Coffee shop talk

The new head of the Fredericksburg Area Museum looks back on her first month in her new position and shares her vision for celebrating the region's histories — plural.

The founder of Failsafe-ERA explains how her family's unexpected encounter with incarceration sparked her life's work in helping others through a nonprofit. 

This month, Free Press Editor-in-Chief Joey LoMonaco sits down with Fredericksburg Police Department Chief Betsy Mason to discuss everything from Flock Safety cameras to a series of unsolved assaults on the Canal Path. Mason also shares the personal significance of becoming the first woman to serve as the city's top cop, a position she's held for the past six months.

Griffith, who has served as the president of Germanna Community College for the past five months, discusses the past, present and future of higher Ed., as well as her island upbringing. 

Host Joey LoMonaco sits down with Kahn, whose Eagles will face Emory University for the Division III men's basketball national championship on Sunday in Indianapolis. 

Joy and Joey discuss the former's decision to run for City Council in Ward 2, and her experience in office for the past two-plus months. Also, food things. 

This month, host Joey LoMonaco sits down with Eto Otitigbe, an MIT-educated engineer-turned-artist who has spent the past year designing an installation where a slave auction block once stood in downtown Fredericksburg. 

This month, Joey talks with Dr. Anand Rao, the director of UMW's Center for AI and the Liberal Arts. The two discuss the robotic technology's ability to disrupt and what it means for us humans. In a meta-ironic twist, the audio file got so scuffed that it required AI mastering to salvage. 

For this month's episode, host Joey LoMonaco sits down with Meghann Cotter, the longtime Executive Director of Micah Ecumenical Ministries, to deconstruct narratives about homelessness. 

Diggs, the current chair of the Stafford County Board of Supervisors also known as "the dancing deputy", opens up about his childhood traumas and how he emerged on the other side as an individual who doesn't fit preconceived molds. His memoir, "Beneath the Scar," is available on Amazon. 

Gaila looks back on the job of a lifetime and looks ahead to her new book about race, museums and the many ways in which the latter can help interpret the former. 

Cindy Hadge, the Director of Collaborative Projects for the Wildflower Alliance, shares her life story and experiences with mental health issues, especially the role of peer support in helping her to help others who hear voices. 

Joey sits down with Matt Rowe to discuss the challenges facing city schools, his city council run and the dude who played Cooter on "The Dukes of Hazzard."

Host Joey LoMonaco sits down with Fredericksburg Regional Alliance President Curry Roberts to discuss data centers from an economic development standpoint. Our chosen coffee shop (25 30 Espresso) was at capacity, so we ordered drinks and walked across the street to the newsroom. 

Host Joey LoMonaco sits down with Dr. Eric Bonds, who teaches environmental sociology at the University of Mary Washington. Naturally, he has a few thoughts on data centers and the recent JLARC report that explores their impacts in the Commonwealth. 

Free Press managing editor Joey LoMonaco sits down with Fredericksburg Mayor Kerry Devine to discuss her two decades in city government, as well as data centers, homelessness and affordable housing. 

Free Press managing editor Joey LoMonaco sits down with Stephen Farnsworth, the Director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington for a wide-ranging conversation that touches on his pivot from journalist to political scientist, the laughing matter of politics and, of course, the upcoming presidential election.