Katriona Shea, an Alumni Professor in the biological sciences at Penn State, is co-leader of a national team that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Known as the COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub Coordination Team, it brings together researchers from institutions across the United States to offer projections on the pandemic. Shea spoke with WPSU about how scientific modeling works, how it can be used when dealing with pandemics and the Omicron variant.

Dr. Jill Harrington is the creator and lead editor of the textbook, “Superhero Grief: The Transformative Power of Loss,” which uses modern superhero narratives as fictional case studies to teach grief theory promote healing.

On this episode of Take Note on WPSU, we talked with Geoff O'Gara, the director of the documentary "Home from School: The Children of Carlisle." It's about a boarding school for Native American children in Carlisle, Pennsylvania that ran from 1879 to 1918.

Computer chip shortages, rising prices for some groceries, and a run on bicycles. Reports of supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic fill the news. To help make sense of what's happening and what to expect, Anne Danahy talked with Brent Moritz, an associate professor of supply chain management in Penn State's Smeal College of Business. He's also a faculty affiliate of the Laboratory for Economics, Management and Auctions, and the Center for Supply Chain Research at Penn State. And he has held positions in manufacturing operations and supply chain management, including in Mexico, England and Germany.

Mitigation measures like physical isolation and remote schooling have created stress, leading to increased mental health issues among children and adolescents. Mental health professionals talk about how to cope.

On this episode of Take Note, Penn State professor and workers' rights activist, Mark Anner discusses his history in working towards garment industry workers' rights and the changes seen during the Covid-19 pandemic.

WPSU spoke with Terry Nau and R. Thomas Berner, editors of "We Had Ink in Our Blood," a collection of stories and memories about the nine years in the late 1960s into the 1970s when State College had two daily newspapers.

On Take Note, Sonia Manzano, most well known for her role as Maria on Sesame Street, explores her childhood in the Bronx and connections to her new PBS show Alma's Way.

Simmons uses her novel to highlight the struggles of small-town reporters. "Wrong Kind of Paper" follows ambitious young reporter Hallie Linden as she roots out corruption.