Sam Baker
Senior Editor and Morning Edition HostSam Baker is KERA's senior editor and local host for Morning Edition. The native of Beaumont, Texas, also edits and produces radio commentaries and Vital Signs, a series that's part of the station's Breakthroughs initiative. He also was the longtime host of KERA 13’s Emmy Award-winning public affairs program On the Record. He also won an Emmy in 2008 for KERA’s Sharing the Power: A Voter’s Voice Special, and has earned honors from the Associated Press and the Public Radio News Directors Inc.
Sam worked in commercial television at NBC and CBS affiliates for six years before moving to public broadcasting. He was news director and Morning Edition host at KWGS-FM in Tulsa, Okla., for three years and moved to KERA in 1991. He has served on the board of Public Radio News Directors Inc. and is a member of the Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Communicators.
As a volunteer, Sam for seven years produced a weekly series, Jazz in Words and Music, for Reading and Radio Resources, an agency serving the visually impaired. He is also a former member on the board of Southwest Transplant Alliance, a private nonprofit organization that provides organs and tissues for transplantation.
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One recent study concluded people living with HIV were more likely to face severe illness and to die if hospitalized than others infected. Results from another recent study found no greater risk. -
Much has been reported about COVID-19’s effect on the respiratory system. But it can also cause gastrointestinal problems.
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Most people think of women as breast cancer patients, but about one in every 1,000 cases diagnosed is found in a man.
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Health experts call the delta variant of coronavirus the greatest threat yet to getting rid of COVID-19 in the U.S.
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Out of more than 20,000 new cases of throat cancer in the U.S. each year, about 14,000 or so are caused by the sexually-transmitted human papillomavirus. Throat cancer has passed cervical cancer as the leading HPV-related cancer in the country. But questions remain about detection and treatment.
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The American Cancer Society says Black Americans have the highest death rate — and the shortest survival rate — for most cancers. To raise more awareness, the Food and Drug Administration created National Black Family Cancer Awareness Week, June 16-23.
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Fort Worth's longest serving mayor may be stepping down, but she won't be idle long. Last week, Price announced she plans to run for Tarrant County Judge next year.
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The state health department in June expanded its list of required screenings for newborns to include spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). It's a rare neuromuscular disorder affecting cells in the spinal cord that signal the muscles how to work.
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The most recent CDC data showed a more than 1,300% increase in hepatitis A virus infections between 2015 and 2019, and a 63% increase for hepatitis C.
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Vital Signs host Sam Baker spoke with Vanessa Simpson, the behavioral health care manager with Children’s Health. She said the loss of routine and fear of the unknown could have contributed to the rise in mental health issues among children.
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After a year of strict COVID safety protocols, the CDC now says fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask in many indoor or outdoor settings. Gov. Greg Abbott later banned mask mandates from local governments, public schools, and public health authorities in Texas.
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Cardiogenic shock occurs when your heart suddenly fails to pump enough blood for your vital organs. It’s the leading cause of death in heart attack patients.
