01. Pediatrician Answers Back-to-School Mask Questions
02. Kids, COVID-19 and Rare MIS-C Syndrome
03. The GOP’s Gigantic Gerrymander Grab
04. Constitutional Scholar on Supreme Court and Racist Policing
05. Behind TV’s Best Visual Effects
06. Make these 3 Diet Changes to Help Save the Planet
07. Alzheimer’s at 30, 40, or 50? What to Look for, How to Cope
08. Would You Adopt Somebody Else’s Embryo?
09. Child Tax Credit Checks: Are You On the List?
10. I Quit! Why Millions Are Leaving Jobs
11. Expert Reveals the 6 Types of Men in Relationships
12. Do Fairy Tales Disempower Young Girls?
13. How to Raise a Self-Motivated Child
14. What’s in Your Cup? Will it Boost or Bust Your Health?
15. Who Knew? Fascinating Facts about NYC
1. ==> Pediatrician Answers Back-to-School Mask Questions
As the number of pediatric COVID-19 cases continues to rise across the United States, parents are adding face masks to the top of their back-to-school shopping lists. For the 2021-2022 school year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends all students ages 2 and older wear face masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status. The American Academy of Pediatrics, an organization of nearly 70,000 pediatricians, has also called on schools to enforce universal masking mandates. Dr. Richard Malley, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Boston Children’s Hospital, can break down what parents need to know about masking up their kids this fall. Ask him: What’s the best mask for kids? Do N95 or KN95 masks provide more protection? What about cloth masks? Can kids get sick from wearing a mask? Contact Richard Malley, M.D., at (617) 919-2900; (617) 730-0255 or richard.malley@childrens.harvard.edu
2. ==> Kids, COVID-19 and Rare MIS-C Syndrome
Children are not immune to COVID-19. They’re getting infected with the disease and can spread it, but they usually don’t get as sick as adults. But some kids and adolescents can have long-term complications, even those who initially had mild or no symptoms.
Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, says in rare cases children develop a condition called MIS-C, a multisystem inflammatory syndrome that can affect the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes and gastrointestinal organs. “Usually children are picked up incidentally as having (coronavirus). Someone in the family was infected, a friend was infected, so they got a PCR test. And they’re found to be positive. And they’re fine,” Offit says. “Then a month goes by, and they develop a high fever. And evidence of lung, liver, kidney or heart damage. That’s when they come to our hospital.” More than 4,000 cases of MIS-C have been reported since February 2020, including 37 deaths. Offit says experts still don’t know much about the syndrome, including why these symptoms are appearing in kids, and how that relates to COVID-19. Paul A. Offit, M.D., is the director of the Vaccine Education Center and an attending physician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Contact Joey McCool Ryan at (267) 426-6070; mccool@email.chop.edu
3. ==>The GOP’s Gigantic Gerrymander Grab
According to a new Associated Press analysis, Republican politicians, fresh off their electoral wins a decade ago, used census data to draw voting districts that gave them a greater political advantage in more states than either party had in the past 50 years. The GOP’s power will be put to the test when the U.S. Census Bureau releases 2020 population data this week, kicking off the next round of the once-a-decade redistricting process. Because of recent redistricting reforms, it could be more difficult for Republicans to maintain their advantage in some states. But in an era of increased political polarization among voters, the past decade shows that it’s “really hard for one party to win when the other party has designed the maps,” says Chris Warshaw, a political scientist at George Washington University who analyzes election data. Warshaw can discuss how gerrymandering affects elections, where it has had the most impact, and why it continues. Contact Chris Warshaw at (202) 994-9233; warshaw@gwu.edu; @cwarshaw
4. ==> Constitutional Scholar on Supreme Court and Racist Policing
