According to Amnesty International, 15 countries used the death penalty in 2024. The United States was one of those countries. Capital punishment is illegal in 23 states and isn’t used in some of the states where it is legal. But the United States still executed 25 people last year.

We’ve surpassed that number already in 2025.

Capital punishment can be a contentious topic. And it’s a debate that has been reignited in recent weeks — President Donald Trump has said he wants to seek the death penalty for all murder cases in Washington, DC.

But amidst all the statistics and lofty arguments for and against, it’s important to remember that capital punishment affects real people. It impacts both the people sentenced to death, and the families who’ve lost loved ones to violence.

This hour, we’re talking about what the death penalty means to the human beings impacted by it.

Staff Writer at The Atlantic and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Elizabeth Bruenig, has seen the impact of the death penalty firsthand. She’s also lost a family member to violence. While many journalists cover capital punishment, fewer are applying to attend the executions of people on death row.

In a deeply personal conversation, Khalilah Brown-Dean talks with Bruenig about her coverage of capital punishment. Her recent cover story in The Atlantic is, 'Witness: Inside America's Death Chambers - What Years of witnessing executions taught me about sin, mercy and the possibility of redemption.'

Bruenig describes her own family tragedy, the realities of death by lethal injection, and why her feelings about capital punishment have changed over time. Plus, the pair describe the complex emotions victims’ families grapple with in the aftermath of tragedy.

GUEST:

• Elizabeth Bruenig: Staff writer at The Atlantic

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Listening to the news, it feels like there are more natural disasters than ever. This hour, as we reflect on 20 years since Hurricane Katrina, we return to conversations about why flooding and droughts are becoming so common and how the word "disaster" affects the way we view an event. First, Connecticut State Historian Andy Horowitz explains why understanding disasters involves looking at the decisions people made before the devastation, sometimes decades before. And Professor Mohammed Ombadi breaks down the science behind how climate change is causing an increase in extreme weather.

GUESTS:

• Andy Horowitz: Associate Professor of History at UConn, Connecticut State Historian, author of 'Katrina: A History, 1915-2015'

• Mohammed Ombadi: Assistant Professor in the department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering at the University of Michigan

This episode originally aired on November 8, 2023. 

Disrupted is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

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When people think of craft, certain images might come to mind, like knitting in a rocking chair by a warm fireplace. People often think of it as a quiet, solitary activity— one that doesn’t make much of a public statement. But crafts like knitting can be radical. The rocking chair by the fireplace isn’t just quiet and solitary— it can also be a site of real political change.

This hour, we’re talking about the power of craft. We’ll hear from a crafter who helped popularize the term "craftivism." It refers to a movement that combines craft with activism. We’ll also talk to a local potter who hopes to spread awareness of the indigenous Wangunk people. They are not recognized as a tribe by the federal or state government.

GUESTS:

• Betsy Greer: writer and maker. She’s editor of the book Craftivism: The Art of Craft and Activism and author of Knitting for Good!: A Guide to Creating Personal, Social, and Political Change Stitch by Stitch. She helped popularize the term "craftivism."

• Gary Red Oak O'Neil: a Wangunk Elder, potter, and educator. He’s been a member of Wesleyan Potters since 1968, and his solo exhibition, titled Excavations, will be on view at the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery at Wesleyan University from September 9th to November 16th.

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Black Americans make up close to 14 percent of the US population. But only about three percent of U.S. businesses are Black-owned. That’s according to the 2023 Annual Business Survey, which is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics.

August is National Black Business Month, so we are spotlighting some of the Black entrepreneurs right here in Connecticut who have found success despite underrepresentation. We'll hear from the owners of a wide range of businesses— a bookstore, a construction company and a real estate development firm.

GUESTS:

• Karin Smith: co-owner of Kindred Thoughts Bookstore, an independent, Black-owned bookstore in Bridgeport.

• Vincencia “Vee” Adusei: Owner and Founder of VASE Construction, which is based in New Haven.

• Yves Joseph: CEO and Co-Founder of RJ Development, a real estate development company based in New Haven.

For more of CT Public’s coverage of National Black Business Month, you can visit the Black Voices page on our website.

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Oral history preserves the past by recording people’s real voices. It’s not just about recording the stories people tell. It’s also about the way they tell them. Oral history is about memory and humanity. It’s a form of history that anyone can be a part of.

Amanda Rivera, a PhD candidate in American Studies at Yale University, discusses the history of Connecticut's Puerto Rican communities.

This excerpt is from an episode of Disrupted produced by Kevin Chang Barnum, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Meg Dalton and Meg Fitzgerald. 

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On August 6th, 1945, the United States’ military dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima in Japan. Three days later, they dropped another bomb, this time on Nagasaki. According to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, estimates of people killed by these bombs range from around one hundred thousand to more than two hundred thousand.

And the impact of the bombs isn’t limited to the people who died. They also changed the lives of survivors and generations of people who came after them.

Dr. Shizuko Tomoda's mother survived the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. The documentary film, Memories of Hiroshima through Imagination, reflects on her and her mother's experiences.

GUEST:

• Dr. Shizuko Tomoda: Professor Emeritus at Central Connecticut State University. Her mother survived the atomic bomb the United States' military dropped on Hiroshima. She directed, wrote and narrated the documentary film Memories of Hiroshima through Imagination.

