Disrupted

Connecticut Public
  • 4.7 (24)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Disrupted is about the changes we all encounter and the forces driving those changes. Some disruptions spark joy and possibility. Others move us to take action and re-evaluate our world. But the show isn't just about those disruptions; it’s about embracing them, exploring new perspectives, and feeling more connected to ourselves and our communities. Host and political scientist Khalilah Brown-Dean creates a place where changemakers come together to help us see the world differently and challenge us to grow together. Visit ctpublic.org/disrupted for more! 

  1. 4H AGO

    Our 2025 favorites: Often undervalued, student journalists play a vital role in our communities

    The Disrupted team is welcoming the new year by choosing a couple of the episodes we loved from 2025. We have so many favorites that we couldn't reair all of them, but these are some of the ones that we wanted to listen back to. This week, producer Kevin Chang Barnum chose our episode on student journalism. Student journalists have been in the spotlight in recent years. In 2024, amidst massive on-campus protests, people turned to student outlets like Columbia University’s WKCR for the most up to date reporting. But practicing journalism as a student comes with risks. Tufts University graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk was detained in March after the Trump administration revoked her visa. U.S. District Judge William Sessions ordered her release on May 9th, saying the only evidence given for her detention was an op-ed she had written for her school paper. This hour, we’re talking about the role student journalists play in covering campuses and the communities around them. We discuss the risks student journalists face and they way their role is sometimes overlooked. GUESTS: Gary Green: Executive Director of The Student Press Law Center, an organization that supports first amendment rights for student journalists Anika Arora Seth: Editor in Chief of the Yale Daily News from spring 2023 to spring 2024 Maria Shaikh: Managing Editor at The Retrograde, an independent student newspaper at the University of Texas at Dallas Macy Hanzlik-Barend: News & Arts director at WKCR, Columbia University’s independent student-run radio station This episode originally aired on May 16, 2025. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    49 min

  2. 12/26/2025

    Our 2025 favorites: Megan Greenwell on the ways private equity upends the lives of everyday people

    The Disrupted team is welcoming the new year by choosing a couple of the episodes we loved from 2025. We have so many favorites that we couldn't reair all of them, but these are some of the ones that we wanted to listen back to. This week, host Khalilah-Brown Dean chose our interview with journalist and author Megan Greenwell. Megan Greenwell's book, Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream, tells the story of four people whose lives were upended by private equity. This hour, we learn about the business of private equity, and how companies that many people don't understand play a big role in our lives. GUEST: Megan Greenwell: Freelance journalist and author of Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream. This episode originally aired on June 27, 2025. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    49 min

  3. 12/19/2025

    Authors like Angeline Boulley and Ainissa Ramirez help young readers see a wider range of representation

    The way people approach children’s books in the U.S. has changed a lot over time. Philosopher John Locke helped popularize the idea that learning to read should be fun with his 1693 treatise Some Thoughts Concerning Education. Fast forward 300 years and television series continued Locke’s legacy. Today's adults might remember the joy of reading being touted to young people through shows like Arthur and Reading Rainbow.  The subjects of books for young people continue to change as well. The Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin—Madison tracks diversity statistics on the books they receive. 2024 was the first time since they started tracking that over half of the books had “significant BIPOC Content.” That designation takes into account the characters, settings and topics of books. This hour, we’re talking to authors about representation in young people’s literature. GUESTS: Ainissa Ramirez: Award-winning scientist and science communicator. She has worked at Bell Laboratories. Her latest book is a picture book called Spark: Jim West’s Electrifying Adventures in Creating the Microphone. Angeline Boulley: bestselling author of Firekeeper’s Daughter. Her new book is Sisters in the Wind. If you want to learn more about the Indian Child Welfare Act, you can listen to our interview with Matthew L.M. Fletcher. To hear more from Ainissa Ramirez, you can listen to our 2021 conversation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    40 min

  4. 12/12/2025

    Lizards, scallops and funding cuts: Connecticut biologists talk about our ever-changing world

    Studying oysters can help us understand how Connecticut’s shoreline is changing. Studying lizards can help us understand the history of life on our planet. Biologists research living organisms. And in doing so, they help us understand not only ourselves, but also the way our lives are intertwined with those of every other species. This hour— Connecticut biologists tell us how their work helps us see what’s going on in the world around us. We'll discuss everything from how someone growing up in New York City could become fascinated by nature to the impact of federal funding cuts on research. GUESTS: Martha Muñoz: Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University, Assistant Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at the Yale Peabody Museum and recipient of a 2024 MacArthur Fellowship. Maria Rosa: Assistant Professor of Biology at Connecticut College. This episode originally aired on July 25, 2025. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    49 min

