Backstory: an Ithaca Voice podcast

Backstory: an Ithaca Voice podcast

by The Ithaca Voice
NewsSociety & Culture
Season 2
Aug. 25, 2026 — Zoning out: a test case for Ithaca's new plan to build more housing
Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts. Earlier this year, Ithaca's Common Council passed a law that could start to reshape the city's built environment in the interest of addressing the housing crisis. Now, it's being tested for the first time. Zoning law isn't a new concept: governments have long set guidelines that dictate what can be built in a particular area. And while it may take a while for the average person to notice a change, zoning laws are the quiet force that shape the way the city grows and feels for decades to come. Some leaders say Ithaca's current zoning laws are holding the city back. Local politicians have touted the idea of zoning reform as a potential solution for all sorts of problems in the city: limited housing availability, struggling local businesses, walkability. Earlier this year, the Ithaca Common Council took made it easier to apply for exceptions to zoning restrictions all over the city. These exceptions are called Planned Unit Developments, or PUDs for short. The idea was to make it easier for projects that might use land a little more creatively, projects that might have otherwise been blocked by the red tape that sometimes comes with typical zoning law. It’s meant as an initial step to spur development while the city works on a bigger zoning reform. But now, the first major test case — a new apartment complex on West Hill — is unfolding ... and so far, not everyone is convinced. Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors. Original air date: August 25, 2026 Produced, hosted and edited by Megan Zerez. Reported by Jimmy Jordan and Brian Crandall. Cover art image courtesy of the City of Ithaca.
S2 · E17
Aug 25, 2026
22:51
Aug. 18, 2026 — SouthWorks' affordable housing gets a tax break. Will schools pay the price?
Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts. If an affordable housing development gets a tax break, does it come at a cost to the rest of the community? It’s a debate that’s been playing out with the massive new mixed-use development known as SouthWorks. Some have described the project as on the scale of a whole new neighborhood. Last week, the first major phase of that project just got approved for a major tax break. The developers say they need the help to be able to keep rent affordable for working class Ithacans. But some advocates say the tax break could hurt Ithaca’s public schools … which rely heavily on those taxes to keep classroom lights on and teachers paid. Additional notes: Report issues to the City of Ithaca's sidewalk repair program here before Aug. 20 for priority repair. Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors. Original air date: August 18, 2026 Produced and edited by Megan Zerez. Reported and hosted by Megan Zerez and Jimmy Jordan. Cover photo by Megan Zerez.
S2 · E16
Aug 18, 2026
24:40
Aug. 11, 2026 — Data center debate ripple effects
Correction 8/17/26: This article characterizes Town of Lansing Deputy Supervisor Joe Wetmore as an “outspoken critic” of the proposed TeraWulf data center in Lansing. After a careful review of past reporting and previous statements, The Ithaca Voice found that Wetmore has not taken an explicit public position against the data center proposed in Lansing by TeraWulf. Wetmore had previously supported a now-failed development moratorium that could have affected the data center. He stated that the policy was not specifically aimed at blocking the TeraWulf project, but rather about facilitating responsible development in the Town of Lansing. This nuance is absent from this reporting. That error was included in this report as a result of the editing process, and is not the fault of the reporter on this story. We regret this mistake. Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts. Right now, the data center proposal in Lansing is more discourse than development. But even the debate is causing ripple effects. There’s pending legal action seeking to oust one of the members of Lansing’s town board. It alleges, among other things, that deputy town supervisor and board member Joe Wetmore had misused his power as an elected official to try to block the controversial Terawulf artificial intelligence (AI) data project. The plaintiff is also a long time Lansing resident and community leader in her own right. She says she supports the data center ... but says the lawsuit goes beyond that. The New York City law firm representing her has ties to Terawulf, the company behind the data center. How far are local politicians allowed to go when they oppose a project? And what — or who — is really at the heart of this case? Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors. Original air date: August 11, 2026 Produced and edited by Megan Zerez Reporting by Hailea Potter and Fernando Figueroa Cover photo by Casey Martin.
S2 · E15
Aug 11, 2026
24:38
August 3, 2026 — Dredging delays, Black farmer civil rights settlement, a new dam in Dryden
Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts. This week, a round up of some of the biggest stories we’ve been covering lately. A bank robbery started this week out with a jolt at a local credit union. And New York state officials seem poised to finally move on several major projects that have been delayed for years: the dredging of Cayuga Inlet and replacing the leaky, aging Dryden Lake Dam. Meanwhile, city officials are making slow progress on a worker protections bill that was first proposed in 2024. They should have a first draft of the bill within 90 days. A Black farmer and educator won a $100,000 settlement after years of racist and sexist harassment from her former neighbor. And Cornell bans processing wild game meat in its dorms. Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors. Original air date: Aug 4, 2026. Produced and edited by Megan Zerez Hosted by Fernando Figueroa and Hailea Potter. Reporting by Megan Zerez, Fernando Figueroa, Hailea Potter and Eddie Velazquez. Cover photo by Casey Martin.
