Coming Up!

By Catie Talarski

Have you put up your holiday decorations yet?  It’s about that time, folks.  While you are decorating… why not catch up on Where We Live podcasts?!  A close second: The newly released double CD  “Singin’ the Holidays with Dankosky & Hardman“.  A yule-time favorite, available for a pledge of $120.

Here’s the week,  November 29 to December 3:

MONDAY: Micro Loans

The micro-lending movement has won a Nobel Prize as a leading antipoverty strategy.  Now, in some places, it’s facing imminent collapse. The idea is simple.  Lenders make small loans to some of the poorest people in developing countries, with no collateral.  It’s been shown to spark innovation and lift people out of desperate circumstances.  But in parts of India, the promise of micro finance has taken an ugly turn – that looks an awful lot like the burst bubble of the US housing market.  Predatory lending, multiple borrowing, financial institutions looking out for shareholders first. Today, where we live, a look at what’s gone wrong with micro-finance globally, and what’s still going right.

TUESDAY: Continuing the Education Conversation

As we heard recently on the show, the movie “Waiting For Superman” has prompted national discussion about how to fix a broken education system.  Now, Where We Live is taking part in a local discussion about this important topic.  In collaboration with The New Haven Independent and WTNH, We’re taking part in a discussion with civic leaders and citizens of New Haven about School Reform.  Join the conversation about education.

WEDNESDAY: Our Oceans

We’re taking a look at the significance of a few of the world’s influential oceans today on the program.  Robert Kaplan joins us to discuss the Indian Ocean’s growing strategic importance and his book Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power.  We’ll also hear the long and complicated story of a body of water that has been at the center of western civilization – the Atlantic Ocean.

THURSDAY: Ben Barnes

Governor-elect Dan Malloy named one of the top aides from his mayoral administration for the crucial role of overseeing the budget.  Ben Barnes held three top jobs in Stamford, and as the new secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, will now be saddled with a 3.8 million dollar deficit.  Coming up, we begin a series of conversations with newly appointed top state officials.  Barnes joins us in studio.

FRIDAY: The Post Road

During its evolution from Indian trails to modern interstates, the Boston Post Road, a system of overland routes between New York City and Boston, has carried not just travelers and mail but the march of American history itself. Coming up, we’re joined by Eric Jaffe, author of The King’s Best Highway: The Lost History of the Boston Post Road, the Route that Made America. He explores the progress of people and culture along the road through four centuries, from its earliest days as the King of England’s “best highway” to today.  We’ll visit New Haven where a man is walking the length of the post road, take a drive up in Stonington to uncover the old Post Road mile markers, and get an arborist’s tour of some of the trees planted by a group in Milford aiming to green some of the most commercially developed parts of the road.

A Housing Project’s History

Evelyn Cortez standing in front of Nelton Court complex. Photo by WNPR's Jeff Cohen.

by John  Dankosky – When Jeff Cohen, WNPR’s exceptional Hartford reporter, told me that he was covering the pending demolition of the Nelton Court housing complex in the city’s North End, I immediately thought of the suburbs.

Nelton Court is, as Jeff describes, “The last of the city of Hartford’s postwar, low-income, federally-financed public housing units,” and it’s been home to thousands of residents over the years.  It’s a style of life that’s existed in stark contrast to planned communities and leafy streets only a few miles away in suburbs like Windsor or West Hartford.

Nelton Court has also been a place to buy drugs – for local people, and those from surrounding communities.  In 2001, the complex played a small role in a spotlight series I reported for NPR on drug violence in Hartford.

That summer, people in Hartford were mad.  Pastors and other activists staged marches through the city’s North End, responding to gang violence that had resulted in the accidental 4th of July shooting of 7-year-old Takira Gaston as she celebrated the holiday with family.  Residents said that they wanted to find the shooter responsible for Takira’s injury, and they knew he, or she, was likely involved in small-time drug gang activity in the city.

As Jeff is finding today as he covers the city, these gangs were not part of major, multi-state cartels, but were small groups of loosely affiliated teens – teens with “for real, for real” guns as one young man told me for this 2001 story for NPR’s All Things Considered.

John Rowland – today a talk-show host, and former convict himself – was then a governor with big aspirations for Hartford and for himself politically.  He sent in state troopers and parole officers to “sweep the streets” of dealers and their guns.  Rowland told me at the time that the Gaston shooting had forced him into action, and that city residents might better “accept” more cops in their community following the high-profile harming of a child.  It was the first of several “crackdown” summers in the city.