  5. 12/05/2025

    John Maduko on CT’s state college system and Jamal Watson on the student debt crisis

    For students and families, navigating the world of higher education isn’t easy. Some of the challenges, like student loan debt, have been going on for years. Other challenges come from more recent changes in how the federal government approaches universities. To explore these challenges, we're talking to John Maduko, who was appointed Interim Chancellor of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system in June. We'll also hear from Jamal Watson, whose new book is The Student Debt Crisis: America’s Moral Urgency. GUESTS: Jamal Watson: Journalist covering higher education. He’s also Associate Dean of the School of Professional and Graduate Studies and Professor of Strategic Communication and Public Relations at Trinity Washington University. His new book is The Student Debt Crisis: America’s Moral Urgency. John Maduko: Interim Chancellor of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system. If you want to learn more about higher education, you can listen to our recent interview with Beverly Daniel Tatum. You can also listen to our 2022 interview with John Maduko. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    49 min

  6. 11/21/2025

    Connecticut leaders breaking barriers with historic firsts

    Being the first person to do something isn’t easy. There’s no blueprint for what you are doing, no conventional wisdom to fall back on when all else fails. There is also the pressure of expectations and all the people who are counting on your success. But it’s a way to show people what is possible. Being first means being a pioneer. And here in Connecticut, people are pioneering a wide range of fields every day. GUESTS: Shelly Carter: Fire Chief at the Hamden Fire Department. She is the first woman and first person of color to serve in that role. Dawn Leaks Ragsdale: Inaugural Executive Director of the Center for Inclusive Growth, a group created through a partnership between Yale and the city of New Haven that seeks to build opportunities for economic growth for all New Haven residents. Shiang-Kwei Wang: Campus President at CT State Gateway. She’s the first person to hold the title of “Campus President” and the first Asian American leader of Gateway. This episode originally aired on September 26, 2025. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    49 min

  7. 11/14/2025

    Poet Tracy K. Smith on how poems get us through ‘Perilous Times’

    When Tracy K. Smith served as Poet Laureate of the United States, she used her platform to bring people together. In 2018, she traveled the country for a series called American Conversations: Celebrating Poems in Rural Communities. At these events, she encouraged people to share their thoughts, regardless of their background. While Tracy’s two terms as poet laureate ended in 2019, she is still using poetry to build connections. Her new book is Fear Less: Poetry in Perilous Times. GUEST: Tracy K. Smith: Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory at Harvard. She served as the 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States from 2017 to 2019. Her 2011 collection Life on Mars won the Pulitzer Prize. Her latest book is Fear Less: Poetry in Perilous Times. You can find both of the poems Tracy reads on this episode, "Everybody's Autobiography" and "Charity," online. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    49 min

  8. 11/07/2025

    Vanessa Priya Daniel on the three superpowers women of color bring to their leadership

    In Unrig the Game: What Women of Color Can Teach Everyone About Winning, author Vanessa Priya Daniel writes about the challenges that women of color face. She includes a satirical section formatted like a job description, where she details the duties of women of color leaders. They include “Be likable at all costs,” “Work with zero margin of error” and “Be a willing screen onto which your staff can project the other women authority figures who ever disappointed them in life.” These are just a few of the barriers that women of color in leadership deal with. But despite these barriers, Daniel also points out that women of color are also often drivers of change. GUEST: Vanessa Priya Daniel: Principal at Vanessa Daniel Consulting, LLC. She has worked in social justice movements for 25 years, and her book Unrig the Game: What Women of Color Can Teach Everyone About Winning came out in March, 2025. Vanessa Priya Daniel will be speaking at the Community Fund for Women & Girls' 30th Anniversary Celebration on November 13th in New Haven. You can find out more at this website. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    49 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.7
out of 5
24 Ratings

About

Disrupted is about the changes we all encounter and the forces driving those changes. Some disruptions spark joy and possibility. Others move us to take action and re-evaluate our world. But the show isn't just about those disruptions; it’s about embracing them, exploring new perspectives, and feeling more connected to ourselves and our communities. Host and political scientist Khalilah Brown-Dean creates a place where changemakers come together to help us see the world differently and challenge us to grow together. Visit ctpublic.org/disrupted for more! 

Information

  • Channel
    Connecticut Public
  • Creator
    Connecticut Public Radio
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    273
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Connecticut Public Radio
  • Show Website
    Disrupted

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