Great documentary films can teach people about the world. But the strength of the medium is that it doesn’t just explain facts, it can also reveal emotional truths.

One recent documentary film that does so is called The Librarians. It takes a look at book bans in U.S. public schools and shows how librarians have reacted to them.

Another is Missing In Brooks County. It explores what happens when people go missing after they cross the U.S.-Mexico border.

This hour, we talk to some of the people who made those films possible.

GUESTS:


Kim. A Snyder: Oscar-nominated film director and producer. Her documentary Newtownwon a Peabody Award. Her new film is The Librarians.


Martha Hickson:Retired New Jersey librarian. She’s featured in the film The Librarians as one of the librarians fighting to prevent books from being banned. In 2022, Martha received the Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced with Adversity.


Jeff Bemiss: Peabody Award-winning filmmaker who co-directed and co-produced Missing in Brooks County. He is also Professor of the Practice in Film Studies at Trinity College.


Lisa Molomot: Peabody Award-winning filmmaker who co-directed and co-produced Missing in Brooks County.

Photo Source: Engel Entertainment

Great documentary films can teach people about the world. But the strength of the medium is that it doesn&rsquo;t just explain facts, it can also reveal emotional truths.
One recent documentary film that does so is called <a href="https://thelibrariansfilm.com/">The Librarians</a>. It takes a look at book bans in U.S. public schools and shows how librarians have reacted to them.
Another is <a href="https://www.missinginbrookscounty.com/">Missing In Brooks County</a>. It explores what happens when people go missing after they cross the U.S.-Mexico border.
This hour, we talk to some of the people who made those films possible.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>
Kim. A Snyder: Oscar-nominated film director and producer. Her documentary <a href="https://newtownfilm.com/">Newtown</a> won a Peabody Award. Her new film is <a href="https://thelibrariansfilm.com/">The Librarians</a>.
</li>
<li>
Martha Hickson: Retired New Jersey librarian. She&rsquo;s featured in the film <a href="https://thelibrariansfilm.com/">The Librarians</a> as one of the librarians fighting to prevent books from being banned. In 2022, Martha received the Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced with Adversity.
</li>
<li>
Jeff Bemiss: Peabody Award-winning filmmaker who co-directed and co-produced <a href="https://www.missinginbrookscounty.com/">Missing in Brooks County</a>. He is also <a href="https://internet3.trincoll.edu/facProfiles/Default.aspx?fid=1479923">Professor of the Practice in Film Studies</a> at Trinity College.
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.lisamolomot.com/">Lisa Molomot</a>: Peabody Award-winning filmmaker who co-directed and co-produced <a href="https://www.missinginbrookscounty.com/">Missing in Brooks County</a>.
</li>
</ul>
Photo Source: Engel Entertainment

Disrupted is about the changes we all encounter and the forces driving those changes. Some disruptions spark joy and possibility. Others move us to take action and re-evaluate our world. But the show isn't just about those disruptions; it’s about embracing them, exploring new perspectives, and feeling more connected to ourselves and our communities. Host and political scientist Khalilah Brown-Dean creates a place where changemakers come together to help us see the world differently and challenge us to grow together.

Visit ctpublic.org/disrupted for more! 

Disrupted is about the changes we all encounter and the forces driving those changes. Some disruptions spark joy and possibility. Others move us to take action and re-evaluate our world. But the show isn't just about those disruptions; it’s about embracing them, exploring new perspectives, and feeling more connected to ourselves and our communities. Host and political scientist Khalilah Brown-Dean creates a place where changemakers come together to help us see the world differently and challenge us to grow together.
Visit <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/disrupted">ctpublic.org/disrupted</a> for more!

Disrupted

From book bans to immigration, documentary filmmakers reveal the humanity behind complex issues

Princess Joy L. Perry’s novel This Here is Love tells the interlocking stories of an array of characters in Tidewater Virginia. It’s a complex narrative that takes place in the 1690s as the hierarchies of slavery are still developing. Those hierarchies are complicated by further hierarchies— indentured servitude and gender also shape the way characters are perceived. This Here is Love is a book that isn’t afraid to delve into the messiest questions around how discrimination developed in the U.S. It’s a book about human nature and the moral questions we continue to face today. And above all it’s a gripping debut from an author whose assured voice guides us through a world where cruelty and love seem to coexist.

This hour, we’re talking to Princess Joy L. Perry about This Here is Love.

We’ll also speak with Casey Grambo from the Stowe Center for Literary Activism. They've awarded the novel with their annual Stowe Prize for Literary Activism.

GUESTS:


Princess Joy L. Perry: Master Lecturer at Old Dominion University. Her debut novel, This Here is Love is the 2026 winner of the Stowe Prize for Literary Activism.


Casey Grambo: Director of Development at the Stowe Center for Literary Activism.

You can find more information about the celebration of the Stowe Prize for Literary Activism in Hartford at the Stowe Center for Literary Activism's website.

