Nobody understands Long Island socioeconomics better than Kyle Strober.

Long Island has many organizations and many leaders monitoring and shaping the regional quality of life – but none more influential than the Association for a Better Long Island and its busy executive director.

Kyle joined the association in 2017 after several years as a legislative aide, first for a Nassau County legislator and then as Long Island regional director for U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer – positions that uniquely qualified him to head up a frontline watchdog focused primarily on real estate development in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

In today’s episode, Kyle joins Spark host Gregory Zeller to discuss the often-misunderstood benefits of Industrial Development Agencies, the need for more sensible tax structures and his highest hopes for the regional economy – plus, the best place to grab a bacon, egg and cheese in Merrick.

If you read newspapers, magazines or books, you’ve likely read something written by Ambrose Clancy.

Ambrose has been an author and professional journalist for half a century, gracing major newspapers like The Village Voice, The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, popular magazines like GQ and The Nation, and several beloved community periodicals on Long Island, including a long run as editor of The Shelter Island Reporter.

His third book – “My Life In Pieces: Writers, Rogues, The Road and The Rock,” chronicling his decades as a reporter and editor – is now between covers, as Ambrose would say, joining his gripping suspense novel “Blind Pilot” (about IRA terrorism) and his masterful nonfiction “The Night Line” (recalling his experiences as a cabbie in late 20th Century Manhattan).

In today’s episode, the premier professional pundit joins Spark host Gregory Zeller to discuss his career, the evolution of news reporting over the last 50 years and the dire state of American journalism – and to rationalize his really awful poker playing.

Ambrose Clancy Books at Amazon

Few American jurists have assembled a career as influential or accomplished as the Honorable A. Gail Prudenti, the former Chief Administrative Judge of the Courts of New York State.

From her studies at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and her first job as a law clerk in the Suffolk County Surrogate’s Court to her days as a Suffolk prosecutor, her 20-plus years on the bench and her post-judgeship partnership at East Setauket-based family-law specialist Burner Prudenti Law, Gail has seen and done it all, inside the courtroom and out.

In today’s episode, the longtime judge and former dean of the Hofstra University law school joins Spark host Gregory Zeller to discuss her storied career, the scope and sometimes underappreciated significance of family law and her highest hopes for the future of federal judiciary – plus the inescapable importance of diversity in the application of the law.

Bethpage Federal Credit Union didn't rise to become a top-20 national credit union -- or increase its asset holdings from $1 billion to more than $13 billion -- by accident. It took a team of forward-thinking leaders and dedicated employees, working together to bulk up an institution that launched more than 80 years ago as a small neighborhood depository exclusively servicing Grumman employees.

Chief among them: Linda Armyn, who became Bethpage's president and CEO in August 2023. By then, she'd already spent decades as senior vice president for corporate affairs and chief strategy and marketing officer, positions key to the credit union's impressive growth and critical to her current leadership role.

In today's episode, Linda joins Spark host Gregory Zeller to discuss Bethpage's steady rise toward national prominence, its innovative 2025 marketing campaign and its forthcoming big-time rebrand -- plus the vital importance of volunteerism to personal, professional and corporate growth.

The introduction of the school’s first PhD programs, the creation of a world-class biomedical-research facility, a major rebranding and a successful emergency pivot through the teeth of the COVID pandemic – and these are just some of the amazing accomplishments on the scorecard of New York Institute of Technology President Henry Foley.

After a seven-year presidential term, Dr. Foley – “Hank,” to friends and colleagues – has announced his retirement from the Old Westbury-based institute, effective next summer. But before he goes, New York Tech’s fourth-ever president still has plenty of major-league items on his to-do list.

In today’s episode, the soon-to-be president emeritus joins Spark host Gregory Zeller to look back and look ahead – and explain why he thinks the university’s best and brightest days are still to come.

Smart branding and successful marketing usually go hand-in-hand … but what makes a brand “smart?” And in the cutthroat business of professional promotions, what defines “successful?”

These and other critical questions that can make or break a business marketing campaign are answered in this very special episode of Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast – a classic switcheroo that sees Spark host Gregory Zeller sitting in the guest’s chair, as the interviewee on a recent episode of The Brandtelling Podcast.

Join hosts Arthur Germain and Asaf “The Brand Chef” Bachman as podcasts collide – and the Brandtelling Podcast experts pick the Innovate Long Island editor’s brain about the best and worst in modern branding practices.

Long Island is blessed with many great attorneys, but not all are as studious, flamboyant or successful as John Ray of Miller Place – part Perry Mason, part Marlon Brando, always impressive.

With a ripped-from-the-headlines caseload and a long list of high-profile acting gigs, John has made a name for himself in and out of the courtroom over the last four-decades plus – and on the lacrosse field, too, where he continues to compete against players a quarter his age.

In today’s episode, the colorful counselor joins Spark Host Gregory Zeller to discuss the Gilgo Beach killer, topless middle-school teachers, precedent-setting surrogate-baby and rape-trauma cases, living abroad and an acting résumé that would impress any thespian – plus the evolution of his unmatched wardrobe, from the top down.

Laura Curran has seen the world – but chose Nassau County as her home.

Born in Canada and raised everywhere, the once-and-future journalist was the first woman to serve as Nassau County executive, after early jobs reporting for New York City’s biggest tabloids and before her later career in podcasting and talk radio. As county exec, the Democrat – not always an ally of Albany’s liberal majority – took innovative approaches to Nassau’s raging property taxes, rising drug problems and rampant cronyism, before old political machinations took her down.

In today’s episode, Laura joins Spark host Gregory Zeller to review her writings, grill local government and recall how a novice school board member became the most powerful person in Nassau – and why, two years out of office, she’s thrilled to leave county politics behind.

Black business is big business – and if you’re not “buying Black,” as the saying goes, you’re shortchanging your local community and the larger economy.

That’s the message of the BlaQue Resource Network and its founder, entrepreneur extraordinaire Aleeia Abraham, who’s on a mission to elevate and support her fellow Black business owners. Through popular events, shared promotions and other progressive positivity, the Queens College graduate has already rallied 25,000 networkers to this noble socioeconomic cause – and has big ideas about expanding her Queens-based efforts into Nassau and Suffolk.

In today’s episode, Aleeia joins Spark host Gregory Zeller to discuss her ambitious goals, her innovative methods, the $141 billion reality of Black-owned U.S. businesses – and how her stint as a circus ringmaster helped her find her voice.

David Battinelli is a hyper-productive engine of medical modernization, with a 28-page résumé – degrees, jobs, honorifics and more – to prove it.

As Northwell Health physician-in-chief and dean of the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, David plays leading roles in the shaping of Long Island’s biotech-centric identity – and the realization of the region’s best socioeconomic hopes.

In today’s episode, the diverse doctor joins Spark host Gregory Zeller to share his multiple front-row perspectives on the Long Island innovation economy – and his firm belief in the importance of preparing healthcare specialists to succeed both now and in the future.