Harmonized Palindrome

One thing I learned about the great new folk duo The Sea The Sea is that they love palindromes. I also love palindromes, mainly because my birth date is palindromic.

Even if we didn’t share this love, Chuck and Mira would have quickly won me over. It’s hard to not tap your foot and sing along to “Love We Are We Love,” even if you don’t know the words.

The Sea The Sea performed in-studio before their appearance at the HartFolk Festival. I’ll try to get a few more videos up from that show over the next few days.

Update: You can now buy “Love We Are We Love” on iTunes.

A Passenger’s Account From the Derailed Metro-North Train

The derailment and subsequent collision of a Metro-North train could have been much worse. Despite more than 70 injuries and major inconveniences for commuters, nobody died in the accident.

On this morning’s episode of Where We Live, we talked about what happened on Friday and we were joined for a few minutes by Rob Oliver. He works in New York City and was on the train that derailed. In the clip below he describes his experience and says he knew “something awful” was happening.

Our other guest, chairman of the Connecticut Metro-North Commuter Council Jim Cameron follows up with a question about the time between derailing and colliding with another train.

Oliver said he didn’t even realize they had hit another train. “All you felt was this waving, this incredibly loud metal-on-metal screeching noise, and the engineer desperately trying to stop the train,” he said.

“Can we really blame (teenagers) for not being concerned with politics?”

Today’s show asked a question that has entered many minds over the years: What’s government good for? That feeling is understandable, especially this week (the IRS scandal, the Justice Department secretly collecting phone records from AP reporters, and the Robert Braddock Jr. trial happening here in Connecticut).

Our in-studio audience are students in the Introduction to American Politics class at Bulkeley High School in Hartford, CT.

Kyle Phillip is a senior from Bulkeley High School. He raised the question of political apathy among his classmates. But he demonstrated that he’s not apathetic himself.

Listen to the full show with Christine Stuart from CT News Junkie and Urania Petit, the Working Families Registrar of Voters in Hartford.

Language, Accents & “Code Switching”

By Tucker Ives

NPR’s Code Switch logo.

NPR is launching a new race, ethnicity, and culture blog called “Code Switch.” You may have heard Colin McEnroe reference it during fundraising segments this morning.

The term “code-switching” is originally linguistic and it’s described as “mixing languages and speech patterns in conversation.” Here’s how NPR’s Gene Demby introduces readers to code-switching. 

So why is this the name of a blog on race, ethnicity and culture?

We decided to call this team Code Switch because much of what we’ll be exploring are the different spaces we each inhabit and the tensions of trying to navigate between them. In one sense, code-switching is about dialogue that spans cultures. It evokes the conversation we want to have here.

This reminded me of a conversation we had on Where We Live back in 2010 with the great linguist, David Crystal. He joined us to talk about his book A Little Book of Language and we focused on the linguistic aspect of code-switching (although I don’t think we called it that).

Crystal has a very noticeable accent and John Dankosky asked him where it comes from:

Sounds a lot like code-switching, right? As you probably know, JD is a native of Pittsburgh and every now and then you can hear the accent. It is especially noticeable when he’s talking to someone else from Pittsburgh, like WNPR host Lucy Nalpathanchil:

This may not fit exactly into “code-switching” since both JD and Lucy are from Pittsburgh. But it is a very noticeable change in speech from how they normally talk today so hopefully it illustrates how our speech can change.

I’ll leave you with one last gem from David Crystal. He says people of every language engage in baby talk. Adults generally speak very differently to babies than they do with other adults.

 

Coming Up! March 18-22, 2013

See what happens when the boss isn’t here? Catie is out and I forget to update the blog until Tuesday. Someday I’ll figure it out…

On Friday, JD is heading down to New York City to host NPR’s Talk of the Nation Science Friday. So we’re pre-taped on Friday, but if you’re really itching to hear JD live, then tune in from 2-3pm on WNPR.

Here’s what shows we’ve already done this week, and what is coming up.

MONDAY: Ladies of Hartford

We’ll talk about a few movers and shakers in Connecticut’s history – women who made things happen. Like Emily Holcombe, who may be the reason we’re called the “Constitution State.” She saved the Old State House when it was threatened with demolition, and carried out the first large scale graveyard restoration in the US. We’ll also hear about the group of women that saved and worked hard to restore the Mark Twain House to the state treasure it is today.

TUESDAY: 10 Years of the Iraq War

On March 19, 2003, U.S. forces began the invasion of Iraq – a pre-emptive strike on a country believed to have weapons of mass destruction. On the 10th anniversary of the war, we’ll talk about what has changed in the last 10 years and look back at the conflict. WNPR’s Lucy Nalpathanchil will join us to talk about how we got there and the impact of the war on our soldiers, lawmakers, and state. We’ll also talk about the changing role of the National Guard. It is a branch of the military that took on more of a combat-oriented role overseas. And we’ll hear from a man who grew up in Iraq, worked with the U.S. Army as a translator and is now a student in Connecticut. How has the Iraq war impacted you?

