Where We Live

You’ve been working late and you just finished a big report that you sent off to your boss. And you received a one word reply back - "Thanks (period)." How does that make you feel?  More and more of our communication takes place online - but our online language is not something we’ve learned. It’s still a new medium. Today, we talk about digital body language with author, Er...

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...

Read the transcript of this interview here . We all communicate in our daily lives, but how do languages actually work? This hour, we talk with linguist Nicole Holliday about the science behind language. We learn about the socio-linguistic cues that we all rely on everyday. And we talk about how much of what we learned about “good grammar” is actually wrong. Are you a stickler for...

When you think back to your childhood, what was your favorite thing to do? Did you have a favorite stuffed animal or did you spend a lot of time outside? Today, we talk about the importance of play. There are lots of conversations about learning loss in the pandemic but learning through play is as important as classroom learning. What does playtime look like in your household?  We want to hea...

This hour, a look into a future that might be for the city of Hartford.  Some planners want to bury I-91 along its path between the Connecticut River and downtown Hartford.   They would reimagine the levee underneath the highway as a green hill overlooking the river.  They envision extensive development in nearby parts of Hartford with restored water views. Connecticut First Di...

More than 7 in 10 adults over the age of 18 in Connecticut have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine. And on Monday, the FDA approved the Pfizer vaccine for children age 12-15 under its Emergency Use Authorization. This will expand the pool of residents eligible to be vaccinated to an even younger cohort--starting later this week. But as more workers come back to in-person offices, can...

Universal Basic Income, a program popularized --by presidential candidate Andrew Yang, might be coming to a Connecticut city.  This hour, we talk with members of a task force that are working to create a pilot program in Hartford, providing UBI to a select group of single parents. Universal Basic Income test programs have popped up in California and other parts of the globe - we talk about wh...

Connecticut's unemployment rate has hovered above 8 percent, more than double the rate pre- pandemic. But now that the job market is picking up, why are business owners having such a hard time hiring?  This hour, we talk about what employers are doing to get people back to work. We hear from a local landscaper who is navigating hiring during the pandemic.  What will the job market look l...

Women, on average,  make 82 cents for every dollar earned by men . And women of color make even less than that. This hour, we take a look at the role  greater pay transparency can play to address the wage gap  in our country. Advocates in Connecticut say that  listing starting salaries publicly  for open positions is a step towards evening the playing field. We want t...

This hour, we speak with Connecticut Comptroller Kevin Lembo on his public option proposal to give more people the chance to join a health insurance program overseen by the state. The Connecticut Partnership Plan is already offered to municipal workers and school employees.  But how would he pay for it? And how would he avoid frightening away insurance companies that are big employers in the...

Ever wonder why you were required to learn algebra, but not how to balance a checkbook and file your taxes? Although personal finance and accounting are offered as an elective in many high schools, they're not often required for graduation. This hour, we talk to Nan Morrison - President and CEO,  Council for Economic Education  about teaching our children to be more financially literate....

Another school year in a pandemic is winding down. That means parents have been thinking about summer plans like summer camps. The Lamont administration has said it will invest COVID-19 relief money to make summer camp experiences accessible to all Connecticut students. This hour, we talk with a camp director and hear from state agencies that serve kids. What’s in store for summer 2021? GUES...

With no commute to work and no gathering with friends, how have you been spending time during this pandemic? This hour, we talk about pandemic hobbies and the lifelong benefits of having a hobby.  Whether you are baking sourdough bread, or learning a new language - we want to hear from you! What’s your pandemic hobby?  Don’t feel like you have time to pick up a new hobby? It...

How many days were  you  out of power last summer after Tropical Storm Isaias? The outages last August impacted hundreds of thousands of residents. Some lasted more than a week. This hour, we talk with Marissa Gillett, Chairman of PURA, Connecticut’s utility regulator. The agency investigated how the state’s two major electric companies dealt with the storm and issued a final...

This hour, it affects virtually everyone in the state of Connecticut in one way or another, but it can be difficult to understand.   The state budget decides how much we pay in taxes, and it helps determine the level of resources for important services like education, care for elderly people, and public health.   We dive into the politics and process of funding state government...

Insects are the most abundant group of animals on the planet. There are an estimated 10 quintillion of them on Earth. But in recent years, scientists have found disturbing evidence that  insect populations are on the decline around the world . The environmental threats to insects are numerous: deforestation, pesticides, and climate change all seem to play a part in declining populations, a ph...

Rebecca F. Kuang started writing her first novel,  The Poppy War , when she was just 19 years old. The final installment in the author’s dark military fantasy series, The Burning God , came out last November . Now, The Poppy War trilogy has been nominated for the 2021 Hugo Award for best series. This hour we talk with Kuang, who will also be starting a PhD program at Yale Univ...

Almost two weeks ago today, two children in Hartford were shot and killed within hours of each other. This week, on the heels of the Derek Chauvin verdict, a sixteen year old black girl was shot and killed by the police in Columbus, Ohio.  This hour, we discuss what happens after gun violence. Representative Brandon McGee and Kelvin Lovejoy from Hartford Communities That Care join u...

Telehealth, Google Classrooms, and Zoom have become essential for daily life in the pandemic. This hour, we learn about the role of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make sure all Americans have access to broadband internet. We talk with the FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, a West Hartford native. And later, we get perspective from a Wall Street Journal technology policy rep...

This hour, we speak with the top Republican in the state house the next steps after a fight in the state House over a vaccine bill. The proposal would end the practice of allowing parents to avoid vaccination for their children by claiming religious objections. The house approved the measure, but it has yet to come up for a vote in the senate. Also, is the governor doing the right thing, by p...

The term global warming makes it clear that climate change is raising temperatures around the world. But climate change and a melting Arctic will shape our weather in New England in a whole host of other ways as well. This hour: from extreme storms to “weather whiplash”, we look at the science behind why climate change is making our weather...weirder. And later: leaders around the glob...

Nearly 2000 children are arrested each day in the United States. That's according to the  Children's Defense Fund . This hour, we check in with the Connecticut Justice Alliance which works to keep children and youth out of the justice system. Although Connecticut is seeing an overall decline in its prison population, the vast majority of incarcerated youth are children of color.  Ho...

Jill Snyder’s parents carried on a long-distance courtship through letters. After her mother’s death, Snyder found these letters, and compiled them into a book, called  Dear Mary, Dear Luther: A Courtship in Letters . This hour, Snyder joins us to talk about her family’s story. It’s a lens into the lives of African Americans in the Northeast before the start of World W...

It has been over eight years since Sheryl Sandberg’s breakthrough book Lean In hit the shelfs and started a conversation about women leading in the workplace. But sexism is far from obsolete in today’s job market.  The good news is, skills to thrive in the workplace can be taught long before a woman accepts her first job offer. This hour, what can we do to teach young girls confid...

This hour, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Chairman Rodney Butler discusses  the ongoing debate over a major expansion to legalized gambling in Connecticut, and the impact of COVID-19 on tribal members.    Guests:   Rodney Butler -- Chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Mark Pazniokas -- Capitol Bureau Chief with the Connecticut Mirror Support the show: http://wnp...