Appearing on Smart Talk are Joe Arthur, Executive Director, Central PA Food Bank, Kristen Rotz, President of the United Way of Pennsylvania, and Matt Simon, Vice President and Chief Marketing officer with Giant Food Stores.
Matt Simon, Joe Arthur and Scott LaMar at the Central Pa Food Bank on November 6, 2019.
Today, show your gratitude and help fight hunger in Central Pennsylvania. For every dollar you give to WITF, Giant Food Stores will match it with a one pound donation of food to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank – up to 50,000 pounds for families in need. Help make this holiday season brighter for families across our region with your gift. Every gift makes a difference. Call 1-800-233-9483 to speak to a WITF volunteer.
Kristen Rotz and Joe Arthur appear with Host Scott LaMar at the Central Pa Food Bank on November 6, 2019.
November 5 is Election Day, and in Pennsylvania that means along with the slates of judicial and local candidates, there’s a constitutional amendment on the ballot. We’ll kick off Tuesday’s Smart Talk with the latest news on Marsy’s Law, which is intended to help crime victims and is now facing a tumultuous court challenge.
In addition, PA Post’s Emily Previti and Doug Hill, Executive Director of the County Commissioners Association, weigh in on counties’ efforts to install new voting machines, and offer analysis of the changes the legislature recently made to Pennsylvania’s election laws.
WITF Capitol Bureau Chief Katie Meyer guest hosts for Smart Talk November 5, 2019.
In the second half of the show, Senator Maria Collett and Representative Danielle Friel-Otten, both Democrats, explain a legislative initiative to provide free menstrual products in all of Pennsylvania’s public bathrooms—and in particular, those located schools, prisons, and state-funded nonprofits.
Doug Hill appears on Smart Talk on November 5, 2019.
Collett, Friel-Otten and other backers of the bills say their idea isn’t much different than requiring bathrooms to provide toilet paper. Plus, they say, it will make a big difference for poor people who need those menstrual products.
Pennsylvania state Senator Maria Collett and state Representative Danielle Friel-Otten appear on Smart Talk November 5, 2019.
Bucknell University researchers have spent the past three years testing two common vaping products. Their research has found that electronic cigarettes release potentially harmful levels of carbon monoxide – the same common, toxic gas that is found in a car’s tailpipe emissions, and which is also found in cigarette smoke.
Their findings are in sharp contrast to the vaping industry’s claims that electronic cigarettes are less dangerous than smoking.
This study happens to be published at a time that a lung ailment tied to vaping has claimed more than 34 lives across the country. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is still warning people to stop vaping – drawing attention to the fact that there’s still a lot we don’t know about the risks of vaping.
Appearing on Smart Talk Monday to offer study details are Bucknell University Professors Dabrina Dutcher,Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry and chemical engineering and Karen Castle, Ph.D, Russell-Childers professor of chemistry.
Also, Applied Behavior Analysis is a type of therapy that can help children with autism and people dealing with things like addiction and PTSD.
But there aren’t enough applied behavior analysts in Pennsylvania to do the work.
Joining Smart Talk to discuss efforts to change that are Dr. Cheryl Tierney-Aves, MD, board-certified behavior and developmental pediatrician with Penn State Health, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Dr. Jonathan Ivy, applied behavior analyst and assistant professor of psychology, Penn State Harrisburg.
Dabrina Dutcher, PhD., assistant professor of chemistry and chemical engineering at Bucknell University, and Karen Castle, PhD., associate dean of faculty in the natural sciences and mathematics department at Bucknell University, appear on Smart Talk, November 4, 2019.
Segment: Tracking paranormal activities Thru the Veil Investigations Services
It’s Halloween and Smart Talk is getting into the spirit of the season. There are people who claim to have experienced or seen what they describe as supernatural events; things that can’t be easily explained by laws of nature.
Perhaps what they’ve seen should be called Paranormal, or phenomena that occur outside normal experience or scientific explanation.
A mid-state team from Thru the Veil Investigations approach these events as very real phenomenon that should be investigated.
Tom Shirey appears on Smart Talk on October 31, 2019.
Joining Smart Talk on Thursday to provide insight to paranormal activity is Tom Shirey, a founder and lead investigator with Thru the Veil Investigations.
Jeanne Robertson has been traveling the country as a professional speaker for more than 55 years. Her unique blend of humor and life observations have earned her the title of American Humorist.
Jeanne Robertson appears on Smart Talk October 31, 2019.
Robertson’s original material is delivered with her distinctive Southern accent, which adds a polite, but satirical overtone. She is a member of the Speakers Hall of Fame and she will appear at the Shippensburg Luhrs Performing Arts Center on Friday, November 8.
