The presidential race coming to Pennsylvania March 30
Hour 1 Once again Pennsylvania proves it’s a battleground state in the fight for the Republican presidential nomination. With the Keystone State’s primary less then a month away, Rick Santorum, who represented the state in Congress for 16 [...]

Mapping the Mind: Sebastian Seung on the Connectome March 30
Hour 2 [REBROADCAST] Many people think that our genes tell the story of who we are. But a group of researchers believe that the wiring in our brain may be even more revealing and they’ve set out to [...]

A conversation with former Sen. Arlen Specter March 29
Hour 1 In his new memoir, "Life Among the Cannibals: A Political Career, a Tea Party Uprising, and the End of Governing As We Know It," former Pennsylvania Senator ARLEN SPECTER tells stories about his decades in politics, [...]

What's the hold up? The science of procrastination March 29
Hour 2 We've wanted to do a show on procrastination for a while now but we just kept putting it off. Finally, we buckled down and scheduled it.  Sound familiar?  Procrastination is something a lot of us struggle [...]

Supreme Court considers Affordable Care Act March 28
Hour 1 As the arguments come to a close in Department of Health and Human Services v. Florida, the challenge to President Barack Obama’s health care reform being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, we pick the brains [...]

Encyclopedias, Wikipedia, and how we get information in the 21st century March 28
Hour 2 The publishers of the Encyclopedia Britannica announced earlier this month that after 244 years, they will no longer make available print editions of the reference book.  It will however make available its resources online for an [...]

Tracie McMillan on 'The American Way of Eating' March 27
In 2009, investigative journalist TRACIE McMILLAN worked undercover alongside farm laborers in California's Salinas Valley, expedited meals at Applebee’s, and stocked the grocery shelves at Walmart — all in an effort to understand the American food system how [...]

High-seas slavery: Was your seafood caught by captives? March 27
Hour 2 Was that seafood on your plate today caught by slaves? That’s the troubling prospect raised by the investigative reporting of E. BENJAMIN SKINNER, senior fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism of Brandeis University. Skinner, [...]

Penn professor John DiIulio on politics, religion & government March 26
Hour 1 Penn professor JOHN DiIULIO has long been an advocate for the role of faith-based organizations in the delivery of social services provided by the government.  Over the years, in the Philadelphia area, he has created programs [...]

The Trayvon Martin Case March 26
Hour 2 The shooting death of Trayvon Martin by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman in Florida has sparked outrage around the country. The 17-year-old black teen was unarmed and walking home from a convenience store when he was [...]

American parenting and whether other cultures do it better March 23
Hour 1 The recent spate of books for American parents about parenting in France, for example, got us wondering what's wrong with American moms and dads anyway?  Are French kids really better eaters?  Are they more polite?  OK, [...]

Mad Women: Madison Avenue advertising in the '60s March 23
Hour 2 [REBROADCAST] As soon as people hear that JANE MAAS worked in a 1960s ad agency, they can’t help but ask if the television show "Mad Men" gets it right — the booze, the sex, the sexism?  [...]

Hate crimes, cyberbullying & the Rutgers spy cam case March 22
Hour 1 The ruling against Rutgers student Dharun Ravi, who used a webcam to spy on his roommate Tyler Clementi, provides stern warnings regarding the punishment for bullying by young people and the prosecution of hate crimes. Clementi [...]

Philadelphia's new ban on feeding homeless outdoors March 22
Hour 2 The city of Philadelphia has banned the feeding of homeless people in city parks, and if the Board of Health approves it tonight*, will require a permit and training for any groups that want to distribute [...]

MEK: Who's lobbying for Iranian 'terrorist' group? March 21
Hour 1 The Iranian opposition group known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, or MEK, is listed by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization (pdf) for attacks on the Iranian government and for its work with the late Iraqi [...]

The neuroscience of the addicted brain March 21
Hour 2 Neuroscientist MARC LEWIS had first-hand knowledge of addiction when he began to study the effect of drugs on the brain. He was an addict for 15 years, starting when he was at boarding school and homesick. [...]

The way forward in Afghanistan & for its women March 20
Hour 1 The U.S. campaign in Afghanistan faced several major setbacks last week. In the wake of the reported massacre of 16 Afghan civilians by a U.S. soldier, President Hamid Karzai demanded that NATO troops pull out of [...]

Jeanette Winterson's memoir, 'Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal' March 20
Hour 2 British writer JEANETTE WINTERSON had a rough childhood. She was raised in an industrial town in northern England in the 1960s by adoptive parents who were poor and abusive, particularly her mother, who was also religious [...]

State Integrity Investigation: How vulnerable to corruption are DE, NJ & PA? March 19
Hour 1 A months-long investigation into how state governments are doing in providing transparency and accountability and staving off corruption is unveiled today, and the results are troubling. The State Integrity Investigation – a collaboration of the Center [...]

'Fast Food and Junk Food:' Andrew Smith on what we love to eat March 19
Hour 2 What do you value in your food? Taste? Nutrition? Something that fills you up or reminds you of your past?  Much of what America consumes is high in calories and low in nutrition, and according to [...]

On Stage: Edwidge Danticat, creating 'Dangerously' March 16
Hour 1 In this hour of Radio Times, we present an edited broadcast of Marty's live interview with 2012 One Book, One Philadelphia featured author Edwidge Danticat,  from the stage of WHYY's Dorrance H. Hamilton Public Media Commons. [...]

Sex trafficking, prostitution & backpage ads March 16
Hour 2 Sex trafficking doesn’t only happen abroad, it’s become a growing crime in the United States as well. According to the FBI, more than 100,000 children are trafficked for sex in the United States every year and [...]

