Sundays On The East End

We chat with Grubhub Senior VP and East Hampton resident Maggie Drucker about food, working for Martha Stewart, providing counsel for The New York Times finding your creative voice in the legal world, and food. Did we say food? And her life on the East End, of course.

On our penultimate show, we chat with Anne Chaisson, executive director of the Hamptons International Film Festival, about the importance of movies, her journey from business to producer to executive director, about film festivals in general and their place in the landscape, and, of course, about the East End.

What does it take to become America's premiere college essay mentor?). For Chris Hunt, it took a lifetime in international journalism (The Wall Street Journal's Hong Kong correspondent in the '90s, among other gigs), two published books (one about motorbiking the Ho Chi Minh trail), and his own blue-chip education (Dartmouth, The London School of Economics and Political Science - LSE). Listen in, during this week of college acceptances, to hear about Chris's journey and what it takes to make the admissions offices sit up and pay attention.

This week on the show, we talk to Hampton Bays photographer and artist Matt Raynor about his creative process, his accident that left him paralyzed, his near death experience, and how art continues to be an emotional outlet for him.

This week, we chat with our old buddy, East Hampton resident and Broadway composer/cabaret artiste Amanda Green. She is the recipient of the 2013 Frederic Loewe Award from the The Dramatists Guild of America (with collaborator Trey Anastasio of Phish) for her music for "Hands On A Hardbody" (lyricist; co-composer). She's been nominated for a Tony Award, three Drama Desk Awards, and an Outer Critics Circle Award, including a nod for her lyrics (with Lin-Manuel Miranda) for "Bring It On." We talk about the difference between writing pop/country and writing for the stage, her incredible Broadway/Hollywood upbringing (daughter of Adolph Green and Phyllis Newman), and her upcoming projects -- plus laughs and a few surprises.

We chat with journalist/author Mark Harris ("Mike Nichols: A Life"). He is the former executive editor of Entertainment Weekly, contributing editor for New York Magazine and Vulture, along with editor-at-large for TIME, and is also known for his books "Pictures At A Revolution" and "Five Came Back," which was turned into the Netflix series of the same name. Mark lives in New York with his husband, "Angels in America" Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist Tony Kushner.

If you live on the East End, then you’ve no doubt seen the beautiful imaginings of artist Kara Hoblin, Kara Bella Art, at restaurants and other places on both forks, like First And South and Love Lane Kitchen. From whales made of flowers, to lungs made of coral, to her now-famous “thank you” to healthcare heroes drawn on a driveway, her art expresses the connectivity of nature, but in a form as fleeting as chalk. Why chalk? Join us as we discuss her choice of medium, her near-death experience, and the art of letting go.

Marissa Bridge is well-known on the East End for her botanical paintings and her unique "paper-rolling" technique for art creation. Now, she is also known for her instant-hit podcast, "The Apology Line" on Wondery, which hearkens back to NYC in the '80s, when Marissa's late husband, Allan Bridge, hosted an anonymous phone apology line for 15 years. It started as a conceptual art project and a way of atoning for his own guilty secrets. Then, a serial killer called.

Julie Ratner of The Ellen Hermanson Foundation celebrates the life of her sister, Ellen, who was struck down by breast cancer as a young mother. That tragic event became the soil in which the East End-based institution bloomed into a 25-year source for helping other women. We also discuss Ellen's Run, the upcoming winter gala on March 6, turning poison into medicine, and more.

Join our convo with artist/organizer/environmentalist Scott Bluedorn. Among many other topics, we discuss growing up on the East End, his surreal, unique artwork, his community involvement, Richard Scarry's Busytown, making a living as an artist, and Greenport Harbor Brewing co.

In honor of the inauguration, it's our inaugural show this weekend -- a revamped rebroadcast of our first episode with the brilliant singer-songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins, recorded in September of 2018.

We talk to localism-obsessed chef Jeremy Blutstein about growing up in Amagansett, eating too many pancakes at Estia's, getting his produce from places like Balsam Farms, LLC, his total and complete love of restaurants, and more. Plus, why Wu-Tang Clan?

If you know Kate Mueth and The Neo-Political Cowgirls, then you know Kate isn't just creative on her own, but has spent a lifetime providing a platform for others to create -- whether through art, dance, theater, prose, film, and more.

Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton discuss family, collaboration, writing, movies, and the creative process on an updated rebroadcast.

