The Wheelhouse

New data  confirms what people pushing for criminal justice reform have been saying for years – racial disparities show up during encounters with police. Researchers at the University of Connecticut say Black people face disproportionate rates of police use-of-force in Connecticut. And that a significant share of those incidents involve someone in mental health distress. Today on The Wh...

Polls  show that more Americans are embracing socialism. At the same time, politicians that call themselves Democratic Socialists are often painted by conservatives as political extremists. What is a Democratic Socialist? And why is President Donald Trump calling a popular one in the race for New York City’s mayor a  communist ? Today on the Wheelhouse, we define socialism. We&rsqu...

Recent political violence – and a government shutdown – have turned American politics into a mudslinging free for all. With more attention on owning the other side – and less emphasis on civility, are there still safe spaces for debate? On college campuses a new survey says more students are self-censoring in favor of speaking freely. Today on The Wheelhouse, a temperature check...

The Connecticut Sun could be the latest professional franchise  to pull out of Connecticut . But a full court press of politicians is working to save the WNBA franchise and keep the team right here in Connecticut. According to CT Insider,  lawmakers want to use state pension funds  to buy a minority stake in the team. Today on The Wheelhouse, what state officials are doing to &ldquo...

Beth Bye, a former state lawmaker and outgoing head of the Office of Early Childhood, is retiring from state service after years of work helping young children. Bye’s retirement comes after the state legislature passed a  sweeping bill  last session offering free child care to many Connecticut families. Today on The Wheelhouse, an exit interview with Beth Bye. Plus, we check in wit...

Federal tax credits for electric vehicles will expire at the end of September. Connecticut residents also  won’t be able to access other federal incentives  for heat pumps, rooftop solar and home energy audits. Today on The Wheelhouse, how local officials can promote energy efficiency amid a federal rollback on clean energy. Also – Connecticut’s freedom of information l...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services,  is defending his policies on Capitol Hill . He recently spoke to Congress following a brain drain at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC’s director was  fired . And several other high-level officials have also  left the agency . They say Kennedy is weakening the administra...

President Donald Trump declared war on immigration from his first  day in office. Since then, the White House has vowed to protect Americans from what it’s calling an “ invasion .” U.S. Sen Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) is troubled by recent action, including a statewide sweep by immigration authorities that resulted in  65 arrests . Murphy accuses Trump of using racist tropes...

Beginning on September 1, Congress will race to finalize the federal budget before the September 30 deadline. And Connecticut’s schools are feeling the ripple effects of funding uncertainty. Today on  The Wheelhouse , we talk with educators about the challenges and concerns heading into the new school year. Plus, we take a close look at one Connecticut district experimenting with a year...

How did Connecticut earn the moniker “Constitution State”? Hint – it’s not the  Constitution  you learned about in history class! We’ll travel back to the 1600s to explore how history, conflict and big aspirations helped shape the state’s identity. GUESTS : Thomas Balcerski , professor of history at Eastern Connecticut State University and director of...

Even though some anthropologists believe humans are apex predators, a new book argues we’re actually not. Author Kurt Gray posits understanding our vulnerabilities – coming to terms with our former reality as prey – could help us co-exist in tumultuous political times. Today on The Wheelhouse, Gray, a social psychologist at The Ohio State University, discusses his book, “ O...

It’s 2025 and next year’s congressional races are already heating up. We’re learning more about U.S. Rep. John Larson’s seat in Connecticut’s First Congressional District. Columnist Dan Haar says the 2026 re-election bid will be Larson’s “ toughest challenge ” yet. Are Larson’s age and health a primary factor in a prospective close race? Today...

Gen Z has grown up in an age of school shootings, climate anxiety, the pandemic and the algorithm. With all that they’ve gone through, how is Gen Z engaging with media and with politics? Today on The Wheelhouse, we’re looking at the forces shaping Gen Z in Connecticut and across the nation. We’ll explore how this generation votes at the ballot box and ask what their future role m...

Legislation seeking to address Connecticut’s affordable housing crisis was vetoed earlier this year by Gov. Ned Lamont. But, the proposal could soon come back in a special session.  If it does, state lawmakers face a question: can they craft an affordable housing plan that satisfies both the governor and local leaders?  Opponents of the original bill say it was pushing quotas on ci...

President Donald Trump’s massive tax-and-spending package is officially the law. The legislation provides tax cuts for some Americans. But it could raise costs for some of the country’s poorest households. That’s due to reductions in Medicaid and food assistance. The legislation Republicans are calling the “big beautiful bill"  seeks to cut Medicaid and food stamps &nb...

Connecticut lawmakers passed some of the most ambitious housing legislation in years this session. The bill looked to address affordable housing, zoning and parking. But then, Gov. Ned Lamont vetoed it. The Democrat is now  inviting lawmakers to make a new proposal , which he hopes to pass it later this year in a special session. Today on The Wheelhouse, we’ll speak to the governor live...

This fall,  students at Yale University  will take a course called “Bad Bunny: Musical Aesthetics and Politics.” Bad Bunny, born on the island of Puerto Rico as Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, isn’t the first  Latino musician to weave activism into his work . Regarding the Yale class, Bad Bunny told Rolling Stone magazine “I have in the back of my mind...

Connecticut has hundreds of miles of shoreline, extending from Greenwich in the west to Stonington in the east. Many of these coastal communities have found ways to exclude certain people. There’s actually a long history of segregation on our shores, dating back decades. This hour, we’ll look at past and present beach access in Connecticut. Plus, we’ll look at who does — an...

Connecticut lawmakers recently  cemented their priorities  for the next two years with final passage of a $55.8 billion budget. At the end of the 2025 legislative session, they were able to find money for Medicaid programs and invest in our children’s future, especially young children. But some – mainly the minority in the state legislature – say that it comes at too hi...

The 2025 legislative session in Connecticut  started  with lawmakers facing an  uncertain future  clouded by potential federal funding cuts. The end of the session is nigh in Connecticut. Amid these  murky days , we know that local lawmakers have taken drastic measures to  shore up state Medicaid funding . But how far are they willing to go to secure a new two-year bu...

State lawmakers are  foregoing budget caps to fund Medicaid . But with Medicaid relying on two primary funding sources–and U.S. lawmakers poised to pass President Donald Trump’s “ Big Beautiful Bill ”--the future of low-income healthcare programs is uncertain. Today on The Wheelhouse, America’s brittle social safety net hangs in the balance. GUESTS : Lisa Hagan ,...

George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis in 2020 inspired police reform in America. Five years ago this week, Americans took to the streets amid a global pandemic to protest Floyd’s murder. Chants of “Black Lives Matter” reverberated throughout Connecticut. And then, two months after Floyd’s death, Connecticut was  one of the first states  in the nation to enact...

Colleges and universities across the country are facing serious headwinds. In 2022, college enrollment was 14.8% below peak enrollment in 2010. That’s according to the  National Center for Education Statistics . Is a post-pandemic rebound even possible? Factors like declining enrollment, shifting perceptions of value, and rising financial strain have college and universities in Connecti...

According to Pew Research Center, our “ trust in government ” has eroded over the last sixty years. While there have been “modest” gains in support, factors like age, race, employment status, educational experience, and more impact how we view our federal institutions. Today on the Wheelhouse, we journey through age groups, consider experiences, and offer a bit of a U.S. hi...

Some federal officials don’t want the “ X ” gender option printed on passports. The “ T ” – and other letters – were removed from websites with content addressing the LGBTQ+ community. Since  Day 1 , the Trump administration has chipped away at the rights of Transgender Americans. Today on the Wheelhouse, we examine the policies aimed towards erasure....