21-WFMJ News Podcast

Facing scrutiny from the Ohio Learning Commission and the U.S. Department of Education over issues including adequate staff levels, online enrollment and the implementation of a free tuition program that has been suspended, reinstated and then suspended again, Corey McCrae has a candid conversation with the president of Eastern Gateway Community College about whether there are any concerns for the...

In today's 21 News podcast, managing editor of news J. Breen Mitchell talks with Michael Dorn, executive director of Safe Havens International , a non-profit campus safety organization that schools and school systems to improve crisis preparedness and campus safety. Dorn has done more than 8,500 school safety analyses in the US, and in more than 24 countries in his 41 years in the school safe...

Madison Tromler speaks with attorney Matt Mangino about the executive order signed by President Joe Biden in response to the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe  vs. Wade.  After that decision, Ohio immediately implemented a ban on abortions in nearly all cases after six weeks . Does the new order have any impact on Ohio law? 

In the wake of a flurry of Supreme Court decisions that have expanded gun rights, taken away reproductive rights and broken down a wall between church and state, is the Supreme Court interpreting the law or  using the bench to advance a political agenda?  Managing editor Justin Mitchell speaks with Kent State professor Chris Banks. Banks is an expert in Constitutional law and the courts and he say...

Leslie Huff speaks with Guy Burney, director of the Community Initiative to Reduce Violence, about protocols in place in the city of Youngstown to help balance the needs of the community with the needs of families affected by violence. 

In today's 21 News podcast, Constitutional law expert Matt Mangino talks with anchor Derek Steyer about the ramifications of overturning abortion rights in the US and returning the decision to the state level to decide. What will this mean for Ohio and Pennsylvania? 

In this episode of the 21 News Podcast,  Leslie Huff speaks with Joseph Napier, chief organizer of The Youngstown Creative Collective, which is organizing the fifth annual Youngstown Juneteenth event at the Eugenia Atkinson Center. The event, which begins at noon on Sunday, June 19, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. 

Once a Democratic stronghold, the Mahoning Valley has seen the Republican party make massive gains since 2016. In 2020, both Mahoning and Trumbull counties went Republican, in some areas by large margins.  Now, there are new leaders  leading the Democratic Party in both counties and in this edition of the 21 News Podcast, both Chris Anderson and Mark Alberini talk about their plans to reshape the...

What money mistakes did you make when you were first out of high school and how much better off would you be if you had known then what you know now?  In this episode of the 21 News Podcast, managing editor Justin Mitchell speaks with Viktoria Jurkovic, consumer affairs manager at the Ohio Department of Commerce, about the tools young people need to start out in the world.  From how to save money...

In this 21 News Podcast,  Social Media Coordinator Danielle Cotterman sits down with former FBI Agent, best-selling author and art crime expert Robert K. Wittman.  Wittman shares details of how he came to uncover the four hundred page and long-lost diary of Alfred Rosenberg, a theorist who has been described as 'the man who made Hitler into Hitler.' Listeners can also learn more about a...

Michael Lawlor, a former Connecticut legislator who authored the nation's first "Red Flag" law, talks about why mass shootings are only common in America and how we can cut through politics and find solutions to the problem. 

Valley native Bo Pelini and his son Patrick are starting their own podcast next week, "Beyond the Playbook with Bo Pelini." 21 Sports Director Dana Balash talked with both Pelini's about what this venture is all about, how it pertains to Coach Pelini's coaching career in the NFL and college, and how this father and son duo came up with the idea, and what they hope to accomplish...

Terri DiGennaro was recently honored with the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities Advocate of the Year Award . The award honors her work to bring more access to art therapy, a unique type of therapy that uses art as a way to communicate when words aren't as easy to come by . DiGennaro talks about how she saw the benefits of art in her own son, Ryan Giambattista ,  who she...

Cleveland Clinic psychologist Dr. Kia Rai-Prewitt talks about the importance of being patient with the healing process following a traumatic event. Rai-Prewitt says what parents and children alike need most is to allow themselves to go through the stages of grief, however they feel them personally, and allow themselves the time it takes to heal. 

21 News Managing Editor Justin Mitchell speaks one on one with former Congressman Jim Renacci, who is the top challenger to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine in the May 3rd primary.  Renacci is pressed on why he's not concerned with splitting the Republican vote, why he thinks former President Donald Trump has declined to endorse him and what exactly does he mean when he says he'd ban certain to...

Former Howland and Michigan football product De'Veon Smith was released from the USFL's Pittsburgh Maulers after nearly a week for what the team is saying was for being 'disrespectful.' Smith claims it was over a menu item of chicken salad following practice a few weeks ago. A video surfaced on Twitter Monday on Smith being told of his released. The video was part of a document...

Sydney Canty speaks with Kathy Cook, the retiring president of St. Joe's Hospital. Cook talks about her 38 years in the healthcare field, from her time as a nurse to experiences running a hospital. 

A psychologist for the Cleveland Clinic, Kasey Goodpaster, Ph. D., responds to a CDC report showing that emergency room visits for eating disorders doubled among girls between the ages of 12 and 17 years old during the pandemic. In this 21 News Podcast, Goodpaster explains what may have caused the increase. She also breaks down the do's-and-don'ts of addressing a child.

In this WFMJ 21 Sports podcast, sports director Dana Balash speaks with Greg Brown, the radio/TV broadcaster for the Pittsburgh Pirates since 1994.  In 1988, Brown worked as a weekend sports anchor for WFMJ TV (and he's one of three former WFMJ Sports anchors now working for major league teams as broadcasters).  Listen up to the reunion and hear more about the Pittsburgh Pirates.

21 News Anchor Madison Tromler sits down with Brian Cuban, a recovery advocate, author and Dallas-based attorney. He's the brother of Mark Cuban, an entrepreneur and television personality. Cuban made a stop in Youngstown to speak at YSU on his recovery. In this podcast, he discusses his journey overcoming his alcohol/drug addiction & an eating disorder, offers advice for those dealing wi...

We've seen the recent and horrifying reports out of Ukraine as refugees recall the chaos and violence they're witnessing.  Millions continue to flee Ukraine to neighboring countries like Poland.  Anchor Madison Tromler spoke with a women from the Mahoning Valley who is in Poland to help, and shares with 21 News the traumatic experiences they're hearing first hand. 

21 News Political Panelists managing editor Justin Mitchell, 570 WKBN host Ron Verb and publisher of the Buckeye Review Dr. Mike McNair go over the winners and losers in the Senate Republican candidates debate put on by the Ohio Debate Commission. 

21 News Managing Editor Justin Mitchell, 570 WKBN radio host Ron Verb and publisher of the Buckeye Review Dr. Mike McNair go over the Senate Democratic candidates debate between Tim Ryan, Morgan Harper and Traci TJ Johnson put on by the Ohio Debate Commission. 

Does it seem like the wild swings in temperature are playing havoc on your allergies? It's not your imagination. Dr. Tonia Farmer talks with Sydney Canty about how the weather affects allergies, why it may be getting worse right now and some of the newest, most innovative ways to stay ahead of the problem. 

In times of stress from everything from war on television to concerns over household budgets squeezed by high gas and food prices, we may not realize how much the youngest members of our families are picking up.  In this edition of the 21 News Podcast, Dr. David Chiarella talks about ways to notice that your little one may be feeling overwhelmed or helpless and how to help cope with those fears as...