Where We Live

Thanksgiving is this Thursday. What is your Thanksgiving going to look like? 

This hour, we focus on gratitude. Despite this chaotic, hard year, we want to know what you’re thankful for this year. Coming up, we talk about how we can all practice being a little bit more grateful, even during a pandemic.

Where We Live - today, we really want to hear from you! Tell us what you are grateful for this year. Is it your family and friends? Our healthcare workers or even just being able video chat with those we love, even when we are social distancing?  Call us at 888-720-9677.

GUESTS:

• Janice Kaplan - author of The Gratitude Diaries and Host of The Gratitude Diaries podcast
• Adrian Gostick -  coauthor of Leading with Gratitude and cofounder of The Culture Works
• Chester Elton - coauthor of Leading with Gratitude and cofounder of The Culture Works

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COVID-19 cases continue to grow in Connecticut. And although the governor’s office has rolled the state’s reopening back not all municipal leaders think it’s enough.

This hour, we talk with New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, who’s called for a further rollback that would halt indoor dining.  What impact would this have on Elm City businesses?

And we find out how students in New Haven are doing. Most haven’t had in-person school since the spring. 

Are you a New Haven resident? We take your questions and comments for the mayor.

Later in the hour, we check in with Yale New Haven Hospital. With rising cases, how is hospital capacity holding up?

GUESTS:

• Mayor Justin Elicker - Mayor of New Haven, Connecticut
• Michael Holmes - Senior Vice President of Operations at Yale New Haven Hospital, as well as the Incident Command Officer
• Dr. Lauren Ferrante - Assistant professor of medicine in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Yale School of Medicine

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The last fluent speaker of the Mohegan language, "Flying Bird" Fidelia Fielding, preserved her linguistic heritage in her extensive writings.

But Flying Bird’s writings have been separated from the tribe for years, in the possession of outside scholars, and even at one point nearly all lost in a fire.

Now, Flying Bird’s diaries and papers have finally come home.

This hour, we talk with Mohegan tribal Chief Lynn Malerba and Medicine Woman Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel, about the significance of these documents finally returning to the Mohegan nation. The tribe had asked Cornell University to return the documents, and they were finally transferred to the tribe earlier this month.

And we learn about the tribe’s extensive efforts to resurrect the Mohegan language, which hasn’t had a fluent speaker for more than 100 years. How will Flying Bird’s writings help this process of language restoration?

GUESTS:

• Chief Mutáwi Mutáhash Dr. Lynn Malerba - Chief of Mohegan Tribe in Uncasville, Connecticut
• Medicine Woman Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel- Medicine Woman for the Mohegan Tribe; she’s the author of an award-winning screenplay and play about "Flying Bird" Fidelia Fielding
• Autumn Cholewa - Mohegan Language Apprentice

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Leggings, slippers, t-shirts - it’s our at home office dress code! What are you wearing these days?

This hour, we examine how fashion and style has evolved in the time of the pandemic. Sustainability is a must, and we’ve transitioned to chic office wear to cozy pandemic casual! Coming up, when we can go back to work and or formal parties like weddings, how are we going to dress?

Have you gone shopping during this pandemic? What are you wearing in your home office? We want to hear from you!

GUESTS:

Robin Givhan - Senior Critic-at-large and Fashion Editor at the Washington Post (@RobinGivhan)
Lisa Frydenlund - Knowledge Advisor, SHRM (@SHRM)
Kathleen Grevers - Director of Education for Fashion Revolution USA (@Fash_RevUSA)
Megan Dumaine - Owner of The Wedding Embassy in Oakville, Connecticut

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Rebecca F. Kuang started writing her first novel, The Poppy War, when she was just 19 years old. Now, the final installment in the author’s dark military fantasy series, The Burning God, comes out today.

This hour we talk with Kuang, who will also be starting a PhD program at Yale University in East Asian Languages and Literature. She has pursued an extensive academic career in modern Chinese studies—while also writing Nebula and Locus award-nominated fantasy novels.

Kuang’s stories weave the fantastic with her deep knowledge of twentieth century Chinese history.

GUEST:

• Rebecca F. Kuang - who writes as R.F. Kuang, is the author of The Poppy War series. The final book of the trilogy, The Burning God, comes out November 17th. Kuang is also an incoming PhD student at Yale University in East Asian Languages and Literature.

