Audio Files · Washington Heights’ Migrant Holiday Market

Holiday markets are popping up everywhere in the city this time of year. One market in Washington Heights is featuring art by migrants who recently arrived in New York City. Reported by Yvonne Marquez 

Audio Files · Union members Take Action Outside of the Brooklyn Museum

The Brooklyn Museum is one of several major New York City museums that voted to unionize in 2021. We hear from workers who sought to raise public attention to their ongoing contract negotiation by holding an action during the opening of the museum’s gala; Thierry Mugler: Coutturisme.

Reported by Tasha Sandoval.

Music: Jason Shaw

Audio Files · Growing for New York’s Retail Cannabis Market

Marijuana farmers are gearing up for the opening of New York State’s retail cannabis market. Many have completed their first harvest just in time for the handful of dispensaries that received licenses late last month. But some growers are already facing some challenges. We visit a few weed farmers about the state’s legal industry and their unique place within it.

Reported by Trina Mannino.

Music: Kevin MacLeod

Audio Files · Human Composting, The Next Big Thing?

Q+A. Our preferences for end of life planning are deeply personal choices shaped by our cultures and values. Some people want their ashes spread in their favorite place. Others want to be buried in their family cemetery plot. Soon, New Yorkers might have a new option for end of life care — having their body composted and turned into soil.

 

Reporter Rachel Robertson joins our host to explain what human composting is and the bill that would make it legal.

Audio Files · Superstorm Sandy Effects Children’s Mental Development

Ten years after Superstorm Sandy hit New York City, a study following pregnant women and their kids finds that exposure to the hurricane in the mother’s womb was associated with elevated rates of psychiatric disorders in kids.

Reported by Paige Perez.

Music: Malictusmusic Free Music Archive, TrackTribe YouTube Audio Library. Archival tape courtesy of Rolf Yngve, Internet Archive.

Audio Files · Crown Heights Residents On Congressman Jeffries’ New Role

Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, who represents Brooklyn’s 8th congressional district, is stepping into the role of House Minority Leader for the Democratic House caucus. We head to the district to hear what his constituents think of his new role. 

Reported by Thomas Hughes.

Audio Files · Is Human Composting The Next Big Thing? (S11 E6 FINALE)- 12-09-2022 – FULL EPISODE

 

In this final episode of AudioFiles season 11, reporter Rachel Robertson joins to explain human composting and a bill to legalize it. We visit a migrant holiday market, hear from Congressman Hakeem Jeffries’ constituents and check in with unionization efforts at the Brooklyn Museum. 

Our host Elizabeth Short sits down with Ligia Guallpa, Executive Director of the Workers Justice Project, to talk about what her organization is doing to support migrant workers. Then Phil Chan, co-founder of Final Bow For Yellow Face, joins to talk about a movement to remove racist depictions of Asians in ballet. Later in the show, host Elizabeth Short speaks with freelance journalist Dan Friedman on the calls to boycott the Qatar World Cup games. 

Managing Producer: Amanda Rozon

Host: Elizabeth Short

Show Producer: Leonardo Lopez Carreno

Associate Producer: Thomas Hughes

Reporters: Yvonne Marquez, Paige Perez, Thomas Hughes, Trina Mannino and Rachael Robertson,

Guests: Ligia Guallpa, Phil Chan and Dan Friedman

Editors: Maggie Freleng, Kalli Anderson 

Sound Engineer: Chad Bernhard 

Music: TrackTribe Malictusmusic Free Music Archive, Kai Engel, Jason Shaw, WinnieTheMoog.

Audio Files · The Fight to Prevent Construction Worker Deaths

 

Raul Tenelema is the sixteenth of seventeen construction workers to die on the job this year. We hear his story, as well as the stories of other workers speaking out about unsafe conditions and unregulated construction sites. A new state law may be a step in the right direction.

Reported by Laura Bratton. Amanda Harrington contributed reporting.

Audio Files · A New Lease on (Nine) Lives

 

A new, affordable veterinary clinic is set to open in Flatbush, Brooklyn in Spring 2023. Flatbush Cats is the organization that just signed a ten year lease to provide care for the pets of community members and the stray cats in the neighborhood. We hear from volunteers about their efforts. 

