Podcasts
Podcasts
Monday, August 10, 202608/10/2026
New Ventures: Listen, Write, Walk, Run
8/10/26, Co-Host, writer and editor Megan Zinn
Northampton’s new school superintendent Annie Azarloza: her personal history, her listening and learning tour, community engagement, the cell phone ban, & working with the School Committee.
Mount Holyoke College Professor Joshua Hotaka Roth: his new graphic memoir, co-authored with his father, titled “Lifelines: Art, Memory , Relationship.”
Mayors Monday with Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia: the Peace Walkers, CAFO finally!, schools & data centers.
Corrine Corryat, candidate for the Democratic nomination for First Franklin Representative: the issues and the race.
Saturday, August 8, 202608/08/2026
Western Mass Business Show on 8.8.26 – Easthampton Neighbors
In The Western Mass. Business Show
Join us as we hear from Mary McCarthy and Sharon Tilbe, who are the President of the Board and the Volunteer Coordinator respectively at Easthampton Neighbors. They serve 55+ in the Easthampton community who need a little help from their friends to get by. With so many people aging in place it is important to have safety nets like EN so that people can get to appointments, the grocery store, have a small repair done, get computer assistance, or just have a friendly face to check in on them. The village-to-village network has taken off across the state and county with many nonprofits like EN right here in the 413. Listen in on how you can help with becomming a member, volunteer, or board member. Save the date for the Cow Plop Derby on 9/13 at Fletchers Farm in Southampton, MA. Sounds like a fun time for everyone. Thanks for listening to the WMBS.
www.easthamptonneighbors.com
Friday, August 7, 202608/07/2026
Maxed Out, Wrapped Up
8/7/26, Co-Host Andy Bukowski
Max Page, recent (term-limited) Mass Teachers Assoc President and Matthew Bach, new MTA President, on MTA’s 2026-2027 goals & priorities, the strike in Andover that Matt led, and his history as a history teacher.
Community Action Pioneer Valley Exec Dir Lev Ben Ezra and Family Center Director Kia Burton-King on joy in a backpack and wrap-around services for families.
Astronomer Salman Hameed: the critically important and under-reported story of the Trump administration’s combined attack on science, medicine, universities, and our future.
Documentary Filmmaker Lexi Jamieson Marsh: the world premiere of “I Was a Hurricane” on the Amherst Common tomorrow evening — the story of the 2003 Amherst High School National Champion Ultimate Frisbee Team, a story of belonging, friendship, and trust.
ArtBeat with Donnabelle Casis and Ava Harper on Ava’s new and moving solo exhibition at 33 Hawley, “Familial Bestiaries.”
Thursday, August 6, 202608/06/2026
Reasons for Running
8/6/26: Co-Host Andy Bukowski
Atty Michael Fenton, candidate for Governor’s Council, explains what the Council is and does and why he is seeking this position.
Taylor Haas, Ex Dir, the Three County Fair: no horses races but don’t miss the school bus demolition derby, the horse and oxen pulls, agriculture exhibits, the fun animals, the midway and much more.
Congressman Jim McGovern on the corruption in Washington, the wars in Iran, Gaza and Ukraine, the slush fund for Jan 6 insurrectionists, and the Midterms and how Democrats should run.
Ruth Griggs, Pres, Northampton Jazz Festival on Jazz in the Valley and the fabulous artists in our midst.
Wednesday, August 5, 202608/05/2026
A Better Tomorrow
8/5/26, Co-Host Brian Adams
District Attorney David Sullivan, advocate for the Protect Act, which prohibits ICE enforcement in sensitive locations in Massachusetts, e.g., court houses, medical facilities, and schools — on his way the signing ceremony with the Governor.
ServiceNet’s Dr Elaine Campbell on AI in therapy – AI is the compass, therapists are the trail guides; and providing mental health services in the community—how that works.
Western Mass Clean Energy Network’s John Pepi and Keith Hastie: where to site solar arrays, what about wind? NIMBY here? Our path to a better energy future.
Disability Rights Advocate & Northampton City Councilor Jeremy Dubbs on Picture Main Street and is the City addressing the needs of persons with disabilities?
