Soldiers' Stories: Pat Tillman & Mike Zacchea August 31
Hour 1 August 31 marks the last day of combat operations in Iraq.  Thousands of U.S. soldiers will soon be returning home.  With this in mind, we thought we’d hear some soldiers’ stories.  First, the tragic life of [...]

The Poker Bride August 31
Hour 2 Writer CHRISTOPHER CORBETT returns to "Radio Times" to talk about his new book, "The Poker Bride," about the Chinese sojourners' experience in the Gold Rush of 1840s. He researches the legend of a Chinese concubine, who after being sold from one gambling owner to another, survived in the Idaho hills.

A conversation with Will Bunch about right-wing politics August 30
Hour 1 In his new book Backlash,  Philadelphia Daily News writer WILL BUNCH takes  on the far right and explores the motivations behind its attacks on the presidency of Barack Obama.  He offers insights into the different groups [...]

Elizabeth Cady Stanton's complex legacy August 30
Hour 1 Elizabeth Cady Stanton, along with her ally Susan B. Anthony, was one of the most famous and most influential leaders of the American movement for women's suffrage. She is also one of the more difficult figures for contemporary feminists to celebrate, considering how racist were the arguments she employed in campaigning against the granting of voting rights for freed slaves before white women got the vote. This legacy lies at the heart of Penn State history and women's studies professor LORI D. GINZBERG's new biography, "Elizabeth Cady Stanton: An American Life." Dr. Ginzberg joins us in studio today for a lively discussion of the feminist icon's troubling life and legacy.

Philly politics roundup & PA election check-in August 27
Hour 1 This week’s political news roundup will focus on Philadelphia, which is finishing summer with a bang. That bang has mostly been going off in the Philadelphia Housing Authority, whose powerful executive director, Carl R. Greene, dropped [...]

Bobby McFerrin's 'VOCAbuLarieS' August 27
Hour 2 BOBBY McFERRIN is one of the world's best-known vocal innovators and improvisers, a world-renowned classical conductor, the creator of "Don't Worry Be Happy," one of the most popular songs of the late 20th century, and a passionate spokesman for music education. His recordings have sold over 20 million copies, and his collaborations including those with with Yo-Yo Ma, Chick Corea, the Vienna Philharmonic, and Herbie Hancock have established him as an ambassador of both the classical and jazz worlds. His first new album in eight years, "VOCAbuLarieS," is a collaboration with composer/arranger/producer Roger Treece, as well as more than 50 of the world's finest singers, recorded one at a time and in small groups to create a virtual choir made up of over 1,400 vocal tracks.

The fallout over the controversy surrounding the proposed Muslim cultural center and mosque in New York August 26
Hour 1 We look at the protests against the proposed Muslim cultural center and mosque in New York, what they say about hostility to Muslims in the U.S., and how Jihadist websites across the globe are responding.  Our [...]

Are public-private partnerships the answer for cash-strapped projects? August 26
Hour 2 With state, local and federal governments all strapped for cash in the wake of the recession, new attention is being paid to public-private partnerships as a mechanism for funding critical needs like infrastructure repair. Pennsylvania’s effort [...]

Pakistan's floods: Impact, consequences and relief August 25
Hour 1 One-fifth of Pakistan is underwater. Monsoon rains have pummeled one of the world’s poorest regions, and one of the most important nations in terms of geopolitical strategy. Already insufficient infrastructure like roads and bridges are submerged [...]

The argument for paid vacations – the policy and quality of life implications August 25
Hour 2 The United States is the only advanced economy that does not guarantee its workers any paid vacation or holidays. In this hour of Radio Times we look at how the U.S. lags behind other countries in [...]

Delaware River Port Authority: A bridge too far? August 24
Hour 1 The Delaware River Port Authority Board of Directors has voted in favor of several reforms, and is still considering others. Board Chairman John Estey has said he will step down at the end of the year, [...]

What's in a name? August 24
Hour 2 How and why do companies change their names and what happens when they do?  Then, what our own names say about us.  Our guests are ERIC DEZENHALL, who counsels corporations on damage control. Then PAMELA REDMOND [...]

