The tradition continues: Oxman, Thompson and Moss-Coane talking about movies December 31
After three years of declining audiences, Americans returned to the movies this year — ticket sales were up 5.6 percent.  It was a big year for big budget thrillers with "The Avengers," making $623 million in the U.S., [...]

New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov December 31
[REBROADCAST] Are you comfortable choosing wine at a restaurant? Do you know a good value when buying a bottle in a store? Can you bring a red, white or bubbly to a party with confident vintage choice? The [...]

2012's big stories in the Delaware Valley: PA, NJ & DE December 28
We look back at the year’s biggest political stories in the three states of the Delaware Valley with a trio of excellent reporters. Joining guest-host Tracey Matisak to discuss the year in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia political news is [...]

David Quammen on 'Spillover' of animal diseases into humans December 28
[REBROADCAST] Avian flu. Ebola. SARS. AIDS. All of us have been exposed, at least in the media, to diseases that have migrated from animal hosts to humans, a phenomenon scientists call "spillover. That's also the name of acclaimed [...]

Gun violence in cross-hairs, in Philly & U.S. December 27
As many families gathered over the holidays, the issue most hotly debated and discussed was guns and gun violence in the United States. With the Dec. 14 massacre of 20 first-graders and seven adults in Newtown, Connecticut, still [...]

Remembering South Philadelphia's Jim Croce December 27
[REBROADCAST] South Philadelphia native Jim Croce left an indelible, musical mark in the world of singer-songwriters. When he died in a plane crash at the age of 30 in 1973, he left behind five studio albums and 11 [...]

Politics, foreign affairs and the year in review December 26
In Washington, lawmakers are still wrangling over plans that would prevent a fiscal crisis in coming days and have put on hold further negotiations until after they take their Christmas break.   Meanwhile on the city, state and federal [...]

Garbology: a look at America's trash habit December 26
[REBROADCAST] Americans make a lot of trash, more than any other country in the world. In fact, each of us produces around 7.1 pounds of garbage a day, or roughly 102 tons in a lifetime. And trash turns [...]

How make believe is important to our survival December 25
[REBROADCAST] Once upon a time, we told stories through oral tradition, moved on to words and pictures and fast-forwarded to video games. Drawing on research in evolutionary biology, psychology and neuroscience, Washington and Jefferson College English professor, JONATHAN [...]

Listening to Johann Sebastian Bach into the 21st century December 25
[REBROADCAST] We’ll discuss Johann Sebastian Bach’s musical DNA from the 17th Century through today with writer PAUL ELIE. He looks at how the master’s music has been flexible through evolving technologies and has influenced countless popular songs. We’ll [...]

National politics: Guns, fiscal cliff & more December 21
In this week’s national news roundup, Marty chats with two Washington D.C.-based journalists about the big two topics dominating the national political discussion this week: the Newtown, CT, massacre and possible gun legislation in response, and the "fiscal [...]

Debunking doomsday 2012 junk science December 21
[REBROADCAST] Today is December 21st, 2012. And the hype about the “end of the world” has reached a supernova, mostly based on a misinterpretation of the Mayan calendar. Almost a year ago, we reached out to two astronomers [...]

Some good news in the childhood obesity battle December 20
This year there’s some good news in the fight against childhood obesity – particularly for Philadelphia. Rates of childhood obesity have declined in Philadelphia along with a few other cities including New York, El Paso, and Anchorage.  Though [...]

How to protect yourself from scams December 20
Tens of billions of dollars are lost each year to consumer fraud and when the economy is down, fraud goes up.  These last years have been boom times for scammers.  While research shows that many of us are [...]

Downsizing the Pentagon budget; then, what suicide bombers & rampage shooters have in common December 19
Should the U.S. slide off the fiscal cliff in a few weeks, over $55 billion in spending cuts a year for the next decade will kick in at the Pentagon. That amount added to the $487 billion in [...]

Lincoln's code: the fundamentals of international war time conduct December 19
1863 was a very bloody year as thousands of Americans were killed in many Civil War battles, despite the hopeful start of the year, as the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Lincoln on January 1st. But within [...]

Investment pioneer JOHN BOGLE on investment vs. speculation December 18
When our guest, JOHN BOGLE, founder of the mutual fund, Vanguard Group, first got into the financial business in 1951, the volume of the stock exchange averaged 1.8 million shares per day – he now sees shares traded [...]

Locally-born, Kabul-based Oscar nominated filmmaker Sam French December 18
Locally-born-and-raised filmmaker SAM FRENCH just arrived back in the States after taking three planes, which took 30 hours from Kabul, Afghanistan. He’s been making films there for four years, and the film he co-wrote and directed, Buzkashi Boys, [...]

Perspective on the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy December 17
In an effort to provide thoughtful perspective on the tragic shootings that killed 20 children aged 6-7 and 6 educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, we’ll turn to three local professionals who study and work [...]

Worker safety in the global marketplace — whose responsibility is it? December 17
Over the past several months, major factory fires in Pakistan and Bangladesh have killed over 400 people working for companies that manufacture clothing for major American and European retailers and brands.  The tragedies are raising awareness of the [...]

