Where We Live

Phil Klay's works of fiction and nonfiction have confronted the sometimes dissonant or disconnected public understanding about how America’s wars are waged — and its veterans. The Fairfield University MFA professor and Marine Corps veteran joins Where We Live to reflect on how some public perceptions have shifted in recent months.

Klay revisits his debut book, Redeployment, and touches on his latest book, Missionaries. How much do we really know about America's military missions overseas?

GUESTS:

• Phil Klay - Author and Fairfield University MFA Professor of Creative Writing

Click here to read an excerpt from MISSIONARIES by Phil Klay, published by Penguin Press, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright © 2020 by Phil Klay. Available in paperback.

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This hour on Where We Live, a look at climate change and health. Physicians turned climate activists see worsening asthma, COPD, and seasonal shifts in vector-borne diseases, plus higher ER visits for heat stress.

Hartford and New Haven have the unfortunate distinction of being in the list of Top 20 Asthma Capitals in the country, according to the 2021 report from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. The American Lung Association puts Fairfield County in its map for the highest ozone in the eastern half of the U.S., in part because of pollution transported from other states.

The Governor’s Council on Climate Change, Science and Technology Working Group in its 2020 report projected that average temperatures in Connecticut could increase by 5º F (2.7º C) by 2050 compared to the 1970-1999 baseline.

Our planet is heading towards a crisis brought on by climate change, but experts say our physical and mental health is also at risk.

A 2020 report by the Yale Center on Climate Change and Health found that between 2007 and 2016, heat stress led to an average 422 emergency department visits and 45 hospitalizations per year.

Connecticut Public Radio’s Nicole Leonard reported that New Haven, Hartford, Litchfield, Tolland, and Windham counties experienced an increase in heavy precipitation, which can and has led to a growth in ticks and mosquitoes, increasing the risk for vector-borne diseases.

Meanwhile, health insurers including Connecticut-headquartered Cigna and Aetna hold $24 billion in investments in fossil fuel.

As the United Nations’ climate summit — COP26 — is in its second week in Scotland with world leaders negotiating how best to limit global warming, what can we do at the state and individual level?

GUESTS:

Kate Rozen: Asthmatic Cyclist, Woodbridge

Dr. David Hill: Member, National Board of Directors, American Lung Association, Director of Clinical Research, Waterbury Pulmonary Associates

Susan A. Masino: Professor of Applied Science at Trinity College, and a Charles Bullard Fellow at Harvard Forest. Past Co-chair, the Governor’s Council on Climate Change, Science and Technology Working Group

Tom Swan: Executive Director, Connecticut Citizen Action Group 

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Deciding to quit your job often takes time and consideration. But more and more people are saying, “I quit” with or without two weeks’ notice.

This hour, we talk about why Americans are leaving the workplace. Some have dubbed it “The Great Resignation”

The labor shortage goes beyond people quitting; it includes those that won’t return to low wage jobs with bad managers.

Coming up, we hear from Karla Miller, Work Advice Columnist at the Washington Post.

And later, Jackie Gallo of Chief Operating Office Whitcraft Group joins us. Facing the labor shortage head on, she has worked to employ formerly incarcerated residents in her workplace

In August, 4.3 million Americans quit their jobs. Were you one of them? We want to hear from you.

GUESTS:

• Karla Miller - Work Advice Columnist at the Washington Post
• Jackie Gallo - Chief Operating Office at Whitcraft Group in Connecticut

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Without adding any frills or frights, the Mark Twain House & Museum spotlights the home’s history with spiritualism, and maybe some spirits along the way. Hear from staffers there, and the restoration experts who help bring historic homes like it back to life.

Plus, learn about the "ghost signs" from the 1800s being delicately unearthed in Old Saybrook.

• Mallory Howard - Mark Twain House & Museum Assistant Curator
• Grace Belanger - Mark Twain House & Museum Associate Director of Interpretation
• John Canning - John Canning & Co. Founder and Principal
• David Riccio - John Canning & Co. Principal

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A new two-year, $500,000 grant program can help Connecticut schools improve on child nutrition through "farm-to-school" programming. Overseen by the Department of Agriculture and with funding through the American Rescue Plan Act, schools can tailor the grant to address infrastructural needs, whether a stove or a new greenhouse; to buy local farm fresh food; or to integrate experiential learning opportunities with agriculture. Schools may teach kids about where their food comes from, but how often is that experience hands-on?

