Where We Live

It’s tax season. Filing taxes can be a complicated and intimidating process. And ProPublica has found that big names in e-filing, like TurboTax, are actually making it more difficult for Americans to file easily and free of charge. This hour, we talk with a reporter behind the investigation, and find out whether you can file your taxes for free.

Read ProPublica's guide to filing your state and federal taxes for free.

Get filing help from the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) in Connecticut by calling 211.

And today is Super Tuesday, when voters in 14 states head to the polls to cast their presidential primary ballots.  After disinformation campaigns and fake news marred the 2016 presidential election, how can Americans figure out what is real information and what is fake?

Watch the Connecticut Public Documentary Fake: Searching for Truth in the Age of Misinformation.

GUESTS:

• Justin Elliott - Reporter for ProPublica. Read their investigative reporting of Intuit's TurboTax and other tax preparation software companies here. (@JustinElliott)
• Christine Gaumond - VITA Program Coordinator at The Village For Families and Children
• Michelle Ciulla Lipkin - Executive Director of the National Association for Media Literacy Education (@ciullalipkin)

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deaths related to alcohol have been rising over the past two decades, especially among women.  Today, we look at the impact of alcohol on public health.

In 1920, Prohibition went into effect around the country, making it illegal to sell alcohol. 100 years after the beginning of this national experiment, we ask: what is a productive policy approach today to dealing with addiction?

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

GUESTS:

• Aaron White - Senior Scientific Advisor at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
• Nancy Navarretta - Deputy Commissioner for the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS)
• Thomas Pegram  - Professor of History at Loyola University Maryland; he’s the author of Battling Demon Rum: The Struggle for a Dry America, 1800-1933; he is also a contributing author to Prohibition’s Greatest Myths: The Distilled Truth About America’s Anti-Alcohol Crusade, which will be released this April
• Nicole Leonard - Health care reporter for Connecticut Public Radio

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This November, 32 million Latinos will be eligible to vote in the 2020 election, making them the largest minority voting bloc in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center. But Latinos are a diverse electorate—with roots from more than two dozen countries. 

This hour, what are President Trump and the Democrats doing right now to reach these voters?

We talk to Kristian Ramos, who has written an article for The Atlantic titled “Latino Support for Trump is Real.” Plus, two Latino leaders in Connecticut join us to talk about the communities they serve in Hartford and beyond.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

GUESTS:

• Kristian Ramos – Founder and principal of Autonomy Strategies in Washington D.C., and the former spokesman for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. (@kramos1841)
• Fernando Betancourt – Executive Director of the San Juan Center, a social services organization serving the Latino community in Hartford.
• Wildaliz Bermúdez – Hartford City Councilwoman (@WizBermudez)

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lori Jackson feared for her life, so she got a temporary restraining order against her husband. But he was still able to legally buy a handgun, which he used to kill Jackson.

This hour, we talk about the legal gaps that allow some domestic abusers to purchase firearms.

Proposed changes to federal law aim to address these gaps, changes that advocates say would protect women like Lori Jackson. But opponents say these changes would infringe on Second Amendment rights. We hear more about the debate to update the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

Later, we talk about the unique legal obstacles Native American tribal nations face when seeking justice for domestic violence victims.

GUESTS:

• Ryan Lindsay - Reporter for Connecticut Public Radio and the Guns in America public radio reporting collaborative
• Julie Goldscheid - Professor at CUNY Law School
• Chief Mutáwi Mutáhash (Many Hearts) Dr. Lynn Malerba - Chief of Mohegan Tribe in Uncasville Connecticut; she is the Secretary of the United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund which represents 27 federally recognized tribal nations.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amid the constant discussion of Connecticut residents leaving the state, the shoreline may soon be home to five new residents: Beluga whales. 

Mystic Aquarium has petitioned the federal government for permission to import five captive belugas to join its wildlife on display. Mystic says the move would help research to aid conservation efforts. But critics say the proposal is not only hazardous for the whales but also against US law.

And later: as oceans warm due to climate change, what will the future of marine life conservation look like?

