Pennsylvania school districts grapple with dramatic budget cuts May 31
Hour 1 In his proposed budget, Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett would reduce overall  public school aid by over $1.billion dollars. School districts across the Commonwealth are being forced to make drastic cuts in basic education programs that directly [...]

Ina May Gaskin, America's leading midwife May 31
Hour 2 INA MAY GASKIN has often been called “America’s leading midwife.” She has practiced for nearly 40 years at The Farm Midwifery Center in Summertown, Tennessee, attending well over 1,200 births, and she’s the only midwife who’s [...]

Andrew Ferguson's Crash Course in Getting His Kid Into College May 30
Hour 2                                                                                  [REBROADCAST] The United States higher education system is an international bragging right. Many overseas families send their children off to the States, investing in a commodity that is supposed to have infinite returns. Some brilliant [...]

'High on the Hog,' with Jessica B. Harris May 30
Hour 2 [REBROADCAST] Black-eyed peas, watermelon and okra came to American tables from the slave ships of Africa. The 19th century black cooks on the Pullman railroad dining cars and cowboy chuck wagons helped define what Americans eat [...]

The week in review — from Europe, Capitol Hill and the Supreme Court May 27
Hour 1 President Obama traveled to Europe this week, a four-country swing aimed at reassuring Europe nations that they remain our most vital ally.  Specifically the President has been talking about U.S. policy toward Libya and the Middle [...]

Secretaries 'Swimming in the Steno Pool' May 27
Hour 2 How did women enter the white-collar workplace? As secretaries and receptionists, mostly and at first. LYNN PERIL’s new book, Swimming in the Steno Pool: A Retro Guide to Making It in the Office, explores the history [...]

Rescuing Philadelphia's historic houses of worship May 26
Hour 1 Among Philadelphia's architectural treasures are the hundreds of places of worship built in the late 19th and early 20th century that were a vital part of a community's well-being.  But with age and changes in neighborhood [...]

ESPN's rise to sports media dominance May 26
Hour 2 If you are, or live with, a sports fan, you know all about ESPN, the “worldwide leader in sports.” Now, the writers who brought the world the acclaimed oral history of Saturday Night Live are back [...]

Philadelphia's 100k Homes Campaign May 25
Guest Host, Maiken Scott. Philadelphia just completed a Homeless Outreach survey as part of Outreach Week, a partnership with the national 100,000 Homes Campaign. 528 people were interviewed with the distinction of identifying who is the most physically [...]

Tina Rosenberg: How Peer Pressure Can Change the World May 25
Hour 2 [REBROADCAST] We’re all warned as children not to give in to peer pressure but according to journalist TINA ROSENBERG, peer pressure can be a powerful force for social change, in fact, she calls it a “social [...]

Hate groups in the Delaware Valley: Daryle Lamont Jenkins, Mark Potok & Frank Meeink May 24
Hour 1 On April 16, a crowd of activists gathered on the New Jersey Statehouse steps in downtown Trenton to rally against illegal immigration, high taxes, and crime. What separated this crowd from others, aside from legions of [...]

Geraldine Brooks on 'Caleb's Crossing' May 24
Hour 2 “It’s the strong emotions that shape us, and I don’t think they change no matter what race you are and no matter what period you live in,” says Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist GERALDINE BROOKS. Brooks [...]

The Vanishing Middle Class May 23
Hour 1 What has happened to the middle class in America?  Is the American dream slipping away?  Middle class used to mean owning a house, putting your kids through college, and still having enough to retire on but [...]

Support for Military Families May 23
Hour 2 Last month Michelle Obama and Jill Biden announced the initiative “Joining Forces” to focus on the issues facing military families, the people President Obama has referred to as the “force behind the force.”  The program will [...]

National politics, with Mark McKinnon & Dick Polman May 20
Hour 1 The Republican field of candidates for the 2012 presidential nomination is taking shape, and it’s nothing if not interesting. While The Donald Trump and Mike Huckabee declared they were NOT running, Rep. Ron Paul and Newt [...]

The Future of the Philadelphia Orchestra May 20
Hour 2 The world renowned Philadelphia Orchestra has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  It’s the first large symphony in the country to do so and it has been very controversial.  The orchestra’s board and management point to the [...]

U.S. policy in the Middle East May 19
Hour 1 With visits this week from Jordan's King Abdullah II and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, the Obama administration is focusing its attention on the Middle East. On Thursday, the President will deliver a major speech on U.S. [...]

100 Names for Love May 19
Hour 2 Poet, essayist, and naturalist DIANE ACKERMAN’s husband, author Paul West, suffered a terrible stroke rendering him with a near-loss of language. The word-consumed couple was faced with developing their own language to pull meaning from the aphasic sounds [...]

Is a politician's personal life relevant to voters? May 18
Hour 1 When does a politician's personal life become relevant to voters?  With the 2012 presidential primary looming, the marriages and relationships of several possible contenders have come under scrutiny. There's Newt Gingrich's confessions of infidelity and three [...]

Poet Nikky Finney May 18
Hour 2 [REBROADCAST] Award-winning poet NIKKY FINNEY says if you have a good sense of yourself, you’ll have a good sense of your work. She should know – she’s been teaching writing for over 25 years. Finney joins [...]

Is High Speed Rail on Track? May 17
Hour 1 The Northeast Rail Corridor was just awarded $795 million to improve train speeds between Boston and Washington.  The money was given out after Florida’s governor rejected federal funds to build high speed rail in the state.  [...]

Annoying: The Science of What Bugs Us May 17
Hour 2 Does anyone remember what a blackboard is? The sound of fingernails running across that blank slate used to capture a universal cringe. Overhearing others’ cell phone conversations may have taken that dubious distinction of group annoyance. NPR Science [...]

