WAMC's The Roundtable is an award-winning, nationally recognized eclectic talk program. The show airs from 9am to noon each weekday and features news, interviews, in-depth discussion, listener call-ins, music, and much (much) more!
The Roundtable podcast is a must-listen for anyone who enjoys insightful and thought-provoking discussions. As someone who looks forward to snow days and long weekends, I find great joy in being able to listen to the panel live. However, even when life gets busy, I am grateful for the convenience of podcasts, allowing me to catch up on episodes at my own pace. The Roundtable has become an integral part of my listening routine ever since I discovered it while working in Albany, NY.
One of the best aspects of The Roundtable is the diversity of opinions and perspectives brought to the discussion by the panelists. They do not shy away from expressing their own viewpoints and are not afraid to challenge conventional wisdom. This makes for a refreshing and engaging listening experience, as I get a well-rounded understanding of various topics. The depth of knowledge and expertise displayed by the panelists is truly impressive, covering a wide range of subjects including current events, politics, culture, and more.
Another standout aspect of this podcast is its ability to keep me informed about important issues happening outside my listening area. Even though I do not live within range of WAMC's broadcast signal, I am grateful that I can still stay connected through their podcast. The Roundtable provides valuable insights into regional news as well as national and international events.
While there are many positives about The Roundtable podcast, it is important to acknowledge that some listeners may find it challenging if they prefer a more neutral or balanced approach in their news roundup talk shows. As mentioned earlier, the panelists express their opinions freely and passionately which may be perceived as biased by some individuals seeking a more impartial analysis.
In conclusion, The Roundtable podcast has become an invaluable source of information and entertainment for me. It has elevated itself above other news roundup talk shows due to its willingness to take a strong stand on key issues while maintaining intellectual rigor and respect for different perspectives. Whether I have the luxury of listening live during a snow day or catching up on episodes at an accelerated pace, I always find myself engrossed in the discussions. The Roundtable is a podcast that continues to impress and inspire me with its engaging panel and insightful conversations.
Gavin McMahon joins us to talk about 'Story Business: Why Stories Rule the World and How They Can Reinvent Your Business.' A strategist and storytelling expert, McMahon argues that narrative isn't just marketing - it's the foundation of how organizations connect, persuade, and lead. His book explores how businesses can harness storytelling to build trust, shape identity, and drive lasting success.
The 45th Annual ‘Take Back the Night' rally is taking place on April 23 at Washington Park Lakehouse in Albany, NY. ‘Take Back the Night' is meant to raise public awareness and educate the community about sexual violence.
The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Joseph Palamountain Jr. Chair in Government at Skidmore College Beau Breslin, UAlbany Lecturer in Africana Studies Jennifer Burns, and Senior Fellow at the Bard Center for Civic Engagement Jim Ketterer.
Each weekday morning, The Roundtable's Joe Donahue is joined by various experts, journalists, educators, and commentators to discuss current events. On Roundtable Panel: The Week in Review, we feature your favorite panelists discussing news items from the previous week.
The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Executive Vice President, Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Director of the Center for Civic Engagement at Bard College Jonathan Becker, Preceptor in Public Speaking for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University Terry Gipson, a full professor in the History Department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY) Allison Kavey, and Associate Professor of Government at Dutchess Community College and since 2023, she has been President of the World Affairs Council of the Mid-Hudson Valley Dr. Karin Riedl.
Anne Fadiman is Professor in the Practice of English and Francis Writer-in-Residence at Yale. Her most recent book is “Frog,” an essay collection that Booklist called “a joy to read for the etched-glass precision of [Fadiman's] language and the warmth of her candor and wit”.
Sam Torres and Emily Pinker discuss their new albums, 'Hudson' (4/8) and 'Quiet Anthems' (4/18).
The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are public policy and communications expert Theresa Bourgeois, Joseph Palamountain Jr. Chair in Government at Skidmore College Beau Breslin, Founder and Director of the Volunteer Literacy Project and columnist for The Free Press Larissa Phillips, and Investment Banker on Wall Street Mark Wittman.
Quaker activist, facilitator, and teacher Eileen Flanagan will discuss her book ‘Common Ground: How the Crisis of the Earth is Saving Us From Our Illusion of Separation' at Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs tonight at 6 p.m.
The Albany Symphony Orchestra's April concerts are happening this weekend at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall will include one of the greatest of all romantic concertos, Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 performed by the legendary pianist, Garrick Ohlsson.
