The Roundtable

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are public policy and communications expert Theresa Bourgeois, Chief of Staff and Vice President for Strategy and Policy at Bard College Malia DuMont, Associate Professor of Government at Dutchess Community College and since 2023, she has been President of the World Affairs Council of the Mid-Hudson Valley Dr. Karin Riedl, and Mayor of the City of Albany Kathy Sheehan.

Fenimore Art Museum presents a preview of exhibitions for their 2025 summer and fall season.

The Albany Symphony is back on tour with 5 full-day free festivals culminating in Albany Symphony concerts to commemorate the Erie Canal Bicentennial. Maestro David Alan Miller will tell us about Water Music NY: More Voices Festival running from Wednesday July 2 through Sunday July 6th. We get a preview this morning and welcome David back to the RT.

Historian James Bradley has written a major new biography of local resident and the 8th president of the United States, Martin Van Buren. He was the first chief executive not born a British citizen and the first to use the party system to chart his way from tavern-keeper's son to the pinnacle of power.This new biography of Van Buren - the first full-scale portrait in four decades - charts his ascent from a tavern in the Hudson Valley to the presidency, concluding with his late-career involvement in an antislavery movement. Offering vivid profiles of the day's leading figures (Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, John Calhoun, John Quincy Adams, DeWitt Clinton, James K. Polk), James Bradley's book depicts the struggle for power in the tumultuous decades leading up to the Civil War.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Dean of the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity at the University at Albany Robert Griffin, Former U.S. Army officer and State Department Diplomat who taught at Bard College for six years and is now a Senior Fellow at Bard's Center for Civic Engagement Ambassador Frederic Hof, and CEO of The Business Council of New York State Heather Mulligan.

This week's Book Picks come from Anthony and Amanda Stromoski of Rough Draft Bar and Books in Kingston, NY and Kira Wizner of Merritt Bookstore in Millbrook, NY.

WAM Theatre is presenting, "Where We Stand," an epic fable of penance filled with humor, heart, and music, that explores an individual pushed to the edge.Outcast by society, the exile is left in the hands of the audience who ultimately must decide their fate as they wrestle between mercy and justice. Performances will take place June 26 – 29th in Lenox, Massachusetts.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are public policy and communications expert Theresa Bourgeois, Joseph Palamountain Jr. Chair in Government at Skidmore College Beau Breslin, Former Times-Union Associate Editor Mike Spain, and Investment Banker on Wall St. Mark Wittman.

Writer and musician Jonathan Gould, author of “Can't Buy Me Love,” returns with “Burning Down the House,” an exploration of the Talking Heads and their revolutionary impact on modern music and culture.

The 48th Annual Saratoga Jazz Festival will return for a full two-day and two-stage weekend experience on Saturday, June 28 and Sunday, June 29 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center.Featuring a roster of 22 musical groups and 10 festival debuts, the line-up is headlined by magnetic performers Gary Clark Jr. and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, alongside beloved jazz vocalists Gregory Porter and Cassandra Wilson, and the next generation of jazz, funk and rock stars Cory Wong, Lettuce, DJ Logic & Friends and Veronica Swift.Danny Melnick is the festival producer and President of Absolutely Live Entertainment.