Connections Podcast

Many students with disabilities will face challenges after graduating high school. The term "disability cliff" refers to the loss of resources and support young adults experience after leaving the school system. Finding employment, accessing housing, and achieving self-directed independence can all be difficult. A local program is working to fill the gap. This hour, Evan and co-host Sarah Murphy Abbamonte welcome guests fr...

We begin our series of conversations with candidates running in the June Democratic primary. This hour, we sit down with Shashi Sinha, candidate for Rochester mayor. Sinha is an IT executive, real estate investor, and first-time candidate whose priorities for office include lowering taxes and increasing the availability of housing. Earlier this year, he told WXXI's Gino Fanelli, "I'm living a happy life; beside my family, ...

Canadians were an absolute lock to elect a new conservative government just three months ago. Then came the second Trump administration, the tariffs, and the “51st state” comments. That's when Canadians rallied back to the liberal party, led by Prime Minister Mark Carney. Trump himself acknowledges that he seems to have swung an entire country almost 40 points. Our guests discuss what it means for Canada, and for Canada’s ...

A local town is putting cannabis tax revenue to work. Since the opening of two adult-use dispensaries, the town of Henrietta has generated more than $750,000 in tax revenue. The money has covered the cost of a law enforcement official dedicated to quality-of-life issues in the town, and Henrietta has also been able to roll back a recent tax increase. Our guests say legal cannabis has worked for the community, and this hour...

Nurse Josephine Ensign was homeless herself before she became a leading voice in the national conversation on homelessness. She writes about the visceral experience of being homeless, while examining which policies work — and which don't. She has written several books on the subject, including “Way Home: Journeys Through Homelessness.” It's a plea to keep all members of society in focus and in the conversation. Ensign is i...

More than 50 years ago, a group of Native Americans chose to leave the reservations where they lived to form a new community near Plattsburgh. Frustrated with the overcrowding, drugs, and alcoholism they had just fled, they built their new settlement, called Ganienkeh, with the goal of following a traditional way of life. A land dispute between the group, a nearby town, and the state led to state troopers policing the area...

Pope Francis is being remembered as a progressive-minded leader… but what is his legacy? His words were often more progressive than the church’s policies, and doctrine barely budged under Francis. Our guests discuss his impact.

• Damian Zynda, Th.D., director of mission and ministry at McQuaid Jesuit, adjunct professor of theology at Creighton University in Omaha, and author of "Archbishop Oscar Romero, A Disciple Who Re...

Why are more young adults getting cancer? It's a question researchers are racing to answer. In January, the American Cancer Society released a report detailing how despite the cancer mortality rate in the U.S. decreasing by 34% from 1991 to 2022, the progress is jeopardized by an increase in diagnoses of many types of cancer, especially in younger adults. As our guests this hour explain, navigating cancer diagnosis and tre...

Addiction specialists across the country say they are concerned about a Trump administration plan to end a Narcan program. As reported by the New York Times on Friday, the administration's draft budget would terminate a $56 million annual grant program that provides the life-saving drug and training for emergency responders in how to administer it. The plan would not affect how state and local governments obtain Narcan. Me...

We turn to offshore wind — once the centerpiece of New York’s clean energy plan. With a mandate of 9 gigawatts by 2030, the state has invested heavily in offshore wind projects. But political pushback, cost overruns, and a sudden halt to Empire Wind 1 by the Trump administration have put the future of the entire sector in doubt. What’s behind the delays? What are the legal and ecological stakes? And can New York still lead...

As federal support for clean energy faces new political headwinds, Rochester is stepping up. We explore how the nonprofit NextCorps is helping make Rochester a national climate tech contender through startup accelerators, clean manufacturing support and green job programs. But even as programs like Venture For ClimateTech build momentum, looming federal cuts could threaten local progress. Our guests break down the risks, t...

The Rochester Real Beer Expo has a new curator this year in Rob Richenberg. Richenberg aims to narrow the focus of the festival to New York breweries. That move comes at a time when the craft brewing industry has seen some turbulence, with both major players in the local scene and small breweries struggling to keep doors open and taps flowing. This hour, guest host Gino Fanelli explores it all with his guests:

• Rob Rich...

How does play shape our minds and our bodies? And why do the experts say it's just as important for adults as it is for kids? Most importantly, how do we integrate it into our everyday lives? This hour, guest host Noelle Evans explores those questions. She talks about the science and joy of play with a panel of researchers and facilitators who say fun is serious business.

• Scott Eberle, former vice president of The Stro...

What does it take to preserve a language? It's a question Jamie Jacobs, a member of the Seneca Nation, has worked to answer over years. He has teamed up with university researchers to use technology to revive the Seneca language from historical texts written by Jesuit priests. Guest host Noelle Evans has reported extensively on his work. This hour, she and her guests explore the process of cultural preservation. In studio:

Kayjona Rogers is the 28-year-old executive chef at Studio Lounge. It all began when a run-in with the law offered Rogers the opportunity to attend a Foodlink program. That program changed the course of her life. Her passion for the culinary arts reignited, Rogers started her own catering business, Taste of Kaye. From there, she made the move to Studio Lounge. As executive chef, she has increased kitchen revenue by 200%. T...

Moe Jackson's football coaching career made headlines after he parted ways with Aquinas Institute in early March. Jackson led the football team to a Section V championship, but alleges that racial bias played a role in his termination. Less than a month later, he was hired by Vertus High School, a predominantly Black all-boys charter school, to lead their young football program. While his role at Aquinas was bringing the s...

Then in our second hour, a Pittsford couple is seeing their work on the big screen...and so is the rest of the country. The film "Drop" from Universal Pictures is in theaters across the nation. Its screenwriters are Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach, who moved from Los Angeles to Pittsford in 2021. The thriller tells the story of a widowed mother named Violet whose date turns into a living nightmare. The title refers to digi-...

While LGBTQ+ arts and culture have received more mainstream visibility in recent years, the rapidly changing political climate has often shown a lack of support and, in some cases, outright aggression, towards individuals in these communities. As the ImageOut LGBTQ+ Film Festival prepares to present its annual spring screening of films and events from April 24-29, how is the festival pivoting its programming and mission in...