Patrick Donges

On this edition of Vox Pop we gather our panel of experts to respond to your science-related questions and comments, for a program we like to call the Science Forum. On today’s show: Barbara Brabetz, Ken Welles, and George Shaw. WAMC’s Patrick Donges hosts.

In a recently published interview, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation chairman Joe Martens says that the state’s review of the potential environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas – known as ‘fracking’ – remains a work in progress, despite the department having already produced about 4,000 pages on the subject.

This week local judo fighter Nick Delpopolo became the first Olympic athlete to be disqualified from competing after an in-competition drug test. It wasn’t steroids or human growth hormone that got him kicked off the American squad, it was a positive test for marijuana, which was added to the International Olympic Committee’s banned substances list following a positive test in 1998.

Joining us on this edition of Medical Monday on Vox Pop is St. Peter’s Hospital Chief of Medicine Mark Pettus. He’s a clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and the former medical director of the Kripalu Institute for integrated healing, located in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. WAMC’s Alan Chartock hosts.

Joining on this edition of Vox Pop is arborist Fred Breglia, gardener Greg Ward, for this August edition of WAMC’s gardening program.

Our dynamic gardening duo is here for your questions on everything from bark to begonias. We go coast-to-coast on this show with one question from a listener in California. WAMC’s Ray Graf hosts.

With Election Day only about four months away, President Barack Obama and presumed Republican candidate Mitt Romney have kicked their campaigns into high gear.

The week so far seems to be a loser for Romney, who topped the headlines not for suggesting bold policy changes, but for a series of campaign gaffes that called into question his stances on race in America and international relations.

From fax machines to Wikileaks, in just the past few decades, the ways that we share information have vastly expanded, with journalists around the globe leading the way by utilizing new techniques and technologies to report instantly, and with unprecedented geographic reach.

Dr. Jennifer Michaels of The Brien Center for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services joins us on this edition of Medical Monday Vox Pop to handle all your questions and comments about the many issues surrounding addiction and mental health. WAMC's Alan Chartock hosts.

On this edition of Vox Pop, we welcome renowned astronomer Bob Berman to the studio to field all of your Astronomy-related questions.

One of the best-known and most widely-read astronomers in the world, Bob can translate complex scientific concepts into terms that are easily understood by the casual stargazer, yet meaningful to the most advanced researchers. WAMC’s Ray Graf hosts.

*Do do do do do do, do do* They say it's your birthday. *Do do do do do do, do do* It's birthdays today on Vox Pop as we wish our very own Alan Chartock a happy 71st (and many mooooore!). WAMC's Ray Graf hosts.