Where We Live

After losing the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump made false claims about voter fraud, reigniting efforts from Republicans to restrict voting access across the country. States like Florida, Texas, and Georgia all have passed sweeping voting restrictions.

But here in Connecticut, the opposite has been true. There's been a push to expand voting access, after residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of early voting last November. Now, lawmakers in the state Capitol are figuring out what that could look like in Connecticut. This hour, we look at the state of voting rights in Connecticut and at the national level.

GUESTS:

• Jaden Edison: Justice Reporter, The Connecticut Mirror
• Dr. Bilal Sekou: Hillyer College Associate Professor of Politics and Government, University of Hartford
• Jonathan Wharton: Associate Professor of Political Science and Urban Affairs, Southern Connecticut State University 
• Ruth Greenwood: Director of the Election Law Clinic, Harvard Law School

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Eric Jacobsen is completing his final season with the Greater Bridgeport Symphony. Today on Where We Live, we talk to Eric about his work as a conductor and we’ll also hear about the search for the next Greater Bridgeport Symphony conductor.

The performing art took a huge financial hit during the pandemic, but the Greater Bridgeport Symphony found a way to gather and perform during this time.

We hear about their commitment to serving the Greater Bridgeport community, and their work to get the children interested in classical music.

Have questions about what life is like working in an orchestra? We want to hear from you.

GUESTS:

• Eric Jacobsen: conductor at the Greater Bridgeport Symphony orchestra. He is also a cellist and a member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project
• Mark Halstead: Executive Director of the Greater Bridgeport Symphony
• Chelsea Tipton II: Music Director of the Symphony of Southeast Texas, in Beaumont, Texas He also serves as the Principal Pops Director for the New Haven Symphony Orchestra in Connecticut

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Pay transparency is a growing movement across the United States.Connecticut adopted its own legislation in the form of “An Act Concerning the Disclosure of Salary Ranges,” which went into effect on October 1, 2021.Today we talk about the types of pay transparency, the challenges that come with it, and what companies are doing to lessen the anxiety of talking about pay.We hear from the VP of Compensation Consulting at Salary.com, Garry Straker.What does the salary transparency movement mean for you?GUESTS:

• Garry Straker: VP of Compensation Consulting at Salary.com
• Hannah Williams: CEO and Founder of Salary Transparent Street 
• Mandi Woodruff-Santos: Founder of group coaching community Mandi Money Makers
• Peter Bamberger: Professor of Management at Coller School of Management at Tel Aviv University and Author of Exposing Pay: Pay Transparency and What It Means for Employees, Employers, and Public Policy

This show was pre-taped on December 15th, 2022, and originally aired December 20, 2022.

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Toys are occasionally marketed to "children of all ages." In recent years, market research has shown the number of toy-buyers over 12 years old is growing.

The demographic, sometimes called "kidults," now comprises a quarter of the annual toy retail market, and an impressive 60% of the market’s growth in the last year, according to market research company NPD Group.

Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, a professor of psychology at Temple University, discusses why familiar toys might appeal to us today, and the links between how we played as children and how we socialize now.

Plus, one California-based slime-maker is raking in millions from children and adults alike. There's even one slime product called "Clay-Doh."

What toy from your childhood still sparks joy? Connecticut Public staffers and listeners respond.

GUESTS:

• Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek: Professor of Psychology, Temple University; Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
• Olivya Soth: Co-Owner, OG Slimes

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he rate of deaths caused by domestic violence in Connecticut hasn't changes much over several decades, averaging 14 intimate partner homicides per year. What has changed is the degree of lethality of these events. When they do occur, they are more aggressive and have an increased risk of being fatal.

This hour, we’ll hear from the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence. We’ll learn about statewide efforts to reduce domestic violence, and what teen dating violence looks like.

And we'll learn more about a recent law passed in Connecticut on coercive control, allowing individuals experiencing psychological abuse and other non-physical forms of abuse to file a restraining order.

GUESTS:

• Meghan Scanlon: CEO of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence
• Barbara Damon: Executive Director, Prudence Crandall Center

If you need help or just someone to talk to, please visit CTSafeConnect.org or call or text (888) 774-2900. Advocates are available 24/7. You can also visit the National Domestic Violence Hotline or call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text "START" to 88788. Learn more about lethality by visiting The Laurel Center's "Lethality Assessment"

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There have been more than 80 mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. But gun violence isn’t just limited to mass shootings. Every day, hundreds of Americans are shot in murders, suicides, and more.

In Connecticut, there are some of the strongest gun laws in the U.S. Yet gun violence continues to rock communities across the state. While Governor Ned Lamont has put forward a comprehensive and ambitious gun safety agenda, Second Amendment groups are already pushing back. This hour, we examine the state of gun reform in Connecticut and at the federal level.

