Heather McClain

Bachelorette weekends, reunions spa retreats or the need to simply get out of town. Those are some of the reasons you and your best girlfriends may want to plan a weekend away. This week travel contributor Elaine Labalme offers up some suggestions for girlfriend getaways.

Start planning your own getaway with these recommendations from Elaine Labalme:

  NPR's weekly news quiz show Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me has been entertaining public radio listeners for more than 15 years. Now the show hits the big screen with a nationwide cinecast. We'll talk with host Peter Sagal about the radio show, it's failed TV pilot and his experience at the recent Boston Marathon.

  Less than three weeks after the Boston Marathon bombing, Pittsburgh will stage its own annual 26.2 mile event. While Pittsburgh Marathon officials say security has been beefed up since a bomb scare during the 2010 race, Public Safety Director Michael Huss joins us to discuss other plans in the works to secure the event and what racers and spectators can expect on May 5th.

  Throughout the month of April, an odd looking truck serving as a mobile talk show set drove to each of the Pittsburgh's 90 neighborhoods to interview residents.  TALKPGH is a collection of stories and opinions structured like a show. It's part of PLANPGH, Pittsburgh's comprehensive game plan for growth. Assistant Producer Nina Sarnelle and Pittsburgh Public Art Manager Morton Brown talk about the common threads they found, and the challenges of recording a mobile talk show on the streets of Pittsburgh.

Forty years ago, John Dean was a young attorney with the the job of a lifetime, White House counsel to the President of the United States Richard Nixon. But that year he was called to testify before the Senate Watergate Committee and it was his testimony that ultimately linked President Nixon to the scandal that would bring down his presidency. John Dean and his business partner Jim Robenalt recently gave a talk at the Allegheny County Bar Association on How Watergate Revolutionized Legal Ethics.

View an interactive timeline of the Watergate Scandal, courtesy of TimeToast:

Our legal contributor, University of Pittsburgh law professor David Harris talks about the lessons attorneys learned from the Watergate era and why lawyers must now consider more than just attorney client privilege.

"Before John Dean, a lawyer had two choices, keep his or her mouth shut or quit. And that was it."

Writer and Mt. Lebanon resident Mary Frailey Calland does intensive research for her Civil War era novels. In between deep dives in the archives she reads contemporary fiction. She talks with  WESA Morning Edition Host Josh Raulerson about her reading selections.

Whether you’re a marathoner or recreational runner it goes without saying, the most essential piece of running equipment is a good pair of running shoes. This week, our contributor Rebecca Harris discusses the business of running shoes.

Interested in the running shoe business? Find out more about the athletic footwear industry and pick up some tips for training for a marathon:

Highmark Inc. has finalized its partnership with a long list of healthcare providers including the West Penn Allegheny Health System. Now that the Pennsylvania Insurance Department has approved the deal, what happens on Dec. 31, 2014 when the UPMC-Highmark contract expires? Diane Denis, Katz Alumni Chair in Finance and Pitt Professor of Business Administration, dissects the deal.

WESA City Council reporter Noah Brode joins us for a weekly update on Pittsburgh City Council. The battle continues between the City of Pittsburgh and UPMC regarding its nonprofit status. The lawsuit was moved to federal court on April 19th. And last Friday UPMC motioned to have the lawsuit dismissed.  Also, we'll talk about the status of a proposed gunshot detection system in neighborhoods prone to violence.

  As a college student, what was your approach to financial planning? Did you even have one? High school seniors preparing to move on to college and college seniors starting careers or graduate work often find that there's something missing from their education, personal financial management. The Missing Semester is a financial planning book by Gene Natali Jr., Senior Vice President at C.S. McKee a Pittsburgh investment firm. He and Katz School of business professor Jay Sukits recently held a student roundtable on financial literacy where college and high school students from around the region shared their financial planning stories. Hear how Western PA students are making financial choices and consider your own as we discuss the challenges of money management and school.

"The choices we make every day have financial consequences--in some cases, BIG financial consequences. "

  Every major business in the U.S. has an anti-distrimination policy when it comes to hiring. That includes the National Football League. But what about reports of loaded personal questions for players trying out for the draft? Sports Contributor Bob Dvorchak talks about how athletes are tested at the NFL scouting combine and where the league stands on the discrimination claims.

