Where We Live

Broadband access is not just a convenience, it’s essential for life under COVID-19.  This hour, we take a look at Connecticut’s digital divide. We talk with a researcher whose  report highlights the stark racial and economic disparities in internet access in our state . Governor Lamont has proposed universal broadband by September 2022. But is the state taking strong enough s...

Before extremists stormed the US Capitol, groups had been organizing and inciting violence on our most common social media apps.  This hour, how much of a role did social media play in that riot? Extremists had a home on the web long before the existence of Parler, an alternative social media network. Content moderation has only been used sporadically across the most popular social media, Fac...

Venture Smith was enslaved when he was just a boy. He was eventually able to buy his freedom and the freedom of his family. His iconic story of will, perseverance and strength, is central to Connecticut’s history. This hour, we dive into to the biography of Venture Smith and the history of slavery here in Connecticut.   Connecticut Historian and  Connecticut Explored  pub...

When you want to learn about an obscure topic, where do you turn? For many, it’s a free, online encyclopedia which now contains more than 55 million user-created articles.  This hour, we talk about 20 years of Wikipedia. We get a behind the scenes look at the sites’ editing process, including the tools the Wikipedia community has developed to fight misinformation. And we talk abou...

The General Assembly session is getting interesting, as lawmakers trot out their proposals. But this year does not resemble a normal session.  COVID-19 rules keep lawmakers at arms length from each other, and from lobbyists and the public.  Today we talk to House Speaker Matt Ritter about how much lawmakers will be able to get done.  Are they doing the right thing by extending the g...

Recovering from addiction is difficult in normal times, but managing recovery during a pandemic can be incredibly challenging. This hour, we talk about the challenges of navigating recovery during the pandemic.  Addiction thrives in isolation. Many addicts rely on support groups and peer sponsors to navigate recovery - how is this being managed during a pandemic?  If you or someone you l...

Dr. Miguel Cardona’s journey as an educator started in an elementary school classroom in Meriden, Connecticut. Now, Connecticut’s education commissioner is heading to Washington D.C. as President Biden’s pick for nation’s Secretary of Education.  This hour, we sit down down with Dr. Cardona. If confirmed by the Senate, Cardona will take the helm of the U.S. Depart...

During this pandemic, most of the day our eyes are glued to our screens as we continue to work from home. This hour, we challenge you to look outside as we talk about bird watching in our state!  Sales of bird feeders and bird seed have skyrocketed this year. If you are one of the many people that have picked up birding, look out for cardinals and woodpeckers! And this year, we have seen an i...

It was a plague that came every summer and left thousands of American children paralyzed -- or dead -- in its wake. This hour we take a look at the legacy of polio. How did the development of the polio vaccine change the course of history? Nearly eradicated, the disease is still be found in a handful of countries. Could we see polio outbreaks in the US today? We want to hear from you. Did you or a...

Hosted by Lucy Nalpathanchil and John Henry Smith Today Joe Biden became the forty-sixth president of the United States.  Will America heed President  Biden’s calls to end an 'uncivil war' in political debate that spilled over into violence at the capitol two weeks ago? A vice presidential swearing-in also makes history.  Now that Donald Trump has left Washington and been kick...

Inauguration Day is here. This hour, Connecticut’s 3rd District Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro joins us to talk about what this Inauguration Day is looking like, and how it has looked in years past.  Coming up, there won’t be any Inaugural Balls or other typical Inauguration activities in Washington. In fact, President Trump won’t even be in attendance! So how will the inaugurat...

Bridgeport has lost its top health official as the state battles COVID-19’s second wave. This hour, we talk with Connecticut Post reporter Brian Lockhart about the vacancy in the health department of the state’s largest city. And later, some Connecticut residents over the age of 75 will receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine this week. Does Connecticut have the right tools in...

