The Wheelhouse

Beth Bye, a former state lawmaker and outgoing head of the Office of Early Childhood, is retiring from state service after years of work helping young children. Bye’s retirement comes after the state legislature passed a sweeping bill last session offering free child care to many Connecticut families. Today on The Wheelhouse, an exit interview with Beth Bye. Plus, we check in with another advocate for children, Sarah Eagan, about her concern for the state’s social safety net. GUESTS: Beth Bye, commissioner, Connecticut Office of Early Childhood Sarah Eagan, executive director, Center for Children’s Advocacy Georgia Goldburn, executive director, Hope for New Haven, Inc.  Michayla Savitt, state government reporter, Connecticut Public Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Federal tax credits for electric vehicles will expire at the end of September. Connecticut residents also won’t be able to access other federal incentives for heat pumps, rooftop solar and home energy audits. Today on The Wheelhouse, how local officials can promote energy efficiency amid a federal rollback on clean energy. Also – Connecticut’s freedom of information law turns 50 this year. We talk to reporters about continued efforts to hold officials accountable in 2025. GUESTS: Katie Dykes, commissioner, Connecticut Department. of Energy and Environmental Protection Áine Pennello, Report for America corps member environmental and climate change reporter at Connecticut Public Chris Harto, senior policy analyst for transportation and energy, Consumer Reports Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, investigative reporter, CT Insider Jim Haddadin, investigative editor, Connecticut Public Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, is defending his policies on Capitol Hill. He recently spoke to Congress following a brain drain at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC’s director was fired. And several other high-level officials have also left the agency. They say Kennedy is weakening the administration with what they call “unscientific views.” Today on The Wheelhouse, we ask public health officials in Connecticut how they’re preparing for the next pandemic and their thoughts on the future of health policy amid a nationwide movement to “Make America Healthy Again.” GUESTS: Apoorva Mandavilli, science and global health reporter, The New York Times Lynn Sosa, Infectious Diseases Director, CT Department of Public Health Sujata Srinivasan, senior health reporter, Connecticut Public Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Donald Trump declared war on immigration from his first day in office. Since then, the White House has vowed to protect Americans from what it’s calling an “invasion.” U.S. Sen Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) is troubled by recent action, including a statewide sweep by immigration authorities that resulted in 65 arrests. Murphy accuses Trump of using racist tropes on immigration to distract Americans from his “corruption and lawlessness.” Today on The Wheelhouse, we talk to Murphy about the White House’s domestic policy agenda. You’ll also hear from Daniela Doncel and Maysoon Khan, two Connecticut Public reporters, about a special immigration status reserved for abused migrant youth – and how it’s being rolled back. GUESTS: U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy Archon Fung, professor of citizenship and self-government, Harvard University Mark Hugo Lopez, director of race and ethnicity research, Pew Research Center Daniela Doncel, Latino communities reporter, Connecticut Public Maysoon Khan, investigative reporter, Connecticut Public Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beginning on September 1, Congress will race to finalize the federal budget before the September 30 deadline. And Connecticut’s schools are feeling the ripple effects of funding uncertainty. Today on The Wheelhouse, we talk with educators about the challenges and concerns heading into the new school year. Plus, we take a close look at one Connecticut district experimenting with a year-round calendar. Tune in to hear what this means for students, families, and teachers alike! GUESTS: Kate Dias, president of the Connecticut Education Association Fran Rabinowitz, executive director, Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents Lisa Hagan, federal policy reporter, CT Mirror and CT Public Cynthia Ritchie, superintendent of schools, New London Public Schools  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did Connecticut earn the moniker “Constitution State”? Hint – it’s not the Constitution you learned about in history class! We’ll travel back to the 1600s to explore how history, conflict and big aspirations helped shape the state’s identity. GUESTS: Thomas Balcerski, professor of history at Eastern Connecticut State University and director of the Center for Connecticut Studies Kathy Craughwell-Varda, director of Conservation ConneCTion, Connecticut State Library Andrea Rapacz, chief curator of collections, Connecticut Museum of Culture and History Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Even though some anthropologists believe humans are apex predators, a new book argues we’re actually not. Author Kurt Gray posits understanding our vulnerabilities – coming to terms with our former reality as prey – could help us co-exist in tumultuous political times. Today on The Wheelhouse, Gray, a social psychologist at The Ohio State University, discusses his book, “Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics… and How to Find Common Ground.” GUESTS: Kurt Gray, author, “Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground” The Wheelhouse is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s 2025 and next year’s congressional races are already heating up. We’re learning more about U.S. Rep. John Larson’s seat in Connecticut’s First Congressional District. Columnist Dan Haar says the 2026 re-election bid will be Larson’s “toughest challenge” yet. Are Larson’s age and health a primary factor in a prospective close race? Today on The Wheelhouse, Dan Haar and constitutional scholar Akhil Reed Amar tackle that question