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What’s Next?

Music Podcasts

What’s Next? is a program that uncovers and discusses the issues and topics pertinent to marginalized and underrepresented populations of Western New York and Southern Ontario. From inception, days after the racist May 14, 2022 shooting in Buffalo, the show has tasked itself to be a champion for social equity and justice. Moving forward we will continue to feature voices from all parts of our shared community to celebrate our individual differences as well as the commonalities.The show is broadcast live on the air from 10am to 11am Monday through Thursday, and airs again at 9pm Monday through Thursday as well as Sundays at 6pm on WBFO. It is also available digitally through WBFO’s website, apps, and as a podcast.Listeners can participate by using the "Talk to Us" feature in the WBFO mobile app, available on Apple and Android devices. Open the app and scroll to the bottom bar where the "Talk to Us" button allows listeners to send audio recordings straight to the newsroom. You can also reach the production staff by e-mailing WhatsNext@wbfo.org.

Location:

United States

Description:

What’s Next? is a program that uncovers and discusses the issues and topics pertinent to marginalized and underrepresented populations of Western New York and Southern Ontario. From inception, days after the racist May 14, 2022 shooting in Buffalo, the show has tasked itself to be a champion for social equity and justice. Moving forward we will continue to feature voices from all parts of our shared community to celebrate our individual differences as well as the commonalities.The show is broadcast live on the air from 10am to 11am Monday through Thursday, and airs again at 9pm Monday through Thursday as well as Sundays at 6pm on WBFO. It is also available digitally through WBFO’s website, apps, and as a podcast.Listeners can participate by using the "Talk to Us" feature in the WBFO mobile app, available on Apple and Android devices. Open the app and scroll to the bottom bar where the "Talk to Us" button allows listeners to send audio recordings straight to the newsroom. You can also reach the production staff by e-mailing WhatsNext@wbfo.org.

Twitter:

@WBFO

Language:

English

Contact:

716-845-7000


Episodes

What's Next? | Reconnecting to Prevent Social Unrest

3/28/2024
Seamus Gallivan’s latest endeavor is Reconnecter, a “social connection space” that aims to bring people together in person and online “by illuminating the ties that bind us.” That means music showcases, variety shows, and media elements — all to help provide a need that he believes can help prevent social unrest. Gallivan sits down with Thomas O’Neil-White to speak about the power of reconnection and his plans for the new project.

Duration:00:55:00

What's Next? | Buffalo’s New Historian and Western New York Farmworkers

3/27/2024
Lindsey Lauren Visser was recently appointed to the role of historian for the City of Buffalo. She is the first female historian to serve in the role, and she joins Thomas O’Neil-White to discuss her appointment and some notable upcoming milestones, including the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal in 2025. Then, producer Patrick Hosken speaks with Gittel Evangelist, the communications coordinator for Rural and Migrant Ministry, about a recent court ruling with implications for rural and farmworkers in New York State.

Duration:00:55:00

What's Next? | Eliminating Racism with the YWCA Jamestown

3/26/2024
The YWCA Jamestown's mission states that it is “dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.” What’s Next? travels to the organization’s historic building on Main Street in Chautauqua County’s largest city to meet the team making that mission happen: Indo Quiñones, Mission Impact Director; Alizé Scott-Nowell, Social Justice and Race Equity Director; Jacqui Cook, Young Women Choosing Action and Women to Women Director; Nanci Okerlund, Transitions Director; and Amanda Gesing, Executive Director.

Duration:00:55:00

What's Next? | A Classroom Inside a Correctional Facility

3/25/2024
Jamestown Community College recently partnered with Collins Correctional Facility for a joint prison education program, headed up by Reid Helford. He’s made it his life’s work to teach incarcerated students, and he’s learned a lot about identity, perception, and value from those lessons. Helford joins Jay Moran on campus in Jamestown for a conversation tackling his experiences, how academic expression can allow for growth opportunities, and more.

Duration:00:55:00

What's Next? | Advancing Tobacco-Free Communities in Western New York

3/21/2024
Smoking rates are declining, but efforts to curb tobacco use keep ramping up. Rashawn Smalls, the program manager for Tobacco-Free Erie and Niagara through CAI Global, joins What’s Next? to talk about what it means to advance tobacco-free communities, including eliminating secondhand smoke and creating overall healthy environments. Then, we revisit a conversation with expert Dr. Gary Giovino about how tobacco use interacts with other factors like diet and income.