The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Stuart Rice Honorary Chair at the University of Massachusetts Amherst's College of Information and Computer Sciences (CICS) and Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University Fran Berman, public policy and communications expert Theresa Bourgeois, Dean of the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity at the University at Albany Robert Griffin, and Vice President for Editorial Development at the New York Press Association Judy Patrick.
This week's Book Picks comes from Joan Grenier from Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley, Massachusetts and Nicole Ihasz from Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs, New York and Manchester Center, Vermont.
The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are The Empire Report's JP Miller, Editor at large/columnist/editorial writer, Times Union Jay Jochnowitz, Diplomat in Residence at Bard College Donna Welton, and Investment Banker on Wall St. Mark Wittman.
For over 40 years, New York Stage & Film (S&F) has developed over 1,000 stories that have won every major entertainment award up to and including the Pulitzer Prize. At S&F's Summer Season presentations, audiences experience stories in their earliest stages before they go to a broader audience. The incubator period these pieces have can be make-or-break for the artists and their vision for their work. Artistic Director of New York Stage & Film Ian Belknap joins us to preview the season.
Biographer Ruth Franklin joins us to tell us about her new biography ‘The Many Lives of Anne Frank.' Franklin explores the transformation of Anne Frank from ordinary teenager to icon shedding new light on the young woman whose diary of her years in hiding is now translated into more than 70 languages and is the most widely read work of literature to arise from the Holocaust.Franklin's book comprehensively researched but experimental in spirit chronicles and interprets Anne's life as a Jew in Amsterdam during World War II, while also telling the story of the diary, its multiple drafts, its discovery, its reception, and its message for today's world.
The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are UAlbany Lecturer in Africana Studies Jennifer Burns, Senior Fellow, Bard Center for Civic Engagement Jim Ketterer, and Political Consultant Libby Post.
Each weekday morning, The Roundtable's Joe Donahue is joined by various experts, journalists, educators, and commentators to discuss current events. On Roundtable Panel: The Week in Review, we feature your favorite panelists discussing news items from the previous week.
Josh Kaufman is a Grammy Award-winning Hudson Valley based record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.
Dr. Ellen Braaten is widely recognized as the foremost expert in pediatric neuro, psychological, and psychological assessment particularly in the areas of assessing learning disabilities and attentional disorders. She is the founding director of Learning and Emotional Assessment Program in Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School. In her new book “The Motivation Mindset Workbook: Helping Teens and Tweens Discover What They Love to Do” she offers practical tools, suggestions, ideas, and activities to help get kids off their phone and unleash their excitement and engagement with life as well as other human beings.
The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Former EPA Regional Administrator, President of Beyond Plastics, professor at Bennington College and author of the new book "The Problem with Plastic" Judith Enck, The Ulster County Comptroller and the former president and CEO of the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley March Gallagher, and CEO of The Business Council of New York State Heather Mulligan.
Launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996, Thirty Years ago, National Poetry Month is a special occasion that celebrates poets' integral role in our culture and that poetry matters. Over the years, it has become the largest literary celebration in the world.These celebrations are taking place in our communities, and we talk with two Poet Laureates in our listening area about the public and personal responsibilities of the Laureate position, which include engaging the public with readings, workshops, and other poetry activities. Jay Rogoff is the Saratoga Springs Poet Laureate and Mike Jurkovic is the Ulster County Poet Laureate.
At the Tang Museum at Skidmore College, ‘Kathy Butterly: Assume Yes' surveys more than thirty years of work by one of the most inventive artists working in ceramics today. Butterly is known for small-scale sculptures that are technically daring, expressive, and often witty. At the Schick Art Gallery in Skidmore's art building, ‘Earthbound' brings together work by eleven contemporary ceramic artists. Their work ranges in techniques and aesthetic approaches from figurative to abstract, and from functional to fantastical.And opening Saturday at The Hyde Collection is ‘Toshiko Takaezu: Voices of Abstraction.' Takaezu was known for her ceramic forms and expressive glazes, and the exhibition places her work in dialogue with painters including Sam Gilliam, Adolph Gottlieb, and Lee Krasner.
The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Senior Fellow for Health Policy at The Empire Center for Public Policy Bill Hammond, Recent former Mayor of the City of Albany Kathy Sheehan, and Associate Professor in the department of sociology at Vassar College Catherine Tan.
