equality

A transgender inmate seeking treatment for gender dysphoria is suing state correctional officials.

Advocates across Connecticut called for increased access to public transportation Monday, February 4.

At the Southeast Area Transit center in Norwich, Ariana Woody, the president of the NAACP chapter in Norwich, said public transit is a civil right.

As someone who’s used public transportation her entire life, Woody said that service in the SEAT district could be improved, particularly when buses run -- and when they don't.

Each summer, Connecticut residents flock to the shoreline, raising umbrellas and spreading towels along the state's beaches. Yet, behind this sunny imagery hides a somber history -- a story of coastal ownership and exclusivity.

This hour, Free the Beaches author Andrew Kahrl joins us. We reflect on the impact of Connecticut’s private and restricted beaches and learn about a 20th-century crusade to unlock the state’s coast.

When was the last time you saw someone with a disability? Do you have a loved one who is part of the community? Did you see a character on TV, or did you just pass someone on the street? For some it may take a while to answer that question. Why is that?

Social structures, in almost all cases, are defined by some form of hierarchy. Whether in academics, sports, religion, business, or politics, there's usually someone at the top and others whose goal it is to get there. But while it's easy to think that we've designed our world to be this way, the truth may be that we had no choice.

Thirty million red blood cells circulate twelve thousand miles in a never ceasing loop through our bodies every day. Our blood has to keep moving in order to perfuse every organ and vessel necessary to keep us alive. Nothing in our body works without the constant presence and movement of our blood. Yet, few of us think about our blood until we see a few drops trickle from a cut. Then, we're horrified by it.

This month marks 10 years since Connecticut first granted marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. This hour we talk about the work that led up to a historic ruling from the state Supreme Court and we learn how LGBTQ rights have advanced in recent years. Were you one of the couples that finally got to tie the knot in 2008?

In the 1996 landmark Sheff v. O’Neill case, the Connecticut Supreme Court found that minority students in Hartford's public schools “suffered daily” due to racial and economic segregation.

Now, 22 years later -- Connecticut’s magnet school solution to Sheff’s desegregation mandate has been held up as a model for integration around the country. Yet many minority students in Hartford still attend struggling and highly segregated schools.

What does effective philanthropy look like in the 21st century?

This hour, we sit down with Jay Williams, the President of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.

We also talk with scholar and author, Chuck Collins. He is a one-percenter who dedicated his life to addressing income inequality. Collins’ policy institute has found that charities are increasingly depending on larger donations from a smaller number of wealthy individuals. We ask Collins--is that a good thing?

How well do we really know the poor? As our nation's economy grows and the jobless rate decreases, are we increasingly ignoring their voices? Haven't we always ignored them?

When was the last time you saw someone with a disability? Do you have a loved one who is part of the community? Did you see a character on TV, or did you just pass someone on the street? For some it may take a while to answer that question. Why is that?

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the Amazons of ancient Greek mythology is that they were not entirely mythical. While many of the deeds and details ascribed to these women warriors were imagined, the Amazons themselves were inspired by a real-life horse-riding tribe of nomads called the Scythians.

This hour: As Women's History Month draws to a close, we draw attention to a Connecticut native who was integral in the campaign for civil rights -- Judge Constance Baker Motley.

Coming up, we take an in-depth look at Judge Motley's life and talk about her legacy both inside and outside of the courtroom.

Plus: Suzan-Lori Parks’ Father Comes Home From the Wars Parts 1, 2 & 3 opened at Yale Repertory Theatre earlier this month.

We learn more about the production and find out how the Theatre’s ongoing WILL POWER! initiative is exposing students to the arts. 

She grew up knowing more about "farming than feminism." Now she serves as leader of the oldest women's foundation in the country. 

This hour: a conversation with Teresa Younger, President and CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women.

It's the fourth installment in Connecticut Public Radio's “Making Her Story” series highlighting prominent women with ties to Connecticut. 

According to mytho-historical accounts, the ancient Amazons wore pants while riding into battle. But the trend this tribe of warrior women set was short lived. For nearly two millennia after their demise, the notion of women wearing pants was steeped in controversy.

This hour: As Black History Month draws to a close, we draw attention to a Connecticut native who was integral in the campaign for civil rights -- Judge Constance Baker Motley.

Coming up, we take an in-depth look at Judge Motley's life and talk about her legacy both inside and outside of the courtroom.

Plus: Suzan-Lori Parks’ Father Comes Home From the Wars Parts 1, 2 & 3 opens at Yale Repertory Theatre next month.

We learn more about the production and find out how the Theatre’s ongoing WILL POWER! initiative is exposing students to the arts. 

Few things evoke such antipathy and condemnation from the western world than the idea of children toiling away for low pay in dangerous conditions. And while there are cases of child labor which truly warrant our concern, the broader truth is a bit more complicated.

Coming up: We sit down with Chuck Collins, senior scholar at the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Policy Studies.

But first: A look at how researchers are working to preserve the world's most endangered languages -- including locally-based efforts to expand fluency of the Mohegan language.