Everyone needs help, with disability rights advocate Beth Poague
Beaconites!
Beth Poague’s life changed when she and her then-husband Jim learned that their youngest son Finn had a rare genetic disorder. Their pace of living shifted, they sought community with other families going through the same thing, and as Finn got older, Beth channeled her energy into advocating for changes to Beacon’s schools on her son’s behalf. First at JV Forrestal and later at Rombout Middle School, Beth pushed for — and got — more integrated classrooms and school activities that allowed kids with disabilities to learn alongside typical kids. She believes the work she and other...
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The Zach Rodgers interview
Beaconites!
Repost: Some listeners experienced a truncated version of this interview, so we are deleting and reposting. -ZR The tables have turned! After six years and more than 133 interviews, Beaconites creator and host Zach Rodgers (i.e. me) moves into the guest's chair for a discussion of his life and the evolution of this community project. A few listeners have asked for this episode over the years, and Beacon AV Lab's own Jonny Taylor — my creative and production partner during the full run of this project — was kind enough to be my interlocutor. We talk about my upbringing in Northern...
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Finding magic in a drop of water or a nighttime walk, with Julie Winterbottom
Beaconites!
Julie Winterbottom has written a wide range of books aimed at children, including books on farts, pranks and horror — all designed for maximum humor, spine chills and fun. Her most recent work is a little different: “Magic in a Drop of Water” tells the story of ecologist Ruth Patrick, who did pioneering research connecting biodiversity to river pollution and helped to write the 1972 clean water act. It’s a beautiful book in terms of both the story it tells and the gorgeous illustrations of marsh snails, hugsuckers and, above all, diatoms, the family of phytoplankton that appear in all...
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How food stabilizes community, with Mike Diago
Beaconites!
Mike Diago loves eating, and writing about, food, but his interest is only partly about the cuisine itself. In articles for Eater, Saveur, Chronogram, The Bittman Project and other publications, Mike has created a niche covering the critical role food and eateries play in stabilizing communities. He has written about the surprising Dominican expat tradition of holding spaghetti feasts on the beach; about a BBQ restaurant in the Bronx that has operated continuously since 1954; about a burger place in Jersey City that has anchored its community and overcome sharp racial divides. This...
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The choral-cosmic works of Heather Christian, MacArthur Fellow
Beaconites!
Heather Christian is a singer, playwright, composer and recent winner of a MacArthur "genius grant." Her compositions use spiritual music forms to explore themes as varied as ghosts, grief, the Odyssey and the Big Bang. She describes them as “ choral-based complex music theater works.” They are often presented in the round, in part to obliterate the hierarchy between audience and performers. “I’m interested in existence. I’m interested in unanswerable questions,” she says in our interview. “Our lives have become so much about the in and out business of our civilization....
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Carolyn Glauda is an optimist in dark times
Beaconites!
As the only candidate running for city council representing Ward 4, Carolyn Glauda is pretty much a shoe-in for the seat, but she still wants to earn your vote. In this interview, she shares her vision for a safer, more affordable and more sustainable Beacon. Carolyn has been a member of the traffic safety committee since 2020, an experience that got her hooked on civic engagement. In this interview, she shares her point of view on Beacon’s affordability crisis, sustainability initiatives, transit and other topics. She also indulges her interviewer in a detour on the failures of...
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How's the cell phone ban going? With Beacon teachers Christina Dahl and Lesli Tomkins
Beaconites!
In this back-to-school episode, we hear from two longtime teachers in the public schools. High school history teacher Christina Dahl and JV Forrestal kindergarden teacher Lesli Tomkins talk about changes for the 2025-26 school year, the largest of which is a new "bell-to-bell" ban on cell phones at Rombout Middle School and Beacon High School. This is a huge experiment that's playing out across New York State, and Christina offers an early take on how it's going. We also review some important curriculum changes that are picking up steam this year. A big one for elementary students is the...
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Making art through life’s changes, with Margot Kingon
Beaconites!
Our new interview with Margot Kingon, an artist and the founder of Second Wave Supplies, has a wonderful sweep to it. As an artist and creative instigator, much of Margot’s work could be labeled “art as social practice.” Her many projects have included a long-running pop-up dance party (Dance/Play), a year-long series of Covid-era family portraits, and most recently, an art supply thrift store in Beacon. When she takes something new on, Margot typically isn’t only out to express herself creatively but also to invite others to engage and build something together. All...
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In pursuit of connection, with Gracelyn Woods
Beaconites!
Originally from Seattle, Gracelyn Woods grew up housing insecure, food insecure and raised by a single mom. From these tough beginnings, she cultivated a fierce attitude of hard work and self-determination that resulted in a successful career in TV and event production in New York City. But after 20 years of this work, culminating in a big job with the landmark Apollo Theater, Gracelyn found herself mired in unhappiness. “The lifestyle of TV and event production had taken its toll. It had shown up in vices, it had showed up in drinking, it had showed up in overspending,” she says in...
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Beacon needs bikes, with Meg Lazaros
Beaconites!
There are plenty of good reasons to hope for a more bikeable Beacon. To name a few: 1) Improved safety (for drivers and pedestrians as well as for cyclists) 2) Reduced traffic congestion 3) Greater equity for people who can’t afford a car or don’t want to drive around for small errands. 4) Bikes are fun :) In this interview, Meg Lazaros, one of the founders of the Beacon Bicycle Coalition, discusses the work being done to improve Beacon’s roads for bike use. Beacon Bicycle Coation was founded to advocate for bike infrastructure, including both short-term improvements...
info_outlineLucy Sante is the author of “Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York,” “The Other Paris,” and many other works. Her latest book, “I Heard Her Call My Name,” is a memoir that examines her life through the lens of gender and details her decision to transition from “Luc” to “Lucy” in her 60s.
Hannah Brooks is an organizer of Beacon LitFest and a former surgeon. She had an Orthodox Jewish upbringing in Queens, and as a child and young adult grappled with her mother’s bipolar disorder. She moved to Beacon a few years ago and is an organizer of Beacon LitFest among other local happenings.
As an extension of this year’s LitFest, Hannah and Lucy will discuss Lucy’s new book during an event at The Town Crier on June 20. More info here.