THE EAGLE: A Times Union Podcast

David Gordon runs the mobile lyricism program at the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Capital Area. Over the summer, he bought a beat-up RV and converted it into a recording studio decked out with subwoofers, a soundproof recording booth and neon lights. Gordon’s goal was simple: to bring his lyricism program to the Capital Region kids who need it— particularly when the coronavirus pandemic hit. In thi...

A New York court is considering this week whether an elephant can be considered a person by law. The argument involves Happy, the last remaining elephant at the Bronx Zoo, and whether she should be granted legal personhood—which would subject her to habeas corpus and allow for her removal to an elephant sanctuary. Reporter Robert Gavin has been following the case, and discusses the unique legal ar...

Twelve-year-old Isla Besha can pick up a copy of J.K. Rowling's new book, The Ickabog, open it to a certain page, and find an illustration she had drawn on a whim while looking for something to do during the pandemic lockdown. The middle school student in East Greenbush was one of a handful of children in North America chosen to illustrate Rowling's book, culled from more than 40,000 submissions....

Election Day has come and gone, and Times Union Capitol Bureau reporters Amanda Fries, Edward McKinley and Chris Bragg offer a debrief of state-level election surprises and as-yet undecided races. Also on this episode, reporter Massarah Mikati visits a refugee family living in Albany to learn about the unique challenges their eight children face as both new English learners and remote students.  L...

NXIVM leader Keith Raniere has been sentenced to 120 years in prison, doubling his lifetime and all but ensuring he will spend the rest of it behind bars. Times Union reporter Rob Gavin was in the federal courtroom for the sentencing this week, and recounts the experience and reaction from victims who gave powerful impact statements. Also on this episode, Managing Editor Brendan Lyons talks about...

Almost 90 years ago, a valuable painting in Jewish newspaper publisher Rudolph Mosse's Berlin collection was stolen by Nazis, and disappeared. Last week, the FBI announced the painting had been recovered and returned to Mosse's heirs. It had been found at the Arkell Museum in Canajoharie, New York. Reporter Eduardo Medina covered the return of the painting and reveals what happened to it in the de...

India Oxenberg spent seven years of her life entrenched in the world of the shadowy organization known as NXIVM. She was a member of the secret female "master/slave" group run by Keith Raniere, and was branded with his initials. She left NXIVM in 2018 and returned to her mother, actress Catherine Oxenberg, who had led the charge to expose the crimes of Raniere and other NXIVM leaders. Now, she's r...

Father Peter Young's life would make for a great movie. The Albany-based priest spent decades doing everything in his power to help men in the Capital Region suffering from alcoholism, addiction and homelessness get treatment and get their lives on track. Sometimes that meant taking a beating, emotionally and physically. Now 90 years old, the beloved icon is reflecting on his life of service, and...

It has been nearly two years since the tragic limousine crash in Schoharie county that killed 20 people. This week, the National Transportation Safety Board finally released its long-awaited report on the crash, laying the blame for the crash on the limousine operator and the state, and placing blame for the delay in the report's release on the Schoharie county district attorney and the state poli...

Zanief Washington has been numb to the sound of gunfire since he was six, when a stray bullet smashed through his living room window in Albany and lodged itself in the wall while he was playing a video game. Now 19, he walks for hours around the city each day, trying to escape the poverty and gun violence that plagues his neighborhood. Times Union reporter Eduardo Medina recently spent time with Z...

Some say notorious prohibition era gangster John T. "Legs" Diamond got his nickname from his ability to outrun trouble. But trouble did eventually catch up with him in 1931, when he was gunned down in a boarding house in Albany. But for all his notoriety – all the movies and popular culture surrounding him, he had very little in the way of a paper trail...until recently. Times Union reporter Ken C...

The annual Best of the Capital Region special section is finally coming out, after a five-month delay due to the coronavirus pandemic. Times Union readers voted in record numbers this year, selecting their favorite local businesses and services across 100 categories. On this episode of The Eagle, Times Union Editor Casey Seiler talks to Features editors Gary Hahn and Sara Tracey for a preview of w...