Dr. Tomoda's film, Memories of Hiroshima Through Imagination, is currently available on CT Public's website. It airs ON CPTV on September 23 at 9 p.m. and September 30 at 11 p.m.

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Doctors, researchers and patients are facing a critical moment in the care and treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease. This hour, we talk with Jon Hamilton of NPR’s Science Desk about new medicines available to people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. He also describes the impact federal funding cuts will have on Alzheimer’s research.

Plus, Sujata Srinivasan, Senior Health Reporter at Connecticut Public, joins to expound on the benefits of art therapy for patients and their caregivers. And, participants in the Memories @ The MATT art therapy program at the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, share their experiences making art at the museum.

Finally, the Director of Public Policy at the Alzheimer’s Association, Connecticut Chapter, details the org’s crucial role in getting HB6771 passed in Connecticut’s 2025 legislative session. The new law mandates insurance coverage of tests for early detection of Alzheimer's.

GUESTS:

• Jon Hamilton: Correspondent for NPR's Science Desk

• Mike and Patty Quirk: Participants in the Collide Art and Memory exhibition

• David Scott Gilbert and Nan Green: Participants in the Collide Art and Memory exhibition

• Sujata Srinivasan: Senior Health Reporter, Connecticut Public

• Christy Kovel: Director Public Policy, Alzheimer's Association, Connecticut Chapter

LEARN MORE:
See more photos from the art therapy program and read Sujata Srinivasan's series on caregivers. And, you can watch the documentary, "Caregiving" on PBS.

Visit the Alzheimer's Association, Connecticut Chapter to connect with local resources or call their 24/7 helpline: 800-272-3900.

The Alzheimer's Association, Connecticut Chapter, and the Mattatuck Museum Arts & History Center, are sponsors of Connecticut Public.

Disrupted is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

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Studying oysters can help us understand how Connecticut’s shoreline is changing. Studying lizards can help us understand the history of life on our planet. Biologists research living organisms. And in doing so, they help us understand not only ourselves, but also the way our lives are intertwined with those of every other species.

This hour— Connecticut biologists tell us how their work helps us see what’s going on in the world around us. We'll discuss everything from how someone growing up in New York City could become fascinated by nature to the impact of federal funding cuts on research.

GUESTS:

• Martha Muñoz: Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University, Assistant Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at the Yale Peabody Museum and recipient of a 2024 MacArthur Fellowship.

• Maria Rosa: Assistant Professor of Biology at Connecticut College.

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This hour, we talk to two Connecticut artists whose work reflects on the impact we have on our communities.

Photographer Bill Graustein’s exhibition, “Traces,” features vast western landscapes that represent different moments in Bill’s life, but it’s not just about Bill. It also includes question prompts that give viewers a chance to reflect on how the photos relate to their own lives.

Artist Katharine Owens makes life-sized portraits of animals, includes ones that she created with help from the general public. The portraits are made by sewing plastic packaging on to canvas, and they bring awareness to the way pollution impacts wildlife.

GUESTS:

• Bill Graustein: Photographer and community leader. His exhibition, “Traces,” is on view at Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology (ConnCAT) in New Haven until July 26th. Bill has also worked as a research scientist.

• Katharine Owens: Artist and Professor in the Department of Politics, Economics, and International Studies at the University of Hartford. Her series of life-sized portraits of animals is called "Entangled and Ingested.”

Special thanks to our interns Coco Cooley and Isaac Moss.

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Many people think of movies as an escape from reality. But even when they transport us to a different time and place, movies can help us think more deeply about our present. This year, those thought provoking films have included Sinners, The Phoenician Scheme and Mickey 17.

For our third annual summer movie panel, we’re breaking down recent films to see what they say about the world we live in today. We’ll cover everything from politics to artificial intelligence.

GUESTS:

• James Hanley: one of the founders of Cinestudio in Hartford.

• Alissa Wilkinson: Movie Critic at The New York Times. Her latest book is We Tell Ourselves Stories: Joan Didion and the American Dream Machine.

• Walter Chaw: Senior Film Critic for FilmFreakCentral.net, author of A Walter Hill Film: Tragedy and Masculinity in the Films of Walter Hill and film instructor at the University of Colorado Denver.

Movies mentioned in this episode:

• Alissa's recommendations: Seek out exciting, funny, exploratory documentaries in your local cinema. (You can find more of Alissa's documentary recommendations in her writing for The New York Times)

• Walter's recommendations: Eephus, Misericordia, April, Sharp Corner

• James' recommendations: No Other Land, Lee, Blitz

• Films that help us think about artificial intelligence: Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, M3gan 2.0, Mickey 17, The Social Network, Soylent Green, S1m0ne, A.I. Artificial Intelligence

• Other films discussed: Sinners, The Phoenician Scheme, Jaws, Superman, 2001: A Space Odyssey

• Every other film mentioned: The Substance, Fatal Attraction, Jurassic World Rebirth, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, The Sugarland Express, The Wizard of Oz, The Exorcist, Star Wars, The Shining, Gattaca, The Truman Show, Friendship, Citizen Kane

For more on Jaws, you can listen to CT Public's piece on its 50th anniversary.

You can also listen to Disrupted's previous summer movie panels from 2023 and 2024.

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