Understanding the Comcast/NBCU merger January 31
Hour 1 Earlier this month, the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice approved the merger of the country's largest cable operator, Philadelphia’s Comcast Corporation, and broadcasting company NBC Universal. The FCC tacked on several unprecedented conditions [...]

Uprisings in the Middle East January 31
Hour 2 Protesters have taken to the streets across Egypt to demand the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.  This follows similar anti-government riots in Tunisia which resulted in an end to the 23-year dictatorship of former Tunisian President [...]

Pennsylvania politics & the start of the Corbett era January 28
Hour 1 Earlier this week, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett unveiled his long-awaited legislative reform package to provide more transparency about government spending, reduce waste, budget for two years at a time and cut off funding for lawmakers' pet [...]

Moon Hotel Lounge Project January 28
Hour 2 TOM MOON has been a frequent guest on Radio Times. When he was the Pop Music critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer, he had been part of a panel on great guitarists; upon last year’s closing of [...]

The Philadelphia International Airport Expansion January 27
Hour 1 The Federal Aviation Administration recently approved the Philadelphia International Airport’s $5.2 billion expansion plan. The airport wants to lengthen two runways and a build a fifth one to address continual congestion and delay problems.  But to [...]

Writer Anand Giridharadas hears 'India Calling' January 27
Hour 2 Anand Giridharadas was born in America but just a few decades after his parents left India in search of a better life, he returned to a new and economically booming India to work and explore his cultural heritage.  [...]

District Attorney Seth Williams on the case against Kermit Gosnell January 26
Hour 1 Last week, Dr. Kermit Gosnell, a West Philadelphia abortion provider was indicted on eight counts of murder for the deaths of patient Karnamaya Mongar and seven babies.  We talk about the disturbing case with Philadelphia District [...]

What the President said in his State of the Union Address January 26
Hour 2 In a much anticipated State of the Union address on Tuesday evening,  President Obama is expected to outline five pillars of his plan "How We Win the Future."  They include innovation, education, infrastructure, tackling the national debt, [...]

Rose George, on shipping, pirates and waste January 25
Hour 1 ROSE GEORGE spent much of last summer on a huge freighter ship bound for Singapore, charting pirate-infested waters and researching the state of international shipping for her next book and the online magazine Slate. She found [...]

Animal Rescues and Pet Transporters January 25
Hour 2 Animal shelters have been hit hard in recent years by the recession.  Not only are they receiving more animals from people who can no longer afford their pets, but shelters have also seen a decline in [...]

Haiti: A Year After the Earthquake January 24
Hour 1 Just over a year ago a devastating earthquake rocked the Caribbean island of Haiti, killing more than 250,000 people and leaving its capital, Port-au-Prince, in rubble. An unresolved election in late 2010 leaves the country’s political [...]

The State of Mental Health Care January 24
Hour 2 The case of Jared Loughner and his apparent mental illness have raised questions about mental health care in America.  Why do some people get treatment for mental illness while others don’t?  Are there holes in the [...]

Being gay & persecuted in Uganda, with Frank Mugisha January 21
Hour 1 FRANK MUGISHA heads up the organization Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), an openly gay man in a country that is persecuting gays, and where a national magazine published home addresses and ran photos of openly gay Ugandans, [...]

Emerging Treatments in Depression January 21
Hour 2 Depression can be a debilitating but treatable disease. The winter’s dark months may be the toughest time of year for some, bringing on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which counts sadness, hopelessness, guilt and low energy among [...]

Where are the jobs? January 20
Hour 1 Times are tough for states and cities and increasing numbers of public sector workers across the country face potential staff cuts.  Earlier this week Camden laid off 168 police officers, 67 firefighters and 100 other workers.  [...]

The Mommy Wars and Amy Chua's new parenting memoir January 20
Hour 2 The Mommy Wars have been reignited.  This time it’s in response to Amy Chua’s controversial memoir Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother about what she calls parenting “the Chinese Way.”  Some say the book is an [...]

Tough choices ahead for cash-strapped states January 19
Hour 1 With tax revenues shrinking and federal stimulus money drying up, 46 states, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, are facing huge budget shortfalls.  Since the recession, states are estimated to have collectively spent nearly a half [...]

Youse Should Lishen to Eour Philly Dialect Sheow January 19
Hour 2 The Iggles didn't geow inteow the playoffs, long term pol Ed Rendell is our eoutgeoing governor, and beloved Tastykake hopefully will get its financial sichuation shtrate as the company is currently under wooder. But one thing remains [...]

Repealing healthcare reform, and a fact-check January 18
Hour 1 The House is set to resume its legislative agenda this week and first on the Republicans to to-do list is the debate and vote on legislation to repeal healthcare reform. The two-page Republican bill, "Repealing the [...]

Negotiating: Stuart Diamond's tips for getting what you want at work & at home January 18
Hour 2 According to our guest Stuart Diamond, we spend our life negotiating — at work and at home — and most of us are terrible at it.  He says the most effective way of getting people to [...]

Chinese American writer Anchee Min on her new novel based on the life of Pearl S. Buck January 17
Hour 2 Writer Anchee Min was born in Shanghai and was raised in China on the teachings of Chairman Mao. She fled to the U.S. in 1983 and since then has written several books set during the Cultural Revolution and its aftermath -- a memoir and five novels. Her new book, "Pearl of China," is based on the life of Pearl S. Buck, who Min was forced to denounce when she was a schoolgirl in China.

