Frankie Graziano

As the host of The Wheelhouse on Connecticut Public, Frankie focuses on how local and national politics impact the people of Connecticut.

For more than 100 episodes, Graziano’s brought the politics to the people, tackling issues like the attempted erasure of transgender identity and attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion. The hallmark of The Wheelhouse’s run during Graziano’s tenure as host was election coverage in 2024. The team, which includes producer Chloe Wynne and deputy director of storytelling at Connecticut Public Robyn Doyon-Aitken, responded to breaking developments out of Washington D.C., launched an open-ended survey to reach its audience, held forums to introduce candidates to the people, and broadcast live on Election Night and The Morning After.

CT Public’s newest iteration of The Wheelhouse debuted on March 22, 2023, marking the latest evolution in Graziano’s career in broadcast journalism.

It began in production when Connecticut Public hired Graziano to launch its new sports network in 2011. He produced over 1,000 hours of content for CPTV Sports until 2016, when he moved from public television to public radio. After crafting a public radio sports beat, he worked with leadership in 2017 to develop breaking news coverage at Connecticut Public. Graziano followed police reform efforts, chased politicians around, and broke national news.

Graziano’s entrée into political coverage was cemented in 2022 after hosting a series of debate recaps on television and several roundtables on local government.

His entire career–and his entire life– have unfolded in Connecticut. Graziano lives with his wife Colleen, a nurse practitioner, in Glastonbury. They’ve got two kids—Charlie and Annie.

Graziano, a UConn grad, is originally from Torrington. He’s a first-generation Italian-American—his parents Rosie and Franco were born in Italia.