Mushrooms. Cannabis. Plant medicine. Farming. This week we talk with Bridgehampton's own maven of mycellium, David Falkowski of Open Minded Organics, LLC and the OMO Apothecary in Sag Harbor, about his journey, his roots, his involvement with his community and on educating the public.

coming soon

Cancer. It used to be whispered about. Not anymore. On this week's show, we have a discussion with Duncan Darrow, executive director of Fighting Chance, a free cancer counseling center on the East End, with a new office in Southampton along with the office in Sag Harbor. Duncan is always a great guest, and we learn so much. We talk about his own journey, what made him want to start an organization like Fighting Chance, the psychology of a cancer diagnosis, and more.

While some of us learn to become more self-sufficient during these strange times, Rachel Stephens of Sweet Woodland Farm, an avid homesteader, has been doing that for years. Join us this week to learn about the beauty of honoring nature's rhythms, growing your own vegetable and fruits, the local farmers' markets, what fire cider is, and the importance of chicken poop.

Ayni. It's a Quechua word that means "community" or "reciprocity." There are few people on the East End who embody that more than Bonnie Michelle Cannon of Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center, i.e. The Center. If you think it's all about childcare and recreation, you've got another thing coming. Listen in to an episode this week about gratitude, strength, and, most of all, LOVE.

This week we talk with Nancy Atlas, local legend, about live music and the plight of musicians on the East End during the Summer that Wasn't. Nancy, Nancy Atlas Project , and her friends (other rock stars like Johnny Blood-John Leitch, Joe Delia and others) will be performing a six-week series to raise funds for the Stephen Talkhouse.

11/01/20 - Interested in podcasting and storytelling? Sag Harbor's Kathleen Russo was married to one of the greatest of storytellers, the late Spalding Gray, and she speaks about his brilliant monologues, and her creative process producing podcasts like Alec Baldwin's "Here's The Thing" and HRC's new podcast "You and Me Both," and the Stony Brook University's Audio Podcast Fellows program, which she co-founded several years ago. Listen in as we chat with Russo about providing a platform for storytellers (and about her own fascinating journey).

Oscar and Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist/screenwriter Jules Feiffer and journalist/playwright JZ Holden talk to Alec and Bridget about life, love, and humor …

We talk with East End power couple Andrea Grover, executive director of Guild Hall of East Hampton and Carlos Lama, arts educator, vinyl maven, and renowned DJ. Hear about their journey from Houston to the Hamptons, navigating the arts scene and parenting during Covid, and what lies ahead.

This week we are lucky enough to chat with Melissa Errico -- Broadway chanteuse, New York Times and Purist writer, wife, mother, East Ender. We discuss her trilogy of concerts with The New Yorker's Adam Gopnik, her association with the legendary French composer Michel Legrand, her marriage to Patrick McEnroe and his early battle with COVID, and more.

If there is one person on the East End who could be symbolized simply by a raised fist, it would be community organizer Lisa Votino. From her hands-on work at the U.S.-Mexico border, the marches and peaceful protests she has had a hand in supporting gender equality, LGBTQA+ causes, and more recently Black Lives Matter, Lisa is on the front lines of leveling the playing field for everyone (while also parenting her daughter and "partner in crime," Lily).

Sybille van Kempen, owner of the Bridgehampton Inn and Loaves & Fishes Cookshop, and the Sagaponack-based Loaves & Fishes Foodstore, is bringing a new collection of small, carefully-curated and locally based farm-to-table cookbooks to the market over the course of the year. Listen to her favorite recipes for this fall season, about her family and the many important farming families that make the East End everything it is.

Bridget and Alec have their first in-person interview since the beginning of the pandemic, with world-renowned artists/authors/astrologers Amy Zerner and Monte Farber.

WLIW Freeform Radio host Meg Noonan and musician Stephen Desaulniers join Bridget and Alec to discuss music, wiffle ball, and friendship.

Legendary axe man GE Smith and singer-songwriter-producer Taylor Barton -- both of Amagansett -- talk about GE's latest album, Stony Hill, recorded with famed blues musician LeRoy Bell, the music video "America," produced by Taylor, and offer how musicians and others survive -- and thrive -- in 2020 and beyond.

We talk with Jonathan and Rene Shapiro, founders of the Mixology clothing line, about their new business, Mindset Wellness CBD, their long, successful marriage, Jon's hip-hop career as Jon Saint and his several mental breakdowns on his journey.

East Hampton's own Paul Annacone talking about growing up on the East End, playing pro tennis, coaching Sampras and Federer, and his latest book.

Join us as we engage in a conversation with author and memoirist Erica Heller about her latest book, "One Last Lunch." Within the pages, Kirk Douglas asks his father what he thought of him becoming an actor. The Anglican priest George Pitcher has lunch with Jesus. Kate O'Toole dines with her dad, Peter O'Toole. Bob Balaban imagines lunch with Groucho Marx. And more...

