Where We Live

Right before Christmas, the international space station passed over New York City carrying astronaut Kayla Barron, a member of NASA’s Artemis Program--the program aims to put the first-ever woman on the moon. Barron was part of another groundbreaking group-- she was one of the first women commissioned as a submarine warfare officer in the US Navy.  This week Where We Live, revisits our...

It wouldn’t be a pandemic Christmas without a little chaos/ Today, we want to hear about your holiday plans as we face another COVID surge and the omicron variant. We talk to Dr. Albert Ko, a physician and Yale epidemiologist and take your questions about how to gather this holiday season. We want to know, how are you planning to see your family safely? Do you have a custom Christmas mask to...

A federal judge overturned Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement which offered the Sackler family  immunity from future civil liability . Purdue Pharma’s $4.5 billion settlement would have funded treatment programs for opioid use disorder. This hour, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong discusses the state’s successful appeal to  reject the bankruptcy settlement &n...

By what rights does a museum hold an object or artifact, and with what authority does that museum get to interpret it? Those are some of the existential questions driving a storytelling overhaul at the Yale Peabody Museum. This hour, we preview changes to be unveiled to the public in 2024, from added gallery and classroom space to some major updates to storytelling. Hear about the museum's efforts...

In 1985, Robert Ballard discovered the Titanic wreckage off the coast of Newfoundland. But his explorations didn’t stop there!  This week, we showcase our best conversations of 2021. Robert Ballard joined us earlier this year to talk about his new book, Into The Deep: A Memoir From The Man Who Found Titanic.  We hear about his amazing adventures and his recent attempt to find Ameli...

Today, we hear about an 80 year tradition at the Bethlehem Connecticut post office that has earned it the nickname Christmastown. Thousands of cards and packages come through this tiny post office every year to get one of their cachets. On Friday, the  Connecticut Mirror  reported that Sema4, the laboratory based in Stamford responsible for managing 15 out of the 23 state testing sites,...

It’s the holiday season! Time to binge watch shows, read ALL the books piling up on our nightstands and listen to podcasts on the long drive to grandma’s house. Today on Where We Live, we talk about the best podcasts, shows and books of 2021. NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans joins us to share his favorite TV shows of 2021. Later, we hear from one of the owners of Breakwater Books in Guilford...

Misinformation is a factor for anyone online, but research has shown false and misleading statements about COVID-19 that are in Spanish will linger longer on social media. Hear about this national problem from Free Press Senior Counsel Nora Benavidez, and about the local efforts to help close the gap in vaccine distribution among Hispanic residents in our state. Connecticut officials say more than...

The iconic Mr. Potato Head from Hasbro is now simply the gender neutral Potato Head. Also this year, LEGO, WildBrain, and Mattel launched the Everyone is Awesome set, the Teletubbies Pride collection, and UNO’s Play with Pride deck in celebration of Pride Month. This hour on Where We Live, we discuss diversity and inclusion in the toy industry, and its impact on child development. We hear fr...

Attorneys General across the country are demanding change from the big social media companies. This hour, we talk to Attorney General William Tong about his recent meeting with TikTok over disturbing trends happening on the platform. And later, Wall Street Journal tech reporter Georgia Wells walks us through some of the key takeaways from a recent Senate Hearing with Instagram head Adam Mosseri. W...

Should a statue of Connecticut Colony founder John Mason, who led a massacre of Pequot people in the 1600s, be removed from the State Capitol Building? That’s the question before the State Capitol Preservation and Restoration Committee after  weighing public input , with a vote expected Tuesday. This hour, hear the perspectives of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, and the State Historian....

Nursing shortages are being reported across the country, but there’s also rising interest in this critically important profession. This hour, hear from nurses entering the field in our state, and from nursing educators and experts about why the term “burnout” doesn’t capture what’s driving the shortage. University of Saint Joseph professor Heather Evans prefers the te...

