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© Ⓒ Western New York Public Broadcasting Association 2025
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What’s Next? uncovers and discusses the issues and topics pertinent to marginalized and underrepresented populations of Western New York and Southern Ontario.Days after the racist shooting in Buffalo on May 14, 2022, the show tasked itself to be a champion for social equity and justice. "What’s Next?” amplifies voices from all parts of our shared community to celebrate our individuality as well as our commonalities.Listen to the one-hour broadcast Mondays and Wednesdays at 11am on BTPM NPR, with rebroadcasts on Sundays at 6pm. It is also available on-demand through our website, the BTPM Listen app, on our YouTube channel, or wherever you get your podcasts.We encourage our listeners to join the conversation by using the “Talk to Us” feature in the BTPM Listen app. By using this in-app feature, listeners can send audio recordings directly to the newsroom. You can also reach the production staff by emailing us at WhatsNext@btpm.org.
538 Episodes
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Jay Moran sits with Jeremy Besch, a DEI consultant who walks through an exercise that examine one’s own identity and privilege in order to be a good ally, from June 10 of last year. Then Brigid Jaipaul Valenza talks with Wil Green, Regional Office Director of NYS Network for Youth Success. The two discuss racism, youth and education, from June 23 of last year.
Thomas O’Neil White speaks with Fruit belt activists Dennice Barr and Kelly Camacho as they pull back the curtain on tenant troubles at McCarley Gardens from February 28 of this year. Then we take a trip with Jay Moran to Niagara Falls where he speaks with Eric Boerdner about the SNUG anti-violence program from January 12 of this year.
Jay Moran welcomes John Washington to talk through housing inequity and more. Also, Jacqueline Cherry, Assistant Director of Dance at the African American Cultural Center will talk about critical race theory, how the arts can help healing, and more with Brigid Jaipaul Valenza. And we end the show with Jay Moran speaking with Dennice Barr, part of Fruit Belt Leadership, to discuss healthy food access on the East Side.
Brigid Jaipaul Valenza speaks with Drea D'Nur to talk about serving the Halal community before, and since, the racially motivated shooting at Tops Friendly Markets on Jefferson Avenue. Then Jay Moran chats with Shantelle Patton, founder of That Brown Bag Minority Business Directory on some of her banking and financial education programs. And we end the show with Thomas O’Neil White speaking with Dorian Withrow Jr as he shares perspectives on what work needs to be done for our youth.
Thomas O’Neil White sits down with Key Bank branch manager Rob Cornelius, the two talk about business and community needs on Buffalo’s East Side from October 11 of last year. Then Thomas speaks improving the community through land and home ownership with Buffalo Information and Sharing cooperative funder Ahmad Nieves from September 20 of last year.
Today we look back at three previous segments from June 15, 30 and October 4 of last year. First, we back at a segment from June 15, 2022, Brigid Jaipaul-Valenza sits down with the founder of Project Mona’s House to talk about her organization and modern-day slavery in the form of human trafficking in Buffalo. Then we revisited Jay Moran’s conversation with Tenelle Jones from Charleston, SC about the parallels between Charleston and Buffalo from October 4. And we end the show with Brigid speaking with Maria Ta from Ujima Theatre about how theatre and the arts address racial and social in justice from June 30.
First Thomas O’Neil-White talks about using public land for public benefit, police oversight activist and former Medaille professor Orlando Dickson. Then Jay Moran sits with attorney Jason Daniels to discuss being Black in the corporate world and how do Black people navigate positions typically held by white people.
Today we feature several interviews with the cast and production team of “Once on This Island” the first local production to be done at 710 Shea’s. Angelea Preston chats with director Naila Ansari, and twin 16-year-old actresses Shylah Douglas and Samyah Douglas. Then Brigid Jaipaul Valenza brings in actors Zhanna Reed and Marcus Paige to talk more about the play, before all the performers gather to sing a moment from the show.
Buffalo, What's Next? is on summer break and will return with new content shortly. As we take this break we are revisiting previous conversations with our summer time producer’s pick with: retired professor Gary Earl Ross (August 1, 2022), Cliff Bell (August 2, 2022) and Andrea Ó Súilleabháin (August 8, 2022).
On this week’s Producers’ Picks highlights episode we revisit our previous conversations with: One of Buffalo Juneteenth’s founding members Judson Price, mental health counselor Andre Stokes Jr., and Barbara Cole from Just Buffalo Literary Center and Sydney Clifton.
We continue to discuss the fallout of the pivotal Supreme Court decisions that will affect our college student population with the President of the American Association of Colleges & Universities, Dr. Lynn Pasquerella. Also, we’ll hear from the CEO of Journey’s End, Karen Andolina Scott. The refugee resettlement group has been hard at work helping a large group of recent immigrants get situated in the Western New York area after arriving here by bus from New York City.
We welcome the co-chairs of the East Side Garden Walk, Renata Toney and Samantha White. Afterwards, we continue speaking with Samantha about the Western New York Law Center’s School Discipline Project.
On this episode we meet Nicholas Ramirez, a Civil Rights attorney with the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo. Nicholas specializes in criminal law but aids the public by advocating for and educating individuals in all things pertaining to social justice.
On this week’s Producers’ Picks highlights episode we revisit our previous conversations with: Na’Kya McCann from the Buffalo All-Star Extreme dance and cheer team, Dan White and Asman Ndayisabwa from Healing Grounds Coffee and Sanctuary, and the barbers and customers of Signature Cutz Barbershop.
We sit down with Christine Carr-Barmasse, Executive Director of Mission: Ignite, a group dedicated to promoting computer literacy. Discover her inspiring efforts to bridge the digital divide and empower students, teens, and adults with essential digital skills. Don't miss this enlightening conversation on the future of digital literacy and its role in shaping Buffalo's progress.
Ben Hilligas, the recently appointed Executive Director for the Buffalo Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) at the University at Buffalo, is bringing his background in social work to the position and hoping to expand the opportunities and capabilities of the long-running learning institution. Afterwards, with Pride month coming to a close, the President of Niagara Pride, Ronald Piaseczny talks to us about how this year’s celebration was more important than those prior.
After his child’s Western New York school omitted Black History Month and DEI initiatives from their teaching plans, Ryan Howze set off to create a curriculum and supplemental history podcast to address this need. Ryan joins Lorenzo Rodriguez to discuss his curriculum program as well as some of the conversations that are currently consuming the public education landscape on a national scale.
Emyle Watkins spoke with Todd Vaarwerk, the Chief Policy Officer for Western New York Independent Living. Together they discussed the independent living movement and how New York State's 2023-2024 budget may impact residents with disabilities who rely on essential state services to live in their own homes as well as inpatient and outpatient mental health care. This episode was recorded shortly after the budget passed in May.
On this week’s Producers’ Picks highlights episode we revisit our previous conversations with: Adrienne Garr and La’Tryse Anderson from Buffalo S.N.U.G. (6/1), Charles Brandy and Melvin Watkins of the Afro-American Historical Association of the Niagara Frontier (6/6), and Gi Swords and Faith Winship from GLYS of Western New York (6/7).
On today’s episode of Buffalo, What’s Next? Lorenzo Rodriguez has a conversation with Yanhong Baranski, an Asian-American member of the Buffalo community who served as the President of the Chinese Club of Western New York. Afterwards, Central Library is set to unveil a new statue in honor of one of Buffalo’s most noteworthy poets – the late Lucille Clifton. Barbara Cole, from Just Buffalo Literary Center, and Lucille’s daughter, Sidney Clifton, join Jay Moran to discuss this new development and the legacy of Lucille’s work.
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