MetroFocus: The Podcast

Brooklyn Neighborhood Policing Itself "Brownsville In Violence Out" In Brownsville, community members are coming together to try out a new approach to public safety. Brownsville In Violence Out (BIVO) is an anti-gun violence initiative in which Brownsville residents respond to low level street crimes themselves, rather than having the NYPD make arrests. The idea is to try to reduce the number of p...

2023 Election Results Analysis The results are in! Journalist and host of the “Max Politics” podcast, Ben Max, joins MetroFocus to breakdown the results of the 2023 Election. Preserving "The Boss": How The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center For American Music Came To Be If you know anything about music icon Bruce Springsteen you know that he’s a Jersey guy, the Jersey Shore to be precise. So,...

New York Voters Speak Out On Issues That Matter To Them Most More than 8 New York state voters say the recent influx of migrants to New York is a “serious problem” for the state, according to a new Siena poll released Oct. 24. And 58% agree with Mayor Adams’ statement made last month that the migrant issue could “destroy New York City.” Siena pollster Steven Greenberg tells MetroFocus “seldom do w...

Religion vs. Tradition We take you to United Palace in Washington Heights, where patrons preach with an open heart; bridging the divide between religion and tradition with frank, honest, and raw conversations. City of Gods Queens is known as the birthplace of religious freedom in America. Do you know why? The answer may surprise you. Find out why and which neighborhood in the borough is the most d...

Exploring Hate: Colleges Struggle With Their Response To The Israeli-Hamas War In just the latest incident of antisemitism on a college campus, a 21-year-old Cornell student was arrested this week for allegedly threatening to kill Jewish classmates. Governor Kathy Hochul has directed State Police to increase security at colleges and universities across New York, but many Jewish students still feel...

NYPD's New Head of Intelligence and Counterterrorism Over the summer, NYPD Police Commissioner Edward Caban appointed Rebecca Weiner as the agency’s Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism – the largest counterterrorism and intelligence gathering operation in American policing. Weiner joined the NYPD in 2006, and has a long track record of investigating right-wing extremism, the I...

The End of AirBNB in NYC? Since its inception, Airbnb has become an increasingly popular option for tourists visiting New York City. In 2022, short-term rental listings across the city, like Airbnb and VRBO, generated $85 million in revenue. While visitors have enjoyed the lower prices and larger spaces that short-term rentals can offer, some residents have blamed these spaces for issues like nois...

Tonight, we revisit our Exploring Hate initiative conversation looking at the surge in anti-Jewish hate and why antisemitism is shifting from fringe to mainstream. Join us for this eye opening discussion are contributing writer at The Atlantic, Yair Rosenberg; author and historian professor Pamela Nadell; and Senior Fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center, Eric Ward.

Joan Lunden & Sheryl Crow Share Their Personal Journeys Of Surviving Breast Cancer Joan Lunden and Sheryl Crow share their personal stories of struggle, survival, and triumph, on their mission to educate everyone on breast cancer and teach us the keys to saving lives. Dangerous Shortage of Cancer Drugs National shortages of vital chemotherapy medications are forcing physicians to develop worka...

How should we understand the increasing demonization and criminalization of homelessness across America? Is shelter alone enough for meeting the call of this moment, or merely an essential starting place? What can leaders in this field teach us about invoking empathy and critical analysis in responding to this complex set of issues? And finally, how can unbiased journalism punch through the myths...

New York City is getting ready to implement congestion pricing starting next spring. MTA Chair Janno Lieber recently announced that the transit authority is on track to begin tolling drivers coming into Manhattan below 61th Street in May 2024. What's still not clear is how much the toll will cost, but it’s estimated it could be anywhere from $9 to $23 per trip. Also not clear is who would be exemp...

Future of Policing: Crime-Fighting Robots? In September, Mayor Eric Adams and the NYPD unveiled a new subway-patrolling robot called K5, which patrols the Times Square subway station from 12AM to 6AM during a two-month trial. The new surveillance tool is one of a growing fleet of NYPD robots which have been criticized, due to their cost and the potential to infringe on people’s privacy. New York S...

