First hour: How tennis star Naomi Osaka helped put athletes' mental health in the global spotlight
Second hour: Suzanne Simard, author of "Finding the Mother Tree"Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka shocked the sports world when she announced last week that she was withdrawing from the French Open. Osaka had skipped media obligations leading into the tournament, revealing that she was struggling with her mental health. The move was applauded by some athletes and advocates, who praised Osaka for putting athletes' mental health into the global spotlight. But critics and some sports journalists say that talking to the press is part of an elite athlete's job, and Osaka shouldn't neglect that obligation. The story raises a number of questions: how do we care for our mental health? When it is okay to step back? What is the responsibility of an elite athlete when it comes to communicating with journalists? Our guests address these questions and more. Our guests:
- Mike Maloney, M.D., chief of the Sports Medicine Division in the Department of Orthopaedics and founder of the Fitness Science and CHAMMP programs at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and former elite athlete
- Craig Cypher, Psy.D., assistant professor of Orthopaedics and sport psychologist for the Fitness Science program at the University of Rochester Medical Center
- Alexa Ross, sports anchor and reporter at WROC
- Scott Pitoniak, longtime Rochester sports columnist and author
Then in our second hour, ecologist Suzanne Simard wants to change the way you think about trees. Simard has dedicated her life to studying how trees communicate. Her research details how they perceive one another, how they collaborate with their neighbors, even how they remember the past. Her work in forests has informed the logging industry, and she hopes it can influence federal policy. Simard will be a guest of the Western New York Land Conservancy next week, but first, she joins us on Connections to discuss her new book, "Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest." We hear about her research on the "wood-wide-web", her encounters with grizzly bears, and what she wants everyone to know about the wisdom of trees. Our guests:
- Suzanne Simard, ecologist, professor in the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences at the University of British Columbia, and author of "Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest"
- Kyle Semmel, communications manager for the Western New York Land Conservancy
