Spectrum

By WOUB Public MediaNews

Spectrum episodes

August 15, 2018 Nanotechnology Is Changing the Ways We May Treat Certain Diseases
By the year 2020, it is estimated that we will have over 6 million workers in nanotechnology industries, says Dr. Amir Farnoud, an Assistant Professor of Chemical, Biomolecular and Biomedical Engineering at the Russ College of Engineering and Technology at Ohio University.

The development of nanoscience is exploding at such a rate, it is difficult to predict with any accuracy how much and how fast the field will grow in an extremely short period of time, Dr. Farnoud adds.

Nanotechnology is the science of examining extremely small things such as atoms and molecules and adjusting them to have certain beneficial characteristics.

To give you an example of the tiny nature of a nanometer, if a nanometer was a marble then one meter would be the size of the Earth, Dr. Farnoud noted. Scientific journals also cite that there are 25.4 million nanometers to an inch.

Nanoparticles are now used in many products from sunscreens and carpet stain protection to devices delivery lifesaving medications. Nanoparticles are being developed synthetically for everything from mundane commercial applications to highly sophisticated cancer and other disease treatments.

Nanoparticles are being developed to not only fight cancer but to detect the presence of cancer within the human body. They also can detect bacteria and identify, with specificity, the types of infections a person may have so that treatments can be more effective and quicker to act.

The nanoscale materials can deliver medications with pinpoint accuracy to fight diseases. They also can be quick acting or slower acting – similar to time released over-the-counter medications. This may allow immediate relief and also protect a person on a long term basis, says Dr. Farnoud.

Nanoscience and nanotechnology began in 1959 with a lecture by famous physicist Dr. Richard Feynman. Advancements were made in the science in the 1980’s but it really has only been expanding, as a discipline and an industry, for the past 20 years.

Commercial and medical applications are being rapidly discovered and tested as well as potential for nanoparticle toxicity.

Dr. Farnoud feels that he has a personal mission to educate the public about nanotechnology. In addition to his work in the Farnoud Lab at Ohio University, he is planning to launch a national podcast to help people understand both the complexities and the usefulness of nanoscience.
40 min
August 08, 2018 Small Business Administration Reaches Out to Expand Its Reach
Robert Scott is the Regional Administrator of the Great Lakes Region of the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) and he is on a mission.

Scott recently toured some of the areas of his region facing some of the greatest economic stagnation to spread the word about some of the benefits of the Small Business Administration.

He is responsible for the rustbelt in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

He oversees the delivery of the agency’s financial assistance, technical assistance and government contracting activities.

He met with groups to explain the services that are offered by the SBA and how the average small business owner can benefit from them.

Scott says that too often people think the SBA only provides loans but he quickly adds that the SBA can help a fledgling business in all types of technical assistance and consultation. The SBA also attempts to match small businesses with potential government contracts, if possible.

Scott is a lawyer from the Dayton area and also serves as a Kettering, Ohio city councilman. He is a small business owner himself. He claims this experience helps him identify issues confronting other small business owners and assists him in providing assistance.

He received a “Forty under 40” award from the American Association of Political Consultants in 2016 and the Dayton Business Journal named him one of the city’s notable “Forty under 40” professionals in 2015.

He most recently served as the Ohio director for the Donald J. Trump for President campaign.
35 min
August 01, 2018 Trump’s Presidency: More Complicated than Any Other, Says Reporter
Covering this White House and this President is a 24 hour job, says Gregory Korte, award-winning Washington correspondent for USA Today.

He says that this President is more complicated in many ways from any other President in history. In part, Korte claims, because most traditional ways of handling issues and procedures are turned on their head.

This President often eschews the analytical approach to problem solving but instead governs “from his gut.” He often bypasses staff to make decisions based upon instinct.

Korte adds that we should not be surprised since President Trump is exactly the same person and personality as candidate Trump. However, he notes that as President, despite the turmoil and rancor, that Trump is slowly, one by one, keeping his campaign promises.

However, Korte expresses some concern that our news coverage of the President is giving the average person news overload. Instead of concentrating on issues, news coverage too often is focused on Trump as the individual.

He notes that in the first 100 days of the Trump presidency that 43 percent of the news coverage focused on Trump himself and not on his agenda.

Korte posits that the fixation on Trump the man often takes up the space that the ordinary person would use to examine issues and concerns. Trump, himself, has become the “all-encompassing story.” This gives Korte some concern.

