Where We Live

When we hear about the climate crisis, it can often be framed as a future or somehow distant dilemma. But environmental justice advocates point to the many ways present-day discriminatory practices and policies have resulted in stark instances of environmental racism here in the U.S.

One acclaimed Connecticut author is using his latest work of science fiction to reframe the climate crisis as inherently local, all while confronting issues of race, class, and gentrification.

Tochi Onyebuchi’s Goliath envisions his home of New Haven in the not-to-distant future, ravaged by climate crisis and abandoned by the mostly-white class of people who can afford it. Like his previous work of fiction, Riot Baby, Goliath carries pressing real-world implications.

This hour, he joins us to discuss.

GUESTS:

• Tochi Onyebuchi: Author, Goliath; Winner, New England Book Award; Finalist, Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and NAACP Image Award

Cat Pastor contributed to this report which originally aired September 9. 2022.

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but the holidays can be a difficult time for a number of reasons. The pressure to buy presents, fear of missing out, and spending time with difficult relatives can make enjoying this time of year challenging.

Today, we discuss navigating the holiday blues.

Rabbi Debra Cantor and Pastor Shawn Fisher join us to discuss ways to maximize your self care during this time of year and create your own traditions to enjoy this time of year to the fullest.

What are you doing to take care of yourself and beat the holiday blues?

GUESTS:

• Rabbi Debra Cantor: B'nai Tikvoh-Sholom Synagogue
• Pastor Shawn Fisher: Bloomfield Bloomfield Congregational Church
• Chester Elton: author of Leading with Gratitude and Anxiety at Work
• Carrie Vargas: psychologist and Regional Director of Ambulatory Services for the Behavioral Health Network at Hartford Healthcare

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Trains may often be billed as a toy for tots, but there are locomotive-lovers of all ages where we live. This hour, go for a ride on the Naugatuck Railroad at the Railroad Museum of New England, and one holiday train tailored for children on the autism spectrum.

Plus, Yale New Haven Children's Hospital is home to a toy train display that sparks joy in children and adults alike.

GUESTS:

• Christine Faressa: Founder and President, Sun, Moon & Stars
• Orion Newall: Passenger Operations Director, Naugatuck Railroad
• Ebony Wright: Registered Nurse; Assistant Patient Service Manager, Pediatric Specialty Center at Yale New Haven Children's Hospital
• Walt Zawalich: Volunteer Trains Curator, Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital and Eli Whitney Museum

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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 1st of 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 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”

This show is a pre-tape from December 15th, 2022. 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 story of the American Oystercatcher in Connecticut is "one of success and hope; however, because of the increasing threat from climate change and habitat loss, its future is uncertain," writes Audubon Connecticut Coastal Program Coordinator Beth Amendola. Whether the Oystercatcher, the Piping Plover or the Semipalmated Sandpiper, beach-nesting birds in Connecticut require "continual vigilance to maintain and increase their populations."

This hour, we hear takeaways from the latest "State of the Birds" report from the Connecticut Audubon Society, touching on the similar threats facing wading birds like herons and egrets.

Milan Bull, Senior Director of Science and Conservation for the Connecticut Audubon Society, says there are several holdouts of protected egret populations in Connecticut, but those populations are "teetering."

Plus, raptor nests are back on the rise in Connecticut. DEEP wildlife biologist Brian Hess joins us to discuss.

If you're interested in contributing to these conservation efforts or volunteering, you can find more information with the Connecticut Audubon Society and the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds.

GUESTS:

• Patrick Comins: Executive Director, Connecticut Audubon Society
• Milan Bull: Senior Director of Science and Conservation, Connecticut Audubon Society
• Elizabeth Amendola: Coastal Program Coordinator, Audubon Connecticut
• Brian Hess: Wildlife Division Biologist, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

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Numerous reports have said obesity in adults rose in the pandemic.

Childhood obesity has risen starkly too, but for different reasons than you may think.

Today, we explore how stress impacts childhood obesity.We hear from Julia A. Snethen, co author of article, “When Pandemics Collide: The Impact of COVID-19 on Childhood Obesity.” And later, we’ll learn how to have sensitive conversations about health and weight.

What questions do you have about improving your family’s health?

