An Armao On The Brink Rosemary Armao

May means flowers, lawns and gardens --  outdoor glory that can make war, famine, student protests and hate  go away for a while. But  while planting native plant species and shrinking grassy areas around your home to make room for flower beds is relaxing and beautifying, it's also an important way to fight back against climate change and environmental degradation. Listen to two of the best Master Gardeners in New York's capital area explain how it all works. They also answer a slew of your frequently asked gardening questions.

Why do old men judges and politicians get to make decisions about how women use their bodies? Why is the US moving backward in matters of reproductive health when even Catholic countries are modernizing? Why should doctors face criminal charges just for caring for patients? Rosemary talks with some smart and angry women about abortion lunacy. Hear from women’s cancer care Dr. Heidi Godoy, long-time Planned Parenthood Spokeswoman Blue Carreker, college administrator Malia Du Mont, and political activist Christine Primomo. 

The news has been so intensely bizarre lately that we had to take a minute to talk about it all rationally. Former and maybe future President Trump is on trial for paying a porn star to shut up about their sex-capades, Trump won't shut up about jurors and witnesses despite a gag order, the press is catching flak  for giving airtime to Trump and writing about the jury. While meantime in DC Republicans in Congress led by Margery Taylor Greene are talking about shaking up the speakership again. Talking about this circus with me are editorial writer Mark Mahoney of the Gazette in Schenectady and former Washington political reporter Phyllis Jordan.

It’s been months since we have put the war in Gaza and the even longer battle rocking Ukraine on our agenda, but these awful conflicts have not died out and, in fact, are threatening to spread wider. I have teamed up with Wall Street banker Mark Wittman and International educator Jim Ketterer,  colleagues from the old WAMC Roundtable,  to talk about the suffering, the threat of worse to come and the dim possibility of peaceful settlements. 

Outspoken UAlbany students talk with Prof. Rosemary Armao about the mess Boomers have left them in politics, racial equality,  health, and climate control and about what they intend to do to change the world. This is a chapter full of smarts, passion and hope.



Ethan Pausel is a Long Island native and a sophomore in biology at UAlbany. He hopes to be working soon on innovations in biomechanical engineering, organoid synthesis, and prosthetics. He holds twin passions for science and for interpersonal connections based on shared knowledge and journalism. This is from Ethan: “I often wonder why there are so many problems my peers and I face in the world today—conflict, class struggle, climate change, bigotry—and I think it can all stem from a failure of good information. Information is the most valuable resource when it comes to changing the world, yet it can so easily be warped into a malignant harbinger of disorder, fear, and hate…We must cultivate an environment of rich, valuable information that can…prepare everyone for the future—whatever it may look like. I hope my peers and I can build a world that learns from its mistakes and provides for its future. A future people can see themselves living in.”



Nayeka Edmond is a junior at UAlbany  from Brooklyn. She is double majoring in criminal justice and journalism along with a minor in  legal philosophy. She also works in the New York Attorney General’s office and hopes to continue in that line of work cracking down on white collar crime.  Law school is in her future but at the moment she’s busy running for Student Body President. 

Travel can literally transport you to a different place, take you out of time, and make you forget your troubles and the world's. Or it can go all wrong.  In this week's chapter veteran globetrotters Hawley Johnson, Drew Sullivan, and Aida Cerkez along with host Rosemary Armao tell funny, awful and exhausting stories about their worst bad trips.