Disrupted

Giving birth can have a serious impact on a person’s physical and mental health. Postpartum psychosis has been in the news recently due to the Lindsay Clancy case, but that is just one of many challenges that people can face during and after childbirth. 1 in 8 people who give birth experience postpartum depression. That’s according to the CDC . There are also disparities in the way chi...

A lot of conversation around AI focuses on it as an existential threat. But if AI has destructive potential, does it also have the capacity to do good? This hour, we're talking about AI and the choice we can make about how we use it. Our guest is Beth Simone Noveck , Director of the Burnes Center for Social Change at Northeastern University and former Deputy Chief Technology Officer at the White H...

In the United States, we talk a lot about discrimination. But one form of discrimination that we don’t talk about enough is discrimination based on body weight. It affects everything from our employment prospects to our medical care. But it actually remains legal in almost every state in the U.S. This hour, we’re talking about the stigma around body weight. We’ll learn about the...

The U.S. feels divided. That division is backed up by data. According to the American Psychological Association’s 2025 Stress in America Survey, 62 percent of adults said societal division was a significant source of stress in their lives. So how can we move forward with inclusion rather than division? This hour, we’re talking about building an inclusive future. We'll learn about...

In 2012, Connecticut voters chose Chris Murphy as a replacement for retiring senator Joe Lieberman. He was the youngest U.S. senator serving at the time. And in the years since, his national profile has grown. He's been a vocal advocate for gun reform and become a high-profile critic of the Trump administration. But most recently he’s been talking about a different kind of crisis. It's the s...

Princess Joy L. Perry’s novel This Here is Love tells the interlocking stories of an array of characters in Tidewater Virginia. It’s a complex narrative that takes place in the 1690s as the hierarchies of slavery are still developing. Those hierarchies are complicated by further hierarchies— indentured servitude and gender also shape the way characters are perceived. This Here is...

Many Americans can tell you exactly what they were doing 25 years ago when they learned the United States had been attacked. But for a younger generation, the attacks are something they’ve only learned about in history class. With that in mind, it’s time to think about what we want future generations to remember. GUESTS: Jay Winuk : Co-Founder of 9/11 Day , an organization that started...

Edwidge Danticat ’s new book Dèy opens at a mall. A Haitian American real estate agent named Magnolia is there to buy a phone for her daughter. But before she has the chance, a mass shooting breaks out. Magnolia survives, but she doesn’t tell anyone what she’s experienced. Dèy is a book about grief— the title comes from a Haitian Kreyòl word for mournin...

Some inventions change the way we see the world. Others fail to meet the lofty expectations set for them. Those are the ones that make it into a traveling museum called the Museum of Failure . It recognizes products like Nintendo's early attempt at 3-D gaming and a clear soda called Crystal Pepsi . There's also the Hawaii Chair , a chair whose cushion gyrates in a way that will supposedly help you...

According to the CDC , there are over 4,000 unintentional drowning deaths in the United States every year and around 850 of those are for people younger than 18 . And the numbers look different across various demographics. For instance, Black children ages 10-14 are nearly 4 times more likely to die from accidental drowning than white children of the same age. And in 2017, researchers at Columbia...

There was a lot of discussion surrounding the United States’ recent July 4th celebrations. There were festivities, like New York's parade of tall ships , and controversies, such as when musicians like Martina McBride and The Commodores canceled concert appearances due to an organizing group's affiliation with the president. With so much being said— and felt— about these celebrati...

In 2018, the Supreme Court Case Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association reshaped gambling in the U.S. The ruling ended a ban on sports gambling— it had previously been illegal in every state except Nevada. Today, 39 states and Washington, D.C. have at least some form of legalized sports betting. Sports betting became legal in Connecticut in 2021. This hour, we’re taking a lo...