GUESTS:

• Julia A. Snethen: Professor and Director of the PhD program at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee College of Nursing
• Dr. Melissa Santos: Chief of Pediatric Psychology and Clinical Director for Pediatric Obesity at Connecticut Children's Medical Center

Cat Pastor contributed to this show which originally aired January 13, 2022.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.Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today by visiting ctpublic.org/donate. 

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Half of the world’s population is made up of women. And by 2025, the number of postmenopausal women is expected to rise to 1 billion, according to the North American Menopause Society.

Despite the $600 billion global market, menopause is still a taboo topic.

But new scientific research on menopause on the heels of previous studies show how and where we must invest in women’s health.

This hour on Where We Live, we learn more, and we talk to a “menopause doula” about treatment, gaps in care and myths. We also examine findings from new studies on the impact of trauma, disparities, and workplace policies on women’s bodies in midlife.

Find a North American Menopause Society-certified OBGYN, NP, or other practitioners here.

My Menoplan is a resource created by doctors and university-based menopause scientists who have worked together for over 25 years. This tool, funded by the National Institutes of Health, was designed so that women have a place to go to get accurate, up-to-date, science-based, unbiased, and personalized information about what treatments work and what treatments don’t work.

GUESTS: 

• Nathalie Bonafe: Menopause doula. Founder, Cafe Menopause Connecticut. Practitioner accredited by the North American Menopause Society
• Dr. Melissa Pearlstone: North American Menopause Society-accredited OBGYN, Westwood Women's Health, Waterbury
• Debbie Dickinson: Founder and CEO, Thermaband Inc., incubated at Yale and currently in the Harvard iLab and Harvard Alumni Accelerator program

For more on menopause, listen to Where We Live's show A Frank Discussion About Menopause With Dr. Jen Gunter. Dr. Jen Gunter is an OB/GYN, women’s health advocate, and New York Times columnist. She’s also the author of The Menopause Manifesto. The conversation with Dr. Gunter was broadcast in July 2021.

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It’s been ten years since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Twenty students and six educators died.

Today, we speak with a student who was a fourth grader at Sandy Hook when the shooting happened.

And later, we hear from Elizabeth Williamson, author of Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth.

We want to hear your thoughts, reflections, and prayers about this day.

Call the show between 9 - 10 a.m., on December 14, 2022. 888-720-9677
You can also leave us a comment on Facebook or Twitter (@wherewelive)

GUESTS:

• Jordan Gomes: A sophomore at Fordham University and advocate. She was a fourth grader at Sandy Hook Elementary when the shooting took place. 
• Elizabeth Williamson: Writer at the New York Times and author of Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth

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"Maintaining and bolstering trust in science has never been more critical," writes Connecticut College chemistry professor Marc Zimmer

.His latest book, Science and the Skeptic: Discerning Fact from Fiction, explores the impact and "origins of fake science." Written to help young readers "distinguish between science and fake science," Zimmer offers tips and tricks to help "detect science misrepresented for political gain and quackery." Read Marc Zimmer's "Twenty Rules" here:

Plus, Mark Ruede is Curriculum Supervisor of Science for Tolland Public Schools and Tolland County Director with the Connecticut Science Teachers Association. He discusses how the tricky and the topical are still tackled in the classroom.

GUESTS:

• Marc Zimmer: Chemistry Professor, Connecticut College; Author, Science and the Skeptic
• Mark Ruede: Curriculum Supervisor of Science, Tolland Public Schools; Tolland County Director, Connecticut Science Teachers Association

Connecticut Public intern Michayla Savitt helped to produce this episode.

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.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today by visiting ctpublic.org/donate.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bloomberg reported that a shorter work week experiment in Iceland found that workers maintained productivity and had improved well-being.

Today, Alex Pang, author of Shorter: Work Better, Smarter and Less - Here’s How, about how some companies are navigating a shorter work week, while paying workers the same salaries.

And later, we hear from Mike Melillo founder and CEO of the Wanderlust Group. He implemented the four day work week at his company at the start of the pandemic.

How would you spend your time if you only had to work four days, instead of five?

GUESTS:

• Alex Pang - author of books “Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less” and “Shorter: Work Better, Smarter and Less - Here’s How”
• Mike Melillo - Founder and CEO of the Wanderlust Group

Cat Pastor contributed to this show which originally aired January 27, 2022.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today by visiting ctpublic.org/donate. 

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.