The Roundtable

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Stephen Haff, an educator who teaches drama and humanities at Poughkeepsie Day School in Poughkeepsie; Anna Markowitz, executive director of Communities for Local Power and a former White House Advance Lead; Justin Patch, an associate professor of music at Vassar College, who studies music in Amer...

Megha Majumdar’s new novel, A Guardian and a Thief, unfolds over one taut week in a near-future Kolkata reeling from climate disaster and food shortages.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond.

Water Music NY: More Voices Festival will take place in Waterford (July 10), Rome (July 11), and The Tonawandas (August 15), with each performance uniquely shaped by its host Canalside community.

The Roundtable Panel - joined by Beau Breslin, John Faso, Judy Patrick, and Catherine Tan.

Book Picks from The Golden Notebook in Woodstock, NY and Merritt Bookstore in Millbrook, NY for our selections for the week.

Free music and community for all in Central Park in Schenectady, NY is back. They have been Traveling the World One Concert at a Time since 1990 and Music Haven’s 2026 Summer Series gets underway July 12 – August 28

As America marks its 250th anniversary, few historians have done more to shape the way we understand the nation's founding than Ron Chernow. The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer has brought towering figures to life through acclaimed books on George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Ulysses S. Grant, and more recently, Mark Twain. In 1876, as the United States marked its centennial amid lingering di...

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 atSkidmore College Beau Breslin, and Senior Fellow for Health Policy at The Empire Center for Public Policy Bill Hammond.

In 'Tyrants and Rogues: Understanding the Declaration of Independence,' Robert Parkinson argues that the document’s often-overlooked list of grievances against King George III reveals what truly drove the Revolution and why independence became inevitable. Annette Gordon-Reed is a 'New York Times'–bestselling historian and the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University. Her books inclu...

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are a writer and analyst. He recently retired from the presidency of Siena College and was a former NY Congressman. His new book is “The Spirit of Philadelphia Chris Gibson, Former Vice President for Editorial Development at the New York Press Association and a longtime editor of the Daily Gazette, Ju...

As America prepares to mark its 250th birthday, there's no better time to revisit the people, ideas, triumphs, and contradictions that have shaped the nation. For this special edition of Book Picks, part of our series 'We Still Hold These Truths: America at 250,' we're joined by Mike Hare of Northshire Bookstore.

Historian Michael Auslin joins us to discuss his new book, 'National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America.' Rather than viewing the Declaration as a relic of the past, Auslin argues that it remains the nation's defining document—one whose ideals have inspired generations of Americans while continuing to spark debate about the country's promise and purpose.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Semi-retired, Editor at large/columnist/editorial writer, Times Union Jay Jochnowitz, Associate Professor of Music at Vassar College. He studies music in American politics; sound studies; East Asian art music; and music in the African diaspora Justin Patch, Former Times Union Associate Editor Mike...

H.W. Brands new book, 'American Patriarch,' turns to the nation's first president, George Washington. Rather than treating Washington as an untouchable icon, Brands explores the ambition, discipline, and restraint that shaped both the man and the new republic. Award-winning historian Rick Atkinson has spent decades bringing pivotal moments in American history to life through richly researched, com...

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, a former U.S. Army officer and State Department Diplomat who taught at Bard College for six years and is now a Senior Fellow at Bard's Center for Civic Engagement Ambassador Fred Hof, Diplomat in Residence at Bard Colleg...

For more than half a century, Gail Godwin has earned acclaim for novels that blend emotional depth with intellectual curiosity, receiving three National Book Award nominations along the way. In 'The Art of Becoming a Citizen: A Memoir,' she shifts from fiction to reflection, tracing the experiences that shaped her understanding of democracy, belonging, and public life. Part personal history, part...

Hudson Valley Shakespeare’s summer season is underway in its first permanent home, the Samuel H. Scripps Theater Center. Designed to immerse audiences and actors in the rich landscape of the Hudson Valley, its unique indoor-outdoor setting for the company’s open-air productions offers an unparalleled theater experience. The 2026 Season includes Shakespeare’s 'As you Like It' and 'King Lear' this m...

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are a senior fellow and faculty member in the Center for the Advancement of Public Action at Bennington College. She is the President of Beyond Plastics and former EPA Regional Administrator. Judith is co-author of the book 'The Problem with Plastic' Judith Enck, The Ulster County Comptroller and the...

Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho forever changed movie history with one shocking scene, but novelist Leah Rowan asks a tantalizing question: what if Marion Crane had survived? In her debut thriller, 'Marion,' Rowan reimagines one of cinema's most famous victims as a woman who fights back, setting off a suspenseful story of survival, revenge, and reinvention. A modern, feminist twist on a classic, the nov...

Few families have inspired as much fascination as the Kennedys and Britain's royal family. Journalist Caroline Hallemann has spent years covering both as Digital Director of 'Town & Country,' and in her first book, 'The Kennedys and the Windsors: The Story of Two Dynasties, One Born, One Made,' she brings their histories together in a fresh and revealing way. Drawing on extensive archival research...

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, Principal, Faith in the Public Square and Co-Principal of The Religious Nationalisms Project The Reverend Peter Cook, an author, lawyer, consultant, public speaker, and entrepreneur; her most recent book is: 'Race Rules: What Your Black Fr...

For decades, Cory Doctorow has been one of the sharpest critics of the digital world—a bestselling science-fiction writer, journalist, co-editor of Boing Boing, and longtime advocate for digital rights and an open internet. His latest nonfiction book, 'The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI,' takes aim at the hype, fear, and confusion surrounding artificial intelligence.

Brad Gooch has spent much of his career telling the stories of larger-than-life figures. The poet, novelist, and acclaimed biographer is known for celebrated books on Keith Haring, Frank O’Hara, Flannery O’Connor, and the 13th-century mystic Rumi. A Guggenheim Fellow and recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship, Gooch has built a reputation for combining literary insight wit...

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, an educator who teaches drama and humanities at Poughkeepsie Day School in Poughkeepsie Stephen Haff, a former U.S. Army officer and State Department Diplomat who taught at Bar...