Where We Live

There are over 150,000 veterans who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native, and more than 14,000 active-duty service members who identify as American Indian, according to reports from the federal departments of Veteran Affairs and Defense.

This hour, we celebrate our Native American veterans. Eastern Pequot Tribal Councilor and U.S. Army veteran Valerie Gambrell shares her story.

Councilor Gambrell will be honored at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center's annual Veterans Powwow this weekend. We'll preview the event with Wayne Reels and Robert Hayward, and discuss the history of Native American veterans in our state. You can register to attend the Powwow here

Plus, Alexandra Harris joins us from the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. She co-authored a recent book and exhibit titled, Why We Serve: Native Americans in the United States Armed Forces.

GUESTS:

• Valerie Gambrell: Councilor, Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation; Former Sergeant, U.S. Army
• Alexandra Harris: Senior Editor, Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian; Co-Author, Why We Serve: Native Americans in the United States Armed Forces
• Wayne Reels: Cultural Resources Director, Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center; Member, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation
• Robert Hayward: Director of Marketing, Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center; Member, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation

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Coming off the heels of Election Day, today on Where We Live we talk about the midterm election results and hear from our panel of experts.

We hear from Jonathan Wharton, Khalilah Brown-Dean and Julia Bergman. We will also hear from some of the candidates.

We break down what we saw last night and what we can expect to see from our newly elected officials.

We want to hear from you. Did you vote in yesterday's midterm?

GUESTS:

• Khalilah Brown-Dean: Professor of Political Science at Quinnipiac University and host of Connecticut Public’s Disrupted
• Jonathan Wharton: Professor of Political Science at Southern Connecticut State University and Associate Dean at the school of graduate and professional studies
• Julia Bergman: State Politics Reporter for CT Insider

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Sy Montgomery has authored over 30 books about animals.Today, she joins us to talk about her latest book, The Hawk’s Way: Encounters with Fierce Beauty. We learn about Sy’s lessons in falconry and what it takes to handle these incredible creatures.Later, we hear from A Place Called Hope Rehabilitation Center, a raptor rehabilitator located in Killingworth.If you’re a lover of birds of prey, we want to hear from you. What questions do you have about falconry?GUESTS:

• Sy Montgomery - Author of The Hawk’s Way: Encounters with Fierce Beauty
• Christine Cummings - Executive Director and Founder of A Place Called Hope Rehabilitation Center in Killingworth, Connecticut

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 May 13, 2022.

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Indian immigrant Indra Nooyi led PepsiCo as chairman and CEO for more than a decade, making her one of the most powerful women in corporate America.

Nooyi is also on the board of Amazon, a Dean's Advisory Council member at MIT's School of Engineering, and advisor on economic development to Gov. Ned Lamont. When the pandemic hit, she led the reopening committee with Dr. Albert Ko, who is the Raj and Indra Nooyi Professor of Public Health at the Yale School of Public Health.

This hour on Where We Live, Nooyi joins us to talk about her new book My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future.

We learn how paid leave impacted her early career after the birth of her children, and after a horrific car crash. Paid leave also allowed her to care for both her parents – her father had cancer, and her mother became paralyzed from the neck down. It’s one of the reasons she now urges companies to provide the benefit of paid leave for workers today.

GUEST:

• Indra Nooyi: Former Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo. Author of My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future

Cat Pastor contributed to this show which originally aired April 20.

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

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After nearly seven years of hosting Where We Live, today is Lucy's last live show.

Lucy isn't going anywhere! She has recently been promoted to VP of Community Engagement, where she will lead Connecticut Public's strategies to deeply connect and build collaborations with community-focused organizations across the state.

Before becoming a member of the company's senior leadership team, Lucy was the Executive Producer and Host of Connecticut Public's morning talk show and podcast, Where We Live, for nearly seven years. Under her leadership, WWL went beyond news headlines and interviews with policymakers to feature more conversations about Connecticut and the stories of its residents.

This hour on Where We Live, we look back at some of our favorite conversations and hear from some of our favorite guests.

Listeners and fans of Where We Live, we want to hear from you. What are some of your favorite conversations Lucy's had over the years? Drop us a message on Facebook or Twitter.

Lucy's Highlights:
Beyond Central Park: The legacy of Connecticut native Frederick Law Olmsted
A Conversation With Wanjiku Gatheru, UConn's First Rhodes Scholar
Tackling Islamophobia: A Connecticut Man’s Story Of Transformation
Who Owns History? Connecticut Woman Sues Harvard for Family Photos

GUESTS:

• Walt Woodward: Connecticut State Historian Emeritus
• Tamara Lanier: Retired Chief Probation Officer
• Tess Terrible: Where We Live Senior Producer

A NOTE TO OUR LISTENERS:
As we search for a new host, you will continue to hear in-depth storytelling and stay up to date on news and events across our state. In addition to hearing some of our previously recorded shows, Connecticut Public reporters will guest host and continue tackling issues, creating community, and sharing ideas with all of you. Stay tuned!