The new book ‘The Diversity Principle: The Story of the Transformative Idea' David Oppenheimer gives a 200-year history of diversity in education, science, and commerce. The debate of diversity upends our current government, education policies, and corporate world, the idea of diversity has never been more important. Oppenheimer also shows how over a 200-year period diversity evolved and how it was adopted in science and commerce.
Genevieve Wheeler Brown is a decorative arts specialist and author of the new book ‘Beyond Blue and White: The Hidden History of Delftware and the Women Behind the Iconic Ceramic.' She will be in discussion with a New Netherland Institute Director Dr. Deborah Hamer coming up on 4/12 at 2 pm at the Albany Institute of History and Art. They will discuss the women in the Netherlands who made the beautiful ceramics, the woman who brought it to New Netherland and New York, and the 19th Century Collectors who collected and championed it. In addition, selections of blue and white delft objects from the Albany Institute's collection will be on display as well.
The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Lecturer of Cognitive Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and former Fulbright US Scholar to Egypt Jackie Berry, Former New York 19th Congressman and NY Assemblyman John Faso, and Dean of the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity at the University at Albany Robert Griffin.
Benjamin Wood has written four very different novels that explore the creative process and relationships between parents and children. His fifth novel, Seascraper, is a vividly imagined, layered, and economical mediation on these themes, and it is full of surprises. From a very atmospheric description of a vanishing way of life, to great suspense, to the hint ultimately of optimism in its final characters. The novel was longlisted for the 2025 Booker prize.
This week's Book Picks comes from Suzanna Hermans who join us from Oblong Books in Millerton and Rhinebeck, NY.
The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Joseph Palamountain Jr. Chair in Government at Skidmore College Beau Breslin, Former Vice President for Editorial Development at the New York Press Association Judy Patrick, and Wall Street Investment Banker Mark Wittman.
Jennifer Keishin Armstrong writes about pop-culture in books like ‘Sienfeldia' and ‘When Women Invented Television.' She currently curates and writes the ‘Peabody Finds' newsletter, featuring recommendations and media history, from the prestigious Peabody Awards in broadcasting. She is the co-founder of the ‘Ministry of Pop Culture' Substack. Her new book, out tomorrow from Dutton, is ‘Parks and Rec: The Underdog TV Show that Lit'rally Inspired a Vision for a Better America.'
In the new book ‘Son of Nobody,' Yann Martel offers a compelling dual narrative that is immediately striking and unusual on the page. At once a retelling of the trojan war and a heart wrenching record of modern grief and ambition; Martel's novel grapples with questions of history and mythology whose stories deserve to be told, how do we make meaning in the face of fate's random cruelty, and chaos.
Historian Robert Brigham has spent a career studying the Vietnam War, shaping how Americans understand one of the nation's most complex conflicts. A professor at Vassar College and a leading voice on U.S. foreign policy, Brigham now turns inward with his new book, 'This Is a True War Story: My Improbable History with Vietnam.' The memoir blends scholarship with deeply personal discovery, tracing his journey as an adoptee who learns that his biological father was a renowned Marine combat photographer in Vietnam. As Brigham reconstructs both a family history and a national one, the book explores memory, identity, and the enduring legacy of war - on the battlefield and across generations at home.
The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Professor of History and International Relations at Vassar College Robert Brigham, Political Consultant and lobbyist Libby Post, and Diplomat in Residence at Bard College Donna Welton.
Each weekday morning, The Roundtable's Joe Donahue is joined by various experts, journalists, educators, and commentators to discuss current events. On Roundtable Panel: The Week in Review, we feature your favorite panelists discussing news items from the previous week.
2026 Davenport Resident Amina Claudine Myers will perform in the Studley Theatre at SUNY New Paltz on Tuesday, April 7 at 7:30 p.m. Amina will perform songs from her recent album "Solace of the Mind' and the concert will feature a new solo piano piece written for Department of Music Assistant Professor Phyllis Chen.Amina Claudine Myers was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2024 and received a 2025 Mellon Foundation Artist Award. Her recent record release, “Solace of the Mind,” was named among the 10 Best Jazz Records of 2025 by the New York Times.
Nick Offerman is known to many as Ron Swanson on the TV series ‘Parks and Recreation' and has done a ton of other work including last year where he was the announcer for the Academy Awards. He is also a writer, humorist, and master woodworker who runs the Los Angeles based Offerman Woodshop. He has written several bestselling books celebrating craftsmanship, storytelling, and the pleasures of working with one's hands. Now he is bringing those passions to the stage with ‘Big Woodchuck: An Evening of Comedy with Woodworking and Bookish Mirth.' It is a live show blending standup, reflection of craft and literary humor, and the tour stops at The Palace Theatre in Albany, NY on 4/11.
