Where We Live

COVID-19 has shown the Internet is more important than ever. From Google Classrooms for distance learning to endless Zoom meetings for some professionals, the Internet has become even more essential during the pandemic.

But how many Connecticut residents still don’t have access to a high-speed connection? This hour, we look at Connecticut’s digital divide.

How does the lack of broadband in communities exacerbate existing disparities in education and economic opportunity? We talk with experts and hear how some communities want to address the issue.

We want to hear from you, too.  Have your children struggled to access remote learning?

GUESTS:

• Janice Flemming-Butler - Owner and founder of Voices of Women of Color in Hartford, a social justice firm that works with the public and private sector to address issues around voting, housing, and public health
• Dr. Nicol Turner Lee - Senior Fellow and the Director of the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institution; she’s the author of the forthcoming book The Digitally Invisible: How the Internet is Creating the New Underclass
• Michael Gormany - Budget Director and Acting Controller for the City of New Haven, CT

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you know how to make an Election Cake? What about the history of the Connecticut Witch Hunters

This hour, state historian Walt Woodward joins us to talk about his new book Creating Connecticut: Critical Moments That Shaped a Great State and answer all your questions about the Nutmeg state, starting with why do we call Connecticut the Nutmeg State? 

We’ll talk about the origins of the Pequot War, Connecticut’s long history of immigration, and Walt might just give us the recipe for the Connecticut Election Cake - it only requires 10 pounds of butter! 

What questions do you have about the Connecticut State Historian?  We want to hear from you.

GUESTS:

• Walt Woodward - State Historian of Connecticut (@waltwould)
• John Lyman - Executive Vice President of Lyman Orchards (@LymanOrchards)

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What would it have been like to see a huge, elephant-like mastodon roaming our state? 

The earth has been home to some spectacularly large animals. A few of them still roam or swim our world today. This hour, we take a look at the biology of these giants. 

From chunky island-dwelling birds to the enormous blue whale, what do we know about why these creatures evolved to be so big? And why don’t we see more of them today? 

Plus, with a UN report warning that a million species are at risk of extinction in coming years, are we at risk of losing those big creatures we still have?

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

GUESTS:

• Dr. Nick Pyenson - Paleontologist at the at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and author of Spying on Whales: The Past, Present and Future of Earth’s Most Awesome Creatures (@PyensonLab)
• David Quammen - Science journalist and autho; his book Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in the Age of Extinction explores the phenomenon of island gigantism. He is also the author of many other books, including most recently The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life (@DavidQuammen)
• Dr. Emily Lindsey - Paleontologist at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles

Chion Wolf contributed to this show.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the start of this year, Jericho Brown addressed the graduates of the Bennington Writing Seminars Class of January 2020. 

He said, “If you can't imagine these last few days without trees, I know you can't imagine life without poetry. Literature fills needs we did not know we had. Poems and stories plant seeds for things we did not know we needed."

Jericho Brown is this year’s Pulitzer Prize winner for poetry for his book, The Tradition, a collection of poetry questioning why and how we’ve become accustomed to violence and trauma.

This hour, Jericho Brown joins us to discuss his work, and advice for new poets.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

GUESTS

• Jericho Brown - Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Tradition, and director of the Creative Writing Program and a professor and at Emory University (@JerichoBrown)

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you noticed fewer sparrows or warblers flitting about your backyard? Bird populations in North America have been declining for years, but in 2019, the data was particularly grim. Two-thirds of bird species are at risk of extinction due to climate change and urbanization, according to recent studies. What does that mean for Connecticut’s birds?

This hour, we talk to UConn professor Chris Elphick and climate scientist Brooke Bateman, from the National Audubon Society, about the factors contributing to bird decline and what we can do to protect bird habitats.

And Corina Newsome, a self-proclaimed “Hood Naturalist,” is on a mission to inspire young people of color to consider careers in wildlife sciences. We talk to Newsome about her work.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

GUESTS:

• Chris Elphick - Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at UConn. He is currently leading the 5-year-long project, the Connecticut Bird Atlas. (@ssts)
• Brooke Bateman - Senior Scientist at the National Audubon Society. Brooke leads the climate science team, focusing on climate and the conservation of birds and their habitats. (@BrookeLBateman)
• Corina Newsome - Graduate student at Georgia Southern University studying avian conservation. Corina advocates for young people of color to consider careers in wildlife sciences. (@hood_naturalist) 

Chion Wolf and Carmen Baskauf contributed to this show.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On May 1st, 1970, the eyes of the nation were on the Elm City. Students and others from around the country had gathered to protest the murder trial of Black Panther Party leaders Bobby Seale and Ericka Huggins.

