The Spark

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.” As the global community holds a collective breath in anticipation of a coronavirus vaccine, healthcare professionals are calling attention to another … Continue reading "Smart Talk: Childhood vaccine rates dropped during the first half of pandemic; JFK JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century"

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.” Each year, the Lancaster County Community Foundation hosts The Extraordinary Give, the nation’s largest per capita one-day online fundraiser that benefits … Continue reading "Smart Talk: The Extraordinary Give live broadcast events"

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 6,339 positives cases of COVID in the 24 hours ending at midnight Wednesday. Daily statewide records have been recorded often over the past two weeks. These increasing number of positive cases is having a substantial impact in many areas of our daily lives, including at schools. With more people … Continue reading "Smart Talk: School districts face tough coronavirus decisions"

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.” Diane Rehm hosted one of the nation’s most popular radio talk shows up until her retirement in 2016. It was a … Continue reading "Smart Talk: Diane Rehm discusses physician aided end-of-life"

In Pennsylvania, investigations show there are more cases of child neglect than of abuse; almost 25,000 kids are in foster care and about a third are hard-to-place older teenagers; 128,000 children aren’t covered by health insurance, and most of them live in rural areas. African-American, Hispanic and mixed-race children face even tougher challenges. Those are … Continue reading "Smart Talk: State of children in Pa."

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 fall COVID-19 surge has arrived as predicted, and healthcare experts have learned a lot about the virus since the pandemic … Continue reading "Smart Talk: Viral immunity; is the immune system the key to the COVID puzzle?"

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 world is on the precipice of major discoveries in quantum computing and it is nothing short of a game changer. … Continue reading "Smart Talk: Quantum Computing; the race is on!"

There are more people and families who are experiencing hunger or food insecurity during the coronavirus pandemic. It’s not surprising since so many lost their jobs and income. The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank is making food available to about 40-thousand more people each month than before the pandemic. All told, the Food Bank is providing … Continue reading "Smart Talk: Food insecurity during the pandemic"

The battle of Gettysburg was fought more than 150 years ago, yet it still offers enduring lessons in military strategy, decision making, and leadership. Military strategists and educators have studied the battle, and others, as a way to understand the context and complexities the leaders faced during a period of enormous stress and consequence. The … Continue reading "Smart Talk: Leadership lessons from Gettysburg"

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported an additional 6,311 positive cases of COVID-19 from Saturday and Sunday. This number is nearly double the highest number of cases reported during the first surge of the Pandemic. A lot more is known about the virus since it first appeared last winter, but that doesn’t make the increase … Continue reading "Smart Talk: COVID cases surge in Pa. and around the world"