Where We Live

Beloved Muppet Elmo recently asked social media a simple question, "How is everybody doing?" The answers ranged from incredulous to raging. The trauma-dumping on Elmo begged the question: Are we burnt out?

Burnout has been reported in many industries: Connecticut Public has previously covered burnout in health care, and among early child care educators and teachers, for example. When Where We Live covered burnout in the nonprofit world in 2022, our phone lines were flooded.

This hour, we hear from Emily Ballesteros, a management coach and the author of the new book, The Cure for Burnout. She defines the phenomenon, and fields your questions.

Plus, Elizabeth Thompson is a local news researcher focused on burnout in local journalism.

A 2020 report from UNC found that more than one-quarter of American newspapers had shut down since 2005, forcing more than half of all local journalists out of the industry, and "leaving many remaining newsrooms staffed by a small number of reporters burdened by excessive workloads and unable to dedicate themselves to particular topics of local interest."

GUESTS:

• Emily Ballesteros: Management Coach; Author, The Cure for Burnout
• Elizabeth Thompson: Local News Researcher, Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media at the University of North Carolina

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

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Two years ago, Russia invaded Ukraine and launched a full scale attack on the country. This hour, we hear what life looks like in Ukraine today and how Ukrainian refugees are adjusting to life in the United States. Since the recent invasion, many Ukrainians have made the difficult decision to leave the region, while others have stayed behind.

Americares, a humanitarian aid organization based here in Connecticut has worked to bring in over 300 tons of medical aid to the region. But providing mental health first aid is becoming as important as providing medical first aid.

Ukrainian refugees are also seeking mental health support, but finding Ukrainian speaking therapists and support systems is a challenge. We hear from those working to help this population and hear how refugees are adjusting to life here in the United States.

GUESTS:

• Adam Keehn: Director of Complex Emergencies at Americares, a humanitarian organization based in Stamford, Connecticut
• Olena Lennon: Adjunct Professor of Political Science (National Security) at the University of New Haven
• Dana Bucin: Immigration Attorney at Murtha Cullina and Honorary Consul of Romania to Connecticut
• Anne Howard: co-author and translator of the bookEscape from Mariupol: A Survivor's True Story. She is also an attorney and author.

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Quantum mechanics is a theory that even some scientists have trouble wrapping their heads around. But this industry is booming, and some physicists here in Connecticut are hoping to make our state the “Quantum Corridor” for research, workforce development and education.

In May 2023, “the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $1 million federal planning grant to Yale University and the University of Connecticut toward developing quantum technology related businesses in Connecticut.”

Today, we hear about this project and learn about the future of quantum. We’ll attempt to answer the question: “what is quantum mechanics?” We only have an hour, but we will try our best.

We’ll hear how this field could eventually touch every area of science.

GUESTS:

• Michael DiDonato: UConn Tech Park Business Development Manager, and QuantumCT UConn Project Manager

• Steven Girvin: Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics at Yale

• Dr. Brian Sullivan: High School STEM teacher teaching physics, calculus and statistics at the Wooster School, a private co-educational school in Danbury Connecticut

Cat Pastor contributed to this episode which originally aired January 16, 2024.

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Paula Poundstone has had a nearly 45 year career in standup comedy. She’s the host of the comedy podcast, Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone.

And we would be remiss not to say, She is also a regular panelist on NPR's comedy news quiz show, Wait Wait…Don't Tell Me!

Today, she joins us for the hour. And like her comedy, we kind of touched on everything! We get into her signature stand up style, never shying away from engaging the audience, and making each show a little unique.

If you’ve seen Paula on one of her many stand up specials, or maybe live in person, you probably know that talking with the audience is a big part of her routine. And you can experience her comedy firsthand this weekend. She’ll be performing at the Infinity Music Hall in Hartford on Saturday, February 24.

GUEST:

• Paula Poundstone: standup comedian

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

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is not one single narrative when it comes to adoption and it can be a lot more complicated than what’s depicted in films, television and even social media. And for a long time, these stories have been told by adoptive parents. Angela Tucker says it’s time to flip the script and let adoptees tell their stories. She is the author of "You Should Be Grateful": Stories of Race, Identity, and Transracial Adoption. 

Growing up as a transracial adoptee, Angela Tucker's friends, family, and even strangers would make comments and assumptions about what her life would have been like if she hadn’t been adopted. In this interview, we talk about the intricacies of navigating life as a transracial adoptee. Angela is also the Executive Director of the Adoptee Mentoring Society, a nonprofit and adoptee support group. She speaks to the need to give adoptees safe spaces to process complicated feelings about adoption.

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This hour, we sit down with Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani to tackle a range of topics and questions, including what's on your mind.

How have you fared this flu season? What questions about COVID-19, or long COVID, do you have?

According to data from the Census Bureau, 23% of adults in Connecticut who tested positive for COVID-19 have experienced symptoms lasting longer than three months.

We also discusss recent reports about possible changes in guidance from CDC, reported shortages in mental health services for kids, implementation for Connecticut's health care worker ratio law, and more.