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The holiday season is coming up, but Coronavirus cases are on the rise. This hour, we check in with Governor Ned Lamont. Many of us want to see our families, but is that the best thing to do for our state and our health?

Many of Connecticut's surrounding states have been placed on Connecticut’s travel advisory list. And Connecticut's own positivity rate is rising.

What questions do you have for the governor? 

Later, women have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. According to a recent report from the Labor Department, in September alone, 865,000 women dropped out of the American workforce compared to 216,000 men. We learn why. 

GUESTS:

• Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont (@GovNedLamont)
• Sarah Jane Glynn - Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress (@SarahJaneGlynn)

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Connecticut lost four young people to suicide last month, leading Connecticut’s Child Advocate to issue a public health alert.

There’s no doubt that the pandemic has taken a huge toll on everyone. This hour, we focus on the unique mental health challenges teens face during this pandemic.

We talk with advocates and survivors about the risk factors for young people who may be in crisis, and how to support them.

We also ask: what has the state of Connecticut done to address the mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic?

If you or someone you know is struggling, the National Suicide Prevention lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. There's also a free Crisis Text Line for emotional crisis support, text HELLO to 741741. It is available 24/7, and confidential.

In Connecticut, you can connect with psychiatric mobile crisis providers for youths and adults by calling  2-1-1. 

During the pandemic, Connecticut residents who need someone to talk to can call a warm line staffed by trained professionals. If you need someone just to listen, number is  1-844-TALK-4CT

GUESTS:

• Faith Vos Winkel - Assistant Child Advocate for the state of Connecticut, where she leads the Office’s work on child fatality review and prevention
• Ann Dagle - Cofounder of Brian Dagle foundation and Brian's Healing Hearts Center for Hope and Healing; also a member of Connecticut’s Suicide Advisory Board
• Alice Forrester - CEO of Clifford Beers in New Haven, a community-based mental health provider for children and families
• Ann Smith - Executive Director of AFCAMP Advocacy for Children, a parent-led nonprofit promoting family voice, equity, and improved outcomes across Connecticut’s child- serving systems.

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In a world where falsehoods sometimes come directly from our elected officials, how do we spot “disinformation" when we see it? 

This hour, what’s the science behind uncovering “fake news?”

Coming up, we hear how a new Harvard University digital research platform is working to track and study disinformation campaigns. These types of campaigns are more sophisticated than you might think. But the more we can learn to identify disinformation, the more we can combat it. 

We’ll also learn how we can become more media literate, and even teach our children how to look at media (and social media) with a critical eye. 

GUESTS:

• Michelle Ciulla Lipkin - Executive Director, National Association for Media Literacy Education (@ciullalipkin)
• Dr. Joan Donovan - Research Director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University (@BostonJoan)
• Belinha De Abreu - Media Literacy Educator at Branford High School (@belmedia)

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COVID cases in Connecticut continue to rise, and the majority of residents now live in what the state defines as “red zones”. Governor Lamont has ordered a voluntary curfew and the state has required restaurants to begin shutting down starting at 9:30 p.m., with doors closed by 10 p.m.

But what will this mean for an industry already on a knife’s edge financially?

We hear from a restaurant owner and an industry leader.

And, with winter approaching, is there a way to enjoy restaurant dining safely? We talk to an epidemiologist about how we should consider the risks of indoor dining during a winter COVID spike.

How should the government respond to protect residents’ health while also helping restaurants financially?

We want to hear from you, too.

GUESTS:

• Scott Dolch - Executive Director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association
• Andy Rizzo - co-owner of Salute restaurant in Hartford
• Gregg Gonsalves - Assistant professor of Epidemiology at Yale University School of Public Health

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The academic year is well on it’s way. How are students and teachers in Connecticut adapting to their second semester of online learning? 

This hour, Connecticut Department of Education Commissioner Miguel A. Cardona joins us to answer our questions and yours on the state of Connecticut’s schools. 

According to a report released by the Department of Education last week, student enrollment has declined 3% across the state and twice as many homeless students are missing school this year. Might we see Connecticut schools go back to full time remote learning?

What questions do you have for the Commissioner?

GUESTS:

• Dr. Miguel Cardona - Connecticut Department of Education Commissioner (@teachcardona)
• Gary Phelan - Partner with Mitchell & Sheahan in Stratford and Westport
• Madeline Will - Staff Writer at Education Week

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