Bartholomewtown

Send us Fan Mail Sam Bell (D, Providence) is a freshman Rhode Island state Senator, known for his tenure as the former head of the Rhode Island progressive Democrats, and currently in the state legislature, as a strong opposition voice to many of the seemingly institutionalist practices of the state’s political infrastructure.   During his appearance on The Bartholomewtown Podcast, Senator Bell ma...

Send us Fan Mail Bill Bartholomew welcomes in Ethan Shorey, Managing Editor of The Valley Breeze , a hyper-local print newspaper covering northern Rhode Island.  The conversation offers a glimpse into the community relationships that define  The Valley Breeze 's success and growth, along with Shorey's assessment of northern Rhode Island economic development, Rhode Island politics and muc...

Send us Fan Mail Dante Bellini Jr. is the recently retired Partner / Executive Vice President of RDW Group, a Rhode Island based integrated communications firm with ties to many of the market's legacy brands and institutions.  During this fun conversation, Dante offers insight from his 41 years in mass media and shares key takeaways about Rhode Island and the southern New England market. Supp...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of The Bartholomewtown Podcast , Bill Bartholomew is joined by Providence Journal Providence beat reporter Madeleine List for two separate conversations.  First, an in-studio sit-down, focusing on Madeleine's first year on the City Hall beat.  Second, a phone conversation in the hours following the passing of the fiscal year 2020 Providence budget, a process t...

Send us Fan Mail Just days after The Rhode Island General Assembly passed the fiscal year 2020 state budget, House Majority Leader offers insight into how leadership may have prioritized certain sectors and ideas in an effort to stimulate economic development (i.e. small business, Blockchain), attention to educational challenges and so-called "evergreen laws", as well as shared wins and...

Send us Fan Mail G. Wayne Miller is an established storyteller, who has built a career through writing, photography, television and audio platforms including PBS and The Providence Journal .  On this episode, Bill Bartholomew and Wayne discuss the future of media, the rise of podcasting, his nationally syndicated television program Story In The Public Square and the ins-and-outs of storytelling. S...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode, Bill Bartholomew welcomes the cast of WPRO's The Gresh Show, Andy Gresh and producer Brett Ferruccio for a fun look at New England sports media, future of talk radio, origins in broadcasting, creating a daily show and much more. Support the show Follow Bill on Instagram and YouTube

Send us Fan Mail Naomi Chomsky is a Rhode Island-based activist and performer who recently found themselves in the regional and national media spotlight at the center of what became a “controversial” Drag Queen Story Hour event booked in Fall River, MA.   Drag Queen Story Hour is exactly what it purports itself to be: queens in full garb reading children's books to children, usually at a loca...

Send us Fan Mail In this on-location episode, Bill Bartholomew sits down with three voices on CBD in Rhode Island: occupational therapist Kim Canning, farmer Ben Morgan-Dillon and retail proprietor Jordan Carlson, plus a follow-up with Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation cannabis head Norman Birenbaum on what regulatory process may be in store when it comes to CBD in the Ocean State. Sp...

Send us Fan Mail Veteran Projo reporter and author Mike Stanton talks Cianci, media, Rhode Island politics, journalism classrooms and much more! Mike Stanton is an author, investigative reporter and associate professor of journalism at the University of Connecticut. He worked for years as a sports writer and investigative reporter for The Providence Journal, where he shared a Pulitzer Prize, and i...

Send us Fan Mail NAACP Providence President Jim Vincent joins host Bill Bartholomew for a wide-ranging discussion on racism, policy and politics in Rhode Island. Support the show Follow Bill on Instagram and YouTube

Send us Fan Mail Barnaby Evans is the creator of WaterFire, a recurring public art installation that has become an iconic element of The City of Providence.  During a wide-ranging conversation, Mr. Evans, a Brown University graduate and multidisciplinary artist, described WaterFire's origins and mission, offered takes on Rhode Island economic development and politics, and put forth the facts...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of The Bartholomewtown Podcast, Bill Bartholomew presents several conversations with artists and organizers from this year's PVDFest.  Entering its 5th season, PVDFest is described as the "Creative Capital's" "signature arts festival."  In this episode, conversations include artists Becky Bass, Mike Gore of Extraordinary Rendition Band...

