Where We Live

Connecticut joined every other New England state in logging the warmest January on-record this year. Areas like Bridgeport are seeing record-low seasonal snowfall, while still logging more than five inches of rain  according to the National Weather Service . You may have already heard unusual bird calls, or noticed your crocuses have cropped up early. Still, there have been two arctic blasts betwe...

Emily Wicks with UConn's Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry noticed the pandemic-era disruptions to kids' social-emotional learning and development, and reached out to Sandy Chafouleas at the university's Neag School of Education. Together they developed Feel Your Best Self , a puppet-centered program aimed at helping "strengthen the emotional well-being of elementary-aged children."This hou...

It’s been almost four years since  Connecticut lawmakers required schools to offer students a Black and Latino studies class.  The requirement was signed into law in June of 2019 and it went into effect last fall. It’s required that every district offer Black and Latino studies, but that doesn’t mean every child in Connecticut takes the course. First, the class is an elective. And second, the Conn...

Elizabeth Nelson, a associate professor of history at University of Nevada Las Vegas, has examined the  "hidden history of Valentine’s Day."  Beyond the pressures of consumer culture, or any outsized emphasis on romantic love, she says there's been a yearning for something more sincere "from the very beginning." This hour, Nelson digs into the history of this holiday, helping distinguish tall tale...

Joan Donovan is the Research Director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy and author of the book  Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America. Today, we talk about the evolution of memes as political devices, and how it shaped the far right. We hear from Joan and learn about her journey to mapping out the darkest corners of the world w...

In one episode of the docu-series  Reciprocity Project , Connecticut-based educator and member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe Chris Newell teaches acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma a pow-wow song. Together, they play at sunrise, "singing up the sun" in the tradition of the Wabanaki or People of the Dawnland, a confederation of four tribes in Maine including Passamaquoddy. This hour, we hear about this film s...

We are hearing a lot more about hate crimes against members of the AAPI community - that’s the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. The recent shootings in California are only one of many acts of violence carried out against this population. Acts of physical violence aren’t the only thing we’re seeing. According to a study in the  Journal of Interpersonal Violence , “one-third of Asian r...

Ten states and Washington D.C. currently support medical aid in dying for terminally-ill patients. Advocates and lawmakers like Public Health Committee Co-Chair and State Sen. Dr. Saud Anwar are hoping Connecticut is closer than ever to becoming the eleventh state to adopt a medical aid-in-dying law. Connecticut Public health reporter Sujata Srinivasan spoke with Sen. Anwar about the plan to inclu...

The story of the American Oystercatcher in Connecticut is "one of success and hope; however, because of the increasing threat from climate change and habitat loss, its future is uncertain," writes Audubon Connecticut Coastal Program Coordinator Beth Amendola. Whether the Oystercatcher, the Piping Plover or the Semipalmated Sandpiper, beach-nesting birds in Connecticut require "continual vigilance...

On Monday, February 6, 2023, Where We Live officially welcomed Catherine Shen to the hosting seat of the show. Some of our listeners may be familiar with Catherine’s voice, having heard her guest host several episodes of Where We Live in the past two months or hearing her news reporting on Connecticut Public over the last two years. Where We Live producer Tess Terrible sat down with Catherine to l...

Did you pledge to be more grateful or practice more self care in the New Year? Journaling can help! The benefits of putting your thoughts, goals, and worries on paper cannot be understated. Today, we talk about the power of journaling and how to begin journaling even if you don’t know where to start. Bullet journaling, gratitude journaling, guided journaling! There are so many options and getting...

A new school for LGBTQ students and allies is set to open this fall in New Haven. This hour, we preview the plans for  PROUD Academy  with founder and executive director Patty Nicolari, and hear from Maddie and Tiffanie, a prospective student and their parent in Fairfield. Nicolari says this would be the first school for LGBTQ youth in Connecticut, and at least the fifth in the U.S. But first, the...

Willie Mae Brown is the author of a new book My Selma: True Stories of a Southern Childhood at the Height of the Civil Rights Movement . The book, written for young adults, reflects on her time growing up in Alabama and how the civil rights era shaped her coming of age. Today, we’ll hear her message for the next generation of activists. Brown lived in Selma, Alabama until she was 17, when she move...