Police are nine times more likely to kill African American men than they are other Americans—in fact, nearly one in every thousand will die at the hands of an officer. Constitutional scholar Erwin Chemerinsky argues this is no accident, but the horrific result of an elaborate body of court decisions that allow the police and the courts to undermine constitutional protections against self-incrimination and unreasonable searches and seizures. Invite Chemerinsky, dean of UC Berkeley, School of Law, to reveal how the Supreme Court has enabled racist policing and sanctioned law enforcement excesses through its decisions over the last half-century. Hear how an unprecedented series of landmark rulings in the mid-1950s and 1960s allowed the pro-defendant Warren Court to impose significant constitutional limits on policing. But Chemerinsky says the fleeting liberal era ultimately concluded with Nixon’s presidency and the ascendance of conservative and “originalist” justices, whose rulings have sanctioned stop-and-frisks, limited suits to reform police departments, and even abetted the use of lethal chokeholds. Erwin Chemerinsky’s latest book is “Presumed Guilty: How the Supreme Court Empowered the Police and Subverted Civil Rights.” Contact Johanna Ramos-Boyer at (703) 646-5137; (703) 400-1099 (cell) or johanna@jrbcomm.com or Briana Caywood at (703) 646-5188
5. ==> Behind TV’s Best Visual Effects
Ever wonder how they create the special effects on your favorite TV shows? Go behind the scenes with Emmy-nominated visual effects expert Ryan Freer from Monsters Aliens Robots Zombies (MARZ). Freer is up for two Emmys later this month for his work on visual effects on the shows WandaVision and The Umbrella Academy. He can discuss those projects and what he’s working on for the upcoming fall TV season. Monsters Aliens Robots Zombies (MARZ) is a tech company and VFX studio that focuses exclusively on premium TV. Contact Virginia Chavez at (415) 939-8318 (cell)
6. ==> Make these 3 Diet Changes to Help Save the Planet
The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change just released a new report, and the message is clear: Deadly and irreversible effects of climate change are already here. Unlike previous assessments, the report also concludes it is “unequivocal” that humans have caused the climate crisis. Invite health coach Ximena Yanez Soto (pronounced He-men-a) to explain how our current diet and lifestyle have contributed to the degradation of ecosystems worldwide. Ask her: Does eating organic produce really matter? Have we been manipulated about the importance of animal protein in our diets? What’s so bad about GMO ingredients? What should you include in every meal? How can we eat to save the planet? Ximena is the author of the upcoming book “Healthy Planet, Healthy You: Simple Habits to Create a Brighter Future” and the former CFO of an environmental fund. Contact her at (720) 277-8617; xiyaso@gmail.com
7. ==> Alzheimer’s at 30, 40, or 50? What to Look for, How to Cope
Did you know that people as young as 30 can have Alzheimer’s, the memory-robbing disease we think only affects older people? Would you recognize the warning signs besides forgetfulness? Carlen Maddux’s very active wife was just days past her fiftieth birthday when she was diagnosed with the fatal disease with no cure. They were blindsided, but your audience doesn’t have to be. Carlen, a former reporter, will share his family’s 17-year coping journey with your audience that included becoming his wife’s caregiver while deep in his career and their children were young. Highly articulate, he has done dozens of interviews about this moving topic. Carlen is the author of “A Path Revealed.” Contact him at (727) 351-8321; CMaddux@rtirguests.com
8. ==> Would You Adopt Somebody Else’s Embryo? Why People Do
Most people think adoption means waiting until a baby is born to someone else and agreeing to care for and raise the child as their own. But there’s a different way to adopt that starts way before that, with a frozen fertilized embryo. And your audience is likely to have plenty of questions about it, questions that Nate Birt can answer. At the moment, the U.S. birth rate is declining but at the same time the number of women freezing their eggs has skyrocketed and, thanks to IVF, some of these eggs have been fertilized and are babies waiting for a womb. Nate and his wife adopted a frozen embryo, had it implanted in his wife’s body, enjoyed her pregnancy and birth experience, and are now the parents of a sweet toddler. Ask him: Where do you get the embryos to adopt? Are their risks involved? How much does it cost? What are the controversies, challenges and joys? Nate is the author of “Frozen, But Not Forgotten: An Adoptive Dad’s Step-by-Step Guide to Embryo Adoption.” Contact him at (417) 221-9045; Nbirt@rtirguests.com
9. ==> Child Tax Credit Checks: Are You On the List?
