The Spark

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 18.4 million children, 1 in 4, live without a biological, step, or adoptive father in the home. That’s enough children to fill New York City twice or Los Angeles four times over. Research shows that a father's absence affects children in numerous unfortunate ways, while a father's presence makes a positive difference in the lives of both children and mothers.

Here to provide some insight on the importance of father involvement, obstacles fathers may face and resources to help them are Dr. Rufus Sylvester Lynch, Academy of Certified Social Workers Fatherist and Chair of the Strong Families Commission and Luisa Olivo-Wolf, Assistant Chief Program Officer for Community Progress Council.

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Workforce shortages, inflation, and supply chain issues are making shopping more difficult compared to previous years.

To combat some of this year’s shopping challenges many people are looking for ways to save and are shopping early this holiday season.

According to Bankrate, 25 percent of shoppers either began their holiday shopping last month or plan to begin shopping this month. Another 25% expect to begin in October, while only 40% plan to start shopping in the final two months of the year.

Rebecca Gramuglia, Top Cash Back Consumer Expert, joins us to provide some insight on this holiday shopping season and tips on how to prepare for it and save.

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After watching recent popular videos on social media of dogs smiling while getting a haircut, laughing hysterically with an owner, or crying on the grave of one of their loved ones, many have wondered if animals can feel emotions just like humans do and to what extent.

Well, in recent studies, scientists have discovered that animals feel empathy, grieve, and seek joy just like us. Yudigit Battacharjee, author of National Geographic's October cover story on this topic, joins us to provide some insight on scientists’ findings about animals’ emotions.

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A month and a half before the November 8th election, it is poll season when we find out what Pennsylvania voters are thinking. The Franklin and Marshall College poll is out today and we’re joined by Berwood Yost, Director of the Floyd Institute for Public Policy and Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College.

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Violent protests continue in Iran – sparked by the arrest and death three days later of a young women who was accused of not properly covering her face. 22 year old Mahsa Amini was arrested in Tehran on September 13th. Since her death there have been demonstrations and protest throughout the country. The BBC is reporting 76 people have been killed as police have cracked down. State media in Iran says 41 have died. State media branded the protesters "hypocrites, rioters, thugs and seditionists", while state television said police clashed with "rioters" in some cities. What’s driving the protests and will they change anything in Iran? Our guest on today’s Smart Talk is Dr. Mehdi Noorbaksh, Professor of International Affairs and Business, Information System Engineering and Management,  at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology and Vice President, World Affairs Council Harrisburg

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About 795,000 people suffer from a stroke in the U.S. each year. More than 140,000 die from stroke. Stroke is the leading cause of disability in the United States. 60% of stroke deaths occur in women. Experts say 80% of strokes can be prevented.

Dr. Raymond Reichwein, a neurologist and co-director of the Penn State Stroke Center in Hershey was on Tuesday's Smart Talk where he described what a stroke is,"A stroke is a sudden brain injury caused by a blood vessel problem. And with that being said, there's two types of stroke. One is known as an ischemic stroke, which is the most common. It affects about 85% of people. And that's where a clot walks up a blood vessel and cuts off the blood supply to a certain part of the brain. The other less common type is what's called a hemorrhagic stroke. That's where a blood vessel burst and dispenses bleeding blood in and around the brain."

What are the symptoms of a stroke,"So there are several common symptoms. And the acronym for the public health. There is something called BE FAST -- the acronym stands for the following. So the B is a sudden balance problem on your walking balance is off the E stands for an eye problem, either loss of vision or double vision. Classically, the F stands for a face problem. Classically a drop of your face. It could also be a face that a stands for an arm problem. If you hold your arms out, your arm can drift down and appear weak. It also could affect the leg. The S stands for a speech problem to where your words are garbled, slurred, or you're having difficulty getting the words out or understanding conversation. And then the T emphasizes the importance of time to call 911 and use the EMS system to promptly get to the hospital for a prompt evaluation and hopefully an appropriate treatment."

Dr. Reichwein listed the risk factors for stroke,"High blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, atrial fibrillation, and then also carotid artery disease, a blockage in your neck artery. And then lastly, there are people out there with aneurysms. So abnormal blood vessels in their brain, people that smoke and have high blood pressure can increase the likelihood that one of those aneurysms can rupture and cause a brain hemorrhage. So, we don't talk as much about those, but the brain hemorrhages can be much more likely to be fatal after suffering a hemorrhage. But there's many others. But I would just leave the list short at those to start with. And then also behaviorally smoking and alcohol abuse carry increased risk."

Reichwein told the Smart Talk audience that if someone is having a stroke to call 911 and get to a hospital or a certified stroke center as quickly as possible because time is one of the most important factors in savings a stroke victim's life.

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