We should note that this interview was recorded in April 2018 but it is still relevant today – perhaps even more so.

In 2017, Korte was awarded the Gerald R. Ford Foundation Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency. He was a nominee in 2014. He also has acted as a visiting professional teaching at the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University – his alma mater.
36 min
July 25, 2018 Putin Gets What He Wants Out of Pres. Trump At Helsinki & Beyond
Russia is trying to elevate its power in Europe and on the world stage and Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin is manipulating the United States and other countries in the process, according to professor, author and expert on Russia Dr. Steven Miner.

To gain prestige and power, Putin is wanting to split the NATO alliance as well as disrupt and denigrate European and American politics and democracies, says Dr. Miner. Disruption plays into Putin’s plans.

President Donald Trump gave the appearance of aiding that cause by his recent “bullying tactics” at the NATO Summit in Brussels, supporting an opponent of British Prime Minister Theresa May, and not supporting his own intelligence agencies during a press conference in Helsinki.

All of these factors, notes Dr. Miner, assists Putin and his strategy. He describes Putin as a master manipulator of people and situations for Russia’s own ends. This is what appears to have happened at the Helsinki Summit and with Russia’s interference with the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, Dr. Miner adds.

In addition to the Helsinki Summit, Dr. Miner notes Putin’s policy was in play with Maria Butina who was recently arrested in Washington, D.C. for being an unregistered Russia agent and for attempting to influence American politics.

Dr. Miner further states that Pres. Trump’s invitation for Putin to visit the White House this fall gives Putin and Russia additional status and prestige.

Trump’s verbiage about Russia and his friendliness with Putin belies the fact that Russia directly interceded in America’s electoral and democratic processes, Miner adds.

Dr. Miner is a professor at Ohio University with a specialty in Russia/Soviet and East European history. He is an award winning author and just completed writing a book called “The Furies Unleashed: The Soviet People at War, 1941-1945. He is a former director of the Contemporary History Institute at Ohio University.
56 min
July 18, 2018 NASA is Reaching Out to Promote and Increase Contracts with Small Businesses
Last year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) spent nearly $5.5 billion dollars on contracts related to small businesses.

Some $2.7 billion or 16.5 percent of total procurements involved direct contracts between small businesses and NASA. Another $2.8 of contracts were subcontracts with small businesses -- contracts between small business and large prime contractors servicing NASA.

Even though those numbers are impressive, NASA wants to expand its small business contracting even more. NASA officials are traveling across the country to various big and small cities sponsoring programs called “Reaching High – Aerospace Business Matchmaker.”

The conferences aim to stimulate regional economic growth by trying to match small businesses with either NASA directly or prime contractors doing business with NASA.

Glenn Delgado, Associate Administrator of the Office of Small Business Programs at NASA helps coordinate these conferences.

He says the conferences give NASA and other groups the opportunity to educate small business owners on some of the requirements and technicalities of doing business with NASA or a NASA prime contractor.

On the second day of each conference, he notes, small business owners have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with NASA officials and representatives of prime contractors to see if there is a compatible match.

NASA also partners with Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) in a particular geographical area to help sponsor the conferences.

Business opportunities are available in providing goods and services in mechanical and electrical engineering, IT infrastructure services, building maintenance, medical services, office supplies and equipment, office administrative services, testing laboratories, apparel, security and a large variety of other industries.

For more information, visit http://aerospacematchmaker.com.
32 min
July 11, 2018 Current “Hyper-Racial” Culture is Covered Full-time by AP Reporter Errin Whack
In November 2017, Errin Whack was appointed to be the Race and Ethnicity Writer for the Associated Press.

She works closely with the Race and Ethnicity team dedicated to covering “race, culture and politics” in a changing and volatile America.

The Associated Press says it has developed a team that can focus on the complicated issues of race and provide rapid responses to racial issues developing across the country.

“America is currently hyper-racial,” Whack says.

She thinks, therefore, that stories about race are more important now than ever.

“The election of President Obama caused a huge racial backlash that people didn’t pay enough attention to at the time,” Whack adds.

Some people felt threatened by the racial progress of having a black President and it was those feelings of fear and unrest that President Trump tapped into during his 2016 election, according to Whack.

