Episodes

  • Building Buffalo’s Next Chapter

    Building Buffalo’s Next Chapter
    Dec 3 2025
    Mayor elect Sean Ryan begins building his new administration, and co-chairs Dr. Marie Cannon and Trini Ross join us to discuss the work behind the transition. With more than a thousand applications for leadership positions, they outline the team’s focus on inclusivity, transparency, and community engagement. We explore the key issues shaping Buffalo’s future, including housing, public safety, and financial stability, and how Ryan’s vision aims to address long standing inequities with fresh, community driven solutions.
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    55 mins
  • Gardens, Pride, and the Power of Local Leadership

    Gardens, Pride, and the Power of Local Leadership
    Dec 1 2025
    This week on What’s Next? we highlight two organizations strengthening connection, access, and belonging across Western New York. First, Tim Chen of Grassroots Gardens Western New York returns to discuss the expansion of their school garden network, now reaching thirty-five schools with the support of the Buffalo Bills Foundation. He reflects on the educational and community benefits of gardening, the importance of local leadership, and the challenges created by federal funding cuts. Then, Niagara Pride leaders Ron Pia Chesney and Sherry Fossett return to share the organization’s evolution from a small meetup group to a nonprofit offering festival, youth and senior programs, scholarships, and legal support for the LGBTQ community. They speak about the growing demand for safe, affirming spaces and the obstacles that come with sustaining community-driven work. A conversation about resilience, visibility, and the power of grassroots leadership.
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    55 mins
  • Entrepreneurs Rising and Communities Healing

    Entrepreneurs Rising and Communities Healing
    Nov 26 2025
    Buffalo’s East Side is growing, creating, and healing in ways that deserve the spotlight. On this episode of What’s Next?, we explore two community-driven forces shaping that future. First, we dive into REACH East, a marketing accelerator designed to elevate local entrepreneurs. Program founder Tamara Zantell and entrepreneur Zandra Cunningham share how the initiative invests directly in East Side businesses through hands-on mentorship, strategic marketing training, and funding that builds long-term visibility and resilience. Then, author, counselor, and animator Dorian Withrow Jr. joins us for a powerful conversation about mental health, creativity, and emotional truth. He reflects on the realities of grief and suicide in the community, the importance of connection, and how writing and animation can become pathways to healing and understanding. A conversation about growth, care, and the future of Buffalo’s East Side.
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    55 mins
  • The Haudenosaunee and the Erie Canal: A Hidden History

    The Haudenosaunee and the Erie Canal: A Hidden History
    Nov 24 2025
    On this episode of What’s Next? we speak with Terry Abrams, curator at the Niagara History Center, about the often-overlooked consequences of the Erie Canal on the Haudenosaunee people. Abrams traces the history of dispossession that accompanied the canal’s construction, beginning with the Treaty of Canandaigua in 1794, which affirmed Seneca territory, and the Treaty of Big Tree in 1797, which drastically reduced it. He also examines the environmental impact of the canal, including the spread of invasive species, and the cultural and economic adjustments Native communities were forced to make as the region transformed. Through his exhibit and public talks, Abrams invites audiences to reconsider a familiar chapter in American history and confront the deeper, more complex legacy of the Erie Canal.
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    55 mins
  • From Resilience to Recognition: Dr. LaGarrett King on Black History Education

    From Resilience to Recognition: Dr. LaGarrett King on Black History Education
    Nov 19 2025
    On this episode of What’s Next? we speak with Dr. LaGarrett King following his “Black Boy Joy, Black Girl Magic” conference, which brought together nearly two hundred attendees to examine the history of Black childhoods and the creativity and resilience of Black youth.
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    55 mins
  • Western New York at Work and in Reflection

    Western New York at Work and in Reflection
    Nov 17 2025
    On this episode of What’s Next? we sit down with Tom Ulbrich, President and CEO of Goodwill of Western New York, and author Megan Gorman about her latest book, All the President’s Money.
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    55 mins
  • Restoring Justice: Parker, Heritage, and Indigenous Voices

    Restoring Justice: Parker, Heritage, and Indigenous Voices
    Nov 12 2025
    In honor of Native American Heritage Month, we reflect on the life of Ely S. Parker, Tonawanda Seneca leader, engineer, and Civil War officer who helped draft the surrender at Appomattox.
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    1 hr
  • The Art of Becoming: BCAT Stories of Life & Learning

    The Art of Becoming: BCAT Stories of Life & Learning
    Nov 10 2025
    We return to the Buffalo Center for Arts and Technology (BCAT) for part two of our tour. We hear contributor Ekua Mends-Aidoo, high school senior Lillyan Goines, former student Teira Newell, adult learner Giselle Akal, and Senior Program Director Charisma DuBois.
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    55 mins