Where We Live

The Republican and Democratic state conventions have concluded and today, Mark Pazniokas joins us to break down the state conventions.

The Republican convention endorsed socially moderate Themis Klarides for the U.S. Senate. Democrats have endorsed a diverse pool of candidates for several state positions.

Later, we hear from Andrea Comer of the Social Equity Council and get an update on cannabis in our state.

Election season is fast approaching. Who do you want to see on the ballot in 2022?

GUESTS:

• Mark Pazniokas - Capitol Bureau Chief for Connecticut Mirror
• Andrea Comer - Deputy Commissioner at the Department of Consumer Protection, and Chairperson of Social Equity Council
• Julia Bergman - State Politics Reporter at Hearst Connecticut

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When you head to New York, do you ever take a break from the city and get lost on a trail in Central Park? This hour, we take a look at the life of the man behind that beloved and iconic city park: Connecticut native Frederick Law Olmsted.

Although best known for his work designing New York’s Central Park, Olmsted was also a journalist and abolitionist. And he shaped landscapes here in Connecticut and across the country, changing how we think about the role of nature in the process.

This hour we sit down with historians and landscape architects to talk about Frederick Law Olmsted’s legacy.

GUESTS:

• Justin Martin: Author, Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted
• Walt Woodward: Connecticut State Historian; Associate Professor of History, UConn; Host, Grating The Nutmeg podcast
• Phil Barlow: Founding Principal, ToDesign LLC Landscape Architects
• Beka Sturges - Principal Landscape Architect, New Haven Office of Reed Hilderbrand

Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on September 9, 2019.

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If you experience headaches, fatigue or gastrointestinal issues during difficult times, you’re not alone.

Today, we explore the link between our physical and mental health. Doctors typically treat these areas of health separately, but there is a lot more connecting these two areas of health than you might think.

Dr. Julian Ford, clinical psychologist and professor in the department of psychiatry at the UConn School of Medicine joins us to talk about the physical consequences of chronic stress.

We want to hear from you. How has stress impacted your overall health?

GUESTS:

• Dr. Julian Ford - Clinical psychologist and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine
• Aneri Pattani - National Correspondent with Kaiser Health News
• Heather Labbe - Director of Trauma Informed Wellness and Education at the YWCA in New Britain, Connecticut

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Warmer winters in Connecticut are helping to welcome invasive ticks, and the diseases they can carry.

Nearly half of the ticks in Connecticut are carrying one pathogen, according to Dr. Goudarz Molaei, head of the state's tick surveillance program; and at least three invasive tick species are being tracked.

Mary Beth Pfeiffer joins to touch more on the link between climate change and the spread of ticks.

Plus, diagnosing tick-borne diseases is tough enough, but Chronic author Dr. Steven Phillips points out some medical myths and misnomers making it harder.

What can help us better prevent, and treat, vector-borne illnesses?

GUESTS:

• Dr. Steven Phillips: Physician; Author, Chronic: The Hidden Cause of the Autoimmune Pandemic and How to Get Healthy Again
• Mary Beth Pfeiffer: Investigative Journalist; Author, Lyme: The First Epidemic of Climate Change
• Dr. Goudarz Molaei: Research Scientist, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Center; Director of the Tick and Tick-borne Diseases Surveillance Program, Center for Vector Biology and Zoonotic Diseases

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Connecticut lawmakers passed legislation strengthening reproductive rights, making the state a “place of refuge” for people seeking abortions.

This hour on Where We Live, we talk about this measure – which has become more important in light of the leaked Supreme Court documents — indicating a decision to overturn Roe. V. Wade.

The Guttmacher Institute reports that nine states have enacted a total of 33 abortion restrictions as of April 15. More states are writing restrictions into law. States have enacted 11 measures protecting abortion access in seven states. Guttmacher reports that 2020 was the first year that more than half of U.S. abortions were medication abortions.

According to data obtained by Where We Live, there were 9,373 abortion visits at Planned Parenthood of Southern New England’s (PPSNE) 14 health centers in Connecticut in 2021 – of which 6,282 were Medication Abortions (MAB), and 3,091 were in-clinic abortions.

PPSNE is the largest provider of abortion care in Connecticut, while Hartford GYN is the state’s only independent clinic for abortion.

Connecticut’s “safe haven” legislation is first-of-its-kind in the nation.

Produced by Sujata Srinivasan. Special thanks to Matt Dwyer and Camila Vallejo for extra audio.

GUESTS: 

• Rep. Matt Blumenthal (D-Stamford, Darien): House Vice-Chair of the Judiciary Committee
• Julia Simon–Kerr: Professor of Law, University of Connecticut School of Law
• Dr. Kate Pascucci: OB-GYN, West Hartford

Where We Live is dedicated to exploring the issues and impact of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe. We wanted to create a space to make it easy for our listeners to find all of this content with one click. Visit ctpublic.org/PostRoeWorld for easy access to our ongoing coverage.

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The journey to comprehensive content moderation on Twitter has been a long one, but the tech giant might be changing course.

Today, we're talking about what Twitter might look like under Elon Musk and if free speech and content moderation can coexist together.

Georgia Wells, Tech Reporter from Wall Street Journal, breaks down what we’re seeing and hearing from Elon Musk.

Later, we hear from Evan Greer, Director for Fight for the Future, to talk about balancing free speech while making the internet safe for everyone.

Are you still using Twitter? We want to hear from you.