Trump fanned the flames of fear during his “Birther Movement” under President Obama and those fears continued and were magnified during the Trump presidential campaign. We are now seeing the results of that fear evidencing itself in many ways, Whack adds.

Whack is not a novice at covering racial matters. She started her journalism career writing for a black newspaper in her hometown of Atlanta. Since then, she has worked for the “Washington Post, “The Orlando Sentinel”, and the “Los Angeles Times”. Her worked also has been featured by NBC News, NPR, Politico Magazine, Time.com, BuzzFeed, Fusion, The Guardian, and City Lab.

Whack was named the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists’ 2016 Print Journalist of the Year. She also was tapped as the Emerging Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists and Print Journalist of the Year by the Atlanta Press Club.
36 min
July 04, 2018 Get a View from Behind-the-Camera in Cable & Network News: Role of Producer
A producer works behind-the-scenes and in the control room helping to write and direct the way the news is presented by the talent. It is an important and vital role to the delivery of broadcast news but it’s a role that is little understood.

A producer helps gathers the news, write it and sits in the control room advising the talent during the news delivery.

A producer and the news anchor must have a symbiotic relationship. It is like an intense plutonic professional relationship, according to Katie Hinman, an executive producer of special programming at CNN. She says that they often share the same world view but they sometimes bicker like an “old married couple.”

If the chemistry is right then there is a closeness that develops – a trusting relationship. The producer can be the voice in the news anchors ear to steer him/her in the right direction or to avoid misstatements or inaccuracies.

Before her new assignment, Hinman had that close professional relationship with Jake Tapper of CNN. Both had worked together previously at ABC and then both moved to CNN.

Hinman was the executive producer and helped launch Tapper’s Sunday show “State of the Union with Jake Tapper.” She also was the supervising producer for Tapper’s daily CNN show, “The Lead.”

Prior to joining CNN five years ago, Hinman spent 10 years at ABC News as a producer for “Nightline.”

She claims that good writing is the fundamental building block of all good journalism and she says that over her career she has learned to write in the “voice” of whomever will be delivering that report. She also says that she must assure the talent that she is writing in a way that everything she writes is 100 percent accurate.

Hinman has received two Emmys for her work and an Overseas Press Club Award. She also has received the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award and a Peabody Award.

Hinman is a 2003 graduate of the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. While an undergraduate student, she worked at WOUB Public Media and interned at Nightline after her sophomore year. She also was a Cutler Scholar.
38 min
June 27, 2018 Inside the Mind of the Prize-Winning Editorial Cartoonist Jack Ohman
Editorial cartoonists, in the heyday of newspapers, were plentiful. Now the group is down to only 50 nationwide and that number is being threatened by slow extinction.

One of the survivors, however, is prize winning cartoonist, columnist, editor and author Jack Ohman of the “Sacramento Bee. “

Currently, his cartoons are syndicated by The Washington Post Writers Group. Previously, his work appeared in 200 newspapers through Tribune Content Agency, and he was, at age 19, the youngest editorial cartoonist ever nationally syndicated.

Ohman also worked for “The Columbus Dispatch,” the “Detroit Free Press” and “The Oregonian.” He won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2012 for the “Oregonian” in Portland.

Jack talks about the creative process of being a political cartoonist, some of the restrictions and some of the dangers of his profession.

Over his long professional career, he has complete about 13,000 finished cartoons – not counting the thousands of sketches and ideas in progress.

He gives us a view of how he goes about formulating a cartoon from the germ of the idea that starts the process to the finished product. The subject is central to the success of a cartoon, along with the pithy way of satirizing the situation. The art is secondary to a cartoons success, according to Ohman.

He also notes that there are self-restrictions and self-editing placed on cartoonists based upon each artist’s sense of ethics and good taste. Some topics or people are “off-limits” to Ohman but he self-edits those ideas. He does not expect his paper to censor his opinions.

Recently, however, “Pittsburgh Post-Gazette” editorial cartoonist Rob Rogers reportedly was fired for being too critical of President Trump and his administration.

Ohman also finds it is not difficult to lampoon Washington even from as far away as Sacramento. “Washington is just television now,” Ohman says. He thinks you can cover it well from anywhere.

Ohman also talks about his creative foray into creating 3-D cartoons for Virtual Reality for the McClatchy Company, owner of some 29 daily newspapers in 14 states.

