the capitol connection

(Airs 04/10/25 @ 3 p.m.) WAMC’s David Guistina in conversation with John Kaehny, Executive Director and a founding board member of Reinvent Albany, about transparency in state government, current budget negotiations, the impact of federal cuts on New York, and much more.

(Airs 03/27/25 @ 3 p.m.) WAMC’s David Guistina in conversation with New York state Republican Assemblyman Ed Ra about the continuing budget negotiations over a possible cell phone ban in schools, criminal justice issues, and much more.

(Airs 03/13/25 @ 3 p.m.) WAMC’s David Guistina in conversation with Dale Bryk, a lawyer based at the Environmental and Energy Law Program at Harvard Law School. Dale was previously the Deputy Secretary for Energy and Environment for the State of New York. We’ll talk with Dale about the impact of the EPA freezing climate funds from Climate United, the subsequent lawsuit, and the impact on environmental funding flowing into New York.

(Airs 03/06/25 @ 3 p.m.) WAMC’s David Guistina in conversation with David Lombardo, Host of the Capitol Pressroom on WCNY about the major items left to be resolved in budget negotiations, how federal cuts will impact New York, the New York City Mayoral race, and much more.

(Airs 02/27/25 @ 3 p.m.) WAMC’s David Guistina in conversation with Natasha Pernicka, Executive Director of The Alliance for a Hunger Free New York, about the growing problem of hunger across the state.

(Airs 02/06/25 @ 3 p.m.) WAMC’s David Guistina in conversation with Steven Greenberg from the Siena College Poll. We’ll talk about the latest numbers on Governor Kathy Hochul and her proposals as well as how New Yorkers feel about President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk.

(Airs 01/30/25 @ 3 p.m.) WAMC’s David Guistina in conversation with Avery Stempel, Co-founder of New Yorkers for Mental Health Alternatives (NYMHA), who’s non-profit organization is supporting four bills in the legislature to make psilocybin-containing mushrooms legal.

(Airs 01/16/25 @ 3 p.m.) WAMC’s David Guistina in conversation with New York state Assembly Minority Leader William Barclay about Governor Hochul’s State of the State address, the new Climate Superfund Act law, affordability and affordable housing, and much more.

(Airs 01/09/25 @ 3 p.m.) WAMC’s David Guistina in conversation with New York state Senator Liz Krueger, a Democrat, about the Climate Change Superfund Act that’s now law, whether nuclear power should be part of the state’s energy mix, the Congestion Pricing plan, and much more.

(Airs 01/02/25 @ 3 p.m.) WAMC’s David Guistina in conversation with Blair Horner, Senior Policy Advisor for the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), about legislation he supports that passed in 2024, his new position, the challenges facing NYPIRG in 2025, and much more.