  Kathleen Kane is the first woman and Democrat elected to the position of Pennsylvania Attorney General. When she was sworn in earlier this year, she faced a host of challenges from the Corbett Administration and scandals within the PA Turnpike Commission.

"We're watching.  And if anybody decides that it is in their best interest to get involved in public corruption, we will teach them otherwise. "

Under a  Pennsylvania House passed bill, women who want an abortion have to buy coverage separate from the affordable care act. This is one of the latest challenges for organizations like Planned Parenthood in providing access to reproductive health care. Joining us to talk about these challenges is Kim Evert, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Western PA.

 This topic is of a mature nature and may not be suitable for all listeners

It's a sad and troubling fact that women young and old are being raped in Africa by men who believe it will cure them of AIDS. Rape, along with a lack of hygiene products, is causing many women to miss school on a regular basis. We'll talk with Linda Ambroso and Kathy Surma, two Pittsburgh women who, through their volunteer work with the Girl Child Network, are helping the young women in this region live safer and healthier lives.

Tapestries of Hope is a film that documents the experiences of some of the young women they've worked with in Zimbabwe.

To make a local donation to GCN, contact Kathy Surma ksurma2008@gmail.com

Ever more people are concerned about global warming and climate change but perhaps no group more so than women, since air quality issues caused by C02 emissions can have such damaging consequences on our children (asthma), babies and unborn children (mercury poisoning). We'll talk with Joylette Portlock who has launched DoSomethingAboutClimate.com, a humorous and informative volley to get people to listen, and act.

While many people use their vacation to get away, soak up the sun and forget about the cares of the world, others vacation for a cause, such as Habitat for Humanity. If a trip like this is in your future, travel contributor Elaine Labalme offers tips for foreign travel including visas, health/safety precautions and more.

For travel volunteerism opportunities with some Pittsburgh based groups check out:

Global Links Pittsburgh

Amizade Global Service Learning

A great deal of news coverage has been reported about the decision to read or not to read the Miranda Rights statement to Boston Marathon bombing suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. According to our legal contributor, University of Pittsburgh Law Professor David Harris, much of the coverage has been off base. He joins us to discuss what Miranda rights do, in general, and specifically how they apply to this case. We'll also talk about the current Supreme Court case, Salinas v. Texas, which begs the question, how much protection should we get from our "right to remain silent?"

Actor, comedienne, singer, and author Sandra Bernhard is coming to Pittsburgh as part of the Warhol Museum's Off the Wall Series. She talks about how her entertainment career has evolved through the years, her affinity for Andy Warhol and the 30th anniversary of the King of Comedy, a film that greatly impacted her acting career.

With the steady depletion of earth’s natural resources and accelerating population growth, more and more people are giving serious thought to the idea of outer space resource exploration.

But how should the process be regulated? Professor Dimitris Kraniou, Point Park University Chair of the Department of Global Management and Organization, has been teaching this subject matter for years in his special project classes for graduate students. He turns real life global problems into outer space "what if" scenarios for students to solve.

April is Autism Awareness Month and if you or your child has autism you've likely heard of the DSM, published by the American Psychiatric Association. DSM stands for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual and the main purpose of the manual is to provide standard guidelines for clinicians to use when diagnosing psychological disorders and conditions. The manual outlines criteria that must be met to receive a diagnosis, as well as labeling and coding sometimes used by insurance companies to identify the diagnosis. The DSM is periodically revised and this spring new revisions to the manual will be published.  

Dr. Mario Fischetti is a clinical psychologist with the Pittsburgh Psychoanalytic Center, and the moderator of its ongoing "Reading Fiction with Freud" discussion series. He talks to WESA host Josh Raulerson about neuroses in novels.

In light of everything that happened last week in Boston, our business contributor Rebecca Harris focuses on the business of physical and personal security. What do you need to consider if you are setting up your own security company? She also comments on Work Force Violence and the connection to the security industry. Read more about the growing security industry:

  After last week's bombing at the Boston Marathon and the passionate singing of the national anthem at Wednesday's Bruins game, sports contributor Bob Dvorchak talks about how sporting events can galvanize a city and a nation. Also, what concerns does the bombing raise about security at sporting events?