Where We Live

We all communicate in our daily lives, but how do languages actually work?

This hour, we talk with linguist Nicole Holliday about the science behind language. We learn about the socio-linguistic cues that we all rely on everyday.

And we talk about how much of what we learned about “good grammar” is actually wrong.

Are you a stickler for grammar? If so, have you thought about why?

GUESTS:

• Nicole Holliday - Assistant Professor of Linguistics at the University Pennsylvania

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In 2018, Connecticut announced it would be part of an ambitious multi-state program to cut carbon emissions from transportation. In December 2020, Governor Lamont signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and D.C., committing to launch a regional transportation "cap and invest" program.

But now, the regional program has suffered a setback: the Connecticut state legislature failed to bring the Transportation and Climate Initiative up for a vote during the 2021 legislative session.
This hour, we get reactions from environmental advocates.

And we check in with Rhode Island to learn more about what this development in Connecticut means for the entire regional climate emissions program.

GUESTS:

• Amy McLean - Connecticut state director and Senior Policy Advocate for Acadia Center
• Alex Rodriguez - Climate advocate with Save the Sound
• Dave John Cruz-Bustamante - Student at Wilbur Cross high school in New Haven; community organizer with Sunrise New Haven and an Operations Apprentice at the Citywide Youth Coalition
• Alex Kuffner - Environment reporter for the Providence Journal

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We look at the career of Ella Grasso. Known as the first woman in the country to be elected governor who did not follow her husband, and the person who led the state through the Blizzard of 1978.

She was also a state lawmaker, secretary of the state, and member of Congress from Connecticut, at a time when politics was mostly a man’s world.  

Guests:

• Jon Purmont --  A history professor emeritus at Southern Connecticut State University, author of a biography about Grasso, and a member of her staff. 
• Susan Bysiewicz -- Connecticut's lieutenant governor, who followed Grasso's path into state service and wrote about the Windsor Locks native.

This show was originally broadcast March 31, 2021.

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From 24-hour-long zoom public hearings to a Capitol closed to the public, 2021’s legislative session was like no other.

This hour, we recap what happened in the Connecticut General Assembly, and find out what legislation passed and what didn’t.

And later, one of the bills that made it through expands HUSKY health care coverage to some undocumented children. We talk with advocates about what this means.

GUESTS:

• Daniela Altimari - covers state government and politics at the Hartford Courant
• Kevin Rennie - Hartford Courant Columnist and former state lawmaker; he blogs at dailyructions.com
• Frances Padilla - President of the Universal Health Care Foundation of CT
• Katia Daley - Healthcare campaign organizer with CT Students for a Dream

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When you think back to your childhood, what was your favorite thing to do? Did you have a favorite stuffed animal or did you spend a lot of time outside? Today, we talk about the importance of play. There are lots of conversations about learning loss in the pandemic but learning through play is as important as classroom learning.

What does playtime look like in your household? 

We want to hear from you.

GUESTS

• Jessica Hoffmann - Director of Adolescent Initiatives at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and Associate Research Scientist at the Child Studies Center
• Dr. Victoria Gould - a clinical psychologist and play therapist 

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One hundred years ago, a Connecticut-born forester came up with a wild idea, creating a trail that stretched through the Appalachian Mountains, from Georgia to Maine.

Now--thousands of hikers attempt to through-hike the Appalachian trail each year. Millions more use parts of the trail for recreation.

This hour, we talk about the history and legacy of the more than two thousand mile trail.

We want to hear from you. Have you hiked parts of the AT?

GUESTS:

• Phillip D’Anieri - author of The Appalachian Trail: A Biography
• “Silver” David Axel Kurtz - Ridgerunner Coordinator for Southern New England on the Appalachian Trail
• Jillian Loftis - A neonatal nurse from Greensboro, NC; she’s thru-hiking the Appalachian trail this year
• Jeff Glans - Trail maintainer; he is a a volunteer that maintains a section of the AT in Connecticut

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Bicycles helped inspire modern cars, paved roads...even airplanes! But did you know they were also an inspiration for the women's movement?

This hour we take a look back in time at the origins of the bicycle, including innovation that happened right here in Connecticut. We find out the history of how this vehicle spurred social change and helped empower women to break through gender barriers a little more than a century ago.

