Podcast Archives - Investigative Post

In this episode of Investigative Postcast, Margaret Sullivan talks with Jim Heaney about the current state of the press and her work as media columnist with The Washington Post.

Sullivan, who previously served as editor in chief of The Buffalo News and public editor of New York Times, also discussed the state of investigative reporting, which will be the topic of her keynote address at a gala dinner Oct. 19 hosted by Investigative Post, a nonprofit investigative reporting center based in Buffalo, N.Y. (Order your tickets here.)

“Local investigative reporting is threatened throughout the country and really needs to be defended and needs to be protected,” she said.

In our previous podcast, Dan Telvock interviewed Erie County Legislator Patrick Burke on water quality.

Investigative Post’s reporting has been credited with prompting U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara to launch a criminal investigation into the awarding of state economic development contracts that recently resulted in the indictment of nine government officials and business executives. You can support our work by making a donation here.

In this week’s episode of Investigative Postcast, Dan Telvock talks water quality with Erie County Legislator Pat Burke.

Burke says the region has a history of bad environmental decisions.

“Before we can even fix the obvious problems that exist now, we just have to stop doing dumb things,” said Burke, who introduced legislation that recently banned in Erie County the sale of products containing microbeads.

Pat Burke

“A lot of people would debate how influential the legislature can be in general, and I think me and some others have proven that it can be, and it can make a difference,” he said.

Burke also discussed his run-ins with the local hotel and tourism industry after he proposed increasing the hotel occupancy tax to pay for water quality improvements.

“Politically right now, it wasn’t feasible,” he said.

They also discussed Telvock’s reporting on the inadequacies of Erie County’s lead testing efforts, which rarely sample tap water.

Asked whether the county health department should mandate water testing, Burke said “it seems pretty obvious” but added that, generally, “there are many things that aren’t done the right way just because of resources.”

In this episode of Investigative Postcast, environmental reporter Dan Telvock talks to Assemblyman Sean Ryan about lead poisoning, which remains a serious problem in Buffalo.

Assemblyman Sean Ryan

Ryan recently convened a roundtable in Rochester where experts and lawmakers discussed obstacles to eliminating childhood lead poisoning in the state. He said the group had a notable discussion about how insurance companies exclude lead paint injury coverage in homeowner’s policies, which is allowed by the Department of Insurance.

“There is an exclusion saying ‘we won’t cover any damages as a result of lead poisoning,’ ” Ryan said.

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This is our third podcast. Click here to listen to last week’s podcast with Susan Arbetter, the host and producer of The Capitol Pressroom.

In addition, you can read more of Telvock’s coverage on lead poisoning here.

In this episode of Investigative Postcast, our new podcast, listen to some highlights of Jim Heaney’s conversation with Susan Arbetter, the award-winning host and producer of The Capitol Pressroom.

Heaney interviewed Arbetter in front of a live audience at the Burchfield Penney Art Center on Tuesday.

Joed Viera

In this excerpt: Arbetter’s thoughts on Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the diminished power of WNY’s legislative delegation, and why Carl Paladino is never going to be governor.

This is our second podcast: Last week’s featured Arbetter talking about her approach to producing The Capitol Pressroom.

Also worth a listen: Heaney’s interview with Arbetter last week about the latest developments involving SolarCity.

Jim Heaney interviews Susan Arbetter, the award-winning host and producer of The Capitol Pressroom, on the inaugural episode of Investigative Postcast.

Our plan is to post a new episode every Thursday featuring an Investigative Post journalist interviewing a newsmaker or discussing a recent story they’ve produced.

Episodes will be available on our website, and, in the near future, on iTunes.

In today’s episode, Arbetter tells us about her approach to the job, her trick for waking up at an ungodly hour, and the role WBFO in Buffalo played in launching The Capitol Pressroom.

You can hear more from Susan Arbetter next Tuesday (Sept. 13) at an event at the Burchfield Penney Art Center hosted by Investigative Post. Tickets for the 7 p.m. event can be purchased online or at the door.