What we learned from the 2024 Connecticut brushfires

A fire broke out in October of this year at Lamentation Mountain in Berlin. It took officials weeks to contain the brushfires. The Connecticut National Guard borrowed helicopters to dump more than 100,000 gallons of water on the fire. While attempting to fight the fire, tragically, Wethersfield vo…

A look at the history of tap dance in America

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 nat…

How zoning shapes our world with Sara Bronin

Architect and attorney Sara Bronin chaired the Hartford Planning and Zoning Commission for seven years. Connecticut listeners might know her from her work with DesegregateCT, a statewide coalition pushing for zoning reform in our state. Her new book, Key to the City: How Zoning Shapes Our World, g…

How stories preserve the Mohegan way of life with Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel

The Mohegan Tribe—a sovereign and federally recognized Indian tribe in Southeastern Connecticut—has a longstanding belief in the power of storytelling. This oral tradition is a form of spoken record-keeping. Stories can often capture a deeper and fuller understanding of culture and beliefs than hi…

PBS Chef Lidia Bastianich shares her American story, plus tips for holiday cooking

Thanksgiving is a week away…you ready? Maybe you're brushing up on those cooking skills for a Friendsgiving this weekend. If the holiday is just one big excuse to gather friends and family around a table, we have a treat for you. Lidia Bastianich, the award-winning chef and host of “Lidia’s Kitche…

Connecticut makerspaces act as hubs for creativity, innovation and lifelong learning

Some studies show that working with your hands can have a lot of cognitive and emotional benefits. Creating something with your hands can be a deeply satisfying process, and for some students, it can set them on a path for a real career in engineering. That’s where Makerspaces come in. Across the …

'But you don’t look sick ' The struggles of living with an invisible illness

A Connecticut lab is embarking on a groundbreaking initiative to study endometriosis, a painful condition that impacts people with a uterus. Endometriosis is just one of the many invisible illnesses that impact an estimated 10% of the American population, according to Disabled World, an independen…

Addressing student loneliness and isolation on college campuses

Traditionally, college campuses are epicenters of activity, connection, and engagement. So why are students feeling so isolated? 39% of students have reported feeling lonely. Loneliness remains an ongoing health crisis throughout the nation. United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has raised co…

Author Sy Montgomery takes on a common, yet extraordinary creature: Chickens

Sy Montgomery is the author of several books on animals, ordinary and extraordinary. Her new book What the Chicken Knows tackles one of the most common birds on the planet, but she argues that chickens are truly exceptional creatures. Today, Sy joins us for the hour to talk about her new book and …

Connecticut, historically, runs on coffee

This hour, we explore the beverage that helps us start our days, energize our bodies, and connect with friends: coffee. Coffee has played an unexpected role in Connecticut’s history. It has fueled fights for workers’ rights and social reforms, and even shaped cultures. With the help of a local his…