Hour 1 By all accounts, the Supreme Court's current term has been filled with decisions on important and historic cases, influencing criminal procedure, privacy, and decency on the airwaves, with decisions still to come that will influence politics and policy. The Court has already decided on cases including redistricting in Texas, whether religious schools have [...]

Filed under: crime, criminal justice, history, journalism, law enforcement, media, politics, technology |

Hour 2 [REBROADCAST] We like to think we’re in charge of ourselves but neuroscientist DAVID EAGLEMAN says that have a lot less self-control than we think. In his fascinating book "INCOGNITO: The Secret Lives of the Brain," Eagleman describes the leading role that our unconscious mind plays in our daily lives, commanding our instincts, emotions, [...]

Filed under: author, crime, criminal justice, health, medicine, science |

Hour 1 You’re playing in a public park with your kids, riding on public transit or shopping in a supermarket and witness a parent cursing at and/or pushing their child. What is the right thing to do? Is it the business of a stranger to intervene? Our guest, Philadelphia magazine reporter VICTOR FIORILLO, has had [...]

Filed under: crime, family issues, parenting, psychology, social issues |

Hour 2 Seventeen members of Philadelphia's City Council were sworn into office Monday with six of them new to the Chambers.  The departed, who have over 100 years of combined service, include Joan Krajewski, Anna Verna, Frank DiCicco, Donna Reed Miller, Jack Kelly and Frank Rizzo.   The freshman class — Cindy Bass, Bobby Henon, Kenyatta [...]

Filed under: Philadelphia, crime, economy, journalism, politics |

Hour Two [REBROADCAST] Where do convicted sex offenders live after they’re paroled? Laws vary within the United States and the states themselves, and Miami-Dade County made news the last several years as its ordinance banned registered sex offenders at least 2,500 feet from children, pre-empting the Florida law of 1,000 feet. In 2007 news of [...]

Filed under: author, crime, criminal justice, culture |

Hour 2 [REBROADCAST] Why are we so fascinated with the bad guys and why do they make such compelling characters on the big screen?  In their new book, The Ultimate Guide to Gangster Movies, Philadelphia Inquirer crime reporter George Anastasia and sports radio host Glen Macnow count down their list of the 100 greatest gangster [...]

Filed under: author, crime, history, media |

Hour 1 This week the National Transportation Safety Board recommended that states ban talking and texting behind the wheel, including hands-free devices. Studies have shown that distracted driving plays a role in 8,000 crashes daily in the United States and is responsible for over 3000 fatalities a year. Last month, Pennsylvania became 35th state to [...]

Filed under: Pennsylvania, Uncategorized, author, business, crime, culture, economy, health, history, law enforcement, parenting, social issues, transportation |

Hour 2 [REBROADCAST] It’s called the “five finger discount” and it’s been around for centuries – Plato, Zeno and St. Augustine all had thoughts on shoplifting.  In her fascinating book, The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting, writer RACHEL SHTEIR traces the modern origins of shoplifting to Elizabethan England, when pilfering from stalls and shops [...]

Filed under: author, business, crime, criminal justice, history, law enforcement, psychology, social issues, technology |

Hour 1 As shocking and disturbing as the allegations against former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky are, some of the facts of the case come as no surprise to experts in the field of child sexual abuse.  As in most cases of involving child molestation — the Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts — this one [...]

Filed under: crime, criminal justice, family issues, health, medicine, parenting |

Hour 1 Eyewitnesses identify roughly 75,000 suspects a year and some studies have shown that as many as one-third of them may be wrong. DNA evidence has exonerated over two hundred people convicted, in part, on false identification. This has raised serious questions about the trustworthiness of our eyes, memories, and police and court procedures. [...]

Filed under: Philadelphia, author, crime, criminal justice, law enforcement, science, social issues |