Chion Wolf

One industry that’s positively flourished in Connecticut in the last decade or so is small craft breweries. As of January, more than 100 were open up and down the state.

But with many so dependent on now-shuttered taprooms, and on their partnerships with restaurants, they’re in the eye of the economic storm, as coronavirus takes its toll.

As state and local governments grapple with how to keep people safe, the threat of coronavirus looms larger for people in vulnerable situations.

Perhaps none more so than people who are experiencing homelessness, who -- by definition -- cannot “stay safe; stay home,” as Gov. Ned Lamont’s new slogan has it.

While some businesses have asked their staff to work from home, other jobs can’t be done remotely. Among the most important as the nation faces a pandemic infection -- cleaning.

But many people who clean for a living say they don’t feel safe carrying out their jobs right now.

It’s been a whiplash week for many people in Connecticut’s service industry. None more so than restaurant servers and bartenders, many of whom were laid off this week without warning, as Gov. Ned Lamont ordered eateries to move to takeout-only service.

How do you make a 100-meter telescope that folds down to three meters so you can tuck it inside a space vehicle? How do you make a heart stent that folds out inside the human body? In each case, researchers have turned to masters of origami, the thousand-year-old art of paper folding.

Don't miss -- for what might just be the sixth year we've done this -- a very badly planned New Year's Eve Eve Eve Eve special featuring chaos muppet and music legend "Big Al" Anderson and the great Jim Chapdelaine!

2018 has been a doozy of a year. And 2019, well, who knows? But you know what would make you feel a little bit better? Listening to our esteemed panelists and some of their favorite jazz tunes of 2018, a show tradition we've had since 2014.

It's SUMMER! And every year around this time, we gather up a few music mavens who help us analyze and celebrate the kind of music that gets us dancing and singing as soon as it comes on the radio.

Singer/songwriter Jill Sobule is back in our Hartford studios to sing and play and talk and who knows what else!

The group of people running for governor of the state of Connecticut isn't showing a real front-runner that everyone can agree on yet, but how are they talking about real reforms to the way the state operates? Is there more beyond lowering taxes and cutting wasteful spending? Dan Drew is out, and Ned Lamont is in - What's next for the Democratic race?

Marie Antoinette's breasts were believed to inspire the design of the shallow French champagne coupes we see on the shelves of the local Pottery Barn. Mae West noted in her 1959 memoir, Goodness Had Nothing To Do With It, that she regularly rubbed cocoa butter on her breasts and spritzed them with cold water.

All cults are not created equal. From the wide array of beliefs they teach, to the variety of people who are involved, cults are as different from each other as are officially recognized religions.

I’m Chion Wolf and this is What’s Your Problem?!

Since Colin McEnroe is away, I’m taking over with a radio version of my live advice show, What’s Your Problem? Here’s the idea: A lot of people love GIVING and GETTING advice. There’s a connection there, there’s a feeling that you’re LESS ALONE there.

Colin McEnroe is taking a couple weeks off, so today Chion Wolf introduces you to three Connecticut residents who have careers in very different fields of expertise.

Every year, we do a Song of the Summer show. It always makes people angry. There is no evidence that it has ever made people happy. A lot of it has to do with the way we define the term.

For the third year in a row, "Big Al" Anderson and Jim Chapdelaine sing some songs and tell some stories as we usher out 2016. Anyone in the WNPR newsrooom who isn't still home for the holidays will become for one day only, the Dankosky Tabernacle Choir and sing their hearts out after such a tumultuous year.

Every year, an all-star panel of musicians and critics join the show to go through a painfully short list of the best jazz of the year. Will this year be vocalist-heavy? Any repeat winners, or any newcomers? Is there an overall sound to the year?

It's hard to improve on the poet, Rilke, who wrote, "Love consists of this, that two solitudes meet, protect, and greet each other." But did Rilke have to deal with Angry Birds and Snap Chat?

For the second year, we welcome singer/songwriter extraordinaire "Big Al" Anderson and Emmy Award-winning producer and musician Jim Chapdelaine in studio for songs and stories.

How do you define “The Song of the Summer?” DJ Brendan Jay Sullivan likens it to a summer romance: Fresh faces only (no repeat artists), love at first sight (or first three seconds of the song), and you don’t want to be anyone’s summer fling (it lasts a while!). With that in mind, what’s your song of the summer so far? On this show, we’ll narrow down and try to define the winners and losers.

Connecticut has been incredibly lucky in the directors who have made its regional theaters their basis of operations. Don't miss this full-length conversation between Colin and Darko Tresnjak, Hartford Stage's Tony Award-winning Artistic Director, about Shakespeare, his acceptance speech at the Tony's, moodiness in the theater world, and of course, his current production of "Kiss Me Kate".

"Molly" is the nickname for MDMA, or Ecstasy, and it's short for "Molecule", meaning you're getting the "real thing", chemically speaking. Except you almost never do. On this show, we'll talk about the dangers of Molly, the medical uses of MDMA, and the curious romance between the drug and the form of music known as EDM, Electronic Dance Music.

If you've ever watched "Nashville," you've heard the songwriting of "Big Al" Anderson. If you've ever listened to the band NRBQ (The New Rhythm and Blues Quartet), you've heard him loud and clear. And if you tune into this show, you'll hear this Windsor native and Jim Chapdelaine perform live, talk about the craft of songwriting for himself and for other people, defining an era with "No Good to Cry" with his band, Wildweeds, and more!

It’s so hard to keep up on jazz, especially for the person with only a casual interest. That’s why, every year, critic Gene Seymour and some musicians get together on our show to talk about what they liked and why. On this show, pianists Noah Baerman and Jen Allen round out the panel.

SONGS (in order of appearance):

It's just unthinkable to me that "Why Can't It Be Christmas Time All Year" is not a classic, and a staple of holiday music. But it's not. In fact, you've probably never heard of it or Rosie Thomas, who recorded it. And that helps explain why it has been 20 years since any song became a mainstream hit. "All I Want For Christmas Is You", released by Mariah Carey in 1994, did what is now impossible - it survived its first season, and became a song that is played every year during the holidays, and performed by other people. It got a big boost, of course, from the movie "Love Actually", but that's not the only reason it stuck around. But 20 years is a long time to go without another success in that department.