Send us Fan Mail With major shifts in the southern New England media landscape, including The Boston Globe's foray into Rhode Island, and his own outlet's recent announcement of expansion into Newport and South County, RI, I circle back with an early B-TOWN guest and southern New England media mainstay, Ian Donnis of The Public's Radio (Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts&ap...

Send us Fan Mail The Boston Globe recently announced that it was expanding to include more in-depth Rhode Island coverage, including the hiring of three prominent Rhode Island journalists: Dan McGowan, Amanda Milkovits and Edward Fitzpatrick. On this episode of The Bartholomewtown Podcast, Ed Fitzpatrick returns to The Loft to break down some of the coverage The Globe's Rhode Island team expe...

Send us Fan Mail Mr. 401, Gene Valicenti Gene Valicenti is a Rhode Island legend, a longtime media personality who serves as the 6 o’clock newscast anchor on the market’s television leader, WJAR NBC10, as well as the morning drive host on the region’s leading news/talk radio station, WPRO. Support the show Follow Bill on Instagram and YouTube

Send us Fan Mail Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor Dan McKee was the first political guest to appear on The Bartholomewtown Podcast, so I couldn’t think of a better guest to celebrate  episode 100 with than the honorable LG. In the past year, McKee was engaged in a highly compelling Democratic primary with progressive former Representative Aaron Regunberg, a contest the LG ultimately won, and which...

Send us Fan Mail Joe Polisina is a longstanding political figure from Johnston, Rhode Island, having served as a state Senator and since 2006, as the city’s mayor. During our wide-ranging conversation Mayor Polisena expanded on his well-known perspective on recently passed municipal contract bills, that he along with many other mayors and town administrators have insisted is detrimental their muni...

Send us Fan Mail A look at the juxtaposition of historic preservation and development in Rhode Island via The Nicholson House in Providence. Situated behind a stone wall and layers of trees on Blackstone Boulevard in Providence, Rhode Island’s east side, The Nicholson House is often referred to as one of the last of the great estates that defined the neighborhood for much of the 20th century.  Som...

Send us Fan Mail Weenie Wizard is a Providence, RI-based artisanal hot dog stand, that offers a constantly shifting array of meat, veggie and carrot dogs with highly original and creative toppings.  Created by Michele Fryer and Luke Tabor, aka the Fantastical Food Group, ‘The Meat MAGICIANS”, as they are known, have expanded from speakeasy-esq DIY origins in 2014 to a fully licensed food provider...

Send us Fan Mail Steve Klamkin is a news personality on Providence-based legacy news/talk radio station WPRO.   A newsman’s newsman on the journalistic side of the job, and a highly entertaining and singular personality as a broadcaster, Klamkin can be heard on-air most days as a reporter, anchor, and on Saturday mornings, a host. In an era of shifting media consumption habits and changes to the l...

Send us Fan Mail College campuses across the United States are filled with a vast array of clubs and organizations that can serve a range of purposes from filling students downtime with amusement to encouraging scenarios that sculpt leaders of the future.   College political party clubs provide an outlet for young politicos to engage with each other, the student body, the general public, media and...

Send us Fan Mail Joe Wilson, Jr. is a theatrical actor and activist, who is Coordinator Of Activism Through Performance and Resident Acting Company Member with Providence’s Trinity Repertory Company, described as "one of the most respected regional theatres in the country" Our conversation included Mr. Wilson’s journey as an artist and political activist, including his origins in the dee...

Send us Fan Mail There’s no question that economies of the future will be strengthened by, and eventually depend on a broad, multilingual workforce and pool of innovators. Simultaneously, today, many people are unable to access educational and other developmental opportunities because of their lack of command of English, and are left out of the field of potential contributors to an improved econom...

Send us Fan Mail Stephen Smith is a West Virginia gubernatorial candidate, who has built a people-powered political and social movement in West Virginia which seeks to overtake the state’s gouvernement from the hands of what they describe as the ‘Good Ol’ Boys” club that has long-controlled the state’s political might. What sets Mr. Smith apart from conventional political candidates, though, is hi...