Aarp Washington State Podcast

In this episode, we discuss the misinformation "infodemic" with Prof. Kate Starbird of the UW's Center for an Informed Public. Dr. Starbird studies how social media and other messaging spreads around the world. We explore how we can tell fact from fiction and how to fight the spread of disinformation in our lives. And yes, she is Kate Starbird the basketball star! So at the end of the episode, we talk a bit about the state of women's basketball and about retiring from professional sports and finding a new calling. In addition to her work at the Center, Kate is an associate professor in the UW's Human Centered Design and Engineering department, on the faculty of the Paul G. Allen Computer Science and Engineering program and a data science fellow at the eScience Institute.

This episode is a panel discussion as part of our partnership with the Seattle Storm on the importance of maintaining our mental health and wellbeing during times of uncertainty.   Learn how Storm forward Katie Lou Samuelson maintains her mental health while living navigating an WNBA season. Katie Lou has been open about her mental struggles, inspiring others to seek help and be their best. Other panelists are Seattle Top Doctor and geriatric psychiatrist Dr. Arpan Waghray of Swedish Behavior Health and Dr. Edwin Tan of AARP. The discussion is moderated by UW nursing professor Dr. Tatiana Sadak, who specializes in geriatric psychiatry and dementia. The session features tips and tools on how we can help ourselves and our loved ones keep mentally fit and healthy.

Jim Browning is an Internet scam buster and online vigilante known for his "Jim Browning" YouTube channel, which has nearly 3.5 million subscribers and fans around the world. Jim delves into the shadowy world on fraudulent boiler rooms and has figured out how to see into the criminal's computers and cameras to expose their methods. He's also a master at getting the con artists to incriminate themselves. Jim has been called the "Internet's Batman", as he tries to save potential victims in real time as they're on the phone with scammers. He refers to several of his cases in the interview and you can find them at his channel by searching for "Jim Browning". That's not his real name, for obvious reasons, but he has real-world advice for avoiding being scammed. He was featured in the April edition of the AARP Bulletin in a front page story and this interview was part of the basis for that story. You can also see a profile of Jim and a short version of the case described at length in the interview on our YouTube ch

Con artists asking for your money via pre-paid gift cards are one of top ways to spot a rip off before it happens. Scammers will ask their victim to buy gift cards at a retail store and read off the number. Within seconds, your money is gone forever. Another twist is demands to pay in cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. In this episode, our Fraud Watch volunteers Jean and Debby fill us in on the details.

This live Q&A event teletown hall gave our members the opportunity to ask questions and learn about the current state of the pandemic in Washington, what is on the horizon, and what to know as we emerge from the pandemic from Governor Jay Inslee and Washington State Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah. For more than a year, the pandemic has been a constant in our daily lives. What are the next steps as we move forward? Recorded Wednesday, April 21st at 4 p.m.

Confused about the vaccination process in Washington State? Wondering what you should do to stay informed and stay safe? On today's episode, we're joined by WA State Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah and Attorney General Bob Ferguson. We get the latest on vaccination across our state, plus an update con artists using the coronavirus as a hook.

Are you tired of being tired? Or could you use better sleep? Our guest today is world-class sleep consultant Pat Byrne, who’s worked with the Seahawks, Mariners and Sounders and other pro, college and Olympic teams, plus the US military and many other major institutions. We’ll get the lowdown on sleep and performance, and how aging affects our sleep. He’s the author a new book called “An Inconvenient Sleep: Why Teams Win and Lose” which he co-wrote with his daughter Suzanne Byrne. Of course, I had to ask him about the sleep issues that seem to come on as we get older, from waking in the night… to early rising… to the increased difficulty in changing time zones. We talked about sleep trackers, how they can help and where they’re pretty useless. Pat says naps are OK… and explains why and how to nap.

Have we entered a new era of misinformation and outright lying? Prof. Jeffrey Hancock is director of the Social Media Lab at Stanford University, where he studies trends in our discourse and he has ideas on how we can better find the truth. His TED Talk called "The Future Of Lying" has been viewed over 1 million times on YouTube. Learn about the Butler Lie, Sockpuppets, the 50 Cent Chinese Army and much more. This is a live presentation of AARP Washington, The UW Center for an Informed Public and BECU. You can learn more or watch video at aarp.org/factfromfiction

Join us for this roundtable discussion with experts Jevin West, Director of the nonpartisan Center for an Informed Public, and David Mikkelson, the founder of Snopes.com. Jevin and David provide a detailed look at the history and current state of misinformation and will equip you with the tools and resources you need to distinguish fact from fiction. Learn how to determine if the sources you’re using are reputable, how to report misleading information and scams, how to best approach friends or family who have shared inaccurate content, and much more.

