Frankie Graziano
Host / Producer, The WheelhouseAs 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.
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The Healing the Generations 2026 conference offers providers from various care settings a venue to talk about inter-generational trauma. -
How colleges and universities are prioritizing equity in education in an age when the Supreme Court says race cannot factor into the admission decision-making process. -
Internet slang and inside jokes are spilling out of corners of the Internet, targeting women and permeating public policy, like the White House’s rhetoric on striking Iran. -
Young men helped Donald Trump get back into the White House in 2024. What did the podcasts they listen to have to do with it – and ahead of the midterms – is this voting bloc up for grabs again? -
Federal immigration enforcement efforts have ramped up, adults have protested, and now, the children are responding. -
If a GOP plan to overhaul federal voting laws passes through Congress, how would it impact the 2026 midterms and voter turnout? -
A panel of civic-minded individuals answer questions at the University of Connecticut’s Hartford campus about engagement and the connective tissue of politics. -
Inside the legislative effort to keep cell phones out of Connecticut classrooms – a ban Gov. Ned Lamont wants to see happen from “bell-to-bell.” -
Speaker of the House Matt Ritter and House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora preview how state lawmakers will work together to address federal funding cuts in the 2026 Connecticut legislative session. -
“Suffs,” the Tony-Award winning Broadway play celebrating the American women who fought for voting rights, runs in Hartford Jan. 27 through Feb. 1.
