Category: Uncategorized

Airdate: Wednesday, July 28, 2021

The surging COVID infection rate is being called a “pandemic among the unvaccinated.”

Just as pandemic restrictions were reduced or eliminated this summer, the Delta variant of the virus became the dominant strain among those infected. Viruses constantly evolve through mutation, and sometimes the variants are more dangerous than the original. The Delta variant is not necessarily making people sicker, but it does spread far more easily from person to person, increasing infections and hospitalizations rates among the unvaccinated.

Breakthrough infections among vaccinated people have been documented too, but no deaths have occurred which demonstrates the effectiveness of the available vaccines.

So, why are some people still reluctant to get vaccinated? Joining Smart Talk Wednesday to discuss this and how to weed through the noise of COVID false information is Dr. John Goldman, MD., Infectious Disease specialist with UPMC Central Pa.

For more on public health issues plus a deeper look at the changing tide of healthcare–check out WITF’s Transforming Health. Online at TransformingHealth.org, a partnership of WITF, WellSpan Health and Capital Blue Cross.

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A survey by Public Agenda’s Hidden Common Ground initiative continues to take on the very common belief that Americans are ideologically divided, to the point of being incapable of working together.

The organization’s most recent survey was “fielded” in May 2021 and finds that most Americans believe the democracy is in trouble. The respondents differ on ways to fix the problem, but either point to a need to change the political system or simply by electing the right leaders.

David Schleifer, PhD., is a Vice President and Director of Research for Public Agenda and he joins Smart Talk Tuesday to share the most significant findings on the survey and what Americans believe will fix the democracy.

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Researchers who completed a study in 2015 coined a term around any medical diagnosis involving alcohol-related disorders, substance-related disorders and suicidal thoughts and behavior — calling them diseases of despair.

They proposed the concept after observing a decline in life expectancy of middle-aged white men and women between 1999 and 2015. They noted this was the first such decline since the flu pandemic of 1918 and they theorized that the decline was associated with the social and economic downturn in rural communities and small towns over the last several decades, leading to feelings of despair and loss of hope for the future.

Penn State College of Medicine and Highmark Health researchers took the concept a step further by identifying four key themes promoting the disease track. The themes include financial instability, lack of infrastructure, a deteriorating sense of community and family fragmentation.

Daniel George, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor with the Department of Humanities and Department of Public Health Sciences with Penn State College of Medicine and he participated in the latest study. He appears on Smart Talk Tuesday to offer research details and the implications to communities in Pennsylvania.

For more on health issues plus a deeper look at the changing tide of healthcare–check out WITF’s Transforming Health. Online at TransformingHealth.org, a partnership of WITF, WellSpan Health and Capital Blue Cross.

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Wildlife managers in the northeast began receiving reports of sick birds as early as May. Dead and dying birds were exhibiting symptoms that included eye swelling, crusty discharge and some neurological signs, as well.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission reports that an exact cause for the bird deaths has not been identified and diagnostics are ongoing.

However, the commission has ruled out some potential causes, including salmonella and West Nile virus, for example.

While the investigation into the bird deaths continues, residents are asked to stop feeding birds from backyard feeders and to empty bird baths since birds can pass disease to one another from these gathering spots.

Margaret C. Brittingham, Ph.D., is a professor of wildlife resources at Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences and she appears on Smart Talk Monday to offer guidance for backyard birders.

To report report any sightings of birds that have died and/or birds that have been seen with swollen and crusty eyes, as well as neurological signs such as stumbling and head tremors, visit

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Renters in Pennsylvania have been protected by an eviction freeze enacted through both state and federal orders since March 2020.

The final federal government moratorium on evictions will expire the last day of July 2021 and concerned housing advocates warn that a wave of evictions may soon follow.

Money to fund the Emergency Rental Assistance programs was financed through the two federal stimulus plans and is managed locally by county agencies.

While the moratorium suspending evictions ends at the end of July, the Emergency Rental Assistance program does not.

Appearing on Smart Talk Monday to discuss how to qualify for emergency rental assistance are Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Acting Secretary Meg Snead, along with Special Advisor for Housing Kathy Possinger. Robin Rohrbaugh, President and CEO of the Community Progress Council (CPC) in York, also joins the program to share how CPC is administering the ERAP for York County.

The Pennsylvania Department of Human services Emergency Rental Assistance Assistance program information can be found here.

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When armed men broke into the private residence of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise, the leader had just enough time to make several, desperate phone calls for help. It wasn’t enough and moments later, Moise was dead and his wife lay critically injured.

Haitians were shocked at the audacity of the President’s assassination and the world watched as the country teetered on the edge of chaos.

Several days later in nearby Cuba, tens of thousands of protestors gathered in cities and towns around the island to demonstrate against widespread shortages and government dysfunction. The marches were an unprecedented outpouring of frustration with the Cuban government and have forced the Biden administration into reviewing Cuban policy.

Political instability is nothing new to either country, but the timing spotlights the widespread instability in Latin America. Problems are at a boiling point in many places, compounded by the economic effect of COVID shutdowns and fiscal failures.

Evan Ellis, Ph.D., is a research professor of Latin American Studies with the US Army War College Strategic Studies Institute. He studies the region and joins Smart Talk Thursday to discuss the strategic trends happening in Latin America, as well as the increasing involvement of China in many countries.

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Inflation was up 5.4% last month – the highest it’s been in 13 years. Most Americans already knew prices were going up. What we’re paying for gas, many food items, cars, and homes is significantly higher than just a few months ago.