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Chief of the Mohegan Tribe Lynn Malerba made history when she was sworn in as U.S. Treasurer in September, the first Native American to be appointed to the role.

She was also appointed by President Joe Biden to oversee the launch of a new Office of Tribal and Native Affairs within the Treasury Department, developing "new ways to help tribes develop their economies to overcome challenges that are unique to tribal lands," the AP reported.

This hour, we hear from Chief Malerba about this important new post, and her efforts to improve communication between the U.S. Treasury and the 574 unique tribes that are federally recognized in the United States.

Plus, CT Humanities executive director Jason Mancini examined census records to reveal the historical erasure of New England's vibrant Native American population. He joins us to discuss.

GUESTS:

• Lynn Malerba: Chief, Mohegan Tribe; U.S. Treasurer
• Jason Mancini: Executive Director, CT Humanities

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This hour on Where We Live, we hear from two survivors of genocide. Theanvy Kuoch fled Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge in 1981, having lost 19 family members. Reena Aurora left India in 1989 five years after her brother was burned to death in the wave of anti-Sikh violence.

Both women struggled to find culturally fluent psychiatric care for themselves and their families, leading Theanvy and Reena to develop new models of mental health care for immigrant communities that straddle dual cultures.

We also hear from IRIS in New Haven on how the nonprofit is adding to its wellness team to better serve the mental health needs of recent Afghan and Ukrainian refugees.

GUESTS: 

Reena Kaur Aurora: Board Member, Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut
Theanvy Kuoch: Executive Director, Khamer Health Advocates. Family therapist and community health worker.
Ann O’Brien: Director of Sponsorship, Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services 

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Democratic candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania John Fetterman continues to recover from a stroke, but some have questioned his capacity to serve as a potential Senator. But disability rights advocates have come to his defense.

This hour, on Where We Live, we talk about ableism in life and politics.

Dr. Janet Williams, CEO and president of Minds Matter, LLC. and Lydia X. Z. Brown joins us. We also hear from Dr. Kevin Sheth, director of the Yale Center for Brain and Mind Health.

If you are part of the disabled community, we want to hear from you.

GUESTS:

• Dr. Janet Williams - CEO and president of Minds Matter LLC, an organization that assists people with disabilities to live work and play in the community
• Dr. Kevin Sheth -  Director of Yale Center for Brain and Mind Health
• Dan Schwartz - Employment Law Partner at Shipman and Goodwin and publisher of the Connecticut Employment Law Blog
• Lydia X. Z. Brown - disability rights advocate and candidate for Maryland State House

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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Descendants of accused witches in Connecticut are pushing for exoneration 375 years later, hoping our state will follow others in clearing their ancestors' names.

This hour, we hear from Beth Caruso and Sarah Jack, two of the five founders of the Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project. Their goal is to "clear the names of those wrongfully accused of witchcraft in Connecticut through legislation and establishing a permanent memorial to the victims of the witch trials."

We'll learn about a plan to propose exoneration legislation from Jane Garibay, State Representative for the 60th District, including Windsor. In 2017, the town voted to clear the names of Alice Young and Lydia Gilbert, both of whom were hanged in our state.

But first, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is closing out Bat Week, highlighting "astonishing losses" to populations of cave bats in Connecticut and across North America.

"White-nose syndrome has killed over 90% of northern long-eared, little brown, and tri-colored bats in North America in fewer than 10 years." A wildlife biologist joins us.

GUESTS:

• Devaughn Fraser: Wildlife Biologist, DEEP
• Beth Caruso: Co-Founder, Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project; Author, One of Windsor: The Untold Story of America’s First Witch Hanging
• Sarah Jack: Co-Founder, Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project; Co-Host, Thou Shalt Not Suffer: The Witch Trial Podcast
• Jane Garibay: 60th District State Representative

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Alexandra Horowitz is a dog cognition researcher, professor and the head scientist at Barnard College's Dog Cognition Lab. Her latest book, The Year of the Puppy, follows her first experience raising a puppy.

"Instead of following an instruction manual for a puppy, I wanted to follow the puppy," she writes. "By slowing down to observe the changes in our new charge from week to week, I hoped to make new sense of the dog’s behavior in a way that is missed in a focus only on training. I wanted to keep a lens firmly on the puppy’s point of view—how they begin to see and smell the world, make meaning of it, and become themselves."

This hour, Horowitz reflects on her year with Quid, and she answers your questions.

GUESTS:

• Alexandra Horowitz: Professor, Barnard College; Head Scientist, Dog Cognition Lab; Author, Year of the Puppy

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