This hour, we take a look back at May Day in New Haven, 50 years ago this year. We talk with Huggins and hear from a former Baltimore mayor who was one of the Yale students who helped keep protests peaceful.

Do you remember May Day and New Haven’s Black Panther Trials?

GUESTS:

• Paul Bass - Editor of the New Haven Independent, and co-author of Murder in the Model City : the Black Panthers, Yale, and the Redemption of a Killer, with coauthor Douglas Rae
• Ericka Huggins - Ericka Huggins is an educator, human rights advocate and poet. She was a member of the Black Panther Party from 1967-1982
• Kurt Schmoke - Former Mayor of Baltimore and President of University Baltimore. He was a member of Yale Class of 1971

To learn more about this period, check out the podcast “Revolution on Trial” hosted by Mercy Quaye, a co-production of Artspace and The Narrative Project. It explores the history of the New Haven Black Panthers, and is available on most podcast apps. Learn more here.

Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired May 15, 2020.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The academic school year has just ended, but parents, students and teachers are already wondering what next year will look like. This hour, Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona joins us to talk about the state's plan to reopen schools in the fall.

How will school districts plan to make up for learning loss? What does going back to school mean for high risk students and teachers? What does social distancing look like in the classroom? 

Do you feel comfortable sending your child back into the classroom? We want to hear from you.

GUESTS:

• Connecticut Education Commissioner Dr. Miguel Cardona (@teachcardona)
• Claudia Tenaglia - a middle school Social Studies teacher with the Hartford School District

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Protests against police brutality have put systemic racism in the spotlight. But how do the written and unwritten rules in communities perpetuate racial inequality?

This hour we take a look at how town zoning rules keep out affordable housing and cause racial segregation to persist in Connecticut. Connecticut Mirror reporter Jacqueline Rabe Thomas joins us and we talk with  housing officials and lawmakers.

We want to hear from you, too. Have you participated in protests against racial injustice in your town?

What role should suburban residents take to housing segregation in our state?

GUESTS:

• Jacqueline Rabe Thomas - Reporter for the Connecticut Mirror. She has written about housing segregation for the Mirror and Propublica
• Crystal Carter - Simsbury resident; her story was profiled in Separated By Design from Propublica
• Karen Dubois-Walton - President of Elm City Communities, the Housing Authority of New Haven
• Senator Saud Anwar - State Senator representing East Hartford, Ellington, East Windsor and South Windsor; he is the co-chair of the Housing Committee in the Connecticut General Assembly

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pride Month is looking a little different this year. Traditionally, Pride is marked by big parades and celebrations. But social distancing and racial unrest means that celebrations won't look the same as they did years prior. This hour, we discuss how the Connecticut LGBTQ community is celebrating this year.

We hear from activists about virtual Pride Month events and we talk about the intersection between LGBTQ rights and racial justice.

And later, we hear how the pandemic has affected this community

How are you marking Pride Month this year? We want to hear from you.

GUESTS:

• Mucha Mucha Placer (Richard Stillson) - clinical psychologist
• Erick Russel -  an attorney at Pullman & Comely and prior chair of LGBT section of the Connecticut Bar Association. (@ErickRussellCT1)
• Linda Estabrook - Executive Director of Hartford Gay and Lesbian Health Collective (@HGLHC)

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1.5 million people filed for unemployment last week according to the US Department of Labor, despite states re-opening in the last month. 

This hour, we look at unemployment insurance during the pandemic. Many Connecticut residents who have been laid off have been getting by with a combination of money from state unemployment insurance and a $600 weekly benefit from the federal government.

But that money is set to expire next month.

Governor Lamont has said he doesn’t support extending that benefit because he believes it “discourages work”.  Coming up we find out the impact of unemployment insurance on both workers and employers.

And we want to hear from you, too. Have you been receiving unemployment?

GUSTS:

• Greg Hladky - Reporter for the Connecticut Mirror
• Annelies Goger – David M. Rubenstein Fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program
• Mark Soycher - Human Resource Counsel for the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA)

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.