Hour 1 Last week, South Dakota passed an abortion bill that requires a woman to wait a three days and receive counseling before she can get an abortion — this is the longest waiting period in any state.  In Ohio, the state legislature is currently debating a bill that would ban abortions after a fetal [...]

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

Hour 2 Spring is here. The daffodils are blooming and the tulips, azaleas, flowering dogwoods, crabapples, and cherry trees are getting ready to pop.  That means it’s time to turn your attention to your garden — clean up the flower beds, prepare the soil, and plan for the new season’s plantings.  Today, we’ll get some [...]

Filed under: environment, science |

Hour 1 As states and school districts grapple with severe financial issues and efforts to improve America's public schools advance, the issue of teacher tenure for public school teachers has taken center stage.   In New Jersey, for example, the Christie administration has proposed an end to guaranteed tenure after three years.  Instead, teachers would have [...]

Filed under: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, education, parenting, politics |

Hour 2 Thirty years ago today, President Reagan was shot outside the Washington Hilton hotel by John Hinckley Jr. Reagan didn’t know he was shot at first, but a Secret Service agent noticed blood on the 40th president’s lip and rushed him to the hospital, where it took a doctor to discover the bullet hole [...]

Filed under: crime, criminal justice, history, journalism |

Hour 1 The morning after President Obama’s prime-time speech about his decision to intervene militarily in Libya, we take stock of the emerging ‘Obama doctrine’ guiding U.S. foreign policy. Citing a controversial and new United Nations principle known as the “Responsibility to Protect,” advocates for military intervention on humanitarian grounds succeeded in reversing the Obama [...]

Filed under: military, politics, religion, world |

Hour 2 Why is it that we can read a story in the news about death but struggle when we look at pictures that document that tragedy? Why do the images make us squeamish and the accompanying words less so?  In her new book, About to Die:  How News Images Move the Public, Penn professor [...]

Filed under: author, culture, history, journalism, media, world |

Hour 1 Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett and Harrisburg Republicans have given new emphasis to the push to privatize the commonwealth's state stores and its monopoly on alcohol sales. In response, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has unveiled a plan to modernize the state system but keep it in government hands. They’ve suggested extending store hours, [...]

Filed under: Pennsylvania, business, economy |

Hour 2 There’s a run on 100 watt incandescent bulbs.  With new energy efficiency standards for light bulbs going into effect in 2012, 100 watts will become obsolete leading some people to hoard them.  Under the 2007 law, the old incandescents will be required to use 30% less energy while producing the same amount of [...]

Filed under: business, economy, environment, science, technology |

This week’s political roundup looks at the similarities and differences between the Republican governors in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Tom Corbett and Chris Christie. Both are slashing budgets, especially targeting public-employee unions and education, which received spending increases under their respective Democratic predecessors. On today’s Radio Times, guest host TRACEY MATISAK talks to a pair [...]

Filed under: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, politics |

Hour 2 Stereotypes about stepmothers abound– wicked, evil, home wrecker, cold, selfish, narcissistic.  Just look at stepmothers in fairy tales — those of Cinderella, Snow White, and Hansel and Gretel — to see what a bad rap they get.  Our guest, psychotherapist RACHELLE KATZ, says not much has changed over the years when it comes [...]

Filed under: author, family issues, parenting |