Connections

We recap what we know at this stage about the results of the election, and what we expect to see going forward.   

Our guests are local Democrats who discuss how their party has handled the election season:

• Elaine Spaull
• Larry Knox
• Nicole Hushla Re
  

A local man who was diagnosed with COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic is sharing his remarkable story. Jeff Reese spent 26 days in the ICU at Strong Hospital, where he suffered a collapsed lung, shock, and cardiac arrest. Reese's doctors say he was on high doses of sedation, pain medication, chemical paralytics, and received maximum support from a ventilator. Members of his medical team says they learned a lot about the virus during this time -- when reports from Europe and New York City estimated a 60-80 percent mortality rate in patients who were critically ill. 

This hour, we talk to Jeff Reese and his doctors about surviving COVID-19. Our guests:

• Jeff Reese, Rochester resident who survived a critical case of COVID-19
• Anthony Pietropaoli, M.D., vice chief of the Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, and medical director for the Medical Intensive Care Service at Strong Memorial Hospital
• Mary Anne Morgan, M.D., associate professor in the University of Rochester Department of Medicine, and program director of the Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship
  

A new photojournalism course at RIT is exploring how to tell stories of addiction and recovery. Participants include photojournalism majors and people with personal experiences with recovery -- doctors, counselors, family members of people who have lost their lives to overdose, and people who are currently in recovery. You can learn more about the exhibition here.

This hour, we talk about how the subject of addiction is covered -- and often stigmatized -- in the media and popular culture, and how they hope their work will change that. Our guests:

• Graham MacIndoe, photojournalist and adjunct professor of photography at the Parsons School of Design at The New School
• Susan Stellin, writer, journalist, and adjunct professor in the Journalism and Design Department at The New School
• Chris Pridmore, author and blogger who is in recovery
• Cheyenne Boone, photojournalism student at RIT
  

President Trump improved on his margins with Latino voters from 2016. He did especially well in the American Southeast, surprising some Democrats. But this is not a surprise to many Latinos, who point out that their demographic is not monolithic in politics and values.

We discuss what we can learn from this election. Our guests:

• Mercedes Vazquez-Simmons, community organizer with the Latino Voter Protection Group
• Anthony Plonczynski-Figueroa, founder of La Cumbre
• Peter Vazquez, candidate for the 138th Assembly District
• Jose Peo, member of Rochester City Council
  

We hear from a second group of candidates, who weigh in on Tuesday night's election results.

Our guests:

• Jeremy Cooney, candidate for the 56th Senate District
• Chris Missick, candidate for the 55th Senate District
• Zachary King, chair of the Monroe County Democratic Party
• Stephen DeVay, executive vice chair of the Monroe County Democratic Party
• Mark Johns, incumbent in the 135th Assembly District
  

We hear from local candidates about the results of Tuesday night's races - at least what we know at this stage. Many local races have not been called; the Monroe County Board of Elections will begin counting absentee ballots on November 16th.

This hour, we hear from:

• Harry Bronson, winner of the 138th Assembly District
• Demond Meeks, winner of the 137th Assembly District race
• Sarah Clark, winner of the 136th Assembly District race
• Josh Jensen, winner of the 134th Assembly District race
• Paul Hypolite, public affairs strategist
  

We discuss the spectrum of emotions that come with this election. We talk about how to deal with the stress, and how to communicate with friends and family.

Our guest:

• Melanie Funchess, director of community engagement and family support at the Mental Health Association of Rochester, member of the Greater Rochester Black Agenda Group, and founder of the Black Healers Network