Where We Live

Whether they’ve been written by a loved one or a local newsrooms, obituaries are an earnest attempt at the impossible: distilling one person's life into a couple of pages or paragraphs.

This hour, we explore the delicate art of obituary-writing with two experts: Tampa Bay Times and Poynter writer Kristen Hare, and Lucy Gellman, an editor with New Haven's Arts Paper.

Plus, Epilogg co-founder Mary McGreevy shares "Tips from Dead People" on TikTok.

GUESTS:

• Kristen Hare: Writer, Tampa Bay Times; Local News Writer, Poynter
• Lucy Gellman: Editor, The Arts Paper
• Mary McGreevy: Co-Founder, Epilogg; Tips from Dead People on TikTok

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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

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

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently updated its standards around a group of manmade substances called PFAS, promising stricter enforceable limits that would require public water systems to add filtration, or find another source.

So what will that mean in Connecticut, where water quality isn't uniformly monitored, and where the advisory limit currently in place under the State Department of Health is double the EPA's updated limit?

On Friday, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal announced 73.5 million dollars in federal funding for Connecticut’s cleanup, stressing that without federal dollars, the EPA’s new enforceable limits were "meaningless."

This hour, Connecticut Department of Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani discusses how testing and treatment in Connecticut is likely to change. Plus, investigative reporter Andrew Brown, and Dr. Rainer Lohmann, who heads up a PFAS-focused lab at the University of Rhode Island.

GUESTS:

• Dr. Manisha Juthani: Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Public Health
• Andrew Brown: Investigative Reporter, The Connecticut Mirror
• Dr. Rainer Lohmann: Professor of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island; Director, STEEP Superfund Research Center

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When you’re searching for personal care products, whether a bar of soap or a bottle of lotion, are you reading the ingredients label? What harmful ingredients should be avoided?

A recent study from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found potential links between the regular use of hair straightening products like relaxers that contained "formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing chemicals," and uterine cancer, prompting a new federal lawsuit.

There have been similarly troubling findings and lawsuits around some deodorants containing benzene, and powders containing talc contaminated with asbestos. Researchers at the University of Notre Dame found PFAS, sometimes called "forever chemicals," in 52% of cosmetics. Only a fraction of those products listed PFAS on the label.

This hour, we hear from local makers who are focused on safe and natural ingredients.

Plus, the Environmental Working Group has been building a searchable database of different products and ingredients for almost two decades, hoping to make it easier for consumers to shop smart.

GUESTS:

• Melanie Benesch: Vice President of Government Affairs, Environmental Working Group
• Christine Palm: Connecticut Democratic State Representative, 36th District
• Sami Jo Artus: Founder and Chief Beauty Maker, florapothecarie
• Mecca Davis-Provite: Owner, Rootuals Natural Hair Care

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

Cat Pastor contributed to this show which originally aired March 9, 2023.

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Calls to observe Muslim holidays in school calendars are growing in the U.S., along with the population of Muslim students. In 2018, Pew Research Center projected that Islam could be the country’s second-largest religion by 2040.

After students and advocates spoke up, Stamford's school board voted to observe Eid al-Fitr in the upcoming school year. Eid al-Fitr is the final, celebratory day of Ramadan, and the culmination of 29 or 30 days of fasting.

The Islamic calendar and each of its holy days are linked to the lunar cycle; the ninth lunar month of Ramadan rotates throughout the year, depending on when the new moon falls.

The Stamford school calendar will also notate Eid al-Adha, in addition to Diwali and Three Kings Day. While these three holidays will fall on weekends in the next school year, the notations ensure they are a consideration for classrooms.

This hour, we discuss the importance of educator awareness around religious holidays with Chaplain Aida Mansoor. Plus, Stamford Superintendent Dr. Tamu Lucero joins.

GUESTS:

• Dr. Tamu Lucero: Superintendent, Stamford Public Schools
• Aida Mansoor: Chaplain; Director of Field Education, Hartford International University

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Climate change is presenting so many challenges in our region, but residents around New England are rising to the occasion.

Today, we hear from reporters from the New England News Collaborative on new solutions to mitigating climate change.

