Patty Satalia

In State College in the late 1950s, she was a rarity: a progressive, a business owner, and a woman.

Mimi Barash Coppersmith celebrates her 85th birthday with a newly published memoir, "Eat First, Cry Later: The Life Lessons Of A First-Generation College Graduate, Penn State Alumna and a Female CEO." It recounts 48 life lessons drawn from an exceptional life brimming with triumphs and tragedies. She talked with Patty Satalia for WPSU's Take Note. 

This interview originally aired on May 6, 2016.

This interview originally aired Sept. 25, 2015.

This interview originally aired May 27, 2016.

Poet, musician and artist Patti Smith visited Penn State to receive the 2013 Institute of the Arts and Humanities Medal for Distinguished Achievement. She joined us in our studio just a few hours before the evening’s celebration, and her much-anticipated solo performance, to talk with us about her life, art and friendships.  

This interview orginally aired Oct. 20, 2013. 

DON'T MISS more of our conversation with potter Roberto Lugo.  He talks about his early graffiti career, the popularity of his work today,  and about how his early experiences influence his work.  

  SEE Roberto Lugo's work. 

Hear Rebecca Strzelec's perspective on the future of Arts Funding under this new administration.

Rebecca Strzelec finds inspiration in what other people throw away.  A professor of Visual Arts at Penn State-Altoona, and the 2016-2017 Penn State Laureate, she describes herself as a "rescuer of objects that are underappreciated."  Her sculptural jewelry, which is fueld by yard sales and made using 3-D printing, is prized on and off the body.

Welcome to Take Note on WPSU, I’m Patty Satalia. Longtime NPR sports commentator Frank Deford died on Sunday. WPSU talked with him in 2007. Among the most celebrated and versatile writers in the country, Deford's work appeared in virtually every medium.

In Pennsylvania, and around the country, voters don't choose their elected officials; instead, politicians choose their voters.  The process that allows politicians to redraw district boundaries in their political favor is known as gerrymandering--and angry voters nationwide are demanding change.  What will it take to end gerrymandering?  And what's at stake?  Steve Zarit is a distinguished professor emeritus at Penn State and coordinator of the Centre County branch of Fair Districts PA.  Debbie Trudeau is a member of the Centre County leadership team for Fair Districts PA.

Thirty-one million Americans experience lower back pain. What’s the secret for long-term back health? We’ll talk with a classically trained spine surgeon who advises back- and neck-pain sufferers not to rush to surgery. What’s the secret to long-term back health? We’ll talk about that with Dr. Kamshad (Raiszadeh, author of Take Back Control: A Surgeon’s Guide to Healing Your Spine Without Medications or Surgery.

Scientists agree that climate change is happening here and now--and that the sooner we act, the lower the risks and costs of catastrophic climate impacts. The documentary "Managing Risks in a Changing Climate," examines how scientists advised the Louisiana coastal region's decision-makers and citizen-stakeholders to create an action plan--something proactive cities across the globe are undertaking as well.

The fabulous, Mike McGrath, host of WHYY’s gardening show, You Bet Your Garden, shares his knowledge on everything gardening. McGrath launched his hit radio program in 1998. He was editor-in-chief of Organic Gardening magazine from 1991 to 1997, and is the author of many books, including The Kitchen Garden Box and Mike McGrath’s Book of Compost.

Fake news stories are posted and relayed on social media—sometimes reaching audiences that rival major news outlets.  A recent Pew Research Center study reveals that fake news stories caused “a great deal of confusion” in the 2016 election. What’s more, many people who see fake-news stories report that they believe them.  Did “fake news” influence the outcome of the presidential election?  And what impact do false or misleading stories have on our democracy?  We’ll discuss that with fake-news expert Craig Silverman, Media Editor of Buzzfeed News.    

When the brain is harmed by injury or disease, neurons die or degenerate.  A Penn State researcher has developed an innovative technology for regenerating functional neurons—-that may help victims of traumatic brain injuries, Alzheimer’s disease and other neurologic disorders.

NOTE:  This interview was recorded on March 2nd, prior to release of the Republican Plan to replace the affordable care act, therefore there’s no discussion of what’s in that newly proposed legislation.  In his first address to a joint session of Congress, President Trump once again called Obamacare “a disaster,” and called on Democrats to work with Republicans to repeal and replace the health care law.

Among Americans, diabetes is more prevalent than ever and obesity is epidemic. Today’s guest makes a compelling case that the root cause of these, and other society-wide illnesses, is sugar, which he calls uniquely toxic. We’ll talk with award-winning science writer, Gary Taubes, author of The Case Against Sugar. 