A U.S. debt default could be detrimental to federal employees, those in the military, and beneficiaries of Social Security and other government programs. Connecticut currently has the  largest budget surplus in the state’s history.  How the surplus might be utilized is still unknown. Today on Where We Live, we talk about what we might see prioritized in this year’s state budget, and  how Congress...

At least three area theater companies in Connecticut are showcasing work by Latinx women playwrights this winter: "Water by the Spoonful" by Quiara Alegría Hudes at Capitol Classics from Jan. 25 to Jan. 29 "Queen of Basel" by Hilary Bettis at  TheaterWorks Feb. 3 to Feb. 26 "Espejos: Clean" by Christine Quintana at  Hartford Stage Jan. 12 to March 5 "Queen of Basel" boasts an all-Latinx cast and c...

Neil Berro, a local amateur historian, is building a massive manuscript on the history of Connecticut oystering titled Oyster Haven Lost . This hour, he previews this trove of information, spotlighting the state's once-booming oyster industry. Plus, the Sound School in New Haven was founded with a mission of centering hands-on curriculum, incorporating the harbor, marine science and oceanography i...

While contestants with Connecticut ties have appeared on the reality competition series RuPaul's Drag Race in the past, the season 15 premiere on MTV marks the first time more than one Connecticut drag queen has been represented. Robin Fierce from Hartford, Loosey LaDuca from Ansonia, Amethyst from West Hartford and Jax from Brooklyn, raised in Connecticut, comprise this season's Connecticut conti...

The State Department of Education and five Connecticut tribal nations are  working together  to meet a legislative mandate calling for Native American curriculum for K-12 social studies classes. Resources with localized information from the tribal nations themselves – Eastern Pequot, Mashantucket Pequot, Mohegan, Schaghticoke and Golden Hill Paugussett – are expected to be available in January 202...

One of the biggest focuses for the 2023 legislative session is housing. Rent has gone up for many Connecticut residents at a time when inflation limits what they can afford to pay. They face a lack of affordable housing in Connecticut – and eviction. Today, we talk about the housing market in our state, and what legislative action we might see in the future. We hear from those covering housing acr...

State Sen. Dr. Saud Anwar, co-chair of the Public Health Committee, joined Sen. Richard Blumenthal  on Monday to announce legislation  that would "address unsafe staffing" by establishing "safe patient limits," or nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, among other protections. This hour, we discuss the proposal with Sen. Anwar, the "patient care crisis" in Connecticut, and renewed efforts to address it...

This hour on Where We Live, we hear from two survivors of genocide. Theanvy Kuoch fled Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge in 1981, having lost 19 family members. Reena Aurora left India in 1989 five years after her brother was burned to death in the wave of anti-Sikh violence. Both women struggled to find culturally fluent psychiatric care for themselves and their families, leading Theanvy and Reena to...

Whether it's reading more books or eating out less, January is the month of goals and challenges. Veganuary is no exception. The 30-day plant-based challenge originated nearly a decade ago, and has since taken on a life of its own. We’ll hear from three different vegans working in the plant-based space about their journey to becoming vegan, and what it means to them. What do you want to know about...

Wrong way driving is  on the rise in Connecticut . Today, we discuss what’s being done to prevent wrong-way collisions in our state. Reckless and aggressive driving has also become more apparent since the start of the pandemic. We’ll hear from the Department of Transportation in Connecticut and learn what can be done to ensure safer Connecticut roads for all its residents. Have you seen more aggre...

Some 44,000 Connecticut residents have had low-level cannabis possession charges  "fully or partially erased" from their records this month , as promised within the state's recreational marijuana legislation. Later this year, after facing delays since its passage in 2021, the Clean Slate Law is set to do the same for  five-times as many locals  with other low-level offenses.  Fox 61 reports lawmak...

Known as the seventh continent, Antarctica is much more than a home to penguins! Today, we explore the least inhabited continent in the world. We hear about how climate change impacts wildlife in Antarctica and what life looks like for those who live and work there. GUESTS: David W. Brown:  contributor to  the New Yorker  and author to the forthcoming book  The Outside Cats Matt Jordan :  Project...