Wait, What is That?

In this episode of 'Wait, What Is That' Podcast, hostsBrandon and Katie discuss the Peekskill Riots of 1949 with John Scott Bennett,a filmmaker who has chronicled this significant yet under-discussed event inAmerican history. The conversation centers on the riots that erupted duringconcerts by Paul Robeson, an African American singer, actor, and civil rightsactivist, who faced violent oppo...

Kamel Jamal speaks of his love for Palestine and devotion to its liberation in a quietly sad yet solid voice after completing one of his toughest days as a chef for one of his restaurants, Beacon Bread Company. During the early summer days of May 2021, after families in the Palestinian neighborhood, Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, banded together to protest their scheduled displacement by occupyi...

As the City of Beacon considers a smoking cannabis ban on its public parks, Katie and Brandon discuss if people even want to smoke cannabis in public parks and if the smoke should be allowed to drift. Now that New York State has made smoking cannabis legal - partly in the name of removing racial discrimination from enforcement - the once-criminalized aroma can be all around us. Can people re-wire...

Brandon and Katie’s first Disney discussion was so riveting, Katie’s sister wanted to come onto to the show to voice her very strong opinions about why she’s not a Little Mermaid Fan, her questions about Elsa from Frozen, and why Hans as a duplicitous character is allowed to make an appearance at all.

Brandon and Katie are BACK! It’s been an entire pandemic (for Dutchess County…several parts of the world are continuing to get crushed). To grease our wheels, Brandon breaks into song to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and Katie ends the segment by singing the Little Mermaid’s “Part Of Your World.” What started as a planned pod about Disney presentations of female and family values, turned into an im...

Brandon and Katie meet back up after a long hiatus of winter to chat about the time in between. While normally recording from their Shed Studio, with COVID on the rise, which found its way into Katie's home, they are recording from their respective cars - Studio Cars! Because it's cold outside. In true "Wait, What Is That?" fashion, Brandon and Katie ponder life's big questions, including super he...

In the summer of 2020, Beacon experienced protests down Main Street in the name of Black lives for several weekends in a row, followed by educational experiences, usually in Memorial Park. Supported by businesses down Main Street with signs in windows and staff and owners standing outside with fists raised, a young Beaconite Justice McCray led a drumbeat to break the silent segregation that has bl...

Police reform and reflection is on the minds of everyone, including children. One example of confronting police influence is in children’s programming. For a minute, the long-loved cartoon Paw Patrol , which is a show that follows a boy named Ryder and a crew of pups who go on rescue missions in the community, was rumored to be canceled when police programming such as “Cops” was actually deemed to...

Ali T. Muhammad was born and raised in Beacon, NY, walking every day down a literal pathway between prison and public school, as his home was on the grounds. Brandon and Katie catch up with Ali to hear about his perspective and experience with Black Lives Matter protests and experience sessions throughout the Hudson Valley.

Segueing into a different city department now, we interview Reuben Simmons, who is involved in community outreach and programming in Beacon, and worked his way up to being promoted as Beacon’s Highway Superintendent, until he wasn’t. His is the only job demotion you might see in LinkedIn. We look into why, what happened, and what is currently happening.

BAM. Our next interview was with current Mayor Lee Kyriacou. During Randy’s interview, and during the 1st biggest BLM protest in Beacon, we learned that Lee spearheaded the look-see into Beacon’s Police Department in the early 2000s, which resulted in a federal investigation. We wanted to learn more about that.

Well HELLO. Our first interview is with the former Mayor of Beacon for 2 terms: Randy Casale. A born and bred Beaconite who knows everything about everything Beacon. Everything. Go Listen

Have you ever noticed that house on the corner of Cross Street that is a storefront window? Brandon remembers when it was a deli and he went there daily on his way to and from the old Beacon High School. This picture is unrelated but will do for now.

Brandon and Katie record their first podcast. Not sure what they were going to talk about. And then Brandon brought the Brooklyn Donuts. Which are from Connecticut. And go…