Spectrum

Author, career counselor, podcast host and executive coach Beverly Jones explains to WOUB’s Spectrum Podcast how we can chase away the “Winter Blues” and shake ourselves out of those “February Doldrums” at work. She gives us tips on how we can improve of emotional, spiritual, and physical wellbeing during these dull days of isolation from weather and the COVID pandemic. She outlines concrete steps for us to improve your purpose, your people skills, and your performance. Jones is a strong proponent of us “checking-in” with our state of wellbeing and making appropriate adjustments. Those adjustments may be becoming more physically active or learning something new to stimulate your brain. She also stresses that we need to create a list of positive people in our lives and start reaching out to them. Personal contact through emails, texts, letters, or digital chat is important to stay connected and to combat our sense of isolation. Jones’ most recent book is “Find Your Happy at Work: 50 Ways to get unstuck, m

Dr. Janice Marie Collins is an author, journalist, documentarian, educator, and humanitarian. Her most recent book is Teaching Without Borders: Creating Equity, and Inclusion with Active Centralized Empowerment (ACE). She also authored, 250 Years and Still a Slave. Dr. Collins says that people, and especially students, can feel marginalized, trapped, and enslaved through lack of diversity, inclusion, and empowerment. She is a strong advocate for giving students power and opportunities in the classroom and providing students a fair chance to maximize their talents and potentials without demonizing them. In this episode, Dr. Collins gives numerous examples of how ACE works and succeeds. In addition to her education advocacy, she has won a journalism award for her student-based website: hearmyvoiceonline.com. It gives an outlet to many and varied student perspectives. Dr. Collins is currently president of World Changers Media International Foundation. (WCMIF). “WCMIF is a non-profit foundation that is in

Author, food journalist, content creator and social media celebrity Katie Quinn just finished her first personal book tour in the United States to promote her book “Cheese, Wine, and Bread: Discovering The Magic of Fermentation in England, Italy, and France.” She recently spent time in Manhattan and made some personal appearances in the Midwest before heading back to her current home in Italy. This was her first time to promote her book in person in America since it was published by Harper Collins/William Morrow in April of 2021. Her book, which was three years in the making, has garnered outstanding reviews from a wide variety of publications such as The Wall Street Journal and Real Simple Magazine. It is touted as one of the top cookbooks of 2021. The book is a combination of personal stories, observations, personality profiles, scientific facts, and recipes. It is a narrative cookbook with stunning photography and illustrations that leap off the pages. While visiting Ohio, Katie stopped by the WOUB stu

Earl Johnson trained as a pastor at Yale’s Divinity School, worked for anthropologist Margaret Mead in African and observed firsthand violence in London and in Jerusalem. He then returned to a church in Columbia, Missouri but was restless. He then made major life decisions. He took a sabbatical from his church, came out as a gay man, and moved to New York City. While in New York, he was discovered by agents, and he became a world-renowned model for high-end men’s clothing designers in Europe and the United States. He toured the globe. However, he felt that he wanted to do more, so he gave up modeling and trained as a hospital chaplain. In the mid- 1990’s, he worked at New York’s Cabrini Medical Center and gave comfort to dying AIDS patients, their partners, and families. In 2001, he moved to Washington D.C. to become a hospital chaplain and on his second day of work, he was inundated with victims and families from the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. Johnson had so much experience comforting the hurt and ber

Joe Nuxhall was a famous pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds. He also was a highly popular broadcaster for the club for over four decades. Radio fans loved him for his colorful stories about his career and the game he loved. He was the youngest pitcher ever to pitch in a major league game at age 15, toiled in the minors, and then became a stalwart part of the Reds’ pitching staff. Later, he remained batting practice pitcher while holding his place in the broadcast booth. All the time he was collecting stories of baseball, life, and broadcasting. Those stories have been compiled and shared in a new book, “Joe Nuxhall: The Old Lefthander & Me”, written by author, journalist, and long-time media critic John Kiesewetter. You don’t have to be a baseball fan to like the book, according to Kiesewetter. Many of the stories share conversations about life in general and being a sports broadcaster. Nuxhall was beloved by his teammates, his broadcast colleagues, and Reds’ fans. He also was beloved by his hometow

