WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

Dr. Yara Asi, author and assistant professor at the University of Central Florida, where she studies physical and mental health in conflict-affected and fragile populations. Born in Palestine, Dr. Asi is the author of  How War Kills; The Overlooked Threats to our Healthand a New York Times opinion piece titled Gaza is showing us we need new tools to measure trauma. She will talk to us about the many challenges facing researchers who want to understand trauma in Gaza and translate it into policy. (Broadcast on WPKN May 8, 2024)

Jeff Halper is an Israeli-American anthropologist, author, lecturer, and political activist  has lived in Israel since 1973. He is the Director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and a co-founder of The One Democratic State Campaign. A Jewish Israeli, Jeff speak to us from Jerusalem about Israel’s entrenched use of humiliation to control the Palestinian population and how this has now begun to reveal some surprisingly unforeseen consequences. (Broadcast on WPKN, June 12, 2023)

Steve Wick, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, journalist, formerly of Newsday and more recently editor of the Suffolk Times, talks about his earlier work, two new upcoming books, the importance of local journalism and emphasizes that, “if you want to get the present right, you have to get the past right” which means, he says, uncovering the truth and telling the complete story. (WPKN, September 4, 2024)