of our city. Or so the story goes.  But what actually happened? And what can the Mirage tell us about the  Rochester of that time, and about history as a whole?

Underneath the busy streets of  Rochester sits the abandoned subway, a local hub for creativity and self  expression; a space where concrete walls come to life in visceral color  and motion. But where did it all begin? Join Hear UR in exploring the  rich history of Rochester’s street art.

Ghost story or infamous legend, what’s  the difference? If you’re from the greater Rochester area, there’s a  good chance you have heard one of the many tales regarding the lady in  white apparition that haunts Durand Eastman Park. Why do these stories  persist through time? What do morphologies of urban legends suggest  about the societies that engrain them? Find out how this seemingly  innocent local fable intertwines with darker hidden histories and more  within The Lady in White, an episode produced, researched, and  engineered by Jacob Hall, Wesley Mawn, and Divya Duraisamy.

A local Rochester park with an  unconventional history. What happened on these grounds between 1943 and  1945? Join us as we attempt to uncover the mysterious relationship  between Rochesterians and these unlikely residents in Cobb's Hill Park during World War II.

Bottles  and Bootleggers follows the exciting journey of smuggler Ben Kerr as he  traverses the icy waters of lake Ontario during prohibition. He lands  in Rochester, New York fueling Rochester’s alcohol craving. We  investigate the ways alcohol is smuggled, how it's hidden and the ways  it affects people. So, how far were Rochesterians willing to go to keep  alcohol flowing, and how much violence and crime were they willing to  tolerate?

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Why did we start drinking milk? The dairy industry created a prominent  supply and demand for milk in our society, but it wasn’t always this  way. Before modern milk health regulations, milk was not a common drink,  and it was often rampant with disease and caused frequent health issues  and infant deaths. The city of Rochester wasn’t immune to the diseases  dirty milk caused. Health officials here in Monroe County played an  important role in the efforts to industrialize milk. However, their  intentions might not have been for the greater good of public health.

Episode 304 - The Final Questions

Episode 303 - Barely Afloat

Episode 302 - Ferry Of Dreams

Episode 301 - A New Hope