Former President Donald Trump’s power over the GOP is not waning, instead it is growing stronger. Trump’s influence surges as Democrats and President Joseph Biden tries to find ways to push their agenda through a gridlocked Congress, according to Philip Elliott, Washington correspondent for TIME and author of TIME’s weekday newsletter “The D.C. Brief”. Elliott tries to unravel some of the current Congressional complexities and make them understandable. He also charts what we might expect before the end of the year as the government struggles with legislation to increase its debt ceiling. Elliott paints a rather dire picture for Democrats approaching the mid-term elections in 2022 and gives us insight on the Georgia gubernatorial Republican primary and the monumental general election upcoming. He describes the disconnect that often appears between average Americans, working to support families, and the machinations of politicians of both parties in Washington. Elliott predicts, however, that Democrats wi

Judge Gayle Williams Byers, a black female judge in Northeastern Ohio, and Tom Hodson, Spectrum host and legal analyst, break down the impact of the Kyle Rittenhouse acquittals on the judicial system, on the black community and on the future of peaceful protest. While both respect the sanctity of the jury’s verdicts, they highlight advantages in the trial process that were given to Rittenhouse. They discuss the judge’s behavior and some of his rulings along with the inherent racism and white privilege that permeate our judicial process across the country. Judge Byers states that if Rittenhouse had been black that the verdicts would probably be much different, and he would have been convicted instead of released. She recounts the fear that these verdicts have caused black parents who worry about their children and their relationships with both police and militia-type people armed with high powered weapons. Hodson expresses concerns that the verdicts will weaponize people who are anti-peaceful protests and

While many of us have been mired in malaise about our careers during the COVID-19 pandemic, executive coach, career consultant and author Beverly Jones tells us how we can “Find our Happy at Work” in a new book that helps us get unstuck, move past boredom, and discover fulfillment. Jones, in short pithy chapters, lays out 50 ways to turn your tedium into active steps to take control of your emotions and actions and to make work much more enjoyable and less dreary. She says if you hate your job and want a change, that the starting point is with you and motivating yourself to transcend past bad habits and create good new ones. She is a strong proponent of self-care and mindfulness to help alter one’s attitudes in positive ways. In her book, Jones suggests concrete ways to improve your work habits to give you more joy and job satisfaction She also prompts people to not stay isolated and gives tips on how one can continue networking even during periods of physical seclusion. This is Jones’ second book. Her

Carolyn Bailey Lewis is a woman who has been determined to always push herself and to set new standards throughout her career. She has been a pioneer in her field, but it hasn’t been easy. While forging her path, as a black woman, Carolyn has had to fight battles against racism, bigotry, and prejudice as well as sexism. Coming from the small town of Bluefield, West Virginia where she attended segregated schools and lived in a segregated neighborhood, Carolyn became the only black woman in her class of journalism students at West Virginia University. Being able to adapt to a “white world” and function as the only person of color took great strength, will, and dexterity. In 1971, Carolyn became the first black woman to graduate from the Perley I Reed School of Journalism, now the Reed College of Media at West Virginia University. She continued her trailblazing in 1993 when she became the first African American woman named to manage a full-service public television station in the continental United States a

The Republican Party has morphed from one in chaos shortly after President Joseph Biden’s inauguration to one that is now firmly under the thumb of former President Donald J. Trump. Loose ends are being roped in by the former President and the GOP is now firmly in Trump’s hands, says Philip Elliott, Time Washington correspondent and author of TIME’s weekday newsletter “D.C. Brief.” Elliott believes that efforts by Trump devotees to limit voting access in many states, along with redistricting of Congressional districts after the 2020 census give the GOP the distinct advantage to gain seats in the House and the Senate in the 2022 midterm elections. Add to that mix, Trump is still promoting the falsehood that his Presidency was stolen from him through election chicanery. This whips up and perhaps expands his base, Elliott notes. This promise of regaining control of the legislative branch for the last two years of President Biden’s term is enough to keep, even anti-Trump Republicans in line through the midter

