WPSU

Science U at Home Special

In this public television special, campers, mentors and instructors at the Penn State Science-U summer science camp show off the ways parents and caregivers can bring the wonder of science home to kids.

The Great Resignation

Penn State President Eric Barron and his guest talk about The Great Resignation. What is it, what caused it, and is it the new normal?

Gambling in Pennsylvania

Gambling is a growing business in Pennsylvania. Along with traditional casinos and online gaming are mini-casinos. Including one proposed for State College. While the industry is generating record-breaking revenues, there are questions about mental health and safety.

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Ask a Veterinarian

Watch another edition of Ask a Veterinarian on this episode of Conversations Live. Local veterinarians Debra Smart and Andrea Loar answer pet-related questions such as proper diet and exercise, and more!

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Guests:

Andrea Loar, DVM

Medical Director, CPVETS

Debra Smart, DVM

Owner and Operator, Centre Animal Hospital

College Athletes and Mental Health

Penn State President Eric Barron and Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren talk about the importance of mental health among college athletes, the challenges they face, and what the Big Ten is doing to support athletes.

A Special Conversation on Race Relations in Central PA

Issues on race continue to be front and center in American Society. Questions on critical race theory, calls for police reform, and other topics have challenged the way we think about race. Watch this special pre-recorded conversation on race in Central PA with two panels of experts as they talk about issues related to Communities and Police, and Education and Race.

Segment 1: Communities and Police

Guests

Terry Watson, Founder of Strategies for Justice
Penn State World Campus Academic Advising & Student Disability Services

Tom King, State College Borough
Assistant Borough Manager of Public Safety

Greg McNeal, Former State Trooper
Blair Co. NAACP

Segment 2: Education and Race

Guests

Immersive Technology in the Classroom

Penn State President Eric Barron and guests talk about immersive technology in the classroom, how it can enhance learning, and how Penn State is applying the technology.

COVID-19 in 2021-22 

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, it can be hard to keep up with the information. We’ll talk with a panel of experts about vaccines and booster shots, the impact of the pandemic on mental health particularly children, and what we need to know about “breakthrough” cases.

Guests

Karen Bierman, Ph.D
Evan Pugh Professor, Director of Child Study Center

Matt Ferrari, Ph.D
Assoc. Professor, Director of the CIDD

Dr. Jonathan Nunez, MD
Infectious Disease, Internal Medicine Physician, Penn State Health

Resources

• Penn State CIDD
• CDC info on COVID-19

Climate Change

Penn State President Eric Barron and guests talk about global climate change, and what Penn State is doing to address the problem.

Kane

Kane’s long history unfolds as community members share stories of Thomas L. Kane and the Lobo wolves. Community pride is on full display in tales about K.A.R.E. and the library, and stories of Art in the Wilds and Wildcat Park.

Get Your Garden On! (Summer 2021)

Growing season is in full swing — flowers are blooming and summer veggies are on the way. But questions are starting to crop up too. On WPSU’s next Conversations Live, Penn State Extension educators Tom Butzler and Tom Ford will share their gardening expertise on everything from keeping weeds at bay to knowing how much to water your plants.

Guests

Portage

Volunteers from the Portage area share stories of coal mining and the railroads, the Portage Women’s Club and library, Summerfest, and Sanders Soda.

The Penn State Arboretum

Penn State President Eric Barron and guests talk about the Penn State Arboretum. They discuss the spring and summer schedule of events and the upcoming expansion plans.

Legalizing Marijuana

As more states legalize recreational marijuana, will Pennsylvania follow suit? On WPSU’s next Conversations Live, We’ll talk with a panel of guests to discuss the pros and cons of marijuana legalization. We’ll also take your calls. Join us as we talk about legalizing marijuana.

Guests

Sharif Street, PA State Senator, 3rd Senatorial District
Sen. Street is co-sponsor of the Adult Use Marijuana Legalization Bill in Pennsylvania. Elected to the Pennsylvania Senate in 2016, he represents the Third Senatorial District of Philadelphia.
senatorsharifstreet.com

Professor Douglas Berman
Director of the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center at Ohio State
moritzlaw.osu.edu/faculty/douglas-a-berman

The Investment 2021

The top six Penn State student startup teams from the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP)’s 2021 Inc.U Competition compete on WPSU-TV’s Shark Tank-style TV show The Investment 2021 for a chance at a share of up to $30,000 in funding for their startup. The six student startups in the program include Girls Code the World, JERPA Jeans, Miss Monroe Collection, Sports Data Now, Xora, and Table Rock Markets.