WEDNESDAY: Habitat for Humanity and Marcia Ann Gillespie

Hartford Area Habitat for Humanity is completing its 200th home at a time when the agency is also working on expand into new neighborhoods. We’ll talk with the new CEO about his vision. We’ll also sit down with Journalism pioneer and women’s rights advocate Marcia Ann Gillespie about race and gender in America today.

THURSDAY: Syria

The bloody war in Syria continues to rage on, killing more than 70,000 people. Rami Khouri is a Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University. In addition, he’s Editor-At-Large at the Beirut Daily Star in Lebanon. He’s speaking at Central Connecticut State University and we’ll sit down with him to talk about the Syrian uprising and what could be ahead for that country.

FRIDAY: The Other Christmas: Baseball’s Opening Day

The snow is melting, the mercury is rising, and baseball fans across the country are rejoicing as our national pastime returns for the 2013 season. We’ll do our annual baseball show to mark the coming holiday with three segments. In this year’s World Baseball Classic, the Dominican Republic has remained unbeaten (as of Monday morning). Approximately 20 percent of professional baseball players in the U.S. come from the DR. We’ll talk about the Dominican Republic-U.S. baseball pipeline with the filmmaker of Ballplayer: Pelotero. We also sat down with a professional ballplayer from Connecticut. A.J. Pollock graduated from RHAM High School and was high school player of the year in 2006. Last year he made his MLB debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He talks about playing his way through the minor leagues. And finally, we’ll reflect on the spiritual side of the game with New York University President John Sexton. His new book is called Baseball as a Road to God: Seeing Beyond the Game. Is there an “ineffable” baseball moment that you’ll never forget?

Coming Up! February 4 to 8, 2013

We hope you’re staying happy and healthy during these cold (but sometimes warm) and germ-infested times. Not all of us *cough* have been so *cough* lucky. But even if you are sick, think about it this way: you can sip on your tea and ginger ale while listening to Where We Live. Here’s the line-up for this week.

MONDAY: The Great State of New England (Rerun)

Stated simply, I propose that the six New England states erase the borders that separate them, dissolve their state governments and climb up into the dawn together, reconfigured as a brand-new state called New England. It’s an idea that’s been written and talked about before, but mostly as a fun thought experiment. Today we’ll talk to Charlie Monagan, who revived the idea of “The Great State of New England” for Connecticut Magazine. We’ll take this idea seriously for just a moment. What if we combined all the New England states together into one super-state? (Would Boston be the capital?) And what do some of our neighbors think about this?

TUESDAY: The “American Tapestry” of Michelle Obama

The Obama’s are considered the first black family to occupy the White House. But like many Americans, they have diverse and more complicated ancestry. NY Times reporter Rachel Swarns has tracked the First Lady’s ancestry and has a new book called American Tapestry: The Story of the Black, White, and Multiracial Ancestors of Michelle Obama. She’ll be visiting The Amistad Center for Art & Culture at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art on Thursday and we’ll preview that discussion. We’ll also hear from NPR’s Michele Norris. She’s been working on The Race Card Project, where she’s been collecting six-word essays on race.

If you want to share your six-word essay on race, we’re opening up the WNPR voicemail. Give us a call at 860-580-9677 and read us your six-word submission (also, feel free to tell us who you are and where you’re calling from). We hope to hear from you!

WEDNESDAY: Backyard Wildlife

Thanks to thriving wildlife in Connecticut, most folks don’t have to go beyond their own backyard or a nearby park to have a chance to interact with critters. But what if those critters regularly rummage through the trash – or try to take over nearby buildings? Join us for a show on getting along with nature right where we live. Authors Jim Sterba and James Barilla will be with us to talk squirrels, deer, raccoons, bears, possums, birds, turkeys, beavers, and more.

THURSDAY: Reviving Historical Theaters

Connecticut’s musical history includes many old performance theaters that have long been torn down and forgotten. But a few historical treasures have been renovated and preserved. Today we’ll look at the history of some of these old theaters, like the Warner Theater in Torrington and the Palace Theater in Waterbury. Also, producer Catie Talarski introduces us to the man who’s fixed up Lyric Hall, an old vaudeville stage in New Haven.

FRIDAY: Looking at the State Budget with Legislative Leaders

Governor Malloy makes his biennial budget address on Wednesday and we’ll dive into it with Democratic House Speaker Brendan Sharkey and House Republican Leader Larry Cafero. We’ll look at what’s ahead for the state budget, spending and of course…taxes.

We Want Your Six-Words on Race

Last month, WNPR producer Patrick Skahill created The Voicemail Project.

Call 860-580-9677 and tell us your story. Illustration by J. Holt / Flickr Creative Commons

Here’s how it works:

• Call 860-580-WNPR (860-580-9677)
• After the pre-recorded message, wait for the beep and read us your six-word essay on race.