Bill McKibben: Climate, weather & politics August 23
Hour 1 Vast swaths of Russian forests are aflame in wildfires. The United Nations humanitarian relief office says the destruction wrought by Pakistan floods are worse than the 2005 earthquakes in  Pakistan, January’s earthquake in Haiti and the [...]

Favorite Broadway Flops with David Fox August 23
Hour 2 University of Pennsylvania’s theater arts lecturer DAVID FOX returns to Radio Times to tackle another element of musical theater with Marty. This time he’ll tell some of the stories behind ‘flops’ from the big stage. We’ll [...]

Economist Mark Zandi: Are we on the road to economic recovery? August 20
Hour 1 During a visit to Ohio earlier this week, the President assured a crowd of supporters that “slowly but surely the economy is moving in the right direction.”  Yet yesterday the Labor Department issued the sobering news [...]

Princess Noire: The Life of Nina Simone August 20
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.

The Giving Pledge: H.F. 'Gerry' Lenfest, Ralph Nader & Sean Stannard-Stockton August 19
Hour 1 America’s wealthiest citizens are on a giving binge. First, Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett pledged to give away at least half their wealth to charity. Then a few weeks ago, they announced that 40 [...]

Four Fish (salmon, cod, bass and tuna): The Future of the Last Wild Food August 19
Hour 2 Large scale commercial fishing, extensive farm fishing and questionable environmental standards have stressed our oceans' ecosystems to the point that many wild fish species are on the brink of extinction.  For his new book, Four Fish, [...]

What new credit card rules mean for consumers and the financial industry August 18
Hour 1 As of this past Sunday, unless a you chose to opt-in for overdraft protection from your bank, your ATM and debit card purchases will now be declined if you have insufficient funds in your account.  This [...]

The importance of kindergarten August 18
Hour 2 A new study shows that quality kindergarten really pays off for students.  Harvard economists found that kids with better kindergarten teachers earned more when they were in their twenties than those with worse teachers.  But many [...]

Lower Manhattan Muslim center proposal, aka the "Ground Zero mosque" August 17
Hour 1 The proposal for a Muslim community center near the site of the September 11th, 2001 terror attacks – you might have heard it mistakenly called a “Ground Zero mosque” – has generated considerable controversy and divided [...]

Wide Awake with Patricia Morrisroe August 17
Hour 2 After struggling with insomnia for years writer PATRICIA MORRISROE has chronicled her sleepless nights in a new book, “Wide Awake.” This is not only a memoir – Morrisroe thought she’d become an expert on this affliction, [...]

The state of the U.S. auto industry August 16
Hour 1 In recent weeks, President Obama has declared the U.S. bailout of the auto industry a huge success.  Detroit’s automakers have begun to pay back their loans and there is some evidence that buyers are returning to [...]

The Periodic Table Explained August 16
Hour 2 Science writer SAM KEAN transformed his childhood hobby of collecting Mercury from broken thermometers into his first book, “The Disappearing Spoon: and Other True Tales of Madness, Love and the History of the World from the [...]

National political roundup, with Todd Purdum, Ross Baker & Dick Polman August 13
On the heels of more primary elections in Connecticut and Colorado, Washington girds for a ruthless fall campaign season before November’s primary elections. Both parties face vigorous challenges from their ideological fringes, with Tea Party candidates pushing the [...]

Following the manhunt behind MLK's assassin August 13
Hour 2 Writer HAMPTON SIDES reconstructs James Earl Ray's life and the events leading up to the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in his new book, "Hellhounds on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin."

Birthright citizenship and the battle over immigration August 12
Several federal legislators have proposed changing the 14th amendment which guarantees citizenship to all babies born on U.S. soil as a way of controlling immigration to the U.S. We’ll explore the feasibility of such proposals as well as [...]

The Science of Pleasure August 12
Hour 2 Why do people get pleasure from a panoramic view, a great symphony, our pets, or pornography?  Yale psychologist PAUL BLOOM studies why we enjoy and desire certain things.  In his new book, How Pleasure Works: The [...]

Should Philadelphia drop the DROP program? August 11
Hour 1 Philadelphia's Deferred Retirement Option Program, better known as DROP, is one of the more contentious issues in city politics these days. An academic study released last week found that the program had cost Philadelphia an extra [...]

