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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 9/29/26: Cornell rape case, Mechanicville poisonings, and pinball

Sarah Myers of Mechanicville, New York, with her four children.
Courtesy Sarah Myers Facebook page
Sarah Myers of Mechanicville, New York, with her four children.

Our show today is once again shortened due to the WAMC fund drive.

First, we dive into the local journalism angle of the recently reopened sexual assault investigation against seven fraternity members at Cornell University. The story hit international headlines thanks to diligent reporting by students at Cornell's newspaper and may already be shaping the next election cycle.

Then, Aaron Shellow-Lavine deepens his reporting on the tragic deaths of four children in Mechanicville, who police say were poisoned by their mother and grandmother, who also took their own lives.

Finally, we'll lighten things up a bit with reporter Annie Bennet's recent trip to a pinball tournament, where there were some surprising lessons learned about who plays the vintage arcade game — and why.

All that and more on this September 29th edition of Northeast Notebook.

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.
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