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Northeast Notebook Live
WAMC’s Northeast Notebook Live brings listeners inside the conversations of the region. Each day, the hour-long show airing online and on-air will feature a deep dive into an issue that matters most, as well as analysis of the headlines and additional interviews with newsmakers and journalists to provide a broad overlook of what matters most. The show will feature reporting by WAMC journalists, and highlight the vital work local journalists do to inform their communities. Northeast Notebook Live will regularly feature reporting by the Albany Times Union, the Berkshire Eagle, and the Adirondack Explorer thanks to a formal partnership with WAMC that’s meant to explore the region’s news with breadth, depth and context.

Northeast Notebook 9-25-26: Dutchess County Flock debate, mask mandates, and peak TV

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Sam Dingman
Published September 25, 2026 at 5:06 PM EDT
Labor advocates rally in support of a proposed data center project in Massachusetts.
James Paleologopoulos
Labor advocates rally in support of a proposed data center project in Massachusetts.

Co-host Annie Bennett may or may not be a pinball wizard - only time will tell.

The same is true for the fate of a Pioneer Valley data center project, which was first approved in 2021, but now faces stiff opposition as the conversation about AI evolves in western Massachusetts. James Paleologopoulos joins us to share his latest reporting from the field.

Speaking of Massachusetts, a lesbian bar (one of only 36 in the entire country) became the focus of practically the entire internet after being profiled in a controversial Boston Globe story. Depending who you ask, the piece was either the best - or the worst - of local journalism.

And: the debate over Flock cameras in Dutchess County takes a significant turn. Lower Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Elias Guerra calls in with breaking news.

Plus! The New York Times has chosen the top 100 television shows of the 21st century. Our staff weighs in with their own selections.

All of that and more on this September 25th edition of Norhteast Notebook.
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Sam Dingman
Sam Dingman is WAMC’s Hudson/Catskill Bureau Chief. Previously, he was co-host and reporter at “The Show” on KJZZ, Phoenix’s NPR station. Prior to KJZZ, Dingman was the creator and host of the acclaimed podcast “Family Ghosts,” which has been hailed as a critic’s choice by NPR, the LA Times and the New York Times. Dingman also co-hosted the BlueWire original series “The Rumor,” which was featured in the Washington Post and New York Magazine, and was a Webby honoree for Best Podcast Writing. He was story editor for Lemonada Media’s Signal Award-winning series “Pack One Bag,” writer and showrunner for John Stamos’s Webby-winning podcast “The Grand Scheme: Snatching Sinatra,” editor of Karina Longworth’s “You Must Remember This,” and a producer for WNYC’s Peabody-winning “On the Media.” He is a four-time winner of the Moth Grand and Story Slams, and has created, written, hosted, produced and edited podcasts for The Atlantic, Audible Originals, Gilded Audio, Gimlet Media, Lincoln Center, Panoply Media, Paramount Pictures, Pushkin Industries, Spotify, Slate, Stitcher, and Wondery.
See stories by Sam Dingman