WITF Smart Talk Podcast

The battle of Gettysburg was fought more than 150 years ago, yet it still offers enduring lessons in military strategy, decision making, and leadership.

Military strategists and educators have studied the battle, and others, as a way to understand the context and complexities the leaders faced during a period of enormous stress and consequence. The lessons learned from dissecting their actions in a battle fought so many years ago can be quite valuable to leaders in the military, and civilian organizations, today.

Retired Army Col. Jeffrey McCausland, Ph.D., visiting Professor of International Security at Dickinson College, co-authored a book with Tom Vossler called “Battle Tested: Gettysburg Leadership Lessons for 21st Century Leaders.” McCausland joins Smart Talk Wednesday, Veterans Day, to share the insights gathered from their analysis.

US Army Heritage and Education Center spotlights the Persian Gulf War veteran’s experience

Over 30 years ago the country of Iraq invaded Kuwait, their neighbor to the south and home to eight percent of the world’s oil reserves.

The U.S. responded quickly by assembling a coalition of 35 nations and deploying over a half-a-million servicemen and women to the region as part of Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

In recognition of the veterans and the Persian Gulf War, the US Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC) in Carlisle opened its newest exhibit, “This Will Not Stand: The U.S. Army’s Road to Victory during the Persian Gulf.”

Molly A. Bompane is the Curator of Arms and Ordnance with USAHEC and she joins Smart Talk Wednesday, along with Retired Army COL Geoff Mangelsdorf, USAHEC Director to talk about the exhibit and new initiatives along USAHEC’s outdoor Heritage Trail.

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The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported an additional 6,311 positive cases of COVID-19 from Saturday and Sunday. This number is nearly double the highest number of cases reported during the first surge of the Pandemic.

A lot more is known about the virus since it first appeared last winter, but that doesn’t make the increase in cases less alarming. Many people still have questions about the virus, how to avoid exposure and what to do if they experience symptoms.

Dr. Gerald Maloney, DO, is the Chief Medical Officer for Geisinger Hospitals and he joins Tuesday’s Smart Talk to answer questions about COVID-19 and stopping the spread.

Good news from one COVID vaccine trial and Biden announces Pandemic transition strategy

Pfizer is one of the world’s largest biopharmaceutical companies and is one of many pursuing a Coronavirus vaccine. The company reported this week that the early testing data is showing more than a 90% effective rate in the vaccine trial.

This big news was met with a stock market surge and great enthusiasm by industry followers and global leaders, all betting on a vaccine distribution before 2021.

President-elect Joe Biden approached the news with cautious optimism on the same day he announced a COVID task force to lead his administration’s Pandemic response.

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President-elect Joe Biden says he wants to bring the nation together and break down its divisions.

That will be quite a challenge for the new president after winning a close, bitterly fought election. Biden will have around four million more votes than incumbent President Donald Trump, but it was much tighter when it came to electoral votes.

Biden was called as the winner Saturday morning when projections came in that he had won Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes. Many of his supporters took to the streets to celebrate while Trump voters were reluctant or maybe wouldn’t admit defeat.

Monday’s Smart Talk wraps up Election 2020 coverage with open phones for you to share your thoughts on the election results, the President-elect and what you direction you want to see the country move in.

Dickinson College political science professor and author David O’Connell, Ph.D., is on the program to provide insight.

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Pennsylvania set a record in the 24-hour period that ended Thursday at midnight with 2,900 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Nationally, there were almost 108,000 cases reported – another record.

Clearly the fall surge has arrived.

What’s driving it and what is being done to slow it down?

Also, the Pennsylvania Department of Health has a plan to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine when one is available.

WITF’s Transforming Health reporter Brett Sholtis is on Friday’s Smart Talk to provide details.

Meanwhile, what does the American election this week look like from abroad?

Lancaster County native Ben Pontz is studying in Great Britain and shares some insight on Friday’s program.

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We may know today whether President Trump will win a second term in office or if Joe Biden has been elected the nation’s next president.

Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes may be who determines who wins the election or it may not, depending on the votes being tabulated in other states, like Arizona and Nevada. Electoral votes from those two states would give Biden the 270 needed to win the presidency.

However, mail-in ballots are still being counted in Pennsylvania and Trump holds a lead heading into the end of the week.

On Thursday’s Smart Talk, we discuss the latest election news in Pennsylvania. Joining us are WHYY Philadelphia reporter Katie Meyer and David O’Connell, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Political Science, Dickinson College.

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While reporting and analysis of Tuesday’s election results are unprecedented, so is the day after the election discussion.

With possibly close to three million mail-in ballots to count. the Pennsylvania Department of State has said it could be Friday before we know which presidential candidate won the state’s 20 electoral votes. The same goes for other important races, including for Pennsylvania’s 18 Congressional seats and state Attorney General, Auditor General and Treasurer.

There still will be lots to talk about.

Political analyst and pollster Dr. G. Terry Madonna of Franklin and Marshall College is on Wednesday’s Smart Talk to discuss what we do know and what could be coming later in the week.

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Federal Government agencies issued a joint cybersecurity advisory last week warning of an imminent cybercrime threat to U.S. Hospitals and other healthcare providers.

The warning states that criminal elements are targeting healthcare organizations with malware. Malware is any type of software that is intentionally designed to cause damage to computer networks. Viruses, worms, spyware, and ransomware are types of malware that are being used to essentially take over a healthcare network’s computer systems. Cybercriminals are known to use malware to extract or hold data hostage that they can leverage for financial gain. There are multiple hospital systems in the U.S. reporting cyberattacks in the past week.

