The vast economic potential of outer space is not just for the few rich and famous entrepreneurs who are flourishing in today's commercial space race, such as Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos.

There is in fact, room for many other visionary and adventuresome entrepreneurs, and their success can help power our economy–and society at large– to new heights.

That's the message from the new book "Space to Grow: Unlocking the Final Economic Frontier", and we talked about it with co-author, Brendan Rosseau.

Listen now.

The demand for nurses is so great, that the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reports there will be more than 193,000 more job openings than nurses to fill them each year, through 2030.

This national shortage, which started during the pandemic, has inspired hospitals and other care facilities to find new, and creative ways to treat their patients.

At Akron Children's Hospital, they're using something called "Virtual Nursing", and we talked about it with their Chief of Nursing, Christine Young.

American consumers have been more than a little skittish when it comes to whole heartedly adopting Electric Vehicles.

From their comparatively high cost that is only partially offset by tax incentives, to a lack of adequate charging stations; Americans have been more likely to choose old, familiar gas guzzlers, or to hedge their bets with hybrids.

But, as you'll hear in my interview with Wall Street Journal Deputy Bureau Chief, Autos, Mike Colias, who wrote a new book called "INEVITABLE: Inside the Messy, Unstoppable Transition to Electric Vehicles"; Europe and China are way ahead of us when it comes to EV adoption, and there are a lot of really good reasons we need to catch up.

Find out why. Listen now.

This week, we're having a conversation with Deborah Perry Psicionne, who co-authored the new book "Employment is Dead: How Disruptive Technologies Are Revolutionizing The Way We Work",  and as you'll hear; the future does not look good for anyone expecting to just go to work everyday as usual and get a regular paycheck.

Find out how and why employers will increasingly use AI (artificial intelligence) to replace workers, and what that will mean for anyone who hopes to stay employed in what will increasingly become a game of job-related musical chairs.

So how can you not only survive, but thrive in what is going to be a vastly changed employment landscape?

Listen now.

It has been a big week at Walsh University in North Canton, as they wrap up up their annual Science and Business Innovation Summit, today. The three-day event, which features keynote speakers including Michael White, former Director at the U.S. Department of Defense, and Dr. Victor McCrary, Vice Chairman of the National Science Board, is open to the public, and continues today with their Science and Business Entrepreneurship Day for High School Seniors. While a number of different topics such as NASA, Drones, Polymers, and Genetics were on the agenda this week; one special area of focus is on how Walsh has been working with area businesses, to provide technology training for their employees. As you'll hear from Walsh University's Director of Cross-Enterprise Operations; Dr. Dan Passerini; their efforts are part of the State of Ohio's TechCred program, which aims to up-skill workers, so they can be more successful on the job. Find out more. Listen now.

Creatives of all types are waking up to the fact that much of what they have spent their entire lives learning to do, and be, is endangered by Artificial Intelligence applications that can replace them at a fraction of the price.

Their concern was evident during the Hollywood actors' strike of 2023, which was in part over getting assurances that they could be protected from being replaced by digital replicas.

There are also a number of copyright infringement lawsuits pending right now, with major companies such as Thompson-Reuters, Getty Images, and the New York Times, contending that AI models were trained on their work without their knowledge, consent, and most importantly of all; without any kind of monetary compensation.

Actors, writers, and comedians, including Sarah Silverman, David Baldacci, and George R.R. Martin, are also suing, contending that their work was stolen as well.

Their outrage, concern, and fears are shared by creatives in other countries as well. For example, in Great Britain, a coalition of musicians, photographers and newspapers issued a joint statement recently, pushing back against a proposal in Parliament that would assume they gave permission for their work to be used, and require them to opt-out, instead of to being asked for permission, getting paid, and actively opting-in. 

If all this sounds familiar; it's because it is exactly the same kind of concern raised by record companies and musicians with the rise of tech applications like Napster and Spotify.

But while the fundamental issue–using copyrighted works without permission and compensation for the rights owners–is the same, the underlying technology, is very different. It is so different, in fact, that many judges and lawmakers don't really quite know what to make of it yet, and on top of that; the technology is rapidly changing and evolving. 

But while all that is in flux; real people are facing a real existential crisis with regard to being able to continue to earn a living, with the added insult that their own work could be used against them without their permission or compensation, to make them redundant.

So how is this going to shake out, and are current copyright laws strong and resilient enough to protect those who rely upon them?

Listen now to my conversation with University of Akron, Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, Jess Miers, whose work focuses on the intersection of law and technology, with recent research and scholarship centered on Generative AI.

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.