Radio / Archive

Just hearing someone mention “The Great Gatsby” is enough to evoke vivid images of the roaring twenties--elaborate parties, flappers and booglegging gangsters! But how much do we know about the man behind Gatsby? F. Scott Fitzgerald and his contemporaries form a cohort of some of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. Literary expert and Penn State Professor Linda Patterson…

Thirteen medical students just wrapped up their third year of medical education at the Penn State College of Medicine Regional Medical Campus located at University Park. Created in partnership with Mount Nittany Medical Center, the goal of the program is twofold: training the next generation of physicians and improving access to medical care in Centre County. The hope is that,…

I just made it over the last hill. The hardest part is over and it’s exhilarating. My cheeks are red, but my breathing is leveling off. I can feel my bangs flying out of my headband. I try to focus on my feet hitting the ground at a consistent “step step, step step” pace.

Pamela Synder-Etters talks with long-time Altoona Symphony Orchestra member Shirley Pechter. Pechter is 92 and has been with the symphony since it was founded in 1928.

WPSU is traveling to towns across central and northern Pennsylvania to collect oral history recordings. In March, we stopped in Altoona. Brenda Jennings talks with her friend and neighbor Jan Housman about growing up Jewish in the 1950s.

State Senator Jake Corman has represented the 34th district since 1999. WPSU's Greg Petersen interviews him about legislation to privatize liquor sales, his lawsuit to keep the NCAA fine levied against Penn State in the commonwealth, and other topics of note in the state legislature.

The latest film adaptation of The Great Gatsby brings a local professor’s scholarship—and expertise—to the silver screen. Intern Lauren Ostberg talks with Penn State University Park professor Jim West.

Former Penn State professor Josip Novakovich is a finalist for the Man Booker International Prize, which is awarded every two years to a writer for his or her body of work. Jessica Matzko reviews Navokovich’s book, Infidelities: Stories of War and Lust.

WPSU is traveling to towns across central and northern Pennsylvania to collect oral history recordings. In March, we stopped in Altoona. Hiro McNulty talks with his grandmother Bridget McNulty about growing up in Pittsburgh.

WPSU is traveling to towns across central and northern Pennsylvania to collect oral history recordings. In March, we stopped in Altoona. Robert Donaldson talks with his wife Carolyn about how they met thirty years ago when Robert’s friend Mickey introduced them.

What will it take to avoid war with Iran? According to our next guest, the real obstacles to successful nuclear diplomacy with Iran lie in Washington, not Tehran. We’ll talk with Flynt Leverett, co-author of the controversial new book, “Going To Tehran, Why the United States Must Come to Terms with the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Leverett is a founding…

A group of State College-area residents who share a passion for locally sourced food is in the process of starting a cooperative grocery store. They’ve called it the Friends and Farmers’ Co-op. WPSU’s Kate Lao Shaffner has the story.

When I was a couple of months old, I had pneumonia and I stopped breathing. My mom called for an ambulance and immediately began to pray. The ambulance arrived minutes later, and the EMT performed CPR on me. That day, I was the first baby the EMT had ever “brought back to life.”

The University Park Airport has a brand new installation. It’s not a new escalator or body-scanner. It’s a living plant wall. WPSU intern Orent Paddy went to the airport to find out more.

Charles Figley has spent more than thirty-five years studying trauma and its effects on both victims and caregivers. His work has led to innovations in psychology, psychiatry, and social work. We’ll talk with him about the field of traumatology, about what he means when he says there’s a cost for caring, and about his personal experiences with “compassion fatigue.” Figley…