Bruce Young is an Information Security executive with 25 years’ experience and a Cybersecurity and Information Assurance lecturer with Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. He Joins Smart Talk to discuss how the attacks are occurring and how to prevent them.

Dickinson College uses an unlikely source to power school’s farm and dairy site

Dickinson College is known for their Center for Sustainability Education and initiatives to reduce their ecological footprint.

Dickinson was one of the first institutions to sign the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment in 2008. By signing, Dickinson College pledged to adopt a climate action plan that would lead to carbon neutrality. Being carbon neutral happens when the activities included in their carbon footprint add zero net emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

It’s an admirable goal and the College is one step closer with a plan to put food waste, cow manure and brewery residual grain to use powering their farm and an adjoining dairy.

Appearing on Smart Talk to share the plan’s details are Ken Shultes, the Associate Vice President of Sustainability and Facilities Planning and Matt Steiman Assistant Director of the Dickinson Farm.

Election day: Where to find updated and accurate news

With information overwhelming social media users, it’s important for media organizations to ensure their listeners/viewers/readers can trust their reporting. Questions like, “How do people decide what news is trustworthy?” or “How can journalists influence what users consume and share?” have come up repeatedly at public forums with WITF journalists.

To help answer those questions, WITF is taking part in the Trusting News project and joining Smart Talk to offer perspective is WITF Multimedia News Director Tim Lambert.

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On the eve of the 2020 General Election Smart Talk will wrap-up pre-election coverage with a conversation with WITF Reporter Emily Previti.

VotesPA is the official site for the Commonwealth Department of State and for questions and voting information, follow this link.

Results of the Nov. 3 election in Pennsylvania, and across the country, won’t likely be known for days. The counting of ballots continues after election night most years. This year’s expected surge in mailed ballots means election offices will need extra time to tally all the votes.

As that occurs, some candidates may call for the counting to end and for themselves to be declared the winner. However, winners will be decided when all the votes are counted — that’s the American election system at work.

WITF’s journalists will cover that process, and WITF will rely on The Associated Press to call races for the winner based on the AP’s rigorous, time-tested method.

Seven months into pandemic and long-term care facilities still have major supply shortages

It is estimated that more than 65-percent of COVID-related deaths in Pennsylvania have occurred in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. Residents of these facilities typically fall into high risk populations due to their age and underlying health conditions, which are often related.

The availability of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for workers in these facilities has been “dangerously low” since the beginning. The shortages of these supplies has exacerbated the problem and put residents and workers at severe risk. Now, eight months into the pandemic the shortages are still a big problem nationwide.

PennPIRG advocate Emma Horst-Martz appears on Smart Talk Monday to offer details on a new report that exposes supply shortages still plague these facilities.

Say Something Big is a ‘Breast Cancer Support Group in a book’

Finally, as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Leigh Hurst, the founder of the Feel Your Boobies Foundation, is on the program to talk about her new book Say Something Big and her own breast cancer experience.

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The General Election is days away and PBS will air an hour-long Washington Week special Friday at 8pm on WITF-TV.

Moderator and managing editor of Washington Week Robert Costa appears on Smart Talk Friday to discuss the election landscape and re-visit Pennsylvania voters he spoke with in 2016. Costa is also a national political reporter for The Washington Post and a political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC.

Swing state analysis: What is the election forecast in Michigan?

We continue to talk with journalists in swing states about Tuesday’s presidential election. The next conversation features a Michigan election analysis with Dave Boucher, government and politics reporter with the Detroit Free Press, which is part of the USA TODAY owned network of newspapers.

PBS launches national story telling project

American Portrait is a national storytelling project aligned with PBS’s 50th anniversary celebration, and invites America to participate in a national conversation about what it really means to be an American today.

Series Producer Michèle Stephenson joins Smart Talk to discuss how the project developed.

Keira McGuire is a WITF multimedia producer and she’ll also appear Friday to talk about WITF’s original production and how people can submit stories.

Securing the food supply chain

At the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic Americans experienced some food and product shortages as a result of individuals stockpiling certain items. Toilet paper and cleaning supplies were often difficult to find, and in some cases, still are. With coronavirus cases increasing across the country and in Pennsylvania, along with colder weather on the way, some are beginning to stockpile food and other items again. Is supply a reason for concern? Andrea Karns is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing with Karns Foods and she joins Smart Talk to discuss the food supply chain.

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Coronavirus cases are rising across the country and the case numbers in Pennsylvania are spiking, as well. On Tuesday, the state set a new single-day high of 2,751 new positive cases.

Health officials warn that this is the predicted fall surge and that the numbers will likely continue to rise. Attention is now focused on curbing the spread by limiting gatherings and encouraging face masks and social distancing.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, MD., recommends rethinking holiday gatherings this year. Levine appears on Smart Talk Thursday to discuss this and other tactics to stem the spread.

As the world continues to battle the Coronavirus the risks and complications have become clearer.

A patients risk of dying from the virus can increase significantly as a result of pre-existing medical conditions. This is not new information, but rather knowledge that has been validated by a large, international study of COVID-19 patients.

The research findings indicate that chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic kidney disease, stroke and cancer can increase a patient’s risk of dying from the virus by as much as three times that of patients without any pre-existing conditions.

Penn State College of Medicine researchers participated in the study. Joining Smart Talk to discuss their findings and answer COVID-19 related questions are Dr. Paddy Ssentongo, MD, epidemiology doctoral student at the Penn State College of Medicine and research assistant professor in Penn State’s Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics.

Assisting with the study and also joining the conversation is Anna Ssentongo, MPH, Doctor of Public Health candidate and research scientist in the department of trauma at Penn State College of Medicine.

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