Despite the US Surgeon General's call earlier this year for Congress to approve a law that would require mental health warnings on social media for younger users, and heart-breaking stories about children suffering terrible trauma, up to and including death, as a result of negative online interactions; we are living in a world where children are just not safe online.

They're not safe either from the peer pressure of people they know, or the sick manipulations of strangers–and even AI chatbots– they meet online, and so far; there hasn't been any effective legal blockade put up to protect them from any of it–at least; not in the United States.

Australia recently passed a total ban on social media for anyone under the age of 16, and while the State of Ohio did pass a law last year requiring requiring parental consent for children under the age of 16 to use social media apps; it has been blocked from going into effect pending the outcome of a First Amendment legal challenge filed by a group representing big tech companies.

So, what can parents, and other concerned adults do in the meantime, to protect children who are interacting with one another and the world at large on social media and gaming platforms that open them up to all kinds of harms including bullying, "sextortion", anxiety, depression, suicide, kidnapping, and more?

We talked with University of Akron Psychology Professor, Dr. Toni Bisconti.

Listen now.

When I first started writing this story a couple of weeks ago, I had no idea that there would be a horrific school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin, the very week it was to be published.

But, I suppose I should have.

After all, according to data compiled by CNN; there have been 83 school shootings so far this year, and 56 of them have taken place in K-12 Schools.

What makes this story which is already horrendously tragic even more so; is that if they had the type of technology we're going to talk about today, at Abundant Life Christian School; there may not have even been a shooting.

But, they didn't have it, and now six people are injured, and three people are dead–including the shooter–15 year old Natalie "Samantha" Rupnow.

Of course, there's no way to tell whether or not that would have made the difference; but it just so happens this weapons detection system, called "Zero Eyes", is meant to prevent exactly the type of situation that unfolded in Wisconsin, i.e.; one where an assailant with a concealed weapon somehow slips past security, and opens fire.

At least, that's how it is supposed to work, and our guest today, Stark County Sheriffs Commander of Technology & Intelligence, Mitchel Paulen, tells us how they're planning to install it soon in some Jackson Township Schools, and countywide in other public places, in the future.

Listen now.

If you've ever had to wait to get your car, or anything else repaired because parts are on backorder; you know how frustrating it can be.

Now, multiply that by about a zillion, and add a bunch of zeros to the end of the price tag, and you've got a recipe for both economic disaster, and political mayhem. The problem is; that's exactly the kind of situation we're facing right now, as our country's ongoing tech trade war with China continues to heat up.

At issue, is both the US and China needing each other badly for continued economic success, but also fearing, and trying outdo each other when it comes to both sophisticated technology like Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the raw materials needed to make that technology work.

This week, that clash became increasingly apparent, as the US banned the export of AI technology to China, and in return; China banned the export of certain minerals over which they have an enormous amount of control, to the US.

If that ontinues; it could have a detrimental effect on the production of advanced technology products here in the US, including some in Ohio, like semiconductors and EV's.

To find out more about this high stakes tech trade competition, and what that could mean for our National Security; I talked to Dr. Karl Kaltenthaler, who is the Director of the University of Akron's Michael J. Morell Center for Intelligence and Security Studies. Listen now.

A new medical device that allows surgeons to more easily see while they maneuver around even the tiniest of spaces in the human body, has made TIME Magazine's list of the 200 best inventions of 2024.

Amplio is the world’s first wearable 3D full-color surgical microscope. It is a platform technology with capabilities that include surgical magnification, fluorescence imaging, night vision, surgical navigation, computer vision, artificial intelligence and augmented reality.

The UA-developed technology in Amplio improves the surgical lenses, known as loupes, that surgeons use during procedures, and it was developed by Dr. Yang Liu, who is currently an Associate Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Iowa, and the Founder & Chief Technology Officer of Unifiy Medical.

But, Liu first started developing this groundbreaking new invention when he was with the University of Akron's Department of Biomedical Engineering, between 2013 and 2018.

To find out more about his new device, which will be commercially available sometime after the first quarter of 2025, we talked to both Dr. Liu, and the University of Akron's Acting Director of Technology Transfer, Kelly Bialek.

From mass-produced jeans, to one-of-a-kind designer creations only seen on gorgeous runway models; most of today's fashion is extremely high-tech.

To find out more about how clothing evolves from an artistic impulse to a fully realized product, we talked with Professor Margarita Benitez, who Directs the TechStyleLAB at Kent State University's Shannon Rogers and Jay Silverman School of Fashion Design and Merchandising.

Listen now to hear how they are using advanced technology including Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital textile printing, laser cutting, augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) and more.

From sustainable polymers in Akron, to semiconductors near Columbus, Defense R& D in Dayton, and Solar Panels in Toledo; Ohio is a hotbed of new technology.

To find out more, and why the future of new technology in Ohio is so bright; I talked to Chris Berry, who is the President and CEO of Ohio X; a non-profit organization aimed dedicated to building Ohio's tech hub.

Listen now:

Better, smaller, more powerful batteries are the wave of the future, not only for vehicles; but also for whole home energy storage, and all the electronic gadgets you use every day, like laptops and mobile phones.

But when it comes to Ohio; the focus is squarely on batteries that power electric vehicles, and that's why both The Ohio State University in Columbus, and The University of Akron have received big government and private industry grants to discover both better ways to make and recycle them.

Listen now for details on the work that will be done at Ohio State University's still under construction $29 million dollar battery cell research center, and how the University of Akron is paving the way for a cleaner, safer, and more sustainable future with EV battery-related polymer recycling.

Our special guests are Dr. Jay Sayre, from Ohio State University, and Dr. James Egan, from the University of Akron.

Dr. Sayre is the Director of the OSU battery cell research and development center, and is also an Assistant Vice President in the Office of Research, as well as the Director of Innovation for their Institute for Materials Research. 

Dr. Egan is an Assistant Professor in the School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering at The University of Akron.

This week, we're doing a roundup of some of the most interesting tech-related stories that have occurred over the past week.

Find out more about a wide variety of topics including election-related social media disinformation, AI enabled deep-fake child porn, driverless vehicles, robocalls, and possible NASA landing sites on the moon. Listen now.

Consumers have been complaining loud and long about how when they try to cancel subscriptions, they either can't do it at all; or they get such a big run-around, that it takes a lot of time, effort, and money to make it happen,

That's why this week's news that the FTC's new "Click to Cancel" rule is in effect, which make It easier for consumers to end recurring subscriptions and memberships, is such a big deal. Of course, no good deed goes unpunished, and that new rule is now under fire fromt he cable industry, home security companies, and advertisers, who are suing to block it.

Some other good news for consumers is a new rule banning the sale or purchase of fake online reviews, as well as a new report on the need for stepped up efforts to protect seniors from scams.

Find out more. Listen now.

Ice, Ice, Baby!: NASA's New Europa Clipper Mission

It was a big week for NASA, as they launched their largest ever planetary spacecraft, which is now headed toward Jupiter's moon, Europa.

The goal, they say, is to determine whether there are places below the surface that could support life, and the reason they suspect it is possible; is that there is a vast ocean of water beneath Europa's icy surface.

To find out more, we talked to the Principal Technologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Passadena, California, Dr. Greg Davis. 

Davis, who is originally from the Akron area, and started his career as a Physics teacher at Stow High School, has been with NASA for 35 years.

Listen now as he explains how the Europa Clipper's nearly six year, 480 million mile journey from Earth to Europa will work, and what his colleagues at NASA hope to learn from it.