Where We Live

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, acclaimed scientist and Connecticut native Dr. Peter J. Hotez has helped translate what we know about the virus and vaccines, taking countless live "news hits" from his office at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.

Behind-the-scenes, he helped develop a COVID-19 vaccine, which earned him a Nobel Peace Prize nomination.

Now, he’s working on a new book, his third about the COVID-19 pandemic, due out September 19. The Deadly Rise of Anti-science: A Scientist’s Warning is described as “an eyewitness story of how the anti-vaccine movement grew into a dangerous and prominent anti-science element in American politics.”

This hour, he joins us to discuss this movement, and to issue a "warning."

Plus, Connecticut College chemistry professor Marc Zimmer responds.

GUESTS:

• Dr. Peter J. Hotez: Dean, National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine; Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine; Author, The Deadly Rise of Anti-science: A Scientist’s Warning
• Marc Zimmer: Chemistry Professor, Connecticut College; Author, Science and the Skeptic

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23% of the adult U.S. population cannot read above a third-grade level. Literacy isn’t limited to reading and writing, it can also refer to basic math, comprehension and critical thinking skills.

According to ProLiteracy, bringing reading levels up “would generate an additional $2.2 trillion in annual income. Today, we get a deeper understanding of adult literacy in our country and across our state.

There is no part of the U.S. population that isn’t touched by low literacy. And many people suffer from shame around the struggle to read and write.

GUESTS:

• Haleigh Guerrera: Basic Literacy Tutor with Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford
• Aliyya Swaby: Reporter for ProPublica
• Mark Vineis: President and CEO of ProLiteracy

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Nearly 92% of American households reported owning at least one vehicle in a recent five-year 2021 Census report. Connecticut falls just below that national average.

A recent Forbes study found the average annual cost of full-coverage car insurance in Connecticut is $1,730. Plus, the report ranks Connecticut as the most expensive state for car repairs, averaging around $400 for check engine light-related car fixes.

This hour, we talk about car culture in America, and how car dependency can translate into policies that prioritize roads over sidewalks, highways over public transit. Hear from UConn Professor Emeritus Dr. Norman Garrick, a luminary in the field of transportation and civil engineering.

Plus, his former student Adam Weber is now a civil engineer working for the City of New Haven, who also shares insights on transportation infrastructure with millions on social media.

GUESTS:

• Adam Weber: Project Manager, City of New Haven; @EverydayEngineering on TikTok
• Dr. Norman Garrick: Professor Emeritus, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UConn

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The recent congressional hearings with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew showed a continued disconnect between lawmakers and social media companies, and their users.

With lawmakers pushing for tougher restrictions on TikTok and in some cases an outright ban, many are asking, what are the real solutions to protecting our privacy online?

Today, we explore ways to regulate social media. Is a TikTok ban the first step to making internet privacy a human right?

GUESTS:

• Lisa Hagen: Federal Policy Reporter for the Connecticut Mirror
• Willmary Escoto: U.S. Policy Analyst for Access Now, an organization that defends and extends the digital rights of people and communities at risk.
• Joshua Tucker: Professor of Politics and Codirector for the NYU Center for Social Media and Politics
• Sebastian Zimmeck: Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Wesleyan University

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Conley Monk Jr. came home to Hamden in 1970 after serving in the Vietnam War. His discharge was prompted by a PTSD-induced altercation in Okinawa, and categorized within the military as "other-than-honorable."

Mr. Monk spent decades trying to access basic benefits like disability coverage, until his appeal in 2015 ultimately changed how these kinds of cases are heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, now formally allowing class-action lawsuits.

This hour, Mr. Monk joins us along with his representation at Yale Law School’s Veterans Legal Services Clinic. We’ll discuss the new lawsuit they’ve filed against the VA, alleging racial discrimination.

Plus, a new report from the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center (CVLC) shows how racial disparities persist across military discharge status, and how this impedes veterans' access to benefits.

Across four out of five military branches and roughly one million separation documents CVLC obtained, Black service members "were approximately 1.5 times as likely as white service members to receive an Other Than Honorable rather than Honorable discharge, and approximately twice as likely as white service members to receive a General discharge."

While the VA has not responded to the suit directly, press secretary Terrence Hayes provided a written statement to Connecticut Public, saying that the agency is working to address "institutional racism" and to review policies.

