All 556 incoming freshman at West Johnston High School in Johnston County attended a day long orientation today to ready themselves for their first year of high school. They’re participating in a school-within-a-school experiment meant to prevent drop outs and truancy and increase the joys of learning. Melinda Penkava speaks with Kenneth Dobyns, a teacher participating in the Academy at West Johnston High School and a frequent contributor to The State of Things. We’ll check in on the Freshman Academy through out the year. (12:00)
Archive for August, 2005
Freshman Academy
Monday, August 15th, 2005Buzz
Friday, August 12th, 2005Most of us recoil at the thought that our houses, our beds, even our bodies, are home to millions of insects. Cockroaches, lice, and fleas all owe their spectacular success on earth to their close relationships with humans. But along with the diseases bugs can carry and the harm they do to our crops and clothing, insects are responsible for much good in the world: pollination, decomposition, and pest control. Host Melinda Penkava talks with Josie Glausiusz, author of “Buzz: The Intimate Bond Between Humans and Insects” (Chronicle Books/2005); and Bill Reynolds, curator of the Arthropod Zoo at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Glausiusz is a featured speaker at the museum’s annual BugFest, which takes place this weekend. Listener Call-In. (40:00)
Shrimp Season
Friday, August 12th, 2005Shrimp Season: The Shrimp Festival is this weekend in Snead’s Ferry, but there’s a problem: a lack of shrimp. North Carolina shrimpers are reporting the smallest catches in memory. Host Melinda Penkava speaks with Tommy Everett, the co-owner of J.T Everett & Sons Seafood Company in Snead’s Ferry. (7:00)
Leg. Update/Nan Graham
Thursday, August 11th, 2005Legislative Update: Host Melinda Penkava talks with North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC capitol reporter Laura Leslie in the final hours of budget negotiations. Will lawmakers come up with the compromises they need to pass the budget this week? If they do, will the governor sign it? Will raises for state employees be the stumbling block? (12:00)
Nan Graham: Wilmington-based writer and radio commentator Nan Graham thinks life is the same in all small towns, but she has a special knack for describing small towns in the South. Host Melinda Penkava talks with Nan Graham about the language, the humor, and the stories unique to Southerners. Nan Graham’s new book of essays is ‘In a Magnolia Minute: Secrets of a Late Bloomer’ (John F. Blair/2005). Listener Call-In. (37:00)
Women’s Health/Mental Floss
Wednesday, August 10th, 2005The 2005 Women’s Health Report Card from the Center for Women’s Health Research at UNC Chapel Hill is here, and the news is cause for some concern. The report examines women’s health during the period between 1999 and 2003. Some disturbing trends include a rise in obesity and obesity related illnesses, like diabetes. Host Melina Penkava talks with experts about the implications of the study. Guests Include: Dr. Anna Maria Siega-Riz, associate professor of maternal child health, and nutrition at UNC Chapel Hill; Dr. Samantha Meltzer-Brody, assistant professor of psychiatry at UNC School of Medicine and Dr. Jennifer Garst, Professor of Medicine at Duke Medical Center.
Melinda Penkava speaks with Will Pearson, one of the founders of the magazine mental_floss, about the birth of the magazine and the new mental_floss boardgame.