Podward State

On this episode of Podward State, hosts Matt Ogden, Matt Paolizzi, and Sam Brungo sit down with friend of the show Onward State alumnus photographer Oyoma Asinor.

Asinor discusses moving to Washington D.C. and his work covering the local Black Lives Matter movement, which has held peaceful demonstrations almost every day since the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer back in May.

Oyoma's photography and descriptions of the protests, which you can find on his instagram, does an incredible job of offering an unfiltered documentation of what is really going on in the nation's capital during this turbulent time of American history.

On this episode of Podward State, hosts Matt, Matt, and Sam talk to Onward State sports editor Will Pegler about everything surrounding the Big Ten's reinstatement of their Fall football season, including the Big Ten's mitigation protocols and the overall safety of football commencing in State College, which recently was named one of the fastest-growing hotspots in the country.

Later, we talk to two Onward State staffers, Teagan Staudenmeier and Grace Cunningham, who experienced Penn State's on-campus and off-campus quarantine protocols. 

Staudenmeier spent five days in Penn State's on-campus isolation dorms at Eastview Terrace before receiving her negative coronavirus test. While in there, she experienced less than ideal room conditions and a lack of communication from Penn State administrators.

Cunningham quarantined from her off-campus apartment and also dealt with a concerning lack of communication, especially the lack of efficient contact tracing protocols.

On this episode of Podward State, hosts Matt Ogden, Matt Paolizzi, and Sam Brungo are joined by Onward State associate editor Katie Moats to discuss how State College bars have adapted to the age of Covid and what new foods they are serving to adhere to the new regulations. 

Later, visual staffer Lily Whitmoyer joins the show to discuss her experience living at the Nittany Lion Inn, which is being used as dorms while Eastview Terrace is used for quarantine and isolation.

On this episode of Podward State, Matt, Matt, and Sam talk to Onward State sports editor Will Pegler about the wild rumors flying around about the possibility of the Big Ten reversing course and restarting their football season.

Later, Onward State staffers Dana Nunemacher and Mira DiBattiste join the pod to settle an important Zoom debate: Should you have your camera on or off while in class? They also discuss different forms of Zoom etiquette they hope to see adopted during this semester of Zoom University.

On this special episode of Podward State, we sit down with Penn State's UPUA Student Body President Zach McKay to talk about Penn State's return to campus amid the coronavirus pandemic. Joined by Onward State associate editor and UPUA beat reporter Ryen Gailey and visual staffer and State College local Sam Brungo, McKay breaks down what UPUA has been up to since the dawn of the coronavirus pandemic and recounts what it was like to run a fully remote campaign for his April election. 

McKay also breaks down the restrictions, guidelines, and messaging that Penn State has implemented during the students' return to campus, if he thinks they will be enough to successfully pull off an in-person semester, and the affect the pandemic has had on the local State College community.  

After a brief pandemic-related hiatus, Podward State returns for the Fall semester! Hosts Matt Ogden and Matt Paolizzi are joined on Zoom by Onward State visual staffer, Podward host-in-training, and State College local Samuel Brungo to share his thoughts on Penn State students returning to campus and what they must do to successfully stay at school and keep themselves and the townspeople safe. 
Also joining the conversation this episode is former Onward State Sports Editor Mikey Mandarino, who breaks down the Big Ten's controversial decision to postpone sports in the Fall, and how Penn State will handle a fall semester with no football season.
Podward State will be releasing weekly episodes this Fall semester, which will be available on Spotify and YouTube. 

A little Frankenstein pod this week as Matt Ogden hosts the first half of the episode with guest host Sam Brungo and covers topics such as Taco Bell closing, James Franklin's new contract (featuring senior editor Mikey Mandarino,) THON, and State Patty's Day. Matt Paolizzi helms the second half of the episode with segments about Penn State wrestling (with staff writer Max Tolson) and Pablo's, the new chicken joint that opened in town (featuring senior editor Jim Davidson.) 

In this episode of Podward State, hosts Matt Ogden and Mitch Stewart brainstorm slogans for the Penn State Hoops team before sitting down with Associate Editor Will Pegler to discuss hoops more in-depth. Then, we are joined by Senior Editor Mikey Mandarino to discuss Penn State hockey's last two series of the regular season. Later, we are joined by staff writers Dana Nunemacher and Colleen Nersten to discuss their experience riding on the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile. Lastly, we are joined by Penn State Up & Up Festival vice president David Lokman to discuss the upcoming EDM festival, which will take place in April.

Matt and Matt are officially in the double digits! In today's episode, we discuss the State College Spikes' efforts to fight an MLB proposal that can threaten their future. Then we break down PSU Men's Basketball's week over and their upcoming slot of games. Next, we talk to Onward State's official townie correspondent, visual staffer Samuel Brungo about how it was like to live through the scandal almost ten years ago. Lastly, we talk to Assistant Social Media Editor Ryan Parsons about his Desk Superlatives for classrooms across campus.

Our sit-down interview with Penn State astrophysics professor Dr. Jason Wright is finally here! Dr. Wright discusses his research on the discovery of exoplanets. Wright is also a major player in the global search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Known as SETI, it’s been a growing field for decades, and Wright is at the forefront. He’s published multiple papers on the topic, was the recipient of the 2019 Drake Award from the SETI Institute and was recently profiled in a piece from The New Yorker on new methods of looking for alien civilizations.