The Spark

[box]Listen to Smart Talk every weekday at 9am and 7pm on WITF 89.5 & 93.3. You can also stream WITF radio live on our website or ask your smart speaker to “Play WITF Radio.”[/box] Drive through rural Pennsylvania and there’s still a good chance you’ll see a Trump 2020 sign or flag or even a … Continue reading "The great political divide: rural and urban voters"

Smart Talk is premiering a new and special feature – “First Friday.” The first Friday of every month we’re devoting the program to the arts, with particular attention to the arts in central Pennsylvania. We’ll talk with artists, musicians, actors, directors – anyone and anything connected to the arts. The debut of Smart Talk First Friday includes a look at the … Continue reading "Smart Talk debuts “First Friday” focusing on the arts"

Pennsylvania-born Daniel Boone was perhaps America’s best-known and celebrated frontiersman when the frontier was west of the Appalachian Mountains. Boone made his name as a hunter and trapper early in his life but eventually led white Americans into the wilds of present-day Kentucky. A new book — Blood and Treasure Daniel Boone and the Fight for … Continue reading "New book chronicles life of Pennsylvania-born frontiersman Daniel Boone"

The number of hate crimes almost doubled in Pennsylvania last year from 2019 and were up nationwide to the highest level since 2008. That’s according to the latest report from the FBI. There were 81 hate crimes investigated in Pennsylvania in 2020. The FBI defines a hate crime as a “criminal offense against a person … Continue reading "Hate crimes up in Pennsylvania and U.S."

The U.S. has an obesity epidemic and the problem has been made worse by the pandemic. A small Harvard study showed an average weight gain in adults of almost 1.5 pounds each month, which would add up to about 25 pounds during the height of the pandemic. Children have not escaped the pandemic weight gain, in fact, … Continue reading "Childhood obesity rates climbed during pandemic"

The Carter Center announced that WITF Health Reporter Brett Sholtis was selected as a 2021-2022 Fellow under the Benjamin von Sternenfels Rosenthal Grant for Mental Health Investigative Journalism – a partnership between the Carter Center’s Mental Health Program and Reveal from the Center of Investigative Reporting. As WITF’s Transforming Health Reporter, Sholtis reports extensively on … Continue reading "WITF reporter selected for investigative journalism fellowship"

There are nearly 400 thousand children living in foster care in the United States, many entering the system as abuse, neglect or abandonment.  While it is likely the majority will eventually be reunited with a family member, nearly one-third are waiting to be adopted. Adopting a child can be a life-changing experience for everyone … Continue reading "The adoption experience – a family perspective"

Listen to Smart Talk every weekday at 9am and 7pm on WITF 89.5 & 93.3. You can also stream WITF radio live on our website or ask your smart speaker to “Play WITF Radio.” The COVID-19 pandemic is not going away anytime soon. Pennsylvania, and other states, have recently enacted mitigation efforts to stop the … Continue reading "COVID-19 and vaccines continue to dominate headlines, what is new in the pandemic fight"

Listen to Smart Talk every weekday at 9am and 7pm on WITF 89.5 & 93.3. You can also stream WITF radio live on our website or ask your smart speaker to “Play WITF Radio.” Sexual assault on college campuses is a problem and this time of year is especially dangerous. The ‘red zone,’ as it … Continue reading "Campuses are in the ‘red zone,’ what that means in the fight against sexual assault"

Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States – claiming the lives of more than 48-thousand people in 2019, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. September is suicide prevention month, an opportunity to draw awareness to this national crisis and highlight the warning signs. Smart Talk Thursday is joined by … Continue reading "Efforts to prevent suicide center on awareness campaign and legislation"