Jesse King
Hudson Valley Bureau Chief/Host, 51%Jesse King is the host of WAMC's national program on women's issues, "51%" and the station's bureau chief in the Hudson Valley. She has also produced episodes of the WAMC podcast "A New York Minute In History."
A graduate of SUNY Oneonta, King first joined the WAMC newsroom as an intern in September 2018. She grew up an avid writer and radio-nerd in Apalachin, New York, and spent much of her college years managing WONY 90.9 FM, contributing to the student-run podcast, "Oneonta Voices," and interning with Phoenix FM in Dublin, Ireland. She holds a B.A. in Music Industry and Mass Communications, and plays the fiddle in her free time.
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On this week's 51%, we speak with Dr. Elizabeth Boham about her new book Breast Wellness, and the various lifestyle factors that can contribute to breast cancer risk. Dr. Boham is a board-certified physician and dietitian who also practices functional medicine. In Breast Wellness, she discusses her own experience battling breast cancer in her thirties, and how a healthy lifestyle can support you before and after a diagnosis. -
On this week's 51%, we recognize Domestic Violence Awareness Month and speak with author Helen Winslow Black about her new book Seven Blackbirds, following main character Kim as she escapes an abusive marriage and builds a new life for herself and her child. -
Members of the Restoration Advisory Board reviewing the federal government's cleanup of PFAS “forever chemicals” at Stewart Air National Guard base worry the federal shutdown will significantly delay efforts at the site. -
On this week's 51%, we speak with Dickinson College Professor Amy Farrell about her new book Intrepid Girls: The Complicated History of the Girls Scouts of the USA. -
In a move that stunned local officials, MGM Resorts on Tuesday pulled Empire City Casino in Yonkers from the race for a limited number of casino licenses in New York. The sudden reversal has the city’s mayor calling for an investigation into whether President Donald Trump could have influenced the decision. -
A nor’easter that brought heavy rains and gusty winds to the Tri-State area over the weekend continued to soak communities across the region Monday. -
New York is challenging a recent federal court decision allowing the owner of Indian Point Energy Center to dump radioactive wastewater into the Hudson River. -
On this week’s 51%, we speak with artist Barbara Benish about how she started the ArtMill Center for Regenerative Arts in the Czech Republic, and how artists continued to work under the totalitarian regime of former Czechoslovakia. Benish came to the Czech Republic from Los Angeles in 1989, just as a revolution overturned the country’s long-running Communist regime. Initially hoping to explore her roots, Benish saw how the arts survived decades of censorship through community, how creativity continued to influence and change society, and how the arts flourished after the revolution. Benish tells the story of this time and the creation of her community in her new book ArtMill: A Story of Sustainable Creativity in Bohemia. -
Democratic Congressman Josh Riley has a new challenger in the 19th District. New York State Senator Peter Oberacker announced Monday that he is running for the seat in 2026. -
Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne presented his $221.7 million plan for 2026 this week. The proposal includes what the Republican is calling the largest cut to the property tax levy in county history.
