Buffalo Toronto Public Media Blog
Explore the latest stories, innovations, and community voices shaping public media. From behind-the-scenes looks at groundbreaking productions to in-depth features on local culture and initiatives, the BTPM Blog keeps you connected to the heart of public storytelling. Dive into inspiring narratives that amplify the power of media to inform and engage.
BTPM Blog
Kathryn's Must-Sees on BTPM PBS in August
Kathryn’s Must-Sees is your guide for the most compelling and thought-provoking programs on BTPM PBS. Curated monthly by Kathryn Larsen, our Vice President of Content Distribution with over 40 years of programming experience, these standout programs entertain, inspire, and spark conversation.
Kathryn's Must-Sees on BTPM PBS in July
Kathryn’s Must-Sees is your guide for the most compelling and thought-provoking programs on BTPM PBS. Curated monthly by Kathryn Larsen, our Vice President of Content Distribution with over 40 years of programming experience, these standout programs entertain, inspire, and spark conversation.
Kathryn's Must-Sees on BTPM PBS in June
Kathryn’s Must-Sees is your guide for the most compelling and thought-provoking programs on BTPM PBS. Curated monthly by Kathryn Larsen, our Vice President of Content Distribution with over 40 years of programming experience, these standout programs entertain, inspire, and spark conversation.
Kathryn's Must-Sees on BTPM PBS in May
Kathryn’s Must-Sees is your guide for the most compelling and thought-provoking programs on BTPM PBS. Curated monthly by Kathryn Larsen, our Vice President of Content Distribution with over 40 years of programming experience, these standout programs entertain, inspire, and spark conversation.
Kathryn's Must-Sees on BTPM PBS in April
Kathryn’s Must-Sees is your guide for the most compelling and thought-provoking programs on BTPM PBS. Curated monthly by Kathryn Larsen, our Vice President of Content Distribution with over 40 years of programming experience, these standout programs entertain, inspire, and spark conversation.
Kathryn's Must-Sees on BTPM PBS in March
Kathryn’s Must-Sees is your guide for the most compelling and thought-provoking programs on BTPM PBS. Curated monthly by Kathryn Larsen, our Vice President of Content Distribution with over 40 years of programming experience, these standout programs entertain, inspire, and spark conversation.
NYC Theater Trip 2026: Five Shows, Endless Applause
Explore the BTPM Travel Club’s NYC Theater Adventure, featuring five unforgettable shows, behind-the-scenes access, iconic New York landmarks, and meals worth their own standing ovation in this BTPM Blog with Heather Hare.
Kathryn's Must-Sees on BTPM PBS in February
Kathryn’s Must-Sees is your guide for the most compelling and thought-provoking programs on BTPM PBS. Curated monthly by Kathryn Larsen, our Vice President of Content Distribution with over 40 years of programming experience, these standout programs entertain, inspire, and spark conversation.
Kathryn's Must-Sees on BTPM PBS in December
Kathryn’s Must-Sees is your guide for the most compelling and thought-provoking programs on BTPM PBS. Curated monthly by Kathryn Larsen, our Vice President of Content Distribution with over 40 years of programming experience, these standout programs entertain, inspire, and spark conversation.
Kathryn's Must-Sees on BTPM PBS in November
Kathryn’s Must-Sees is your guide for the most compelling and thought-provoking programs on BTPM PBS. Curated monthly by Kathryn Larsen, our Vice President of Content Distribution with over 40 years of programming experience, these standout programs entertain, inspire, and spark conversation.
The Faces Behind the Fair: How BCAT’s Community Resource Event Brings Buffalo Together
What made the BCAT Community Resource Fair stand out wasn’t just its size, more than 30 community organizations participated, but its purpose. It was about connection, access, and collaboration.
Reading Rainbow Returns and So Does the Magic of Reading
The beloved Reading Rainbow returns, inspiring a new generation to discover the joy of books, imagination, and lifelong learning through the power of story.