The judges are Lou Childs, co-founder and chief operating officer of Dovetail Essentials (makers of SlumberPod); Robert E. Morgan, founder and CEO of Talaria Media; Sheri Collins Sr. director in the Office of Corporate Relations at the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED); and Jordan Rednor, executive director and chief operating officer of Decoded Advertising.

The sponsors for the competition prize money are Invent Penn State, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, the Penn State College of Engineering, the Robert & Tammy Morgan Entrepreneurship Fund, and the Penn State Schreyer Honors College.

The Investment 2021 is supported, in part, by local businesses KCF Technologies, Inc., Everett Cash Mutual Insurance Company, Ulicny Financial Communications, and Ben Franklin Technology Partners.

Cooking at Home

Cooking at home has taken on a whole new life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stay-at-home orders and self-quarantining have left millions of people not just with spare time to cook, but a necessity to cook at home. How have our attitudes towards cooking and food changed over the last year? How has it affected where we get our food and our local restaurants? And what kind of cooking trends are likely to remain in a post-pandemic world? We’ll answer these questions, give cooking tips, and more.

Guests

Duke Gastiger
Co-owner of Refarm Cafe at Windswept

Tamra Fatemi
WPSU Events Coordinator, World Kitchen

Beth Egan
Teaching Professor Emeritus in Food Service Management at Penn State

Rethinking Care: Health Humanities and the Pandemic

The COVID 19 pandemic has provided a stress test for the American healthcare system. In Rethinking Care, we view healthcare through the lens of the humanities, focusing on ways to repair some of the inequities of the system, and provide better care for healthcare workers and patients alike.

3-D Printing

Penn State President Eric Barron and guests talk about 3-D printing. The advances that have been made in 3-D printing, how it can be used to make a difference in people’s lives, and what Penn State is doing with the technology.

Best Practices for Simple Video Filming and Editing

WPSU producers share their expertise on filming and editing simple videos to enhance your classroom experiences. These how-to videos will help you create engaging videos for your classroom, and learn basic techniques for editing videos to post online.

Explore the World with Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows

WPSU is delighted to have collaborated with the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows Office at Penn State to create a video series presented by the 2021 Humphrey Fellows. These educational videos, suited for classroom and community viewing, feature each fellow talking about their home country, its culture, history, and people. In addition to online access, WPSU will broadcast the videos as a half-hour program during the weekday instructional television block.

2021 Humphrey Fellows

Bringing Penn State and PBS Resources to You

In addition to the videos, we can arrange virtual visits with the 10 fellows during the spring semester as a discussion after the screening. These educators are from Ethiopia, Honduras, Zambia, Gabon, Serbia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Bulgaria, and Burkina Faso.

Please use this form to make your request and answer each question below to the best of your ability. Please send questions to Tamra at tamra@psu.edu.

About the Humphrey Fellowship

The Humphrey Fellowship Program is a one-year non-degree program of combined academic and professional development opportunities. It brings accomplished mid-career professionals from designated countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East to selected universities in the United States for public service, advanced study, professional training, and work-related experiences. Penn State was one of 13 universities originally commissioned in the program. Thirteen universities nationwide participate.

The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program at Penn State Facebook Page

Get Your Garden On! (Spring 2021)

Gardening is more popular than ever. And it’s no surprise. At a time when you’re looking for something enjoyable to do that’s close to home, gardening is a great choice. We’ll talk with Penn State Extension educators Tom Butzler and Tom Ford, on what we can do this spring with our gardens. They’ll give tips on everything from starting a vegetable garden, to pruning trees, and we’ll take your questions.

Guests

University Commencement

Penn State President Eric Barron and guests talk about Commencement. What it is, why it is important, and its history at Penn State.

Community Discussion: The Role of Black Churches 

WPSU invited members of the community to take part in a discussion about the roles Black churches play in central Pennsylvania. Will Price moderates a panel discussion and takes viewers questions and comments.

