Most discussions of energy in Pennsylvania today start with natural gas. For much of the past decade, drilling in the Marcellus Shale regions of the state has made Pennsylvania one of the nation's leading energy producers. During his campaign for president, Donald Trump promised to bring coal back and many are still clamoring for expansion and more use of renewable energy in the state.

What doesn't get mentioned often is nuclear energy. Which is surprising since about 35% of Pennsylvania's electricity comes from nuclear.

The Three Mile Island accident brought construction and licensing of new nuclear plants to a virtual halt. That's even though nuclear facilities have been operating safely and producing power since the 1979 TMI accident. They were considered too expensive to build and there were always safety concerns.

A first-of-its-kind-in-the-nation nuclear energy caucus has been formed in the Pennsylvania legislature. It has more than 70 members, of both parties, so far.

On Tuesday's Smart Talk, we'll hear from Sen. Ryan Aument (R-Lancaster) who is one of the caucus organizers.

Then, TMI Alert chairman Eric Epstein joins us.

Also, April is Child Abuse Awareness Month. The Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance is one of the state's leading advocates for preventing child abuse and helping victims.

We'll discuss efforts to stop child abuse and protect children with Angela Liddle, President and CEO of the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance and Emily Huggins, a forensic nurse examiner at Wellspan York Hospital.

Thousands of Pennsylvanians have died of drug overdoses over the past five years. Heroin was most often the culprit in the deadly overdoses -sometimes laced with other chemicals like fentanyl.

The opioid crisis has reached epidemic proportions and is sweeping this country. Many times, the user starts with prescription opioid painkillers and then moves on to heroin which is much cheaper.

The bottom line is too many people are dying - even though many first responders and police are equiped with naloxone, which can literally bring an overdose victim back to life.

We talk about this issue often but sometimes it is from a wide angle. On Monday's Smart Talk, we have two people who see it up close and personal on a daily basis.

Appearing on the program are York County Coroner Pam Gay and Andrew Gilger - Paramedic/Performance Improvement Lieutenant, Lancaster EMS.

Also, the Manada Conservancy - Dauphin County's land trust - is teaming up with the Appalachian Audubon Society to celebrate its 20th anniversary with a special event this Thursday, April 27th.

The theme will be designing for beauty and biodiversity.

One of the keynote speakers is Dr. Douglas Tallamy, Professor and Chair of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware and author of the award winning book, Bringing Nature Home and Richard Zaino, president of the Manada Conservancy board join us.

Two of the most significant religious holidays on the calendar this week mean families are gathering and sitting down for holiday meals. Easter is Sunday, of course, and Passover began Monday and will end Tuesday. Each holiday comes with mealtime traditions.

You may have your holiday dinner planned already but it's still not too late to pick up a few ideas and, of course, one of the big questions is what to do with all the leftovers? With a little thought and creativity, the leftovers can be made into tasty lunches and dinners too.

Chef Donna Desfor, who host the WITF Cooks TV series and the new podcast Now That's a Mouthful, is with us on Friday's Smart Talk to discuss Easter and Passover food and especially what to make with the leftovers.

Also, Pennsylvania has 500 public school districts. Each has their own special characteristics and degrees of success. Former Governor Ed Rendell at one time proposed merging school districts - a proposal that didn't get much traction.

However, that hasn't stopped certain areas from trying to leave their current school districts and become part of another. For the last three years, a group of parents in Highspire, Dauphin County has made moves to leave the Steelton-Highspire School District and become part of the Middletown School District.

We'll learn more about it on Friday's program from Ken Becker, a spokesman for the Highspire Education Coalition and attorney Brian Carter.

Dr. Michelle Mart's 2015 book Pesticides, A Love Story: America's Enduring Embrace of Dangerous Chemicals examined the extensive ripple effects of the use of pesticides in agriculture. Today, the Penn State Berks professor of history is researching the relationship between American eating habits and the practices and influences of big agri-business and other players in the food industry - including the US government.

Dr. Mart discusses how we choose the food we eat and often it's not advertising.

Dr. Mart joins us on Thursday's Smart Talk to discuss her research and what we should know about what we eat.

Also, Goodwill Industries, including Goodwill Keystone Area has a mission to support persons with disabilities and other barriers to independence. Goodwill Keystone Area has a new program called Good Careers Start Here that is designed to assist those who have worked at and with Goodwill and their families, with getting a higher education and also providing employers with skilled workers.

Jennifer Diaz, Senior Director of Resource Development, Goodwill Keystone Area appears on Thursday's Smart Talk.

The latest Smart Talk Road Trip takes the show to the campus of Lebanon Valley College for Wednesday's program. (At Suzanne H. Arnold Gallery and Zimmerman Recital Hall)

The small liberal arts college in Annville, with a student population of just over 1600, has more than 40 majors but has an especially strong music program. Almost a tenth of Lebanon Valley's student population are in the college marching band and there are music events on campus almost every night.

On Smart Talk, we'll discuss that music program and the careers it launches with Sharon Davis, Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Music Education, Matthew Erpdeling, Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities and Tom Strohman, Professor of Music.

Leading off the show is Dr. Lewis Thayne, the President of Lebanon Valley College, who will discuss the strengths and benefits and maybe a few of challenges facing a liberal arts college.