Katie Quinn, sometimes known as qkatie to her millions of follows, has written a new book that was over 3.5 years in the making: “Cheese, Wine and Bread: Discovering the Magic of Fermentation in England, Italy and France.” She studied the role of fermentation in the trio of staples of life: cheese, wine and bread as she worked in and studied all three industries in three different countries. The book is a combination of personal stories, personality profiles of people she encountered and recipes. Mix in some scientific facts about fermentation and you have a book that is delightful but difficult to characterize. It is part memoir and part travelogue, with huge doses of riveting storytelling and amazing photographs and illustrations. Quinn also told WOUB’s Spectrum podcast about her rise from small town girl in Athens, Ohio to being a page at NBC in New York City and how that experience allowed her to learn from some of America’s greatest food personalities. She talked about her rise in New York broadcast

Dr. George Wood is an educator, a former school administrator, a writer, and a podcaster. He also is a resident of small town Amesville, Ohio. Just before the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, he retired from a lifetime in education, and he found himself restless and looking for something meaningful to do. After conversations with his wife, he took off on a two-month 7,500 trip through the Midwest. He started his journey as a trout fishing trip but ended up spending much more time talking to people in the small towns that he visited. He had two rules…he would not eat in a national chain restaurant and he would avoid driving on Interstates as much as possible. Therefore, he spent his time on the backroads of the Midwest, eating in small town diners, and talking with fascinating people. At night, he would go back to his small travel trailer and write about the conversations that he had and about the pride people took in their hometowns. When he meandered back to Ohio, he started writing stories about th

As the trial of Derek Chauvin for George Floyd’s death comes to its conclusion this week, against a backdrop of additional police violence, many African Americans still feel the trauma of police violence. While the trial of police officer Chauvin has moved forward, at least, two other people of color have been gunned down by police. Duante Wright in Minnesota and a 13 year-old Latino Adam Toledo in Chicago. The other cases amp up even higher the desires in the Black Community for guilty verdicts in the Chauvin case, says Gayle Williams-Beyers, the first black judge of the South Euclid Ohio Municipal Court. On this episode of WOUB’s Spectrum podcast, Judge Byers and host and former judge Tom Hodson break down the Chauvin trial. They examine prosecution strategies and defense positions in terms that non-lawyers can understand. They discuss the importance of this trial and the anticipated verdicts on the future of policing and race relations. Judge Byers also expresses the frustrations she feels that while

Conspiracy theories have grown and continue to multiply as newsrooms downsize and more people rely on social media to fill the void. This is the belief of Dr. Michael Bugeja, distinguished professor of liberal arts and sciences at the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University. “Journalism is not dead but on life support. Social media dominates civic, political and familial debate, offering snap judgments to affinity groups,” Bugeja adds in a recent commentary. Bugeja, an author, scholar, ethicist and journalist, lays much of the blame on the rise in conspiracy theories, at the feet of a news industry that has lost its way. As use of social media as a news source has risen, the reliance on mainstream balanced journalism has plummeted, according to Bugeja. In a recent commentary for “Poynter,” a journalism think-tank, Bugeja said: “…conspiracy theories have less to do with breakdowns in social machinery, weaponized politics or reason vs. intuition. Polarization materialized a

The Biden Administration has targeted climate change as a priority in its first 100 days. It is unraveling four years of President Donald Trump’s deregulation and laisse-faire attitude toward the environment. Rarely have we seen so much change so quickly, says Dr. Geoffrey Dabelko, professor and associate dean at the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Policy at Ohio University and senior advisor on “climate issues” at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. President Joseph Biden has made sweeping changes across administrative fields, according to Dabelko. Biden is appointing key cabinet members who promote tackling climate change problems, and the appointment of former Sec. of State John Kerry as a White House coordinator of climate change policies is significant. Biden is seeking a more integrated approach to tackling climate change issues. He is even including the State Department and major financial institutions in his battle, Dabelko notes. Although there have been far-reaching changes in the co