But some residents balked at the idea that this was a “Hartford problem” alone.  They started asking questions about who’s really fueling the drug economy that’s bringing violence to their doorsteps.  The Rev. Cornell Lewis, a long-time city activist, used the police report of a drug bust at Nelton Court to find some very interesting names.  Nearly 70% of those arrested came from outside the city, in towns like Glastonbury.  “We just want to know why someone from an affluent suburb would be caught up down at Nelton Court,” Lewis told me for this story on NPR’s Weekend All Things Considered.

Lewis loaded up a couple dozen activists onto a bus (a few having driven into the city in Volvos from the suburbs) and took the group to a cul-de-sac in Glastonbury, where he staged a full-on, bullhorn-driven march past big one-family homes.  As you can hear from the introduction to the NPR story, the movie Traffic was still very much a cultural touchstone, with one of its intersecting plot-lines focused on rich (and annoying) white high schoolers scoring drugs from a stereotypical city dealer.

The whole event was a staged affair.  And, in hindsight, my report reads like a bit of a love letter to the Rev. Lewis.  But it did present a rare chance to explore the relationships between the city and surrounding communities, and how suburban drug use impacts urban residents.

Tearing down Nelton Court won’t change it’s history as a place where wealthy teenagers could find easy access to drugs.  But replacing the old, barracks-style buildings with 80, nicer apartments will change the environment for the people who live there.  As resident Evelyn Cortez told Jeff Cohen, “The way I’ve seen how everything’s going to change, because I’ve seen the maps of how they’re going to do Nelton Court, I will decide to come back.”

(Note of apology: The audio for my NPR stories pre-dates their current web system.  You’ll have to click on “Real Media” on each page to listen.)

Coming Up!

By Catie Talarski

scubadive67, creative commons

Happy Thanksgiving Week!  Enjoy the holiday and eat lots of food.

Coming up this week, a plethora of excitement!  A cornucopia of joy, if you will.   Here we go.  November 22 – 26:

 

 

MONDAY:  Equality In The Workplace

The Paycheck Fairness Act, introduced by Representative Rosa DeLauro and then-Senator Hillary Clinton, sought to reduce wage disparities between male and female workers.  This month, it was killed by Senate Republicans.  Meanwhile, reports show that the Gender wage gap in CT is higher than the nation’s.    We’ll look at pay equity – do we need government intervention?

TUESDAY: The Connecticut Budget Forecast

As Governor-elect Dan Malloy gets ready to take on the monumental task of solving the state’s multi-billion-dollar budget deficit, we’ll take a look at just how big this problem is.  Budget guru Keith Phaneuf of the Connecticut Mirror joins us to talk about the unpleasant realities and political obstacles facing the state.

rick, creative commons

WEDNESDAY: TBA

It’s a surprise !

 
THURSDAY: Holiday Programming.
Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

FRIDAY: Holiday Programming: African American Storytelling: Rap, Rhymes, and Poetry in Performance

Rap resembles some of poetry’s oldest forms.  From the ballads and performed tales of early African Americans to the stripped-down lyrics of the Sugar Hill Gang – the tradition of incorporating rhythm and beats into poetry has been with us for centuries.
Tune in for a panel discussion on the relationship between hip-hop and world of Western poetry.  Should Jay-Z and Tupac be considered alongside poetic greats as Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou?   Guests include authors Adam Bradley and Russell Goings.

Wendell Potter And The Dark Art of P.R.

Wendell Potter

by John Dankosky – As state insurance regulators face tough questions about rate increase proposals by Anthem, and newly-empowered Republicans in Washington saddle up to dismember the new federal health care laws, Wendell Potter’s got a new book out.  Timing, anyone?

Potter is the former CIGNA public relations guru, who quit his high-paying job to become one of the insurance industry’s biggest critics.  His new book is called, “Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out On How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans.” It’s a mouthful, but he’s got a lot to say – about corporate profits, denials of coverage, and a personal journey that led him to realize that real health care reform is what America needs.

Join the Conversation with your questions: 9 am ET – 860-275-7266.

Coming Up!

By Catie Talarski

The newsroom is a despairing, lonely, horrible place without news director and fearless leader John Dankosky at the helm.  McEnroe makes us sweat through two-hour long intensive yoga sessions every morning… and then forces us to drink gallons of Kombucha.  My stomach can’t take it anymore!!!