Talking honestly about race January 14
Hour 1 Last year, in a speech at the Justice Department, attorney general Eric Holder called Americans cowards when it comes to talking honestly about race.  He said, "Though race-related issues continue to occupy a significant portion of [...]

Gun laws after the Tucson shootings January 14
Hour 2 Last weekend’s massacre in Tucson, Arizona, at a “Congress On Your Corner” event by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) has sparked waves of rhetoric and policy debates, especially regarding gun laws. On today’s Radio Times, Marty will [...]

Making sense of the Arizona mass shootings January 13
Hour 1 At a public memorial service last night to honor the six victims of the mass shootings in Arizona last weekend, President Obama addressed the nation. In this hour of Radio Times we explore how national tragedies [...]

Brain Trauma and Recovery January 13
Hour 2 Representative Gabrielle Gifford’s doctors report that her condition has stabilized.  She can now breathe on her own and wiggle her fingers and toes when asked — quite remarkable for someone who was shot at point-blank range [...]

The Federal Budget: Process and Politics January 12
Hour 1 With the new Congress sworn in, debate is underway about the best way to balance the federal budget and reduce the federal debt.   There are a number of debt reduction proposals out there, all pointing to [...]

Can the traditional supermarket survive? January 12
Hour 2 Earlier this year, the legendary supermarket chain  A&P filed for bankruptcy citing rising costs and increasing competition from big box stores and specialty stores.  And just a few weeks ago, Acme announced they were closing five [...]

How resistance to white-on-black rape launched the Civil Rights movement January 11
Hour 1 [REBROADCAST] You know one story about Rosa Parks, but not this one: The woman who gained worldwide fame when she “refused to give up her seat” on a Montgomery bus was also a radical activist and [...]

The shootings in Arizona January 11
Hour 1 This weekend's shooting rampage in Arizona left 20 people wounded, six of them fatally.  The apparent assassination attempt on Representative Gabrielle Gifford by a 22-year old man who was known to exhibit disturbing behavior has resulted [...]

A Modern War Bride through Poetry January 11
Hour 2 Philadelphia poet ELYSE FENTON comes in to discuss her writing that received the prestigious 2010 University of Wales’ Dylan Thomas Prize. Much of the winning debut poetry collection, Clamor, are meditations of what Fenton thought her new [...]

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell: An 'exit interview' January 10
Hour 1 After eight years in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Governor ED RENDELL is leaving office. He'll join Marty in studio to look back at his gubernatorial career as well as his two terms at Philadelphia's mayor. And perhaps he'll [...]

A conversation with John Bogle January 10
Hour 1 In his ninth and newest book, Don't Count on It, John Bogle, founder of The Vanguard Group of Mutual Funds, considers the flaws in our complex financial system and offers his valuable perspective on how it [...]

The Road Ahead for the 112th Congress January 7
Hour 1 As Republicans took control of the House on Wednesday, new speaker of the house John Boehner pledged to repeal the new health care law, reduce wasteful spending and cut taxes.  The House immediately approved a set [...]

Getting Away from It All with Don George and Jim Sano January 7
Hour 2 Are you vacation daydreamer or are you about to plan the trip of the year? Where can you travel on a tight budget but be culturally fulfilled? Or do you want to take your chances and [...]

Online privacy, the consumer and do not track lists January 6
Hour 1 Have you ever had the experience of shopping for something online – maybe a new TV — and the next day suddenly you’re being bombarded with ads for televisions. When we’re online, visiting sites, we are [...]

What and who is rich? January 6
Hour 2 The recent debate over the extension of Bush-era tax cuts to those making over $250,000 — which is just two percent of the population — raised a lot of questions about the definition of "rich." Some [...]

The Rendell years in retrospect January 5
Hour 1 Ed Rendell has been governor of Pennsylvania since 2002, and received the most votes for governor in Pennsylvania’s history. But he’s leaving office with low popularity ratings that correspond to the state’s economic, fiscal and unemployment [...]

What Makes a Happy Marriage January 5
What makes a happy marriage?  Scientists are studying why some people are happier in their marriages then others. They’re finding that personal growth, called “self-expansion,” has a lot to do with it.  Stony Brook University social psychologist ARTHUR [...]

Sudan's referendum, & why the West should care January 4
Hour 1 On Sunday, January 9, South Sudan’s referendum on self-determination could alter the present and future of this pivotal and oft-overlooked African nation. Occasional outbreaks of violence have competed with optimistic forecasts for the upcoming election. The [...]

The World of Illegal Reptile Trafficking January 4
Hour 2 JENNIE ERIN SMITH’s new book takes the reader inside the world of illegal reptile trafficking.  She tells the story two reptile smugglers and the collectors and zoos that they supply.  There are rare tortoises that disappear [...]

Dominic Tierney on 'How We Fight' January 3
Hour 1 Political scientist DOMINIC TIERNEY says Americans have a particular way of thinking about and fighting wars.  We’re drawn to missions to overthrow tyrants but when it comes to nation-building or peacekeeping, our hearts aren’t really in [...]

Inside A.A. with writer Clancy Martin January 3
Hour 2 Philosophy professor and writer CLANCY MARTIN credits Alcoholics Anonymous with saving his life.  In The drunk's club: A.A., the cult that cures, his cover story in the January issue of Harper's Magazine, Martin tells his own [...]