Hour 1 Former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi was sentenced yesterday to 30 days in prison for committing a bias crime in connection with the suicide death of his roommate Tyler Clementi.  Bias intimidation laws, also known as hate-crime laws, enhance penalties for crimes committed against protected classes of people and are on the books [...]

Filed under: LGBTQ, New Jersey, crime, criminal justice, education, law enforcement, technology, teens |

Hour 2 JOSE ANTONIO VARGAS helped The Washington Post win the Pulitzer Prize in 2007 with his coverage of the Virginia Tech massacre, and covered the 2008 campaign. But the heralded reporter isn’t covering this campaign, though he is deeply engaged in the coverage of a key political issue this year: illegal immigration. In a [...]

Filed under: author, crime, family issues, journalism, law enforcement, politics, world |

Hour 1 Three years before he died, Khalil Wimes was living in the happy, healthy, loving home of ALICIA NIXON,  her husband J. Evans, and Alicia's mother La REINE NIXON. The family took Khalil in just one week after he was born at the request of his birth parents Tina Cuffie and Floyd Wimes.  Khalil [...]

Filed under: Philadelphia, arts, author, crime, culture, family issues, parenting |

Hour 1 The shocking death of 6-year-old Khalil Wimes, who was allegedly starved and beaten to death by his parents, has outraged and confused many Philadelphians. Why was this young boy removed from a safe foster home and returned to his unstable family? Why did a Department of Human Services worker not report the abuse [...]

Filed under: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, crime, criminal justice, family issues, health, law enforcement, parenting, social issues |

Hour 1 In announcing its award for local reporting last week, the Pulitzer Prize committee praised crime reporter SARA GANIM and her colleagues at the Patriot-News of Harrisburg for “courageously revealing and adeptly covering the explosive Penn State sex scandal involving former football coach Jerry Sandusky.” Ganim, who is 24 years old and graduated from [...]

Filed under: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, author, crime, criminal justice, food, journalism, media, social issues |

Hour 1 Last week’s fire at the former Bucks Hosiery factory in Kensington killed two firefighters and cast a spotlight on a longterm problem confronting Philadelphia: the economic opportunities, challenges and physical dangers presented by its many old and abandoned and underutilized buildings. What does the fatal warehouse fire mean for the city's years-long efforts [...]

Filed under: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, crime, criminal justice, history, law enforcement, politics |

Hour 1 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that anyone arrested can be subjected to a strip search even if they’re being held for a minor offense. That’s what happened to plaintiff Albert Florence, who was wrongly arrested for an unpaid traffic violation which in fact, he had paid. Florence was strip-searched twice by [...]

Filed under: New Jersey, crime, criminal justice, law enforcement, politics, social issues |

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, whose last book, “A Crime So Monstrous,” delved deep into the world of modern-day slavery, continues that [...]

Filed under: animals, crime, economy, food, journalism, social issues, work, world |

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 to mentor the children of prisoners, promote literacy in low-income communities, reduce homicides in high-crime police districts [...]

Filed under: author, crime, criminal justice, history, politics, religion, social issues, teens |

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 shot by Zimmerman, who has claimed self-defense. Because of Florida’s “stand your ground” law, which allows citizens [...]

Filed under: crime, criminal justice, culture, law enforcement, media |