How the Internet has changed the music industry December 14
In the old days when you loved a band you would head to your local record store and buy their album and the artists and record label would each get a cut of the profits.  But today more [...]

The Pulse: At the Heart of Health, Science and Innovation December 14
Hour 2 of Radio Times is pre-empted for the WHYY Health and Science special, THE PULSE. Residency has been described as the ultimate, the final trial in medical training. Ask any older doc to recall their residency training, [...]

The risks and rewards of older parenthood December 13
Among the many changes in American families over the past few decades is the increasing number of parents who are having children later in life.  While the average first time parent in the U.S. is in her twenties, [...]

A conversation with former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker December 13
Our guest in this hour of Radio Times, RYAN C. CROCKER, recently stepped down as U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan. Crocker is one of the nation’s most experienced diplomats, having served as Ambassador to Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait and [...]

Some suggestions about how we can live with guns December 12
Gun control hardly came up during the 2012 election.  Obama briefly mentioned an assault weapons ban in one of the debates but neither Governor Romney nor the President really weighed in on what’s become one of the most [...]

Nikki Johnson-Huston: from homeless to lawyer December 12
City of Philadelphia tax solicitor and 2012 USA Eisenhower Fellow, NIKKI JOHNSON-HUSTON, returned recently from a six-week trip to India and New Zealand, to study what social safety nets look like in two, very different countries. When she [...]

The diverse school dilemma December 11
For young middle-class families who are committed to living in a diverse, vibrant urban environment while contributing to the economic health of the city, the decision of where to send children to school is often fraught with conflict.  [...]

Contraception, sexual health and teens December 11
The American Academy of Pediatrics came out with a recommendation recently to increase teen access to emergency contraception. In a new policy report, the organization advised pediatricians to not only openly discuss contraception with their female patients but [...]

The complicated, internal secrecy of the Eisenhower administration December 10
President Dwight D. Eisenhower, known for his calm, grandfatherly demeanor, was the first American president that could have destroyed the world, according to our guest, writer EVAN THOMAS. The morning after his election in 1952, “Ike” was informed [...]

The Paulsboro train derailment – lessons learned December 10
The freight train derailment on Friday, November 30, that sent 4 tank cars carrying toxic vinyl chloride into the Mantua Creek in Paulsboro New Jersey, has raised serious questions about railroad safety, regulations regarding the shipment of hazardous [...]

The Fiscal Cliff, government subsidies, and a carbon tax December 7
The “fiscal cliff” debate continued this week with the President reiterating that tax hikes on the wealthy must be a part of any proposal and House Republicans pressing for entitlement and spending cuts.  If the two sides can’t [...]

Changing Lives: El Sistema's Transformative Power of Music December 7
A music education program has changed the life trajectory of hundreds of thousands of underprivileged children in Venezuela and is in Philadelphia. Curtis graduate STANFORD THOMPSON, the Executive Director of Play On, Philly!, uses this after-school Venezuelan program, [...]

Philly legal shenanigans: DA's cash machine & Traffic Court ticket-fixing December 6
On today’s Radio Times, we look at two recent investigative reports raising questions about two different parts of the legal system in Philadelphia. In the first half of the hour, ISAIAH THOMPSON, who just left the City Paper [...]

The Lottery: the winners and losers December 6
Millions of Americans bought Powerball tickets last week hoping to win the record $588 million jackpot.  In 43 states, people plunked down their two dollars for a chance at the huge payout, even with the lousy odds — [...]

Post-Sandy politics of rebuilding the Jersey Shore December 5
As New Jersey struggles with the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, we follow up our look at the science and engineering with a look at the politics of whether, how, where and who pays for rebuilding the beloved Jersey [...]

PA Task Force on Child Protection, post-Sandusky December 5
The Pennsylvania Task Force on Child Protection has been meeting for 10 months with experts in all facets of child care and protection, tasked with reviewing the commonwealth’s laws and procedures protecting children, and where and why they [...]

Genetic testing and medicine December 4
Doctors are increasingly turning to genetic testing to track down diseases, uncover a patient’s risk and better target treatments. Every cell in our body contains our complete DNA and from a swab of saliva or a little blood, [...]

Jacob Tomsky's reckless memoir of hotels, hustles, and so-called hospitality December 4
Our guest, JACOB TOMSKY, who has worked in many capacities in hotels for over 10 years, lets us in on how to get the best out of a hotel stay. Do: check in with the proper kit: a [...]

DNREC Secretary Collin O'Mara December 3
COLLIN O’MARA serves as Secretary of the Environment and Energy for Delaware Governor Jack Markell. He’s the chief steward of Delaware’s natural resources, including its coastal programs and shoreline efforts, and leads the state’s efforts to ensure access to [...]

Navigating the cracks in the health care system December 3
BETH ANN SWAN is dean and professor at the Jefferson School of Nursing at Thomas Jefferson University. With 30 years working as a nurse clinician, researcher, educator and administrator, it would seem likely that she would be more [...]