Real talk, Real people

As the number of people who are unemployed due to COVID-19 continues to rise, thousands of people here in Connecticut and tens of millions nationwide are facing hunger. And that is happening as food prices soar and the food supply chain is breaking down. That is leading to  competition to feed people.  My guest is Nancy Coughlin, the executive director of Person-to-Person in Stamford, a...

My guest this week is Brock Bacote, a New Haven resident. He had just been released from the Brooklyn Correctional Institute 3 days when this conversation took place about 10 days ago. I didn’t bring him on to talk about his crimes or what led to them, (for more on that kind of conversation, listen to our Nov. 4 podcast with Seymour resident Jimmie Kave on the benefits of a revamped justice system...

You know folks, there are a lot of healthcare workers who don’t feel enough is being done to keep them safe from becoming infected with  COVID-19. Some of them work in prisons where the number of people infected with and dying from  COVID-19 continues to rise.

COVID-19 has produced a crisis unprecedented in our times but still, Connecticut has been shameful in its slow response to stop the spread in nursing homes and prevent it from further spreading in prisons. And people are paying for it with their lives.

There are more than 11,000 people locked up in the Connecticut prison system who are potentially on death row as COVID-19 slithers through the densely populated spaces. Should some of them be released in an effort to keep them from potentially becoming infected and infecting others? The governor says no; my two guests say yes -- and give their reasons why. 

I was under the impression that only essential employees had to show up to work to maintain social distancing as health experts attempt to get a handle on the coronavirus. But I was wrong. There are a lot of non-essential employees whose lives are being put at risk when they could be working from home

Normally, my Monday podcast is a followup conversation to my Sunday column in Hearst Connecticut newspapers. But I admit, the unknown factors of COVID-19 have inched my anxiety up a notch and I lost my cool this week. So I decided to switch things up and bring in someone who could offer us some inspiration. Sometimes, when there is a crisis like we are experiencing now, it is interesting to hear w...

Like many Americans, my rational thought process tells me we will get through this, but I admit, that process is constantly interrupted by my emotions. I can’t help but worry about how much damage covid-19 will eventually do to the nation and more importantly, if it will affect my family and the people that I care about. I have family members throughout the US. This is what is going on where they...

We’re doing something a little different with the podcast this week because what else is there to talk about but the coronavirus and we’re being hit with enough of that. We know what we have to do. And I am doing it. But you know this social distancing stuff is tough. I mean, there is only so much house cleaning and binge watching TV you can do. So I decided to give listeners something else instea...

It is pretty clear that the problem is we don’t know who is carrying the coronavirus -- but we do know as Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, admitted: “We’re past the point of containment.” And once you understand what that statement means, then you know the only thing that is going to stop the spread of this disease that has hijacked America, is a cur...

Until recently, it seemed like coronavirus was something happening to people far away in other parts of the world. But even when you feel immune, it is scary watching it jump from country to country while the numbers of deaths rise. Still, at least to me, it was one of those impending crises you hear and read about and watch television for the latest news on it -- but one that is still far away. T...

Sometimes, I like to take a different approach when writing a column to give people an alternative way of looking or thinking about a problem. In this case, I used tic-tac-toe to illustrate how the absence of fathers hurts children and the household

I was invited to speak at Greenwich High School Friday as part of its Diversity Awareness Club’s Black History Month program. Here is an overview of that speech, which centered on domestic violence, being black in America and finding some success. 

The Bridgeport Police Department recently announced it would resurrect and enforce its youth curfew to curb teen violence after a rash of shootings. The curfew has been in place since 2012 but never enforced. But do curfews work? Many studies say no. And curfews are clearly a violation of constitutional rights. Bridgeport Councilman Ernest Newton and Bridgeport Board of Education member Joseph Sok...

The "alleged" coming of snow, sleet and rain killed this week's podcast with high school students talking about Black History Month.  Of course, it barely snowed. But we wanted to give you an idea of the podcasts we are working on.

A white teacher cast two black kids as slaves in a read-aloud class play called “A Triangle of Trade.” The purpose was to give students a look at the atrocities of the slave trade. Carmen Parker, who is black, and her husband, who is white, are the parents of one of the kids. They called out the teacher and school for cultural insensitivity. The teacher was placed on leave but both parents along w...

Three years ago, I wrote in a column - https://www.nhregister.com/columnists/article/James-Walker-Responsibility-I-am-not-your-baby-11312756.php "Responsibility? I am not your baby daddy" --  that “I have never seen so many children being abused, living in misery or so many irresponsible parents.” And it just seems to be getting worse for these kids. Since that column appeared, the abuse of c...

Case closed - or is it? The yellow tape has been removed, the street swept clean and the latest body has been buried. In some cases, the prosecution has rested its case, the person who pulled the trigger is put behind bars and police have moved on. But for victims left behind after gun violence, the case is never really closed. Long after it strikes its intended victim, a bullet’s trajectory just...

It's Christmastime and hundreds of volunteers are out in force. My Sunday column in Hearst Connecticut newspapers is a salute to volunteers. We talk to 3 people about why they put in the hours to help other people. 

We have added a call-in feature that will begin to take listeners calls. Here are the details

Pardon our appearance -- so to speak -- as we are temporarily under construction to add a new call-in feature to make "Real talk, Real people" a better experience for listeners and allow more people to weigh in on topics. Listen for details.

I am happy to announce that my listeners will be able to read what I have to say on Sundays and listen to me on Mondays after my column returns to the New Haven Register and Hearst Connecticut newspapers on Sunday, Dec. 1.

African Americans are 20 percent more likely to experience serious mental health issues than the general population -- and suicide was the second leading cause of death for black men ages 15-24 in 2017. Yet, the subject is largely ignored in the black community.

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Jimmie Kave was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison at age 17. He wanted society to give him a second chance. He got one under a revamped juvenile justice system. So, what happened when he was released?