What’s Next?

We observe the one-year anniversary of our program’s inception by asking the show’s contributing members to share some of the more noteworthy interviews they’ve been a part of within the past eventful year.

We’re first joined by Terri Parks from the League of Women Voters Buffalo Niagara to discuss a candidate’s forum for those running for Buffalo Common Council. We’re also joined by Scott Behrand and Peter Johnson – two of the leading members of Road Less Traveled Productions.

Jay Moran is joined by Erie County Legislature Chairwoman April Baskin. We speak to Chairwoman Baskin about recent County initiatives.

First, we hear from Bishop Glenwood H. Young from Good Samaritan Church of God in Christ. Afterwards, the race for the Ellicott District Common Council seat is highly contested this year.

On today’s episode, we’re looking at the two major funds that formed after the May 14th racist shooting at Tops.

For this episode of Buffalo, What’s Next?: Producers’ Picks, we have an important panel discussion that was hosted at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Beyond Hate: A Panel Discussion” was moderated by the host of NPR’s The Takeaway, Melissa Harris-Perry, and the distinguished speakers on the panel included Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, President of Spelman College Dr. Helene Gayle, the Chan...

Karl Shallowhorn is a mental health advocate and educator who has been talking about mental wellbeing in the Western New York area for years. Lorenzo Rodriguez sits down with Karl to discuss what the Buffalo community’s psyche might look like a year removed from the May 14th Tops shooting.

On today’s episode of “Buffalo, What’s Next?” we speak with Mark Talley - the son and surviving family member of Geraldine Talley, one of the lives taken in the May 14th racist attack at Tops. Mark talks to us about the book he authored 5/14: The Day the Devil Came to Buffalo and explains how the process of writing the book has helped him grieve the loss of his mother and cope with the tragedy of...

If you’ve walked around Downtown Buffalo recently, you’ve probably spotted the bright yellow billboards and bus ads calling out City Hall. Jay Moran sits down with Harper Bishop and Ariel Aberg-Riger who are two of the organizers of the political action group Our City Action Buffalo. Afterwards, we’re joined by educator, scholar, and author Dr. Silvia Lloyd. Along with the challenges today’s schoo...

As we mark a year since the racist attacks at the Jefferson Avenue Tops Supermarket, Jay Moran sits down with the Poet Laureate of the City of Buffalo, Jillian Hanesworth, to help summarize our collective feelings and continue to heal.

Jay Moran sits down with “Buffalo, What’s Next?” Associate Producer, Charles Gilbert, to discuss his main takeaways and lingering thoughts from his journey down to Charleston, SC. We have one last stop on our Lost Stories of Black Charleston with Damon Fordham and it deals with a notable figure in the city’s complicated past – Denmark Vesey. And finally, Thomas O’Neil White shares a conversation w...

WBFO multimedia reporter Holly Kirkpatrick is in Charleston, SC speaking with Reverend Jeremy Rutledge, Senior Minister at Circular Congregational Church in Charleston. Reverend Rutledge shares his experiences of the Charleston Area Justice Ministry, a coalition of congregations that has been campaigning against racial discrimination in police practices in the Charleston area. We also get more sto...

Thomas O’Neil-White chats with Victoria Hansen, a reporter with South Carolina Public Radio, to discuss how the local media covered the Mother Emanuel AME shooting.

WBFO reporter Holly Kirkpatrick is in Charleston, SC, speaking with Reverend Joseph Darby, who has been ministering at AME churches in South Carolina for over 40 years.

We begin our week of special episodes centered around the parallels between the racially-motivated shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina and the Tops shooting last year in Buffalo. Thomas O’Neil-White has an in-depth conversation with North Charleston pastor and community activist Thomas Dixon. We also hear from Damon Fordham as he gives his Lost Histories of Black Ch...

As we prepare to showcase a week of special episodes centered around the parallels between the racially-motivated shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina and the Tops shooting last year in Buffalo, we hold a roundtable discussion with the WBFO members that embarked on this project. Tom Berich, Charles Gilbert, Holly Kirkpatrick, and Thomas O’Neil-White sit down to have...

The program welcomes local community activist and leader, Ellen Harris-Harvey, to discuss her involvement within the Masten district in which she resides. As a heavily involved member of her neighborhood block and as head of her own outreach ministry, Ellen is aware of the needs and initiatives that are important to the area.

As we begin the month of May, Mental Health Awareness month, and in an effort to have a better understanding of the bereavement process, we speak with Gwen Mysiak, Executive Director at P.U.N.T. Pediatric Cancer Collaborative. She’s joined by WBFO’s Mark Wozniak, who has been involved with P.U.N.T. after having experienced his own personal loss, to highlight the important, compassionate work that...

According to the governor’s office, New York state schools saw over 50 falsified reports of a serious emergency or an active shooter in the month of March. Cambria Daniels, a mental health specialist and program director at Best Self Behavioral Health, joins the show to help us understand the mental trauma surrounding this issue. Later in the program we speak to Steven Haagsma from Housing Opportu...

We speak to Matt Tice who is the Director of Vive, a shelter for refugees and asylum seekers in Western New York. Afterwards, Angelea Preston and Emyle Watkins sit down to talk with Kasha Davis. Kasha is a drag artist in the Western New York area that engages in drag-themed reading hours.

On this week’s edition of Producers’ Picks, we’re showcasing two interviews from recent shows: Ann Breidenstein, a harm reduction counselor and clinical trainer, speaks about a new development that might make it easier for caregivers to help people suffering from an opioid overdose. After that, we’ll revisit our powerful conversation with Holocaust survivor, Grigory Shershnevsky.

On today’s program we’re focusing on the inspiring work of some of the participants of the Peaceprints of Western New York’s Project Blue in collaboration with Locust Street Art. This particular division of the program helps enrich the lives of men and women in the criminal justice system find purpose through art. Speaking from the Erie County Correctional Facility, Kahlil Peoples, Damon Coleman,...

Today's guests are Rabbi Brent Gutmann, Senior Rabbi at Temple Beth Zion, and Reverend Jonathan Staples, Senior Pastor of First Shiloh Baptist Church. Their respective congregations recently gathered for a Freedom Seder. They discuss the motivation behind the event, the lessons learned and offer broader perspectives on social justice and how to improve Buffalo.

Lorenzo Rodriguez speaks with founder and President Emeritus of the Hispanic Heritage Council of Western New York, Casimiro Rodriguez. Afterwards, Tayrin Tapia details the work she’s doing empowering Latinas and helping to prepare entrepreneurs in the community to face the challenges of starting up businesses in the current and future landscapes.

Lorenzo sits down with Faustenia Morrow, the founder of The Monarch of Infinite Possibilities. A tireless environmental activist, Faustenia specializes in bringing BIPOC groups, corporate executives, and community leaders together in the name of conservation and global sustainability. On the heels of Earth Day 2023, we delve into the initiatives that the Monarch has helped spearhead and how the pe...