Hour 1
With members of Congress on recess and back in their districts, we ask what kind of reception the big health care legislation they just passed is getting. Joining Marty to talk about the politics and policy is U.S. Rep. BOB BRADY, who’s also the head of Philadelphia’s Democratic Party and the head of the House Administration Committee. The latter job has him in charge of the Capitol Police in Washington DC, working to ensure the safety and security of Congress and the public around Capitol Hill. We’ll also talk to Franklin & Marshall political scientist STEPHEN K. MEDVIC about the reception that Congress is getting and the political climate across the country and the region.

Filed under: economy, family issues, health, politics, social issues |

Hour 2
The CDC reports that Caesarean sections have reached an all time high, making up 32% of all births in the U.S. C-sections are now the most common operation performed in hospitals. But another CDC report says home births are also rising. We'll ask Yale University professor of obstetrics Edmund Funai about what’s behind these two trends and talk to medical journalist Randi Hutter Epstein about her new book, "Get Me Out: A History of Childbirth from the Garden of Eden to the Sperm Bank."

Filed under: author, family issues, health, science, social issues, technology |

Hour 1
Widespread allegations of child abuse by priests in Germany and Italy, is renewing questions about the culpability of Church leaders. Complicating matters is the issue of Pope Benedicts role in covering up such abuse while he an Archbishop in Munich. We'll talk about the events of recent weeks, the Vatican’s response, parallels to the crisis in the American Catholic Church and what the Catholic Church can do about the issue of child abuse. We're joined by NICHOLAS CAFARDI, a civil and canon lawyer, and religion writer MICHAEL SEAN WINTER.

Filed under: religion, world |

Hour 2
Nearly 100,000 Americans are waiting for organ transplants. Many will die while they wait. The shortage of organs has led some to suggest that we should pay living donors for their organs. A recent study by University of Pennsylvania professor Scott Halpern in the "Annals of Internal Medicine" explores this very idea and questions some of the ethical arguments against creating a regulated organ market. This hour, bioethicists Scott Halpern of the University of Pennsylvania and David Magnus of Stanford University discuss legalizing the sale of organs.

Filed under: health, science, social issues |

Hour 1
Now that the health care bill has passed, President Obama and Senate Democrats have turned their attention to financial reform. The Democratic bill to overhaul the financial industry passed the Senate Banking Committee is now on the Senate floor. This hour, we’ll talk about the proposed legislation – how it affects big banks and consumers. Our guests are Damon Silvers, Policy Director for the AFL-CIO and Congressional Oversight Panel member, and Peter Goodman, national economic correspondent for the "New York Times."

Filed under: economy, politics |

Hour 2
The late musician, Nina Simone, wanted to stay outside any conventional category. Her classical piano training backed up her identity as a songwriter, jazz singer, a blues singer, pop singer and a soul singer. She was ‘misunderstood,’ as one of her famous recordings revealed. Writer NADINE COHODAS helps us to understand Simone’s difficult life in her new biography, "Princess Noire: The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone." Cohodas has written several books including a biography of Dinah Washington and the story behind Chess Records.

Filed under: arts, author, entertainment, music |

Hour 1
This week saw the passage of the biggest domestic legislation in a few generations, in a narrow partisan vote, when President Obama signed the landmark health care bill into law. It also saw Republicans launch a campaign to repeal the Democratic agenda and Obamacare, as well as a rash of threats that caused great consternation in the Beltway and beyond. Joining Marty to make sense of it all are MATTHEW YGLESIAS, a Fellow and blogger at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, and CHRIS STIREWALT, political editor, columnist and blogger for the Washington Examiner.

Filed under: economy, health, politics, social issues |

Hour 2
Last Saturday, hundreds of kids gathered in a flash mob on South Street in Philadelphia, disrupting traffic, damaging property, and occasionally assaulting pedestrians. On Wednesday afternoon, the police foiled another attempted flash mob in West Philadelphia. In recent months, a number of flash mob incidents have wrecked havoc in Center City and South Street, scaring residents and damaging the city’s reputation. This hour, Everett Gillison, Philadelphia’s Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, and Howard Stevenson, Associate Professor and Chair in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania, discuss what’s behind these flash mobs, why they turn destructive, and what the city is doing about it.

Filed under: crime, criminal justice, family issues, parenting, school issues, social issues, teens |

Hour 1
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has entered a new phase of angry accusations, stalled negotiations and bitter disputes over Israeli settlements in parts of past and perhaps future Palestinian lands. Which is to say that nothing much is new at all. Still, the world hopes for a restart of peace negotiations. Here to discuss the past, present and possible future of those talks is Dr. HANAN ASHRAWI, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, also known as the PLO. Dr. Ashrawi was the official spokeswoman for the Palestinian delegation to the Middle East peace process during the 1991 Madrid peace conference, and has won several major peace-making awards. She's in town giving a lecture at LaSalle University later today as part of its Diplomat in Residence program, and she’s our guest on today’s "Radio Times."

Filed under: military, politics, religion, world |

Hour 2
Now that President Obama has signed the health care bill into law, it’s all over, right? Not by a long shot. On today's "Radio Times," Marty will discuss three discrete parts of the health care bill aftermath that deserve special attention. First, she'll talk with TED RUGER, Penn Law professor and constitutional law expert, about the legal challenges to the health care legislation being threatened by several states. Then, Marty and Ted Ruger will be joined by MICHELLE GOLDBERG, senior correspondent for The American Prospect, to discuss the effects on abortion access and politics, and the implications of the executive order President Obama agreed to issue to seal the deal for anti-abortion Democrats. And finally, hidden in all the hubbub over health care was another major government reform included in the legislation: an overhaul of the nation’s student loan industry. Marty will talk to Washington Post national education reporter NICK ANDERSON about what that will mean for students, schools and the student-loan industry.

Filed under: economy, health, politics, religion, social issues |