Extend Yourself to a Friend, Extend Your Life August 11
Hour 2 Most people recognize the important role friends play in our lives, offering support and companionship.  But research over the past decade has shown that friendships do even more — they lengthen our lives, increasing our chances [...]

Small high schools in Philadelphia August 10
Hour 2 Of the School District of Philadelphia’s 60 high schools, thirty-three are considered “small schools” with enrollments under 700 students.  While some operate as neighborhood schools and others are opened to students throughout the district, a handful [...]

Behind the Overturning of California's Prop 8 Overturned August 10
Hour 1 Last week a federal judge in San Francisco overturned California’s Proposition 8 (the California Marriage Protection Act, a ballot initiative and amendment passed in November 2008) as it discriminates against gay men and women. Will it [...]

Nuclear Security and Nonproliferation August 9
Hour 1 August 6th marked the 65th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.  Three days later, 65 years ago today, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.  Over 200,000 people were killed by the two atom bombs.  Friday, [...]

The Evolution of Light: From Prehistoric Stone Lamps to LEDs August 9
Hour 2 Picture the caves of Lascaux over 40,000 years ago.  Those prehistoric artists painted their pictures of horses, stags, bulls and bison using only the light from stone lamps burning animal fat.  Writer JANE BROX starts her [...]

PA political news roundup, with Scott Detrow & Alex Roarty August 6
Hour 1 Pennsylvania is home to a host of compelling political races for seats up for election in November. Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett is vying with Democrat Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato to succeed Ed Rendell as [...]

How conspiracy theories thrive and prosper August 6
Hour 2 DAVID AARONOVITCH’s new book, "Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History," looks at, and debunks, some of the most widely believed conspiracy theories in circulation today. From Neil Armstrong’s 1969 moonwalk to Princess Diana’s death to the 9/11 terror attacks, Aaronovitch analyzes not only why alternate – and untrue – stories about seminal events have caught on, but also how the myths themselves have come to alter the course of actual history.

The Consequences of Long-Term Unemployment August 5
Hour 1 Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warned this week that unemployment rates could still rise in the coming months.  Currently 14.6 million Americans are unemployed.  Close to half of the unemployed have been jobless for 27 weeks – [...]

Author Jennifer Weiner on Her New Book 'Fly Away Home' August 5
Hour 2 Best-selling author and Philadelphian JENNIFER WEINER’s new book, Fly Away Home, tackles a timely subject: a cheating politician and the betrayed wife.  It follows a Senator’s wife and two daughters after an extramarital affair makes national [...]

Fighting against foreclosures, with U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah & John Dodds August 4
Hour 1 With foreclosures again soaring across the United States, we’ll talk about the housing crisis and efforts to abate it. Among them is The Emergency Homeowners’ Relief Fund, set take effect by October and authored by U.S. [...]

Primatologist Frans de Waal on the evolution of empathy August 4
Hour 2 World-renowned primatologist FRANS DE WAAL has spent years studying chimpanzees, bonobos, and capuchins.  While he has witnessed plenty of selfish and aggressive behavior, he has also watched primates cooperate, resolve conflicts, share food, laugh, and help [...]

Changing Channels: Troubling Times for Cable News August 3
Hour 1 Cable news is losing viewers.  Even Fox News, which tops the ratings week after week, saw a 12% drop in daily viewers in July. But CNN’s ratings are even worse, dropping 43% last month.  The original [...]

Writer Mary Roach on 'Packing for Mars' August 3
Hour 1 Images of rockets blasting off into outer space are pretty awe-inspiring.  But what about the bathroom technology that’s inside them?  Or the food that is specially engineered to be edible in zero gravity?  This is the [...]

Shakeup at the Delaware River Port Authority August 2
Hour 1 The Delaware River Port Authority is facing a fresh round of scrutiny, with elected leaders on both sides of the river calling for investigations and audits. The DRPA’s public safety director, Michael Joyce, resigned last week [...]

Understanding people who hoard animals August 2
Hour 2 According to a recent story in the Inquirer, in Philadelphia alone, there were roughly two cases of animal hoarding reported in 2004.  Now there are approximately two each month.  Why do people collect animals and are [...]