Where We Live

This year, we’ve been learning about how educators are getting students engaged in the electoral process. One way to do this: student government.

When you think of class elections, a couple things probably come to mind. But our guests says student government is much more than prom committees and candidate speeches in the cafeteria. We'll learn more about the influence student representatives have on their school districts.

Later, Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo is holding their forth mayoral race. There are five candidates running this year for mayor. We’ll hear about the animal candidates and how you can vote for your favorite.

We'll also hear how students on college campuses throughout our state are organizing to turn out the vote.

GUESTS:

• Christopher H. Tomlin: Executive Director, Connecticut Association of Student Councils
• Kevin Brown: a Vernon High School civics teacher and Connecticut State Representative for Vernon, Connecticut
• Jennifer Croughwell: Chief of Staff of Connecticut College Democrats and a student at Eastern Connecticut State University
• Nick Schettino: student at Southern Connecticut State University and young republican
• Gregg Dancho: Zoo Director, at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport

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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The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication found that the majority of Americans are either "alarmed" or "concerned" about climate change. They also discovered links between distress about climate change and a desire to take action.

This hour, Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz digs into this study, and the Six Americas Super Short Survey (SASSY). You can take the SASSY Survey here.

Plus, NBC Connecticut meteorologist Rachael Jay and New Haven Climate Movement organizer Adrian Huq will share their perspectives as different kinds of climate communicators.

How do you process feelings of alarm or distress around climate change, or even, take action?

GUESTS:

• Rachael Jay: Meteorologist, NBC Connecticut
• Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz: Founder and Director, Yale Program on Climate Change Communication
• Adrian Huq: Co-Founder, New Haven Climate Movement Youth Action Team; Youth Coordinator, Climate Health Education Project

Cat Pastor contributed to this episode which originally aired September 11, 2023.

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As the war continues in Israel and Gaza, humanitarians are working to deliver aid across the region. Humanitarian aid starts with addressing the basic necessities; food, water, and emergency medical care. And later, addressing mental health needs and the survived trauma of the millions displaced. This week, some Connecticut lawmakers called for a humanitarian pausewhich could allow more aid into Gaza.

Children are nearly half of Gaza’s population. In the past three weeks, more children have been killed there than the total killed in conflicts globally in every year since 2019. That’s according to Save the Children, an international NGO and humanitarian aid organization based in Connecticut.

Today, we hear from two aid organizations based in Connecticut. We learn more about addressing this enormous need, and what the work on the ground looks like.

GUESTS:

• Nathaniel Raymond: the Executive Director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health
• Christine Squires: Americares President and CEO
• Janti Soeripto: Save the Children President and CEO

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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This hour, we're focusing on Gen Z's impact on arts and culture.

Eric George Lopez, or ericdoa, has been described as the "face of hyperpop," a newer music genre born out of 2000s electronic music. But in many ways, the "genre-bending" up-and-coming artist defies categorization. He discusses his upbringing in Connecticut, how he developed his sound and what makes Gen Z uniquely powerful in the arts.

Later in the hour, we spotlight SEOULAR, a K-pop dance crew at University of Connecticut, part of KCONN, the campus' K-pop club. KCONN President Gina Tran and Vice President Alan Tran join us.

Plus, Eiress Hammond is the owner of MINIPNG, a New Haven business featuring her designs in addition to up-and-coming creators. She joins us to discuss her mission of "sustainability and individuality."

How is Gen Z shifting boundaries or influencing arts and culture where you live?

GUESTS:

• ericdoa: Singer, Songwriter and Producer from Connecticut
• Gina Tran: President, KCONN at the University of Connecticut
• Alan Tran: Vice-President, KCONN at the University of Connecticut
• Eiress Hammond: Designer; Owner, MINIPNG in New Haven

Connecticut Public intern Lateshia Peters also contributed to this episode.

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Being a Mom on Halloween can be pretty hectic, but a group of Fairfield Moms are taking the spooky season by storm. They're dressing up as zombies and taking the town in their infamous flash mobs.

The “Mombies” is a group of Moms of all ages that have been coordinating to “dance to donate” since 2016. They have raised over $170,000 for breast cancer research to date - and their dance videos have been seen by millions. Throughout October, these Moms are putting on their Zombie finest attire and are participating in epic dance performances across the state. We hear from two of the mombies today.

Later, the Connecticut witch trials is one of our favorite topics to dive into here on Where We Live. But did you ever wonder what started all the panic around witches?

In the Trinity College Rare Book collection, you can see some of the first illustrations and books about witches.We'll learn more about these texts and how influential they became throughout Connecticut and the rest of New England.