From green burials, to eliminating construction waste and even climate proofing our agriculture, we’ll hear about a variety of innovations that could make a big impact.

What is your community doing to fight climate change, where you live?

For Earth Day 2023, journalists from the New England News Collaborative worked together to tell stories of people in New England who are finding unexpected and creative ways to act on climate change. Check out more of the NENC Earth Week coverage here.

GUESTS:

• Lexi Krupp: Science and Health Reporter for Vermont Public
• Eve Zuckoff: Climate and Environment Reporter
  CAI
• Patrick Skahill: Reporter and Digital Editor for Connecticut Public

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Between March 2020 and September 2021, over 10,000 incidents of hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders were reported. That’s according to the advocacy group, Stop AAPI Hate.

It was only recently that Connecticut mandated AAPI studies in public schools- by the 2025-26 school year it’ll be a core part of social studies education.

How are those directly affected by this change responding? And what is it like to be a young Asian American growing up in the state? Students from UCONN’s AAPI Advisory Board and Curriculum lab join us.

GUESTS:

• Lynna Vo: UCONN Undergraduate Student
• Eira Parkash: Farmington High Student
• Max Bonadies: Glastonbury High Student

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, 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.

Where do our clothes come from? According to the Textile Exchange, 52% of our clothes are made from polyester.

Fast fashion is an enormous industry, allowing us to purchase low cost clothing quickly and efficiently. But the toll these companies take on the environment is significant, and the workplace conditions for the factories that create these products are questionable at best.

Building sustainable, ethical practices into the fashion industry will be a challenge, but it’s not impossible. There are ways to slow down the fast fashion cycle, and build better quality fabrics. Today, we talk about these solutions and what fashion brands can do to build sustainability.

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. We’ll also hear from Reboot Eco, a zero waste and swap shop in Middletown, Connecticut.

What does shopping look like for you? Do you thrift for your clothes, or prefer the convenience of shopping online?

GUESTS:

• Miriah Kelly: Assistant Professor of Environmental Science, Southern Connecticut State University
• Lucianne Tonti - consultant for sustainable designers and author of Sundressed: Natural Fibres and the Future of Fashion
• Yasemin Ugurlu - Founder and Owner of Reboot Eco

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, 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.

Willie Mae Brown is the author of a new book My Selma: True Stories of a Southern Childhood at the Height of the Civil Rights Movement. The book, written for young adults, reflects on her time growing up in Alabama and how the civil rights era shaped her coming of age. Today, we’ll hear her message for the next generation of activists.

Brown lived in Selma, Alabama until she was 17, when she moved to New York City. Growing up in Selma, she experienced the civil rights movement first hand - including meeting Martin Luther King Jr. when she was 12.In the intro, Brown explains, “I write these stories of a Selma that I knew and loved. My own Selma. A Selma that brought me joy, troubled me, and baptized me into racial injustice and into the race for justice.”

Where We Live Senior Producer Tess Terrible guest hosts this conversation.

GUESTS:

• Willie Mae Brown: author and visual artist. She recently published her first book, My Selma: True Stories of a Southern Childhood at the Height of the Civil Rights Movement.

Cat Pastor contributed to this episode which originally aired February 4, 2023.

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Anticoagulant rodenticide, a quick fix for controlling the rat and mice population, is now having an effect on birds of prey.

Today, we talk to A Place Called Hope, a local raptor rehabilitator here in Connecticut, about how it’s impacting birds across our state. After ingesting this poison, there is little that can be done to save the life of these birds.

We’ll hear about legislation to limit the use of these poisons and alternatives to rodenticide. The traditional snap traps aren’t the only way to keep out the mice!

Later, we hear from the Connecticut Audubon Society. They are celebrating their 125th anniversary and have a special birding challenge to mark the occasion.

We want to hear. Have you seen falcons, hawks and eagles, where you live?

GUESTS:

• Christine Cummings: Executive Director of A Place Called Hope
• Tom Andersen: Director of Communications, the Connecticut Audubon Society
• Kathi Borgmann: Communications Manager, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, 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.