Smart Talk

Mike Kern, Chief of the Division of Forrest Fire Protection at the PA Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources, discusses the threat of wildfires in Pennsylvania, due mainly to the lack of rainfall in recent months, emphasizing the importance of fire prevention in Penn’s Woods.Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Comedian Nurse Blake will be performing at Shippensburg University on November 22. Blake Lynch is a nurse, creator, advocate, viral sensation, and touring comedian. Being born into a medical family, he followed suit by joining the healthcare field. “My dad is a respiratory therapist. He's been a respiratory therapist for over 30 years. And my mom is medical device sales. And so, I had no other choice that night. Like that was my only option. I didn't consider anything else.” His nursing journey includes roles in Surgical ICU, Live Transplant, Pulmonary Step Down, Injury Prevention, and Care Coordination. He realized he was funny when dealing with a patient while he was at work. “I had a patient. I was telling her a joke and she went on, had a full asthma attack. And I'm like, You know what? I'm funny. Like, I'm funny. She was okay, by the way. She was fine.” Being a comedian was never something Blake set out to do. Through comedy, he advocates for better working conditions for healthcare professionals. “Being

Asia Tabb has a conversation with historian Tim Smith surrounding how the Civil War has turned Gettysburg into a tourism attraction for generations to come. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Now that daylight saving time ended this past weekend, it’s usually a time where people can feel a little more blue than usual. According to Dr. Ahmad Hameed, Psychiatrist at Penn State Health, it’s called seasonal depression. “This kind of depression, which is affiliated to a particular season and generally it happens in fall and winter. And when the seasons, then one gets back to not being sad and depressed during this time. Individuals who have seasonal affective disorder, which is which is what it was previously called, have low mood, lower energy issues with focus, concentration, their irritability and changes in sleep pattern, “said Hameed. If you notice you feel a little more depressed during the fall or winter months, then it’s important to reach out to a mental health expert to dig a little bit deeper into it. Dr. Rafat Omar, Psychologist at UPMC suggests reaching out to a therapist if you think you are struggling with seasonal depression. “I mean, you know, as with any other depression, you know, th

A study for the advocacy group PennEnvironment found microplastics present in waterways throughout Pennsylvania, making it a major concern in the fight against pollution. Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastics that is not biodegradable according to Faran Saviz, Zero Waste Advocate with PennEnvironment. “There are some you can see in the visible environment, especially tiny plastic pellets called nurdles that are used to make larger plastic products. But a lot of these microplastics you just can't see, but they're out there, “said Saviz. PennEnvironment has done two projects for testing microplastics and has tested over 100 waters in Pennsylvania. “We found microplastics in every single waterway that we've tested. Our most recent one was on some of our cleanest, most important waterways around the state. They're called exceptional value, high quality or class A cold water trout streams. So, these are sort of the best of the best that we have. And unfortunately, we found microplastics in every single one tha

The Pennsylvania Art Educators Association is celebrating 75 years in 2024. The organization has a huge impact on art educators throughout the state according to Ashley Gogoj, Chair of the Art and Program Design Department in the Carlisle Area School District “So, providing professional development opportunities for teachers, providing art shows and opportunities for teachers to showcase their students work. And I know firsthand when I was a brand New York art educator 19 years ago, my program supervisor at the time said, This is an organization you really shouldn't get involved with. So I started going to conferences, attending workshops. I was on board for a period of time. So it just really provides a lot for our teachers, which then goes directly down to our students. So, you know, I think Pennsylvania is a leading state in art education, and that is because of Ohio, “said Hoffman. The organization also involves the youth with programs such as the National Art Honor Society. Ben Hoffman, President of the

The DaVinci Science Center is a national award-winning nonprofit organization that has brought science to life to science since 1992. It was established by a faculty member at Lehigh University. It was initially formed in a former Bethlehem steel plant building with hands-on experience. Now the location is downtown Allentown. For visitors, it showcases the relationship between art and science. “A lot of our scientists have pretty extensive art pursuits, whether it's in their free time or, as you know, a second position or a former job. And I think that's because there's a kind of natural intersection between the two disciplines. The biggest thing for me is whenever you're trying to solve a science problem, you have to be able to think creative, “said Lin Erickson, CEO of the DaVinci Science Center. The Science Center offers hands on experiences for everyone of all ages. It also offers an opportunity for students to get out of their classrooms to experience hands-on exhibits like curiosity hall. It was inspire

