Hot Seat: Media Monday with Ron Klopfanstein

S2:E39 | Jeff Miller, Coffee, Tea & a Ph.D.; Citizen Lou; Edgar Lopez-Duran Family Speaks; Utica Juneteenth

This week on Hot Seat: Media Monday... ☕ Jeff Miller from Coffee, Tea & a Ph.D. joins us to discuss his innovative lecture series at The Tram, lifelong learning, and the history of segregation in Upstate New York. 🎵 Musical guest Citizen Lou returns with two original performances, including a song written especially for Hot Seat: Media Monday. 🎤 Lily Christopher and I speak with the children of Edgar Lopez-Duran about the emotional and financial toll his criminal case and ICE detention have had on their family. ✊ Plus, I take you to Utica's 10th Annual Juneteenth Celebration, where community members share what the holiday means to them and why its message remains important today. 📻 Listen live every Monday from 5–6 PM on 95.5 FM The Heat or stream at 955TheHeat.com. 🎧 Watch and listen anytime: ▶️ YouTube 🎙 Spotify 🍎 Apple Podcasts ❤️ iHeartRadio 📚 Past episodes: UticaPhoenix.net/MediaMonday 👍😎 #MeetMeInTheHotSeat #MediaMonday #Utica #MohawkValley #Juneteenth #CitizenLou #CoffeeTeaAndAPhD #JeffMiller #LocalNews #CommunityJournalism #EdgarLopezDuran

S2:E38 — Brandon Ciotti, Amanda Marie, Puerto Rican Pride & Young Einstein’s

This week on Hot Seat: Media Monday, Ron Klopfanstein brings together comedy, music, culture, creativity, and community. The episode features comedian Brandon Ciotti, who talks about stand-up comedy, joke writing, stage confidence, bombing, improv, and his upcoming comedy night at Players of Utica on June 27. Recording artist Amanda Marie, also known as Batmanda, joins the show to discuss her music, her songwriting process, buying beats, blending genres, and her upcoming hip hop album. She also shares the story behind the name Batmanda and the message behind her song “Grateful.” Ron also takes listeners to International Fairy Day at Dunham Public Library in Whitesboro, where artist Lorraine Kreimeyer hosted a celebration filled with young fairy fans, magic cookies, invisible painting, and glimpses into a magic mirror. Photojournalist and AI Content Producer Jim Hale and Ron visit the Puerto Rican Day Cookout at Proctor Park in Utica, highlighting food, family, music, culture, Puerto Rican pride, Dominican support, and the importance of knowing where we come from. Lily Christopher closes the episode with a feature from Young Einstein’s Preschool, where she talks with Maria Lallier about the Reggio approach to early childhood education and how children show curiosity, intelligence, creativity, and personality through their artwork. Hosted by Ron Klopfanstein. Guests and Features: Brandon Ciotti Amanda Marie / Batmanda International Fairy Day at Dunham Public Library Puerto Rican Day Cookout at Proctor Park Lily Christopher with Maria Lallier at Young Einstein’s Preschool Photojournalism and AI Content Production by Jim Hale Associate Producer: Lily Christopher Entertainment Correspondent: Nabil Khan Audio Engineering: Jonathan Brooks / DJ J-Easy Meet me in the Hot Seat. #MeetMeInTheHotSeat #MediaMonday

S2: E37 | Oneida County Pride, International Fairy Day & JWatch's "Body of Art" Tattoo Photoshoot — June 8, 2026 |

“Stories are what make us and shape us.” This week on Hot Seat: Media Monday, we celebrate Pride, creativity, identity, and the power of telling your own story. We take you to the Oneida County Pride Festival at the Clinton Arena, where the community came together for a celebration of diversity, inclusion, equality, and belonging. Then artist Lorraine Krameyer joins us with our own Jim Hale to talk about International Fairy Day, inner-child creativity, Mr. Figgby, and how AI animation is helping bring her fairy realm to life. Later, JWatch and Jose “King Joker” Rivera stop by to talk about Body of Art, a tattoo exhibition and photo shoot built around fatherhood, identity, storytelling, and the artwork people carry on their bodies.

S2:E36 | June 1, 2026 | Scholarship Winner Thomas Roy, Utica's Eid Al Adha Carnival & DJ J-Easy

Hot Seat: Media Monday on 95.5 FM The Heat 🔥 | S2:E36 This week: ⚡ Thomas Roy, the Oneida-Madison Electric Cooperative's 2026 Student Scholarship Award winner, joins us to discuss his recent trip to Washington, D.C., where he advocated for rural electric cooperatives and learned firsthand how grassroots organizations work with government leaders to address issues affecting local communities. 🕌 We visit the Utica Masjid Eid Al Adha Carnival, where families, volunteers, and community leaders come together to celebrate one of Islam's most important holidays. Along the way, we learn about faith, charity, tradition, and the spirit of giving that supports programs throughout the Mohawk Valley. 🎙️ DJ J-Easy joins us to preview the 3rd Annual James Street Festival, a free two-day community celebration featuring live music, food, vendors, and activities focused on bringing people together and promoting positive alternatives to violence. Also: • Upcoming Pride Month events • Juneteenth celebration information • Community announcements from around the Mohawk Valley Featuring: Thomas Roy DJ J-Easy (Jonathan Brooks) Lily Christopher Photojournalist and AI Content Producer Jim Hale Watch the full show: YouTube: [INSERT LINK] Listen on: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Hot Seat: Media Monday airs live Mondays at 5 PM on 95.5 FM The Heat 🔥 #MeetMeInTheHotSeat #MediaMonday #UticaNY

S2:E35 | Pride Month, Ukulele, the Spring Woods Mystery & AI

Hot Seat: Media Monday with Ron Klopfanstein on 95.5 FM The Heat 🔥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/o3OVMLZ-TqE [https://youtu.be/o3OVMLZ-TqE] This week’s episode brings together Pride Month, local history, original music, and a big-picture conversation about artificial intelligence, robotics, and the future. Ron opens the show with Ace Morreale of the Oneida County Pride Alliance for a conversation about Pride Month events across Oneida County, including the Oneida County Pride Festival at the Clinton Arena, Pride social events, Rainbow Prom at Jervis Public Library, the Stonewall anniversary event, and the importance of LGBTQIA+ visibility at a time when rights and representation remain under pressure. The episode also features musical guest Millie Szmurlo, who performs original songs on ukulele, including “The Friends Song,” “The Crow,” and “Mr. Moneybags.” Ron also heads into the Spring Woods in Westmoreland for a personal local-history feature, searching for the long-lost spring his family had talked about for generations — and, with help from historian Victor Edick and research from Sheila Hoffman, finally finds it. In the final segment, Ron talks with James Nason, who describes himself as a “scientist of life,” about robotics, artificial intelligence, androids, education, the singularity, and what rapid advances in AI could mean for jobs, medicine, and the future of human life.