Homework is a part of every student’s curriculum. But how much homework is too much? Experts say high school students can receive up to two hours of homework every night! Cathy Vatterott joins us. She’s Professor Emeritus of Education at University of Missouri St Louis and the self proclaimed “Homework Lady.” How much homework does your child get? First, long time education...

Manufacturing jobs like industrial engineering and mechanical engineering technicians   are projected to increase between 15% and nearly 30% by 2026, fetching an annual salary of around $65,000,  according  to the Connecticut Department of Labor. These jobs don’t require a traditional four-year college degree. And there are opportunities for students to go to trade school whil...

This hour Where We Live, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont answers your questions. Connecticut's Covid-19 positivity rate is back above 5%. With Omicron's detection over the weekend, we discuss the latest on the local response, and whether statewide restrictions could return. GUEST: Ned Lamont  - Governor of Connecticut Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...

Next month a task force will release its recommendations about so-called magic mushrooms. Did that get your attention? Today, we learn why lawmakers and others have been studying the effects of psilocybin, the main ingredient in magic mushrooms. Alex Kwan, an associate professor of psychiatry from the Yale School of Medicine joins us to talk about clinical trials happening in Connecticut. Could ma...

More than $100 million in federal infrastructure funds will go towards protecting and preserving Long Island Sound. Hear from Soundkeeper Bill Lucey about spending plans, Save the Sound's priorities, and why oysters are so unique. Plus, Norm Bloom of Copps Island Oysters explains why conservation is his business; and Tessa Getchis with the Connecticut Sea Grant and UConn Extension Program provides...

Scientists have warned us: since 1970 nearly 3 billion North American birds have disappeared. This hour, ornithologist Pete Marra, from Georgetown University joins us to talk about how to reverse this troubling statistic. And later scientist Brooke Bateman explains how climate change affects birds and talks about natural climate solutions. Today, the Connecticut Audubon Society releases its latest...

Three rural Connecticut hospitals have recently suspended labor and delivery services or announced plans to do so, leaving locals with fewer and farther away options. Today on Where We Live, we get the latest on what this means for rural residents. How are labor and delivery services changing in our state? Plus, the Connecticut Paid Leave Authority begins accepting applications December 1, with pa...

Sex ed curriculum varies greatly across our state and our country. Today, please be advised we’re talking about sex specifically, sex education. Although schools are required to teach human development and disease prevention, Connecticut schools are  not  required to teach sexual health education. It’s often a short curriculum taught in high school. And conversations about co...

Women-founded or co-founded firms in the U.S. raised $25.12 billion in venture capital in the first half of 2021, more than in any prior year, according to  PitchBook . The reason? Women founders are raising a greater share through late-stage deals and high-value sectors. More women are writing checks at VC firms. And networks of female founders are thriving in cities like New York. Yet the i...

A new study by the National Institutes of Health and the Research Triangle Institute, found alcohol consumption by women with children younger than age 5, surged 323% during the pandemic. Researchers compared alcohol consumption rates in February 2020 to April of 2020, when stay-at-home guidelines were in effect, and further along into the pandemic year in November. More women than men exceeded re...

Photography can be documentary, capturing a place and time as they are. It can also provide a means for reimagining the world around us. Hear from two Connecticut artists using the medium to show where they live in a different light. Pablo Delano is a visual artist and Trinity College fine arts professor based in West Hartford, whose book of photography 'Hartford Seen,' was the first to focus on t...

Roya Hakakian came to the US as a refugee from Iran when she was just a teenager. Now, the Connecticut author and poet has drawn on her life story to create a “guidebook” about the immigrant experience. This hour, Hakakian joins us to talk about her new book,  A Beginner’s Guide To America . We want to hear from you, too. How has the history and experience of immigration in...

One hundred years ago in November, two Canadian researchers at the University of Toronto, Frederick Banting and Charles Best, discovered insulin, the life-saving drug for people with diabetes. What was once a death sentence is today a manageable condition with a tubeless insulin pump, and potentially oral insulin not far down the road. The rate of diagnosis of type 1 and type 2 diabetes  has...