The national debate over how to commemorate the nation’s past came to Albany this spring when Mayor Kathy Sheehan announced her intention to move the statue of Philip Schuyler—Revolutionary War general and owner of enslaved persons—from in front of City Hall.  This episode of The Eagle features a portion of a livestreamed discussion on the fate of the statue, featuring Sheehan, UAlbany Africana St...

Once in a while a thoroughbred comes along who blows away the field, securing a glorious place in racing history. Names like American Pharaoh and Secretariat come to mind. Tiz the Law, a New York-bred, 3-year-old bay stallion, might just be one of those horses. The Triple Crown hopeful already nailed one leg this year, the Belmont Stakes, winning handily by several lengths. In this episode of The...

Capital Region educators, school leaders, stakeholders and parents are feverishly planning for the start of the school year amid an uncertain landscape. On this episode of The Eagle, Times Union education reporter Rachel Silberstein sits down with Albany City School District Superintendent Kaweeda Adams, Guilderland Central School District Superintendent Marie Wiles, Questar III BOCES Superintende...

Live theater is back in the Berkshires this week. The only two theater companies in the country that have the blessing of the Actors Equity Association opened shows there, and the Times Union's top theater critic Steve Barnes was in the house.  Also on this episode, investigative reporter Chris Bragg talks about his reporting on local urgent care chains that are charging the uninsured for COVID-19...

College students from out of town have returned to campuses all over the Capital Region this week. But classes won't be starting just yet. Instead, they're electing to quarantine in their dorm rooms or hotel rooms for 14 days. Education reporter Rachel Silberstein caught up with one student at Siena College, who says being cooped up in a dorm is a small price to pay for the chance to return to cam...

We use the concept of a "drive-thru" for many aspects of modern life - i.e. for food, for banking, for coffee - but the pandemic has opened up a new avenue for a funeral home in Ballston Lake. Reporter Rick Karlin spoke with the directors of the home about the technology they've set up to enable grieving families to receive friends and loved ones at a traditional wake. Also on this episode, entert...

A recent surge in gun violence in Albany and across New York led senior editor Brendan Lyons to investigate the cause. What he found was not what he expected - that teenagers are doing  most of the shooting. Also on this episode, education reporter Rachel Silberstein talks to a former Cuomo aide whose name has been floated to replace the departed SUNY chancellor.   Learn more about your ad choices...

When a Vietnamese-born American woman from Virginia got some very unexpected results from a genetic test, it led her on a journey north to the Adirondacks, where she found a father and a family she never knew she had. Reporter Leigh Hornbeck recounts her experience visiting the newly united family. Also on this episode, Times Union editor Casey Seiler highlights the top stories during an unusually...

Reporter Massarah Mikati sits down for an exclusive interview with Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins about what he calls the exhausting work of balancing the responsibility to support his officers and the need to respond to calls for change in the community. Also on this episode, two local strip clubs have resumed business following the COVID-19 pandemic, but as Steve Barnes reports, it's unclear w...

Reporter Wendy Liberatore spares no detail in recounting the saga of a 7-foot wooden penis sculpture that became the center of a Saratoga county squabble. Also in this episode, education reporter Rachel Silberstein talks about high school graduation ceremonies taking place in the region, and how some districts may not be following the rules. And real estate reporter Leigh Hornbeck takes us inside...

Times Union horse racing writer Tim Wilkin has never covered a season quite like this one. In this episode of The Eagle, he recounts his evening with the Saratoga Springs-based owners of Tiz the Law as they watched their horse win the first leg of the Triple Crown.  Also in this episode, reporter Larry Rulison takes a look at the newest lawsuit filed on behalf of the family of a victim of the 2018...

The faces and voices of the fight for racial justice in the United States today span no less than three generations. Those that witnessed the Civil Rights movement in 1960s protest alongside those who have just come of age during the 21st century. Reporter Massarah Mikati sought out the leaders of the Capital Region's movement, and listened to their stories. Also on this episode, Times Union edito...

Times Union Capitol correspondent Emilie Munson recounts her latest shift at the White House this week as the president welcomed law enforcement officials to discuss potential police reforms. Also on this episode, investigative reporter Chris Bragg describes his recent deep dive into the cases of five children who died at the the hands of their parents, despite warnings in New York family courts....