Episode 6 – Not in My Backyard!

Air Date: Dec. 12, 2018
Episode: Not in My Backyard

IN THIS EPISODE:

1. Ariama Long talks to residents in Flatbush, Brooklyn who are clashing with developers over a hotel that houses homeless people.

2. Max Zahn shares his reporting on a city council bill that would legalize many types of electric bikes and scooters, renewing a battle over the road between traditional bicyclists and food delivery workers.

3. Lea Ceasrine goes to a protest against the demolition of Little Italy’s Elizabeth Street Garden.

Special Guests…

Environmental reporter Karen Savage

Eve Essex

Producer: Joshua Christensen
Host: Avichai Scher
Assistant Producer: Rob Dozier
Music Producer: Matt Cutler
Digital Producer: Allie Weintraub
Stories by Ariama Long, Lea Ceasrine and Max Zahn

read more…

Episode 5 – Cut Off

Air Date: Nov. 28, 2018
Episode: Cut Off

 

 

AudioFiles: Cut Off

IN THIS EPISODE:

1. Living in a super-populated city can still make people feel socially isolated. Here’s how some New Yorkers confront their experiences with urban loneliness.

2. Sleep paralysis is a condition where someone wakes up from a dream, but can’t move their body. It’s a common experience for many –– we explore how and why it happens.

With special guests…
Newmark Graduate School of Journalism’s very own library manager, Tinamarie Vella. 
Brooklyn-based electronic musician Keke Hunt performs live.

Producer: Allie Weintraub
Host: Rob Dozier
Assistant Producer: Matt Cutler
Music Producer: Ariama Long
Digital Producer: Lea Ceasrine
Stories by Michael Rosenthal and Josh Christensen

FEATURES

Urban Loneliness

By Michael Rosenthal

Sleep Paralysis 

By Josh Christensen

Episode 4 – You Know You Need Unique New York

Air Date: Nov. 14, 2018
Episode: You Know You Need Unique New York

IN THIS EPISODE:

1. Much of the Mexican population in NYC hails from the state of Puebla, and the names of their shops and restaurants often reference their hometowns. 

2. How a couple from the Bronx made New York Salsa something danced across the world.

3. The first WNBA game was played in 1997. But more than 20 years earlier, women played basketball for the first time at Madison Square Garden to a crowd of over ten thousand fans.

4. We talk to a long-time MTA train operator about some of the hardest and most tragic parts of his job.

With special guests…
Documentary filmmaker Heather Quinlan joins us in the studio to talk about New York accents.
Brooklyn-based DJ Voices (aka Kristin Malossi) performs live.

Producer: Camille Smith
Host: Comice Johnson
Assistant Producer: Matt Cutler
Music Producer: Rob Dozier
Digital Producer: Allie Weintraub
Stories by Avi Scher, Max Zahn and Comice Johnson

Music by Foodman, Frank Guerrero and Helen Reddy

FEATURES

These Women Brought Their Hometown Mole Recipe to NYC
By Comice Johnson

The International Salsa Sensation Born in the Bronx
By Avi Scher

Life of an MTA Train Operator 
By Comice Johnson

The First Women’s Basketball Game at Madison Square Garden
By Max Zahn

Episode 3 – T.L.C.

Air Date: Nov. 7, 2018
Episode: T.L.C.

On today’s show we’re delving into the world of self care.
First we’ll take a look at a new internet stress relief craze.
Then we’ll hear about a new Day of the Dead tradition.
We’ll also hear how today’s politics are weighing on people’s mentality.

Julian Klepper joins us for an interview. He directs and stars in his own films, such as Free Therapy, a comedic take on how unaffordable mental health care can be.

Singer-songwriter Jane Bruce serenades us with a live performance and Q&A.

Producer: Lea Ceasrine
Host: Josh Christensen
Assistant Producer: Matt Cutler
Music Producer: Rob Dozier
Digital Producer: Allie Weintraub
Stories by Rob Dozier, Lea Ceasrine and Michael Rosenthal

Music
Weekend in Tattoine by Unicorn Heads

Inspiration by Force Majeure
https://archive.org/details/inspiration_50

Rororo by Foodman
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Foodman/Touched_By_an_Angle/Foodman_-_Rororo

FEATURES

Will This Internet Trend Catch On As a Treatment for Anxiety and Insomnia?
By Rob Dozier

What do you do when you’re stressed out? As it turns out, a large portion of people of people turn to the internet to help them out. Rob Dozier reports on ASMR—Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response—which researchers are beginning to take seriously as a treatment for things like anxiety and insomnia.

Honoring the Dead Through Tradition 
By Lea Ceasrine

Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a 3-day Mexican celebration that many here in the US might recognize – but this year, at the American Museum of Natural History, they were honoring a different kind of dead. 

