Commentary & Opinion

Dr. Alan Chartock's Morning Commentary

By • Sep 17, 2018
WAMC

WAMC's Dr. Alan Chartock discusses Hurricane Florence.  Dr. Chartock also shares his thoughts on the assault allegation made against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Ralph Gardner Jr: Farewell To Family Trees

By Ralph Gardner Jr • Sep 15, 2018
Tree specialist Charles Nagle cutting down a diseased Colorado blue spruce
Ralph Gardner Jr.

Last Tuesday was bittersweet. I finished writing a novel I’ve been working on rather strenuously for the last two years. That should have been cause for celebration and it was. But I instantly missed my characters, the novel’s locale – a grand hotel overlooking the Adriatic Sea in Venice that I’ve returned to daily over the previous months, at least in my imagination – and most of all the daily joy of tinkering with words.

Dr. Alan Chartock's Morning Commentary

By • Sep 14, 2018
WAMC

WAMC's Dr. Alan Chartock shares his thoughts on Thursday's primary races in New York state.

Ben Downing: A Place To Start

By Ben Downing • Sep 13, 2018

In 2012 and 2016, I joined with my colleagues to expand protections under Massachusetts hate crimes laws to our transgender neighbors, friends, co-workers and family members. Those two yes votes were some of my proudest in 10 years in the Senate. This fall those protections and progress will be on the line at the ballot box.

Dr. Alan Chartock's Morning Commentary

By • Sep 13, 2018
Alan Chartock

WAMC's Dr. Alan Chartock shares his thoughts on today's primary races in New York state. Dr. Chartock also discusses a New York Times editorial about voting laws affecting voter turnout.

Mary-Ellen Elia: What's New

By Mary-Ellen Elia • Sep 12, 2018

I hope you enjoyed your summer and are looking forward to another productive school year.

I’d like to mention some of the recent changes the Board of Regents and I have made and are eager to see reflected in New York’s classrooms this year.

Dr. Alan Chartock's Morning Commentary

By • Sep 12, 2018
Alan Chartock

WAMC's Dr. Alan Chartock shares his thoughts on tomorrow's primary races in New York.

Stephen Gottlieb: Puerto Rico And Hurricane Maria

By Stephen Gottlieb • Sep 11, 2018

I’m glad Gov. Cuomo has been talking about what happened to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. It should never have dropped out of public discussion both for the sake of the residents of Puerto Rico and for the rest of us.

Dr. Alan Chartock's Morning Commentary

By • Sep 11, 2018
Alan Chartock

WAMC's Dr. Alan Chartock discusses the 17th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Dr. Chartock also shares his thoughts on Thursday's primary in New York.

Blair Horner: A Buried Health Treasure In NYS

By Blair Horner • Sep 10, 2018

The crisis in the cost of medicines in America is well-known.  Americans spend more on prescription drugs — average costs are about $1,100 per person per year — than spent anywhere else in the world.  And the prices can be staggeringly high.  For example, cancer drugs in the U.S. routinely cost $10,000 a month.  

Dr. Alan Chartock's Morning Commentary

By • Sep 10, 2018
Alan Chartock

WAMC's Dr. Alan Chartock shares his thoughts on former President Barack Obama's recent public appearences. Dr. Chartock also discusses Thursday's N.Y. gubernatorial primary.

David Nightingale: Camping

By David Nightingale • Sep 9, 2018
Volkswagen camper
grassrootsgroundswell / Wikimedia Commons

A son suggested, after the two young women who had purchased my pop-up camper had driven away, that I ought to recall a few trips.

Michael Meeropol: I Do Not Praise The Anonymous Op-ed Writer In The New York Times

By Michael Meeropol • Sep 7, 2018

I have read the New York Times op-ed by an anonymous Trump Administration official and I am disgusted --- not by the behavior of Trump whose actions are beyond disgust --- but by the self-congratulatory tone of the author.

Dr. Alan Chartock's Morning Commentary

By • Sep 6, 2018
Alan Chartock

WAMC's Dr. Alan Chartock shares his thoughts on the New York Times editorial, which discusses the "resistance" within the Trump Administration. Dr. Chartock also discusses day two of the Senate confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Dr. Alan Chartock's Morning Commentary

By • Sep 5, 2018
Alan Chartock

WAMC's Dr. Alan Chartock shares his thoughts on the Senate conformation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.  Dr. Chartock also discusses Tuesday's primary results in Massachusettes.

Dr. Alan Chartock's Morning Commentary

By • Sep 4, 2018
Alan Chartock

WAMC's Dr. Alan Chartock discusses the Senate confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Dr. Chartock also shares his thoughts on today's primaries in Massachusetts.

