Where We Live

It was a plague that came every summer and left thousands of American children paralyzed -- or dead -- in its wake. This hour we take a look at the legacy of polio.

How did the development of the polio vaccine change the course of history?

Nearly eradicated, the disease is still be found in a handful of countries. Could we see polio outbreaks in the US today?

We want to hear from you. Did you or a family member survive polio?

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

GUESTS:

• Dr. David Oshinsky - Author of Polio: An American Story, which won the Pulitzer Prize in History in 2006. He the Director of Medical Humanities at NYU’s Langone Medical Center, and a professor of history at NYU (@DavidOshinsky)
• Joann Griswold - Resident of Amherst Mass and 1954 graduate of UConn School of Nursing; she was a registered nurse for 64 years, including at many hospitals in Connecticut and Massachusetts
• Dr. Melissa Held - Infectious disease specialist and assistant dean of medical education at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, and associate professor of pediatric infectious disease at UConn School of Medicine
• Kim Brown - Granby resident; she has a primary immune deficiency

READING LIST:

NPR: Defeating Polio, The Disease That Paralyzed America – “Think of it: Between 1937 and 1997, Post-Polio Health International estimates in one table, more than 457,000 people in the U.S. — and hundreds of thousands more around the world — suffered from some form of polio. Thousands and thousands were paralyzed in this country alone. Within two years of the 1955 announcement [of the Salk vaccine], U.S. polio cases dropped 85 to 90 percent, Joe Palca of NPR reported.”

Gizmodo: The last of the iron lungs (November 2017) - “In the 1940s and 1950s, hospitals across the country were filled with rows of iron lungs that kept victims alive. Lillard recalls being in rooms packed with metal tubes—especially when there were storms and all the men, women, adults, and children would be moved to the same room so nurses could manually operate the iron lungs if the power went out. “The period of time that it took the nurse to get out of the chair, it seemed like forever because you weren’t breathing,” Lillard said. “You just laid there and you could feel your heart beating and it was just terrifying. The only noise that you can make when you can’t breathe is clicking your tongue. And that whole dark room just sounded like a big room full of chickens just cluck-cluck-clucking. All the nurses were saying, ‘Just a second, you’ll be breathing in just a second.’”

UConn Dolan Collection Nursing History Blog: Iron Lung Exhibit: Our Alumni Remember (January 2016) – “Joann Griswold (Class of 1954) vividly recalls three patients in iron lungs for whom she cared. One was a four-year-old child: ‘We accessed her bedding and body through elasticized portholes, and this as I recall intrigued her; she would try to grab our hands. I realized that human contact was exceptionally important with a baby or child, and she certainly showed a positive response to holding my hand, and or my gently rubbing her forehead, and bathing her. Although rest was important, once her fever had subsided, she was able to do gentle exercises within the respirator to retain the musculoskeletal function she had. We had to closely monitor her breathing, because people with this type of polio mainly affecting the respiratory system could die suddenly, and because of her age, there was always a nurse or a student nurse with her. She enjoyed being read to, and with the respirator mirror we could show her pictures, which she also enjoyed. It was important to keep her calm so that her weakened respiratory system would not be further compromised by her crying, shouting, etc. We sang to her, talked, read, drew pictures, told stories.’”

Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired October 18, 2018.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted by Lucy Nalpathanchil and John Henry Smith

Today Joe Biden became the forty-sixth president of the United States.  Will America heed President  Biden’s calls to end an 'uncivil war' in political debate that spilled over into violence at the capitol two weeks ago?

A vice presidential swearing-in also makes history. 

Now that Donald Trump has left Washington and been kicked off Twitter, what has changed and what remains the same?  

And how will Connecticut’s political parties be impacted by the change at the White House?

Guests:

• Robert A. Sanders -- Chair of the National Security Department of the Henry C. Lee College at the University of New Haven
• Bilal Sekou -- Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Hartford (@BilalSekou)
• Daniela Altimari -- Hartford Courant Politics Reporter (@capitolwatch)

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inauguration Day is here. This hour, Connecticut’s 3rd District Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro joins us to talk about what this Inauguration Day is looking like, and how it has looked in years past. 

Coming up, there won’t be any Inaugural Balls or other typical Inauguration activities in Washington. In fact, President Trump won’t even be in attendance! So how will the inauguration of our new president be celebrated?

And later, we’ll talk about President Elect Biden’s plans for his first days in office. 

We want to hear from you. Are you taking some time to watch President Elect’s Joe Biden’s inauguration this morning?

• Connecticut Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro
• Jennifer Hopper - Southern Connecicut State University
• Myrna E. Watanabe - Former Town Chair of Harwinton Democratic Town Committee, Elector for 2020 Electoral College

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bridgeport has lost its top health official as the state battles COVID-19’s second wave. This hour, we talk with Connecticut Post reporter Brian Lockhart about the vacancy in the health department of the state’s largest city.

And later, some Connecticut residents over the age of 75 will receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine this week. Does Connecticut have the right tools in place to reach seniors?