In this special edition of the podcast, our Fraud Watch Network cyber expert Dave Morrow alerts us to how con artists are using the 2020 election to scam money and personal information. This has nothing to do with the campaigns, it's old-fashioned fraud in a new package. Dave tells us what to watch out for and how to fight back.

How to spot misinformation with Prof. Jevin West, Director of the nonpartisan Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington. This episode is a live online event on how you can avoid falling for the attempts to mislead that are all around us. The spread of misinformation is among the most pressing challenges of our time. New platforms for human interaction and information sharing have opened the door to misinformation, disinformation and other forms of networked manipulation, which not only mislead and create divisions, but also diminish trust in democratic institutions such as science and journalism.  Jevin West provides us with a powerful set of tools to cut through the most intimidating data. You don't need a lot of technical expertise to call out problems with data. Are the numbers or results too good or too dramatic to be true? Is the claim comparing like with like? Is it confirming your personal bias? Drawing on a deep well of expertise in statistics and computational biology, Jevin West

In this episode, we talk with Laura Coffey, the author of "My Old Dog: Rescued Pets with Remarkable Second Acts". Senior dogs often desperately need rescue from shelters and Laura explains the joys of giving these pets a loving home. Often there can be no costs to the new owner. Laura also tells how she made her dream of creating a best-selling book come true. You can learn more at myolddogbook.com.

AARP Financial Ambassador/TODAY Show financial editor Jean Chatzky and Lyn Peters from WA's Department of Financial Institutions answer questions from older adults about managing finances during the coronavirus outbreak. This episode is from "Spread The Facts", a production of TVW, AARP Washington, and WA COVID-19 Joint Information Center to help people over 50 navigate the coronavirus pandemic. Jean and Lyn answer questions from our members and TVW's David Johnson.

In this episode, we focus on scams arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. In a crisis, con artists craft their pitch to what's in the news. We talk frauds relating to stimulus payments, offers of protective supplies or cures, price gouging, fake charities and investments and more, with guests Attorney General Bob Ferguson; Shannon Smith, Division Chief of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division; and AARP Fraud Expert Doug Shadel. David Johnson of TVW is the host and the program is a part of "Spread The Facts", a partnership between TVW, AARP and the WA COVID-19 Joint Information Center.

This episode is a recording of our Tele-Town Hall live Q&A phone event on the Coronavirus in WA, featuring Gov. Jay Inslee, Secretary of Health John Wiesman and Attorney General Bob Ferguson. We take calls from our members and answer questions about how to stay safe during this disease outbreak, both health-wise from the virus and from con artists seeking to use fear to scam you. The call was recorded Sat. March 21st.

This episode is a recording of our Tele-Town Hall on the Novel Coronavirus COVID-19, featuring experts from Seattle-King County Public Health and the Washington State Department of Health. It's important information for older adults. Hosted by AARP Washington State Director Doug Shadel, the call features Ingrid Ulrey, Public Health Policy Director for Seattle & King County and Dr. Marisa D’Angeli, Epidemiologist from the Washington State Department of Health, Office of Communicable Disease Epidemiology. The program includes call-in questions from our Tele-Town Hall audience. The call took place Thursday, March 12 at 10:00 a.m. For more information, please see aarp.org/coronavirus

On this episode, our guest is Amy Nofziger, director of the AARP Fraud Watch Network's Help Line. The Help Line is a free service for advice on frauds and scams and for our members to report frauds to the Network. Amy fills us in on the latest, including the DNA Genetic Swab Scam. You can reach the Help Line at 1-877-908-3360 and it's absolutely free.

The 2020 Census is so important to older Americans that AARP has formed a national task force, led by AARP Census Project Lead Jennifer Baier, to make sure our members are counted accurately. We'll find out the different ways to respond to the Census, how to get one of the half million jobs available helping with the Census, how to spot and report Census scams, and more in this special episode. 

Medicine is taking a new look at psychedelic drugs for treatment of PTSD, depression, anxiety, smoking cessation, end of life care and more. We talk with UW professor Dr. Ingrid Walker about the research being done at major institutions like Johns Hopkins and what hope these old, sometimes ancient, drugs have for new medical and therapeutic use.

"Home Matters with Pete" on KIRO 97.3 FM interviews our Outreach Director Amanda Frame and Communications Director Bruce Carlson on this radio talk show. We talk about a full range of what AARP does in Washington State, including fraud prevention, employment programs, encouraging livable communities, how AARP got started and much more.