Intrinsic

Intrinsic intern Charlie Peterson conceived and produced this episode focused on musicians and how they survived the pandemic. It was not all bad—many received unemployment and used the time to write new music or explored new ways to reach out to their fans. But nothing replaces the experience of playing in front of the live audience. Take a listen and find out how they are gearing up for the summer of post-pandemic.

In this special and personal episode, executive film producer William Horberg shares his stories behind the films he produced, and how his wide range of interests in art and music have shaped his career. He and host Keiko Sono share the many intersections of their lives, from his neurodivergent son to a rock concert 4 decades ago, shining the light on how strangely interconnected we are.

This episode was edited from the recording of a panel discussion hosted by the Intrinsic host Keiko Sono, on the two Universal Basic Income (UBI) pilots being conducted in the Hudson Valley, New York, and how a true UBI would impact the society.

Guests: Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan, Hudson Mayor Kamal Johnson, Sparks of Hudson Co-founder Susan Danziger, and Hudson Pilot Director Joan Hunt.

Chris Silva (Executive Director, Bardavon Presents), John Barry (former Poughkeepsie Journal music reporter), and Brian Mahoney (Editorial Director, Chronogram) share their thoughts on how the performing arts and cultural scenes are, as we slowly emerge out of the pandemic.

Guests: Christine Hein and Michael Berg

Christine is the Executive Director at People’s Place in Kingston, a not-for-profit organization feeding, clothing and responding to the needs of the people in Ulster County with kindness, compassion and the preservation of human dignity since 1972. She is one of the busiest people I know, as the needs for their services never let up. But she handles everything with grace and warmth that make you feel hopeful.

Michael is the executive director of Family of Woodstock, serving the various needs that include intervention, prevention, food insecurity, and more, in the Hudson Valley. He is truly the face of the organization and of the true spirit of Woodstock. His compassion for humanity and justice is exemplary of the peace movement that began in the 60s and still lives on in the backstreets of Woodstock.

In this episode, we dive deep into the issues of affordable housing, homelessness, and how UBI could impact them. Scott Santens is one of the leading advocates for UBI on social media. March Gallagher is the Comptroller of Ulster County, where a UBI pilot was just announced a week after this episode was recorded. Kevin O'Connor is a CEO of RUPCO, a nonprofit that builds quality affordable housing in the Hudson Valley region of New York State.

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Is it possible for a local business to scale up and stay sustainable, both socially and environmentally? For Hudson Valley's Bread Alone, it is. In this episode, Nels Leader and Jen Metzger dive deep into how local businesses could lead the way to a sustainable and equitable future and how the State government could and should help them.

Nels Leader is CEO of Bread Alone Bakery and a trained Climate Leader for Al Gore's Climate Reality Project. At Bread Alone, Nels’ work has focused on expanding and professionalizing a 2nd generation family business, and creating lasting competitive advantage through commitment to people and the planet.

Jen Metzger served in the New York State Senate from 2019 to 20, representing the 42nd District, a largely rural district in the Hudson Valley and the Catskills. Among many of her progressive achievements, she was an active member of the Senate's workgroup on the nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), which was signed into law in July 2019.

She introduced the Comprehensive Broadband Connectivity Act, which recognizes access to high-speed internet as a right of all New Yorkers. She also served as Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, focusing on programs and legislation to support family farms, expand New York markets for locally-produced farm products, reduce barriers to new and young farmers, and strengthen agriculture's role as part of the solution to fighting climate change.

Our first guests of 2021 are Lagusta Yearwood and Ken Greene. They are both small businesses owners  based in the Hudson Valley, New York.

Lagusta started as a catering service but now owns a small vegan chocolate company called Lagusta’s Luscious, a cafe in New Paltz, and co-owns a retail shop in New York City. She also recently authored a cookbook titled Sweet and Salty. And she does all these with high ethical standards and a fashion style I can only dream of. From her company’s website, her life’s work is to prove that a business doesn’t have to lose its heart to thrive.

Her good friend Ken Greene started Hudson Valley Seed Library where people could obtain and exchange open-pollinated seeds. In time he and his partner Doug grew the library to the Hudson Valley Seed Company and the not-for-profit Seedshed. All of their seeds are heirloom or open-pollinated, and gardeners are encouraged to save their own seeds. They host an open call every year where artists submit designs for their seed packs, creating a vibrant intersection between art and gardening.