What resources are there for veterans who are trying to secure benefits where we live, despite what can be burdensome discharge documentation?

GUESTS:

• Conley Monk Jr.: Vietnam Veteran; Founder, National Veterans Council for Legal Redress
• Michael Sullivan: Student Intern, Yale Law School’s Veterans Legal Services Clinic
• Alden Pinkham: Connecticut Bar Association Singer Fellow, Connecticut Veterans Legal Center
• Chelsea Donaldson: Supervising Attorney of the Veterans Benefits Unit, Connecticut Veterans Legal Center

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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While contestants with Connecticut ties have appeared on the reality competition series RuPaul's Drag Race in the past, the Season 15 premiere on MTV marks the first time more than one Connecticut drag queen has been represented.

Robin Fierce from Hartford, Loosey LaDuca from Ansonia, Amethyst from West Hartford and Jax from the Bronx, raised in Connecticut, comprised this season's Connecticut contingent.

This hour, Loosey and Robin join us to discuss how they discovered drag, developed their artistry, and why they’re determined to confront misunderstanding by showcasing drag as a force for good.

GUESTS:

• Loosey LaDuca: Contestant, RuPaul's Drag Race
• Robin Fierce: Contestant, RuPaul's Drag Race

Cat Pastor contributed to this episode which originally aired January 27, 2023.

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How are museums where we live faring in returning sacred Indigenous objects and human remains, more than thirty years after a federal law mandated "repatriation"?

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA, was passed by Congress in 1990. It called for federal agencies and federally-funded museums to repatriate Native American cultural items, including sacred objects and in many cases human remains.

A recent in-depth report from ProPublica found that museums and institutions across the country had failed to "expeditiously" meet that federal law where it concerns human remains.

For example, the nearby Harvard Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology has made just 39% of the more than 10,000 Native American remains it reported to the federal government “available for return.”

ProPublica reporters Mary Hudetz and Logan Jaffe join us. Kate Seltzer with Connecticut Public’s investigative team, The Accountability Project, shares what she found when she checked in with museums where we live.

Plus, Connecticut Humanities executive director Jason Mancini addresses a "trust deficit" among tribes.

"Working with tribes takes time. Relationships don't happen automatically because a piece of legislation happens... that takes years, it takes trust-building. And one of the challenges with Connecticut is there's a trust deficit with tribal communities."

"Let's not lose sight of the fact that you know, three of the tribes are only state-recognized, and have very little resources to do anything, and don't have deep tribal economies to support this kind of work. So I think we need to consider all of that in the equation."

GUESTS:

• Mary Hudetz: Member, Crow Tribe; Reporter, ProPublica; Former President, Native American Journalists Association
• Logan Jaffe: Reporter, ProPublica
• Kate Seltzer: Howard Center for Investigative Reporting Fellow, The Accountability Project
• Jason Mancini: Executive Director, Connecticut Humanities; Former Director, Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center

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Today on Where We Live, Governor Ned Lamont joins us for an in-depth conversation on the 2023 legislative session and what’s happening around our state. We hear about his priorities for his second term in office.

We’ll talk about housing, road safety, healthcare, and all the issues that are impacting us where we live.

And we want to give you the opportunity to ask our state’s top official your questions. So what are your questions for Governor Lamont? We want to hear from you.

GUESTS:

• Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont
• Susan Raff, Chief Capitol Reporter, WFSB TV

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A new docuseries called Stepping Into the Shade is in the works, digging into Connecticut's history of shade tobacco farming.

A team at Eastern Connecticut State University, along with host and producer June Archer, tell a kind of oral history of the influence of the seasonal workers on these farms, and their influence on diversity where we live as well as the Civil Rights Movement.

This hour, we preview the docuseries and go behind-the-scenes. Do you have ties to the shade tobacco industry in our state? Contact the production team.

GUESTS:

• June Archer: Host; Producer; Author; Music Executive
• Brian Day: Assistant Professor of Filmmaking at Eastern Connecticut State University, Director, Stepping Into the Shade
• Kristen Morgan: Associate Professor of Theatre and New Media Studies, Eastern Connecticut State University
• Jason Oliver Chang:  Associate Professor of History, UConn; Director, Asian and Asian American Studies Institute at UConn

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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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.

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

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