On Tuesday (2/5), we’ll be talking with NPR’s Michele Norris. She started The Race Card Project where she collects six-word essays on this topic. Even if you don’t want to submit your own, check out the site and read about other people’s experiences, feelings, frustrations and views.

We’ll air your submissions during Tuesday’s show. If you have any questions, send me an email at tives@wnpr.org.

***UPDATE***

Listen to a compilation of submissions here:

“The Needle Drop” and “Where We Live” Get Too Hot For Radio

by Tucker Ives -

Like every other public radio show/newspaper/magazine/blogger/Tweeter, we wanted to compile some of the best music of the year. But since we spent so much time talking about things like the state budget, politics, brownfields, urban redevelopment, politics, the creative class, soil and politics, we realized that we missed out on A LOT of music in 2012.

John Dankosky and Anthony Fantano. Photo by Chion Wolf (May 24, 2012)

That’s where “The Internet’s Busiest Music Nerd” comes in. Anthony Fantano hosts the video blog and public radio show, The Needle Drop, which comes from WNPR and is distributed by PRX.

For our final live show of 2012, Anthony joined us to share some of his favorite tracks. We called it, “Where The Needle Drops: Live! Best of 2012″ (see what we did there?)

We couldn’t get to all of them though because quite frankly, not all of them are appropriate for a radio audience at 9am. After we went off-the-air, Anthony hung around and we recorded a special web-extra: “Where The Needle Drops – Too Hot for Radio.”

As you may expect, some of the content in this segment is not appropriate for everyone (after all, it is “too hot for radio”).

Feel free to share your favorites of the year in the comments section and give us a head’s up throughout the year if there’s something we should be listening to. Also, check out Anthony’s top 50 albums of 2012 on YouTube. 

1. Death Grips – I’ve Seen Footage
2. Kendrick Lamar – Good Kid
3. Dope Body – Powder
4. Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Mladic
5. Ab-Soul – The Book of Soul
6. Swans – Mother of the World
7. Killer Mike – Big Beast
8. Scott Walker – Epizootic!
9. Converge – Aimless Arrow

Although we don’t discuss them, we start and end the segment with a new song from The Bad Plus called Seven Minute Mind.

Public Radio Primer Of Vision & Brilliance

by Tucker Ives

Tomorrow, our own John Dankosky is moderating his second Connecticut Forum! It is the Vision & Brilliance discussion with geniuses  Neil deGrasse Tyson, Neil Gaiman and Neri Oxman. From what we’ve heard, tickets are almost sold out (if they’re not already). Whether you’ll be there or not, here are three shows you should listen to that feature appearances from tomorrow night’s panelists.

Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson

Last year, NdGT was on Where We Wonder: Scientific Literacy in the 21st Century where he discussed the need for better understanding of science. As he said, “When you think in a scientifically literate way, the world becomes a knowable place to you.”

Bonus video! Neil deGrasse Tyson gets autotuned in this very catchy Symphony of Science song:

 

The other Neil on this panel has the Twitter handle @neilhimself. Neil Gaiman is an author, screenwriter, graphic novelist…you probably already know this though.

Neil Gaiman

Last year, Gaiman was the main guest on the live public radio show Wits. If you’ve never listened to Wits, this episode is great one to start off with. Gaiman reads from American Gods and gets Mythbusters host Adam Savage to sing “I Will Survive” as Gollum (I’ll leave it at that). Listen to the full episode of Wits from Minnesota Public Radio here.

Bonus video of Neil Gaiman’s singing/songwriting skills from Wits:

 

Neri Oxman

We spoke with Neri Oxman on Where We Live earlier this week. She’s the Mediated Matter Director at MIT Media Lab. We think that means that she’s a designer who combines materials science and new 3D printing technologies with design principles found in nature. She’s been featured on the cover of Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” issue and is has been called one of Esquire magazine’s best and brightest.

Bonus video! One question I ask myself a lot is, “What was I doing again?” The question that Oxman asks herself a lot is, “What is the origin of form?” That’s why she is on this panel of Vision & Brilliance and I am not. Check out this PopTech lecture where she tackles that question:

 

Are you not ready to go back to work yet? Well, here’s one last bonus video to the bonus videos: Remember Lydia Callis? Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s sign language interpreter who stole the show during the Hurricane Sandy press briefings will be interpreting this Forum. She was so popular that Saturday Night Live spoofed her almost immediately:

Hopefully we’ll see you at the Forum…come say hi!

Hurricane Sandy Map

As we await Sandy’s arrival to Connecticut and we all have power, check out the ongoing map project we’re working on. We’ll add things like shelters, closures, flooding and anything else that might be helpful to others. If you have any information to add to the map, either leave us a comment here, tweet us @wherewelive, or email wherewelive@wnpr.org. We’ll be updating this on an on-going basis.

***Update*** The map is open for anyone to edit. If you’ve never added a marker to a Google Map before, you can find instructions at goo.gl/fHKoq. Feel free to contact us with information too and we’ll get it up if that’s easier!

View Larger Map