Host: Keiko Sono

Producer: Olivia Meynadasy

Theme Music: Jon Notar

To wrap up one of the wildest years in the history of the United States, I’m happy to bring to you a conversation I recorded with three of the most influential grassroots activists in Ulster county, New York—Kelleigh McKenzie, Lin Sakai, and Amy Fradon.

This episode is a sequel to my earlier one in which I interviewed Eitan Hersh, author of Politics is for Power, and discussed how political hobbyism where people are engaged only through social media, mostly on national issues, is actually hurting our political system and our society by exacerbating the polarization. In today’s conversation, we show what a real political engagement looks like.

Kelleigh is a musician who turned her passion for justice into being a full fledged political operative. After serving in a campaign to save a local movie theater and helping her friend in a town supervisor race, she became involved with a local grassroots group Ulster for Bernie in 2015 and became Sanders’ delegate in 2016 at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

The bittersweet ascent and loss of Bernie Sanders candidacy only fueled Kelleigh’s desire for change, and she plunged right into the belly of the beast, becoming a member of the New York State Democratic Committee in 2016, and in September of this year, she was elected as a chair of the Ulster County Democratic Committee, where she has already introduced many reforms to make the process more transparent and open.

Lin Sakai cut her political teeth in Obama’s 2008 campaign, becoming his delegate that year and also in 2012. Ever since then, she’s been a vocal advocate for various local issues in ulster county including healthcare, pipeline construction, and election processes. Although she has been a member of the Democratic committees, she sees her role as more of an outsider pressuring the elected officials to honor the interests of their constituents.

Amy Fradon leads an innovative program called Neighbor to Neighbor, in which she instructs a team of volunteers to engage in relational canvassing. This program has shown remarkable results in voter turnout and building a solid and meaningful network of voters as neighbors and friends, that outlasts a single election season and provides a living platform for engagement.

Host: Keiko Sono

Why make podcasts? Doesn't the world have enough podcasts already? Three friends gather to answer these questions. Brett Barry, host of Kaatscast and owner of Silver Hollow Audio in the Catskills, New York, and Theresa Widmann, host of I Want What She Has and owner of Anahata Kingston, join Keiko Sono for a lively discussion on what podcasting means to them and exchange tips and ideas. This is a great episode for both veteran podcasters and those interested in starting one.

https://anchor.fm/kaatscast

https://silverhollowaudio.com/

https://iwantwhatshehas.org/podcast

https://www.anahatakingston.com/

What could be more fun for children and young adults than to pick up an instrument for the first time and play in a band on a real stage in just 3 months? To perform hard-beat breakdancing in a troupe? Or to learn dances from around the world in original, inspiring choreography? These guests make it happen. Livia Vanaver is a co-director of Vanaver Caravan, a dance company based in New Paltz, New York. Drew Andrews is a director of Energy Company, part of Center for Creative Education in Kingston. Jason Bowman is a director of Rock Academy in Woodstock, New York.

Three of them share their stories of how their programs have inspired and given joy to so many children in the Hudson Valley for decades. Their stories reveal tenacity and ingenuity that allowed them not only to survive but thrive for so long, despite constant struggle to manage finance, outreach, and now pandemic.

The key for their resilience is the openness for collaboration. You will feel the warmth and energy that is generated by working together and supporting each other through this episode.

Dan Shaut is a music teacher at Highland High School and Director of Bridge Arts and Education. Lara Giordano is a retired art teacher from Kingston High School and director of D.R.A.W., Department of Regional Art Workers. Why do they spend their time outside of their work and in retirement to dedicate to a further education of arts and music in the community? They share their frustration with the limitation of public school arts & music education and lack of cultural embracing of art as a way to live life as a human. They also share the joy of community-based art and music education as building of a shared economy and a way to keep the humanity alive. 

Lilia Perez, the grants and programs coordinator for Arts Mid-Hudson, shares additional information about their decentralization grants. Although these grants are available only to artists in Dutchess, Ulster, and Orange counties in New York, the information shared here applies to most grant applications.

Listen to the trailer for Intrinsic, a podcast about innate value and motivation of people, produced in the Hudson Valley, New York.