Last week, Governor Kathy Hochul endorsed Mayor Eric Adams’ legal challenge to suspend the decades-old right to shelter rule. Many homeless advocates claim if the mayor is successful, New York City could see more homeless and a major uptick in tent encampments. Tonight, we revisit an interview with activist Shams DaBaron who is all too familiar with the struggles by New Yorkers who experience home...

Inside The Protests A reporter who was in the heart of Friday’s pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian protests in Times Square joins MetroFocus to share what he saw that day. "Right To Shelter" Architect Slams Adams' Challenge of Landmark Housing Guarantee Just over 40 years ago, 26-year-old attorney Robert Hayes took on a pro bono case that turned into the biggest legal victory in history for homeless...

An Exploring Hate special report on the conflict in the Middle East. The events in Israel and Gaza are being deeply felt in the Tri-State area. Tonight, we talk with the mother of an 18-year-old who narrowly escaped the bombing with her life, but made it out of Israel and is now traveling halfway around the world to reunite with her family. Also, we’ll hear from a former WPIX-11 New York reporter...

Latinos constitute one of the most rapidly expanding voting blocs in American elections. A recent analysis by the Brookings Institution underscores the profound impact of this demographic. Latinos not only possess the highest ratio of first-time voters among any voting bloc in the country, but this growth is largely fueled by voters under the age of 30. According to an analysis by Brookings Instit...

As economic inequality continues to intensify in the United States, we consider at how we got to this point. In the new book “Hell to Pay: How the Suppression of Wages is Destroying America,” author Michael Lind argues that our biggest problems, from political polarization to the growing culture wars, are rooted in the actions that big businesses have intentionally taken to ensure that the power o...

Tonight, our special report on the migrant crisis in New York City continues. We give you an inside look at the conditions of one of the temporary shelters being used to house migrants and consider why so many migrants are choosing New York, out of all cities, even after our mayor and governor have so publicly discouraged their arrival. While some New Yorkers are protesting the new shelters and bl...

Mayor Eric Adams, Governor Kathy Hochul, and President Joe Biden have recently been at odds over the handling of the New York migrant crisis. This as Mayor Adams is heading on a 4-day trip to Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia to “learn more” about the root causes of the situation. In night one of a two-night special report, we discuss the impact that the arrival of over 100,000 migrants has had on the...

Housing Works, the first recreational marijuana dispensary to open in New York, recently reported that in their first six months of operation they sold $12 million dollars’ worth of marijuana products, doubling their initial sales projections. Though this particular dispensary has been successful, the rest of the state has lagged behind. Housing Works’ sales represent over one third of the $33.4 m...

METROFOCUS & NJ PBS / NJ SPOTLIGHT NEWS SPECIAL REPORT: SEN. BOB MENENDEZ PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO BRIBERY CHARGES U.S. Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey and his wife, Nadine, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to bribery charges. Federal prosecutors allege the Senator took bribes of cash and bars of gold in exchange for his political influence to aid Egypt’s government and do favors for local bu...

All this week, MetroFocus will bring you stories on mental health from a variety of perspectives. We'll hear families, students, and doctors discuss this urgent issue and explore emerging solutions. Tonight, the deaths of former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst and musician Ian Alexander Jr., the son of actress Regina King, have put a spotlight on the rise in suicide rates in the Black community. The distur...

All this week, MetroFocus will bring you stories on mental health from a variety of perspectives. We'll hear families, students, and doctors discuss this urgent issue and explore emerging solutions. Tonight, mental health among children has become a pressing concern. The challenges brought on by the pandemic - from remote learning to social isolation - many children and teens have faced increased...

More than one in three high school students reports feeling persistent hopelessness - a 40% increase since 2009, and suicide has become the second leading cause of death for teens aged 15 to 19. While today’s students are facing unprecedented challenges in the realm of mental health, there are resources available to help families, students, and educators confront this crisis. Here at The WNET Grou...

PERIL & PROMISE: CLIMATE JOURNALISM IN THE AGE OF CLIMATE EMERGENCY It’s Climate Week in New York City. As the world faces an increasingly dire climate emergency, MetroFocus welcomes three winners of this year’s Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards, awarded for excellence in reporting on the climate crisis and its solutions. With us tonight are Mark Albert, winner of the Short-Form Video awa...