So far, 2026 has been a big year for movies. There’s been the success of horror films like Backrooms and Obsession. There are movies that have been targeted by the culture wars, like The Odyssey. And there are the smaller films that have gotten critical acclaim like Camp and Is God Is.

All those films are coming out in a landscape that seems hopeful for theaters. In the first half of the year, films in the U.S. have earned more at the box office than in any year since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic. This hour, we’re talking about the year in film for our fourth annual summer movie panel.

GUESTS:

• Nadira Goffe: Staff Writer at Slate

• 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.

• James Hanley: Co-Founder of the independent movie theater Cinestudio in Hartford in 1970

Recommendations from our panelists:

• Watch The Odyssey (2026) on the largest screen you can

• Revisit Sinners in a theater

• Camp

• Night of the Living Dead

• Is God Is

• You, Me & Tuscany

• 28 Years Later: Bone Temple

• Girls Like Girls

• Hope

• The Wailing

• When you see a great film, watch the creator’s earlier films that brought them to critical acclaim

Photo Credit: Petros Giannakouris

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In 2012, Connecticut voters chose Chris Murphy as a replacement for retiring senator Joe Lieberman. He was the youngest U.S. senator serving at the time. And in the years since, his national profile has grown. He's been a vocal advocate for gun reform and become a high-profile critic of the Trump administration. But most recently he’s been talking about a different kind of crisis. It's the subject of his new book Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America.

GUESTS:

• Chris Murphy: Junior U.S. Senator from Connecticut. His new book is Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America.

Photo Credit: Matt Ramey

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When was the last time you dabbled in something? In this episode of Disrupted, author Karen Walrond talks about the joys of dabbling and the space where dabbling and activism meet. She shares how trying activities like sports, pottery or baking—even if you're not good at them—can expand our definition of self.

We also visit Jason Ramos' New Haven dance studio, Baila Con Gusto CT, where dabblers learn how to Salsa, Bachata and Merengue in community with one another.

Jason Ramos with dance partner. (3000x2000, AR: 1.5)

Plus, Spanish artist Esther Gonzalez reads her essay, “How to Reset Your Artistic Life.”

GUESTS:

• Karen Walrond: Author of ‘The Lightmaker's Manifesto’ and ‘Radiant Rebellion’. Her latest book is ‘In Defense of Dabbling: The Brilliance of Being a Total Amateur’

• Jason Ramos: Founder of Baila Con Gusto CT, a dance studio in residence at St. Paul & St. James Church in New Haven

• Esther González: Artist and author of the essay ‘How to Reset Your Artistic Life.’ Find her artwork on Instagram. And read more of her essays on her Substack, Journal Rash.

This episode originally aired on February 13, 2026. 

Special thanks to the students at Baila Con Gusto CT who spoke to us about what inspires them to dance.

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For Black Americans, following the news can be a psychological challenge. 4 in 5 Black adults say they see or hear racist or racially insensitive coverage about Black people at least sometimes. That’s according to a 2023 Pew Research survey.

And coverage can be hard to watch even if it isn’t insensitive. While news about violence against Black people is important for communities to know, it can also affect one’s mental health.

This can be a lot to deal with, so some people are trying to change the narrative by adding another emotion to the mix: joy.

This hour, we’re talking to people who are centering Black joy.

We’ll hear from the the owner of a local woodworking business called Black Joy Creations and the founders of a summer camp that is bringing smiles to campers’ faces.

GUESTS:

• Akeera Peterkin: woodworker and founder of Black Joy Creations. The Connecticut-based business sells hand-crafted wood products and leads woodworking classes. Akeera also runs a business as a therapist and social worker.

• Camille Hollenquest: Executive of Director of Detroit Heals Detroit and Co-Founder of Black Joy Summer Camp.

• Brianna Donald: Co-Chair of Detroit Heals Detroit and Co-Founder of Black Joy Summer Camp.

This episode originally aired on October 3, 2025. 

Additional production help from our intern Amanda Adams.

Special thanks to our intern Katie Servas and our former interns Vy Duong and Talei Ricketson.

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Confederate forces surrendered to Union forces in Appomattox Court House, Virginia in April of 1865.

But many people in Texas were still living under slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation had gone into effect in January of 1863 in places under Union control. But Union forces did not arrive to enforce emancipation in Texas until June of 1865.

That is why we celebrate Juneteenth— to recognize the day that the people enslaved in Texas were finally freed.

And while Juneteenth is the most famous holiday recognizing emancipation, different communities have held their own celebrations since the end of the Civil War.

This hour, we’re recognizing Juneteenth by taking a look at celebrations past and present. We’ll take a look at the history of Emancipation Days and how they’ve been documented, and we’ll hear from one of the organizers of this year’s Juneteenth celebration in New Haven.