Moderator

Panelists

Gary Abdullah, founding member of the Penn State Black Caucus and former president of the Forum on Black Affairs at Penn State

Barbara Farmer, a retired administrator from the State College Area School District and the district’s first African American principal, and a former director of multicultural affairs for Penn State’s College of Informational Sciences and Technology

Paul McReynolds, pastor of the Albright-Bethune/Park Forest Village United Methodist Church in State College

Sylvia Morris, the chaplaincy program director for Pennsylvania’s State Correctional Institute at Smithfield, pastor of Payne Church in Huntingdon and pulpit assistant at Bethel AME Church in Mt. Union.

The panelists will discuss the documentary in three segments: the formation of the Black church in America after the abolition of slavery; the rise of the Black church and its importance to major historical events, and the relationship between the religious and secular worlds; and a look at the Black church today and its role in social justice and equality issues, and its relationship with millennials and Generation Z.

About The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song

In this intimate four-hour series from executive producer, host, and writer Henry Louis Gates, Jr., we trace how this came to be in the 400 year-old story of the Black church in America, all the way down to its bedrock role as the site of African American survival and endurance, grace and resilience, thriving and testifying, freedom and independence, solidarity and speaking truth to power.

Program Website »

Major corporate support for THE BLACK CHURCH: THIS IS OUR STORY, THIS IS OUR SONG is provided by Johnson & Johnson. Major support is also provided by Lilly Endowment, Inc., Ford Foundation, and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS, and public television viewers.

COVID-19 Vaccination

As COVID-19 vaccines are distributed in Pennsylvania and across the country, there are still questions and concerns. How effective are the vaccines? Can someone transmit the virus even after getting vaccinated? When will things return to “normal”? On our next episode of Conversations Live, we’ll answer these questions and more with guest experts. We’ll also take your calls. Join us on Conversations Live: The COVID-19 Vaccine.

Guests

Additional Resources

Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics at Penn State COVID FAQ
To submit questions to the CIDD at Penn State, email AskCIDD@psu.edu.

UPMC COVID-19 Vaccine Resources
Call 844-UPMC-VAC to inquire about COVID-19 Vaccine appointments

Penn State Health COVID-19 Resources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 Resources

Student Food Insecurity

Penn State President Eric Barron and guests talk about student food insecurity on university campuses; what causes food insecurity and what can be done to help the millions of students who are affected.

COVID-19 and Non-Profit Organizations

Penn State President Eric Barron and guests talk about the challenges and difficulties facing non-profit organizations during COVID-19, and why their work is more important now than ever.

Ask a Veterinarian

Do you have questions about your pet? Or maybe you’re thinking of adopting one. On our next episode of Conversations Live, we’ll talk about all things pets with veterinarians Fred Metzger from Metzger Animal Hospital, and Debra Smart from Centre Animal Hospital. We’ll cover topics such as proper diet and exercise for your pet, and keeping pets safe from COVID-19.

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College Athletics During COVID-19

Penn State President Eric Barron and guests talk about the challenges of conducting college athletics during COVID-19.

Moshannon Valley

Moshannon Valley’s long history unfolds as community members share stories of coal mining and the Ally Popper. Community pride is on full display in tales about the Houtzdale Revitalization Association and ministerium.

The Online Classroom

Penn State President Eric Barron and guests talk about how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the classroom and the rise of the online classroom.

Children’s Grief

How do children grieve? Is it different from the way adults grieve? And how does grieving change as children grow? On our next episode of Conversations Live, we’ll answer these questions and more when we speak with Vicki Jay from the National Alliance for Grieving Children, Kevin Carter from Uplift Center for Grieving Children, and Melody Ray from Healing Patch.

Guests

Vicki Jay
Chief Executive Officer
National Alliance for Grieving Children

Kevin Carter, MSW, LCSW
Clinical Director
Uplift Center for Grieving Children

Melody Ray
Volunteer Coordinator/Grief Specialist
Healing Patch

The 2020 Election

We’ll talk with the Director of the Franklin and Marshall College Poll, Terry Madonna, and Penn State Political Scientist Candis Watts Smith about the 2020 election. How will the use of mail-in voting and drop boxes affect the election? How are opinions being influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic? And, what issues are important to Pennsylvania voters?  We’ll answer those questions and take YOUR calls.