Jeanne Robertson will appear on Smart Talk Thursday.
Lyme is a bacterial infection that is passed to humans through the bite of a deer tick; a common parasite in Pennsylvania. In fact, Lyme disease is so common here that the state has ranked first in the U.S. for reported cases over the last five years.
It is known as the “great imitator,” because Lyme symptoms are common to a host of other diseases. Frequently misdiagnosed, a sick person may not realize or remember they were bitten by a tick and, therefore, they don’t make the connection to the disease.
Treatment with antibiotics will be quicker and more complete the sooner it begins. If left undiagnosed, the disease becomes more complicated as the infection progresses through the body. Once this happens, treatment may be less effective, longer-term, and quite expensive.
Many insurance plans don’t currently cover the cost of long-term antibiotic treatment, so legislation has been proposed to require coverage in Pennsylvania.
Appearing on Smart Talk to discuss both sides of this issue are Republican state Representative Kathy Rapp of Warren County, Jackie Zulli, Vice President of legislative affairs for the PA Lyme Resource Network,and Dr. Henry Linder, MD, Endocrinologist. Sam Marshall, President and CEO of the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania will also be joined by Jonathan C. Greer, Senior Vice President of the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania.
Jackie Zulli, Vice President of legislative affairs for the PA Lyme Resource Network, appears on Smart Talk, October 30, 2019.Dr. Henry Linder, MD, Endocrinologist, appears on Smart Talk, October 30, 2019.Republican state Representative Kathy Rapp of Warren County, appears on Smart Talk, October 30, 2019.Sam Marshall, President and CEO of the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania, appears on an earlier Smart Talk in September.
Also, the NPR radio production the Hidden Brain uses science and storytelling to reveal patterns driving human behavior.
Joining Smart Talk to discuss how these patterns reveal our choices and direct our relationships is Host Shankar Vedantam.
For more information on Lyme disease 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.
The forest products industry in Pennsylvania is big business, with a state-wide economic impact of $19 billion. Pennsylvania leads the nation as the largest producer of hardwood lumber and as an exporter of wood products.
Hardwoods are deciduous trees that have broad leaves and produce a fruit or nut. Types of hardwood trees include oak, maple, ash and cherry. Each tree offers unique grain patterns and colors, and their wood can be crafted into durable, finished products.
Jason Albright, Wayne Bender and Luke Dillinger appear on Smart Talk on October 25, 2019.
There are more than 250 timbering operations in Pennsylvania, most of which are small, family-size operations. In order to sustain the health and viability of forested land and the wood products industry Governor Tom Wolf convened a Green Ribbon Task Force. Several members of the Task Force appear on Friday’s Smart Talk.
Joining the discussion are Jason Albright, assistant Pennsylvania State Forester, Luke Dillinger, wood procurement and forest certification manager for Domtar Paper Co., and Wayne Bender, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Hardwoods Development Council.
Also, Lancaster city welcomes the Red Rose Film Festival to the community next week. The festival is a promotion of independent films and will take place from November 1 – 3. There are 76 films in total, including 10 feature length narratives, 28 short narratives, 18 documentaries and 20 student films. The films cover a variety of genres and are hosted at multiple locations throughout the area.
Ryan Shank and Scott Lentz appear on Smart Talk on October 25, 2019.
Finally, Hedy Lamarr was an iconic movie star in the 1930s through the 1950s, who was known for her glamour and beauty. But she also was an inventor of technology that is instrumental in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth today.
Heather Massie, who has ties to Central Pennsylvania, wrote and performs the one-person play called Hedy: The Life and Inventions of Hedy Lamarr. In the last three years, Heather has performed as Hedy for audiences around the world. This weekend, she’ll bring Hedy to the Gamut Theatre in Harrisburg but not before appearing on Friday’s Smart Talk.
Writer and performer Heather Massie appears on Smart Talk on October 25, 2019.
The statistics are alarming: nearly one in eight U.S. women will develop invasive breast cancer over her lifetime. This year it is estimated that 268,600 new cases will be diagnosed.For Pennsylvania, the CDC ranks the state 11 out of 50 in breast cancer occurrences.
Although, breast cancer is the most common and one of the deadliest forms of the disease, there has been tremendous research and treatment advances, too.
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New genetic testing allows doctors better insight into a person’s genetic likelihood of developing cancer. Surgeons have developed ways to remove tumors with greater accuracy, while minimizing scar tissue and complications. And many patients now receive targeted radiation therapy for shorter periods of time than in the past.
