In Episode 4, Connecticut Grown, we swap "What's for dinner?" with "Where'd dinner come from?" on a wander through the charming local farm scene. We'll spend weekend mornings at farmers markets in parking lots and explore fields amongst rows of tents loaded with berries, bread, maple syrup, and flowers, and we'll try enough samples to count as a meal. Then we'll follow the food back to its source, visiting pick-your-own fields, vineyards, and a variety of farms on land and sea. We might just encounter some llamas to pet, goats eating our shoelaces, or oysters doing.... well, oysters don't really do anything (except be delicious). As usual, we'll talk to the experts, the farmers who can point to your plate and tell you exactly how that salad came together.

Guests-

Heather Neal and Melissa Tremblay, Coventry Farmer's Market

Donna Moore, Sunset Hill Vineyard

Beth Simons, Stonington Farms Shellfish

In Episode 3, Making Waves in Connecticut, we fully embrace the July mood of “I need to be in the water, near the water, or at least staring at it with something frozen in my hand.” We will float on tubes down the Farmington River, wander lakes big and small, and ignore TLC’s advice and go chasing waterfalls. We might accidentally take 200 photos and keep them all. We will also spend a full summer day on Long Island Sound, complete with “okay, fine, one more hour” energy.

Along the way, the episode explores how water is integral to Connecticut life and why we have so much of it…from our glacial backstory to its role in America’s history. We’ll even find the water in our old-school local sodas, non-alcoholic brews and New Have apizza dough. For all the lake days, river runs, shoreline walks, and Crocodile Cove chaos at Lake Compounce, if it helps you cool off or splash around, it’s in here.

Guests-

Suzanne O'Connell, Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science

Mason Trumble, Deputy Commissioner of Environmental Conservation at DEEP

Jason Scappaticci, The Bowtie Historian

Listen to Episode 2 of Only in Connecticut: The Official Connecticut Podcast

Hit the road with us - no packing required. The Only in Connecticut Podcast is your monthly guide to discovering the best of Connecticut, told like a road trip with a friend who knows all the hidden gems (and has strong opinions about snacks along the way).

In Episode 2, The Ice Cream State, we turn the whole map into a sundae. We'll check out UConn's legendary Dairy Bar and farm stand scoops in Simsbury, sample the Newtown creamery named best ice cream shop in the country, and enjoy small-batch standouts from Milford to Granby. Along the way, you'll hear from the people behind the cows, behind the counters, and even from an ice cream super fan who turned exploring the Connecticut ice cream trails into a full time business.

Guests-

Bill Sciturro, Manager of UCONN Creamery

Christiana Barabe, owner of Honeycone Craft Ice Cream

Craig Behun, CT Ice Cream Tour