Much of it has to do with supply and demand, but especially supply.

There are many job openings right now but employers are having trouble finding workers to fill those jobs.

The stock market took a wild swing down and up this week.

Washington Post economics correspondent Heather Long is on Wednesday’s Smart Talk with insight into how the pandemic has impacted the economy, what may change and what may be permanent.

New book provides insights into political gerrymandering

Gerrymandering or drawing up Congressional or legislative boundaries to provide a political advantage to one party or another is not new. But as the nation has become more polarized in recent years, it has gotten more attention.

Franklin and Marshall College Government Professor Stephen Medvic, Ph.D., has written a new book, Gerrymandering – The Politics of Redistricting in the United States, that explores the history, consequences of and solutions to map-making for political gain. He appears on Wednesday’s Smart Talk.

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Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, an average of 128 Americans died each day from opioid overdoses. That number marked a decrease in deaths after several years of intense efforts to slow the trend.

Opioid misuse has been a threat since the 1980s and researchers say trends can be measured in three different waves. The first wave was a shift in pain management practices that led to prescription abuse. It was followed by a wave of heroin use. Now, the third wave is marked by a rise in synthetic drugs like fentanyl, a powerful opiate with a high risk of addiction. Synthetic opioids are now the primary driver of overdose deaths.

Beginning in 2016, Pennsylvania initiated programs to combat opioid abuse. Researchers say progress was being made until the pandemic reversed the trend.

Penn State University geographers analyzed the data and discovered mitigation efforts for COVID-19 had the unintended consequence of igniting overdose deaths.

Joining Smart Talk Monday to offer insight into their findings are Brian King, Ph.D., professor and head of the department of Geography, Penn State University, Andrea Rishworth, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow in Geography, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada, and Ruchi Patel, Ph.D., candidate in Geography and Human Dimensions of Natural Resources and the Environment at Penn State University.

Also on Monday’s program, in June, more than 99 percent of the people who died from COVID were not vaccinated. Vaccinations have slowed down considerably. A sizable portion of the population is hesitant or even downright hostile to getting vaccinated. Misinformation and disinformation have contributed to the hesitancy.

This while the Delta deviant of the virus is spreading quicker and is more transmissible.

So, what has to happen to get more people vaccinated and head off another surge of the virus?

Appearing on Monday’s Smart Talk is Pennsylvania’s Acting Physician General, Dr. Denise Johnson.

For more on public health issues plus a deeper look at the changing tide of healthcare, check out WITF’s Transforming Health, a partnership of WITF, WellSpan Health and Capital Blue Cross.

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Lead-based paint was banned in the US in 1978, but thousands of kids in Pennsylvania are still exposed to the dangerous product.

Most homes in towns and boroughs throughout the state were built long before the ban, which means that many still have lead paint on their walls. Exposure to the lead through dust and chipping paint can cause permanent developmental delays in children under the age of six.

A report published this year by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids links lead exposure to future crime risk and urges remediation to prevent exposure to the element. The report also cites a concern that during the pandemic testing for lead stalled and now nearly ten thousand kids risk high exposure.

Appearing on Smart Talk Thursday to discuss the link between lead exposure in kids causing problems into adulthood are Bruce Clash, State Director of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, Dr. Karen Wang, MD, Director of Pediatrics, Berks Community Health Center, and Marilou Yingling, Lead Program Coordinator, Bureau of Health, City of York.

Emergency rental assistance falls short for communities with greatest need

With many Pennsylvanians out of work during the pandemic, a moratorium on evictions helped keep people in their homes. An emergency rental assistance fund also helped and included money from both the state and federal government.

The Keystone Research Center released data alleging that over $560 million earmarked for aid were misallocated by the state’s distribution formula and not enough of the share went to the more populous counties and cities.

Stephen Herzenberg is the Executive Director of Keystone Research Center who released the data and he joins Smart Talk Thursday to share details.

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Tackling tough topics is a journalists job, particularly in public media organizations where reporters have a responsibility to present both sides of every story.

PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs is a national youth journalism program involving 160 middle and high schools. Their goal is to train young people from across the country to produce stories highlighting their interests, achievements, and challenges.

NewsHour producers work with the students on story pitches, script-writing, narration, rough cuts and final videos. Students’ stories are published on the website, shared on social media, and aired on local PBS station and the PBS NewsHour nightly broadcasts.

Appearing on Smart Talk Wednesday to spotlight the program is Marie Cusick, a Producer with PBS NewsHour student reporting labs and Smart Talk guest host this week.

Cusick welcomes two high schoolers, Noah Konevitch, a student at Cedar Crest High School and Zion Williams, a student at L’Anse Creuse High School in Clinton Township, Michigan, who co-host a Student Reporting Labs teen mental health podcast called On Our Minds.

Ned Smith Center for Nature & Art celebrates the Green Amendment

Nestled in the woods along the Wiconisco Creek near Millersburg, Pa., is the Ned Smith Center for Nature & Art.

Ned Smith was an artist and naturalist who merged his love of nature with a talent for drawing. During his 46-year career he created thousands of drawings and paintings of wildlife for books, magazines and other publications. Many of his works can be seen at the Ned Smith Center, alongside a current exhibit featuring the 50th anniversary of the Green Amendment in Pennsylvania.

Emily Rosmus is the Director of Education at the Ned Smith Center and she will join Smart Talk Wednesday to offer details on the exhibit and provide information about its namesake.

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