The BTPM Classical Blog is presented by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
BTPM Classical Blog
Classical Mysteries: The Curse of the Ninth Symphony in Four Movements
Have you ever seen the classic films The Curse of Frankenstein starring Christopher Lee, and The Curse of the Black Pearl starring Johnny Depp? Great titles – the kind that promise mystery, danger, and a good story. Well, I think it’s time for another one.
Marty's Classical Mysteries: Why do conductors use batons?
Taking a closer look at the curious details behind the sounds, traditions, and people that make classical music extraordinary.
More Than a Playlist
Whether you're listening over the air or streaming online, BTPM Classical provides a living, breathing sense of flow, discovery, context, and community that goes beyond anything a personal playlist can offer.
Opera to Opry: It’s All Good!
There’s one thing I learned quickly when I started teaching music appreciation at the college level: if I want students to open their minds to “my music,” classical music, then I need to open my mind to “their music” first. BTPM Classical host Marty Wimmer reflects in this Classical Blog.
Reflections on Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was... Well, there’s really no modern equivalent. In this blog, BTPM Classical host Ed. Simone reflects on Toscanini during a trip to Parma.
March Birthday Madness!
BTPM Classical loves March too, not only for basketball, but for birthdays!
Music to Recharge Your Batteries
Music doesn’t always have to bring you to tears, or motivate you to shoot off fireworks in victory over something. It can also just be respite.
The School Piano: A Salute
Do you remember your elementary school music teacher’s name? What was it? I’ll never forget mine. BTPM Classical Host Marty Wimmer reflects on his school piano memories.
Five Classical Music New Year’s Resolutions
Have you ever made a classical music New Year’s resolution? I know. Odd. But I’ve found that classical music New Year’s resolutions are easy to keep – and a heck of a lot easier than dieting or going to the gym!
Christmas Wreaths | BTPM Classical Blog
Ed. Simone reflects on his traditional Christmas wreath in this BTPM Classical blog.
13 Musical Forms of Life | BTPM Classical Blog
Music has a lot in common with architecture. It relies on solid structures called “musical form.” Marty Wimmer tells you more in this BTPM Classical blog.
Abominable Snowmen | BTPM Classical Blog
No Christmas season was complete for me in the 1970s without watching "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. But where did the song come from? Find out in this BTPM Classical Blog.
BTPM The Bridge Blog
The Scene Playlist for Aug. 16
Check out the playlist from The Scene with Chelsea O, and learn about the artists and their music, including Silver Reeds, Neon Ghosthouse, and Ravenswalk.
Upcoming Local Shows for 8/14 - 8/20
Check out upcoming shows happening in Western New York and Southern Ontario, including Letter to Elise, Addisyn Logan, and Dave Stewy.
The Scene Playlist for Aug. 9
Check out the playlist from The Scene with Chelsea O and learn about the artists and their music, including Weatherell, Hundred Plus Club, and KOPPS.
Upcoming Local Shows 8/7 - 8/13
Check out upcoming shows happening in Western New York and Southern Ontario, including Tough Old Bird, Paper Tigers, and Clarissa Diokno.
The Scene Playlist for August 2
Check out the playlist from The Scene with Chelsea O and learn about the artists and their music, including Opalite, LeBarons, and Vida.
Upcoming Local Shows for 7/31 - 8/6
Check out upcoming local shows happening in Western New York and Southern Ontario, including Curtis Lovell, KOPPS, and Neon Ghosthouse.
The Scene Playlist for July 26
Check out the playlist from The Scene with Chelsea O and learn about the artists and their music, including Pink Leather Jackets, Talking Violets, and Tom Robert.
Upcoming Local Shows for 7/24 - 7/30
Check out local shows happening in Western New York and Southern Ontario, including Alex Cousins, PONY, and Jay Aquarious.
The Scene Playlist for July 19
Check out the playlist from The Scene with Chelsea O, and learn about the artists and their music, including Jay Aquarious, Seventh Dose, and Tittor.
Upcoming Local Shows for 7/17 - 7/23
Check out upcoming local shows happening in Western New York and Southern Ontario, including Kill Uncle, Opalite, and Damone Jackson Outcome.