Reported by Elizabeth Short

Audio Files · Dedicated to Dancing Through Life

 

In this installment of “New York at work,” we meet Vado Diomande, choreographer and teacher at Cumbe — the Center for African and Diaspora Dance in Bed-Stuy. He shares his lifelong passion for dance and tradition, as well as the bold decision to start his own dance company.

Reported by Hannah-Kathryn Valles

Audio Files · Brooklyn Landmarks LGBTQ History

 

 

Reported by Yvonne Marquez

Audio Files · World Cup Fever hits NYC

 

 

Reported by Trina Mannino

Audio Files · New York City’s Most Dangerous Job (S11, E5) – 11/30/2022 – FULL EPISODE

In the penultimate episode of AudioFiles season 11, we bring you stories of tragedy in the construction industry, World Cup fans, LGBTQ history, African dance and affordable veterinary care. We hear from Dr. Philip M. Tierno about the status of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) in New York. Host Amanda Rozon sits down with Yun-Hee Proffit, Executive Director of Drag Story Hour NYC to discuss a spike in hate crimes against the LGBTQ community. Then, reporter Amanda Kari McHugh talks about her reporting on the experiences of adoptees and birth mothers. To close out the show, Erica Saldívar García, Clinical Assistant Professor at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, joins to discuss how a shortage of bilingual teachers is affecting students who need them.

 

Managing Producer: Elizabeth Short
Host: Amanda Rozon
Show Producer: Thomas Hughes
Associate Producer: Leonardo Lopez Carreno

Reporters: Tasha Sandoval, Trina Mannino, Yvonne Marquez, Elizabeth Short and Hannah-Kathryn Valles.

Guests: Dr. Philip M. Tierno, Yun-Hee Proffit, Amanda Kari McHugh and Erica Saldívar García
Editors: Maggie Freleng, Kalli Anderson
Engineer: Chad Bernhard
Music: Jason Shaw
Archival audio: Lesbian Herstory Archives

 

 

 

Audio Files · Stolen Wages in Construction and a Workers Right Crisis

All workers in New York City, regardless of citizenship status, are granted the same rights under New York State labor laws. They have the right to a fair wage, to be paid on time and to work free of harassment and discrimination. But in the construction industry, undocumented immigrant workers who are reluctant to report violations are at risk of being exploited by their employers. We attend a training session aimed at teaching recent migrants how to advocate for themselves on the job.

 

Reported by Amanda Rozon

Audio Files · Asylum Seekers Enter the Workforce

Thousands of asylum seekers are looking for work in New York City. We visit a community center on Staten Island that’s preparing some migrants to join the workforce and learn their rights as workers.

 

Reported by Laura Bratton

Audio Files · The Science of a Perfect Pour

Kate Ryan, a bartender at Paddy McGuire’s in Gramercy, makes about 700 drinks a night. But pulling beer is a meticulous task that she has down to a science. In this installment of our “New York at work” series, we head to this Irish pub to learn how to pull the perfect pint and tackle the finicky Guinness.

 

Reported by Thomas Hughes

Audio Files · 34 Years as a photographer at the Museum of Natural History

Denis Finnin spent the last 34 years as director of the photography studio at the Museum of Natural History. In this installment in our “New York at work” series, he tells us about traveling the world for the museum and what he hopes his legacy will be.

 

Reported by Elizabeth Short 

Audio Files · Sex Positive Accounts Get Banned On Instagram

Sex positive content creators say social media platforms like Instagram are censoring their behavior and impacting their livelihoods. We hear from creators whose accounts have been disbanded and find out how they’re pivoting.

 

Reported by Paige Perez

Audio Files · Businesses See the Economic Benefits of Vanderbilt Avenue Open Streets

The Department of Transportation launched the Open Streets program early in the pandemic as a way to help struggling businesses. Now, over two years later, they release a report that shows the program’s tangible economic benefits. We go to Open Streets on Vanderbilt Avenue to check in.

 

Reported by Tasha Sandoval 

Audio Files · Cold Plunge In The Rockaways

Temperatures are dropping, but that’s not stopping one community from hitting the beach. Reporter Sarah Kerson spent time with SeaChanges, a group of cold water swimmers in the Rockaways.