We’re one semester into the 2020-2021 academic year. This hour, how are faculty at our Connecticut colleges and universities holding up?  Coming up, we'll talk about faculty burnout, the impending end of tenure, and what universities will invest in, in the future.  And later, the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system is in the process of merging all 12 of our state com...

President Trump has been impeached by the House of Representatives again, making him the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice. With just days before President-Elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, what happens next? We check in with impeachment legal expert Ross Garber. We also talk with  The New York Times Interpreter  columnist Amanda Taub. What lessons can we tak...

After President Trump egged on a crowd of supporters who later smashed their way into the US Capitol, Democrats are once again on the verge of impeaching the president. This time, they may have some Republican support.  To be successful, any such effort would have to pass both the House and the Senate.  On the Wednesday politics episode of Where We Live, we speak with Connecticut US Sena...

So far, tens of thousands of Connecticut residents have already received the COVID-19 vaccine. Yet nationally, vaccine rollout has been going slower than experts had hoped. This hour, we hear from reporters about how policies have shaped vaccine availability. And we get answers from a doctor about the science behind the shot. What questions do you have about the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine? Fi...

Astronaut Kayla Barron was one of the first women commissioned as a submarine warfare officer in the US Navy. Now, she’s part of another groundbreaking group,  NASA’s Artemis Team . This hour, we talk with Barron about her training for the next set of missions to return to the moon.  The Artemis Program aims to put the first woman on the moon in coming years. Later, we hear f...

Connecticut 4th district Congressman Jim Himes joins us to talk about what happened at the U.S Capitol and how the country moves forward from here.  And later, we hear about efforts to pass recreational marijuana in our state. We also hear how the state might expunge the records of those with previous marijuana drug convictions, as well as hearing from marijuana cultivators themselv...

Last January, an estimated 2,500 young people experienced homelessness in Connecticut,  according to the Connecticut Coalition To End Homelessness annual Youth Count . And that was before the pandemic that overturned so many lives. Connecticut had made a goal to end youth homelessness by 2020. So what gaps remain? We hear from advocates, providers, and a young person about how the state can h...

With the ongoing pandemic, what do municipalities need to do to stay afloat?  This hour, we look at neighborhoods and towns in Connecticut working to keep their residents connected and businesses thriving during this pandemic. We hear from residents in Westville, a small thriving community in New Haven. We also hear from New London - a city looking to revitalize and create more resiliency.&nb...

What has your year looked like? What are you grateful for? In the last days of 2020 we reflect on our most memorable shows of the year. It’s been a hard one for so many and that’s why we took sometime to ask you--what you’re thankful for this year. Despite this chaotic, hard year, it’s important to stay grateful for what we have. GUESTS: Janice Kaplan  - author of&nbsp...

On May 1st, 1970, the eyes of the nation were on the Elm City. Students and others from around the country had gathered to protest the murder trial of Black Panther Party leaders Bobby Seale and Ericka Huggins. This hour, we take a look back at May Day in New Haven, 50 years ago this year. We talk with Huggins and hear from a former Baltimore mayor who was one of the Yale students who helped keep...

At the start of this year, Jericho Brown addressed the graduates of the Bennington Writing Seminars Class of January 2020.  He said, “If you can't imagine these last few days without trees, I know you can't imagine life without poetry. Literature fills needs we did not know we had. Poems and stories plant seeds for things we did not know we needed." Jericho Brown is this year’s Pu...

Faith can play an important role in times of uncertainty - offering comfort and hope.  Since COVID-19 hit Connecticut, many churches, synagogues and mosques have closed across the state.  Faith leaders have moved worship online - and found new ways to bring people together. It has not been easy.  Leaders across religious traditions are under tremendous pressure guiding their congreg...

2020 is finally almost over, and it’s time for a break. But if your holiday plans are looking different than normal, we’ve got you!  This hour, we talk with NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans, who gives us  his recommendations  on what to binge watch over the holidays. We also check in with Vox book critic Constance Grady about  her recommendations from the best books of 20...