Elaine Pagels reveals visions, prophesy & politics in the Book of Revelation March 15
Hour 1 Princeton University religion professor ELAINE PAGELS joins us to discuss the history and authorship of the most controversial, apocalyptic book of the bible, the Book of Revelation, in her new book, "Revelations: Visions, Prophesy and Politics [...]

Problem-solving as education: Philadelphia's Sustainability Workshop March 15
Hour 2 Twenty-eight Philadelphia public high school seniors, who have proven their strengths in math, science and engineering, have been participating in a new alternative project on the edge of the Navy Yard. This pilot program, the Sustainability [...]

Radio Times On Stage, with Edwidge Danticat March 15
While WHYY's Maiken Scott guest-hosts the live radio broadcast, Marty will be in WHYY's Dorrance H. Hamilton Public Media Commons before a live audience, interviewing Haitian novelist Edwidge Danticat. More information about that event here, and tomorrow's Radio [...]

On the Delaware River waterfront, change March 14
Hour 1 Last week, the Philadelphia City Planning Commission approved the Civic Vision for the Central Delaware, an ambitious guide for the next several decades of development along Philadelphia’s eastern waterfront. In a planning process that dates back [...]

Does your doctor always tell the truth? March 14
Hour 2 How well do you trust your doctor? In a recent survey, a number of physicians admitted to bending the truth and even lying to patients, whether it’s presenting a prognosis more optimistically, hiding a medical mistake [...]

Pennsylvania's Voter ID Bill March 13
Hour 1 A voter ID bill could become law in Pennsylvania that would require residents to show a valid photo ID before they can cast their vote.  The Senate passed the bill last week and now the House is [...]

Kony 2012, the controversy & a reality check March 13
Hour 2 Since the "KONY 2012" video went viral on March 5, over 75 million viewers have watched it online.  Created by the nonprofit organization Invisible Children, the video was produced to create awareness of the atrocities perpetrated [...]

How high rents hurt the economy March 12
Hour 1 Most of us expect to pay more for housing in New York or San Francisco than we would in Birmingham or Omaha – two, three, even four times as much.  But Slate business and economics correspondent [...]

Bayard Rustin, West Chester's gay Civil Rights icon March 12
Hour 2 Bayard Rustin is the leader of the Civil Rights movement whose importance is perhaps least proportional to his fame. The West Chester native was born 100 years ago Thursday, and was the key organizer of the [...]

Bread rising: From sliced white to artisanal's resurgence March 9
Hour 1 In some circles white bread has been revived as a kitschy, low-brow treat. Other people eat the sliced loaf because it’s cheap and those calories count in a struggling family’s home. AARON BOBROW-STRAIN, who teaches politics [...]

Lori Andrews on social networks & privacy March 9
Hour 2 Social networking sites have the ability to put us in touch with old friends, help us meet our soul-mates and even topple governments, but they are also blurring the lines between our public and private selves [...]

What should be done about Iran? March 8
Hour 1 While visiting the U.S. earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted the right of Israel to attack Iran, raising concerns about a military confrontation in an already fragile Middle East. In response, in a [...]

Picky eaters: Discretion or disorder? March 8
Hour 2 Do you know someone who only eats certain foods like pizza, grilled cheese or cereal? Many of us do and it turns out not all of them are children. For thousands of adults picky eating is [...]

Super Tuesday Results and What They Tell us About the Future of the Republican Party March 7
Hour 1 Ten states held presidential primaries or caucuses yesterday with 437 delegates up for grabs.  By the numbers, Mitt Romney can't officially clinch the nomination but a strong showing can put greater momentum on his side.  For [...]

The Orphan Master's Son March 7
Hour 2 Novelist ADAM JOHNSON gets in the head of a North Korean boy raised in an orphanage, who becomes a kidnapper for former Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Il’s government. Through descriptions of living on moths and eating tiger [...]

Apple: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly March 6
Hour 1 On the eve of Apple’s next press event announcing another one of its legendary gadgets, we’ll take a look at the human cost of making iPad and iPhones.  Foxconn, the Taiwanese company that produces components for [...]

Gardening: It might as well be spring March 6
Hour 2 With the unusually warm winter, many gardeners saw spring come early this year — bulbs blooming and trees budding weeks ahead of schedule. And while no one can complain about seeing blossoming flowers in what are [...]

Reproductive health under fire: The battles over contraception coverage & abortion March 5
Hour 1 Battles over the birth control and abortion are erupting all over the country and dominating headlines this campaign season. Last week Senate Democrats narrowly defeated a Republican-led challenge to President Obama’s contraception coverage policy, which requires [...]

Nagging: The Marriage Killer? March 5
Hour 2 A recent story in The Wall Street Journal described nagging in marriage as potentially more toxic than adultery. Some of us are guilty of it, most every couple has experienced it and we all know it's [...]

Susan Orlean on dog superstar Rin Tin Tin March 2
Hour 1 [REBROADCAST] Writer SUSAN ORLEAN's recent book, "Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend," tells the fascinating story of the famous German shepherd and his enduring popularity. Rin Tin Tin was discovered as a puppy on [...]

The tragic life & career of groundbreaking singer-actress Ethel Waters March 2
Hour 2 The singers Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald were influenced by her. Lena Horne described her as “the mother of us all.” The Chester, Pennsylvania-born singer and actress Ethel Waters started her career out in black vaudeville, [...]

The Latino vote in the 2012 presidential election March 1
Hour 1 Will Latino voters decide the next U.S. president? Latinos are the largest minority in the United States at 16 percent and rising. While Arizona has a sizable Latino population, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum received less [...]

Is Sugar Toxic? March 1
Hour 2 Should sugar be regulated like tobacco and alcohol? Obesity researcher ROBERT LUSTIG thinks so because it’s a toxic substance. Lustig researches the health effects of sugar and believes that our sweet habit plays a leading role [...]