x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

The Spark

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, host Asia Tabb starts conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

news

All Episodes

11:51

A Christmas Eve story by the Dauphin County Library...

The Spark ·

2024/12/23

As today is Christmas Eve, the entire Spark Team at WITF FM thought it would be great to read a Christmas story on air. Ryan McCrory, Executive Director of the Dauphin County Library System, read "I Got the Christmas Spirit" by Connie Schofield-Morrison. Listen to the podcast to hear the story.Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

22:18

History of Kwanzaa

The Spark ·

2024/12/23

Kwanzaa honors unity, pride, and African traditions from December 26 to January 1. This celebration brings people together by sharing stories, lighting candles, and community. Naaja Rodgers, Professor of Africana studies at Dickinson College says Kwanzaa is a Kiswahili word. “So it's actually a Kiswahili word, which means maternal, your Kwanzaa, which means first fruits. So essentially Kwanzaa means first fruit. And these are typically celebrations that are held throughout Africa.”

en-US

41:44

The Spark Weekly 12.22.2024: Journalist Roundtable...

The Spark ·

2024/12/22

Coming up on this week's edition of The Spark Weekly. Asia speaks with Jenna Wise from PennLive about her recent reporting on our journalist roundtable. Also on the program: The Central Pennsylvania Music Hall of Fame is a multi-room museum of autographed albums, guitars, and so much more. Brandon Valentine, Executive Director and Founder of the Central Pa Music Hall of Fame, opened the museum in 2023.Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy

en-US

20:56

The Hershey Theatre to close for a year

The Spark ·

2024/12/21

The Hershey Theatre, a historic landmark in Derry Township, has announced it will close its doors for 2025 for renovations. Donald Papson, Executive Director of the MS Hershey Foundation, says the theatre will undergo major renovations. “We're hoping to be able to renovate the seats and actually we will be taking out 1904 seats and historically and accurately putting them back in with new seat cushions, some new armrests, some things that will bring those seats up into what we call 2025, 2026

en-US

21:16

Journalist Roundtable: Major breaking news events in...

The Spark ·

2024/12/20

Our Journalist Roundtable segment for December 20 included Pennlive reporter Jenna Wise. Jenna joined The Spark to discuss her article on The Harrisburg School Department to create it’s own police department. She also discussed her coverage on major breaking news in the City of Harrisburg in the past month. Listen to the podcast to hear the conversation.Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

21:36

Mechanicsburg Teacher selected to join the Scholastic...

The Spark ·

2024/12/20

Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education, and media company, announced its selection of 12 educators from across the country to join the Company’s third annual Teacher Fellows Cohort. During the school year, these skilled K-8 educators will work alongside Scholastic Education Solutions’ product development, research and marketing teams and assist with the development of various education-focused programs. Scott Brewer, a sixth-grade teacher at Eagle View Middle

en-US

22:03

Joy to the Burg Christmas album raises money for...

The Spark ·

2024/12/19

Joy to the Burg is an annual Christmas album that features holiday selections from local artists to raise money to benefit Central Pennsylvania residents experiencing homelessness. Proceeds from the album will go to street outreach through Christian Churches United. In 2019, Sheldon Jones was concerned about the unhoused people in Harrisburg. As an artist, he had this idea to make a Christmas album and sell it to help the homeless. “And it's just been it has taken off from there. In 2019, when

en-US

21:48

PA middle school students urged to participate in...

The Spark ·

2024/12/19

The National Civics Bee is an annual competition that is led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. that provides an opportunity for middle school students to showcase their civic knowledge and become more engaged in their communities. The civic bee is very important to the Pennsylvania Chamber according to Elizabeth Bolden, Executive Director, of the PA Chamber Foundation. A survey in 2022 showed that less than half of Americans could name all three branches of government. Another

en-US

21:47

Local Caver shares safety tips for spelunking

The Spark ·

2024/12/18

Underground caves are a complex, underground ecosystem that must be treated with care and responsibility. Pat Minnick is a member of the Franklin County Grotto which is a local chapter of the National Speleological Society. Minnick shared some of the dangers of the popular recreational activity. “The most common type of injury. With the carving action, it is a cave or fall. Someone trips falls and generally it might result in a lower leg injury, sprained ankle, broken leg, that kind of

en-US

20:28

Troy Ott named dean of Penn State’s College of...

The Spark ·

2024/12/18

A few months ago, Dr. Troy Ott became the dean of Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. In that role, he oversees Penn State’s founding college, which includes the statewide reach of Penn State Extension and embodies the university’s status as Pennsylvania’s sole land-grant institution. Agriculture is one of Pennsylvania’s most important economic drivers, generating more than $132 billion for the state’s economy and supporting nearly 600,000 jobs. But to

en-US

22:26

Central Pa Music Hall of Fame celebrates past,...