(In truth, I just finished installing a kegerator under my desk and Patrick Skahill is dressed in his muppet costume, rockin out air geetar to Police ambient music beds.  Dankosky who?!)

Coming up next week – November 15 to 19 – a great week of shows, and an exciting live event at Fairfield University:

pink sherbet photography

MONDAY: On Pleasure (rebroadcast)
The average American watches more than four hours of TV a day, abstract art sells for millions of dollars, peopleslow down their cars to watch the aftermath of horrible accidents and go to movies that make them cry.  Human pleasure is a complex thing. Yale psychologist Paul Bloom argues that it goes far beyond a simple sensory response.  He argues that pleasure draws upon deep intuitions, that it is smart, that it is evolved, universal and inborn… And that the pleasure we derive from food or sex is very different from that of other creatures. Coming up, we revisit a conversation with Bloom about his book How Pleasure Works: The New Science of Why We Like What We Like.  And we’ll talk to a writer who’s doing an experiment using narrative to transform insignificant objects into significant ones. He’s making some hard cash on ebay selling complete junk.  But is it junk if it’s got a great story attached to it?

TUESDAY: The Interfaith Amigos (rebroadcast)

Interfaith understanding seems more important than ever, given controversies about Manhattan mosques, the burning of holy books and the fresh attempts to restart peace talks in the Mideast.   Three men – known as the “Interfaith Amigos” – are trying to get this converstation started.   Christian minister Don Mackenzie, Jewish Rabbi Ted Falcon, and Sufi Sheikh Jamal Rahman have been working together for years – including on a radio show and a book called Getting to the Heart of Interfaith: The Eye-Opening, Hope-Filled Friendship of a Pastor, a Rabbi & a Sheikh.  They join us in studio.

WEDNESDAY: Coffee!  (rebroadcast)

Selma90, Creative Commons

Grab your cup of Joe and tune in, it’s the Coffee show!  With more than 500 billion cups served worldwide each year, it’s the most popular beverage in the world (besides water, of course) and one of our favorite habits.  Coffee is an integral part of our daily routines, yet most of us know little about its origins beyond the Starbucks or grocery shelf where we buy it.  Coming up, we’ll talk about a traveling exhibit called Coffee: The World In Your Cup that explores everything from the history and production of coffee, to its impact on migratory birds and politics. The exhibit started in the coffee capital of the country — Seattle, and we talk to its founder.  We also talk to some local “micro-roasters” about how they strive to produce the perfect specialty cup.  And we hear from the director of a coffee importing social enterprise that helps coffee’s often exploited and impoverished farmers.

THURSDAY:  Focus On Men’s Health

Black men are twice as likely to get prostate cancer as white men and doctors don’t quite understand why.  One survivor and Hartford resident, Curtis D. Robinson, has given his own money to aid in a collaboration that hopes to better understand these racial health disparities.  Coming up, a conversation on the new partnership between Saint Francis Hospital and the Tuskegee University Cancer Research Program, and the new Men’s Health Institute at Saint Francis.  Robinson will join us in studio along with doctors to talk about The Institute, which will provide free services to the uninsured and the underinsured, and address the racial disparities that affect the African-American community. The program will focus on patient education, early diagnosis and appropriate treatment for men at risk of prostate cancer.

FRIDAY: Inside the Insurance Industry

Since Wendell Potter walked away from his executive position at CIGNA in 2008, he has become a tireless critic of corporate PR – speaking out about the distortion and fear manufactured by America’s health insurance industry.  The former West Hartford resident worked at CIGNA for fifteen years, and claims to have written many of the industry’s talking points himself.  Coming up, he joins us to talk about his new book Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on how Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans - about the dirty secrets the big corporations would rather not have us know.

Join us for a panel discussion Friday afternoon at 2PM at Fairfield University:

African American Storytelling: Rap, Rhymes, and Poetry in Performance

Rap resembles some of poetry’s oldest forms.  From the ballads and performed tales of early African Americans to

GeS, Creative Commons

the stripped-down lyrics of the Sugar Hill Gang – the tradition of incorporating rhythm and beats into poetry has been with us for centuries.

Take part in a panel discussion on the relationship between hip-hop and world of Western poetry.  Should Jay-Z and Tupac be considered alongside poetic greats as Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou?

Join us Friday November 19^th at 2 p.m. in Canisius 204 on the campus of Fairfield University for African American Storytelling: Rap, Rhymes, and Poetry in Performance. The panel will be moderated by WNPR’s Where We Live host John Dankosky and will be recorded to air on WNPR.

