National Parks, Cancer Control, Binge Watching, Fit and Fun, Women Empowerment

National Parks Tuesday (00:00) Today we are featuring three parks in one. New River Gorge, Bluestone National Scenic River, and Gauley River are all located in Southern West Virginia. These beautiful rivers sit in the Appalachian mountain range and are full of recreational activities for the whole family. Joining us today is Julena Campbell, Chief of Interpretation & Cultural Resources for this area, to give us some more information about these parks. Gaining Control of Cancer (16:40) April has been deemed “Cancer Control Month”. Professionals and organizations are “reminding Americans about the factors that may cause cancer and the strategies that can be followed to prevent or reduce risk for malignancy” according to Healio Cancer Prevention. We have on the show today Merrill Christensen, the Director of the BYU Simmons Center for Cancer Research. The Effects of Binge Watching (34:15) Ever been watching Netflix or Hulu and after about 5 episodes your device asks “are you still watching?” So many people are familiar with this phenomenon called ‘binge-watching’; in fact, “A 2014 Netflix survey indicated that 61% of its respondents regularly binge-watch at least two to three episodes of a series in one sitting.” Today we have with us Dr. Grant McCracken, a cultural anthropologist who coordinated with Netflix on the survey, to talk about binge-watching. Fit and Fun Challenge (50:34) Sometimes getting in our daily exercise can be difficult, especially as we get older and have many other things that we need to do. That’s why a challenge can be a great tool to use to get ourselves moving! Last year, fitness expert, Denise Austin, helped launch the first AARP Fit & Fun Health Challenge and it was an enormous success.  She’s here with us today to the kickoff the second annual Challenge!   Women Empowerment (1:03:48) In this world where people love to tear others down as they hide behind cyberspace walls and shout unkind words with their keyboards, it is increasingly harder to find online spaces that are safe landing places for goodness and wholesomeness. It is especially difficult for women whose image perception and beauty ideals are plastered all over social media platforms where anyone can compare their lives to the exciting images they see on Instagram. Aleisha “Mama Leisha” McDaniel seeks to be that landing place online for people to come and read truly good content. She joins us to discuss this topic of women supporting and strengthening other women.