A talk with "Beat Bobby Flay" chef and Food Network personality Palak Patel about her arrival in the states as an immigrant child, her rise up the corporate ladder and how food plays such an important role in our lives, memories, and spirit.

Join us as we chat with filmmaker Rex Miller about tennis and Black people — namely his award-winning American Masters documentary about Althea Gibson, and his upcoming Arthur Ashe doc — plus his relationship to the East End (hint: it has to do with tennis).

Screenwriter and producer Jenny Lumet, daughter of director Sidney Lumet and granddaughter of movie star Lena Horne, discusses working with Jonathan Demme, her upcoming series, Clarice, for CBS, and growing up on the East End.

We speak with EHHS graduate, trans advocate, global citizen and forensic entomologist Joel Melia about trans rights, dead bodies, and bugs.

Join us as we speak with Dr. James Banks, coordinator of multicultural affairs for Suffolk County Community College, and comedian Richie Byrne, founder of "United We Laugh," a diverse stand-up comedy tour that has frequently played on the East End. Hear about how this duo met and teamed up to change the narrative through laughter and meaningful dialogue.

This week, join Alec and Bridget as we take a little stroll down Memory Lane. June 14 is our last show in this current incarnation, at 11 a.m. on 88.3 WPPB - FM, as next week — drumroll please! — we change over to a new time and new call letters (but same place on your radio dial). Beginning with the June 21 show, we will still be Sundays on the East End with Bridget LeRoy & Alec Sokolow at 88.3 WLIW FM, and we will air on Sunday at 4 PM -- right after Broadway to Main Street and right before the new weekend edition of NPR All Things Considered. This Sunday, we will play a few soundbites of our favorite shows, including our interviews with Sophie B. Hawkins, April Gornik, Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton, G.E. Smith and Taylor Barton, Bonnie Michelle Cannon of the Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreation Center Inc, and Alec's cool baby brother, producer Sam Sokolow with his better half, Julia Fowler of the Southern Women Channel. Tune in for a fun look back and an exciting look ahead!

This week, Alec and Bridget talk with Sag Harbor resident Nicole Delma, founder of the "Air, Land + Sea" environmental film series of the Hamptons International Film Festival, a former "Survivor" contestant, a mom, a maker, and a doer. Nicole has recently launched a petition campaign to see if Amazon will offer plastic-free packaging, and as of the show's recording, she had received over 356,000 signatures. She has also recently launched, pre-COVID-19, a company of eco-friendly "maker's kits" with her new company, mindoffline.org.

This week's show features author/third-generation journalist T.E. McMorrow, talking comparatively about the 1918 flu pandemic and coronavirus (including the shocking mistakes repeated by the Powers That Be), the challenges facing Census 2020 (he's been personally involved with the U.S. Census Bureau since the 1980s), and his journey from actor/punk rocker to court reporter.

Bridget with this week's co-host, actress and eldest child, Georgia Warner, talkin with commercial fisherman turned artist Matthew Raynor, who was paralyzed from the chest down in 2019 and lost the use of his fingers as well. But Matt has found ways to adapt to his disability and continues to create art and inspire hope.

Bridget and Alec interview yoga teacher and shaman Ray Crist of the Jaguar Path.

Alec and Bridget interview singer-songwriter-storyteller Inda Eaton.

Our guests are Patrick McLaughlin of Douglas Elliman and Jack Pearson of Compass Realty.

Bridget and Alec talk movie magic with Sag Harbor Cinema's artistic director Giulia D'Agnolo Vallan and its executive director Gillian Gordon Crozier.

Bridget LeRoy with special co-host Joe Shaw of the Express News Group and singer-songwriter, bandleader, and all-around rock goddess Nancy Atlas.

Alec and Bridget welcome noted artist and philanthropist Eric Fischl, National Book Award-nominated children's book author and educator Patty McCormick, and sports writer and journalist Steve Friedman, to discuss the new Prime House Writers' Retreat in Sag Harbor.

News veteran Judy Licht and advertising guru and columnist Jerry Della Femina joined Alec and Bridget to discuss local journalism, deep fakes, and more.

Our guest is Southampton Town Police Chief Steve Skrynecki, talking about a lifetime in law enforcement.

Bridget and Alec talk to wildlife rescuer, photographer, and children's book author Dell Cullum, about his journey through loss, love, redemption, and having a pet squirrel.

Bridget and Alec talk with rocker, film composer and arranger, and local legend Joe Delia.