In addition to the Pulitzer, Ohman has won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, the Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award, the SDX Mark of Excellence Award, the National Headliner Award, the Overseas Press Club Award, the Scripps Howard Foundation Award and two first place Best of the West Awards.

Ohman also is the winner of “The Minnesota Daily Harrison E. Salisbury Distinguished Alumni Award.”
35 min
June 20, 2018 Medical School Curriculum is Revolutionized to Keep Pace with Today’s Living
Since 2014, the faculty and staff of the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine have been developing a new medical school curriculum called the “Pathways to Health and Wellness Curriculum.” Its design is revolutionary and may lead the way for other medical schools to follow.

Come August, gone will be the big auditorium lectures. Instead, greater emphasis will be placed on individual and independent studies through the use of a “flipped classroom approach.”

“Students will learn interactively through working collaboratively on 16 weeklong patient cases per semester. Students will work in teams along with appropriate faculty,” says Dr. Kenneth Johnson, the executive dean of the Heritage College and the chief medical affairs officer for Ohio University.

Students will prepare for classroom learning sessions through self-directed study including access to recorded mini-lecture and modules,” explains Dr. Jody Gerome, the new associate dean of curriculum.

“The different aspects of medicine, clinical, biomedical, and social, are woven naturally into patient cases, rather than taught as separate academic silos,” Dr. Gerome adds.

Likewise, the program will examine the students’ knowledge more often than the formerly once-a-semester exam. Tests will be given more frequently to make sure the student is keeping up and absorbing the material that is required.

During each semester, students and faculty both will have “protected time” for maintaining their own personal wellness and each student will be assigned a faculty mentor for all four years of study. The health and wellness of the patients and the physicians both are in balance under this new plan, says Dr. Johnson.

“The first two years of study will be divided into four 16 week semesters covering wellness, acute illness, chronic illness and return to wellness,” says Dr. Gerome.

“The changes we are making are designed to convey training in a way that is more aligned with today’s evolving best practices in care delivery, to improve the care provided to our patients and communities and for formalize our commitment to the personal wellness of our students during medical school and beyond,” Dr. Johnson explains.

“Health care has to change, and the college needs to adapt its curriculum so it can continue to train doctors who can not only thrive in the changing health care environment, but help lead that changes to improve the quality of care to our patients and communities.”

Dr. Johnson has been dean of the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine since 2012. Dr. Gerome is a 2005 alumna of the college. She is a practicing physician and an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology.
0 min
June 13, 2018 Was N. Korean Summit All Glitz and No Substance? -- TIME Reporter Analyzes
The meeting in Singapore between President Donald Trump and N. Korean leader Kim Jong Un was most assuredly historic. It was the first time that a N. Korean leader had met face-to-face with a sitting U.S. President.

But, was the meeting substantive and did it produce any lasting results? That is the question politicians, journalists, and analysts are asking as President Trump wings his way back to Washington.

The first reviews are tepid, according to TIME Washington correspondent Philip Elliott, and the President might not get the fanfare that he wants and expects.

The wait-and-see attitude is even pervasive with some members of Trump’s own party like Sen. Lindsey Graham. He said that this is a start but a long way from any “agreement” with North Korea to denuclearize the Korean peninsula, according to the veteran Senator.

Elliott in a conversation with the Spectrum podcast also discusses the optics of the summit and its political viability in the mid-term elections in November.

He contrasted the praise given to Kim Jong Un by Trump and other administrative officials on the heels of disparaging remarks by Pres. Trump and others toward U.S. allies like Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada.

Trump was openly hostile toward the G-7 allies and their leaders, says Elliott, while saying it was an “honor” to meet with Kim, calling him a “great leader.” The contrasts in Presidential styles between historic allies and an adversary were noted all across Washington, Elliott adds.

In his conversation, Elliott also talks about the onslaught of attacks on Special Counsel Robert Mueller by a quartet of GOP Congressmen, outside-counsel Rudy Giuliani, FOX News hosts and the President himself. Elliott notes that the “War against Mueller” is damaging the investigation’s standing with the general public. This may have long-term impacts on any potential Congressional actions against Trump.

Finally, Elliott gives Spectrum listeners insight on who’s “IN” and who’s “OUT” at the White House – the revolving door of political advisors and staffers.

Before joining TIME, Elliott spent a decade covering politics, campaign finance, education and the White House for the Associated Press.
1 hr 1 min

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