We hear from the Connecticut Historical Society about how women in our state embraced their newfound freedom on wheels around the turn of the century.

We also take a look at the bicycle’s role in social mobility today. We hear from Hartford-based bike shop BiCi Co. about why they see bicycles as being an important tool to empower residents in Connecticut’s capital city.

Has riding a bike enabled you to get to work or travel to new parts of your community?

GUESTS:

• Margaret Guroff - Author of The Mechanical Horse: How the Bicycle Reshaped American Life (@powermobydick)
• Ilene Frank - Chief Curator and COO of the Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford
• Joseph Dickerson - Program Manager for BiCi Co. at the Center for Latino Progress in Hartford

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

READING LIST:

The Atlantic: How Cycling Clothing Opened Doors for Women (April 2018) – “As is traditional with things that allow women greater freedom, both women’s cycling and women’s cycling pants have occasioned plenty of moral panic. During the 1890s, when bicycling exploded in popularity among the middle and upper classes in the United Kingdom, journalists and others condemned female cyclists for their wantonness. Women on bicycles were pelted with objects and obscenities. These unchaperoned women, some people worried, could be pedaling away to engage in prostitution or lesbianism.”

ConnecticutHistory.org: A Revolution On Two Wheels: Columbia Bicycles – “By the 1890s the firm manufactured a line of “safety bicycles” which featured wheels of equal size. Not only were these bicycles more affordable and easier to ride, but with simple design modifications like the “drop frame” and skirt guards on chain and rear wheels, they could be used by women. Almost overnight the market for bicycles was doubled. Before long the bicycle came to symbolize much more than affordable transportation as women suddenly discovered an opportunity for a new measure of personal freedom and independence.”

BiCi Co: When Having a Bike Means Having a Job – “65% of working Hartford residents had jobs in our suburbs. If their car breaks down (a constant threat with older used cars) or a family emergency results in a late tax payment or unpaid car registration, that can mean a lost job. One of the most reliable ways to keep a person on a minimum wage salary poor, is to make it necessary for them to own, fuel, and maintain a car. Bicycles can provide that first mile / last mile connectivity via transit that someone in an entry level job needs to get a job.”

Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on October 2, 2018. 

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This hour, on the last day of the legislative session we speak with a Connecticut state senator who has played a key role in issues of race and criminal justice, including a proposal to legalize recreational cannabis.

Did this session bring more fairness to people of color involved in the justice system?

Guests:

• Connecticut State Senator Gary Winfield -- General Assembly Judiciary Committee Co-chair
• Susan Bigelow -- Columnist for CT News Junkie

We want to hear from you.

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Did you know 75 percent of animals in the ocean glow?

From single-celled organisms to terrifying creatures like the anglerfish in the Pixar movie “Finding Nemo,” living things bring light to the darkest depths of our world.

This hour—why do so many creatures create their own light?

We’ll learn the differences between bioluminescence and biofluorescence.

And what happens when you take the glow out of the ocean and into the lab?

We’ll hear how scientists harness certain proteins from sea creatures and fireflies to illuminate everything from sleep to human diseases.  

What can glowing cells teach us about our own bodies?

GUESTS

• Dr. Edie Widder - CEO and Senior Scientist of the Ocean Research and Conservation Association
• Dr. Marc Zimmer - Professor of Chemistry at Connecticut College in New London and author of Illuminating Disease: An Introduction to Green Fluorescent Proteins
• Dr. Carl Johnson - Professor of Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on December 21, 2017.

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Dogs are man’s best friend, but what’s really going on inside of their heads?

This hour, we talk with canine cognition researcher Brian Hare.

Hare runs Duke University’s Canine Cognition Center, and is the co-author of the new book: Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity.

Hare’s research says what makes our furry friends such great companions also gives them a unique cognitive edge: their social intelligence.

We learn more about the evolutionary history of how dogs became so attuned to our emotions and interactions. What can we learn from the success of our canine companions?

GUEST:

• Brian Hare - Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University and co-director of the Duke Canine Cognition Center. He is co-author, along with Vanessa Woods, of the new book Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity

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