In early 1992, the government of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia and ethnic tensions in the country rose to a crisis point.
Bosnian Serb forces, with the backing of the Serb-dominated Yugoslav army, began a campaign to expel all Bosnian Muslims and Croatian civilians, resulting in the murder and disappearance of thousands of people, mostly men and boys. Over the next few years, nearly 100,000 people were killed.
In the years after the war, an International Criminal Tribunal (ICTY) was established to adjudicate Bosnian war crimes. One trial continues to make headlines with the PBS Frontline documentary on the notorious general accused of genocide and war crimes: The trial of Ratko Mladic
The PBS documentary aired last year and featured the lead prosecutor for the Tribunal, Dickinson Law professor Dermot Groome. The documentary garnered the attention of Bosnian refugees who settled in central Pennsylvania after the war. The group, and their advocates, wanted to use the film as an opportunity to talk about their history and thank the communities who welcomed them as refugees.
Appearing on Smart Talk to share their experiences are the Rev. Jeff Gibelius, Pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, Carlisle, Elvir Sejmenovic, Refugee, and Mersida Camdzic, a Refugee and community business owner. The film and public event will take place on Saturday, October 26, at the Dickinson College Schlecter auditorium.
Justin Kocis
Elvir Sejmenovic, Refugee, and Mersida Camdzic, refugee, and Rev. Jeff Gibelius, Pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, Carlisle, appears on Smart Talk, October 23, 2019.
Also, Dickinson College is nationally recognized for its sustainability efforts. The College recently hosted a sustainability summit that brought together colleges and universities to discuss how simple behavior changes can impact climate change.
Joining Smart Talk to discuss how college campuses can lead the way to behavior change are Lindsey Lyons, the assistant director of Dickinson’s Center for Sustainability Education and Kevin Green, senior director of Rare’s Center for Behavior and the Environment.
Bird watchers and scientists are sounding the alarm over the findings of a recently released assessment of North American bird populations.
The study was published in the October edition of Science and it details a wide-spread bird population decline over the past 50 years.The bird population has gone from roughly 10 billion to just over 7 billion now.
The observations show that the loss is not just among rare or threatened species, but also affects more common birds with large territories. The numbers, in real terms, amount to a loss of one in every four birds.
The study was conducted by researchers at seven institutions and it highlights a concern about the environment’s ability to support even our most common bird species.
So, what is causing this precipitous decline? The research points to a combination of factors that include habitat loss, fewer insects, toxic pesticides and outdoor feral and pet cats.
Left to Right: Ron Rohrbaugh, David Barber, Daniel R. Ardia, Ph.D
Halloween is fast approaching and trick-or-treaters will be ringing doorbells for candy. However, due to a rise in food allergiesin young children, not all candy is suitable.
A food allergy a medical condition in which exposure to a food triggers a harmful and potentially deadly immune response. Symptoms of an allergic reaction may include hives, eczema flares, nausea, and stomach pain. Anaphylactic reactions can be life threatening and most commonly require an epinephrine injection; an EpiPen.
In the United States, milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish and crustacean shellfish make up the eight major food allergens which are responsible for the most serious reactions. More than 5.5 million kids under the age of 18 have a food allergy, and 40 percent of those kids have two or more food allergies. Around 32 million Americans live with a food allergy, that’s nearly 11 percent of the population.
Currently, there are no knowncuresfor allergies.But there are medical studies and potentially new drugs to help lessen the severity peanut allergies, in particular. Although not a cure, it’s a step in the right direction.
Lisa Gable, CEO of Food Allergy Research and Education, appears on Smart Talk, October 21, 2019.
Want to help? Join the Teal Pumpkin Project. This is a nationwide movement which offers alternative treats for trick-or-treaters. Place a teal pumpkin outside your home to signify you have non-food treats to offer visitors.
Joining Smart Talk to discuss food allergy awareness are guests Katie Noss, a school nurse and mother of a peanut allergy child, Lisa Gable, CEO of Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE), and Dr. Krista Todoric, MD., Penn State Hershey Allergy Asthma and Immunology.
Dr. Todoric wanted to follow up on her comments about “leaky gut” —
“Leaky gut” is a term that is not generally used by clinicians and, while meant to describe an altered process of digestion and absorption, is generally not an accepted medical diagnosis. We, in allergy and immunology, do use the term “leaky” descriptively in association with an immunodeficiency diagnosed in infancy.
Katie Noss, a school nurse and mother of a peanut allergy child, and Dr. Krista Todoric, MD., Penn State Hershey Allergy Asthma and Immunology, appears on Smart Talk, October 21, 2019.