GUESTS:

• Blair LM Kelley: President and Director of the National Humanities Center. Her books include Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class and her latest book, Black Freedom: A Visual History of Juneteenth and Emancipation Days.

• Dr. Hanan Hameen: Founder of the Artsucation Academy Network, Co-Founder of the Official Juneteenth Coalition of Greater New Haven and award-winning choreographer and educator.

 

Photo source: Detroit Publishing Co.

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Connecticut has a higher percentage of Puerto Rican residents than any other state. That’s according to 2020 U.S. Census data. But Puerto Rican residents still make up less than 10% of the state’s population.

So how do Puerto Rican people in Connecticut find community?

This hour, we’re talking about community and belonging.

We'll talk to CT Public's Puerto Rican Communities Reporter. And we'll hear from a sociologist who says Asian Americans can build political power by intentionally not assimilating into the predominant U.S. culture.

GUESTS:

• Rachel Iacovone: Puerto Rican Communities Reporter for Connecticut Public Radio.

• Bianca Mabute-Louie: Sociologist and author of Unassimilable: An Asian Diasporic Manifesto for the 21st Century.

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“History repeats itself,” the saying goes. Or, as another saying goes, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” There’s also “History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes.”

Together these sayings suggest the value of history in our culture and our belief that it can help us understand the present.

This hour, we’re talking about history and our current political moment. This episode is the second featuring a live event with Pulitzer Prize-winning historians Jon Meacham and Jill Lepore. If you missed the first episode, don't worry— this discussion will stand on its own.

The event was the final discussion of The Connecticut Forum’s 34th season.

GUESTS:

• Jill Lepore: the David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. She is also a staff writer at The New Yorker and bestselling author. Her books include These Truths: A History of the United States and We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution.

• Jon Meacham: Distinguished Visiting Professor at Vanderbilt University. His bestselling books include And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle and the Pulitzer prize-winning American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House.

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At the start of May, Khalilah sat down for a conversation with historians Jill Lepore and Jon Meacham.

The conversation was titled “Lessons from History,” and it came at a time when a lot was going on in U.S. politics. In just the past week there had been gunshots fired outside the ballroom where the White House Correspondents' Dinner was being held, a Supreme Court ruling that impacted the Voting Rights Act and developments that continued to shape the Iran war. It also came at a notable time for Jill Lepore: just three days after the conversation, she was announced as this year's winner of the Pulitzer Prize in History. Jon Meacham also won a Pulitzer Prize back in 2009.

The event was the final discussion of The Connecticut Forum’s 34th season.

We enjoyed hearing from these award-winning historians so much that we decided to extend the conversation to two episodes. If you like what you hear today, you can hear more next week.

GUESTS:

• Jill Lepore: the David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. She is also a staff writer at The New Yorker and bestselling author. Her books include These Truths: A History of the United States and We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution.

• Jon Meacham: Distinguished Visiting Professor at Vanderbilt University. His bestselling books include And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle and the Pulitzer prize-winning American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House.

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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Many people remember #MeToo from when it went viral in 2017. And before the hashtag, there was the Me Too movement, started by activist Tarana Burke 20 years ago as a way to support survivors of sexual violence, especially Black women and girls.

This hour, we’re reflecting on what has changed since the height of the Me Too movement. We'll discuss everything from policy to social media.

GUESTS:

• Nicole Bedera: Sociologist who studies sexual violence and author of On the Wrong Side: How Universities Protect Perpetrators and Betray Survivors of Sexual Violence.

• Kat Tenbarge: Award-winning independent journalist who covers internet culture, politics and sexual violence and co-founder of Spitfire News.

This episode originally aired on January 9, 2026.

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Some inventions change the way we see the world. Others fail to meet the lofty expectations set for them. Those are the ones that make it into a traveling museum called the Museum of Failure. It recognizes products like Nintendo's early attempt at 3-D gaming and a clear soda called Crystal Pepsi. There's also the Hawaii Chair, a chair whose cushion gyrates in a way that will supposedly help you get in shape.

None of those products became everyday household items, but the Museum of Failure still honors them. After all, innovation is only possible when we try things that might not work.

This hour, we’re reframing failure and celebrating people who take risks.

In addition to talking about the Museum of Failure, we'll hear a from panel of young people whose educational journeys didn't go the way they expected. But rather than feel like failures, they've embraced their new paths as a way to redefine success.

GUESTS:

• Dr. Samuel West: Organizational psychologist who founded the Museum of Failure in Sweden in 2017. The museum now travels around the globe. It’s in Paris until May 17, 2026.

• Melina Floyd: Community organizer in Bristol

• Ella Nicastro: Paraprofessional at Duffy Elementary School in West Hartford.

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