Mental Health in the Age of Trump
By Michael Rosenthal

If you’ve felt more anxious since the 2016 election, you’re not alone. Across the world, nationalist and authoritarian power has been growing. Here in the U.S. the daily grind of this administration has been negatively affecting the stress levels of millions of more liberal Americans. Democrats were able to take control of the House last night, no doubt providing some relief to many, but the effects of the Trump administration on the country’s mental well-being may be lasting.

Episode 2 – Food of the Future

Air Date: Oct. 24, 2018
Episode: Food of the Future

On today’s show we’re talking about the future of food. In recent decades, globalization has dramatically changed the way we eat. Shipping food all around the world contributes to climate change, and so does meat produced on factory farms. As the earth warms, cycles of drought and flood will threaten the grain supply. On top of all that, the number of stomachs to fill, is only growing.

IN THIS EPISODE:

1. About 30 percent of the world’s population eat insects as part of their everyday diet. Now bugs are having a moment in the NYC culinary scene.
2. Inside FoodBytes, an annual pitch competition that introduces new technology to the food sector
3. Scenes from a bratwurst eating contest
4. A conversation about fair scheduling laws

NYC “Freegan” David Emanuel talks about food waste and “dumpster diving” in the city.

Singer-songwriter Kelly Quigley performs live.

Producer: Avi Scher
Host: Comice Johnson
Assistant Producer: Matt Cutler
Music Producer: Rob Dozier
Digital Producer: Allie Weintraub
Stories by: Ariama Long, Comice Johnson, Camille Smith and Max Zahn

Music
Bass Culture Players
Wimps
Foodman
Rod Hamilton & Tiffany Seal

FEATURES
 
‘Salty Scorpions’: Insects Are Having a Culinary Moment
By Ariama Long

About 30 percent of the world’s population eat bugs as part of their everyday diet. They have more flavor than you might think. Crickets are nutty and scorpions are uncharacteristically salty. But Americans still haven’t gotten on board. Maybe, all it takes is some culinary creativity.

Inventors Pitch New Food Tech at NYC Competition
By Camille Smith

Last week, people from all over the world gathered in New York City for FoodBytes, a pitch competition that started three years ago to introduce new technology to the food industry. Nineteen start-ups took to the stage to showcase their inventions.

Scenes From a Bratwurst Eating Competition 
By Comice Johnson

Comice Johnson stops by a bratwurst eating contest at a bar in midtown called Bierhaus. Semi-professional eaters and amateurs battled for a $700 prize. The bar was packed with rowdy drinkers, who cheered enthusiastically.

Episode 1 – Good Grief

Air Date: Oct. 17, 2018
Episode: Good Grief

Loss is one of the hardest parts of life we have to cope with, whether it’s the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job or anything important to us. Grief can be an arduous process that happens in stages: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression. But, hopefully, you get to acceptance.

IN THIS EPISODE:

1. Inside a 10-step program for climate grief
2. How people experiencing grief become the target of psychic scam artists
3. Why is economic loss threatening upstate New York?

We’re joined by “Teach Me How to Die” author Joseph Rauch, talking about grief in the digital age.

Also, our musical guest, Nick Klein, joins us for a live techno performance in the studio. 

Producer: Lea Ceasrine
Host: Josh Christensen
Assistant Producer: Matt Cutler
Music Producer: Rob Dozier
Digital Producer: Allie Weintraub
Stories by: Avichai Scher, Allie Weintraub and Matt Cutler

Music Credits: Blue Dot Sessions, Eola, Jorge Mario Zuleta and Foodman

FEATURES
 
10-step Program for Climate Grief
 
By Avichai Scher

Earlier this month, the UN released a report that said the planet could be facing catastrophic results. Mass migration, famine, drought. A humanitarian crisis on a scale we’ve never seen. The really frightening part of this report is that this could all happen much sooner than we thought. 

Reporter Avi Scher has been taking a look at how climate change has been affecting mental health and how some are coping with this looming threat.

Psychic Scammers Target Grieving Victims
 
By Allie Weintraub

People who are suffering from grief like a recent divorce, death of a family member, or a serious illness sometimes, understandably, turn to any number of places for comfort – and this vulnerability can make them easy targets. After one woman turned to spiritual intervention for career advice, a local psychic pried open her past and ended up taking much more.

Trade Tensions Threaten Town Near Canadian Border

By Matt Cutler

Recently, Canada and the U.S. finally agreed on a new set of trade rules. In the deal, some Canadian dairy tariffs were dropped and there are discounts for vehicles made in North America. That all sounds good, but the fight over trade was really bitter and and could have lasting impacts – some U.S. counties reliant on Canadian industry are nervous of how the fallout might actually hurt their economies.

Reporter Matt Cutler goes to a town about an hour south of Montreal dealing with this.