and explore why the U.S. doesn’t have term limits for Congress. Also, do you know if there’s lead in your home’s drinking water? We talk to the reporters behind a CT Mirror investigation that found lead in the water lines of thousands of Connecticut homes. GUESTS: Akhil Reed Amar, professor of law and political science, Yale University Dan Haar, senior editor and columnist, CT Insider Colin McEnroe, host, "The Colin McEnroe Show" Andrew Brown, investigative reporter, CT Mirror Jenna Carlesso, investigative reporter, CT Mirror Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gen Z has grown up in an age of school shootings, climate anxiety, the pandemic and the algorithm. With all that they’ve gone through, how is Gen Z engaging with media and with politics? Today on The Wheelhouse, we’re looking at the forces shaping Gen Z in Connecticut and across the nation. We’ll explore how this generation votes at the ballot box and ask what their future role may be in American democracy. GUESTS: Rachel Janfaza, associate writer, CNN Politics Elena Moore, reporter, NPR’s Washington desk Christian Paz, senior politics reporter, Vox Coco Cooley and Isaac Moss assisted in the production of this episode.Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Legislation seeking to address Connecticut’s affordable housing crisis was vetoed earlier this year by Gov. Ned Lamont. But, the proposal could soon come back in a special session.  If it does, state lawmakers face a question: can they craft an affordable housing plan that satisfies both the governor and local leaders?  Opponents of the original bill say it was pushing quotas on cities and towns. Local leaders said it hampered their ability to make planning and zoning decisions. But supporters say the law was a “meaningful step” forward in a state plagued by high rents and too little housing.  Today on The Wheelhouse, what’s next for affordable housing legislation in Connecticut? GUESTS: Rep. Jason Rojas, majority leader, CT House Democrats Sen. Tony Hwang, Republican representing Easton, Fairfield, Newtown Abby Brone, housing reporter, Connecticut Public Ginny Monk, children's issues and housing reporter, Connecticut Mirror Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, investigative reporter, CT Insider Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Donald Trump’s massive tax-and-spending package is officially the law. The legislation provides tax cuts for some Americans. But it could raise costs for some of the country’s poorest households. That’s due to reductions in Medicaid and food assistance. The legislation Republicans are calling the “big beautiful bill" seeks to cut Medicaid and food stamps by more than $1 trillion. Today on The Wheelhouse, we’ll dig deeper into how the bill will impact SNAP and Medicaid benefits in Connecticut. GUESTS: Andrea Barton Reeves, commissioner, Connecticut Department of Social Services Sujata Srinivasan, senior health reporter, Connecticut Public Amari Brantley, policy coordinator, End Hunger Connecticut! Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Connecticut lawmakers passed some of the most ambitious housing legislation in years this session. The bill looked to address affordable housing, zoning and parking. But then, Gov. Ned Lamont vetoed it. The Democrat is now inviting lawmakers to make a new proposal, which he hopes to pass it later this year in a special session. Today on The Wheelhouse, we’ll speak to the governor live in-studio, asking about that veto. We’ll also get his thoughts on running for a third term. GUESTS: Ned Lamont, governor, state of Connecticut Mark Pazniokas, capitol bureau chief and a co-founder, CT Mirror Liz Kurantowicz, Republican analyst and co-owner, The Drury Group Bilal Sekou, associate professor of political science, University of Hartford The Wheelhouse is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, ASupport the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This fall, students at Yale University will take a course called “Bad Bunny: Musical Aesthetics and Politics.” Bad Bunny, born on the island of Puerto Rico as Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, isn’t the first Latino musician to weave activism into his work. Regarding the Yale class, Bad Bunny told Rolling Stone magazine “I have in the back of my mind that I want to do big things and make a difference, but I do it for myself.” “I don’t do it hoping that at some point, they’ll offer classes about me at universities,” he said. Today on The Wheelhouse, how politics and music intersect on the island next door. GUESTS: Albert Laguna, Associate professor of American Studies, Yale University Rachel Iacovone, Puerto Rican communities reporter, CT Public Petra Rivera-Rideau, Associate Professor of American Studies, Wellesley College La Gata, Multimedia Artist and Historian Charles Venator Santiago, Associate professor in the departments of political science and El Instituto, University of Connecticut Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Connecticut has hundreds of miles of shoreline, extending from Greenwich in the west to Stonington in the east. Many of these coastal communities have found ways to exclude certain people. There’s actually a long history of segregation on our shores, dating back decades. This hour, we’ll look at past and present beach access in Connecticut. Plus, we’ll look at who does — and does not — get access to quality public spaces like parks. GUESTS: Andrew Kahrl: Professor of history and African American Studies at the University of Virginia and author of Free the Beaches: The Story of Ned Coll and the Battle for America’s Most Exclusive Shoreline Dr. KangJae Lee: Associate professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism, University of Utah Hear more from Andrew Kahrl in this episode of Disrupted. This episode originally aired on July 5, 2023 and was produced by Meg Dalton. Our technical producers were Catie Talarski and Cat Pastor. Robyn Doyon-Aitken edited the audio. The Wheelhouse is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Connecticut lawmakers recently cemented their priorities for the next two years with final passage of a $55.8 billion