The Spark

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We begin with the remarkable history of the League of Women Voters, born in 1920 from the women’s suffrage movement and led by NAWSA president Carrie Chapman Catt. Created six months before the ratification of the 19th Amendment, the League set out to help newly enfranchised women learn how to register, how to vote, and how their government worked. In Pennsylvania, LWV chapters in cities like Pittsburgh and P...

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In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Leamor Kahanov, higher‑education leader with 25+ years of experience as a provost, dean, and academic strategist. She joins us to discuss the same topic originally planned for Dr. Gaetan Giannini: how colleges can responsibly integrate AI into existing majors—and why an AI major isn’t always the smartest path. Drawing on comparisons to the early internet era, we expl...

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A farmer’s accidental 1930 discovery beneath U.S. Route 22 became Lincoln Caverns, a destination that has fascinated visitors for nearly a century. 

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This episode also honors VisionCorps’ 100 years of impact, spotlighting its mission and its call for the public to help preserve and uplift its history.

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First, we look at the work of Dr. Louis S. Hopkins, whose forty years of research into Lancaster’s African American past blends rigorous scholarship with lived experience. Growing up in segregated southeast Lancaster City, Dr. Hopkins developed a deep awareness of how geography, access, and memory inform the historical record. His ongoing efforts to recover stories long pushed to the margins challenge us to reconsi...

If you’ve walked through Harrisburg, you’ve likely encountered the bold, vibrant work of artist Dionn Reneé — murals that don’t just brighten walls but tell stories, honor neighborhoods, and reflect the city’s spirit. A painter, photographer, designer, and community builder, Reneé is shaping the capital city’s visual identity while expanding her reach far beyond it.

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WITF’s Jaxon White breaks down Gov. Josh Shapiro’s 2026 budget address, delivered to the Pennsylvania legislature on Tuesday, Feb. 3. He explains the administration’s key priorities, proposed spending, and what the plan could mean for communities across the Commonwealth.

WITF reporter Jordan Wilkie also joins us to discuss his recent reporting on efforts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)...

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Author Linda Gottfried joins us to share insights from her new book How to Live Your Life Like You’ve Already Won the Lottery, a guide to shifting perspective, embracing abundance, and finding purpose beyond financial luck. She invites readers to rethink what it means to “win” and to cultivate joy in everyday life.

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Then, with a grateful heart, Dan Tomaso returns to walk us through last ...

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We begin with Renate Wildermuth, author of Gone Before You Knew Me, a debut novel already earning international attention. Named a “Most Anticipated Book” by Indigo, reviewed by Booklist, and soon to be featured in Teach Magazine and on North Country Public Radio, the novel blends emotional depth with a gripping sense of mystery. It will even appear in the shop of the International Spy Museum in Washing...

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We begin with Dr. Brett McLaurin, Professor of Environmental, Geographical, and Geological Sciences at Commonwealth University, who helps us understand why certain rocks can sing. Using the famous ringing rocks of Bucks County as a starting point, Dr. McLaurin explains how mineral composition, cooling rates, and internal stress create boulders that chime like bells when struck. From Pennsylvania to sites around the...

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First, we speak with Elizabeth Zucker of the Dauphin County Historical Society and Noah Lewis, the living historian who portrays Edward “Ned” Hector, a Black Revolutionary War soldier whose bravery at the Battle of Brandywine challenges the incomplete narratives many Americans learned in school. We explore why the John Harris–Simon Cameron Mansion is an essential site for telling stories of underr...

Then we turn to a different kind of deficit: America’s growing social isolation. The Barnes Family Foundation, based in Bethlehem, has released its first Social Connection in America report — a sweeping look at how connected (or disconnected) people feel today. The findings are stark: disengagement is widespread, and certain groups — including people with lower incomes, less education, those who have never married...

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On today’s The Spark, we start with the news shaping communities across Pennsylvania.
Carmen Russell-Sluchansky of WHYY brings us the latest on Philadelphia’s cleanup efforts after last weekend’s snowstorm and explains the growing controversy over the removal of a slavery exhibit at Independence National Historical Park.
Then Sydney Roach of WPSU joins us with an update on the ongoing debate over ...

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We begin with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s recent settlement with Dollar General, following allegations that prices listed on shelves didn’t match what customers were charged at checkout. We break down what the settlement means for shoppers across the Commonwealth, why price‑accuracy violations matter, and what consumers can do to protect themselves from overcharges in an era of rising costs and ...

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We begin in Potter County with Gary M. Buchsen, whose family owns and operates the Coudersport Ice Mine — a geological anomaly that has fascinated visitors for more than a century. Discovered in 1894 by silver prospector Billy O’Neill, the Ice Mine produces ice in the spring and summer, then melts in the fall and winter, thanks to a rare rock formation that traps and releases cold air. After decades of ...

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First, we visit the Center for Post Natural History, a one‑of‑a‑kind museum dedicated to documenting the living organisms that have been intentionally altered by humans, from early agricultural domestication to cutting‑edge genetic engineering. Since 2008, the Center has sparked public dialogue about our growing role as evolutionary agents, using exhibitions, workshops, and multimedia storytelling to illuminate the...

When Matthew Wolfe walks through the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona, he isn’t just surrounded by locomotives and artifacts, he’s surrounded by the lives of the people who built them.

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In September 1982, that problem surfaced on a small network of computers at Carnegie Mellon University, where a few dozen computer scientists were using early electronic message boards—primitive by today’s standards,...

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We begin with Gillian McGoldrick of The Philadelphia Inquirer, who details her reporting on the Shapiro Administration’s lawsuit against a vendor accused of failing to deliver more than 3 million pieces of mail from state agencies. The missing documents, everything from benefits notices to tax information, raise serious questions about oversight, transparency, and the impact on Pennsylvanians who depend on ti...

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Winter may still have its grip, but we’re already dreaming of green. In this episode, we finally dig into the houseplant care we didn’t get to last time. From keeping indoor plants thriving to refreshing bird feeders and bird baths during the coldest stretch of the year. We’ll talk about what’s blooming right now, the seeds you can start early, and the small rituals that help us look toward spring...

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First, we meet Matthew Wolff, Curator at the Railroaders Memorial Museum, whose passion for railroad history fuels his work preserving the legacy of the people who built Altoona into a powerhouse of American industry. Matthew guides us through the astonishing story of the Horseshoe Curve, an engineering marvel blasted, dug, and carved through the Allegheny Mountains in the 1850s by Irish immigrant laborers. Th...