Duration:00:54:58

What's Next? | Caregiving in Communities of Color

3/20/2024
In light of a recent conference presented by the Western New York Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, What’s Next? features a conversation about Black caregiving. We welcome Robin Hodges, board member of the Alzheimer’s Association; Andrea Koch, the organization’s Director of Education and Training; and Dr. Carleara Weiss, Research Assistant Professor in the Office of Nursing Research at the University at Buffalo. The three join Jay Moran to discuss caregiving in communities of color and offer some context for the ongoing challenges to meet those needs.

Duration:00:56:01

What's Next? | The Path to More Women in Construction

3/19/2024
Today on What’s Next?, we welcome Marie Patton, the vice president of the National Association of Women in Construction’s Buffalo Niagara chapter. Patton is also the director of operations and safety at Active Workforce, a job placement and training organization that helps workers in construction connect with contractors looking to hire. She sits down with Jay Moran to discussion how women still only make up a small fraction of total construction jobs – and how her organizations work to help change that through networking and resources.

Duration:00:55:00

What's Next? | Poetry as Service

3/18/2024
What’s Next? welcomes returning guest Aitina Fareed-Cooke, a multi-disciplined artist who was recently named Buffalo’s second-ever poet laureate. Fareed-Cooke is deeply invested in the creative arts, as well as education through her work with the media company Get Fokus’d Productions. She joins host Holly Kirkpatrick for a conversation about plans for her new role and the importance of service, and she also reads an excerpt of her poem “Forever Serve.”

Duration:00:55:00

What's Next? | The Legacy of Buffalo’s First Black DJ

3/14/2024
The Buffalo Courier-Express called him the “Jackie Robinson of Buffalo broadcasting,” and throughout his career on the air locally, the city’s first Black DJ Jimmy Lyons spoke with leading figures like Sammy Davis Jr. and Sam Cooke. What’s Next? travels to the home where he raised his family on Northland Avenue to speak with Gail, his daughter. She shares stories about Jimmy’s life, including his time as a performer, and makes a case for why Jimmy Lyons belongs in the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Duration:00:56:00

What's Next? | Cannabis Dispensaries Get Their Flowers

3/13/2024
Today’s What’s Next? features two conversations devoted to the state of New York’s legal cannabis marketplace. First, Thomas O’Neil-White sits down with Sheldon Anderson, the CEO and one of the co-owners of Public Flower, the first Black - and woman-owned licensed dispensary in the city of Buffalo. Then, producer Patrick Hosken speaks with Paula Collins, an attorney specializing in cannabis law and tax preparation, who is also running for New York's 21st congressional district this year.

Duration:00:56:00

What's Next? | The Continuum of Buffalo’s Black Arts Scene

3/12/2024
Bree Gilliam is a visual artist whose portrait and mural work, in her own words, incorporates bold color and expressive brushwork to provoke emotion from her audience. Tiffany Gaines is the curatorial and digital content associate at the Burchfield Penney working on a project called “From the City: Exploring the Continuum of Buffalo’s Black Arts Scene.” Both join What’s Next? producer Patrick Hosken for separate conversations about creative expression and what that looks like locally, as well as upcoming work to look out for.

Duration:00:56:00

What's Next? | Where Black Thought Matters

3/11/2024
Today’s What’s Next? features a conversation with Marcus Watson, associate professor of Africana Studies and Individualized Studies at Buffalo State University. His research focuses on the Black freedom struggle globally as well as social activism in South Africa, Ghana, and the U.S. Watson sits down with Jay Moran for a conversation about his studies, his Peace Corps work in South Africa shortly after apartheid, what students find most resonant about Africana studies, and more.

Duration:00:56:00

What's Next? | Indigenous Perspectives in Education

3/7/2024
Today on What’s Next?, Jay Moran sits down with Dr. Lori Quigley, professor and coordinator of the Ph.D. in Leadership in Policy program at Niagara University. Quigley’s academic research and her work as an education consultant has put social justice about Native issues at the forefront. This month, she will be a visiting professor at St. Bonaventure University, where she will speak about the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the U.S. today. Here, she previews those talks.

