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Evan Dawson talks about what matters to you on Connections. Do you have a story that needs to be shared? Pitch your story to Connections. For transcripts, please email our Move to Include team with a link to the episode.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Evan Dawson turns public-affairs debates into specific questions about institutions, incentives, health, and local consequences.
Connections Podcast starts with a concrete public question and keeps asking until policy abstractions acquire local consequences. Evan Dawson moves between Rochester civic life and national politics, pairing subjects such as police staffing and the Healthy Neighborhoods Program…
A proposed UFC octagon on the White House lawn is your cue to ask what the spectacle says.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A humane school conversation that treats struggling kids as a support problem, not a score problem.
Connections opens on the blunt reality of test scores, then widens to the mental health strain, depression, and weaker attendance that the guests describe. The strongest stretch comes when the discussion turns practical, especially in the account of Norman Howard School.
A steady defense of press freedom under political pressure.
The hour delivers a firm argument that a federal regulator warning broadcasters to correct course or risk their licenses carries real weight for press freedom.
A measured look at how billionaire wealth, taxes, donor disclosure, and philanthropy shape public power.
The conversation takes a hard, practical look at billionaire wealth: how tax bills can stay small even as fortunes rise, and how that gap can shape politics and public life.
A travel story that becomes a quiet case for seeing people before labels.
Two Rochester women trace what shifts when travel stops being an escape and starts becoming a way of life. Christina LeBeau looks back on the years her family spent in an Airstream crossing the United States, while Allison Konecki widens the frame through the trips she and her…
A practical look at New York's climate education mandate and how it could shape what students learn.
New York's climate-education mandate anchors the hour, and the more interesting question is what students should learn about causes, impacts, and possible solutions.
A White House UFC spectacle turns into a civics question about image, power, and what the administration wants to project.
Connections stays with the White House's planned UFC spectacle and the political theater around it: the June 14 card, tied to President Trump's 80th birthday, Dana White's orbit, and the image the event is meant to project.
A civic-minded roundup that links an arts controversy, Music in Our Schools Month, and Albany budget talk.
This episode moves from a breezy aside about ballet and opera into a broader pass through arts, music in schools, and public life. The Albany budget segment, with Samuel King on affordability, utility rates, and the New York State budget, gives the hour a firmer civic spine.
A local hour that spans downtown redevelopment, festival season, and Race Eberhardt's film debut.
Connections moves from Main Street Commons redevelopment to festival season and Race Eberhardt's film debut, and that gives the hour a clean local sweep.
Armenia-centered analysis for a volatile region.
Connections with Evan Dawson centers on the Healthy Neighborhoods program and whether New York State will keep backing it.
Host Evan Dawson interviews clinical psychologist Dr.
Three years sober and thriving—a powerful testament to recovery.
This episode explores Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's potential presidential bid, focusing on his controversial college writings about Palestinians, his Jewish identity, and challenges in the Democratic primary.
I'm used to wanting to control and be prepared - but I'm realizing that's not necessarily healthy.
The show opens with the White House's planned UFC spectacle.
Connections with Evan Dawson and the Landmark Society’s 2026 Five to Revive center on the Morgan Manning House fire in Brockport, where Paul Kimball says a January blaze turned a $50,000 problem into a $4 million restoration.
Connections with Evan Dawson frames “Defining modern masculinity” around Andrew and Tristan Tate, a February 2025 return to the United States, and White House intervention described in ProPublica reporting.
The Move to Include podcast episode on Maggie McCrum centers on her search for work, the barriers she faces, and the self-advocacy skills she learned through the University of Rochester’s TRANSITIONAL Opportunities at the University of Rochester, or T-OUR.
Katherine Mangu-Ward’s New York Times essay argues that libertarians can say “we did try to warn you,” and Evan Dawson opens with examples including ICE enforcement, tariffs of 10, 20, 54, 145, and 30 percent, and Gallup’s October finding that 62 percent of Americans think the federal government has too much power.
Connections with Evan Dawson focuses on women in the skilled trades, starting with Christina Berilis McEntee, a former makeup artist who became a plumber in Chicago and now makes $56 an hour.
Connections Podcast’s “The Healer’s Journey” follows five University of Rochester medical students from day one through four years of training, with Dr.
Evan Dawson opens with a warning from FCC chair Brendan Carr directed at broadcasters covering the Iran war.
Connections opens with a downtown redevelopment update.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s September 2024 demo of the Meta Ray-Ban Display frames the hour, including hand-motion volume changes, text threads in the lens, and video playback while walking through a park.
Connections host Evan Dawson interviews Randy D’Antonio, Samuel Frasina, and Melinda Person about New York’s Tier 6 pension law, enacted in 2012 after a rally of more than 10,000 public employees in Albany.
New York is adding climate education.
The show opens with a new study linking premature menopause to a higher lifetime heart-attack risk.
Rochester's police shortage is the main thread.
Connections brings together two Rochesterians whose lives on the road changed how they see other people.
Evan Dawson opens with tax numbers.
Evan Dawson hosts Iranian Americans Shaheen Manshapur and Ghazal Daghani, who oppose the U.S.-Israel war in Iran.
Evan Dawson hosts experts Hein Humans and Randy Stone to analyze the U.S.-Iran war, focusing on how the Trump administration defines success, the confusion between military and diplomatic victories, and the broader geopolitical implications.
This episode of Connections covers three main stories: a local effort to merge the last kosher shops in Rochester to preserve Jewish culture, updates on New York State budget negotiations including tax debates, and a discussion on music education featuring students and artists responding to Timothee Chalamet's controversial comments on ballet and opera.
Evan Dawson hosts a discussion on homelessness in Rochester, featuring City Council President Miguel Melendez and local advocates.
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra's music director Andreas Delfs and principal pops conductor Jeff Tyzik reveal the 2026-2027 season, discussing how they balance classical masterworks with new commissions and pops tributes to engage diverse audiences.
Evan Dawson interviews investigative journalist David Cay Johnston about the erosion of American democracy under Donald Trump.
Evan Dawson hosts a discussion on reigniting students' love of learning, featuring guests from the Rochester Education Foundation and local schools.
Evan Dawson analyzes President Trump's late-night social media attacks on Pope Leo and the ensuing political debate over the pope's criticism of ICE and the Iran war.
A weekly news roundup covering local Rochester stories including volunteer firefighter recruitment, a federal grant for dental training, and a preview of the Rochester Music Hall of Fame induction.
This episode explores how Mississippi improved reading proficiency in elementary schools and discusses whether similar reforms could work in New York.
A discussion about ICE activity in Rochester, the city's sanctuary policy, and a community forum on compassionate immigration approaches.
A podcast episode featuring the story of Conan Gillis, a disability advocate and Ph.D.
Evan Dawson discusses the clash between the New Atheist Movement and author Francis Spufford's defense of Christianity, sparked by an atheist bus slogan.
Evan Dawson discusses the Trump administration's resumption of Special Immigrant Visa processing for Afghans, which critics call a ruse as no new admissions are expected.
Evan Dawson discusses Britt Bennett's novel 'The Vanishing Half' and her upcoming event in Rochester.
Evan Dawson interviews astrophysicist Adam Frank about the science in the movie Project Hail Mary and broader alien topics.
Evan Dawson discusses the Hearing Loss Association of America's partnership with Hasbro to create Peppa Pig content featuring George with hearing loss to raise awareness and reduce stigma.