Joe Donahue

Most of us think we’d never fall for a cult. But toxic groups don’t just exist on the fringe. They thrive in boardrooms, group chats, fitness classes, political rallies, religious groups, and corporate retreats—anywhere we seek identity, purpose, and belonging.The new book, "The Culting of America," cult survivor, scholar, and former Army intelligence officer Daniella Mestyanek Young—author of the bestselling memoir Uncultured looks to dismantle the illusion that cults are rare or easy to spot.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Joseph Palamountain Jr. Chair in Government at Skidmore College Beau Breslin, Former New York 19th Congressman and NY Assemblyman John Faso, Newly former Mayor of the City of Albany, Kathy Sheehan, and is an Associate Professor in the department of sociology at Vassar College. Her research is on health, wellness, and medical knowledge Catherine Tan.

Midori is a visionary artist, activist and educator who explores and builds connections between music and the human experience. In the four decades since her debut with the New York Philharmonic at age 11, she has performed with many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras and has collaborated with world-renowned musicians including Leonard Bernstein, Yo-Yo Ma, and many others.She is in Albany to perform the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Albany Symphony Orchestra with guest conductor André Raphel. Plus, you’ll experience Shostakovich’s gripping, intense Symphony No. 10 – and the concert opens with a work by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon. Midori will be on stage tomorrow night - Saturday, January 17th @ 7:30PM at the Palace Theatre with André Raphel conducting.

Dr. Ellen Braaten is widely recognized as the foremost expert in pediatric neuro, psychological, and psychological assessment particularly in the areas of assessing learning disabilities and attentional disorders. She is the founding director of Learning and Emotional Assessment Program in Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School. In her new book “The Motivation Mindset Workbook: Helping Teens and Tweens Discover What They Love to Do” she offers practical tools, suggestions, ideas, and activities to help get kids off their phone and unleash their excitement and engagement with life as well as other human beings.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Stuart Rice Honorary Chair at the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s College of Information and Computer Sciences (CICS) and Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University Fran Berman, The Ulster County Comptroller and the former president and CEO of the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley March Gallagher, Senior Fellow for Health Policy at The Empire Center for Public Policy Bill Hammond, and Siena College Professor of Economics Aaron Pacitti.

Stewart O’ Nan’s fiction has always paid close attention to the people and relationships that shape us. In his new novel “Evensong” he brings that attention to bear on a vivid cast orbiting Emily Maxwell as she enters her 90s. This is the concluding chapter in a trilogy that began with “Wish You Were Here” and continued in “Emily Alone” and it widens the lens to explore not only Emily’s interior life but the network of care surrounding her.

New York Times Bestselling author Robin Cook is known as the master of the medical thriller. He has built his reputation on delivering the chilling rift from the headline stories that examine the latest developments and issues in medicine and science. His latest novel is “Spasm” and in this installment of the Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery series the duo confronts a deadly bioweapon that could disrupt the world order as they know it.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Senior Fellow, Bard Center for Civic Engagement Jim Ketterer, Vice President for Editorial Development at the New York Press Association Judy Patrick, and Associate Professor of Music at Vassar College. He studies music in American politics; sound studies; East Asian art music; and music in the African diaspora Justin Patch.

In the new book “Making Mary Poppins: The Sherman Brothers, Walt Disney, and the Creation of a Classic Film” author and Disney historian Todd James Pierce traces the unlikely path that brought the Sherman brothers to Walt Disney’s attention and how their genius and emotional lives shaped the films’ songs, and surprising stories.

Carol Lin is a former ABC News and CNN anchor whose voice helped guide the nation through some of the most defining moments of the 21st century - including her historic coverage on the morning of 9/11. She joins us to discuss her new memoir: When News Breaks: A Memoir of Love and War.