Living Smart and Latina Voices: Smart Talk

Two of the series I will be working on in the next year have the word "Smart" in the titles. I figured if I say it enough times, maybe it will rub off on me! Seriously, how many times do we make smart decisions in life? Do we take enough time or give it a thought? Am I smarter now after 5 seasons of Living Smart? I hope so. I sure have learned a great deal from my extraordinary guests.

On February 22nd we launch Latina Voices: Smart Talk at 2:30pm on HoustonPBS. The show is airing now at the Houston TV (HTV) the city of Houston Channel (Ch. 16 Comcast) on Sundays and Wednesdays at 8 am and 8pm. The show is unprecedented. It was created by Minerva Perez, a former Ch. 13 anchor. I jumped on board when I heard I could actually interview guests with two other women. I felt that would make it much more interesting, since the three of us have very different personalities and really enjoy each other's approach to interviews.

The other co host is Texas super lawyer Sofia Adrogue. As far as we know, there is no other show like it in the country. The "View" for instance has no Latina doing interviews. I guess that may have to do with the notion that Latinas only like to do shows together in Spanish stations and in the Spanish language. This is a wrong assumption of course because most of us who are first generation American, like to speak English as wel!!!! It has been a lot of fun. We have done some celebrity interviews with olympic athletes, college presidents, pioneers and agents of change. We are also trying to cover controversial issues from different points of view, such as gun control, immigration, and global warming.

We just finished shooting our fifth season of Living Smart. The show is now airing in 113 PBS channels including some interesting cities like Anchorage, San Francisco, Cincinatti, Indianapolis, Tampa etc. We are all over the map and I like that. I want as many people as possible to benefit from the information Living Smart guests can provide. The new season which will launch in April will cover some of the most important and relevant topics we have covered in any season.

I find the subject matter useful in light of what we are living. Many of us are feeling the anxiety created by the financial situation the world faces today. Many are losing jobs and unfortunately those who feel no hope are going as far as taking their own lives. I have heard of a number of suicides. I hope people realize this is only temporary and everything has a solution, except death. Here are the topics

Ethics (Why do we need to be ethical? You'd be surprised how making the right decisions can ground you to overcome almost any obstacle)

Integrity (When you have it, it is the only thing no one can take away from you. It's value is intrinsic and it sure can help you sleep at night)

Poverty alleviation. (Microcredit and how it is changing one life at a time, Check out KIVA.org)

The Future. (Do you want to know where the jobs will be? what industries are likely to survive? What you should study?)

Dealing with Prickly People. (No need to elaborate on this. We all suffer from this malaise)

Living Green. (Do you want to save money and take care of the planet at the same time? Find out how)

The Ultimate Cheapskate ( Learn to live more with less)

The value of a music education. (Incredible facts about brain development and academic success)

Science Literacy (Technology is bound to help us get out of the rut we are in, how do we get our kids interested in science)

Children's brain and emotional development (Do you want to raise happy kids? Learn what you need to do)

Parenting by redirecting children's behabior ( As parents we never know enough, get some new tips)

Civility (It is time we learn to listen and learn from each other with respect)

Conflict Resolution (Do you want to avoid conflicts even before you jump into a relationship? learn how to do it)

As we get closer to the date I will share more information about the guests. We have nationally and world reknowned guests this season, an international opera star, a former astronaut, an award winning ethicist and brain development specialist.

Be sure to watch when we launch. In the mean time don't forget you can catch past shows on our website www.houstonpbs.org/livingsmart
and learn more about Latina Voices on www.latinavoices.com