SourceFM joins CAI in announcing our second Falmouth-to-Falmouth program, connecting Cornwall, UK, with Cape Cod, USA. The program airs on Source at 1pm on Thursday 28th July with a repeat at 4pm the same day. It will also be broadcast on The Point on CAI on the same day.

This original radio collaboration between two stations—CAI and SourceFM—features three new conversations, each a one-on-one between a resident of Cornwall and of Cape Cod. They are:

Community Policing

Two police officers talk with each other about community policing in their towns. Among the issues that come up: what does it mean that US officers all carry firearms and how does that impact public interactions with police; what does anti-racist policing look like to each officer; and addressing the rising problem of drugs among community youth. Both officers focus on the myriad roles of community policing, including responding to the sharp uptick in mental health calls since the pandemic.

Participants: Sgt. Mike Assad, Mashpee Police, USA and PCSO Mark Canvin, Falmouth, UK

When Housing Becomes Scarce 

A single mother loses her long-term rental when the property owner decides to sell, and she soon discovers there are few-to-no long-term rentals available locally. In response, she starts a Facebook group for people facing the same problem, and the group quickly grows large with people needing help and exchanging resources. Her story could be in either Cornwall or Cape Cod—but she happens to be in Falmouth, UK. She speaks with a housing advocate on Cape Cod about the similarity of these issues and the jeopardy communities face when essential workers can no longer afford to live in them.

Participants: Dawn Rudgewick-Brown, Falmouth, UK, and Silene Gordon, Cape Cod, USA

A Tale of Two Oysters

Wellfleet, Massachusetts, is renowned for its farmed oysters and represents the significant success of local aquaculture using the most modern techniques. In Cornwall, oystering is continuing much as it has for more than a hundred years, as oystermen go out in sailboats or rowboats to gather naturally occurring oysters. Two oystermen, both with many decades of experience, talk about what it means to wrestle a livelihood from the sea, and what they see for the future of oystering where they are. Their outlooks are starkly different.

Participants: Mike O'Connell, Cape Cod, and Les Angell, Cornwall

Hosts: The hosts for Episode 2 are Andy Coote, SourceFM, Cornwall, and Jennette Barnes, CAI, Cape Cod. During the program they venture beyond the studio, speaking to each other from a historic location in each region: Andy climbs the hill to Pendennis Castle, and Jennette surveys the entrance to New Bedford harbor from Fort Tabor.

What is Falmouth to Falmouth?

We sometimes forget that the challenges we face in our local communities are shared across the world.

That's one reason that CAI — the local NPR for the Cape, Coast and Island in Falmouth, Massachusetts—is collaborating with SourceFM, a community radio station in Falmouth, England.

Cape Cod and Cornwall mirror each other on opposite sides of the Atlantic. The two coastal communities share similar challenges: coastal environmental impacts from climate change; big problems with affordable housing as our tourist-friendly locations are increasingly dominated by short-term rentals; and young people moving away for opportunities elsewhere. The two areas also share many positives, including world renown for their natural beauty and energetic and engaged communities.

The collaboration aims to link these two communities through direct conversations between residents on both sides of the ocean.

Read more and listen to the first episode here.