Peter Steiner
WAMC's The Roundtable is an award-winning, nationally recognized eclectic talk program. The show airs from 9 a.m. to noon each weekday and features news, interviews, in-depth discussion, music, and much (much) more! Hosted by Joe Donahue and produced by Sarah LaDuke, The Roundtable tackles serious and lighthearted subjects, looking to explore the many facets of the human condition with civility, respect and responsibility.
The show's hallmark is thoughtful interviews with A-list newsmakers, authors, artists, sports figures, actors, and people with interesting stories to tell. Since hitting the airwaves May 1, 2000, The Roundtable's hosts have interviewed the likes of Arthur Miller, Kurt Vonnegut, Maya Angelou, Madeleine Albright, Jimmy Carter, John McCain, Bob Dole, Steve Martin, James Taylor, Stephen King, Melissa Etheridge, Carol Burnett, David Henry Hwang, Lin-Manuel Miranda and lots of other really cool people. Plus, Wilco does our theme song. What more can you ask for?
If you would like to be on the show email us at roundtable@wamc.org. Send your comments or questions for The Roundtable Panel to panel@wamc.org
The Roundtable is also available as a podcast.
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WAMCEach weekday morning, The Roundtable's Joe Donahue is joined by various experts, journalists, educators, and commentators to discuss current events. On Roundtable Panel: The Week in Review, we feature your favorite panelists discussing news items from the previous week. -
The month of October 2025 marks the 200th Anniversary of the first presentation of paintings of the Hudson River Valley and Catskill Mountains by Thomas Cole (1801-1848) – a presentation that changed the course of American art. The display of three paintings took place from October 26 to November 4,1825, in New York City – in the windows of Colman’s bookstore on Broadway near Fulton Street in Manhattan.
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Jane Goodall, one of the world’s most esteemed and inspirational conservationists, died on Wednesday in Los Angeles. She was 91. Joe Donahue spoke with Jane Goodall on this program in 2009. We air a portion of that conversation today, in memoriam. -
The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are CEO of The Business Council of New York State Heather Mulligan, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute Robert Pondiscio, and Former Times-Union Associate Editor Mike Spain. -
The Hannah Arendt Center's 17th annual fall conference, “JOY: Loving the World in Dark Times,” will offer a crucial lens for finding meaning and connection amidst today's fractured world. Bringing together notable speakers with diverse narratives and insights at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, the conference will be a timely exploration of joy as a powerful force, and a vital conversation around fostering resilience. -
In Stacey Isom Campbell’s new play, “1999,” a student makes a complaint about the inclusion of a film produced by Harvey Weinstein in class. Emma must then interrogate her own guilt for something she did in 1999. The play explores the intersection of three women’s lives in the wake of trauma and grapples with what to do with the films of the 90s in light of recent sexual allegations and convictions.WAM Theatre is producing the world premier of “1999.” The play is a 2025 Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and Modern New Works Festival Finalist. WAM’s production, running in the Berkshires October 16 through November 2, is directed by Artistic Director Genée Coreno and both she and Stacey Isom Campbell join us. -
The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Philosophy, and Human Rights at Bard College Roger Berkowitz, Joseph Palamountain Jr. Chair in Government at Skidmore College Beau Breslin, Dean of the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity at the University at Albany Robert Griffin, and Executive Director of The Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York Nic Rangel.
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This week's Book Picks comes from Matt Tannenbaum from The Bookstore in Lenox, MA and Drew Broussard from Rough Draft Bar & Books in Kingston, NY. -
With book bans in public schools rising to levels unseen since the McCarthy era Red Scare of the 1950s, the Eleanor Roosevelt Banned Book Awards ceremony at the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. will be presented jointly with PEN America on Saturday, October 11th. Author Jennifer Finney Boylan, PEN America’s president, will be the keynote speaker.Ten honorees include best-selling author Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale), who will receive the Eleanor Roosevelt Lifetime Achievement Award at the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie on October 11th. -
The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Professor of History and International Relations at Vassar College and is a specialist on the history of US foreign policy Robert Brigham, Chief of Staff and Vice President for Strategy and Policy at Bard College Malia DuMont, Former Times Union Associate Editor Mike Spain, and Associate Professor in the department of sociology at Vassar College and her research is on health, wellness, and medical knowledge Catherine Tan.
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The late historian David Mccullough is very much missed, but the new book “History Matters,” posthumously published this fall, helps us remember why history is so important for all of us and is under threat. Especially now, given the current scrutiny how the Smithsonian Museum and our National Parks are telling American history. “History Matters” is a collection of Mccullough’s essays that address the importance of history especially our shared history as Americans. Many of the essays have never been published, the collection includes a foreword by Jon Meacham, the book is edited by McCullough’s daughter Dorie Mccullough Lawson, and his longtime researcher Michael Hill. -
Charming and accessible, "Outside In and the Inside Out" by Emmy Kastner is the biographical picture book about Arnold Lobel, a Schenectady native, the Newberry and Caldecott award-winning author-illustrator behind the beloved Frog and Toad series. Arnold Lobel was many things: a quiet observer, an avid reader, and the kind of man who kept a gorilla suit in his closet, just in case. Above all else, Arnold was an artist and a storyteller. And he infused pieces of himself in the characters he created.Emmy Kastner is an author and illustrator of several books for children, including While You're Asleep and the Nerdy Babies board book series. She will be at the Main Schenectady County Public Library at 6PM tonight.
