THE EAGLE: A Times Union Podcast Times Union

A time-traveling DeLorean takes center stage in "Back to the Future: The Musical," coming to Proctors in Schenectady in June. But screenwriter Bob Gale is the wind beneath its wings. His iconic franchise, co-written with filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, continues to delight audiences almost 40 years after the first movie premiered. Gale joins us on this episode of "The Eagle" to talk about the musical, the film, and the legacy of "Back to the Future."
Also on this episode, reporter Rob Gavin discusses his investigation into sex trafficking in the Capital Region, which investigators say is "significant." 


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Since the 1960s, Interstate 787 has separated the city of Albany from its Hudson River waterfront. What if the massive elevated highway, with all its noodley ramps, moved underground? Or what if it became a ground-level parkway with traffic lights and crosswalks?
Those are two of the proposals the New York State Department of Transportation is floating to remake the city’s main artery, whose current maintenance costs are in some cases more expensive than the proposals to completely raze it. Times Union columnist Chris Churchill has been talking about what changing the highway might do for New York’s capital city for years, and joins us to talk about what he thinks of the new proposals.
Also on this episode, Times Union Hudson Valley writer David Levine talks about the life and death of Prohibition-era gangster Legs Diamond, who was murdered 93 years ago this month.
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Sprinkling sodium chloride on roads and highways during winter months has long been an effective way to avoid hazardous driving conditions. But ongoing research out of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is showing that while road salts are essential for human safety, excessive use of them is profoundly affecting freshwater flora and fauna living near roads and developments. Recently, biology Professor Rick Relyea and his team found that frogs in particular have been evolving faster than normal to cope with saltier water. He joins us on this episode of “The Eagle” to talk more about what that means for local wildlife.
Also on this episode, features editor Sara Tracey talks about the big winners and big surprises in this year’s Times Union Best of the Capital Region contest.
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This year’s New York state budget is done and dusted. Capital reporter Dan Clark gives us the highlights of the $237 billion behemoth, which includes tools to crack down on illegal cannabis and new plans to spur housing development.
Also in this episode, we’ll talk with playwright Matthew Spangler, who wrote a stage adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling novel “The Kite Runner” that’s coming to town next week.
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There are few things that unite generations of people raised in the Capital Region more than Secrets, the iconic all-ages nightclub at Guptill’s Rollerskating Arena. The memorable radio spots advertising the wa-wa-water cannons and lack of dress code live rent-free in the minds of those who came of age in the last four decades of its existence. Secrets closed in March 2020 after more than 40 years, an unfortunate casualty of the pandemic. On this episode of “The Eagle,” Kristi Gustafson Barlette investigates what became of the memorable space.
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Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band are playing the MVP Arena next week, after more than a year of postponements and delays. The resident Times Union Springsteen superfans, editor-in-chief Casey Seiler and city desk editor Mike Goodwin, sat down to talk about why tickets were so expensive, why it was delayed, and what they are looking forward to most about the show.
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