The panelists include Russell Goings, poet and author of The Children of Children Keep Coming, an “epic griot song” that blends the stories of historical giants like Frederick Douglass, Billie Holiday and Jackie Robinson with mythic characters from African American tradition in a style that captures both the spirit and eloquence of West African storytelling; and Adam Bradley, Associate Professor of English at the University of Colorado and author of The Poetics of Hip-Hop and The Anthology of Rap, an overview of rap’s poetics, major historical periods in rap’s development, and discussions of influential artists.

 

For more information, email us wherewelive@wnpr.org

Coming Up!

By Catie Talarski

John Dankosky is leaving town, folks.  At a WNPR press conference this afternoon, he made an unofficial statement that he’ll be gone for the next week and a half.  Where on earth could our news director be going in the midst of a political media storm, you ask?  (Off the record, of course:)  He’ll be holed up in an undisclosed underground tunnel.  Or Amazon tree fort.  Or inside a curiously large ballot bag – big enough for his cat and a six pack of Smithwicks.

But don’t worry.  Colin McEnroe is in charge.

Coming up November 8 – 12,  some things old.  some things new.

MONDAY: Don’t Worry, Be Happy (rebroadcast)

There are certainly enough things in the world to be unhappy about – but we’re shelving those for the hour… to discuss happiness.  Turn on the nightly news on a daily basis and by the time it’s over you’ll be scared and depressed.  We live in a country in which most of us have access to food, warmth, shelter, transportation, education – with more that just our basic needs being met.  But we experience deep angst over finding true fulfillment…or the perfect pair of shoes, or a perfect score on a video game.  At the same time, many who struggle to meet the daily needs of life proclaim themselves happy -  So, what does it really mean to be happy?  What causes true happiness? And what role does it play in the larger questions of how we live our lives and how we treat one another?   Today Philosopher Sissela Bok joins us to talk about her new book Exploring Happiness: From Aristotle to Brain Science.

TUESDAY: Saving Education

“Waiting for Superman” puts a human face on the crisis in America’s schools. Its drawn both praise and criticism for its portrayal of a public education system that’s failing too many of our nation’s kids. Coming up, WNPR education reporter Diane Orson will guest host the program. We’ll talk with the director of “Waiting for Superman”, hear reacti The documentaryon from Connecticut educators, and your thoughts about the film.

WEDNESDAY: Heart Health (rebroadcast)

There are millions of self-help books, websites and blogs these days, telling us how to lose weight, improve our eating habits and other ways to live healthier in order to live longer.  But these generalist guidelines often don’t define a comprehensive lifestyle, nor do they explain just how what we’re doing is helping our bodies.  We just assume if we eat more fiber and stay on the treadmill for 20 more minutes than it’ll hopefully translate into longevity.  But at the root of all of these healthful practices and activities is the basic goal of keeping ourselves ticking — keeping the heart pumping.  Doctor Lori Mosca of Columbia University, specializes in preventive cardiology, and has written a book Heart to Heart:  A Personal Plan for Creating a Heart-Healthy Family – Your guide to the good life.  It offers a holistic guide to living the type of life that does just that – keeps our hearts healthy and strong.  Today she is in studio to explain everything we need to know about heart disease and how to prevent it.

THURSDAY: Connecticut As The New Hollywood!  (rebroadcast)

There’s a big policy dispute over what real economic benefit comes from Connecticut’s film tax credit.  Reports from Connecticut Voices for Children say that only a very small percentage of the millions given out in tax credits ever gets spent in the state.  But advocates for the credits say they’ve spawned a burgeoning industry that’s brought TV shows and film crews, large and small, from around the country.  But, that dispute seems to evaporate when Bob DeNiro comes to town.  And not just DeNiro…but Julia Roberts, Harrison Ford, Leo DeCaprio, Kate Winslet and Tom Cruise.  Yes, even though we’re used to having movie stars actually live among us in many parts of the state, we still get a thrill thinking about a big Hollywood production coming to our town. So today, where we live, we’re going to look at some of the best movies ever made in Connecticut.  Who better to take us on the cinematic tour than Hank Paper, movie guru and owner of Best Video in Hamden. We’ll hear Hank’s top 10 picks for films from where we live.