Coming up on this week's edition of The Spark Weekly; The Center for Rural Pennsylvania has been examining substance abuse and the opioid crisis for 10 years, holding a total of 20 public hearings.  Also, on The Program Braver Angels is an organization that brings people together, Asia interviews one member was at the Capitol on January 6 and is very proud about that. and another who is actively involved in electing Democratic candidates. So, their politics couldn't be more different. They became friends via Braver Angels. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LancasterOnline’s Brett Sholtis, Investigative Reporter on Democracy and Jaxon White, State House Reporter, joined Friday, November 1 Journalist roundtable segment. The segment included a preview of the 2024 Election, including the importance in Pennsylvania in the national vote, and the amount of disinformation and misinformation reporters and voters had to deal with.Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our Braver Angels Segment for the Month of November was about Braver Angels Red and Blue Friendships. We spoke with Red member, Tom Cook who was at the Capitol on January 6 and is very proud of it, and Blue member, Ron Chadwell who is actively involved in electing Democratic candidates. Their politics couldn’t be more different, but through Braver Angels they’ve become the best of friends.Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Preston Mitchum Jr. writes books to inspire with books full of positive affirmations. Mitchum was a journalist for over 18 years, and realized he wanted to pour more positivity into his community. “You know, working at evening shift, we cover kind of some tough some tough stories in some tough communities and in the area that I worked in. And you know what? I got tired. I got tired of just covering those stories night in and night out. And I wanted to find a way to make a difference.” He founded the PMJ foundation after leaving the news business. He wanted to make a difference in the lives of low-income families. “I wanted to use the power of media to kind of shine a light on some of the things that are going on in these communities. And let's try to work together to figure out how to solve them, how to offer programs. Services that are going to help family’s kind of raise themselves up from the daily grind that they're going through.” Mitchum says you can never have too many powerful tools to incorporate int

The temperature for trick or treaters will be quite warm this Halloween with temperatures in the 80’s. Tonight, we will experience a low in the 70’s. Since the month of October was quite warm, WHTM Meteorologist Dan Tomaso believes it could be a warm winter. “So early indications for snow lovers are not good for this upcoming winter. And overall, the big trend for snow and for winters recently has not been a snow lover's trend either.” Without a source of cold air and storm activity, there is less chances for snow this December. “So, you know, if you've been living in this area more than five years, we rarely get snow in December anymore. It's almost like winter doesn't start anywhere in this region. I don't see that changing this year. I mean, unfortunately, the deeper we go into fall and then approaching winter and the warmer it stays again, the trend is going to be hard to change.”      Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dave and Carol Stelts, Owners of Valley of Giants, a pumpkin farm in Enon Valley, recently produced three pumpkins that weighed a total of 7,729 pounds. Dave won the “Grower of the Year” award at the 29th annual Ohio Valley Giant Pumpkin Growers weigh-off. Dave says it takes about 120 days for the pumpkins to grow. “We take the seeds in the fall, then we bring it back in the spring and sometime in early April we go, and we'll start those insides. We'll get them in our germination chambers, and we'll start to see if we get the seedlings out shortly thereafter, usually by mid late April, some events May, but that's the competitive end of that. But for a lot of people, production-wise or, you know, late May or early June, they get those. But they your question on that it's roughly on the cycle for a pumpkin is 120 days the match for the they get the actual pollination they still harvest today, and we like to be in 100% range.” Now that the weigh-off is over, and Dave and Carol won the contest, people will now ha

Johlene “Spooky” Riley has been managing the Gettysburg Ghost Tours for over 15 years. She has always been fascinated by ghosts and was drawn to the job description. She went from being the premier tour guide to the manager of operations. “I have always had an interest in things I didn't. I didn't quite understand or couldn't explain.” The Gettysburg Ghost Tours has a connection to Gettysburg and the Civil War. There’s a few Civil war soldiers that can be sensed on the tours. “Well, you're not going to have the same experience in any place that they're all different, obviously, due to the different landmarks that you're taking the guests to, the different types of spirits. You might go to a town that didn't have a civil war impact. So, you're going to get altogether different kind of activity.” The ghost’s tours are endorsed by the Gettysburg Paranormal Association. It hosts professional run ghost hunts at private haunted locations. “We have about 15 indoor and outdoor exclusive locations now that we can take