Eunice Hunton Carter and her family were “unsung heroes” in social justice movements in the early 20th Century and now her life is brought into focus by a new biography, “Eunice Hunton Carter: A Lifelong Fight for Social Justice,” published by the Fordham University Press. Co-Author and noted biographer Marilyn Greenwald highlights the many accomplishments of Carter. She was the first black woman prosecutor in the Manhattan Prosecutors Office in the 1930’s. While trying her cases, Carter established the link between organized crime and prostitution, according to Greenwald. Carter used that information to be the only black woman and black attorney on the team of attorneys that convicted mobster Charles “Lucky” Luciano in 1936. Earlier in her career, Carter was a writer and was active in the Harlem Renaissance. She wrote short stories and art criticism, says Greenwald. Later in her career, she consulted with the United Nations and promoted causes for women on the global stage, Greenwald notes. Carter’s fam

The Dave Thomas Foundation recently celebrated its 10,000th adoption of a child from foster care and the milestone was reached during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Foundation was created by Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas as an independent non-profit foundation separate from the restaurant chain, says Rita Soronen, CEO of the Foundation. The Foundation focuses on the adoption of children who have been in foster care the longest and those who might soon turn 18 without being adopted by a family. It works with its Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program which partners with private and public adoption agencies to fund specially trained adoption recruiters. These recruiters work specifically to find adoptive homes for teenagers, children with special needs, and siblings who have been in foster care the longest, according to Soronen. The Dave Thomas Foundation tries to find adoptive homes for children before they “age-out” of foster care – turn 18 or 21 years of age depending on the state. The Foundation understands that if a

After President Joseph Biden’s inauguration and the attack on the Capitol on January 6, the Republican Party has undergone a struggle to chart the future of the party. Will it still be the party of Trump and his zealous base or will more traditionally mainstream Republicans take the party’s helm? Will Trump’s appeal fade? Daily news unfolds showing a chess game for control between groups led by GOP Senate stalwart Mitch McConnell and more radical members of his party in the House and the Senate aligned with former President Trump. Each move is met by a countermove as the story unfolds. All of this political drama is playing out against the backdrop of upcoming 2022 elections which have at least six GOP Senators at risk, says Philip Elliott, Washington correspondent for TIME and author of TIME’s weekday newsletter D.C. Brief. Also, according to Elliott, people are already lining up to be the GOP presidential candidates in 2024. This adds to the jockeying for position and appeals to certain elements of the

As of Jan. 13, the Athens County Ohio Health Department has vaccinated only 438 of its approximately 65,000 population for a frustratingly low .67 percent. Meanwhile, the county remains one of the counties in Ohio that is in greatest danger of COVID-19 spread. Athens County is a rural Appalachian County in Southeast Ohio that also houses a major state university – Ohio University. Athens County is indicative of many rural counties across America. The Spectrum Podcast decided to look deeper into this issue Why is the number of vaccinations so low? The answer is lack of supply of vaccine, according to Dr. James R. Gaskell, Athens City-County Health Commissioner and Medical Director. Each Thursday or Friday, the local Health Department is notified by the Ohio Department of Health of the number of vaccine doses it will receive on the following Monday. The trickle-down of the vaccine from the manufacturers to the federal government, to the states and then to local rural areas is not flowing smoothly. For exam

Too often African American women and girls are targets of violence and abuse in America. The abuse is caused by interactions with law enforcement as well as domestic abuse, says Dr. Aretina Hamilton, a human geographer, scholar, and author. She says Black women live in a patriarchal environment where they are, unfortunately, valued less than even Black men. As a result, Dr. Hamilton says that too often Black women and girls are considered “disposable” in society and are not valued in the caste system in which they live. Not only are Black women and girls subject to domestic violence in their homes, they are a subset of Black people being shot by police. Since 2015, 247 Black women were killed by police officers and 89 of them were killed at home or in their residences, according to a “Washington Post” October 21, 2020 article. The “Washington Post” has been tracking deaths of black women by police since 2015. The fact that the lives of Black women are often considered less valuable or less newsworthy t