President Donald Trump’s massive tax-and-spending package is officially the law.

The legislation provides tax cuts for some Americans. But it could raise costs for some of the country’s poorest households. That’s due to reductions in Medicaid and food assistance. The legislation Republicans are calling the “big beautiful bill" seeks to cut Medicaid and food stamps by more than $1 trillion.

Today on The Wheelhouse, we’ll dig deeper into how the bill will impact SNAP and Medicaid benefits in Connecticut.

GUESTS:

• Andrea Barton Reeves, commissioner, Connecticut Department of Social Services
• Sujata Srinivasan, senior health reporter, Connecticut Public
• Amari Brantley, policy coordinator, End Hunger Connecticut!

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Connecticut lawmakers passed some of the most ambitious housing legislation in years this session. The bill looked to address affordable housing, zoning and parking.

But then, Gov. Ned Lamont vetoed it.

The Democrat is now inviting lawmakers to make a new proposal, which he hopes to pass it later this year in a special session.

Today on The Wheelhouse, we’ll speak to the governor live in-studio, asking about that veto. We’ll also get his thoughts on running for a third term.

GUESTS:

• Ned Lamont, governor, state of Connecticut
• Mark Pazniokas, capitol bureau chief and a co-founder, CT Mirror
• Liz Kurantowicz, Republican analyst and co-owner, The Drury Group
• Bilal Sekou, associate professor of political science, University of Hartford

The Wheelhouse is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, A

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This fall, students at Yale University will take a course called “Bad Bunny: Musical Aesthetics and Politics.”

Bad Bunny, born on the island of Puerto Rico as Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, isn’t the first Latino musician to weave activism into his work. Regarding the Yale class, Bad Bunny told Rolling Stone magazine “I have in the back of my mind that I want to do big things and make a difference, but I do it for myself.”

“I don’t do it hoping that at some point, they’ll offer classes about me at universities,” he said.

Today on The Wheelhouse, how politics and music intersect on the island next door.

GUESTS:

• Albert Laguna, Associate professor of American Studies, Yale University
• Rachel Iacovone, Puerto Rican communities reporter, CT Public
• Petra Rivera-Rideau, Associate Professor of American Studies, Wellesley College
• La Gata, Multimedia Artist and Historian
• Charles Venator Santiago, Associate professor in the departments of political science and El Instituto, University of Connecticut

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.