Fever, chills, fatigue, cough, headache and a sore throat. A new variant of the flu means more people are suffering from the virus this season. But the flu can be more than just a nuisance illness — it can be deadly.

Today, Connecticut physicians join us to answer questions about what to do to protect yourself and your family from the virus.

Flu-related hospitalizations are rising in Connecticut. We hear from one local emergency medicine doctor.

Up first, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently scaled back childhood vaccine schedules, changing recommendations for the flu vaccine and others. We learn more.

GUESTS:

• Apoorva Mandavilli: Science and Global Health Reporter for the New York Times
• Dr. Anumaha Singh: Chief of Department of Emergency Medicine for Hartford Hospital 
• Dr. Scott Roberts: Associate Medical Director for Infection Prevention at Yale New Haven Hospitals and Infectious Disease Doctor and Assistant professor at the Yale School of Medicine

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Success isn’t just about talent or intelligence – it’s about how we handle our emotions.

Marc Brackett, founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, says emotional regulation is a skill, one that can be taught and practiced like any other.

This hour, he joins us to talk about why our feelings matter, what happens when we ignore them, and how adults can get better at managing them.

We’ll also hear how schools across Connecticut are helping kids build emotional intelligence from a young age.

• Marc Brackett: Ph.D., founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, author of “Dealing with Feeling: Use Your Emotions to Create the Life You Want.” 

Where We Live is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

This episode originally aired on December 1, 2025.

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There’s an old saying that goes “you are what you eat.” You might take that phrase with a grain of salt, but doctors agree: what we eat affects our blood pressure, blood sugar, cardiovascular health and more.

It's knowledge that's generations old — food as a source of nourishment and healing. Essentially, food can act as medicine. From Ayurveda and Chinese herbs to modern-day food pharmacies — what we put on our plates impacts our health.

But what can we do about it? Especially with inflation inching upward, seven-in-ten Americans say the cost of healthy food can be out of reach. We explore solutions.

GUESTS:

• Dr. Anusha Sehgal: a classically trained Ayurvedic physician based in Boston
• Dr. Ulysses Wu: Chief Epidemiologist at Hartford Healthcare
• Skip Lewis: resident of Hartford living with polycystic kidney Disease
• David Juros: Operations Manager of Food4Health Clinic at Hartford Healthcare
• Jessica Soto: a patient at Hartford Healthcare. She was a recipient of the Food for Health Clinic at Hartford Healthcare

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It all started with a typo.

Anelise Chen was going through a difficult divorce. Her career and job security was tenuous. She just got into a bike accident leaving her with bruised ribs, and she received a text from her mom: “Clam down! Just clam down.” 

This typo inspired a journey of healing: a journey that included retreating, diving into her family history and learning everything she could about the life of a clam, and other mollusks, some of the most resilient species on our planet.

She joins us for the hour to talk about her new book "Clam Down: A Metamorphosis."

GUESTS:

• Anelise Chen: author of "Clam Down: A Metamorphosis" and Associate Professor at Columbia University

Where We Live is available 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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Here at Where We Live, this was a big year for books. Not only did we get the chance to speak with some terrific authors, we also launched our Where We Read newsletter, a destination for die-hard book lovers and the literary curious alike.

Today, we are going to listen back to a few of our favorite author conversations. We hear from Connecticut natives Ocean Vuong and Wally Lamb.

Listen back to their full interviews below:

• Wally Lamb's new book, 'The River Is Waiting,' explores prison injustice and forgiveness

• Connecticut native Ocean Vuong has a deep love for Hartford

GUESTS:

• Ocean Vuong: writer, professor and author of "The Emperor of Gladness"

• Wally Lamb: author of "The River Is Waiting." He is also the author of "She’s Come Undone" and "I Know This Much Is True."

Where We Live is available 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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What meal brings you back to childhood? This hour, two local children’s authors share how their young protagonists find meaning in the kitchen, using food as a tool to explore culture, loss, and belonging.

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Cat Shen has been hosting Where We Live long enough for the show to use a fork, and yet very little is known about her. In this hour, technical producer and partner-in-mischief Dylan Reyes sits down with Cat to get the inside scoop on the reporter turned host.

The pair discuss some of their favorite songs, defining life moments and what it means to be the face of a show that's celebrating 20 years on Connecticut Public Radio in 2026.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

• Milk Tea — Yuji Ohno (ft. Akari Dritschler

• Happy Happy Christmas — Drax (commonly known as it is a mystery)

• Complicated — Avril Lavigne

• Magpie — Peach Pit

• The Moon Represents My Heart — Teresa Teng (鄧麗君 — Deng Lee Jun)

• Uprising — Muse

• Mr. Resetti — insaneintherainmusic

• Ganja Smugglin — The Expendables

• Goofy Goober Rock — Tom Rothrock

• I'm Yours — Jason Mraz

• Sparkle (movie version) — RADWIMPS

Or, find it all in this playlist!

Where We Live is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

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Connecticut native and bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert’s new memoir, "All the Way to the River," tells the story of her late partner, Rayya Elias.

The two began as fast friends, then fell in love. But as they faced tragedy together, their shared struggles with addiction put them on a collision course with catastrophe.

This hour, Gilbert joins us to talk about Rayya — “the love of her life” — and what she discovered about herself, about love, and about the sanctity of truth in writing this deeply personal memoir.

Guest:

• Elizabeth Gilbert: author of the new memoir, "All the Way to the River." She is also the author of several other bestselling novels including "Eat, Pray, Love" and "City of Girls."

This episode originally aired on Sep. 11, 2025.

Where We Live is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

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From a mass shooting in Australia that left 15 people dead, to a shooting at Brown University that killed two students, the world has been rocked by gun violence at the end of 2025.

In the U.S., 125 people die from a gun injury, and more than 200 people are shot and wounded each day, according to the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety. In Connecticut, there were at least 339 incidents of gun violence this year.

The outpouring of shock and grief following the shootings was expected and understandable.

But what is it like for young people to live with the constant fear of guns in their environments or the threat of mass shootings?

Guests:

• Nelba Márquez-Greene: Mother of Ana Grace, killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012. Community Scholar, Yale School of Public Health. 
• Renee Beavers: Hospital violence intervention specialist (HVIP), Connecticut Children’s.
• Stacey Mayer: Director of Advocacy, Policy & Outreach at CT Against Gun Violence.
• Malini Parikh: Student, Hopkins School, New Haven. President of the CT Against Gun Violence Youth Council.

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