Driving Forces on WBAI

On WBAI 99.5 FM’s City Watch on October 4, 2020, Host Jeff Simmons focused on the Rockaways with New York State Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato; Jeanne Dupont, Founder and Executive Director of RISE, the Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability and Equity; and Diane Cardwell, author of Rockaway: Surfing Headlong into a New Life (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).

Celeste Katz Marston speaks to Rod Quinn of Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio about the latest in U.S. politics, October 1, 2020.

Celeste Katz Marston speaks to Rod Quinn of Australian Broadcasting Radio, September 18, 2020.

On September 20, 2020, WBAI 99.5 FM City Watch Host Jeff Simmons talked with New York Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir about her book, Horse Crazy, published by Simon and Schuster.

On Sunday, September 20, 2020, WBAI 99.5 FM City Watch Co-Host Jeff Simmons spoke with Matthew Bronfman of the Claims Conference Task Force about a new survey of Gen Z/Millennials about Holocaust knowledge; New York Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir about her book, Horze Crazy (Simon and Schuster; and former New York City Department of SmallBusiness Services Commissioner Rob Walsh about the NYC Urba...

On September 17, 2020, WBAI 99.5 FM Driving Forces host Jeff Simmons discussed a new survey about the pandemic’s impact on communities with Dr. Robert Blendon, the Richard L. Menschel Professor of Public Health and Professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis, Emeritus, at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; , New York City Council Member Justin Brannan about school reopenings, and...

On WBAI 99.5 FM's Driving Forces on September 10, 2020, Host Jeff Simmons talked about transit and schools with guests MTA Chairman and CEO Pat Foye, Manhattan Institute's Nicole Gelinas, and New York City Council Member Mark Treyger.

Celeste Katz Marston speaks with Rod Quinn of Australian Broadcasting Corporation Radio, September 3, 2020.

On Sunday, September 6, 2020, WBAI 99.5 FM City Watch Host David Brand talked with New York State Sen. John Liu, chair of the Senate's Committee about New York City schools, climate crisis activist Patrick Houston from the organization New York Communities for Change, and Trump parodist Tootsie Warhol, a former Brooklyn prosecutor, about his own presidential bid.

In this episode of It's in Queens, ost Jeff Simmons talks with Acting Queens Borough President Sharon Lee.

On WBAI 99.5 FM's Driving Forces on September 3, 2020, host Jeff Simmons talked with American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and New York State Assemblymember Nily Rozic.

On Sunday, August 30, WBAI 99.5 FM City Watch Host Jeff Simmons talked with Amit Sing Bagha, Deputy Director of the NYC Census 2020 Office; Joel Berg, CEO of HUNGER FREE AMERICATM (formerly known as the New York City Coalition Against Hunger) and a former City Watch host; and Penny Swift, CEO of Executive Director of Education Through Music (ETM).

On August 27, 2020, WBAI 99.5 FM Driving Forces Host Jeff Simmons focused on the DNC and RNC conventions with guests Bob Hardt, Political Director at Spectrum News NY1, and Susan Del Percio, founder of Susan Del Percio Strategies.

On the Aug. 23 episode of City Watch on WBAI 99.5 FM, Host David Brand talked with US Representative Carolyn Maloney, who discussed the legislative fight to reverse cuts to the postal service. Former letter carrier John Welsh, the vice president of solutions design at SNP communications, described how the cuts are affecting the work of mail carriers. And Legal Aid staff attorney Ellen Davidson tal...

On August 20, 2020, WBAI 99.5 FM City Watch host Jeff Simmons talked with New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins; New York State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs; and, Justice Democrats Executive Director Alexandra Rojas.

On August 16, 2020, WBAI 99.5 FM City Watch host Jeff Simmons spoke with E.J. White, author of You Talkin’ To Me? by Oxford University Press; Victorious De Costa, producer of Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn on HBO; and, Rachel Weinstein, founder of Operation Backpack and Vice President at Volunteers of America-Greater New York.

On the Aug. 9, 2020 episode of City Watch, host David BRand talked with State Sen. Jessica Ramos about her role on the DNC Rules Committee and the effort to enact tenant protections in New York. Election attorney Ali Najmi explained how the state can resolve issues related to absentee ballots and improve mail-in voting ahead of the Presidential Election, and Bryan O'Malley, the executive director...

On Thursday, August 6, 2020, WBAI 99.5 FM Driving Forces Host Jeff Simmons talked with New York City Council Member Carlos Menchaca and Ray Brescia, author of The Future of Change, How Technology Shapes Social Revolutions by Cornell University Press.

On Thursday, July 30, 2020, WBAI 99.5 FM Driving Forces host Jeff Simmons talked with congressional candidate Jamaal Bowman, New York State Assembly candidate Zohran Mamdani, and Claire Bond Potter, author of Political Junkies (Basic Books)

On Sunday, July 26, 2020, WBAI 99.5 FM City Watch host Jeff Simmons focused on animal rights with guests: New York State Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal; NYCLASS Executive Director Edita Birnkrant; and, Voters For Animal Rights Founder/President Allie Feldman Taylor.

Celeste Katz Marston speaks with Rod Quinn of Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio about the coronavirus pandemic, civil unrest, and more, July 23, 2020.

On Thursday, July 23, 2020, WBAI 99.5 FM Driving Forces host Jeff Simmons talked with New York City Council Member Ritchie Torres about his Democratic primary win; government and politics expert Suri Kasirer; and Maryama Diaw, a Case Investigator with New York City's Test & Trace Corps.

On Sunday, July 19, 2020, WBAI 99.5 FM City Watch Host David Brand talked with Khaleel Anderson, a community organizer who won the Democratic primary to represent Southeast Queens in the state assembly, and Brooklyn-based artist Andrew Hermida, whose annual project illustrating the scene at every single Mets home game has earned him a cult following among local baseball fans. News correspondent Ce...

On Sunday, July 12, w020, WBAI 99.5 FM City Watch Host Jeff Simmons spoke with Hope Knight of the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation; Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, who is a candidate for Assembly in Queens' 34th District; and, Dennis Walcott of the Queens Public Library system.

On July 9, 2020, WBAI 99.5 FM Driving Forces Host Jeff Simmons talked with US Congressmember Yvette Clarke and elections expert Jerry Goldfeder.