The Wheelhouse

For the next few weeks, The Wheelhouse is hitting the campaign trail! The show will feature interviews with candidates for mayor across the state. Today, West Haven!

There are a lot of great things in West Haven, like Ed McCarthy’s Blue Devils, Savin Rock Park, and Zuppardi’s Apizza. But lately, those things have been overshadowed by turmoil at city hall – including a financial crisis and scandal involving COVID relief dollars. So what will this mean for November's open mayoral election?

This hour, hear from both candidates in West Haven's mayoral race: Democrat Dorinda Borer and Republican Barry Lee Cohen

Plus, hear from experts following this race.

GUESTS:

• Dorinda Borer: Democratic nominee for mayor
• Barry Lee Cohen: Republican nominee for mayor
• Christine Stuart: Editor, CT News Junkie
• Jonathan Wharton: Associate professor of political science and urban affairs, Southern Connecticut State University

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the next few weeks, The Wheelhouse is hitting the campaign trail! The show will feature interviews with candidates for mayor across the state. First up, Danbury.

Danbury was historically known for its hats and hat makers. But now you might think of the city for its diversity. According to the US Census, 30 percent of the 87,000 people that live in Danbury were born outside the country.

This hour, hear from both candidates in Danbury's mayoral race: Democrat Roberto Alves and Republican Mayor Dean Esposito.

Plus, hear from reporters and bloggers covering this race.

GUESTS:

• Roberto Alves: Democratic Candidate

• Mayor Dean Esposito: Republican Candidate

• Alfonso Robinson: Writer, MyLeftNutmeg.com

• Ebong Udoma: Senior Political Reporter, WSHU

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

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Book bans. Mask requirements. What’s in our history books.

These are just some of the issues that have divided school boards since the early days of the pandemic.

School boards haven’t always been political battlegrounds. But these days, things are getting pretty heated.

The non-profit news organization, ProPublica, found nearly 60 incidentsat school board meetings that led to arrests or criminal charges, since spring 2021.

This hour, we’re going big on the politics — and power — of school boards in Connecticut and across the country.

GUESTS:

• Jonathan Collins: Assistant Professor of Political Science, Public Policy, and Education, Brown University
• Nicole Carr: Reporter, ProPublica
• Adam Harris: Staff Writer, The Atlantic; Author, The State Must Provide: Why America's Colleges Have Always Been Unequal — And How To Set Them Right
• Jessika Harkay: Education Reporter, CT Mirror

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

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s a deadline looming. Congress has to pass a spending package – or at least an emergency one – by the end of the federal fiscal year, which is this Friday.

Could a fight among Republicans in the U.S. House cause the government to shut down? How could that trickle down to Connecticut?

This hour, we look at a fractured federal government. Plus, we give you the latest on what's going on in Bridgeport. Could another election be in question over absentee ballots?

GUESTS:

• Lisa Hagen: Federal Policy Reporter, The Connecticut Mirror and Connecticut Public
• Andrew Brown: Investigative Reporter, Connecticut Mirror
• Susan Raff: Chief Capitol Reporter, WFSB

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

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can former president Donald Trump legally become president again? According to experts on both sides of the aisle, the answer isn’t exactly clear-cut.

From Colorado to Connecticut, there are efforts right now to bar Trump from the ballot in 2024. The legal argument against his candidacy comes down to one little-known provision in the 14 Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This hour, we'll break down the constitutional case against Trump.

Plus, we’ll check in on voting equipment in Connecticut and look at efforts to give incarcerated people the right to vote.

GUESTS:

• Bruce Ackerman: Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale Law School and Yale University and the author of the book Revolutionary Constitutions
• Ariel White: Associate Professor of Political Science, MIT
• Andrew Brown: Investigative Reporter, Connecticut Mirror

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

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ITuesday was Primary Day in Connecticut!From Bridgeport to Hartford, some of the state's major cities effectively determined who would be their municipality’s next leader. This hour, we tell you who won, who lost, and why it matters. Plus, a great panel of guests will dig into some hyperlocal races and tell us what they might mean for the state at-large.GUESTS:

• Thomas Breen: Managing editor, New Haven Independent
• Kate Seltzer: Howard Center for Investigative Reporting Fellow, Connecticut Public’s Accountability Project
• Eddy Martinez: Breaking news reporter, Connecticut Public
• Kay Perkins: Reporter, Connecticut Public
• Dan Haar: Senior editor and columnist, CTInsider.com
• Susan Raff: Chief Capitol reporter, WFSB
• Jonathan Wharton: Associate professor of political science and urban affairs, Southern Connecticut State University

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

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eighty-three percent of American voters are either very worried or at least somewhat worried about the functioning of our democracy.

So what does this recent Quinnipiac poll tell us? Why are people losing faith in our democracy?

This hour, we’re asking some big questions about the future of democracy in the U.S., covering everything from political violence to voter suppression. Plus, we’ll give you a preview of some of the big races to watch on Primary Day next Tuesday.

GUESTS:

• Dr. Bilal Sekou: Hillyer College Associate Professor of Politics and Government, University of Hartford
• Archon Fung: Director of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School
• Anne Meng: Associate Professor in the Department of Politics, University of Virginia
• Mark Pazniokas: Capitol Bureau Chief, CT Mirror

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As students head back to school, there is new information about how the federal government will address federal student loan debt.

The White House is introducing a plan to reduce student loan payments, less than two months after the Supreme Court of the United States struck down an effort by the Biden administration to wipe out billions of dollars in student loan debt.

On a “back to school” edition of The Wheelhouse, we break down the new income-driven repayment plan, and at the local level, there’s a discussion on lawmakers' attempts to support the mental health of kids in public schools.

GUESTS:

• Nicole Narea: Politics/Society Reporter, Vox
• Ginny Monk: Children’s Issues/Housing Reporter, CT Mirror
• Katie Barnes: Writer/Reporter, ESPN.com

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From deepfakes to social media chatbots, new technologies are changing our national political landscape.

Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, we’ve already seen everything from campaign ads using AI-generated images to the continued spread of misinformation on platforms like Facebook.

So, how exactly are emerging technologies like AI changing how we do politics? This hour, we’ll get into the good, the bad, and everything in between.

Plus, we’ll look at how Connecticut lawmakers are thinking about artificial intelligence and get an update on local health insurance costs.

GUESTS:

• Sujata Srinivasan: Senior health reporter, Connecticut Public
• Justin Hendrix: Co-founder and CEO of Tech Policy Press
• Ryan Heath: Co-author of the Axios Login newsletter, focused on all things AI and global trends in tech
• Micah Musser: Former Research Analyst at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology
• Alison Cross: Reporter at the Hartford Courant

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You don't have to live and breathe politics to know about the NRA or Planned Parenthood. These organizations influence our democracy in big and small ways, and they’re pretty public about it.

But what about those organizations that operate more in the shadows? Sometimes these organizations have just as much influence as the household names.

So why don’t we know about them, and what do they mean for our democracy? This hour, we investigate some of these shadowy organizations. Plus, we’ll zoom in on an organization targeting both LGBTQ+ and abortion rights in the U.S. today.

GUESTS:

• Anne Nelson: Author of Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right
• R.G. Cravens: Senior research analyst with the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project

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

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.