Erin Harkes, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Metroland Now, joins us this morning for our regular arts segment where she will talk about what's in the pages of Metroland Now and preview each month's events for First Friday in Albany.
The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are full professor in the History Department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY) Allison Kavey, CEO of The Business Council of New York State Heather Mulligan, and Siena University Professor of Economics Aaron Pacitti.
Grammy-winning vocal group Roomful of Teeth and singer-songwriter/composer Gabriel Kahane will release the new concept album ‘Elevator Songs' tomorrow via Octoverse Media and Warner Music Group's Arts Music. We are joined by Gabriel Kahane and artistic director of Roomful of Teeth, Cameron Beauchamp.
Historian Ryan Gingeras has spent years tracing the hidden networks of power that operate just beneath the surface of modern states. A professor at the Naval Postgraduate School and a specialist in late Ottoman and modern Middle Eastern history, his work often explores crime, politics, and the blurred lines between them.His new book, 'Mafia: A Global History,' widens that lens, charting the evolution of organized crime across continents and centuries. It's a sweeping, deeply researched account of how mafias emerge, adapt, and endure—and what their stories reveal about the world we live in.
The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Joseph Palamountain Jr. Chair in Government at Skidmore College Beau Breslin, Former Vice President for Editorial Development at the New York Press Association Judy Patrick, Founder and Director of the Volunteer Literacy Project and columnist for The Free Press Larissa Phillips, Associate Professor in the department of sociology at Vassar College Catherine Tan, and Professor in the History Department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY) Allison Kavey.
The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are public policy and communications expert Theresa Bourgeois, Dean of the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity at the University at Albany Robert Griffin, and Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute Robert Pondiscio.
This week's Book Picks comes from Connie Brooks and Suzanne Kulick who join us from Battenkill Books in Cambridge, NY.
The Justice Center of Rensselaer County is presenting their fourth annual Robert Doherty Memorial Lecture this week with Douglas Blackmon. Blackmon is a distinguished journalist, scholar, filmmaker, and the Pulitzer-Prize winning author of Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II.His talk: “What Comes Next? Redefining Police Power, Restoring Personal Freedom, Rebuilding Faith in American Democracy” will be held on Thursday, April 2nd @ 7PM in the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.
The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Professor of History and International Relations at Vassar College Robert Brigham, Former Mayor of the City of Albany Kathy Sheehan, Former Times Union Associate Editor Mike Spain, and Diplomat in Residence at Bard College Donna Welton.
The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Tetherless World Senior Constellation Professor of Computer, Web and Cognitive Science at RPI Jim Hendler, Senior Fellow at the Bard Center for Civic Engagement Jim Ketterer, and Political Consultant and lobbyist Libby Post.
Each weekday morning, The Roundtable's Joe Donahue is joined by various experts, journalists, educators, and commentators to discuss current events. On Roundtable Panel: The Week in Review, we feature your favorite panelists discussing news items from the previous week.
In the new book “Selected Letters of John Updike” editor James Schiff offers readers a window into that private world drawing from decades of correspondence. Schiff presents a portrait of Updike is both craftsman and confidante, generous, witty, and endlessly reflective about writing and life.
Todd Caldwell's new album is ‘Show Pony' - that blends the bluesy, gritty groove of the classic jazz organ trio with a more cinematic, modern approach. His music transcends traditional jazz, weaving together past and future, and creating something both timeless and innovative.
The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Professor of History and International Relations at Vassar College Robert Brigham, Preceptor in Public Speaking, Strategic Communications, and Public Relations for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University Terry Gipson, Professor in the History Department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY) Allison Kavey.
Albany's Lost Radio Rounders are a true acoustic trio featuring Tom Lindsay on guitar and vocals, Paul Jossman on banjo and guitar, and Michael Eck on mandolin and guitar.Their themed musical/historical programs attract audiences interested in both the songs and the stories behind them. At most Lost Radio Rounders shows you will find no amplifiers, no instrument cables, and a minimum of P.A. gear. Their 2026 offering America 250: Songs & Stories debuted at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in January, and they are playing alllllll over this year. Michael Eck and Tom Lindsay join us!
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