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

GUESTS: 

• Dr. Tracy Romano - Chief scientist at Mystic Aquarium   
• Georgia Hancock - Lawyer for the Animal Welfare Institute
• Zack Klyver - Marine mammal scientist, co-founder of Blue Planet Strategies in Maine (@KlyverZack)

Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired December 19, 2019

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They grew up during a digital revolution, two foreign wars, and a devastating financial crisis.  Now, millennials are beginning to come into political power, and those formative experiences shaping them into a different kind of politician than found in past generations.

This hour, we talk with TIME national political correspondent Charlotte Alter. Her new book is called “The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For: How a New Generation of Leaders Will Transform America.” We learn--about the forces that have shaped millennials’ unique political experience and what this  means for the future of the country.

We also talk with young political leaders in Connecticut: Middletown mayor Ben Florsheim and State Representative Stephanie Cummings of Waterbury.

Are you a millennial? Are you involved in politics or thinking about it?

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ugandan-American musician Samite Mulondo combines music and storytelling in his performances. This hour, Samite returns to our studios to talk about his newest piece, The Story Of Mutoto, which he performs at the University of Saint Joseph this weekend.

And  Hartford’s art house theater Cinestudio celebrates fifty years of showing films this week. We talk with Cinestudio’s founders, James Hanley and Peter McMorris.

The pair started the movie theater when they were students at Trinity College.

Do you have memories of seeing movies at Cinestudio?

Samite will perform at the University of Saint Joseph's Autorino Center for the Arts on Saturday February 22.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From veterans returning from Iraq, to survivors of mass shootings, to those putting together the pieces after a hurricane--we know that the emotional and psychological scars of violence and tragedies sometimes last even longer than physical wounds.

But what is the psychological toll on those who help victims of traumatic experiences?

We talk with Dr. Megan Berthold, professor of social work at UConn, about the often-unrecognized "secondary" trauma that first responders, journalists, and aid workers, among others, sometimes experience in working closely with victims of trauma.

We also sit down with Michael Kehoe, the former Police Chief of Newtown, Connecticut, whose department responded to the school mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. We hear how the experience of that tragedy has led him to start a national conversation about mental health in police departments around the country.

And we hone in on the trauma journalists encounter covering tragic events, as well as the responsible ways media should report on trauma in their communities.

Do you work with people who have experienced trauma? How has that affected you?

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This summer marks 100 years since women achieved the right to vote. Yet women still are underrepresented in political office, both nationally and in the Connecticut General Assembly. This hour, we listen to my conversation with a panel of experts and women lawmakers. We ask: what barriers remain for women who are considering seeking office?

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

 GUESTS:

• Denise Merrill - Connecticut Secretary of the State
• Themis Klarides - House Republican Leader in the Connecticut General Assembly, who represents the towns of Orange, Woodbridge and Derby
• Brenda Carter - Campaign Director of the Reflective Democracy Campaign at the Women’s Donor Network
• Patricia Russo - Executive director of The Campaign School at Yale, a nonpartisan, issue-neutral political campaign training program for women interested in running for public office and campaign management

Audio of panel was provided by Connecticut Television Network (CT-N).

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Norwich, CT resident Tamara Lanier believes she is the descendant of two enslaved people—Renty and his daughter, Delia. They were photographed in 1850 for Harvard professor Louis Agassiz, as part of his research to advance the racist theory that Africans had different origins from Europeans. Lanier wants those early photographs, and has sued Harvard for “wrongful seizure, possession and expropriation” of them. 

More than 40 descendants of Louis Agassiz support Lanier’s efforts and have written an open letter to Harvard asking the university to relinquish the photos. 

This hour, Lanier shares her story with us. 

And we talk to historian, Marcia Chatelain, about how American universities are confronting their legacies of slavery. 

GUESTS:

• Tamara Lanier – Norwich resident, descendant of Renty and Delia, two enslaved people whose images were commissioned by Harvard professor Louis Agassiz in 1850. Lanier is currently suing Harvard for possession of those images. (@tamaralanier)
• Marian Moore – Great-great-great granddaughter of Louis Agassiz, the Harvard professor who commissioned images of Renty and Delia. Moore and 42 members of her family wrote an open letter to Harvard in support of Tamara Lanier.
• Marcia Chatelain – Historian and Professor of History and African American Studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Chatelain is the author of Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America. (@DrMChatelain)

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.