Real talk, Real people

Watch the YouTube version of this podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvaM4JIJMbk 2021 was a good year for Real talk, Real people. Our end of the year stats from Spotify and Anchor show that the number of hours people tuned in to our podcast grew by 128 percent; we increased our followers by 57 percent; our streams have increased by 44 percent and 2 percent of our audience is located in Germa...

Watch the YouTube version of this podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_BjBD2WpeA Christmas is a time of peace and goodwill toward your fellow man and we can only hope that spirit carries into the new year. But Christmas is also the time when families gather and new memories are made and older ones are shared. Here are some of the memories my siblings and I remember. 

From brazen flash mobs carting off TVs and soap powder to a middle-aged man stealing underwear and T-shirts, large retail stores face a wave of thefts as property crimes soar in Connecticut.    

Happy Thanksgiving folks. It's that time of the year when we turn our attention to what we are thankful for in our lives. For me, it's still the little things that count.

This is the inaugural episode of Adversary to Ally, a joint partnership between Real talk, Real people and Mothers of Victim's Equality that will take place every third Monday of the month on our show. The conversations will center around domestic and intimate relationship violence and abuse. In our research, we found that there were not many options available for men to talk openly and share thei...

It's no secret that many senior citizens struggle financially as prices continue to go up and most live on a fixed and limited income.  An advocacy group named "The Senior Citizens League" is lobbying Congress to issue a one-time $1,400 to seniors to help combat high prices. This is a good temporary solution but more is needed.  Since Congress cannot control the rising cost of housing, f...

We have re-run older episodes the last two Mondays while we work on a new addition to the show we will unveil on our November 15th episode. We will be back with new episodes new week. Meanwhile, there are local elections this week so we are re-running an episode questioning whether or not there should be term limits on time spent in political office?

If COVID-19 taught minorities one thing, that is to take better care of your health. You do that by gaining more access to health services and by becoming more knowledgeable about health issues that affect not only you but your race. My guests are Leandre Memborn, former New Havener living in Providence RI; Frank Taveres of Waterbury and Jim Rawlings, chairman of the board of directors for The Sou...

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and my guest is breast cancer survivor Lolita Bonilla Brooks. Many of us know someone that has been devastated by a diagnosis of breast cancer. According to breastcancer.org, nearly 282,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S. this year, and Black women not only have the highest breast cancer death rates of a...

This is a special edition of Real talk, Real people. We are celebrating our second anniversary of turning the mic over to everyday people to listen to what they have to say about the issues and problems we face as a society. And you guys had a lot to say. On our first episode in October of 2019 we talked about the pros and cons of universal basic income and last week we reran an episode about dome...

I wanted to call my listeners attention to the Second Annual Alyssiah Wiley End Relationship Violence Awareness Event that is taking place Oct. 13 at Eastern Connecticut State University. I was invited to speak at the event but was not able to attend this very important event. You may recall that Alyssiah was the 20 year-old Eastern Connecticut State University student who was murdered, her remain...

We’re picking up where we left off last week in our conversation with Dr. Regina Wilson and certified licensed counselor for New Haven County Shenira Billups about how the pandemic has been particularly difficult for the mental health of young Black kids. Let’s hear what they have to say

The pandemic has been particularly difficult for the mental health of young Black kids because they have had to deal with more than social isolation, anxiety and depression that the pandemic brought. My guests today are Dr. Regina Wilson and Shenira Billups, a certified licensed counselor for New Haven County. They are here to talk about the challenges black kids are facing.  Due to the lengt...

There are many efforts underway by police and community leaders to stop gun violence, but the bullets just keep on flying -- including five shootings in four days in New Haven.  In light of this, we are returning to a conversation we had six months ago with Hamden resident Kimberly Washington.  Eight years ago, she founded the nonprofit "Mothers Demand Action" to bring attention to gun v...

We have a different type of show this week as we welcome French hat-maker Catherine Cazes Wiley to Real talk, Real people. Catherine runs a nonprofit and a for profit business on Chapel Street in downtown New Haven that centers around sewing and hat-making. Sewing and making your own clothes and other household items have seen a tremendous resurgence during the past five years. In fact, the sale o...

African Americans continue to face predatory lending practices when they apply for credit. And never is this more evident than when Blacks go to buy a car. My guest today is economist and lawyer Ian Ayres. He is the Deputy Dean and the Oscar M. Ruebhausen Professor at Yale Law School. He started his research back when President Barack Obama was then president of the Harvard Law Review and publishe...

Attorney Michael Jefferson joins us this week. He is the founder of the Kimaya (Kee Ah Ma) Movement here in Connecticut. You’ve probably noticed the black and white signs around New Haven and Hamden bearing the slogan "Black men vote too." It is one of the ways the Kimaya Movement seeks to educate Black men and help them become more viable and effective members of their communities. Let’s hear wha...

My guest today is Dr. Kristen Zarfos with Trinity Health of New England. She is a breast cancer specialist and medical director of the Karl J. Krapek Sr. Comprehensive Women’s Health Center at Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford. Black women are needlessly dying and she is here to tell them why. Let’s listen to what she has to say.

There are many minority women who are chucking their 9-5 jobs and striking out on their own. And they are breaking ground by opening businesses not traditionally associated with minority women. My guest today is New Haven resident Shantel Garcia, the owner and founder of Innovative Consulting and Solutions, an entity that helps business owners and executives keep their companies organized, product...

What a difference a day makes. Last Tuesday, Democratic state Rep. Quentin "Q" Phipps, who represents Middletown, and Barbara Fair of Stop Solitary CT taped an episode about the bill, SB1059, which stops the inhumane treatment of the solitary confinement of prisoners. The bill was passed by the CT House and Senate but Gov. Ned Lamont had yet to sign it into law, even though he publicly stated he w...

Gay Pride Month is being celebrated throughout the US and by sane people and governments worldwide. I had to put it that way because in some countries being gay is illegal. And to me, that’s just insane. My guest today is Patrick Dunn. He is the executive director of the New Haven Pride Center. He says there is much to celebrate as barriers continue to fall but he is concerned about the lack of re...

Eating healthy can help low-income people control obesity and diabetes. But eating healthy foods isn’t cheap and that is where community gardens comes in. My guest today is Eliza Caldwell, who listeners may remember from last year when she offered tips on planting vegetables and when to do it. She is the program manager for the community gardens at Gather New Haven. Once again, she is here to talk...

I think it is around the age of 1, that we discover the joy of music. I don’t care if it’s classical, R&B, hip-hop, pop or jazz, music plays a crucial part in most people’s lives. But do you ever wonder where these musicians learned to play instruments and polish their craft? My guest today is Ty Scurry. He is the owner of the Family Music Center on Dixwell Avenue in Hamden, where the motto is...

It's been a long 14 months and things are beginning to reopen. I, for one, am grateful. 

Healthy food. You wouldn’t think putting healthy food on the table would be a problem, but it is, particularly for low-income people. My guest today is Brent Peterkin. He is the executive director of Gather New Haven. As many of you know, we had Eliza Caldwell from Gather New Haven on the podcast last year where she shared tips for growing food. She’ll be back with us in the coming weeks to share...