Host, Jeremy Hobson is a public radio journalist and former host of NPR’s Here & Now and Marketplace Morning Report. He interviewed Gina McCarthy, the first ever White House National Climate Advisor and former EPA Administrator and Ryan Hanrahan, Chief Meteorologist for NBC Connecticut, about whether it’s possible to take the politics out of Climate Change. The event included live musical performances from The Middle's own House DJ Tolliver and his band. The Middle is a live national call-in show focused on bringing the voices of the geographic, political, and philosophical middle into the national conversation. The show is carried on several hundred NPR member stations including Connecticut Public Thursdays at 9 pm.
Recorded Events
The Middle with Jeremy Hobson
Recorded on: June 3, 2024
On Monday, June 3, 2024 Connecticut Public hosted a national taping of “The Middle with Jeremy Hobson” at the Palace Theater in Waterbury. The show aired nationally June 13.
In Community: A Speaker Series - Nikole Hannah-Jones
Recorded on: May 28, 2024
On May 28, 2024 Connecticut Public and Fairfield County’s Community Foundation hosted Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones at the District Wall Theater in Norwalk.
The conversation was the third event in our “In Community” speaker series. The recorded conversation focused on many of the themes Hannah-Jones explores in her work for The New York Times Magazine, as creator of The 1619 Project and as the Knight Chair of Race and Journalism at Howard University. Hannah-Jones spoke with Mendi Blue Paca, President & CEO of Fairfield County’s Community Foundation.
Serving the Whole Child: Safe Housing
Recorded on: May 8, 2024
While educational success is often tied to well-resourced school districts, other factors impact a child’s trajectory like their access to affordable healthcare and healthy food.
Connecticut Public and the CT Black and Brown Student Union (CT BBSU) partnered on a series that explored what communities and policymakers can do to serve the whole child. This conversation on May 8 focused on the importance of safe housing with panelists:
Errol Maurice, Housing Counseling Agency Coordinator at New London's Homeless Hospitality Center
Margaret Lancaster, Health Program Coordinator at Ledge Light Health District in New London, CT
Sabrina Buckwalter, Story Producer/Reporter at Connecticut Public
Shanda Easley, Program Manager, Thames River Community Service, Inc.
Moderator: Lucy Nalpathanchil, VP of Community Engagement at Connecticut Public
Opening Remarks by Shineika Fareus, Executive Director of CT Black and Brown Student Union (CT BBSU)
Unforgetting – Restoring and Reclaiming Connecticut’s Hidden Histories
Recorded on: March 28, 2024
A panel of experts talks about efforts to uncover long-ignored stories and recalibrate our understanding of Connecticut’s historical involvement with slavery.
Former State Representative Pat Wilson Pheanious shares her family’s story in Connecticut Public’s new series Unforgotten: Connecticut’s Hidden History of Slavery; Akeia de Barros Gomes, Senior Curator of Maritime Social Histories at the Mystic Seaport Museum previews the upcoming exhibition Entwined: Freedom, Sovereignty and the Sea; and Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Blight discusses the new book Yale and Slavery: A History. Panelists will talk about the projects and explore big questions that have led to this moment. Moderated by Diane Orson, Special Correspondent with Connecticut Public. Program presented by Connecticut Public and the Connecticut Museum.
In Community: A Speaker Series - Dr. Uché Blackstock
Recorded on: February 29, 2024
The second event in our "In Community" speaker series, sponsored by Connecticut Public and Fairfield County Equity Lab, featured Uché Blackstock, MD, Founder and CEO of Advancing Health Equity and author of LEGACY: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine (Viking, 2024).
In a conversation with Connecticut Public's Lucy Nalpathanchil, Dr. Blackstock shared insights from her memoir, exploring why profound racial health inequities still exist in the U.S. today and how understanding the history of medical racism is critical to finding sustainable, systems-level solutions.
Serving The Whole Child: A Focus on Food Security
Connecticut Public and CT Black & Brown Student Union (CT BBSU) are partnering to host a series of one-hour conversations that explore what communities and policymakers can do to serve the whole child. February's conversation focused on access to healthy food.
CT BBSU's Shineika Fareus was the moderator.
Panelists:
- Lauren Little, Farmer & Educator
- Christine Caruso, Wesleyan University Assistant Professor of the Practice in the College of the Environment
- Jocelyn Cerda, Founder, Mercado Popular
- Emmanuel Elijah Nelson, Artist & Herbalist
Wheelhouse LIVE: Looking back at 2023 and ahead to 2024
It's a focus on local and national politics, but with the noise turned down and the perspective turned up. "The Wheelhouse" works to make Connecticut politics more understandable and more accessible.
On Wednesday, Dec 6, meet "The Wheelhouse" team and watch a live show with host Frankie Graziano and panelists as we look back at the big news stories of the year - and ahead to 2024, including a contentious presidential election.
Panelists:
- Dr. Bilal Sekou, Associate Professor of Politics and Government, University of Hartford
- Susan Raff, Chief Capitol Reporter, WFSB News Ch. 3
- Mark Pazniokas, Capitol Bureau Chief, The Connecticut Mirror
Serving the Whole Child: A Series by Connecticut Public and CT Black & Brown Student Union
While educational success is often tied to well-resourced school districts, other factors impact a child’s trajectory including their access to safe housing, affordable healthcare and healthy food.
Connecticut Public and CT Black & Brown Student Union (CT BBSU) are partnering to host a series of one-hour conversations that explore what communities and policymakers can do to serve the whole child.
