Pod and Market

Gabe Ribeiro comes onto Pod & Market to discuss his growing brand, The Nork Project, as well as The Nork Audio Project, and to share his experiences growing a brand in Newark.

Coming out to friends, family, and loved ones can often be a difficult process. It is often not a singular moment and takes on many forms. Bella Filipe and Christian Valentin-Gladden share their Newark coming out stories, explain what coming out means and how it happens, and shares advice with those who might find it difficult.

Jeffrey Trzeciak, Director of the Newark Public Library, joins Pod & Market to discuss what has changed at the Library over the last several years. Jeffrey discusses the Library's efforts with LGBTQI+ awareness and inclusion and its new services for the homeless of Newark, as well as other programming to maintain interest in the Library in the age of social media and increasing digitization. Jeffrey also shares a little of his background, how he got to the director position, and what it is like to be a gay individual of prominence in Newark.

Anthony Abraham Jack's The Privileged Poor, through the use of stories collected from students over several years, exposed how often elite institutions of higher education fail to help undergraduate students from disadvantaged backgrounds achieve their full potential. Kim Boerrigter and Lucia Couto, two Newark residents who currently attend Harvard College, share their experiences in transitioning from here to Cambridge.

After 23 years of state control of Newark Public Schools, local control has come back to the elected Board of Education. This spring, we had our first election where incumbent members of the re-empowered Board of Education ran against a new slate of candidates. One of these new candidates was A’Dorian Murray-Thomas. She won a seat on the board with the largest number of votes of any candidate. A'Dorian joins the Pod & Market podcast to discuss her vision as a board member, her policy goals, and what she brings to the table.

Bargaining units representing the administration at Rutgers and certain segments of its educators are currently in dispute over the pay of part-time lecturers and grad students at the University. Here to explain the nature of dispute and the goals of one side of those negotiations are a grad student, a part time lecturer, and faculty union leader.

On the corner of University and Warren Streets lies Rutgers University's Alumni Field. On Wednesday, April 17, that field will be renamed Frederick Douglas Athletic Field, in honor of the historic abolitionist and activist who gave several speeches in that space. Noelle Lorraine Williams will discuss the inception of the space, how this connects with Newark's black activist past, and the meaning of memorials in Newark.

“This week, we take a break from our usual discussion panel for an interview and conversation with Adam Bergo (@cevn7), a local entrepreneur and artist. Adam, along with his mother, runs @blackswanespresso, a high quality coffeehouse on Halsey Street in Newark. I've known Adam for two years now and really hope you enjoy his perspective on coming to Newark, opening a business, and maintaining his artistic vision."

On March 12, thousands gathered at NJPAC to listen to Mayor Ras Baraka speak about the state of the city. Alongside some performances, Mayor Baraka explored several subject areas, ranging from education to public safety to quality of life, and gave his own assessment of how Newark was doing and what it could look forward to. In this episode, Halashon Sianipar and I discuss the speech itself, the issues it raised, and our own assessment of the state of the city.

In a very subdued press release, Amazon announced that it would no longer pursue the construction of its second headquarters in New York City. Within a few days of that withdrawal, Mayor Baraka published a piece (not surprisingly) in the Washington Post seeming to say that the administration wanted Newark to still be in contention. Join Jorge Santos, Rory MacQueen, and Christian Dean Smith, as we discuss Amazon's quest for a second HQ, whether Amazon is a good fit for Newark, and what Newark should do to convinces businesses to come to the Brick City.

A change in the zoning rules, known as MX3, will allow for higher building heights just east of Penn Station in the Ironbound, with plans for a 12 story building upon the Newark City Council's approval of the ordinance. Join Lillian Ribeiro, Lisa Scorsolini, and Drew Curtis as we discuss this change