Tuesday, August 4, 202608/04/2026
The Valley Rising
8/4/26 Co-Host Amilcar Shabazz.
FishWrap: unionizing the Eric Carle Museum; the First Franklin race debate; Nhmptn City Councilor Laurie Loisel on trans rights—her piece in today’s Gazette.
Black in the Valley w/ the founders– Professors Jacquelyn Smith-Crooks & Carlie Tartakov — & Amilcar Shabazz on Frederick Douglass’ “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will” — applying that statement here and now.
Hannah Rechtshaffen, Ex Dir, Greenfield Business Ass’n, on the new Passport Program, downtown grocery stores, foot traffic, venues, the creative economy & housing.
Lisa Wong, South Hadley Town Administrator: the town’s cannabis ban, food trucks, agricultural entertainment zones, Mount Holyoke College and the PILOT, and the Override vote on Sept 1.
Monday, August 3, 202608/03/2026
Giving Voice
8/3/26: Co-Host Megan Zinn.
Meg Ryan, Public Health Nurse with FRCOG, on you v. mosquitos and tics; what you don’t know can hurt you.
Whatcha readin’? Sister talk with Megan Zinn and Joanna Ryan.
Sen Jo Comerford on the Freedom to Read bill, the Protect Act, long-term care legislation, data privacy, workplace violence, energy affordability, economic development, funding for higher ed, and more.
SportsMan Scott Coen on the Red Sox rebound and what they’ll do today– the trade deadline.
Joanna Rubiner, Voiceover Artist: the real and the reel.
Saturday, August 1, 202608/01/2026
Western Mass Business Show on 8.1.26 – Tides for Reproductive Freedom
In The Western Mass. Business Show
Join us as we meet Feyla McNamara, Co-founder and Co-executive director and Dale Gaddes, Director of Development for Tides for Reproductive Freedom. Founded in 2018, and staffed up in 2023, Tides as an abortion fund led by people who have had abortions and queer folks. Tune in as we learn what an abortion fund is and how this small grassroots network can help over 700 people last year alone. We discussed how hard it is to do the work in these times but how in these times the work is the most essential effort that they produce for humanity. How Roe was not the ceiling, but the floor and the rebuilding must be done better and for more people in the future. For more information about Tides please visit www.tidesforchange.org. Thank you for listening.
Friday, July 31, 202607/31/2026
The Hustler Files Ep 173
BRIAN KOEHN – FROM WARDEN TO CORRECTIONS REFORMER
For decades, the conversation around corrections has largely centered on two models: government-run facilities which operate 92% of prisons, and private prisons, which own and run the other 8%. But what if there was another option? Creating a third model is Brian Koehn, (pronounced Kane), Founder and CEO of Social Purpose Corrections, the nation’s first nonprofit corrections organization and the third leg in the proverbial correction stool. After more than three decades leading prisons across the country, Koehn walked away from a successful career with one question he couldn’t ignore: ‘After All It is Called Corrections’, which then asks the question, ‘If we call it corrections, are we actually correcting anything?’ Brian’s understanding and experience brings to light information that is not readily discussed such as the culture inside American corrections, the challenges facing correctional officers, why leadership matters, and whether a nonprofit, outcomes-based model, like SPC could reshape how correctional systems operate. From staff retention and rehabilitation to innovation and accountability, this conversation challenges long-held assumptions about what corrections are and what it could become. Whether you agree with Brian’s vision or not, this episode asks an important question: How do we create safer facilities, stronger leadership, and better outcomes for everyone involved?
Friday, July 31, 202607/31/2026
Picture This
7/31 Hosts: Josh Silver & Buz Eisenberg
Max Page of The Mass Teachers Assoc w/ Jim Baude of Boston Public Radio & Renee Loth of The Boston Globe: Reforming the ballot process & rules that effect election ethics
David Detmold: Walking for social change
Carolyn Misch, Northampton Director of Planning & Sustainability: Picture Main Street Project
Artbeat w/ Donnabelle Casis & guests Danielle Amodeo of Arts Equity Group and Multimedia artist Angelica Olstad: The current exhibition, Music for Healing, at PaperCity Clothing Gallery in Holyoke