Where We Live

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. 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 will be available Friday, May 15, 2020 on podcast apps. Learn more here.

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As the school year winds down for students, universities and colleges across the state are starting to make a plan for the fall semester. This hour, we’re talking to college faculty and students about what their online learning experience has been like so far, and what their hopes are for the next academic year. How are universities preparing for an outbreak on campus? College isn’t just academics; what will collegiate sports and student organizations look like in the 20-21 academic year? 

We want to hear from you. Are you a student or a faculty member at a Connecticut college or university ? How will your school hold classes during the next academic year? 

GUESTS:

• Elizabeth Rousseau - a student at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut
• Alexus McLeod - Associate Professor of Philosophy and Asian/Asian-American Studies at University of Connecticut. (@alexusmcleod)
• Joe Bertolino - President of Southern Connecticut State University (@SCSUTopOwl)

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Not only is Charles Ives a revered American composer, but he is also Connecticut's native son. This hour, we take an in-depth look at Ives’ life and profound musical output, and we ask: What is his legacy today? 

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

GUESTS:

• Neely Bruce - John Spencer Camp Professor of Music at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut (@NeelyBruce)
• Brigid Guertin - Executive Director of the Danbury Museum & Historical Society and City Historian for Danbury, Connecticut 
• Robert Carl - Chair of the Composition Program and Professor of Composition and Theory at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School in Hartford, Connecticut

Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired August 22, 2019

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What will Connecticut’s reopening look like?  The anticipated day is just a couple weeks away on May 20. In the lead up, the Governor’s administration has released a set of rules for businesses that will be allowed to reopen, including restaurants and hair salons.

This hour, Governor Ned Lamont calls in to talk about the rules businesses will have to follow. We ask: is May 20 a firm date? What other conditions will need to be met before Connecticut reopens?

And later, we talk with Dr. Charles Lee of Jackson Labs in Farmington, Connecticut. How have research institutions in our state pivoted to fight the pandemic?

GUESTS:

• Ned Lamont - Governor of the State of Connecticut
• Dr. Charles Lee - Director of the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine in Farmington, Connecticut

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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 Browns 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)

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Connecticut’s schools will stay closed for the rest of the academic year. This hour, we talk about what two more months of distance learning will look like and what needs to happen before students return to school in the fall. State Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona and Jeff Leake, the president of Connecticut’s largest teacher’s union, join us.

Later: as we approach the end of the Governor’s closure order, what might re-opening the state look like? We hear from a TIME Magazine reporter about the steps scientists and public health officials say the country must take in order to reopen and return to a “new normal.”

GUESTS:

• Alice Park - National health correspondent for TIME Magazine (@AliceParkNY)
• Dr. Miguel Cardona - Commissioner of the Connecticut State Department of Education (@teachcardona)
• Jeff Leake - President of the Connecticut Education Association (CEA), the largest teachers’ union in Connecticut (@ceajeff)

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This hour, we take a look at bees. From the famous animals that make the honey we eat to lesser-known native “solitary bees” that nest in holes in the ground, there are thousands of species of bees, and hundreds of them have been found right here in Connecticut!

We'll talk about the critical role these pollinators play in agriculture and learn about the threats they face.

Later, we talk about another iconic pollinator: the monarch butterfly. Have you spotted one of these rare and magnificent creatures near your home?

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

GUESTS:

• Adam Allington - Reporter with Bloomberg Environment and host of the “Business of Bees” podcast (@aallington) 
• Dr. Kimberly Stoner - Associate scientist in the Department of Entomology at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
• Nancy DuBrule-Clemente - Owner of Natureworks Garden Center in Northford, CT

Learn more about the Pollinator Pathways program in Connecticut here.

Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired August 2, 2019.

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Stamford, Connecticut currently has the most residents diagnosed with coronavirus in the state. This hour, Mayor David Martin joins us to discuss the city’s recovery plan. 

Later, who is eligible to vote by absentee ballot? Connecticut has the most restrictive absentee ballot laws in the country.

The presidential primary has been pushed to August 11, 2020. Secretary of State Denise Merrill says it’s time to allow voting by mail. She will join our conversation to discuss what the state is doing to make absentee ballots more available to the public, and what is being done to keep polling locations safe. 

We want to hear from you.

GUESTS:

• Mayor David R. Martin - Stamford, Connecticut (@Stamfordmayor)

• Denise Merrill - Secretary of the State of Connecticut (@SOTSMerrill)

• Nathaniel Rakich - Elections Analyst, FiveThirtyEight (@baseballot)

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Have you invited friends over virtually to visit your dream island home on Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons? Or maybe your weekly board game night has moved onto Zoom.

This hour, we take a break from the heavy stuff and talk about the ways people are staying connected and having fun while isolated from friends and family. From multiplayer video games to Yahtzee over Skype, we learn how you can play games with your crew while still staying home.

And later, we check in with NPR TV critic Eric Deggans to get his recommendations on what shows to binge during quarantine.

We want to hear from you. What are you playing or watching while staying at home?

GUESTS:

• Matt Fantastic - Game designer and co-owner of Elm City Games in New Haven
• Elise Favis - Reporter for Launcher, the Washington Post’s video game section 
• Eric Deggans - Television critic for NPR

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One day, we might view online learning as a normal part of any curriculum. But right now, it’s anything but that. 

This hour, we discuss challenges faced with K-12 online learning, and homeschooling. What barriers are students running into when it comes to the Zoom classroom? Do school districts need to prepare for academic regression in the next school year? 

We want to hear from you. Are you a parent? What guidance did you receive from your school district before switching to online learning?

GUESTS: 

• Dr. Jennie Miles Weiner - Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Connecticut Neag School of Education (@jennieweiner)
• Gwen Samuel -  Founder and President of Connecticut Parents Union (@CTparentsunion)
• Beth Tarasawa - Executive Vice President of Research at NWEA and author of The COVID-19 Slide (@bethtarasawa)
• Louis Bronk - Assistant Superintendent for Personal and Talent Development at the Meriden School District (@MeridenK12)

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.