So what does an undocumented immigrant look like—and how do they get here?  Julissa Arce comes out of the shadows in her new book, My (Underground) American Dream.  In it she describes her journey from an undocumented immigrant to becoming a Wall Street executive, complete with a six-figure salary—and why she gave it all up to become an immigration advocate.  Julissa Arce, thank you so much for joining us.   

In 2000, caught in the throes of serious mental illness, Kevin Hines hurled himself off the Golden Gate Bridge and lived to tell about it.  He’s one of thirty-six jumpers to survive the fall.  (More than 2,000 people have made that jump since the bridge was built in 1937.)  Patty Satalia talks with Hines, who has since dedicated his life to suicide prevention and fighting the stigma of mental illness.

As technology becomes cheaper and more advanced so do concerns about privacy. Everything we do online leaves digital breadcrumbs that make it easy for a marketer, a criminal, or our government  to determine who we are, where we are, and what we like. How do we balance the increased convenience and security that technology offers against our loss of privacy? And in today’s world of high-tech surveillance, how much privacy can we reasonably expect?

Carol Reardon is a Professor of American History at Penn State and this year’s Penn State Laureate. A noted expert on the American Civil War, one of her best-known books is Pickett’s Charge: In History and Memory. It provides a fascinating assessment of the facts—and fiction—surrounding the single most famous military battle of the   Civil War.

Polls show that the overwhelming majority of Americans recognize the urgency of acting on human-induced climate change. Why then haven't we done more as a nation to address the problem?  Penn State climate scientist Michael Mann says politicians are doing the bidding of powerful fossil fuel interests while ignoring the long-term good of the people they’re supposed to represent.

The good news is that average Americans are talking about the dangers of climate change more than ever before, even if our elected officials are not.  And because climate change affects some more than others, it is increasingly seen as one of the most pressing moral issues of our day.  How does framing climate change as an ethical issue change the conversation—and what we do about it?  Patty Satalia talks about climate justice with a budding leader in the world of environmental justice and philanthropy. Dr.

A 35-year process of defunding public universities has coincided with soaring tuition costs and skyrocketing student debt.  The documentary Starving the Beast looks at both sides of the debate, which some say is one of the nation's most important and least understood fights.  Our guests are Bill Banowsky, producer of the film, and Matt Jordan, a professor of Media Studies at Penn State.

The elections are almost here - and Pennsylvania's Senate race is one of the country's most closely watched races. Republican Senator Pat Toomey and his Democratic challenger, Katie McGinty, are in a neck-in-neck contest - the outcome of which could play a pivotal role in which party controls the Senate next year.

Senator Toomey declined the invitation to be interviewed. 

Republican incumbent Glenn Thompson is seeking a 5th term in  Congress, representing Pennsylvania's 5th Congressional District.  The former health care administrator is a member of the House Agriculture Committee, where he currently serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Conservation & Forestry. He also serves on the House Natural Resources Commitee and the House Education & Workforce Commitee.  

His Democratic challenger is Brookville Attorney, Kerith Strano Taylor, who is running against Rep. Thompson for the second time.  

This week, Patty Satalia talks with the Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania’s 5th congressional district, Kerith Strano-Taylor. 

She’s an attorney from Brookville, Pennsylvania. She called her first congressional bid in 2014 a “dry run.” She’s owner of the Taylor law firm and director of her local school board. She’s running against incumbent Republican Glenn Thompson, who first won his seat in 2008.   

With one in every seven Americans now over the age of 65, it’s no wonder adult development and aging is a rapidly expanding field of study.  What’s normal aging?  What’s not?  And what control do we have over our own aging process? Dr. Marty Sliwinski directs Penn State’s Center for Healthy Aging, one of many such centers around the country, where he’s involved in ground-breaking training, research and outreach aimed at identifying the underlying pathways to healthy and unhealthy aging. 

Brooke Gladstone joins us from her studio at WNYC, where On The Media is produced, to help us make sense of the information environment we live in.  She’ll also talk about media bias—it turns out, there are lots of different kinds—and we’ll ponder the often-asked question: Did the media create the Trump candidacy?

Republican Bob Inglis, a former South Carolina Congressman, lost his bid for reelection in 2010 for what many of his colleagues considered heresy: saying publicly that not only is climate change real, but that it's our duty to do something about it.  Slate magazine says his about-face on climate change makes him, "America's best hope for near-term climate action."  In 2012, Inglis launched the Energy and Enterprise Initiative, which promotes conservative and free-enterprise solutions--not subsidies and government regulations--to address climate change.