FRIDAY: Music Friday

We’ll talk with two musicians from two very different musical worlds and generations– Willie Ruff came up in a vibrant music scene in New Haven when there was a club on every corner and a gig every night.  He’s now a teacher at Yale and the music landscape has changed dramatically.  Here to talk about the music world today is Ben Allison – he’s a bass player and composer, and a New Haven native now living and working in New York.  He’s back next weekend for “Homegrown on Common Ground” a concert series, started by Ruff last spring.

Rap, Rhymes, and Poetry in Performance

“Every rap song is a poem waiting to be performed.” – Adam Bradley

Rap resembles some of poetry’s oldest forms.  From the ballads and performed tales of early African Americans to the stripped-down lyrics of the Sugar Hill Gang – the tradition of incorporating rhythm and beats into poetry has been with us for centuries.

Take part in a panel discussion on the relationship between hip-hop and world of Western poetry.  Should Jay-Z and Tupac be considered alongside poetic greats as Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou?

Join us Friday November 19^th at 2 p.m. in Canisius 204 on the campus of Fairfield University for African American Storytelling: Rap, Rhymes, and Poetry in Performance. The panel will be moderated by WNPR’s Where We Live host John Dankosky and will be recorded to air on WNPR.

The panelists include Russell Goings, poet and author of The Children of Children Keep Coming, an “epic griot song” that blends the stories of historical giants like Frederick Douglass, Billie Holiday and Jackie Robinson with mythic characters from African American tradition in a style that captures both the spirit and eloquence of West African storytelling; and Adam Bradley, Associate Professor of English at the University of Colorado and author of The Poetics of Hip-Hop and The Anthology of Rap, an overview of rap’s poetics, major historical periods in rap’s development, and discussions of influential artists.

This lecture is part of a year-long symposium on African American storytelling in literature and the arts featuring the work of Author Russell Goings.  Goings spent thirteen years writing The Children of Children Keep Coming. He was a former pro football player and first African American brokerage manager for a New York Stock Exchange member firm. He was the founder of Essence magazine and the Studio Museum of Harlem.

The panel is sponsored by Fairfield University, West Chester University Poetry Center and WNPR – Connecticut Public Radio.

 

Coming Up!

By Catie Talarski

I’ve been trying to get these previews up on the blog for Friday afternoons but alas, I AM LATE!  Such is the excitement and over stimulation of election week in a bustling newsroom.  On that note… make sure you vote on Tuesday.  We don’t do all these “Where We Vote” shows for nothing!  Enjoy the week.

MONDAY: Recapping a Madcap Weekend

We’ll recap a madcap Halloween weekend, as President Obama visits Bridgeport – Diane Orson is there.  Glenn Beck comes to West Hartford, and Catie Talarski is on the scene.  We’ll also check in with Producer Josie Holtzman from the “Rally to Restore Sanity” in DC.  And, we’ll preview Faith Middleton’s up-close and personal interviews with the gubernatorial candidates…including the details of childhood fistfights, first kisses and french fry preferences.  Coming up,  a roundtable on all the weirdness that is Connecticut politics.

TUESDAY: Election Day Preview

It’s the usual exciting Election Day analysis with our buddies Bill Curry and Mark Pazniokas.  Don’t forget to vote!

Join WNPR Tuesday evening for live election coverage starting at 7pm. Hosts John Dankosky and Colin McEnroe will keep you up to date with the latest election news.  We’ll also hear from WNPR reporters on-location around the state, and from analysts Bill Curry and Ben Davol.

WEDNESDAY: The Winners And The Losers

Talking election winners and losers today, with Colin McEnroe and Trinity professor Rennie Fulco.

THURSDAY: You Are What You Eat

Former FDA commissioner David Kessler has taken on the food industry with his new book The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Apetite. He explores how our brain chemistry has been hijacked by the foods we most love to eat – foods full of fat, sugar and salt.  He joins us to talk about what he calls “America’s largest public health crisis”.  We’ll also hear from a longtime Journalist (formerly at the Hartford Courant) who weighed more than 350 pounds throughout his childhood.  Through practices and treatments he’s maintained a 160 pound weight loss for the past 20 years, and has written a book about his addiction to food.

FRIDAY: The Post Road

During its evolution from Indian trails to modern interstates, the Boston Post Road, a system of overland routes between New York City and Boston, has carried not just travelers and mail but the march of American history itself. Coming up, we’re joined by Eric Jaffe, author of The King’s Best Highway: The Lost History of the Boston Post Road, the Route that Made America.  He explores the progress of people and culture along the road through four centuries, from its earliest days as the King of England’s “best highway” to today.