Plus, in the coming weeks, thousands of Nutmeggers — especially low income residents — are expected to lose Medicaid coverage if they don’t act soon.

GUESTS:

• Mark Pazniokas: Capitol Bureau Chief, CT Mirror
• Christine Stuart: Editor-in-Chief, CTNewsJunkie
• Chip Brownlee: Reporter, The Trace
• Sujata Srinivasan: Senior Health Reporter, Connecticut Public Radio

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The Environmental Protection Agency recently launched a new office dedicated to environmental justice and civil rights.

EPA administrator Michael Regan says the 200-person office was needed to elevate the fight for overlooked communities, who are too-often left vulnerable to pollution, contamination, or as one guest notes, "food apartheid." There are plans to distribute $3 billion in grant money to communities in need.

This hour, we dig into the issue of environmental justice. What are the environmental injustices where we live, and who is pushing for change? How are EJ advocates feeling?

Sharon Lewis is the executive director of the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice, who says she is experiencing the issue firsthand after her home in Hartford's North End was rendered uninhabitable due to sewage overflow and flooding issues.

While the EPA is actively investigating sewage issues in the area alongside the State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Metropolitan District Commission or MDC, the non-profit corporation overseeing sewage and water service in the region, says they believe Lewis is dealing with a "private property issue," versus a failure of infrastructure.

There is a GoFundMe raising money to help pay for repairs and Lewis' temporary housing at a hotel, but she says she is hoping for further updates from federal, state or local authorities.

Lewis joins us to discuss her recent experience, and how it has informed the work she does. She touches on common misconceptions about environmental justice and its application. "It's everybody's problem," she says.

Lewis says the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice is also working on a water justice campaign in Hartford's North End.

Hartford Courant social justice and race reporter Deidre Montague shares her reporting. Plus, we hear from Kat Morris, a local scholar-activist for intersectional environmental justice.

GUESTS:

• Sharon Lewis: Executive Director, Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice
• Deidre Montague: Social Justice and Race Reporter, Hartford Courant
• Kat Morris: Scholar-Activist for Intersectional Environmental Justice

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We just passed the one marker of the war in Ukraine.

President Biden’s recent trip abroad signified the United States’ support of Ukraine, but experts are saying that the end of the war is not in sight. Americans are divided on how involved our country should be in the war effort. Would you like to see the United States increase military aid for Ukraine?

Today, we talk to members of the Ukrainian diaspora living in Connecticut, as well as a Ukrainian American, currently living in Ukraine to support the war effort. What should Connecticut residents do to support Ukrainians living in our state?

You can learn more about sponsoring a family from Ukraine by visiting Connecticut for Ukraine.

GUESTS

• Alex Kuzma: Chief Development Officer for the Ukrainian Catholic University Foundation
• Dana Bucin: Immigration Attorney at Murtha Cullina and Honorary Consul of Romania to Connecticut 
• Larissa Babij: writer, translator and dancer living in Kyiv, Ukraine. Her newsletter is “A Kind of Refugee.”

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Of the millions of people working in STEM fields in the U.S., only 9% are Black, according to the Pew Research Center. Those numbers are "unchanged" since 2016.

How can efforts around “inclusivity” in these fields go farther? Environmental scientist Dr. Nyeema Harris has written about the importance of Blackology.

“Blackologists are not simply scholars that are Black but, rather, are scholars who deliberately leverage and intersect Blackness into advancing knowledge production," she writes.

Dr. Harris joins us to discuss how this approach is applied to environmental science and so many other disciplines.

Plus, public health professor Dr. Ijeoma Opara discusses her work to reduce racial health disparities, and to "strengthen the pipeline of Black youth to the field of public health research."

GUESTS:

• Dr. Ijeoma Opara: Assistant Professor, Yale School of Public Health; Assistant Clinical Professor, Yale School of Nursing
• Dr. Nyeema Harris: Knobloch Family Associate Professor of Wildlife and Land Conservation, Yale School of the Environment

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Artificial intelligence and the academic world is colliding and challenging colleges to develop stronger policies around academic integrity.

Today, we talk about how Chatgpt - a new AI app - is taking universities by storm. We’ll also learn about some of the bigger conversations around AI and ethics. Many times, these applications are built with biases, sometimes leading to devastating consequences.

Reid Blackman, author of Ethical Machines, says companies need to keep this in mind when using these programs.

Have you tested out Chatgpt?

GUESTS:

• Reid Blackman: author of Ethical Machines: Your Concise Guide to Totally Unbiased, Transparent, and Respectful AI
• Alfred Guy: R.W.B. Lewis Director of Writing and Tutoring at Yale University
• Jeff Young: Editor of EdSurge, an education journalism initiative

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