Connections Podcast

Evan Dawson

Booking Overview

This is a weekday public-affairs interview program focused on New York and community issues, typically featuring government officials, nonprofit and health leaders, educators, researchers, authors, and other subject-matter experts. Agencies could credibly pitch policy experts, academics, nonprofit executives, healthcare and behavioral-health professionals, education leaders, and authors with a clear local or regional connection; booking difficulty is medium because the show regularly books accessible professionals but often requires timely, locally relevant expertise.

Metrics

Episodes: 50

Frequency: Daily

Rating: 4.7/5.0

Estimated listeners: 1k-10k

Gender skew: Neutral

Location: USA

YouTube: 11.9k subscribers

Instagram: 21.0k followers

Contact Information

Publicly listed emails

newsroom@wxxi.org

wxxi@wxxi.org

connections@wxxi.org

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Host

Evan Dawson - Journalist and public-radio host at WXXI News, known for moderating in-depth conversations about public policy, health, education, and community issues.

Booking Intelligence

Booking Requirements

medium

Typical Credentials:

Subject-matter expertise supported by a relevant leadership, government, nonprofit, academic, professional, or authorship background; a strong New York or regional connection is often valuable.

Required Achievements:

Leadership of a relevant government agency, nonprofit, school district, or community organization, Academic or professional expertise in a timely public-interest issue, Publication of a book or recognized work of public scholarship, Direct experience developing or implementing public programs

Recent Guest Discussions

Rob Kent - The Recovery Landscape And Substance-use Policy In New York.

Jonathan Westfall - Substance-use Treatment, Recovery Services, And Peer-support Models.

Kara Izzo - Peer Support And Community-based Approaches To Substance-use Recovery.

Elizabeth Svoboda - The Science Of Pacing, Productivity, Burnout Prevention, And Long-term Wellbeing.

Phillip Fleming - Lived Experience And The Role Of Mental-health Clubhouses.

Recent Topics

Public Policy, Mental Health, Education, Healthcare, Social Services

Episodes

Here's the recent few episodes on

Connections Podcast

New report addresses chronic absenteeism in Monroe County schools

September 22, 2026

A deeply honest personal story from Nikole Hannah-Jones of the New York Times has a lot of people talking about what children need in their K-12 education. Now comes a new report from The Children’s Agenda in Rochester about chronic absenteeism. The report explores why students themselves say they are not attending school. TCA concludes: “We should not accept that one out of three high school students in Monroe County is chronically absent.” What's driving the absences? We discuss it with our...

The dangers of AI partisanship

September 21, 2026

A significant majority of Americans have negative views about artificial intelligence. And yet in elite circles, the conversation about AI is quickly separating along partisan lines. President Trump says that the United States will not slow down. Economist James Miller is a conservative Republican, and he’s been urging his fellow conservatives not to outsource their opinions on AI to beltway elites. Miller says we are in a dangerous moment, and the offers ideas for how to make sure the AI deb...

Changes to the Rochester music scene

September 18, 2026

Abilene Bar and Lounge will close after nearly two decades of hosting live music in Rochester. And the Hi Fi Lounge in Brighton is up for sale after 40 years. It opened in 1986 as The CD Exchange. Speaking of CDs, they’re making a comeback. The Washington Post reports that CD sales grew faster than vinyl in the past year, with many fans preferring the audio quality of compact discs. We discuss what’s changing, what’s evolving, and why Abilene is not the only live music venue to close this yea...

Publicly listed emails

newsroom@wxxi.org

wxxi@wxxi.org

connections@wxxi.org

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