Where We Live

Experts say Connecticut's annual average temperature has increased incrementally every decade since 1895. According to the National Weather Service, New England summer temperature is going to be 50-60% warmer this season.

Heat can have a major impact on our health: this goes beyond heat stroke or exhaustion. Today, we’re exploring the many ways heat can impact both our physical and mental health, and what you can do to prepare.

Got a question about staying cool for the summer? Join the conversation!

GUESTS:

• Garett Argianas: Chief Meteorologist at Connecticut Public
• Dr. Cynthia Laverne Price: Emergency Medicine Physician at Hartford Healthcare
• Dr. Rebecca Andrews: Professor of Medicine and Associate Program Director for Categorical Internal Medicine at the University of Connecticut
• Dr. Joshua Wortzel: Psychiatrist at Hartford Healthcare Institute of Living and Assistant Professor Adjunct at Yale School of Medicine

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It’s that time of year. Graduation! Commencement! These events mark the end of a student’s academic journey, and hopefully the start of something new.

These rites of passage serve as important celebrations in a young person's life. Today, we talk to those responsible for making sure these ceremonies go off without a hitch!

Social media, AI and other technologies have transformed how these milestones are captured and organized. Attitudes around all this pomp and circumstance are changing too.

We’ll also hear about Connecticut’s Queer Prom.

GUESTS:

• Kristen Record: Physics teacher at Bunnell High School in Stratford, Connecticut and Senior Class Advisor
• Patrick Dilger: Director of Integrated Communications and Marketing Southern Connecticut State University
• Brayden Ransom: Community Impact Manager, The Health Collective

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Can you remember a teacher who changed the course of your life? Maybe it was someone who helped you find your voice? Or someone who challenged you to think differently?

This hour, we’re exploring the impact of great mentors – those who shape us both in and beyond the classroom. 

Sarah Ruhl, author of the new book, “Lessons from My Teachers” shares personal stories and reflects on the lasting power of mentorship. 

GUESTS:

Sarah Ruhl: Author of “Lessons from My Teachers.” Sarah is also a playwright, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, a Tony Award nominee, and the recipient of the MacArthur Genius Fellowship.

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It might sound like a cliche, but men in the U.S. are not going to the doctor, and their physical and mental health is suffering.

A recent survey from the Cleveland Clinic found that nearly 40% of Gen Z men didn’t have a primary care doctor.

And the life expectancy gap between men and women is widening. That’s according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Today, we talk with physicians about the state of men’s health and what they’re learning from their male patients.

GUESTS:

• Dr. David Inyangetor: Primary Care Physician at Trinity Health
• George Gogas: LCSW at Charter Oak Therapeutic Services, LLC
• Dr. Harrell Jordan: Executive Dean of Chamberlain University

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This hour, we’ll explore climate change’s impact on many whale populations – from Belugas in the Arctic Ocean to North Atlantic right whales off the coast of New England.

We’ll hear how studies conducted on Beluga whales at Mystic Aquarium are helping scientists better understand what factors threaten their survival in the wild.

And later, scientists working on a research initiative called “Project CETI” are using AI technology to learn the language of Connecticut’s state animal: the sperm whale.

GUESTS:

• Eve Zuckoff: Climate and Environment Reporter, CAI 

• Tracy Romano: Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist of Marine Sciences, Mystic Aquarium

• Gašper Beguš: Associate Professor, Dept. of Linguistics, UC Berkeley

• Kathryn Hulick: Science Journalist, Science News Explores

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

This episode originally aired on February 24, 2025.

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The average cost of a wedding in Connecticut is nearly $35,000.

Many couples are changing the way they get married, some opting for a small or “micro” wedding with only a few close friends and family members. And others are deciding to elope.

But the decision to elope isn’t always tied to wanting to avoid the price tag of a big wedding.

This hour, we hear from one couple who recently eloped at the start of the year.

GUESTS:

• Kim Moran: artist and postal worker

• Rachel Moran: Graduate Intern of the Arthur L. Johnson Unity Wing Pride Center at Eastern Connecticut State University

• Emma Thurgood: Elopement photographer, videographer and planner

Additional voices featured in this hour:

• Janice Favreau: Connecticut Justice of the Peace

• George Gross: Your Queer Plants Shop

• Michayla Savitt: State Government Reporter for Connecticut Public

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

This episode originally aired February 18, 2025.

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Born in Pittsburgh, Micahel Luo is the son of Chinese immigrants. He attended Harvard, and later became a reporter at the New York Times and today he is the Executive Editor at The New Yorker.

One rainy afternoon in 2016, he was standing on the sidewalk with his family and some friends after church, trying to decide where to go to lunch when a stranger accosted him and his family. “Go back to China,” she said.

Today, he joins us for the hour to talk about his new book on the hidden history of brutality and violence that so many Chinese Americans faced at the turn of the century.

Learn more about Michael Luo's upcoming event at the Mark Twain House here.

GUEST:

• Michael Luo: Executive Editor for the New Yorker, and author of the book Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America

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President Trump recently attempted to eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the agency that distributes federal funds to libraries and museums across the country.

Connecticut was one of just three states to lose its federal grant for public libraries, totaling over $2 million.

A judge blocked the move last week, but big questions remain.

This hour, we ask: What does this mean for our local libraries and museums? Is future funding safe? And what role do these institutions play in our communities today?

GUESTS:

• Lisa Hagen: Federal Policy Reporter, Connecticut Public and Connecticut Mirror
• Deborah Schander: State Librarian, Connecticut State Library
• Scott Jarzombek: President of the Connecticut Library Association 
• Joshua Carter: Executive Director, Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center

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One in five Americans have a disability. That’s according to the United States Census Bureau.

The Trump administration has released statements promising to protect programs like medicaid, medicare and Social security - programs that people with disabilities rely on everyday.

But in his recommendation for funding for fiscal year 2026, President Trump proposed cuts to housing for persons with disabilities and cuts to the National Institute of Disability.

Today, we hear about the future of disability services from people living with disabilities.

GUESTS:

• Tom Cosker: Disability Advocate at Disability Rights Connecticut
• Corey Pheez Lee: More Than Walking Peer Mentor Coordinator, Hip-hop artist and host "Super Adaptables" Podcast with More Than Walking
• Colin Killick: Executive Director of the Autism Self-Advocacy Network

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From special outdoor performances, to educating the next generation of thespians, summer is a busy time for theaters around the state.

But this month, several Connecticut performing arts spaces received notice that federal grants were being rescinded.

Today, we speak to some of those institutions about what will happen next.

Plus, Connecticut tourism is a $4 billion-a-year business. That’s according to the Connecticut Tourism Office. We hear how this industry has been impacted by federal cuts as well.

GUESTS:

• Michael Paulson: theater reporter for New York Times
• Chris Freeman: Vice President of Advancement at the Mystic Seaport Museum
• Eric Gershman: Interim Managing Director at Long Wharf Theater
• Frank Mitchel: President of the Board of Directors for CT Humanities

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