Next year, the United States will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Right now, many organizations are preparing for the anniversary here in Connecticut and beyond.

Today, we’ll hear from some of those institutions about their anniversary plans, the importance of learning from the past, and more.

The conversation was originally recorded at Connecticut’s America 250 2025 Conference held at the University of Connecticut and organized by CT Humanities.

GUESTS:

• Tom Schuch: Archival Historian, at the New London County Historical Society

• Norman Berman: President of the Temple Beth Israel Preservation Society

• Sylvester Salcedo: Connecticut Veteran and Content Developer

• Anne Dropick: Executive Director, Eidetic Productions, Inc.

• Jason Mancini: Executive Director of CT Humanities and Vice Chair of Connecticut’s America 250 Commission

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump has signed an executive order that will begin eliminating the Education Department.

And while most experts agree that it would require an act of Congress to scrap the department entirely, significant workforce reductions have already begun.

The White House says that these actions will save money and improve student test scores. But critics say that vulnerable students, rural communities, and teachers will be left in a lurch.

This hour, we're joined by former United States Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona. We'll explore what a future with no Education Department looks like for students and schools in Connecticut and beyond.

GUESTS:

• Miguel Cardona: former United States Secretary of Education
• Christina Samuels:  Deputy Managing Editor, The Hechinger Report
• Jessika Harkay: Education reporter, CT Mirror

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Muslims, Ramadan is the holiest month of the year. It’s marked by fasting, prayer and renewing one’s devotion to the faith. Here in Connecticut, institutions around the state are marking this holy time with a variety of celebrations.

But throughout the world, Islamophobia is on the rise. Earlier this month in Waterbury, two young girls celebrating Ramadan were attacked by fellow students. During the attack, their hijabs were ripped off.

Today, we hear what can be done to better support the Islamic community, and dive deeper into this holy time.

GUESTS:

• Chaplain Aida Mansoor: Director of Field Education at Hartford International University
• Chad Moir: CEO of March Inc
• Saba Shahid: Author, entrepreneur and pilot
• Dia Fortenberry: Assistant Athletic Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Engagement at Wesleyan University

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, we’re exploring the history of tap dance in America.

Tap was first developed as a fusion of footwork styles with roots in Africa and Ireland. Over the decades, tap legends like Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Eleanor Powell, and Gregory Hines popularized the artform and brought it to the national stage.

Local dancers, choreographers, and teachers join us to discuss how they are keeping the rich legacy of tap dance alive in their work today.

GUESTS:

• Kevin Ramsey: Chair of the Theater Division, University of Hartford

• Ralph Perkins: Associate Professor of Dance and Music Theater, University of Hartford 

• Katie Cavenagh: founder of the Connecticut Tap Collaborative

• Jillian McNamara: founder of the American Dance Collaborative

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

This episode originally aired on December 2, 2024.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tolkien Reading Day is held on March 25th each year.

Libraries here in Connecticut and across the globe mark this day by paying homage to the works of J.R.R Tolkien. They host “second breakfasts,” offer presentations on Hobbit lore, and encourage visitors to read their favorite passages aloud.

This hour, we explore why Tolkien's characters and fantastical world building continues to resonate with readers today.

GUESTS:

• David Thorn Wenzel, Illustrator and children's book artist best known for his graphic novel adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit
• Michael Whelan: Illustrator specializing in fantasy and science fiction, winner of 15 Hugo Awards
• Kate Noonan: Senior Reference Librarian, South Windsor Public Library

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Daylight Saving Time: it’s just losing one hour of sleep right? How bad can that be?

But experts say, it goes beyond losing one hour of sleep. The practice of advancing clocks to make better use of daylight, can have long term disruptions to our circadian rhythm. That’s according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Today, we explore just how disruptive Daylight Saving Time can be to our sleep, our health and our behavior, and hear about some efforts to change it.

Would you like to see Daylight Saving Time abolished?

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Decades ago, actors like Clint Eastwood and John Wayne made their names playing gun-slingers in movies set in the American West. But Westerns aren’t just a thing of the past and they’re not just on the big screen.

Today, we’ll spend the hour with Pulitzer Prize winning author Hernan Diaz and hear how he subverted the Western genre in his first novel In the Distance. 

We spoke with him back in February at the Westport Library. His novel, was the 2025 selection for WestportREADS, an initiative to strengthen community through the shared experience of a book. He’ll also talk about the mythology of the American West, disorientation in his work, and the power of public libraries.

Find more about the WestportREADS series here.

GUEST:

• Hernan Diaz: author of In the Distance and Trust

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reproductive health is historically understudied and underfunded in the United States. Scientists across Connecticut and beyond have been working to change that.

Scientific initiatives like EndoRISE, a Connecticut-based program focused on advancing endometriosis research, are making strides toward better understanding reproductive health.

This hour, we explore how President Trump’s recent funding cuts could impact their progress.

GUESTS:

• Michayla Savitt: State Government Reporter, CT Public 
• Dr. Danielle Luciano: Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and co-director of EndoRISE
• Dr. Lubna Pal: Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine
• Julie Rovner: Chief Washington Correspondent, KFF

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This season alone, there have been over 30,000 COVID-19 cases in Connecticut. That’s according to the Connecticut Department of Public Health.

Measles is on the rise across the United States, and the CDC is monitoring H5 bird flu activity as well.

Is it time to start preparing for the next global pandemic?

Last year, the World Health Organization published a checklist to help nations update their pandemic preparedness plans.

Today, physicians across our state join us to talk about what we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, and how to prepare for the next one.

GUESTS:

• Dr. Ulysses Wu: Chief Epidemiologist at Hartford Healthcare
• Dr. Megan Ranney: Dean of Yale School of Public Health and Professor of Emergency Medicine

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Five years ago today, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Since then, there have been over a million COVID-19 deaths in the United States alone.

It can be challenging to recall a time with so much fear, trauma and loss. But today, we’re revisiting the earliest days of the pandemic and asking you, what do you remember?

We’ll hear from the Pandemic Journaling Project out of UConn, and from Marked By COVID. This is a survivors-led organization working to establish a permanent National COVID memorial.

What are your earliest memories of the first days of the COVID-19 pandemic?

GUESTS:

• Kristin Urquiza: Co-founder of Marked By COVID
• Sarah Willen, PhD, MPH: Co-founder of the Pandemic Journaling Project and Professor of Anthropology at University of Connecticut

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.