President Donald Trump declared war on immigration from his first day in office.

Since then, the White House has vowed to protect Americans from what it’s calling an “invasion.”

U.S. Sen Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) is troubled by recent action, including a statewide sweep by immigration authorities that resulted in 65 arrests.

Murphy accuses Trump of using racist tropes on immigration to distract Americans from his “corruption and lawlessness.”

Today on The Wheelhouse, we talk to Murphy about the White House’s domestic policy agenda.

You’ll also hear from Daniela Doncel and Maysoon Khan, two Connecticut Public reporters, about a special immigration status reserved for abused migrant youth – and how it’s being rolled back.

GUESTS:

• U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy
• Archon Fung, professor of citizenship and self-government, Harvard University
• Mark Hugo Lopez, director of race and ethnicity research, Pew Research Center
• Daniela Doncel, Latino communities reporter, Connecticut Public
• Maysoon Khan, investigative reporter, Connecticut Public

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Beginning on September 1, Congress will race to finalize the federal budget before the September 30 deadline. And Connecticut’s schools are feeling the ripple effects of funding uncertainty.

Today on The Wheelhouse, we talk with educators about the challenges and concerns heading into the new school year.

Plus, we take a close look at one Connecticut district experimenting with a year-round calendar. Tune in to hear what this means for students, families, and teachers alike!

GUESTS:

• Kate Dias, president of the Connecticut Education Association
• Fran Rabinowitz, executive director, Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents
• Lisa Hagan, federal policy reporter, CT Mirror and CT Public
• Cynthia Ritchie, superintendent of schools, New London Public Schools 

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How did Connecticut earn the moniker “Constitution State”?

Hint – it’s not the Constitution you learned about in history class!

We’ll travel back to the 1600s to explore how history, conflict and big aspirations helped shape the state’s identity.

GUESTS:

• Thomas Balcerski, professor of history at Eastern Connecticut State University and director of the Center for Connecticut Studies
• Kathy Craughwell-Varda, director of Conservation ConneCTion, Connecticut State Library
• Andrea Rapacz, chief curator of collections, Connecticut Museum of Culture and History

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Even though some anthropologists believe humans are apex predators, a new book argues we’re actually not.

Author Kurt Gray posits understanding our vulnerabilities – coming to terms with our former reality as prey – could help us co-exist in tumultuous political times.

Today on The Wheelhouse, Gray, a social psychologist at The Ohio State University, discusses his book, “Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics… and How to Find Common Ground.”

GUESTS:

• Kurt Gray, author, “Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground”

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

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It’s 2025 and next year’s congressional races are already heating up.

We’re learning more about U.S. Rep. John Larson’s seat in Connecticut’s First Congressional District. Columnist Dan Haar says the 2026 re-election bid will be Larson’s “toughest challenge” yet.

Are Larson’s age and health a primary factor in a prospective close race?

Today on The Wheelhouse, Dan Haar and constitutional scholar Akhil Reed Amar tackle that question and explore why the U.S. doesn’t have term limits for Congress.

Also, do you know if there’s lead in your home’s drinking water? We talk to the reporters behind a CT Mirror investigation that found lead in the water lines of thousands of Connecticut homes.

GUESTS:

• Akhil Reed Amar, professor of law and political science, Yale University
• Dan Haar, senior editor and columnist, CT Insider
• Colin McEnroe, host, "The Colin McEnroe Show"
• Andrew Brown, investigative reporter, CT Mirror
• Jenna Carlesso, investigative reporter, CT Mirror

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Gen Z has grown up in an age of school shootings, climate anxiety, the pandemic and the algorithm.

With all that they’ve gone through, how is Gen Z engaging with media and with politics?

Today on The Wheelhouse, we’re looking at the forces shaping Gen Z in Connecticut and across the nation. We’ll explore how this generation votes at the ballot box and ask what their future role may be in American democracy.

GUESTS:

• Rachel Janfaza, associate writer, CNN Politics
• Elena Moore, reporter, NPR’s Washington desk
• Christian Paz, senior politics reporter, Vox

Coco Cooley and Isaac Moss assisted in the production of this episode.

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Legislation seeking to address Connecticut’s affordable housing crisis was vetoed earlier this year by Gov. Ned Lamont. But, the proposal could soon come back in a special session. 

If it does, state lawmakers face a question: can they craft an affordable housing plan that satisfies both the governor and local leaders? 

Opponents of the original bill say it was pushing quotas on cities and towns. Local leaders said it hampered their ability to make planning and zoning decisions.

But supporters say the law was a “meaningful step” forward in a state plagued by high rents and too little housing. 

Today on The Wheelhouse, what’s next for affordable housing legislation in Connecticut?

GUESTS:

• Rep. Jason Rojas, majority leader, CT House Democrats
• Sen. Tony Hwang, Republican representing Easton, Fairfield, Newtown
• Abby Brone, housing reporter, Connecticut Public
• Ginny Monk, children's issues and housing reporter, Connecticut Mirror
• Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, investigative reporter, CT Insider

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President Donald Trump’s massive tax-and-spending package is officially the law.

The legislation provides tax cuts for some Americans. But it could raise costs for some of the country’s poorest households. That’s due to reductions in Medicaid and food assistance. The legislation Republicans are calling the “big beautiful bill" seeks to cut Medicaid and food stamps by more than $1 trillion.

Today on The Wheelhouse, we’ll dig deeper into how the bill will impact SNAP and Medicaid benefits in Connecticut.

GUESTS:

• Andrea Barton Reeves, commissioner, Connecticut Department of Social Services
• Sujata Srinivasan, senior health reporter, Connecticut Public
• Amari Brantley, policy coordinator, End Hunger Connecticut!

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Connecticut lawmakers passed some of the most ambitious housing legislation in years this session. The bill looked to address affordable housing, zoning and parking.

But then, Gov. Ned Lamont vetoed it.

The Democrat is now inviting lawmakers to make a new proposal, which he hopes to pass it later this year in a special session.

Today on The Wheelhouse, we’ll speak to the governor live in-studio, asking about that veto. We’ll also get his thoughts on running for a third term.

GUESTS:

• Ned Lamont, governor, state of Connecticut
• Mark Pazniokas, capitol bureau chief and a co-founder, CT Mirror
• Liz Kurantowicz, Republican analyst and co-owner, The Drury Group
• Bilal Sekou, associate professor of political science, University of Hartford

The Wheelhouse is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, A

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This fall, students at Yale University will take a course called “Bad Bunny: Musical Aesthetics and Politics.”

Bad Bunny, born on the island of Puerto Rico as Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, isn’t the first Latino musician to weave activism into his work. Regarding the Yale class, Bad Bunny told Rolling Stone magazine “I have in the back of my mind that I want to do big things and make a difference, but I do it for myself.”

“I don’t do it hoping that at some point, they’ll offer classes about me at universities,” he said.

Today on The Wheelhouse, how politics and music intersect on the island next door.

GUESTS:

• Albert Laguna, Associate professor of American Studies, Yale University
• Rachel Iacovone, Puerto Rican communities reporter, CT Public
• Petra Rivera-Rideau, Associate Professor of American Studies, Wellesley College
• La Gata, Multimedia Artist and Historian
• Charles Venator Santiago, Associate professor in the departments of political science and El Instituto, University of Connecticut

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