Finally, a letter signed by President Abraham Lincoln and sent to Lebanon County Industrialist George Dawson Coleman in the 1860s has been donated to the Lebanon County Historical Society and we'll this fascinating story on the program as well.

Adam Bentz, Archivist and Librarian with the Lebanon County Historical Society and Rick Abel, who contributed the Lincoln letter join us on Smart Talk.

A recent report from Penn State's Population Research Institute indicates minority students in Pennsylvania are leaving public schools of diversity for charter schools populated by like - minority students. Plainly put, black students are leaving for charter schools with other black students, Latino students are leaving public schools for primarily Latino charter schools.

That research also points to an unparralleled value to attending schools in a diverse atmosphere; that "Minority students in more diverse school settings have higher short-term and long-term academic outcomes than those who attend racially isolated minority schools."

Smart Talk will parse out this study with lead researcher, Erica Frankenberg, an associate professor of education at Penn State. We'll also be joined by Tim Eller, Executive Director of the Keystone Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

Also, Earth Day is a week from Saturday on April 22nd. There will be hundreds - maybe thousands - of events focusing on the environment but there is something new this year in cities across the country. They are called March for Science which is described as the first step of a global movement to defend the vital role science plays in our health safety economies and government. Among the places where there will be a March for Science in downtown Lancaster.

When it comes to Pennsylvania's future, education may be the most important issue facing the state. Almost everyone can agree that a good education is key to making a good living, preparing a work force, and maintaining a healthy economy and high quality of life.

How to provide and pay for quality education is what makes it an issue. There are many opinions and almost as much research into what is successful and even how to measure that success.

As a result, there is no simple answer on how to improve schools and education overall. There are many.

Monday's Smart Talk features Pennsylvania's Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera. A few of the issues we'll discuss are improving student performance, the role of schools in today's communities, education funding, the state budget, challenges facing schools, higher education, and charter schools.

You are encouraged to call in or email your questions for Secretary Rivera, the Smart Talk call-in line is 800-729-7532 or email us at [email protected].

Nearly two million people with serious mental illnesses are incarcerated in America every year. About a quarter of Pennsylvania's prisoners suffer from mental illness. The chief of medical operations for the Philadelphia Department of Prisons describes the state's county jail system as "the largest psychiatric hospital in the state of Pennsylvania."

In response, state and county officials are rolling out a multiyear initiative with the goal of reducing the population of inmates with mental illness and directing them towards treatment rather than incarceration, as well as training first responders how to handle situations involving mentally ill citizens. The 'Stepping Up' program is already in use in Ohio and California.

Smart Talk will discuss the initiative with Pennsylvania Secretary of Corrections John Wetzel, Richard Cho, Director of Behavioral Health at the Council of State Governments Justice Center and Brinda Carroll Penyak, Deputy Director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.

Also, Paula Poundstone began a stand-up career in the early Eighties and made her mark with her wry and snarky observations of the everyday routine of life. She starred in several cable specials through the 90's and has been a regular staple on NPR's Wait Wait . . . Don't Tell Me! Poundstone continues to tour with as a stand-up comic and will appear at Bucknell's Weis Center on Satuday. Smart Talk checks in with her to talk about her 40-year comedy career and her take on current events.

In Pennsylvania, Protection from Abuse defendants, who own guns, may or may not be ordered to give up their firearms by a judge (for final PFAs). If the defendant has to surrender the guns, they can be held for safekeeping by a third party like a family member or friend.

In most cases, that's enough to keep the guns from being used to harm the person who took out the PFA. But not always.

A series of domestic violence-related proposals have been made that includes a stipulation that guns would be surrendered to a local police agency or firearms dealer under terms of a final Protection from Abuse order.

In a state where there are many hunters and gun owners, that part of the proposal is sure to be debated intensely.

Other proposals would permit judges to extend PFAs beyond the current 36 months and also to require someone from law enforcement to be present with PFA plaintiffs for service of orders or when they are retrieving property.

Appearing on Tuesday's Smart Talk to discuss the bills are Ellen Kramer, Deputy Director of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Rhonda Hendrickson: Director of Violence Intervention and Prevention Services at the YWCA of Greater Harrisburg.

On Monday's Smart Talk explore the reasons Americans are so politically polarized. Author Jonathan Haidt argues that political affiliations stem from the elements people use to establish moral and ethical guidelines. The polarity of those ethical judgements force people to either the liberal or conservative side, that people are subject to their own psychological predispositions.

April Kelly-Woessner is Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Legal Studies at Elizabethtown College where Haidt will speak this Thursday night. She has written extensively about political intolerance and the lack of viewpoint diversity in higher education. Dr. Kelly-Woessner appears on Monday's Smart Talk.

There have been a few examples within the past month. Author Charles Murray has been called a white nationalist and became best known after writing a book that claimed blacks weren't as intelligent as whites. Protestors became violent at Middlebury College in Vermont last month when Murray was scheduled to speak and shouted down Murray at Villanova University last week.

Two weeks until Tax Day - have you filed yet? If not, Smart Talk will discuss recent changes to the tax code, what can and cannot be deducted and filing options. Certified Public Accountants Eric MacCollum and John Steffe will join us to answer your questions about everybody's favorite subject - income tax. And remember, the deadline for filing federal income taxes has been pushed back a few days this year to Tuesday, April 18.