The Center for Rural Pennsylvania has been examining substance abuse and the opioid crisis for 10 years, holding a total of 20 public hearings. Dr. Kyle C. Kopko, Executive Director of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania says in rural areas, there’s less infrastructure, less healthcare providers, and transportation issues. “We've seen that rural Pennsylvania for a period of time actually had higher overdose rates once you standardize for populations relative to urban areas. Now, it's hard to pinpoint why that is, but our best hunch is due to those access types of issues having fewer providers, it's harder to get to treatment centers. There are just fewer doctors, fewer nurses, and health care professionals in general in our rural communities versus our urban communities. So, we have to be really mindful of that, “said Kopko. The last public hearing was at Kutztown University in Berks County. Senator Gene Yaw, Chairman of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania says there’s a lot of misconceptions about substance abus

The 51st edition of Historic Harrisburg Association’s Candlelight House Tour will be presented on Sunday, December 8. The tour includes more than 17 properties in Bellevue Park, Breeze Hill, and many historic homes in the Capitol View District. David Morrison, Executive Director of the Historic Harrisburg Association, says research plays a huge role about the stories of the historic homes. “Very often we've got we've got a library at historic Harrisburg and a lot of books that the talk about what these houses were. We have old city directories which cross-reference the prior owners and so forth. People can research who builds it and when they build it and when it changed hands, that kind of thing, or the many other ways that you can research that you can research the architecture. Who was the architect that designed this, this particular house or this group of houses or whatever? A lot of that information does exist. And we love to help people find it.” Each year, visitors have a chance to see different histo

The Christmas show will include 78 performances from November 5 through December 30. Brandon Martin, President and CEO of the American Music Theatre says the show is written, built, and produced entirely in house with a team of artists and creatives. “This is a special show, and I think they all are, quite honestly. But we're so excited for this one. You know, each year is very different and is kind of redesigned and rebuilt and created from the ground up. This year is really kind of a nod to the nostalgia of Christmas and a lot of the traditions that so many families hold dear. It takes place in a town square, which is just cynically stunning with a lot of hustle and bustle, some last-minute shopping, some festivities, tree lighting transitions into a grand cathedral for some of the sacred aspects of our show. Of course, there's quite a bit of merriment with some elves and Santa as well for the for the kids of all ages, church choir. But a real kind of family. And community vibe around this one that focuses

The Last installment in the NPR podcast series Embedded follows the case of Sergeant Joshua Abate, an active-duty Marine who joined the mob that attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2001. NPR Pentagon Correspondent Tom Bowman and producer Lauren Hodges were both at the capitol reporting on the attack. Bowman says the interest in this interview came out of a news report that said three active-duty marines were convicted of misdemeanor charges for going into the Pentagon on January 6. “They got 279 hours of community service, one hour for every Marine killed in the Civil War. And when I was reading the story like that is really interesting. So, I reached out to one of the lawyers to talk with him. His name is Dave Daschle. He is a lawyer in Warrenton, Virginia. And he was representing Sergeant Joshua Abate and talked with him. And then he set us up with his client.” Out of the three active-duty marines, only Abate spoke with Bowman and Hodges. Bowman says the only reason Abate says he agreed to speak, was because

According to CeaseFire PA, 1,600 Pennsylvanians lose their lives to gun violence each year. Adam Garber is the Executive Director of CeaseFire PA and has been leading the organization since 2020 . “We believe that every Pennsylvanian should be able to live free from gun violence where they feel and they are safe, whether they're going to school, their grocery shopping, their walking around their neighborhood or in their in their own home. And I really came to the word because I live in South Philadelphia with my family and was watching gun violence devastate my community and neighborhood and really not just the loss of life, which is so what's so significant, but how it changed the character of people interacting because of that fear. And so I've spent a long time thinking about how do we build movements in power to address social problems. And I thought this was a really exciting opportunity, as sad as it is, to make sure that we don't have to live this way anymore, “Said Garber. Dr. Shawn Safford is a UPMC

Moms Demand Action is a grassroots movement advocating for stronger gun laws. Gina Pelusi is a volunteer with the Pennsylvania Chapter. She lost her mother to gun violence ten years ago. “It was a cold Thursday morning, and she answered a knock at the door in a manner that she did not know. When she opened the door, she just shot her. In broad daylight. And they rushed my mom to the hospital. They were not able to save her.” Pelusi was shocked, angry, and heartbroken by the passing of her mother. Later, she decided to turn her pain into advocacy for stronger gun laws. “I always knew that I wanted to do something with gun safety advocacy. I just didn't really know what and how. And it actually was after the election when Donald Trump was elected, the first time that I finally went and joined Moms Demand Action and went to a meeting. I had my first child and thinking about my mom, thinking about my son, eventually going off to school one day and all of those things. I was like, I need to find a way to use my vo