Podcasts
Podcasts
Friday, August 1, 202508/01/2025
The Hustler Files Ep 122
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Every name has a meaning. The name Gemma refers to ‘a bud ready to grow independently’. Appropriately, this name was chosen by the incarcerated women who originally founded The Gemma Project, a jail and prison reentry program to assist incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women with successful reintegration. While reentry should be mainstream for all incarcerated individuals who are returning to their communities, this important programming is still spotty across the United States, and isn’t always designed with consideration for each individual’s needs. Cynthia Chase, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Gemma Project, has spent 25 years working within the criminal legal system as a dedicated leader and tireless advocate, including as Mayor of Santa Cruz, California. Cynthia highlights the importance of amplifying the voices of justice-involved women and uncovering the stories that challenge societal perceptions.
Friday, August 1, 202508/01/2025
The Course of Human Events
8/1/25: MTA Pres Max Page: UMass, the feds, the state & $. Prof Kevin Young: UMass protest policy – unfree speech? Activist Ethan Flamand: Amherst rally & a new Decl of Independence. Salman Hameed’s Universe: incredible sites & insights. Donnabelle Casis w/ Daniel Elihu Kramer: “The Case for the Existence of God.”
Thursday, July 31, 202507/31/2025
Champion
7/31/25: Champion for Justice, atty David Hoose: the crisis in Mass courts — defendants without lawyers. Rubik’s Cube World Champion, 2025 Amherst H.S. grad, Levi Gibson – absolutely amazing! Champions for, decency & due process — UU’s David Roitman & CBI’s Sara Weinberger: Sunday’s “Vigil for the Disappeared.” Ruth Griggs w/ internationally acclaimed guitarist Tony Davis — coming to Nhmptn.
Wednesday, July 30, 202507/30/2025
Reigning Cats & Dogs
7/30/25: Buz and Dan on Soc Security Administration. Prof Gerald Epstein: Trump’s economic policies. Brian Adams w/ Sr Conservation Ecologist Tom Lautzenheiser of MA Audubon: canines (coyote, fox & wolves) & felines (bobcat & mountain lions) in WMass. Larry Hott w/ Brian Adams on Larry’s film “The Wilderness Idea.”
Tuesday, July 29, 202507/29/2025
Western Mass Business Show on 7.29.25 — Georgie Brunton, Queen of Florence
In The Western Mass. Business Show
Join us as we hear from the Queen of Florence, a business tycoon of restaurants with 3 under her belt, Georgie Brunton. Listen in as we hear from her how she found Miss Flo’s for sale on Facebook and how on a whim she decided to purchase the Old Girl. What does it mean to rehab old restaurants in small towns and how do business owners play an essential role in the vibrancy of a community. Having owned Miss Flo’s for over 7 years she now has 27 employees between all 3 locations. Georgie believes in community philanthropy and giving back is a part of her being. From plunging into freezing water for All Out Adventures or supporting Big Brothers Big Sisters with loads of pies for their Big Love Little Performances event, she steps up and encourages others to as well through her actions. I know that she will not stop at 3, does anyone want to guess how many businesses she will own in the next 10 years? I’ll guess 5 total. Who wants to bet me?
Tuesday, July 29, 202507/29/2025
Leaders
7/29/25: City Stage Pres Burns Maxey & Treas Mike Tautznik: the community’s success & the creative economy. Sports Man! Scott Coen on Sunday’s Hall of Fame inductees, the Sox & Yanks. Amherst Prof of Psychology Catherine Sanderson: why and when groups become mobs (e.g. Jan 6). Michael Klare on Ukraine, Gaza, & Syria, Trump, Putin & Netanyahu.
Monday, July 28, 202507/28/2025
From the Front Lines
7/28/25: CODEPINK founder Madea Benjamin: tonight’s event – Gaza today. Megan Zinn w/ Forbes Bd Chair Katy Wight “watcha’ readin’?” UMass Prof Amilcar Shabazz: the state of reparations in W. Mass. Amherst Town Mgr Paul Bockelman: opioid settlement funds & reparations money.
Friday, July 25, 202507/25/2025
Panorama — Episode 114 — Lauren Leigh Rollins, Founder of Western Massachusetts Policy Center
In Panorama
Originally aired on July 26, 2025. Lauren Rollins of the Western Mass Policy Center (WMPC) joins Panorama. Lauren, a Northampton resident, founded WMPC a No-Profit people-centered policy organization. It subverts the flailing political establishment that fails to address the basic needs of the people in order to create a new model that supports and centers those excluded from power.
Learn more about WMPC at https://wmpolicy.org/about/
Read more about Lauren Rollins
Friday, July 25, 202507/25/2025
The Hustler Files Ep 121
DIRECTOR JENIFER MCSHANE & ‘THE QUILTERS’ – STITCHING LIVES TOGETHER
Jenifer McShane never planned on becoming an award-winning independent filmmaker, but life had other plans. From her early work on ‘A Leap of Faith’, narrated by Liam Neeson, to her latest Netflix documentary, ‘The Quilters’, Jenifer shares her journey of storytelling that humanizes those behind both literal, and figurative bars. But it is at the Missouri South Central Correctional Center, a Level 5 State Prison, where Jenifer explores the transformative power of art, the importance of empathy, and the stories that challenge our perceptions of justice and redemption, while bridging the gap between society and the incarcerated.
Friday, July 25, 202507/25/2025
Darkness and Light
7/25/25: MTA Pres Max Page: religion determining K-12 curriculum? Rep Mindy Domb: the fight for food. Kennedy Inst CEO Adam Hinds: advice and consent. John Feffer: his play “The Wedding Jester.” Donnabelle Casis w/ Sierra Myers & Christine White from Art for the Soul Gallery: “Where Light Speaks.”
