Ryan Chalmers is attempting to push himself across the country from Los Angeles to New York in 71 days…in a wheelchair. This hour on Focus, we talk with Chalmers about why he’s doing it and how it’s going.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign grad, PADI divemaster and US Paralympian Ryan Chalmers has pushed himself more than 2,000 miles in the last few weeks, journeying the length of three to four full length marathons every day. He’s trying to cross the US in his racing wheelchair in 71 days, a distance of nearly 3,000 miles. He arrived in Champaign around 3:00 on Wednesday, and this hour on Focus, host Jim Meadows talks with Ryan about his trek and what inspired him to do it. We'll also talk with Ryan about his career as a wheelchair athlete - at the UIUC, in marathons around the country and the 2012 Paralympic games in London.
Illinois law currently bans employers from asking employees and prospective employees for their social media passwords, but there is a bill in the Illinois House that would change that. This hour on Focus, we'll talk about the bill and larger issues it raises when it comes to digital privacy.
House Bill 1047, currently under consideration in the Illinois House of Representatives, would make it legal for employers to ask employees for their personal social media passwords. Under legislation that took effect July 1, 2012, it’s currently against the law to do so. According to some, it’s a severe violation of privacy for employers to be able to ask for social media account information, but State Representative Jim Durkin defends the bill saying that employers need to have agency to protect themselves against threats and theft. He also says that as the bill is written, employers can’t take action against employees who refuse to share their information.
This hour on Focus, we’ll talk about the intersection of digital privacy and the workplace. Statehouse Reporter Amanda Vinicky will give us an update about the status of the legislation and then Law Professor Lori Andrews joins us. She’s written a social media constitution and is author of the book “I Know Who You Are, I Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy.” Representative Durkin, who is from Western Springs, also joins the conversation.
Would you be concerned if your employer could legally ask for your social media passwords? Are you a manager and think you should be able to ask? We want to hear from you this hour on Focus!
Brendan Harley was first diagnosed with cancer when he was in high school. At the age of 17 he underwent a bone marrow transplant to save his life. This hour on Focus, we’ll talk with Harley about how the experience and how it propelled him to pursue a career in cancer research.
Last year in Illinois, nearly 200 cancer patient’s lives were saved after having bone marrow transplants, but there are still more than 300 people waiting for a match and need a transplant from someone who isn’t in their family. This hour on Focus, we’ll talk about bone marrow transplants and the need for donors. Shelley Baker, who is with the Be the Match National Marrow Donor Registry will be here. We’ll also talk with Brendan Harley, an Urbana resident who has twice defeated cancer, once thanks to a bone marrow transplant. Host Jim Meadows will also talk with Harley about how the experience and how it propelled him to pursue a career in cancer research.
This hour on Focus, guest host Kimberlie Kranich talks with Suzanne Trupin about women’s health. We welcome your questions!
Angelina Jolie’s announcement that she had a preventative double mastectomy because of her high risk for developing breast cancer has been all over the news, but when is the testing she went through appropriate? This hour on Focus, guest host Kimberlie Kranich talks with Suzanne Trupin, a board certified and obstetrician and gynecologist, about the BRCA1 gene that led Jolie to make her decision. We’ll also talk about everything from menses to menopause and how and when to talk about sex with you doctor and with your children and family.
Surviving Cancer, Social Media Privacy, Ryan Chalmers and More!
Next week on Focus, we’ll talk with an Urbana man who has survived two bouts of cancer thanks in part to a bone marrow transplant, a University of Illinois grad who is pushing himself across the country in his racing wheelchair and much more.
Today on Focus, host Jim Meadows talks with Kevin Waspi, a certified financial advisor and lecturer at the UIUC College of Business. We welcome your calls and questions this hour!
This hour on Focus, we talk with personal finance expert Kevin Waspi about some good tricks to save money for things like a new car or a summer vacation. We'll also talk about when it's right to continue to save and when it's time to try and borrow money. Do you have questions about your personal finances?We also welcome your questions for Kevin whether you are just starting out and looking for advice on investing, thinking about buying a home or sending your children to college.
Do you have any money saving tricks that you recommend? We want to hear them!
We all need health care, but we don’t “consume” health care in the same way we consume anything else. How does that affect how much we pay for it? This hour on Focus, we talk about hospitals, health insurers and who decides how much to charge.
Last week the US Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a price list for services at hospitals across the country. In East Central Illinois, the data showed that prices for the same procedures vary widely depending on which hospital you’re at in the area. This hour on Focus, host Jim Meadows talks with two health care finance experts about why this could be and who determines the cost for health care.
John Katsinas is a broker with the Barham Benefit Group in Champaign and works with Champaign County Health Consumers. He'll be here to talk with us about local insurance markets and how that influences the cost of services at local hospitals. Jim Unland, President of the Health Capital Group and editor of the Journal of Health Care Finance also joins us. He says the variance in price has to do with a "cat and mouse game" between insurers and care providers.
7 pm TONIGHT: Film traces fascinating evolution and legacy of Wonder Woman.
Join our free online social screening and discussion of this film that traces the fascinating evolution and legacy of Wonder Woman. From the birth of the comic book superheroine in the 1940s to the blockbusters of today, Wonder Women! looks at how popular representations of powerful women often reflect society's anxieties about women's liberation. The screening begins at 7 pm Wednesday, May 15.
The film goes behind the scenes with TV stars Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman) and Lindsay Wagner (The Bionic Woman), comic writers and artists, and real-life superheroines such as Gloria Steinem, Kathleen Hanna and others, who offer an enlightening and entertaining counterpoint to the male-dominated superhero genre.
Wonder Women! explores the nation’s long-term love affair with comic book superheroes and raises questions about the possibilities and contradictions of heroines within the genre. Reflecting our culture’s deep-seated ambivalence toward powerful women — even in this so called post-feminist era — women may be portrayed as good, or brave, or even featured as “action babes,” but rarely are they seen as heroes at the center of their own journey.
Do you love comics? Have you ever learned anything from one? This hour on Focus, we talk about reading with pictures and how comics can help kids learn.
University of Illinois Assistant Professor Carol Tilley has always felt strongly about the fact that kids need comics. And she’s not the only one. This hour on Focus, we’ll talk with Tilley about how comics played a huge role in her childhood and why she thinks it’s so upsetting that they are less widely available and more expensive than they once were. Award-winning graphic novelist and nationally syndicated cartoonist Josh Elder also joins us. He’s creating a new series of graphic textbooks for elementary and middle school teachers. We’ll talk with him and Tilley about what sets comics apart and why they’re useful in the classroom.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that the need for translators and interpreters will increase by 20 percent in the next 7 years. This hour on Focus, we talk about the challenges that come with training translators and meeting that need.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics the demand for translators will increase by 20 percent by 2020, but here in Illinois, the Illinois Department of Employment Security estimates that need will be even greater. This hour on Focus, we’ll talk with Terena Bell. She’s worked as an interpreter and now owns “In Every Language,” a company based in Louisville, Kentucky that provides translation and localization services and is also secretary for the Globalization and Localization Association, an international translation trade organization. Professor Elizabeth Lowe also joins us. She’s director of the Center for Translations Studies at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign which recently announced it will offer a new master’s program next fall.
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