Princess Joy L. Perry&rsquo;s novel <a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324105978">This Here is Love</a> tells the interlocking stories of an array of characters in Tidewater Virginia. It&rsquo;s a complex narrative that takes place in the 1690s as the hierarchies of slavery are still developing. Those hierarchies are complicated by further hierarchies&mdash; indentured servitude and gender also shape the way characters are perceived. This Here is Love is a book that isn&rsquo;t afraid to delve into the messiest questions around how discrimination developed in the U.S. It&rsquo;s a book about human nature and the moral questions we continue to face today. And above all it&rsquo;s a gripping debut from an author whose assured voice guides us through a world where cruelty and love seem to coexist.
This hour, we&rsquo;re talking to Princess Joy L. Perry about This Here is Love.
We&rsquo;ll also speak with Casey Grambo from the <a href="https://stowecenter.org/">Stowe Center for Literary Activism</a>. They've awarded the novel with their annual <a href="https://stowecenter.org/programs/stowe-prize-for-literary-activism/">Stowe Prize for Literary Activism</a>.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>
Princess Joy L. Perry: Master Lecturer at Old Dominion University. Her debut novel, <a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324105978">This Here is Love</a> is the 2026 winner of the <a href="https://stowecenter.org/programs/stowe-prize-for-literary-activism/">Stowe Prize for Literary Activism</a>.
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://stowecenter.org/about/our-team/casey-grambo/">Casey Grambo</a>: Director of Development at the <a href="https://stowecenter.org/">Stowe Center for Literary Activism</a>.
</li>
</ul>
You can find more information about the celebration of the Stowe Prize for Literary Activism in Hartford at the Stowe Center for Literary Activism's <a href="https://stowecenter.org/programs/stowe-prize-for-literary-activism/registration/">website</a>.

Princess Joy L. Perry’s award-winning novel ‘This Here is Love’ continues Harriet Beecher Stowe’s legacy of literary activism

Many Americans can tell you exactly what they were doing 25 years ago when they learned the United States had been attacked. But for a younger generation, the attacks are something they’ve only learned about in history class.

With that in mind, it’s time to think about what we want future generations to remember.

GUESTS:


Jay Winuk: Co-Founder of 9/11 Day, an organization that started in 2002 with the goal of turning 9/11 into a day of service. The group began after Jay's brother Glenn, an attorney, volunteer firefighter and EMT, died at the World Trade Center.


Jeremy Stoddard: Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His work connects education, democracy, media and controversial issues.


Mary Fetchet: Founding Director and President of the Voices Center for Resilience, an organization she helped create after her son Brad died at the World Trade Center. The group helps individuals and communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from traumatic events.

Image provided by 9/11 Day.

Many Americans can tell you exactly what they were doing 25 years ago when they learned the United States had been attacked. But for a younger generation, the attacks are something they&rsquo;ve only learned about in history class.
With that in mind, it&rsquo;s time to think about what we want future generations to remember.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.911day.org/leaders/jay-winuk/">Jay Winuk</a>: Co-Founder of <a href="https://www.911day.org/">9/11 Day</a>, an organization that started in 2002 with the goal of turning 9/11 into a day of service. The group began after Jay's brother Glenn, an attorney, volunteer firefighter and EMT, died at the World Trade Center.
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://ci.education.wisc.edu/fac-staff/stoddard-jeremy/">Jeremy Stoddard</a>: Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His work connects education, democracy, media and controversial issues.
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://voicescenter.org/mary-fetchet">Mary Fetchet</a>: Founding Director and President of the <a href="https://voicescenter.org/">Voices Center for Resilience</a>, an organization she helped create after her son Brad died at the World Trade Center. The group helps individuals and communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from traumatic events.
</li>
</ul>
Image provided by 9/11 Day.

Reflecting on what new generations can carry forward as we remember 25 years since 9/11

Edwidge Danticat’s new book Dèyopens at a mall. A Haitian American real estate agent named Magnolia is there to buy a phone for her daughter. But before she has the chance, a mass shooting breaks out. Magnolia survives, but she doesn’t tell anyone what she’s experienced.

Dèyis a book about grief— the titlecomes from a Haitian Kreyòl word for mourning. But grief is only one of the complex ideas that the book explores.

GUEST:


Edwidge Danticat: Wun Tsun Tam Mellon Professor of the Humanities in the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies at Columbia University. Her book Breath, Eyes, Memory was an Oprah’s Book Club selection, and she’s had two books chosen as National Book Award Finalists. Her latest book is Dèy.

Photo courtesy of Knopf

<a href="https://edwidgedanticat.com/">Edwidge Danticat</a>&rsquo;s new book <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/768725/dey-by-edwidge-danticat/">D&egrave;y</a> opens at a mall. A Haitian American real estate agent named Magnolia is there to buy a phone for her daughter. But before she has the chance, a mass shooting breaks out. Magnolia survives, but she doesn&rsquo;t tell anyone what she&rsquo;s experienced.
<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/768725/dey-by-edwidge-danticat/">D&egrave;y</a> is a book about grief&mdash; the title comes from a Haitian Krey&ograve;l word for mourning. But grief is only one of the complex ideas that the book explores.
GUEST:
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://edwidgedanticat.com/">Edwidge Danticat</a>: Wun Tsun Tam Mellon Professor of the Humanities in the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies at Columbia University. Her book <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/642830/breath-eyes-memory-by-edwidge-danticat/">Breath, Eyes, Memory</a> was an Oprah&rsquo;s Book Club selection, and she&rsquo;s had two books chosen as National Book Award Finalists. Her latest book is <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/768725/dey-by-edwidge-danticat/">D&egrave;y</a>.
</li>
</ul>
Photo courtesy of Knopf

From book bans to immigration, documentary filmmakers reveal the humanity behind complex issues

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