Hear from FoodCorps along with local schools and farms about why farm-to-school programming isn’t a niche extracurricular, but a factor of food security.

• Dawn Crayco - FoodCorps Northeast Regional Director
• Joey Listro - New Britain ROOTS Founder and Executive Director; New Britain Board of Education Wellness Committee Chair
• Erika Bahler - Agricultural Science & Technology Education Department Head at Rockville High School
• Monica Maccera-Filppu - Common Ground High School Executive Director
• Zania Johnson - Micro2Life Co-founder

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President Biden has met with Pope Francis in Rome. The President later sharing that the Pope told him he was a good Catholic and should continue to receive communion.

This hour, we talk about what it means to be Catholic in the 21st century.

Although the Vatican has not changed much of its doctrine, lay Catholics viewpoints and opinions have changed and evolved with the times.

We hear from Celia Viggo Wexler, author of Catholic Women Confront Their Church: Stories of Hurt and Hope.

We want to hear from you. How did the church shape your ideas and opinions? Do you still practice today?

GUESTS:

• Francis X. Rocca - Vatican Correspondent at the Wall Street Journal
• Celia Viggo Wexler - Journalist and Author of Catholic Women Confront Their Church: Stories of Hurt and Hope
• Sister Emily Tekolste - Grassroots Mobilization Coordinator at Network and member of the Sisters of Providence at Saint Mary of the Woods, Indiana

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The American Academy of Pediatrics declared a national emergency in children’s mental health in October. Data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that in 2020, mental health–related emergency department (ED) visits among adolescents aged 12–17 years increased 31% compared to 2019. During February 21–March 20, 2021, ED visits for suspected suicide were 50.6% higher among girls aged 12–17 years than during the same period in 2019.

But even before the pandemic, suicide was the second leading cause of death for young people in the 10-24 age group by 2018, across the U.S.

In Connecticut, 30 young people aged 10 to 24 died by suicide in 2020, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

The crisis is exacerbated by a lack of adequate mental health resources in schools and pediatrician clinics, crowded EDs, and a shortage of beds and workforce at inpatient and outpatient pediatric mental health facilities.

What should the federal and state governments do?

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How can journalists address issues of trust and representation in order to better serve their audiences? Some newsrooms and journalism schools are addressing how the idea of objectivity or neutrality has been misapplied. Hear from Poynter's Director of Training & Diversity Doris Truong and UConn Professor Amanda Crawford. Plus, Southern California Public Radio's Chief Content Officer Kristen Muller and Newmark J-School student Abē Levine spotlight their success with the engagement journalism model.

GUESTS:

• Doris Truong - Poynter Director of Training and Diversity
• Kristen Muller - Southern California Public Radio Chief Content Officer
• Amanda Crawford - UConn Assistant Professor of Journalism
• Abē Levine - Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Student; Connecticut Public Radio Intern

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How would you describe the pandemic in just six words?

Today, we talk to Larry Smith, the founder of “six word memoirs” and hear about his new book “A Terrible, Horrible, No Good Year.” It features six word memoirs from students, teachers and parents navigating the pandemic.

And later, we hear from Dr. Ulysses Shawdee Wu, Chief Epidemiologist at Hartford Healthcare to answer all your questions about COVID-19 and vaccinating children.

Connecticut health officials say the COVID 19 vaccine for children 5-11 could be available starting November 4.
Is your child getting the vaccine?

GUESTS:

• Larry Smith - Founder and Editor of Six Word Memoirs
• Rachel Lloyd - English teacher in English department Suffield Academy
• Dr. Ulysses Shawdee Wu - Assistant Director of Infectious Diseases, Chief Epidemiologist and Chief Antimicrobial Steward at Hartford Healthcare
• Maggie Johndrow - Financial Advisor & Partner at Johndrow Wealth Management in Farmington

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Losing someone you love is one of the most devastating experiences in life.

Today, we talk about how we grieve as we approach All Souls Day and Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead.

We talk with the co founder of Farewelling.

The company transforms funerals, believing they should be as unique as weddings and birthday parties.

And later, bereavement periods in the US can be quite short, with the expectation we make a quick return to work and normal life.

Should we rethink how we process grief?

GUESTS:

• Caitlin Abrams - grave cleaner from Southern Vermont
• Elizabeth Meyer Karansky - Co-founder of Farewelling, a company working to transform funerals. She is also a funeral director, thanatologist, and a death doula
• Jelena Kecmanovic - psychologist and director of Arlington Behavior Therapy Institute

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