Millions of American families started getting some extra cash from Uncle Sam. Expanded Child Tax Credit checks will run through the end of the year. They’re part of the American Rescue Plan and are meant to get money to families who need it most. Sergio Mata-Cisneros, a domestic policy analyst at Bread for the World, a Christian-based anti-hunger group, says, “I don’t think there has been any other policy in decades that will reduce poverty and hunger like this will.” Most parents don’t have to do anything to get the funds, but some of the neediest families don’t know they qualify for monthly payments. Bread for World works with 250,000 activists, some of whom plan to go door-to-door to educate families and show them how to apply. Contact Sergio Mata-Cisneros at @mata_sergio or Chris Ford at (202) 688-1077; (520) 904-0415 (cell) or cford@bread.org
10. ==> I Quit! Why Millions Are Leaving Jobs
As pandemic life recedes in the U.S., people are leaving their jobs in search of more money, more flexibility and more happiness. Many are rethinking what work means to them, how they are valued, and how they spend their time. Tim Winders can help your listeners figure out how to take advantage of this time to create the kind of life they’d like to have. The author and performance coach can offer three principles for hitting the reset button. Winders, who has over 25 years’ experience as a coach for business owners, executives, and leaders, utilizes these principles in his novel, “Coach: A Parable of Success Redefined.” Winders, who along with his wife, lives and works in a large RV while traveling around the country, survived several business failures before finding a better path in life. He hosts the “SeekGoCreate” podcast and is available last-minute. Contact Tim at (404) 846-4639; twinders@rtirguests.com
11. ==> Expert Reveals the 6 Types of Men in Relationships
Some women make the same dating mistakes over and over then wonder why they can’t find happiness. Author, speaker, and personal transformation expert Arnoux Goran says that once a woman knows the six types of men, she can navigate her way to red hot romance. Invite him to share the secrets that can lead to relationship bliss. He can tell your audience the biggest mistakes women make when choosing a partner and the red flags women should watch out for. Goran has developed a method to reprogram yourself that was studied by the University of California, Irvine, and proven to be 100% effective. His latest program is HowToAttractYourSoulmate.com. Goran has been featured on radio and television nationwide. Contact him at (878) 203-8231; AGoran@rtirguests.com
12. ==> Do Fairy Tales Disempower Young Girls?
Do fairy tales teach young girls that success can only be achieved with the arrival of a man? Single mother by choice Louisa Pateman believes so. In her memoir, “Single, Again, and Again, and Again…,” she describes how she felt like a failure when she couldn’t achieve her happily-ever-after as defined by fairy tales and society. “We need to start empowering young girls to believe that they don’t need to wait for their Prince Charming, that they can live an extraordinary life just on their own,” Louisa says. Louisa will discuss the pressure she felt from family, friends, and society to find a man and get married, her struggles as a single woman, her decision to become a single mother by choice, and how there is more than one path to a happy ending. Contact Louisa Pateman at LouisaPateman@gmail.com; +61 (0) 414 096 016
13. ==> How to Raise a Self-Motivated Child
As back-to-school nears, will the parents in your audience soon be tired of nagging their kids to study, clean their rooms, pick up their socks or get better grades? If so, Pete Andersen, Ph.D., author of “The 3 Secret Skills of Top Performers,” a father of six college graduates and a former school superintendent, is on hand to give the success secrets they need to raise go-getters instead of excuse-makers. He’ll explain why early discipline in the home is key to future success, top students set low positive goals, why parents should wear college sweatshirts and T-shirts, and much more. Dr. Pete has served as an assistant high school principal, high school principal, and licensed school superintendent. Contact him at (858) 886-9820; drpete@The3SecretSkillsofTopPerformers.com
14. ==> What’s in Your Cup? Will it Boost or Bust Your Health?
Since the pandemic began, everyone has been talking about immunity. Invite Tilak Sikva on your show and learn how your body can be healthier to ward off disease, how we can be wiser in what we eat and drink during every season and the best natural way to bring about strength, energy, healthier skin and ultimately longer life. Sikva will reveal which commonly imbibed beverages decrease immunity, especially in difficult times, and share which ones are healthiest and why. You’ll also hear about the unexpected health benefits of herbs like cilantro, and how to get the most out of them. Tilak Sikva is an expert in nutrition and health research and the inventor of CilanTea. Contact him at (310) 421-4680, tsilva@rtirguests.com
15. ==> Who Knew? Fascinating Facts about NYC
Ever wonder what lays beneath the high-rise buildings of New York? Or the city’s role in finalizing and celebrating the Constitution? Did you know that New York was the first U.S. capital? Sasha Vosk can share fascinating facts about New York and discuss the role the city has played in the country from colonial times until today, for its cultural and financial influence and its popularity as a tourist destination. Vosk’s new book, “400 Years of New York History: A Pictorial Guide: Book 1: New York as New Amsterdam in the 1600s,” takes readers back in time to experience the sights of New York City’s past using photorealism, a technique that combines photography, 3-D modeling and painting. Sasha Vosk is a Brooklyn-based writer, director, and muralist who immigrated to New York 40 years ago from Russia. He has also been a stand-up comic, an Emmy-award-winning film producer (“Billy Crystal: A Midnight Train to Moscow”), Russian cultural festival promoter, and a producer of the Moscow Circus’ worldwide tours. He is a New York history buff and has more than 30 years’ experience using photorealism in illustration and mural work. Contact Sasha Vosk at (347) 225-2574; author@VoskTimeTravelGuide.com