This conversation focused on the importance of access to quality healthcare. Connecticut Public’s Lucy Nalpathanchil was the moderator.
Panelists:Shineika Fareus, Organizing Director of CT Black & Brown Student Union (CT BBSU)
Rosana G. Ferraro, Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut
Janaai John, High school student and a member of Husky 4 Immigrants and Connecticut Students For A Dream
Daniel Palma, High school student and a member of Connecticut Students For A Dream
A Bipartisan Conversation with Governor Ned Lamont and Governor Jodi Rell
Recorded on: September 13, 2023
Connecticut Public and the University of Hartford host a unique conversation between Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and former Governor M. Jodi Rell, Wednesday, September 13 on the campus of the University of Hartford.
Moderated by Connecticut Public’s Lucy Nalpathanchil, the panel discussion features our 89th governor, Ned Lamont, a Democrat, who was sworn in to his second term in January. He will be joined by M. Jodi Rell, a Republican, who served Connecticut as our 87th Governor from 2004 until 2011.
As our country and even local communities wrestle with divisions, Connecticut Public is proud to facilitate conversations around our state focused on how individuals and lawmakers can encourage civility in our discourse.
The event will be held in Millard Auditorium at the University of Hartford. UHart is also home to the Governor M. Jodi Rell Center for Public Service, which was established after Rell’s term to promote values exemplified in the governor’s career, including integrity in government and responsible participation in public life.
The governors will talk about incivility, the role of policymakers in civil discourse, and how all residents can learn to bridge divides despite political affiliations.
Poetry and Conversation: The Witness Stones Old Lyme Poets
Recorded on: August 10, 2023
State Poet Laureate Antoinette Brim-Bell, Marilyn Nelson, Kate Rushin, and Rhonda Ward partnered with the Witness Stones Old Lyme Project and created a verse cycle to capture the forgotten voices of the enslaved in Lyme, Connecticut.
The poets will talk about their creative process including their work with historian, Carolyn Wakeman, to uncover the stories of the long ago enslaved including Cato, Humphrey, Temperance, and Arabella.
We will also hear the poets read selected poems.
Moderated by Connecticut Public's Lucy Nalpathanchil.
Leading with Civility & Respect: The Role of Women in Politics
Recorded on: June 1, 2023
Connecticut Public, League of Women Voters of Greenwich and Greenwich Library present a panel discussion with three accomplished women leaders. The panelists bring different political perspectives to the topic of how civil discourse has...
broken down and what we can do about it. Each addresses the unique role women leaders play in restoring civility to public life.
The panelists include Democratic Stamford Mayor, Caroline Simmons, Republican Leader of the CT House of Representatives (2014 - 2020), Themis Klarides, and Executive Director Emerita of the National Institute for Civil Discourse, Dr. Carolyn Lukensmeyer.
The event moderator is Lucy Nalpathanchil, VP for Community Engagement, Connecticut Public and an award-winning, veteran public radio reporter.
Bridging Our Differences: How To Have Curious Conversations
Recorded on: April 27, 2023
Connecticut Public’s Civility Initiative focuses on ways to build stronger communities by connecting residents to conversations that foster understanding.
On April 27, Connecticut Public's Lucy Nalpathanchil talks with...
Mónica Guzmán and Wilk Wilkinson of Braver Angels about their work building bridges across political differences. They share strategies everyone can use.
Guzmán is a Senior Fellow at Braver Angels and author of I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times. Guzmán describes herself as "the proud liberal daughter of conservative parents.
Wilkinson, a conservative, is a member of Braver Angels' We The People's Project and host of the podcast, Derate the Hate.
Braver Angels is a national non-profit bridging differences among Americans through its workshops, debates, and volunteer alliances across the country.
The panel discussion at The Westport Library will be from 7 pm-8:15 pm and will include questions from the audience.
The event is a partnership between Connecticut Public, Braver Angels, The Westport Library and the Hearst CT Media Group.
Transforming Corrections: A Connecticut Public Panel Discussion
Recorded on: March 16, 2023
Walter Smith Randolph moderates a panel discussion about Norway's correctional system and how CT could transform corrections statewide.
The Essentials of Estate Planning
Recorded on: March 2, 2022
Connecticut Public’s Visionary Society recently held a free webinar, The Essentials of Estate Planning, on Wednesday March 2, 2022.
Attorneys Janie L. McDermott, Esq. and Michael J. Reardon, Esq. from the Connecticut-based firm of Carmody, Torrance, Sandak and Hennessey will educate us on the basics of estate planning, discussing some of the myths and realities of the process.
They will demystify topics like how and when to begin making your plans, choosing an executor, defining your legacy, and ensuring your wishes are met. If you have questions about this webinar or are interested in receiving more information about our Visionary Society, please contact Ipsita Ganguli, Director, Foundations and Special Projects at iganguli@ctpublic.org or (860) 275-7306.
Sheff vs. O'Neill a Community Conversation
Recorded on: November, 2021
Two decades after the landmark court decision on the Sheff versus O’Neill case, how do we achieve education equity in Connecticut?
More than half of Hartford’s students still attend low-performing schools. Our November CUTLINE episode, "Striving Toward Education Equity", explored the complex issues around housing, race and inequity, educational funding, and the achievement and opportunity gaps facing kids and families in Hartford and many other Connecticut communities.
How did we get to this point? How can we strive toward education equity in Connecticut? This Community Conversation featured clips from the episode, hosted an engaging community conversation with education experts, and answered your questions.
Check out the Connecticut Public Community Calendar for events in your local community.