The Roundtable

The Student Voter Empowerment Act, which stands before the New York Legislature, seeks to foster informed student electoral participation by requiring New York institutions of higher learning to systematize and expand their engagement with student voters. The legislation comes as student voting at American colleges is increasingly under assault. Joe Donahue discusses the proposal with Jonathan Becker and Sierra Ford.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Executive Vice President, Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Director of the Center for Civic Engagement at Bard College Jonathan Becker, Former EPA Regional Administrator, President of Beyond Plastics, professor at Bennington College and author of the new book "The Problem with Plastic" Judith Enck, Semi-retired, Editor at large/columnist/editorial writer, Times Union Jay Jochnowitz, and Professor in the History Department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY) Allison Kavey.

The 98th Academy Awards will take place this Sunday in Hollywood, CA - honoring movies released in 2025. Conan O’Brien will host. Every year we welcome we welcome one of the foremost film critics in the industry join us and discuss our impressions of this year’s best in film.Thelma Adams reviews film and TV for AARP.org and The Wrap. She was twice Chair of the New York Film Critics Circle and is a founding contributor to GoldDerby.com, the first dedicated awards website. Thelma is also the author of three novels, “Bittersweet Brooklyn,” “The Last Woman Standing” and “Playdate.”

New York Maple Weekends are returning later this March. The event is hosted by the New York State Maple Producers Association and is funded by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.New York Maple Weekends allows you to visit your local maple producer. Producers will open their doors to visitors to enjoy some local maple syrup and experience how NY maple products are made. This year’s Maple Weekends are this weekend: March 21-22 and March 28-29 from 10:00 A.M.- 4:00 P.M each day.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Ulster County Comptroller and the former president and CEO of the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley March Gallagher, Former Vice President for Editorial Development at the New York Press Association Judy Patrick, Investment Banker on Wall St. Mark Wittman.

The global conversation about artificial intelligence is being held everywhere - in boardrooms, governmental and military offices, and, of course, online. The cost and impact of AI as it develops is visible and unseen, known and yet to be felt. The goals of the inventors can clash with implementation from end users. No one knows where it’s going to end up, if it’s sustainable, or how it may ultimately alter the human intellect or psyche. The existence of AI prompts countless intellectual and moral questions - while sometimes claiming to, itself, hold all of the answers.The artists brought together for a new exhibition at MASS MoCA have dedicated their recent practice to investigating AI.‘Technologies of Relation’ is organized by Director of Curatorial Affairs at MASS MoCA Susan Cross.

The 98th Academy Awards will air live on ABC and stream on Hulu this Sunday, March 15 at 7 p.m. ‘Hamnet,’ directed by Chloé Zhao, based the novel by Maggie O’Farrell, and starring Jesse Buckley and Paul Mescal, is nominated for eight Academy Awards – including Costume Design. For her work on ‘Hamnet,’ Malgosia Turzanska became fully enveloped in Tudor style and the Elizabethan era. She and her team designed and built gowns, bodices, doublets, and breeches out of sustainable and period correct fabrics and colors.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Joseph Palamountain Jr. Chair in Government at Skidmore College Beau Breslin, Chief of Staff and Vice President for Strategy and Policy at Bard College Malia DuMont, and Dean of the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity at the University at Albany Robert Griffin.

Allegra Goodman has long been a novelist of conscience and close observation, attentive to the ways ordinary lives are shaped by faith, class, intellect, and love. Her latest novel, 'This Is Not About Us,' turns her gaze toward a group bound by shared beginnings and tested by adulthood.

This week's Book Picks come from Julie Sternberg from Books & Cake in Hillsdale, New York and Kira Wizner from Merritt Bookstore in Millbrook, New York.