S2 · E14
Aug 4, 2026
9:14
July 28, 2026 — A seismic shift for Ithaca's school board after years in the making
Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts. If you don’t have kids, you may not think about the school board — or its internal politics — very often. But the school board’s impact goes way beyond the classroom. In Ithaca, the school board has more influence on a property tax bill — and by extension, housing costs — than any other elected body. Take a look at a property tax bill of a homeowner in the Ithaca City School District, and it’s clear the district’s taxes rate are significantly higher than those of either Tompkins County or the City of Ithaca. The Ithaca City School District’s Board of Education just started their new term. And already, it’s looking like there’s a major shift in the balance of power. Editor's note: The cover art uses a photo depicting the 2025-2026 Ithaca City School District's Board of Education, not the current board. Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors. Original air date: July 28, 2026 Produced and reported by Megan Zerez Hosted by Jimmy Jordan Cover photo by Fernando Figueroa
S2 · E13
Jul 28, 2026
24:17
July 21, 2026 — He saved a woman from a dog attack. Then he was arrested.
Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts. When Ira McKinley went to Wegmans to drop off cans to recycle on June 13, he noticed a commotion outside. A dog was attacking an older woman, its teeth tearing into her stomach. Bystanders seemed frozen as they filmed the incident on their phones. The grocery store security guard was nowhere to be seen. McKinley, frustrated, decided to step in and help. Eventually, the police came. But they were more interested in McKinley, not the dog or her handler. And ultimately, it was McKinley who was arrested. How did we get from a man saving someone from an attacking dog to that same man being arrested for trespassing? And what role does community outcry play in the way that things shake out? Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors. Original air date: July 21, 2026 Produced and hosted by Megan Zerez. Reported by Fernando Figueroa and Hailea Potter Cover photo by Casey Martin
S2 · E12
Jul 21, 2026
20:10
July 14, 2026 — Another season of Trumansburg's GrassRoots Festival
Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts. Trumansburg’s one and only GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance returns this week for the 34th year. We’re going back to the roots with one of the festival’s co-founders, local musician Jeb Puryear. Plus, a round-up of news from town halls across the county. Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors. Segment 2 original air date: July 18, 2025 Produced by Megan Zerez Hosted by Megan Zerez and Matt Butler Cover photo by Alyvia Covert
S2 · E11
Jul 14, 2026
18:49
July 7, 2026 — The mass evictions at Asteri
Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts. From the start, Asteri Ithaca was supposed to represent a bold response to Ithaca’s most pressing housing and economic problems. One hundred eighty one new affordable apartment units. A brand new conference center. A plan to provide housing to forty formerly unhoused families. All in the heart of downtown Ithaca. It’s been two years since Asteri Ithaca first welcomed residents. Four months since the city temporarily declared the building “unfit for human habitation.” And while the building has since re-opened, a lot has changed since then. Now, in a major reversal, there's now over fifty eviction filings against residents. This week on Backstory: how the Asteri dream fell apart. Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors. Original air date: July 7, 2026 Produced and hosted by Megan Zerez. Reported by Jimmy Jordan, Megan Zerez, Hailea Potter, Matt Butler and Fernando Figueroa. Cover photo by Matt Butler
S2 · E10
Jul 7, 2026
22:59
June 30, 2026 — Something's alive under East Hill Cemetery ... millions of native bees
Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts. In an old cemetery just behind East Hill Plaza, there’s a little known secret buried just a few feet underground. As we speak, they’re sleeping underground by the millions … not zombies, not vampires, but native ground dwelling bees. Cornell researchers believe it’s the largest population of these bees anywhere in the world. Researcher Jordan Kueneman is one of the scientists who study this population of bees … and why cemeteries, of all places, play such a big role in pollination and biodiversity. Much of this research also depends on the efforts of citizen scientists across the world observing species and phenomena right in our backyards. This conversation was recorded in early May, just as these bees were entering their most active, above-ground phase. While Kueneman says this particular group has retreated back underground until next spring, you can still get involved here. Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors. Original air date: June 30, 2026 Produced and hosted by Megan Zerez. Cover photo by Bryan Danforth/Cornell University
S2 · E9
Jun 30, 2026
20:22
June 23, 2026 — New York's Primary Elections
Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music or wherever you get podcasts. Today is Election Day in statewide primary races. While there's not as much on the ballot this primary, some of the offices up for grabs come November do come with a lot of power. Plus, some of the other headlines we've been following. We're trying a more "bite-sized" format this week, but next week, we'll return with a full sized episode. Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors. Original air date: June 23, 2026 Produced and edited by Megan Zerez. Reported by: Megan Zerez, Hailea Potter, Jimmy Jordan and Fernando Figueroa. Cover photo by Casey Martin.
S2 · E8
Jun 23, 2026
7:40
1 of 4