The Spark ·

2024/12/17

The Central Pennsylvania Music Hall of Fame is a multi-room museum of autographed albums, guitars, and so much more. Brandon Valentine, Executive Director and Founder of the Central Pa Music Hall of Fame, opened the museum in 2023. “You’ll see the plaques on the walls with pictures of the artists, you know, their summaries of their accomplishments, their resumes, if you will, of the members who are currently in the Hall of Fame, of which there are 35 members already in the Hall of Fame

en-US

21:03

Christmas Magic at Rocky Ridge County Park, returns...

The Spark ·

2024/12/17

Christmas Magic at Rocky Ridge County Park has been going strong for the community for 41 years. The holiday tradition started in 1984 following an energy crunch that made it difficult for decorating. “Folks just were there a lot of the Christmas lights in York area, and so they came together, the commissioners at the time and the Parks Department decided to kind of put together this little bit of a light show that started out with about 10,000 lights. And then, yeah, it just kind of really

en-US

12:07

AAA Central Penn offers mature driving courses for...

The Spark ·

2024/12/17

AAA Central Penn has been reminding mature drivers to stay safe on the roads. AAA Central Penn service the nine-county region in Central Pennsylvania. It has about ten branches and the driving school is in Lancaster. “So, these are classroom courses that offer a mandatory insurance discount upon completion. Many of those who take this course usually leave with some renewed sense of confidence or even just having their questions answered about some of the recent traffic lot changes, “said

en-US

12:20

Tim Lambert Spark Feature: 80 years ago today,...

The Spark ·

2024/12/16

Eighty years ago today, the German army launched its last major offensive on the Western Front during World War II. It centered on the Ardennes Forest in Belgium and became known as the Battle of the Bulge. Standing in the way that day was a Pennsylvania National Guard division, the 28th, which is known as the Bloody Bucket. To shed some light on the 28th’s heroic stand, WITF’s Tim Lambert reached out to Walter Zapotoczny. He’s a former member of the 28th Infantry Division, the

en-US

43:07

The Spark Weekly 12.15.2024: Carlisle Indian...

The Spark ·

2024/12/15

Coming up on this week's edition of The Spark Weekly. This year a report was released by the US Department of Interior on Indian Boarding Schools, and President Joe Biden issued an apology for conditions that Native Americans endured. Th institutions included the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Cumberland County. Dr. Amanda Cheromiah is the Executive Director of the Center for the Futures of Native Peoples and is a decent of some of the students who attended the school. Also on the program,

en-US

20:38

It's Friday the 13th: Here's what to know about the...

The Spark ·

2024/12/14

Friday December 13 is the final Friday the 13th of the year, which is considered unlucky across the world. The day has been associated with superstitions, and historically certain events have occurred on this date that has added to it’s reputation. According to Associate Professor at Shippensburg University, and historian, Christine Senecal, says the number 13 and date both have a different trajectory in unlucky sort of origins. “In fact, there's a certain name for it. It's Triss Cadec,

en-US

21:54

Journalist Roundtable: Spotlight Pa shares about...

The Spark ·

2024/12/13

Our Journalist Roundtable segment for December 13, included reporters Charlotte Keith and Wyatt Massey from Spotlight PA to discuss their reports on Penn State Health halting their liver transplant program and suspending the kidney transplant program for the second time. Charlotte and Wyatt also did a report following up with a few patients who were impacted by the transplant programs being halted. Listen to the podcast to hear more from their reports.Support WITF:

en-US

11:40

PNC Christmas Price Index up 5.4%

The Spark ·

2024/12/13

For 41 years, the PNC Bank has calculated the prices of the 12 days from the popular Christmas song, “The 12 days of Christmas.” The Christmas Price Index was originally established as a fun way of interpreting economic data into the holiday season according to Jim Hoehn, PNC Regional President for Central Pa. “And here, 41 years later, we still have that fun. And there are some very meaningful themes behind it. But more than anything else, it's a lighthearted way of looking at

en-US

12:09

Central pa experiencing colder temperatures after...

The Spark ·

2024/12/13

This week, the temperatures were higher in the morning compared to the afternoon. ABC 27 Meteorologist Dan Tomaso says when we think of the high temperatures in the afternoon, once the sun is up and warms the ground, the ground heats the air and that’s when we see the spike in high temperature. Following the movement of the air tells a lot about the upcoming weather pattern. “So, this is all basically due to the balance of the jet stream. And so, when we mentioned the jet stream, the jet

en-US

22:16

Biden designates national monument at site of...

The Spark ·

2024/12/12

This year a report was released by the US Department of Interior on Indian Boarding Schools, and President Joe Biden issued an apology for conditions that Native Americans endured. Th institutions included the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Cumberland County. Dr. Amanda Cheromiah is the Executive Director of the Center for the Futures of Native Peoples and is a decent of some of the students who attended the school. When she heard the news, she was surprised. “I was actually in Hawaii

en-US

998 results

Similar Podcasts

Expres Ráno

Expres FM

PBS News Hour - Full Show

PBS News

CD Voice

China Daily

Israel Today: Ongoing War Report

Noa Levi

Jeffrey Epstein: The Coverup Chronicles

Bobby Capucci