Take Note

On August 4-7, State College will host the 18th National Autism Conference. Today on Take Note we talk with Dr. Daniel Notterman about the current state of autism research. Dr. Notterman has just stepped down from the position of vice dean for research and graduate studies -- and professor of pediatrics and biochemistry -- at Penn State College of Medicine. He’s going to Princeton University, where he’ll continue his research into the causes of autism. WPSU’s Emily Reddy talked with Dr. Notterman about where we are in our understanding of autism.

Pete Hatemi teaches Political Science, Microbiology and Biochemistry at Penn State. His research explores the complex connection between evolution and our political attitudes. He speaks with WPSU’s Kristine Allen.

General Norman Schwarzkopf called him “the finest combat correspondent of our generation---a soldier’s reporter and a soldier’s friend.”

In his fifty-years in journalism, Joe Galloway was assigned to cover Japan, India, and the former USSR, among other places, reporting from numerous combat operations. 

In 1998, he received a Bronze Star Medal with Valor for rescuing wounded soldiers while under fire; the only medal of valor the U.S. Army awarded to a civilian for actions during the Vietnam War.

We’ve been hearing a lot about the Common Core recently. Oklahoma and South Carolina withdrew from the national education standards last week. Indiana pulled out in March. State College education expert and former Department of Education consultant Henry Brzycki tells us why he thinks the Common Core and other high stakes testing is not the best answer for educating our kids.

Have attitudes about race and inequality changed for the better? We'll ask our guest, William Darity Jr., the Samuel Dubois Cook professor of Public Policy, African and African American Studies, and Economics at Duke University.  He's also the founding director of the Research Network on Racial and Ethnic Inequality at Duke and served as director of Graduate Studies at the University of North Carolina.

The primary election is May 20th.  Last week you heard from York businessman Tom Wolf and former secretary of the PA DEP Katie McGinty.  They're two of four Democrats vying to win their party's nomination and a chance to unseat Republican Governor Tom Corbett.  Now hear from State Treasurer Rob McCord and Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz.  

Today we talk with two of the four Democratic candidates for Pennsylvania governor. Tom Wolf is a York businessman and the current front runner in the race. He's put $10 million of his own money into his campaign so far and he's flooded the television airwaves with ads. Katie McGinty is a former environmental advisor to President Clinton and former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection under Ed Rendell.

This week on Take Note, we'll talk with congressional candidates Thomas Tarantella from Renovo and Kerith Strano Taylor from Brookville. They're seeking the Democratic Party nomination to represent Pennsylvania's 5th Congressional District, a seat that's currently held by Glenn Thompson.  

What do you get when you mix a Masters of Fine Arts and a Medical Doctor? The answer is Dr. David Teplica, a Penn State alumnus who uses his unique combination of talents in the Fine Arts and Plastic Surgery to bring about a better understanding of human anatomy. We'll talk with him about how photography has made him a better surgeon, and vice versa, about the need for gender-specific plastic surgery, and about what he's learned from his decade's long study of identical twins.

Today’s guest, Jeffry Wert, is a historian and author who specializes in the American Civil War. He's written nine books about the Civil War. His book, Gettysburg--Day Three, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award. Wert also taught at Penns Valley Area High School for more than three decades. WPSU's Kate Lao Shaffner talked with him about his career as an author and teacher.

 Bob Zellner’s story starts about as far as you can get from where it ended up. Born in lower Alabama, his father, uncles and grandfather were robe-wearing members of the Ku Klux Klan. In his inspirational memoir, "The Wrong Side of Murder Creek: A White Southerner in the Freedom Movement,” he chronicles his journey to become one of the first white southerners in the early civil rights movement.

Renowned futurist and New York Times best-selling author Peter Diamandis advises the world’s top CEOs on how to make the most of what he calls exponential technologies. April 1, he’ll be the keynote speaker at Penn State’s Shaping the Future Summit on the Impact of Innovation. WPSU’s Patty Satalia finds out why he’s so optimistic about the future.

Why is hunger still a widespread problem in a world of plenty? WPSU's Kate Lao Shaffner talks about that with activist and journalist Roger Thurow. He's the author of Enough: Why the World's Poorest Starve in the Age of Plenty and The Last Hunger Season. Thurow visited Penn State's School of International Affairs in February.

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We remember Col. Gerald Russell, a decorated Marine commander and devoted community volunteer. He died February 24, 2014, at age 97. We share our last interview with him from May, 2007. Plus, historian Jeffry Wert on the significance of Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address, which he delivered 149 years ago this week. Some say it’s his greatest speech.

Joel Rubin is the Director of Policy and Government Affairs at Ploughshares Fund, a foundation dedicated preventing the use and spread of nuclear weapons. We'll talk with him about the recent Iran nuclear weapons deal and why Americans should be concerned about the state of nuclear weapons today.

First, a Q & A with Penn State's VP for Human Resources about the university's new "Take Care of Your Health" program. Employees who do not participate in the three-part plan will be charged a $100 a month surcharge. Then an encore conversation about water fluoridation and just why it's so controversial.