The Spark

Reporters surround the stage before a meeting of energy ministers from OPEC and its allies to discuss prices and production cuts, in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, May 19, 2019. The meeting takes places as tensions flare in the Persian Gulf after the U.S. ordered bombers and an aircraft carrier to the region over an unexplained … Continue reading "Escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran / Breaking down the primary election results"

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro speaks during a news conference in Philadelphia, Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) What to look for on Smart Talk, Wednesday, May 22, 2019: Since 2017, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has been part of a coalition of 41 states investigating opioid makers and distributors. Last week, his office … Continue reading "Attorney General sues Purdue Pharma and foster care in Pennsylvania"

What to look for on Smart Talk, Friday, May 17, 2019: Bees are nature’s most prolific, and important, pollinators. Their intrinsic value to global ecosystems and commercial agriculture cannot be overstated. More than 75 percent of all food crops and nearly 90 percent of wild plants need animal pollinators to some degree. Bees and other … Continue reading "Hives and honey / PA State Animal Response Team"

With a budget deadline on the horizon and a flurry of legislative activity on issues ranging from abortion to judicial elections, the Capitol is an increasingly busy place. Joining  us on Monday’s Smart Talk to provide an update on what’s happening in Harrisburg is WITF Capitol Bureau Chief Katie Meyer. Among the topics to be discussed … Continue reading "What’s happening at the Capitol?/What do Pennsylvanians think about health?"

This is the scene along a section of Omaha Beach in June 1944, during Operation Overlord, the code name for the Allied invasion at the Normandy coast in France during World War II. Landing craft put troops and supplies on shore at Omaha, one of five landing beaches. Seen in the background is part of … Continue reading "Remembering ‘Operation Overlord’ / Congressional candidate Rep. Fred Keller"

Image courtesy of Cumberland County Archives What to look for on Smart Talk, Wednesday, May 15, 2019: “History may not repeat itself, but the present often rhymes with the past.” And in order to understand the past, preserving old documents and records is key. Cumberland County archivists recently received a grant to preserve documents that … Continue reading "Preserving Pennsylvania’s oldest historical documents"

What to look for on Smart Talk, Tuesday, May 14, 2019: Tuesday’s Smart Talk makes a road trip to the York County Heritage Rail Trail at Hanover Junction Station. Hiking, biking or riding horses on Pennsylvania’s many rail trails are some of the most popular outdoor recreational activites in the state. Pennsylvania leads the nation … Continue reading "Smart Talk Road Trip to the York Rail Trail"

A wounded U.S. paratrooper grimaces in pain as he awaits medical evacuation at base camp in the A Shau Valley near the Laos border in South Vietnam on May 19, 1969, following the 10-day battle known as Hamburger Hill. (AP Photo/Hugh Van Es) What to look for on Smart Talk Monday, May 13, 2019: Fifty … Continue reading "Hamburger Hill 50 years later and Congressional candidate Marc Friedenberg"

What to look for on Smart Talk Thursday, May 9, 2019: The new book Super Mad at Everything All the Time — Political Media and Our National Anger is described as exploring the polarization of American politics through the collapse of the space between politics and culture, as bolstered by omnipresent media. It seeks to … Continue reading "‘Super Mad at Everything All the Time’ author Alison Dagnes"

Photo courtesy of Carolyn Beeler What to look for on Smart Talk, Wednesday, May 8, 2019: Activists and ordinary citizens are confronting climate change everyday. On Smart Talk, we’ll hear from people taking on this massive, existential issue. Here in central Pennsylvania there is a legal scholar who published a new book on potential climate … Continue reading "Confronting climate change"