Host

Anne Danahy
WPSU Reporter

Guests

G. Terry Madonna
Director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs
Director of the Franklin and Marshall College Poll
Professor of Public Affairs

Candis Smith
Associate Professor of Political Science and African American Studies

Black Lives Matter

Penn State President Eric Barron and guests talk about how the Black Lives Matter movement is manifesting on college campuses and what work needs to be done in higher education to address systemic racism.

The 2020 Election

This November, America will elect a president. Many people are calling this election historic and there have even been claims that our democracy may hang in the balance. But exactly how do the circumstances of this election fit into the long history of elections in this country and what issues might be central to this election as it progresses?

On this episode, Penn State President Eric Barron talks to Danielle Conway, Dean and Donald J. Farage Professor of Law at Dickinson Law, and Michael Berkman, Director of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy, about the upcoming election.

COVID-19

We answer your questions on the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ll cover topics such as as how much longer the pandemic will last, when we will get a vaccine, how havepeople of color been disproportionately impacted, and more.

Guests

• Chris DeFlitch, Penn State Health Vice President and Chief Medical Information Officer
• Niki vonLockette, Associate Professor of Public Policy and African American Studies
• Beth McGraw, Professor and Huck Scholar in Entomology

Who Counts: The Complexities of Democracy in America

Penn State humanities scholars explore the ongoing quest to achieve the promise of American democracy despite the many past, present and future obstacles to equality and social justice.

Making Home: Migration, Mobility, Hospitality

These days, everyone is talking about immigration and how to manage it. As it has many times in the past, immigration has become a political issue. But is migration, moving in search of a better life, a normal part of the human condition or a human right? As a settler nation which was built both on the forced removal of native peoples and on subsequent waves of immigrants, do people in the U.S. have special obligations regarding immigrants and refugees? In this episode, humanities scholars at Penn State reflect on migration, mobility and the ethics of hospitality so as to better understand the context of the debate on immigration and refugees in the US and around the world.

Hollidaysburg

Volunteers from Hollidaysburg have come together to tell storiesthat capture the heart of their community for the 104th episode in the Our Town series.

The Investment 2020

Penn State student entrepreneurs will pitch to a panel of judges and compete for part of a $30,000 prize pool to try to earn funds for their startup companies.

Student Debt

Penn State President Eric Barron and guests talk about rising student debt and how institutions of higher education remain relevant in the face of increasing costs.

Speaking Grief

Is there any right way to grieve? What kinds of loss do we experience, especially during this time of self-isolation? On this episode of Conversations Live, Speaking Grief producer Lindsey Fenton, and guests, will answer these questions, and more.

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Get Your Garden On! (Spring 2020)

It’s growing season, and ​during this time many of you are turning to gardening as a hobby to enjoy at home and as a way to stock your kitchens. We have tips on growing ​fruits and vegetables, canning for winter, making the most of small spaces, and more! 

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Guests

Climate Change

Climate change continues to be a major concern as extreme weather events like the Australian wildfires, and activists such as Greta Thunberg take center stage. What are the latest forecasts for our changing climate? Are there solutions that can reverse current trends? Our panel answers these questions and more.

Guests

Branding and Brand Identity in Higher Education

Penn State President Eric Barron and guests talk about how universities advertise and the challenges of building a brand for an institute of higher education.

Automation, A.I., and the Economy

Penn State President Eric Barron and guests talk about the rise of automation and A.I., and the disruptive effect it could have on certain industries and the economy as a whole.

Vaping and the Opioids Crisis

News on vaping is increasingly making the headlines as new studies are showing adverse health effects related to the habit. But what is vaping exactly? Can it be safer than smoking cigarettes? And how is it regulated? Also, is there any connection between vaping and the opioid crisis?

Guests

Energy 2100

Penn State President Eric Barron and guests talk about the Energy 2100 initiative and Penn State’s commitment to renewable energy.

Jersey Shore

Volunteer storytellers from Jersey Shore share stories about some of the local community organizations such as the Lion’s Club, Grace’s Closet, and the Honor Guard.

Sports Gambling

Penn State President Eric Barron and guests talk about the rising prominence of sports gambling and what has caused its recent popularity.

Ask a Veterinarian

Local veterinarians answer questions about your pets, from proper diet and exercise to the physical and mental benefits of adding a pet to your family.

Guests

Andrea Loar, DVM
Medical Director, CPVETS

Fred Metzger, DVM, MRCVS, DABVP
Medical Director, Metzger Animal Hospital