We talk with Department of Public Health Acting Commissioner Deidre Gifford, and we hear from AARP Connecticut.

What questions do you have about signing up for the COVID-19 vaccine?

Residents 75+ can register for an appointment to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Links to schedule an appointment online are listed on the state's website here. Residents can also call the state's CT COVID Vaccine Appointment Assist line at 877-918-2224, Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

GUESTS:

• Brian Lockhart - Reporter covering Bridgeport for the Connecticut Post and Hearst Connecticut newspapers
• Nora Duncan - State director for AARP Connecticut
• Dr. Deidre Gifford - Acting Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health and Commissioner of Department of Social Services

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re one semester into the 2020-2021 academic year. This hour, how are faculty at our Connecticut colleges and universities holding up? 

Coming up, we'll talk about faculty burnout, the impending end of tenure, and what universities will invest in, in the future. 

And later, the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system is in the process of merging all 12 of our state community colleges. We learn about what this means for students and faculty.

Are you teaching or attending college here in Connecticut? We want to hear from you! What do you miss about being in the classroom?

GUESTS:

• Colleen Flaherty - Faculty Reporter at Inside Higher Ed
• Maureen Chalmers - President of the Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges, Northwestern Connecticut Community College 
• Patty O’Neill - President, Connecticut State University American Association of University Professors 
• Tom Brock - Director of Community College Research Center at Teachers College Columbia University

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump has been impeached by the House of Representatives again, making him the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice. With just days before President-Elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, what happens next?

We check in with impeachment legal expert Ross Garber.

We also talk with The New York Times Interpreter columnist Amanda Taub. What lessons can we take from attacks on democracies globally to better understand our current moment?

And we hear from a Connecticut social studies teacher. How are educators helping their students navigate the history we're living through right now?

GUESTS:

• Ross Garber - Political investigations and impeachment lawyer with offices in Connecticut and Washington, DC; he also teaches political investigations law at Tulane Law School in New Orleans.
• Amanda Taub - News columnist for the New York Times Interpreter column and newsletter
• Dr. David Bosso - Social studies teacher at Berlin High School and 2012 Connecticut teacher of the year

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After President Trump egged on a crowd of supporters who later smashed their way into the US Capitol, Democrats are once again on the verge of impeaching the president. This time, they may have some Republican support.  To be successful, any such effort would have to pass both the House and the Senate. 

On the Wednesday politics episode of Where We Live, we speak with Connecticut US Senator Chris Murphy about whether the president should be removed, the upcoming new administration, and what needs to be done to protect the US Capitol from further violence during the inauguration and beyond?

Have questions for Senator Murphy?  Call during the show at (888) 720-9677.

Guests:

• Chris Murphy -- Connecticut Senator (@ChrisMurphyCT)
• Emilie Munson -- Hearst Connecticut Media Washington Correspondent (@emiliemunson)

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So far, tens of thousands of Connecticut residents have already received the COVID-19 vaccine. Yet nationally, vaccine rollout has been going slower than experts had hoped.

This hour, we hear from reporters about how policies have shaped vaccine availability. And we get answers from a doctor about the science behind the shot.

What questions do you have about the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine?

First, a group of frontline workers have written a book about their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hear from one of them.

GUESTS:

• Claire Martin - Personal Care Attendant (PCA) from Middletown
• Nicole Leonard - Health care reporter for Connecticut Public Radio
• Lauren Weber - Midwest correspondent for Kaiser Health News
• Dr. Ellen Foxman - Assistant Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Immunobiology at Yale School of Medicine

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Astronaut Kayla Barron was one of the first women commissioned as a submarine warfare officer in the US Navy. Now, she’s part of another groundbreaking group, NASA’s Artemis Team.

This hour, we talk with Barron about her training for the next set of missions to return to the moon.  The Artemis Program aims to put the first woman on the moon in coming years.

Later, we hear from an author about the history of a meteorite that crashed in Connecticut in 1807 and helped spark the birth of American science.

GUESTS:

• NASA Astronaut Kayla Barron - Member of NASA’s Artemis team; she’s also a Navy Lieutenant Commander and Submarine Warfare Officer 
• Cathryn Prince - Visiting assistant professor of journalism at SUNY Purchase and author of the nonfiction book A Professor, A President, and A Meteor: The Birth of American Science

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Connecticut 4th district Congressman Jim Himes joins us to talk about what happened at the U.S Capitol and how the country moves forward from here. 

And later, we hear about efforts to pass recreational marijuana in our state. We also hear how the state might expunge the records of those with previous marijuana drug convictions, as well as hearing from marijuana cultivators themselves. What does the business of marijuana look like?

We want to hear from you.

GUESTS:

• Congressman Jim Himes - Connecticut 4th congressional district 
• State Representative Michael D’Agostino - Represents Hamden, and co-chair of the General Law Committee
• State Senator Gary Winfield - Represents New Haven and West Haven, and Co-Chair of the Judiciary Committee in Connecticut General Assembly
• Jason Ortiz - President of the Minority Cannabis Business Association and Policy Director for CURE CT

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.