Hour 1 Over the last decade, options for Philadelphia public school students have expanded dramatically.  With the introduction of charter schools, which have replaced Catholic schools as the leading alternative to traditional public schools, and the expansion of special admissions schools, parents have a dizzying array of choices.  The Pew Foundation Philadelphia Research Initiative has [...]

Filed under: Uncategorized, education, family issues, social issues, teens |

Hour 2 DAVE TOMPKINS’ new book is titled How to Wreck a Nice Beach, but it has nothing to do with the BP oil spill, or any coast at all. Instead, the phrase he chose for his book title is how the words “how to recognize speech” sounded coming out of an early version of [...]

Filed under: arts, music, world |

Hour 1 Last Friday morning, after negotiating until 5 AM, congressional lawmakers reached a compromise on a bill designed to impose new rules on the financial industry.  Both the Senate and House will are expected to vote on the legislation this week. We talk about the likelihood of its passage with DAMIAN PALETTA and then, [...]

Filed under: Uncategorized, economy, politics |

Hour 2
Journalist JONATHAN EIG tells us almost everything we know about legendary Chicago gangster Al Capone is wrong. Eliot Ness wasn't the man who brought down Capone; and newly discovered FBI records add more credence to Capone's denial of responsibility of the Valentine's Day Massacre. Through handwritten letters, wiretap transcripts and recently discovered government documents, Eig reconstructs this American lore in "Get Capone."

Filed under: author, crime, criminal justice, entertainment, law enforcement |

Hour 1 States across the country are facing enormous deficits with budget shortfalls totaling $112 billion for the coming year.  With state sales and income taxes at an all time low, federal Medicaid funding still uncertain, and stimulus money ending at the end of the year, future revenues for states look equally bleak.  To balance [...]

Filed under: Uncategorized, economy, politics |

Hour 2
As an oncology nurse THERESA BROWN, cares for seriously ill patients, helping them cope with the physical and emotional struggles that accompany a diagnoses of cancer. Her memoir, "Critical Care: A New Nurse Faces Death, Life and Everything in Between," chronicles her first year in nursing, a profession she came to mid-career, after being an English professor at the college-level. She documents the critically important role of nursing in the lives of patients as they navigate the complicated bureaucracy of health care while confronting their own fears and pain.

Filed under: author, family issues, health, medicine |

Hour 1
In this week's news round-up, we'll look at the fallout from General McChrystal's dismissal and what his replacement, General Petraeus, will bring to the war in Afghanistan. Will the strategy change or remain the same? We'll also look at the increasing unrest in Iraq with the March election results still undecided. And, back at home, we'll get the latest on the BP oil spill and its political ramifications. What do these crises say about Obama's role as a leader? New poll numbers show that American's confidence in the President is slipping and pessimism about the country's future is growing. We get analysis from Trudy Rubin, Foreign Affairs columnist for "The Philadelphia Inquirer" and James Kitfield, foreign affairs and national security correspondent for "The National Journal."

Filed under: military, politics, world |

Hour 2
Rebroadcast:
Fans of detective shows like CSI or the modern mystery novel know that a suspect’s guilt or innocence is often determined by a miniscule piece of forensic evidence. But this wasn’t always the case, as science journalist Deborah Blum explains in her new book, "The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York." Blum tells the story of two pioneering scientists, New York’s first chief medical examiner Charles Norris and toxicologist Alexander Gettler, who together revolutionized forensic medicine, put countless murderers behind bars, and improved public safety. This hour, we’ll hear some tales of murder and medical detection from the early years of forensic science.

Filed under: author, crime, criminal justice, health, science |

Hour 1
Civilian-Military tensions. Yesterday, General Stanley McChrystal was relieved of his post as the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan after speaking critically to a "Rolling Stone" Reporter about the President and members of his administration. According to our guests, historians DAVID BARRETT and RICHARD KOHN, this is just one example of a long history of conflict between the President and the military. Join us as we talk about the complex relationship between our political and military leaders and what we can learn about it from the McChrystal "mess."

Filed under: military, politics, world |

Hour 2
After a thrilling victory, The U.S. soccer team has advanced in the World Cup and we're talking soccer. We'll handicap the matches, get the scoop on the players to watch and learn about what soccer tells us about the world. We'll talk with two folks who are all over world cup soccer — James Clark, a reporter who also blogs about soccer at the Atlantic City Press, and Franklin Foer, editor of The New Republic and author of "How Soccer Explains the World."

Filed under: sports |