The Roundtable

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are:Robert Griffin - Dean of the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity at the University at Albany.Stephen Haff - is an educator who teaches drama and humanities at Poughkeepsie Day School in Poughkeepsie.Nic Rangel - Executive Director of The Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York.Kathy Sheehan - Former Mayor of the City of Albany.

This week's Book Picks comes from Jim Havener from Green Toad Bookstore in Great Barrington, MA James Conrad from The Golden Notebook in Woodstock, NY for our selections this week.

The name Woody Guthrie conjures images of Dust Bowl families from the 1930s fleeing their wind-ravaged farms, along with those famous lyrics 'This land is your land, this land is my land / From California to the New York Island.' Woody’s horizons extended far beyond the dusty Oklahoma hills of his youth. When his wanderings and ramblings brought him to New York City, in the 1940s, he was introduced—both personally and professionally—into a vibrant Jewish culture that he wholeheartedly embraced. That culture in turn deeply influenced his life and his music. The film, 'Dust Bowls and Jewish Souls,' presents a whole new side of Woody Guthrie.The film will be screened at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, MA on Sunday. Following the screening, award-winning director and producer Steven Pressman will join us for a live Q&A to discuss the film, Guthrie's enduring legacy, and the remarkable Jewish influences that shaped his work.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are:Jay Jochnowitz - Editor at large/columnist/editorial writer, Times Union.JP Miller - The Empire Report’s founder and publisher.Mark Wittman - Investment Banker on Wall St.

The 43rd season of the NYS Writers Institute kicks off Wednesday with a conversation with singer/songwriter Natalie Merchant. The 9thannual Albany Book Festival is Sept. 26 and a great lineup with dozens of literary events, films, etc.We get a preview now with Paul Grondahl, the Opalka Endowed Director at the NYS Writers Institute.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are:Theresa Bourgeois - Public policy and communications expert.Libby Post - Political Consultant and lobbyist. Kathy Sheehan - Former Mayor of the City of Albany.Mike Spain - Former Times Union Associate Editor.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond.

Téa Obreht has built a career on novels where history, myth and the uncanny have a way of colliding. Her debut, 'The Tiger’s Wife,' won the Orange Prize for Fiction and was a finalist for the National Book Award.Her new novel, 'Sunrise,' takes us to a mysterious Wyoming ghost town across three different moments in time. A plane crash in 2024, a historical reenactment in 2003, and the return of a legendary gunslinger in 1902 gradually become part of the same story.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond.