Where We Live

Connecticut author and lawyer Anne Howard is known for her work writing true crime, but her recent book is a departure from her prior work.

Today, we talk about her new book that she worked to translate, entitled Escape from Mariupol: A Survivor's True Story. Anne first met Adoriana Marik through mutual friends. They exchanged letters, and Adoriana sent her hand-drawn cards and other artwork over the years.

When the war in Ukraine broke out, Anne was desperate to contact Adoriana to hear that she was safe. What followed was a months-long exchange and a collaborative effort to write a book about her experience.

Adoriana suffers from many symptoms of PTSD. Due to this and a language barrier, Adoriana will not be joining us this hour, but here to tell us about her story, is Anne Howard.

Plus, Joan Donovan is the Research Director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy and author of the book Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America.

Donovan discusses talk the evolution of memes as political devices, and how they shaped the far right.

GUEST:

• Anne Howard: co-author and translator of Escape from Mariupol: A Survivor's True Story
• Askold Melnyczuk: English professor at University of Massachusetts, Boston and author
• Joan Donovan: Research Director for the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University and author of the book Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America

Cat Pastor contributed to this episode which originally aired on February 13 and March 23.

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Aisha Harris, co-host for NPR’s Pop Culture Hour, is out with a new book titled Wannabe: Reckonings With The Pop Culture That Shapes Me.

Harris explores how early influences and cultural tropes shape her role today as critic, including her upbringing in Connecticut. Today, she joins us for the hour.

Plus, we learn ways to slow down the fast fashion cycle. Lucianne Tonti, a fashion consultant and author of the new book Sundressed: Natural Fibres and the Future of Fashion joins us.

GUESTS:

• Aisha Harris: Co-Host, NPR's Pop Culture Hour; Author, Wannabe: Reckonings with the Pop Culture That Shapes Me
• Lucianne Tonti: Fashion Consultant; Author, Sundressed: Natural Fibres and the Future of Fashion

Cat Pastor contributed to this episode which originally aired on June 15, 2023.

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R.F. Kuang's works of historical fantasy, including The Poppy War series, have been racking up awards since she began publishing in 2018. Her novel Babel recently won the prestigious Nebula Award for science fiction and fantasy writers.

The same day, her latest book Yellowface debuted.

It is Kuang's fifth novel, and a shift from fantasy to literary fiction. The satirical thriller takes on the commercial publishing world, and through it, "questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation." Not to mention, "the terrifying alienation of social media."

This hour, R.F. Kuang joins us. Minor spoilers lie ahead...

GUESTS:

• R.F. Kuang: Author, Yellowface; Babel; The Poppy War Trilogy

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

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After collecting oral histories from generations of women in her family in "My Little Red Book," Rachel Kauder Nalebuff created Our Red Book, an extended project reflecting the experience of people of all races, ages and genders around the world.

But there’s so much stigma and misinformation around periods.

This hour, three Connecticut-based contributors featured in her book join us, breaking down this bloody topic.

GUESTS:

• Rachel Kauder Nalebuff: Editor, Our Red Book
• Michelle Memran: Documentary Filmmaker
• Kica Matos: New Haven-based Immigration Rights Activist and Organizer
• Axel Gay: Teen Writer

Cat Pastor contributed to this show which originally aired March 10, 2023.

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Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have estimated that more than half of wheelchairs break down in a typical six-month period. Many Connecticut residents say those repairs can take months.

This hour, we hear from local advocates about a recently-formed legislative task force, and their goals for next session. In particular, they hope to study and set limits on repair turnaround times. UPitt researcher Dr. Lynn Woroby also shares her findings on the frequency of wheelchair breakdowns.

Plus, how does private equity impact health care? Private Equity Stakeholder Project is a nonprofit watchdog organization investigating this question. Eileen O'Grady joins us.

GUESTS:

• Jonathan Sigworth: Member, CT Wheelchair Reform Coalition; Member, State Independent Living Council; Consumer Spokesperson, Wheelchair Task Force; Co-Founder, Co-CEO and President, More Than Walking
• Farrah Garland: Member, CT Wheelchair Reform Coalition; Member, State Independent Living Council
• Eileen O'Grady: Research and Campaign Manager, Private Equity Stakeholder Project
• Lynn Woroby: Research Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Pittsburgh

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 epi

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Are you finally reading that bestseller that’s been collecting dust on your nightstand? Are you revisiting a dog-eared old favorite? If you're reading poolside, beachside or from your favorite park bench, we want to hear from you because today is Where We Live's Summer Reading Show!

If you don't know what to read this summer, we've got you covered. Whether you’re looking for a new fiction to thrill you, or a memoir to inspire you, we have reading recommendations to make the most of these long summer days.

And the benefits of summer reading for children are numerous. Studies show that not only does reading help with preventing summer learning loss, but help with social-emotional reading. We'll hear from two children's librarians in our state.

Buckle in as we dive into the best books of the summer. Tell us what you're reading!