Blair Horner: The Democrats Debate Corruption

By Blair Horner • Sep 3, 2018

Last week was a big one for Democrats in New York.  The contested primaries for Governor and Attorney General hit a peak as the candidates for those offices slugged it out in televised debates two weeks before the state primaries on Thursday September 13th.  In both debates, the issue of corruption in state government was a major topic.

Ralph Gardner Jr: Strolling Through History

By Ralph Gardner Jr • Sep 1, 2018
An antique postcard of Ghent, NY

Gregg Berninger, the Ghent, NY town historian, offered an interesting rule of thumb to determine how Hudson Valley towns came to be, based on their geography.

Dr. Alan Chartock's Morning Commentary

By • Aug 31, 2018
WAMC

WAMC's Dr. Alan Chartock shares his thoughts on the Siena poll released Thursday, which shows Republican incumbent Congressman John Faso five points ahead of Democratic challenger Antonio Delgado in New York's 19th district race. Dr. Chartock also discusses the anti-immigation protests in Germany.

Andrew Pallotta: Reflections On This First Post-Janus Labor Day

By Andrew Pallotta • Aug 30, 2018

Driving on the Northway recently, I came up behind a blue sedan – American-made, by the way.

On the rear bumper was a red, white and blue sticker. It read: “The Labor Movement: The folks who brought you the weekend.”

Dr. Alan Chartock's Morning Commentary

By • Aug 30, 2018
WAMC

WAMC's Dr. Alan Chartock shares his thoughts on last night's gubernatorial Democratic primary debate between incumbent Andrew Cuomo and Cynthia Nixon. Dr. Chartock also discusses the expected departure of White House counsel Donald McGahn.

Herbert London: The Syrian War Goes Global

By Herbert London • Aug 29, 2018

Prior to World War I alliances across Europe created an environment in which one event, the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, could set in motion mobilization of forces that led inexorably to conflict. It was as if this was a natural and inevitable slide into the abyss.

We Are In This Together

By Alan Chartock • Aug 29, 2018

I know that I am not alone when it comes to supporting this station. Far from it -- I keep running into good people who ask what they can do to help WAMC above and beyond contributing to the fund drives or the locked box. The answer is that there are many things that you can do.

Dr. Alan Chartock's Morning Commentary

By • Aug 29, 2018
WAMC

WAMC's Dr. Alan Chartock shares his thoughts after the Berkshire District Attorney Democratic primary debate Tuesday in Stockbridge, Mass. Dr. Chartock also discusses President Trump's accusations that Facebook, Twitter and Google are supressing positive articles about his administration.

Stephen Gottlieb: The Moral And Legal Meaning Of Failing To Deal With Climate Change

By Stephen Gottlieb • Aug 28, 2018

I often wrestle with how gentle or how strong to come on. To get everyone’s support on climate change, I want to come on gently. But climate change is so big, urgent and underappreciated that I want to come on strong.

Bill Owens: November 2018

By Bill Owens • Aug 28, 2018

This election season has many interesting components to it.  We have a strong economy, including low unemployment and a stock market that surged and has now leveled off, the Mueller investigation, tariffs, a socialists’ faction on the Democratic side, the typical anti-Pelosi rhetoric, and, of course, the anti- Trump rhetoric.  These factors have generated enormous polarization.

Dr. Alan Chartock's Morning Commentary

By • Aug 28, 2018
WAMC

WAMC's Dr. Alan Chartock discusses the live Berkshire D.A. Democratic primary debate today at the Fitzpatrick in Stockbridge, Mass. Dr. Chartock also shares his thoughts on NAFTA talks between the U.S. and Mexico.

Blair Horner: Colleges Open, Will Governor Cuomo Help?

By Blair Horner • Aug 27, 2018

It’s that time again; colleges are opening across New York and for many of the students, the campus experience will have a profound impact on their lives; their career choices, their world view, the connections that they make.  The public benefits too: more highly trained residents have a positive impact on the economic health of the state, the nation and the world.  Studies in New York have shown that every dollar invested in higher education results in multiple dollars more in tax revenues generated by students both while attending college as well as after they graduate.

Dr. Alan Chartock's Morning Commentary

By • Aug 27, 2018
WAMC

WAMC's Dr. Alan Chartock shares his thoughts on the death of Arizona Senator John McCain.  Dr. Chartock also discusses the shooting Sunday in Jacksonville, Fla. 

Ralph Gardner Jr: Farming's Younger Generation

By Ralph Gardner Jr • Aug 25, 2018
Lindsey Lusher Shute
Ralph Gardner Jr.

How do you reach farmers these days, at least young farmers? Podcasts, of course. “So many young farmers listen to podcasts while they’re farming,” Lindsey Lusher Shute told me. “They don’t have time to read. We knew it would be popular.”

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