GUESTS:

• Marney White: Mombie and professor at the Yale School of Public Health
• Sheryl Kraft: Mombie and health writer
• Eric Johnson-DeBaufre, PhD, MLIS: Rare Books and Special Collections Librarian, Watkinson Library at Trinity College
• Emma Greig Ph.D: Project FeederWatch at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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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A new Advanced Placement, or AP, course on African American Studies is in its second pilot year in hundreds of schools, and set to roll out nationally next fall. AP classes offer high school students the opportunity to earn college credit. But the course's pilot rollout has been rocky, after it was rejected by the Department of Education in Florida and, more recently, in Arkansas.

This hour, we check in with two Connecticut educators who are helping to author the course, plus College Board executive director of communications Holly Stepp. Stepp reiterates that the changes being made to the course were not prompted or influenced by politics or by "any state." An updated course framework is expected to be released later this year.

Plus, the Connecticut State Department of Education recently approved a new set of standards for teaching social studies. We’ll get a sneak preview from advisor Steve Armstrong. Armstrong explains how these standards relate to several new changes to social studies education where we live, including a new Black and Latino Studies elective, and curriculum covering local Indigenous history.

Social studies consultant Steve Armstrong says, "I know that in some places, some people think that we should shy away from the difficult history... If you never tackle those difficult problems in the past, you'll never be able to tackle as difficult issues come up in the present and future."

GUESTS:

• Holly Stepp: Executive Director of Communications, College Board

• Dr. Lisa Beth Hill: History Department Chair, Hamden Hall Country Preparatory Day School

• Dr. David Embrick: Joint Associate Professor, Sociology Department and Africana Studies Institute, University of Connecticut

• Steve Armstrong: Social Studies Consultant, Connecticut State Department of Education

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There’s a stereotypical depiction of concussions in movies and TV shows: someone - often an athlete, gets hit in the head, falls down, and everyone crowds around them and asks them if they know what day it is. Then, the patient spends the next two weeks lying alone in the dark. But in recent years, we have developed a new understanding about concussions -- how they happen, their severity, and how best to treat them.

We hear from Dr. Bulent Omay, the Chief of Neurotrauma at the Yale School of Medicine. We also hear from a practicing physical therapist who specializes in brain injury treatment. And we learn about Concussion Box, a non-profit dedicated to supporting traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients.

Have you ever had a concussion? How did it affect you then, and is it still impacting you today? We want to hear from you.

GUESTS:

• Dr. Bulent Omay: Chief of Neurotrauma at the Yale School of Medicine.

• Dr. Vanessa Cornwell Chiu: a practicing physical therapist

• Eliana Bloomfield: Wesleyan undergrad student and founder of ConcussionBox, a non-profit that aims to support people experiencing concussions

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.

Connecticut’s domestic violence resource and information line is (888) 774-2900 or www.CTSafeConnect.org

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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, to 12.8%.

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

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A heads up to our listeners that today we will be discussing human trafficking. Content may not be suitable for younger listeners.

Human trafficking can happen in any country and any community, including where we live, in Connecticut. Polaris, a non-profit dedicated to fighting human trafficking, gave Connecticut a failing grade when it comes to combating trafficking in our state.

When you think of human trafficking, you might think of the various films and documentaries created about the subject. But experts say that trafficking is far more complicated than what we see on screen.

Today, we dive into how human trafficking is impacting our state and what is being done to combat it.

GUESTS:

• Amy Hayashida: Program Director at the Underground New England
• Meghan Scanlon: President and CEO of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence
• Tammy Sneed: Director, Office of Human Trafficking Services and Connecticut Human Antitrafficking Response Team (HART)
• Krystal Rich: Executive Director, Connecticut Children's Alliance

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Before baking powder became a kitchen staple, there was a state-level showdown over the rights to produce and sell it, and food historian Linda Civitello says Connecticut played a central role. This hour, she joins us to dig into her book, Baking Powder Wars: The Cutthroat Food Fight that Revolutionized Cooking.

Plus, Darien First Selectman Monica McNally previews the town’s $85 million purchase of Great Island, a 63-acre property linked to baking powder tycoon William Ziegler.

From Baking Powder Wars: The Cutthroat Food Fight that Revolutionized Cooking by Linda Civitello. © 2017 by Linda Civitello. Used with permission of the University of Illinois Press.

GUESTS:

• Linda Civitello: Food Historian; Author, Baking Powder Wars: The Cutthroat Food Fight that Revolutionized Cooking
• Monica McNally: First Selectman of Darien

Cat Pastor contributed to this episode which originally aired September 14, 2023.

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