Heritage Moments
Heritage Moments: John Lewis’ Boyhood Trip to Buffalo, and How It Changed America
When John Lewis, the last of the great figures of the Civil Rights era, died at age 80 in 2020, Americans reflected with near-universal admiration on a life well lived. And, thanks to Lewis himself, they knew of the pivotal role that Buffalo played in molding this national icon.
Heritage Moments: The Night the Veterans Chased the Nazis Out of Buffalo
On Feb. 13, 1938, Harugari Hall at 1257 Genesee Street near Kehr was jam-packed. An SRO crowd of 700 was on hand for a rally staged by the German-American Bund, a pro-Nazi group. But not everyone at the hall that night was there to listen to the speakers’ message of hate.
Heritage Moments: W.E.B. Du Bois, the Niagara Movement and the ‘Mighty Current’ of Black Protest
The educator Booker T. Washington advocated accommodation rather than a direct challenge to Jim Crow laws, in the hope that white America would gradually change. But a few other black leaders espoused a more confrontational strategy, one that called for an immediate end to racial prejudice. They were led by a young Harvard- and Berlin-educated author and intellectual from Western Massachusetts named W.E.B. Du Bois.
Heritage Moments: Mary Elizabeth Johnson Lord Takes a Stand for the Animals
Mary Elizabeth Johnson Lord was a prominent Buffalo matron. “Kind to all animals herself, it pained her to see them abused,” as one local newspaper put it. Now, more than a century and a half later, if they could, they’d still be thanking her.
Heritage Moments: The Night Buffalo Sang ‘O Canada’
Since the very first NHL game ever played in Buffalo, way back in October 1970, the pregame ceremonies have featured the singing of both the Canadian and American national anthems. Every night, every day, always.
Heritage Moments: At Ralph Martin’s, Men Danced With Men and Women Danced With Women
The early history of Buffalo’s gay and lesbian community is lost, mainly because same-sex affection was so thoroughly stigmatized by society at large. It was, in the famous phrase of the 19th century, the love that dare not speak its name. But luckily, the city’s later LGBTQ history is known to us – largely through the remarkable efforts of two scholars who reconstructed what queer life was like in Buffalo from the 1930s to the early ’60s.
Heritage Moments: Land of Newcomers, Always Arriving
The influx of Asian, African, and Middle Eastern refugees into Western New York and Southern Ontario is nothing new. Immigrants, refugees, and seekers of asylum have been coming to the Niagara Frontier literally for centuries.
Heritage Moments: At Fort Erie, a Thoroughbred Goes for an Unexpected Dip
The thoroughbreds have been running at Fort Erie Race Track since 1897, but ask any railbird there which horse took the old border oval’s wildest ride, and they’ll all tell you the same thing: Puss N Boots.
Heritage Moments: For Buffalo Bob Smith, It Was Always ‘Howdy Doody Time’
A whole generation of Americans still knows it by heart: A man shouts, “Hey, kids, what time is it?” And several dozen children shout back in chaotic unison, “It’s Howdy Doody time!”
Heritage Moments: Louise Blanchard Bethune, Buffalo’s Gift to Architecture and Women’s Rights
Buffalonians don't say much about the most significant architect Buffalo ever produced: Louise Blanchard Bethune, America’s first female professional architect, and a woman who designed many of the city’s signature edifices.
Heritage Moments: Northeastern Ohio, Western New York, Paradise—The World of Charles Burchfield
Charles Burchfield, 28, was already an accomplished watercolorist when he moved to Buffalo from Salem, Ohio, in November 1921 to take a job as a designer at the M.H. Birge & Sons wallpaper company. But in 1925, he really found his home.
Heritage Moments: Father Baker’s Miracle at Our Lady of Victory
Father Nelson Baker — the “padre of the poor,” the man who built the Our Lady of Victory complex in Lackawanna into an astonishing city of charity that featured an orphanage, a boys’ protectory, a home for unwed mothers and their infants, a hospital, a grade school and high school, a nurses’ home, a farm to help feed the hungry, a soup kitchen that served more 450,000 meals during the first three years of the Great Depression, and finally the great basilica that has become a national shrine and pilgrimage site.