When you look around your room, what do you see? More specifically, what do you see that you love? Is it a cool souvenir? Maybe a seashell? Or a family photo that always brings back good memories?

Connecticut-based interior designer and textile artist Sophie von Oertzen Williamson uses tension, textiles and lots of color to make living spaces warm and inviting.

She is the author of the new book “The Art of the Clash: A Manifesto Against Mundane Design.” We’ll talk about ways to blow away the beige and highlight the objects you love with a few simple tips.

Where We Live is available on Apple Podcasts,Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

When you look around your room, what do you see? More specifically, what do you see that you love? Is it a cool souvenir? Maybe a seashell? Or a family photo that always brings back good memories?
Connecticut-based interior designer and textile artist Sophie von Oertzen Williamson uses tension, textiles and lots of color to make living spaces warm and inviting.
She is the author of the new book <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Art-of-the-Clash/Sophie-von-Oertzen-Williamson/9781423668565">&ldquo;The Art of the Clash: A Manifesto Against Mundane Design.&rdquo;</a> We&rsquo;ll talk about ways to blow away the beige and highlight the objects you love with a few simple tips.
Where We Live&nbsp;is available on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/where-we-live/id706066099">Apple Podcasts,</a> <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0j08SgnZIU5BmjDyHbgjgP">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/43f3a507-ebfa-4876-b34a-030759a8924c/where-we-live">Amazon Music</a>, <a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/Government/Where-We-Live-p1207905/">TuneIn</a>, <a href="https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/where-we-live-connecticut-public-radio-lz9NAwSEexh/">Listen Notes,</a> or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Produced by Connecticut Public, 'Where We Live' puts Connecticut in context. Host Catherine Shen brings us fascinating, informed, in-depth conversations and stories beyond news headlines.  We start local, but we take time to explore domestic and international issues and consider how they impact us personally and here at home.

Produced by Connecticut Public, '<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/where-we-live/about">Where We Live'</a> puts Connecticut in context. Host Catherine Shen brings us fascinating, informed, in-depth conversations and stories beyond news headlines.  We start local, but we take time to explore domestic and international issues and consider how they impact us personally and here at home.

Where We Live is a call-in talk show about who we are in Connecticut and our place in the world.

Where We Live

Produced by Connecticut Public, '<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/where-we-live/about">Where We Live'</a> puts Connecticut in context. Host Catherine Shen brings us fascinating, informed, in-depth conversations and stories beyond news headlines.  We start local, but we take time to explore domestic and international issues and consider how they impact us personally and here at home.

CT interior designer Sophie von Oertzen Williamson is team 'never beige'

In a digital world, what makes a toy worth picking up?

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The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit author and educator, believes everyone's life is a spiritual journey.

"We're all on this spiritual journey to understand ourselves, to understand how God loves us, to experience God's love and to give that love back to God and to other people," he said.

Martin is the author of the new book, “Work in Progress: Confessions of a busboy, dishwasher, caddy, usher, factory worker, bank teller, corporate tool, and priest.”

The book explores the many professional experiences he had before becoming a priest.

Martin reflects on his early life and the formative time he spent in Connecticut, where he worked as an employee at General Electric and made a decision that would forever change the course of his life.

"Where We Live" is available on Apple Podcasts,Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

This episode originally aired on March 23, 2026.

The Rev. <a href="https://www.americamagazine.org/thespirituallife/">James Martin</a>, a Jesuit author and educator, believes everyone's life is a spiritual journey.
"We're all on this spiritual journey to understand ourselves, to understand how God loves us, to experience God's love and to give that love back to God and to other people," he said.
Martin is the author of the new book, <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/pages/jamesmartin">&ldquo;Work in Progress: Confessions of a busboy, dishwasher, caddy, usher, factory worker, bank teller, corporate tool, and priest.&rdquo;</a>
The book explores the many professional experiences he had before becoming a priest.
Martin reflects on his early life and the formative time he spent in Connecticut, where he worked as an employee at General Electric and made a decision that would forever change the course of his life.
"Where We Live" is available on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/where-we-live/id706066099">Apple Podcasts,</a> <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0j08SgnZIU5BmjDyHbgjgP">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/43f3a507-ebfa-4876-b34a-030759a8924c/where-we-live">Amazon Music</a>, <a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/Government/Where-We-Live-p1207905/">TuneIn</a>, <a href="https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/where-we-live-connecticut-public-radio-lz9NAwSEexh/">Listen Notes,</a> or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.
This episode originally aired on March 23, 2026.

Rev. James Martin on work and life's spiritual journey

Breathe deep and think: What do you smell right now? The sweetness of the spring air? The smoky smells of the highway?

Our noses give us key clues about the environment and provide a critical daily link to some of our most cherished memories.

But smell, and its control over culture and politics, is often undervalued and misunderstood.

Today, we take a nose dive into the olfactory, exploring how humanity has used smell to communicate and control.

Guests:
Ally Louks: Supervisor at the University of Cambridge and author of "Olfactory Ethics: The Politics of Smell in Modern and Contemporary Prose"
Alexandra Segal: Wesleyan University anthropology graduate and winner of the school's "GLASS Prize in Queer Studies" for her 2025 paper, "On the Nose: What to Learn from Funk and Fragheads"
Brittany Koziara: Owner of Forêline Parfumerie
Hsuan Hsu: Professor of English at UC Davis, and author of "The Smell of Risk" and "Olfactory Worldmaking"

Breathe deep and think: What do you smell right now? The sweetness of the spring air? The smoky smells of the highway?
Our noses give us key clues about the environment and provide a critical daily link to some of our most cherished memories.
But smell, and its control over culture and politics, is often undervalued and misunderstood.
Today, we take a nose dive into the olfactory, exploring how humanity has used smell to communicate and control.
Guests:
<ul>
<li>Ally Louks:&nbsp;Supervisor at the University of Cambridge and author of "<a href="https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/items/528f479f-fd3c-43fd-9463-7c2923560573">Olfactory Ethics: The Politics of Smell in Modern and Contemporary Prose</a>"</li>
<li>Alexandra Segal:&nbsp;Wesleyan University anthropology graduate and winner of the school's "<a href="https://www.wesleyan.edu/queerstudies/glass.html">GLASS Prize in Queer Studies</a>" for her 2025 paper,&nbsp;<a href="https://digitalcollections.wesleyan.edu/turnstile-challenge?destination=%2Fislandora%2Fnose-what-learn-funk-and-fragheads">"On the Nose: What to Learn from Funk and Fragheads"</a></li>
<li>Brittany Koziara:&nbsp;Owner of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/forelineparfumerie/">For&ecirc;line Parfumerie</a></li>
<li><a href="https://english.ucdavis.edu/people/hsuan-l-hsu-xuxuan">Hsuan Hsu:</a>&nbsp;Professor of English at UC Davis, and author of&nbsp;<a href="https://nyupress.org/9781479810093/the-smell-of-risk/">"The Smell of Risk"</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/9781517921231/olfactory-worldmaking/">"Olfactory Worldmaking"</a></li>
</ul>

CT interior designer Sophie von Oertzen Williamson is team 'never beige'

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