Great documentary films can teach people about the world. But the strength of the medium is that it doesn’t just explain facts, it can also reveal emotional truths. One recent documentary film that does so is called The Librarians . It takes a look at book bans in U.S. public schools and shows how librarians have reacted to them. Another is Missing In Brooks County . It explores what happens...

Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw's work as a legal scholar has been massively influential. She coined the term “intersectionality,” which refers to the way multiple interlocking systems of power overlap to shape people's lived experiences. Her work has also faced its share of pushback. She came up with the phrase "critical race theory," a subject that has been widely misunderstood as...

So far, 2026 has been a big year for movies. There’s been the success of horror films like Backrooms a nd Obsession . There are movies that have been targeted by the culture wars, like The Odyssey . And there are the smaller films that have gotten critical acclaim like Camp and Is God Is . All those films are coming out in a landscape that seems hopeful for theaters. In the first half of the...

In 2012, Connecticut voters chose Chris Murphy as a replacement for retiring senator Joe Lieberman. He was the youngest U.S. senator serving at the time. And in the years since, his national profile has grown. He's been a vocal advocate for gun reform and become a high-profile critic of the Trump administration. But most recently he’s been talking about a different kind of crisis. It's the s...

When was the last time you dabbled in something? In this episode of Disrupted , author Karen Walrond talks about the joys of dabbling and the space where dabbling and activism meet. She shares how trying activities like sports, pottery or baking—even if you're not good at them—can expand our definition of self. We also visit Jason Ramos' New Haven dance studio, Baila Con Gusto CT,...

For Black Americans, following the news can be a psychological challenge. 4 in 5 Black adults say they see or hear racist or racially insensitive coverage about Black people at least sometimes. That’s according to a 2023 Pew Research survey . And coverage can be hard to watch even if it isn’t insensitive. While news about violence against Black people is important for communities to kn...

Confederate forces surrendered to Union forces in Appomattox Court House, Virginia in April of 1865. But many people in Texas were still living under slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation had gone into effect in January of 1863 in places under Union control. But Union forces did not arrive to enforce emancipation in Texas until June of 1865. That is why we celebrate Juneteenth— to recognize...

Connecticut has a higher percentage of Puerto Rican residents than any other state. That’s according to 2020 U.S. Census data . But Puerto Rican residents still make up less than 10% of the state’s population. So how do Puerto Rican people in Connecticut find community? This hour, we’re talking about community and belonging. We'll talk to CT Public's Puerto Rican Communities Repo...

“History repeats itself,” the saying goes. Or, as another saying goes, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” There’s also “History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes.” Together these sayings suggest the value of history in our culture and our belief that it can help us understand the present. This hour, we’re t...

At the start of May, Khalilah sat down for a conversation with historians Jill Lepore and Jon Meacham. The conversation was titled “Lessons from History,” and it came at a time when a lot was going on in U.S. politics. In just the past week there had been gunshots fired outside the ballroom where the White House Correspondents' Dinner was being held, a Supreme Court ruling that impacte...

Many people remember #MeToo from when it went viral in 2017. And before the hashtag, there was the Me Too movement, started by activist Tarana Burke 20 years ago as a way to support survivors of sexual violence, especially Black women and girls. This hour, we’re reflecting on what has changed since the height of the Me Too movement. We'll discuss everything from policy to social media. GUEST...

Some inventions change the way we see the world. Others fail to meet the lofty expectations set for them. Those are the ones that make it into a traveling museum called the Museum of Failure . It recognizes products like Nintendo's early attempt at 3-D gaming and a clear soda called Crystal Pepsi . There's also the Hawaii Chair , a chair whose cushion gyrates in a way that will supposedly help you...

Tayari Jones has had quite the literary career. Her 2018 novel An American Marriage was a New York Times bestseller and an Oprah’s Book Club Pick. Her latest novel, Kin came out earlier this year, and once again it was a bestseller and an Oprah’s Book Club Pick. Kin tells the story of two Black girls— best friends who grow up in the Jim Crow era in a town called Honeysuckle, Loui...