GUESTS:

• Manisha Juthani: Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Public Health

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For a Connecticut family of four, it costs over $126,000 just to meet their basic needs, according to a recent United Way report. That’s more than four times the federal poverty level.

Food insecurity is a big part of the problem, affecting more than 1 in 10 Connecticut residents, according to Connecticut Foodshare. A new report from the United States Department of Agriculture found the national rate of food insecurity jumped by more than 2% from 2021 to 2022, now 12.8% of U.S. households.

This hour, UConn's Dr. Caitlin Caspi joins us to address some of the misconceptions around food insecurity.

"Food insecurity isn't happening in a vacuum," she says. "It's really intersecting with a lot of other challenges that people face," including stable housing, health insurance, job security, disability, and other factors. "Food insecurity isn't primarily a story about food," says Dr. Caspi. "It's about many facets of economic instability."

Plus, we'll discuss some of Connecticut Foodshare’s efforts to address food insecurity where we live, including an income-based grocery store coming soon to Hartford, where food insecurity rates are highest in the state.

Hartford High School just launched the Grub Pub, an in-school pantry. Principal Flora Padro joins us later in the hour, describing the "new normal" she envisions.

GUESTS:

• Dr. Caitlin Caspi: Associate Professor, University of Connecticut's Department of Allied Health Sciences; Director of Food Security Initiatives, Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health

• Jason Jakubowski: President & CEO, Connecticut Foodshare

• Ben Dubow: Executive Director, Forge City Works

• Flora Padro: Principal, Hartford High School

Cat Pastor contributed to this episode which originally aired October 26, 2023.

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

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dating in 2024 can be tough. There are no shortage of stories about dating in the age of Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, and more!

But today, we're going to talk about dating, and falling in love, when you're an older adult. Last fall, the spinoff show “The Golden Bachelor” started a national conversation about falling in love in midlife and beyond.

Today we hear from experts about dating in this age range, and we’ll even get to hear some love stories that will put "The Notebook" to shame.

And if you are dating or have fallen in love, at any age, we want to hear from you!

GUESTS:

• Dr. Kristina Zdanys: Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Division Chief for Geriatric Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at UConn Health

• Chip Conley: Founder & CEO of the Modern Elder Academy

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

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Disability rights advocates in Connecticut are demanding better medical access.

And this legislative session, they’re pushing lawmakers to pass two bills. Both aim to improve medical equipment and training, and access to better care when examining, diagnosing and treating patients with disabilities.

We hear from one advocacy group involved in this effort, the Citizens Coalition for Equal Access, or CC=A. Public Health Committee Co-Chair and State Sen. Saud Anwar also shares his hopes for the pair of bills — one focused on medical diagnostic equipment, the other on lifts — which he helped to draft after an informational hearing with disability rights advocates across Connecticut last September.

Where We Live heard from eight members of CC=A prior to this program, who talked about some of their negative experiences in the medical setting. As Jamie Mosier shared, "Something has to be passed to make sure we get what I need, that we get what everybody needs, before we're all dead."

Plus later today, wheelchair users and advocates across the state will gather at the State Capitol. They plan to rally in support of the "transformational recommendations by the legislative Wheelchair Repair Task Force to tackle the absurd delays faced by 90% of roughly 5,000 CT consumers."

Task Force member and consumer advocate Jonathan Sigworth joins us to discuss this legislative push.

GUESTS:

• Dr. Cindy Miller: Member, Citizens Coalition for Equal Access; Former Associate Professor, Yale University
• Ruth Grobe: Secretary, Citizens Coalition for Equal Access
• Jonathan Sigworth: Consumer Spokesperson, Connecticut Wheelchair Task Force; Member, CT Wheelchair Reform Coalition; Member, State Independent Living Council; Co-Founder, CEO and President, More Than Walking
• Carly Malesky: Student, UConn Medical School; Member, Disability Interest Group

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Approximately half of U.S. adults reported experiencing loneliness, even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The issue recently moved U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to issue an advisory around the "loneliness epidemic" in America.

Soon after, Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy introduced a bill that would launch an Office of Social Connection Policy, and fund CDC research to "better understand the epidemic of social isolation and loneliness."

While on The Colin McEnroe Show in July, Murphy said the move was "part of a broader exploration for me of what is eating in America... I have come to the conclusion that there's a lot of new and unique things that are hurting Americans and making them feel unhappy today," chief among them loneliness or "aloneness."

This hour, we explore how loneliness, isolation and social disconnection are being addressed where we live. Deb Bibbins and Gary Sekorski founded For All Ages, and more recently, the Connecticut Collaborative to End Loneliness, to help bolster and centralize resources.

How does loneliness or isolation affect you?

GUESTS:

• Deb Bibbins: Co-Founder and Chair, For All Ages; Co-Founder, Connecticut Collaborative to End Loneliness

• Gary Sekorski: Co-Founder and Chair, For All Ages; Co-Founder, Connecticut Collaborative to End Loneliness

• Connie Malone: Canton Resident

• Siri Palreddy: Senior at Amherst College

• Dr. Sowmya Kurtakoti: Chief of Geriatric Medicine, Hartford Hospital

Cat Pastor contributed to this episode which originally aired September 18, 2023.

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

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.