budget. At the end of the 2025 legislative session, they were able to find money for Medicaid programs and invest in our children’s future, especially young children. But some – mainly the minority in the state legislature – say that it comes at too high of a cost. Today on the Wheelhouse, the “fiscal guardrails” have been breached and lawmakers will press forward amid a foggy federal funding landscape. GUESTS: Rep. Jason Rojas, Majority leader, CT House Democrats Rep. Vin Candelora, Minority leader, CT House Republicans Alex Putterman, Reporter, CT Insider Michayla Savitt, State government reporter, CT Public Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 2025 legislative session in Connecticut started with lawmakers facing an uncertain future clouded by potential federal funding cuts. The end of the session is nigh in Connecticut. Amid these murky days, we know that local lawmakers have taken drastic measures to shore up state Medicaid funding. But how far are they willing to go to secure a new two-year budget deal? Today on the Wheelhouse, a preview of the last day of regular lawmaking in Connecticut. GUESTS: Mark Pazniokas, Capitol bureau chief, CT Mirror Susan Raff, Chief political reporter, WFSB News Ch. 3 Ebong Udoma, Senior reporter, WSHU Beth Bye, Commissioner, CT Office of Early Childhood Eva Bermudez-Zimmerman, Coalition director, Child Care for CT Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

State lawmakers are foregoing budget caps to fund Medicaid. But with Medicaid relying on two primary funding sources–and U.S. lawmakers poised to pass President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill”--the future of low-income healthcare programs is uncertain. Today on The Wheelhouse, America’s brittle social safety net hangs in the balance. GUESTS: Lisa Hagan, Federal Policy Reporter, CT Mirror and CT Public Joan Alker, Reporter, Georgetown University John Henry Smith, Host, All Things Considered, CT Public Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis in 2020 inspired police reform in America. Five years ago this week, Americans took to the streets amid a global pandemic to protest Floyd’s murder. Chants of “Black Lives Matter” reverberated throughout Connecticut. And then, two months after Floyd’s death, Connecticut was one of the first states in the nation to enact police reform legislation. “I don’t think this day happens without the connection between what’s going on on the streets and why the people are in the building fighting the way they are,” Democratic lawmaker Gary Winfield said after the bill passed through his state senate chamber on July 29, 2020. Today on the Wheelhouse, an update on police reform – what stuck, and what still needs to be done to protect Black lives…five years after George Floyd. GUESTS: Jeffrey A. Fletcher, Owner and Collector, Ruby and Calvin Fletcher African American History Museum Brakkton Booker, National Political Correspondent, Politico  Lorenzo Boyd, Professor of Criminal Justice and Community Policing, University of New Haven Elizabeth Hinton, Professor of African American Studies, History, and Law, Yale University Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Colleges and universities across the country are facing serious headwinds. In 2022, college enrollment was 14.8% below peak enrollment in 2010. That’s according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Is a post-pandemic rebound even possible? Factors like declining enrollment, shifting perceptions of value, and rising financial strain have college and universities in Connecticut and beyond ringing the alarm bell. This hour, we look at how the future of higher education will impact the state’s economy, workforce, and the country’s ability to compete on a global level. GUESTS: Susan Raff, Chief political reporter, WFSB Eyewitness News Ch. 3 Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, Investigative reporter, Hearst Connecticut Media Brian Rosenberg, Visiting Professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education, author of Whatever It Is, I’m Against It Jon Marcus, Senior higher education reporter for The Hechinger Report and co-host of the podcast, “College Uncovered”  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to Pew Research Center, our “trust in government” has eroded over the last sixty years. While there have been “modest” gains in support, factors like age, race, employment status, educational experience, and more impact how we view our federal institutions. Today on the Wheelhouse, we journey through age groups, consider experiences, and offer a bit of a U.S. history lesson to shed some light on how Americans have formed their views about the government from the late 1950s to the present. Plus, how can Gen Alpha engage with politics? How can adults help with kids’ civic development? GUESTS: Mercy Quaye, Founder and President at The Narrative Project; Columnist for CT Mirror and Editor of CT Mirror's Community Editorial Board Jonathan Wharton, Associate professor of political science and urban affairs, Southern Connecticut State University J. Baxter Oliphant, Senior researcher, Pew Research Center Sally Friedman, Associate professor of political science, University at Albany Jean Twenge, Professor of psychology, San Diego State University Elena Moore, Reporter, Washington desk, NPR Deborah Rivas-Drake, Ph.D., Professor of Education and Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan Christia Spears Brown, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence and Professor of Developmental, Social, and Health Psychology, University of Kentucky Rikesha L. Fry Brown, Ph.D., co-founder and Executive Director of the African American Honors Collective and Adjunct Professor, Clark Atlanta University Melissa Santos. Ph.D., Division Head, Pediatric Psychology, Connecticut Children’s This show was edited together to feature thoughts and perspectives from people of various backgrounds. You will hear past interviews, including discussions from the April 10, 2024, “How to Talk to Kids about the 2024 Presidential Election” and the August 7, 2024, “Politics Across the Generations”. Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.