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(Airs 12/25/25 @ 3 p.m.) WAMC’s David Guistina in conversation with Paul Wolf, President Emeritus of The New York Coalition for Open Government, about why they put Governor Kathy Hochul on their naughty list for the third year in a row, and much more.

Concrete is the most abundant manufactured material in the world. It is primarily composed of water, cement, and aggregate (sand and gravel.) Cement manufacturing is responsible for about 8% of the world’s total CO2 emissions, primarily a result of the chemical reaction of heating limestone and the combustion of fossil fuels used to provide the heat.

On this week's 51%, we look back on some of our favorite conversations from 2025: Dr. Heather Hirsch discusses the FDA’s decision to remove “black box” warning labels from hormonal therapies used to treat symptoms of menopause; Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson explains how President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” blocks Medicaid funding for its clinics; and former CIA intelligence officer Christina Hillsberg makes the case for why women make better spies.

Each summer, vast quantities of Sargassum seaweed spread across the tropical Atlantic and foul the coasts of the Caribbean Islands, the Gulf of Mexico, and northern South America. The Sargassum is not only bad for tourism, it also disrupts ecosystems by providing massive amounts of food for many marine species, upsetting the balance of those systems.

(Airs 12/26/25 @ 10 p.m.) The Legislative Gazette is a weekly program about New York State Government and politics. On this week’s Gazette: Governor Hochul signs an A-I safeguard bill into law, we’ll speak with Paul Wolf, President Emeritus of the New York Coalition for Open Government, about why Governor Hochul ending up on this year’s naughty list, and Gold Star families are now able to apply for license plates in honor of the soldiers who died while serving.

The heirs of deceased playwrights can be finicky about new productions—Samuel Beckett, Arthur Miller—but Jonathan Bank, the head of the Mint Theater, has a different experience. “What I tend to run into from estates is, Really? You’re interested in that old play? Great!” How to revive neglected plays. Music: Sean Hagerty.

(Airs 12/26/25 @ 3 p.m. & 12/28/25 @ 6 p.m.) The Media Project is an inside look at media coverage of current events with former Times Union Editor, current Upstate American, Substack columnist Rex Smith, Judy Patrick, former Editor of The Daily Gazette and former Vice President for Editorial Development for the New York Press Association, and Barbara Lombardo, Adjunct Professor at the University at Albany and former Editor of the Saratogian. On this week’s Media Project, Rex, Judy, and Barbara talk look at the future of journalism in the new year and beyond, and more.

Ten years ago, there were about 1,200 satellites in orbit around the earth. Now there are about 12,000 and the numbers are growing rapidly. Starlink alone has 9,000 satellites in its communications swarm and may in a few years have as many as 42,000. By 2040, there may be more than 100,000 active satellites circling Earth.

The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.This week we’ll celebrate the best of The Best of Our Knowledge in 2025.We’ll learn about a new color that humans normally can’t see, a project that created one of the most advanced maps of the brain, and research that uncovers truths to the extinction of the dinosaurs.

The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.On this episode, we’ll speak with a scientist who helped pinpoint a unique – and long theorized – form of matter.And we’ll visit museum in upstate New York that organizers hope will inspire the next generation of firefighters.