GUESTS:

• Mary Parmelee: Director of Youth Services at The Westport Library
• Kym Powe: Children and YA Consultant for the Connecticut State Library
• Mandy Dorso: Bookstore Manager, Atticus Books in New Haven
• Khamani Harrison: Owner of Key Bookstore in Hartford

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Across Connecticut's thousands of farms, spanning nearly 400,000 acres, the average age of farmers just under the national average at 58. Over 90% of senior Connecticut farmers don’t have a younger person tapped to take the reins, according to an American Farmland Trust study.

This hour, we dig into local and federal efforts to support new and young farmers with New Connecticut Farmers Alliance President Liz Guerra. Plus, federal policy reporter Lisa Hagen has the latest on the 2023 farm bill.

We also spoke with Commissioner Bryan Hurlburt, who stressed the need for stability and funding "safety nets" for farmers in the state, particularly during "a year like this year where you had a moderate winter, two pretty dramatic frost events, a drought" and, most recently, a flood.

RELATED: Liz Guerra and her husband Héctor Gerardo were recently interviewed for a series about Connecticut's BIPOC farmers and efforts to diversify the state's population of farmers, which is 98% white.

Later, we'll learn more about 4-H, a nonprofit at the heart of harvest festivals where we live. Matthew Syrotiak, a 4-H alum, now works on a family farm. We hear from the "G.O.A.T. of goats."

GUESTS:

• Lisa Hagen: Federal Policy Reporter, Connecticut Public and the Connecticut Mirror
• Liz Guerra: President, New Connecticut Farmer Alliance; Owner-Operator, SEAmarron Farmstead in Danbury
• Mary Claire Whelan: Coordinator, New Connecticut Farmer Alliance
• Bryan Hurlburt: Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Agriculture
• Matthew Syrotiak: 4-H Alumni; Dairy Farmer
• Jen Cushman: 4-H Program Leader, UConn Extension

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.

Extreme heat can leave us feeling exhausted after doing the most basic activities of daily living like getting groceries or commuting to work. Low air quality can leave many with sore throats and runny eyes.

And researchers say the health side effects can be much more dire, worsening respiratory and cardiac health. Today, we explore the real health impacts of climate change and how you should prepare.

New research is showing that climate change isn’t just impacting our physical health, but our mental health as well.

Many young people struggle with eco-anxiety or climate anxiety; this is “broadly defined as negative cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses associated with concerns about climate change.”

Each community in Connecticut is being impacted by climate change in unique ways. How is climate change impacting you, where you live?

GUESTS:

• Anne Hulick: Connecticut Director, Clean Water Action
• State Senator Saud Anwar: 3rd State Senate District representing East Hartford, East Windsor, Ellington and South Windsor
• Dr. Joshua Wortzel: chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s committee on climate change and mental health

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Virtually all Connecticut residents engage in the arts, culture and humanities, either formally or informally, a recent survey found. But attendance rates at many cultural organizations haven't quite returned to pre-pandemic levels.

This hour, we get the latest from Connecticut Humanities executive director Jason Mancini, and hear about a recent push for a "roadmap" that would better fund and link the arts, culture and tourism in the state. We also check in with the Maritime Aquarium, and the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History, formerly the Connecticut Historical Society.

Have you taken advantage of Connecticut's Summer at the Museum? Listeners this hour shouted out locations like the New England Air Museum, the Vintage Radio and Communications Museum, and more.

Plus, we preview early plans to highlight the state's revolutionary history in 2026, the 250th anniversary of the country's founding. Former Secretary of State Denise Merrill spoke about the creation of the Connecticut Semiquincentennial Commission in advance of "America 250."

We also revisit a recent conversation on Connecticut Public Radio's Disrupted with Maisa Tisdale, CEO and President of the Mary and Eliza Freeman Center for History and Community. The homes in Bridgeport are some of the last remaining structures of Little Liberia, one of the earliest settlements of free people of color in pre-Civil War Connecticut.

GUESTS:

• Dr. Jason Mancini: Executive Director, Connecticut Humanities
• Cyndi Tolosa: Development Director, Connecticut Humanities
• Denise Merrill: Former Connecticut Secretary of State
• Jason Patlis: President and CEO, Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk
• Robert Kret: CEO, Connecticut Museum of Culture and History

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For some, gardening can act as a love letter to our family history. The act of cultivating the same plants and herbs that your grandmother, or great grandmother might have grown, can keep us connected to our roots.

It can also serve as a reminder of what people needed to do in order to survive - through history and the present. The act of gardening goes beyond working with the soil in our own backyards.

Today, we hear from Phou Vongkhamdy. He is the Rhode Island State Conservationist and he is also a refugee from Laos. He was raised on a family farm growing rice, tobacco, silkworms, sugar cane, and vegetables.

And later, we listen back to a Connecticut Museum of Culture and History conversation with gardeners in the AAPI community; a conversation called “Heritage Roots.” Each panelist spoke about what it means to be able to grow plants and seeds from their culture, and learn how they're using their gardens to stay connected to their heritage.

GUESTS:

• Phou Vongkhamdy: Rhode Island State Conservationist
• Vicheth Im: organic farmer and homesteader in Preston,
• Mao Yang: member of Hmong Foundation of Connecticut
• May Choua Yang: member of Hmong Foundation of Connecticut
• Christine Kim: co-founder of aapiNHV
• Hien Nguyen: member of APAC Asian Pacific American Coalition of Connecticut

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.