Duration:00:56:00

What's Next? | Villa Maria’s Hip-Hop Creative Alliance

3/6/2024
What’s Next? welcomes CJ Banks, the Special Assistant to the President at Villa Maria College. Banks heads up community outreach and workforce development at the school, including through the recently announced Hip-Hop Creative Alliance. He’s also the founder and president of the KORP Foundation, which focuses on professional advancement and skills training. Originally from The Bronx and after some time spent in the music industry, Banks came to Buffalo 20 years ago. Since then, he’s kept busy in various entrepreneurial roles. He joins Jay Moran to discuss the latest of these, and future plans for workforce development in the community.

Duration:00:56:01

What's Next? | Cultural Brokers and the Healing Process

3/5/2024
Today on What’s Next?, two guests from Jewish Family Services speak about their work in refugee resettlement, specifically the role of mental health in that process. Bijoux Bahati is the manager of the TST-R program, and Danielle Bernas is the director of the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Healing. Both have extensive experience working with immigrants and new arrivals as they navigate the challenges of resettlement, including mental health and cultural issues, and the places where those intersect. Bahati and Bernas sit down with Jay Moran to share their work, as well as give background on cultural brokers, the rich and growing diversity in Buffalo neighborhoods, and the challenges of identity.

Duration:00:56:00

What's Next? | Bearing Witness

3/4/2024
What’s Next? welcome Dee Johnson and Deb Erwin, the co-founders of Witness CARES LLC, an outgrowth of the National Witness Project, which aims increase cancer screening among underserved African American women. The duo’s work has seen them navigate community issues of medical mistrust as well as transportation challenges, all in service of a flourishing program that covers the gaps in the health care industry. Johnson and Erwin join Jay Moran for a conversation about fixing health care disparities here in Buffalo and beyond, as well as future plans for screenings of other types of cancers in larger populations.

Duration:00:56:00

What's Next? | Producer’s Pick: White Rage, History, and Education

2/29/2024
We revisit a stand-out conversation with Stephanie Peete, Wil Green, and Rob Leteste, who all appeared on a recent panel themed around Carol Anderson’s book White Rage presented by Say Yes Buffalo. The event was moderated by Green, the director of outreach and community engagement at the University at Buffalo’s graduate school. Peete is Say Yes Buffalo’s workforce development director, and Leteste is the business intelligence and workforce manager at Invest Buffalo Niagara. The latter appeared as panelists, along with professionals in law, mental health, and other fields. A portion of that panel discussion can be heard in the second half of the episode.

Duration:00:59:58

What's Next? | Meeting the Needs of East Side Veterans

2/28/2024
On today’s episode, we welcome three guests whose work in veteran services and outreach has culminated in a new study concentrated on Buffalo’s East Side. Bob James, team leader for WNY Vets, and former service members Edwin Gadson and Marlene Roll join Jay Moran to discuss the findings of the East Buffalo Veterans Study, a years-long campaign designed to highlight the needs of Buffalo veterans who may not know about the services available to them, or how to find them.

Duration:00:55:59

What's Next? | Roots of Reconciliation

2/28/2024
Today’s What’s Next? welcomes guests associated with National Federation for Just Communities of Western New York: Mara Koven-Gelman, the senior director of Buffalo Jewish Community Relations Council; Rev. Dr. Todd Leach, the senior pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church; Tim Sember, Trocaire College’s vice president of mission and advancement; and Rene Petties-Jones, the president of NFJC of WNY, Inc. They’ll discuss their experiences with a grassroots organization called ROOTS, a self-described “network of local Palestinians and Israelis” who hold a series of dialogues and speaking engagements aimed at challenging the assumptions the communities hold about each other and build trust. The members speak with host Jay Moran about their work with ROOTS and share insights from these dialogues.

Duration:00:55:58

What's Next? | Dr. Ibram X. Kendi: The Antiracist Scholar Who Steps Up

2/26/2024
On a special episode of What’s Next?, hosts Thomas O’Neil-White and Jay Moran sit down with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, acclaimed author, professor, historian, and the founder and director of the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University. Dr. Kendi recently adapted Zora Neale Hurston’s tale of the Atlantic slave trade, Barracoon, into a children’s book, and he speaks about the necessity of bringing that story to young readers. He also offers his take on the continued spread of white supremacy and what Buffalo can keep in mind as the city continues its healing journey.

Duration:01:00:00