human rights

Obituaries can capture the life and achievements of individuals, from local community members to the famous. This hour we talk with an editor behind the New York Times’ “Overlooked” obituary series, which highlights black men and women whose contributions were overlooked at the time of their deaths like actress Nina Mae McKinney and ragtime composer Scott Joplin.

On a January night in 2018, there were more than 3,000 people experiencing homelessness across the state of Connecticut.

This hour we sit down with Dr. Richard Cho, the new CEO of the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness. Connecticut has made major strides in reducing homelessness, but how do we address areas where residents are still falling through the cracks?

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.

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?

From veterans returning from Iraq, to survivors of mass shootings, to those putting together the pieces after a hurricane--we know that the emotional and psychological scars of violence and tragedies sometimes last even longer than physical wounds.

But what is the psychological toll on those who help victims of traumatic experiences?

This week marks the 45th anniversary of a coup in Chile that overthrew the democratically elected president Salvador Allende and radically changed the course of Chilean history.

Many of us hoped the white nationalist movement that instigated last year's "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, would suffer a fatal blow. The majority of Americans condemned both the blatant bigotry displayed by the protesters and the president's failure to single out the nationalists as the perpetrators of the "hatred, bigotry and violence." He instead, said he saw that violence "on many sides."

That's not what happened.

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?

Today, we have no guests. Just a conversation between you and Colin about Stephanie Wilkinson's request that Sarah Huckabee Sanders leave the Red Hen restaurant Friday night. Wilkinson owns the Red Hen, where Sanders and her party were dining Friday night.

Old asylums give us the creeps. The reality of asylums may pale in comparison to the horrors we conjure in our minds. Yet, they were awful. They were dark and dirty and overcrowded. Diseases were rampant and deadly. Staff was abusive. Food was scarce and inedible. Death and suicide were common.

So, why does President Trump want to bring them back? 

The military of Myanmar has been carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims. This hour we talk with a Connecticut delegation who just returned from a humanitarian mission to a refugee camp in neighboring Bangladesh and a political science researcher studying the crisis. What is the role of the U.S. as this massive humanitarian disaster unfolds?

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.

From his work on Wicked, to Pippin, to Godspell, to The Magic Show and more, few people have had such a hand in shaping the music of Broadway theater as Stephen Schwartz.

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.

Cultural leaders are beating a hasty retreat from President Trump. 

In 2013, Jason Collins became the first active NBA player to come out as gay. We caught up with the seven foot, retired athlete during his visit to Connecticut for LGBT pride month.

This hour, we air our interview with Collins. We talk basketball, coming out in the world of sports, and more.

June is LGBT Pride Month — a time when marches, festivals and other events commemorate the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City.

This hour, we examine “gay pride” across the centuries — from ancient Greece to modern America.

Has the golden age of humanity passed? Can we, as a species, survive the next few centuries? As our climate warms, population grows, resources shrink, and means of self destruction become more deadly, these questions move from the realm of dystopian fiction to real world relevance.

Amidst the increasing concern over a nuclear armed North Korea, it's easy to forget the nearly 25 million citizens who live there. Their stories, while not matters of national security,  do reveal valuable insights into the secretive nation they call home.