GUESTS:

• Georgia Wells - Tech Reporter, Wall Street Journal
• Evan Greer - Director at Fight for the Future, a nonprofit digital rights organization that organizes online to oppose Internet censorship legislation, support net neutrality, and rein in corporate and government surveillance.
• Joan Donovan - Research Director for the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University

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Union election petitions are up 57% over the last year, and "Starbucks petitions account for nearly a quarter of all petitions filed since January," reports NPR labor and workplace correspondent Andrea Hsu.

This hour, we hear from Hsu about this momentum, and from one Starbucks employee and union organizer in West Hartford. The Corbin's Corner location was the first in our state to file for a union election last month.

Teachers at Common Ground High School in New Haven voted 62-8 to unionize last year. We'll get the latest on where collective bargaining stands in the wake of teacher cuts. School administrators insist the cuts are budget-related, and "deeply regret any appearance that this process is related to union organizing."

Hsu reports that since 2012, "the share of petitions coming from manufacturing companies has fallen by about half." So what are the conditions driving this broader push for organized labor?

Plus, Wednesday marks the final day of the legislative session, and prison reform advocates are calling for COVID-19 protections. We check in with the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice about the #FreeThemNowCT campaign.

GUESTS:

• Andrea Hsu: Labor and Workplace Correspondent, NPR
• Kuzco Gong: Partner, Starbucks; Union Organizer
• Emily Schmidt: Chemistry and Physics Teacher, Common Ground High School; Member, UAW Local 2110
• Chelsea Farrell: Organizer, UAW Local 2110
• Kenyatta Muzzanni: Director of Organizing, Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice

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Weight loss surgery has become more accessible, but there are still concerns and stigma around these procedures.

Today, we talk to surgeons in our state, about the pros and cons of bariatric surgery. We hear from a local Connecticut resident who had bariatric surgery in 2021.

Did you know minors starting at age 10 are eligible for bariatric surgery?

Drs. Melissa Santos and Christine Finck at Connecticut Children's unpack that for us and we learn about the type of conversations specialists have with children and parents, before deciding on surgery.

What questions do you have about weight loss surgery?

GUESTS:

• Dr. John Morton - Professor and Vice Chair of Bariatric and Minimally Invasive Surgery for Yale New Haven Hospital System
• Kate Medina - Bariatric surgery patient
• Dr. Melissa Santos - Division Chief of Pediatric Psychology at Connecticut Children’s and Clinical Director for the Pediatric Obesity Center
• Dr. Christine Finck - Pediatric Surgeon and Surgeon in Chief at Connecticut Children’s. She is also the Executive Vice President and Professor of Surgery at UConn School of Medicine.

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How does craft deepen your understanding of your history, your community, or yourself? And how can predominantly-white craft spaces better welcome diverse experiences?

Textile artist and printmaker Jen Hewett threads the needle on these questions in her latest book, This Long Thread: Women of Color on Craft, Community and Connection. The book includes interviews with 19 fiber artists, and surveys hundreds of creators of color, all of whom draw on their relationship with making. This hour, we hear from Hewett.

Plus, Susi Ryan is an author and social justice activist from Connecticut who co-founded the quilt guild, Sisters In Stitches Joined By The Cloth. Ryan recently wrote a piece about how craft connects her to her ancestors, titled "Cloth Has Given Me A Voice," for Mass Humanities' We, Too, Are America series. She says, "Cloth has given me a voice to recall the memory of my enslaved ancestors."

1 of 2Sisters In Stitches Joined By The Cloth quilt exhibit at a Venture Smith Day event. Smith became a successful farmer in colonial Connecticut, and documented his life and his experience of slavery in the 18th century.Sisters In Stitches Joined By The Cloth2 of 2Sisters In Stitches Joined By The Cloth quilt exhibit at a Venture Smith Day event. Smith became a successful farmer in colonial Connecticut, and documented his life and his experience of slavery in the 18th century.Sisters In Stitches Joined By The Cloth

"The quilts that I create visually depict and document in cloth the life journeys of my family, my ancestors, and the many others who lived through the African diaspora," Ryan writes. "The stories my quilts tell allow me to ease into uncomfortable conversations about such critical issues as racism, social and medical justice, prison reform, African American history and literature, farm, food and housing sustainability, climate change, women’s rights, religion, politics, and human trafficking, that sadly still exists today."

GUESTS:

• Jen Hewett: Printmaker; Textile Artist; Author, This Long Thread: Women of Color on Craft, Community, and Connection
• Susi Ryan: Author; Speaker; Social Justice Activist; Co-Founder, Sisters In Stitches Joined By The Cloth

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Stanley Black & Decker, Xerox, and Otis Elevator are among a growing list of Connecticut companies exiting or reducing ties with Russia, as a result of its war in Ukraine.

This hour on Where We Live, we hear from a Yale School of Management researcher who is compiling the global list, on whether and how the corporate exodus – as well as pull backs by state pension funds – could impact decisions by the Russian leadership. We look at how corporate exits helped to end apartheid, and how individual investors and customers are exercising their voice in corporate governance and on broader, geo-political ideologies.

Beyond ideology and de-risking, we also hear from the author of a Harvard Business Review paper on how companies in ESG-focussed portfolios (Environment, Social, Governance) perform badly on ESG, and how little influence investors have on the ESG behavior of companies or countries.

That might be the case for large corporations, but in Connecticut and elsewhere, young, socially-minded entrepreneurs are successfully launching ESG companies – and raising funds from investors who share their dream. We hear more from the founder of an incubator – a social enterprise in Hartford.

GUESTS:

• Steven Tian: Research Director, Yale School of Management Chief Executive Leadership Institute
• Sanjai Bhagat: Provost Professor of Finance at the University of Colorado at Boulder
• Kate Emery: Founder of the Walker Group and Founder of reSET Social Enterprise Trust

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