OMB Director Jack Lew, then Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform May 16
Hour 1 As the August 2nd deadline for extending the federal debt ceiling approaches, lawmakers in Washington DC are huddling in heated conversations. The White House has advanced its deficit-reduction proposal, which called for $4 trillion in big-ticket [...]

Sacred Trash: The Treasure Trove of the Cairo Geniza May 16
Hour 2 In the late 1800s, in a Cairo synagogue, a remarkable discovery was made – hundreds of thousands of Jewish manuscripts from the Middle Ages filled a small windowless room.  Letters, poems, trousseau lists, prayers, marriage contracts, [...]

PBS and PRI Host Tavis Smiley & Politics with Jason Johnson May 13
Hour 1 We’ll listen back to Marty’s interview she did with PBS and PRI host TAVIS SMILEY last week at the University of the Arts. Smiley has a lot to talk about. He was in Philadelphia celebrating 20 [...]

David Goldman's international battle to reclaim his son May 13
Hour 2 In December 2009, New Jersey’s DAVID GOLDMAN took custody of his son Sean, then 9 years old and living with his grandparents in Brazil. That reunion came after David waged a six-year, international legal and diplomatic [...]

Philadelphia's primary elections preview May 12
Hour 1 Days before the most contested Philadelphia elections in many decades, we check back in with a pair of daily newspaper reporters and a government watchdog about the big races and the lesser-known campaigns worth attention, too. [...]

The World of Fake News with The Onion's Joe Garden and Chad Nackers May 12
Hour 2 Many newspapers have been eliminated and traditional news organizations are trying to find a home online. Here’s a twist: Philadelphians have been reading The Onion online and, as of this winter, the print edition of the [...]

Bing West on Afghanistan after Bin Laden, 'The Wrong War' May 11
Hour 1 President Obama’s date for the beginning of the drawdown of U.S. troops in Afghanistan is less than two months away. But the Taliban’s annual “Spring Offensive” got off to a spectacular start in Kandahar last weekend, [...]

The Pun Also Rises: A Defense of the Pun May 11
Hour 2 Are you a punster?  Do you appreciate a good pun or do they simply make you groan?  Well, today we’re paying homage to beloved and sometimes reviled pun and the important role it’s played in our [...]

Jobs and the Jobless May 10
Hour 1 The new job numbers came out last week — 244,000 jobs were created in April, mostly in the private sector, but still the unemployment rate crept up two-tenths of a percent.  So what do these latest [...]

Teen Driving and Safety May 10
Hour 2 Do you remember learning to drive as a teenager?  Have you recently taught one of your kids the rules of the road?  Teens behind the wheel unnerve a lot of us and for good reason.  Teens [...]

New Jersey Beach Replenishment: Is it Worth It? May 9
Hour 1 Heading down to the shore this summer?  You might not realize it but it takes a lot of work and money to maintain coastal beaches.  New Jersey has 127 miles of coast filled with beckoning beaches.  [...]

Philadelphia’s Two Wheeled Revolution May 9
Hour 2 Philadelphia is in full gear of a two-wheeled revolution. Bikers will be able to ride in less fear of getting hit by cars as more Center City bike lanes will be painted this June. The trial [...]

International politics and… zombies! with Daniel Drezner May 6
Hour 1 [REBROADCAST] When an international conflict such as Kosovo, Iraq or Afghanistan arises, political pundits and theorists wrestle with how various political theories and worldviews differ in their responses. But how would geopolitical stances such as neoconservatism, [...]

Todd Reynolds fiddles around with new music and technology May 6
Hour 2 [REBROADCAST] Virtuoso violinist, composer, conductor and arranger TODD REYNOLDS comes in to the Radio Times studio to discuss his new work, “Outerborough,” and how he finds new spaces and genres to express his compositions beyond classical [...]

Philadelphia public school update May 5
Hour 1 With an estimated $629 million shortfall, the School District of Philadelphia warns of dramatic cuts in administrative and teaching staff, the elimination of full-day kindergarten, and reductions in art, music, gifted education and summer programs, as well [...]

Mothers in the movies May 5
Hour 2 In time for Mother’s Day, Radio Times looks back at memorable moms in the movies. Joining Marty and our callers for this conversation will be film historian JEANINE BASINGER, Chair of the Film Studies Department at [...]

What the killing of bin Laden means for U.S. security and foreign policy May 4
Hour 1 We continue our coverage of the killing of Osama bin Laden with conversations about its implications for U.S. security and foreign policy.  Starting us off is HEATHER HURLBURT of the National Security Network who offers perspectives [...]

Wolves, Bats and Frogs: Animals Under Fire May 4
Hour 2 The gray wolf in the United States has made an incredible comeback.  In fact, it’s doing so well, that federal officials and some members of Congress want it removed from the Endangered Species list.  Twenty years [...]

More on the killing of bin Laden May 3
Hour 1 As details emerge, we continue our coverage of the killing of Osama bin Laden. Our guests include HOWARD FINEMAN of The Huffington Post, who will discuss the political ramifications of the Al Qaeda leader’s death; DANIEL [...]

The wedding and the Donald. Is this news? May 3
Hour 2 Over 8,000 journalists were in London last week to cover the royal wedding. American network and cable news organizations pulled out all the stops, sending their A-list talent abroad and hiring British experts to provide commentary.  [...]

Reactions to the killing of bin Laden May 2
Hour 1 In his announcement late last night on the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, President Obama declared that "Justice has been done."  In this hour of Radio Times, we get reaction to what some are [...]

The Eichmann Trial, 50 years later May 2
Hour 2 It’s been 50 years since high-ranking SS officer and Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was kidnapped in Argentina and taken to Israel to be tried and sentenced to death in 1961 for his role as one [...]