Hour 1 In Philadelphia, over half of all students drop out from high school.  In the U.S., only seven of 10 ninth graders will get high school diplomas. Locally, Mayor Michael Nutter has made raising the number of high school graduates a priority, setting goals to halve the dropout rate.  On the national level, in [...]

Filed under: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, business, economy, parenting, teens, world |

Hour 1 Last week, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled a recommendation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that would have allowed the emergency contraceptive Plan B One-Step to be sold over-the-counter, including to girls under the age of 17.  Women 17 and over will now still need to go to the [...]

Filed under: family issues, health, medicine, politics, science, teens |

Hour 2 Several high profile cases in recent years involving the abuse of children have highlighted serious weaknesses in Pennsylvania's child welfare system and the Commonwealth's laws designed to protect them. Charges of sexual abuse at Penn State and against priests within the Archdiocese of Pennsylvania point to the need for (1) institutions to be held [...]

Filed under: criminal justice, family issues, health, law enforcement, parenting, psychology, social issues, teens |

Hour 2 Over the years , in what he called the Grand Experiment, Penn State football coach Joe Paterno set out to prove that it was possible to build and field a championship caliber football team without sacrificing the academic integrity of its program.  Paterno, though oftentimes cantankerous, was one of the most respected college [...]

Filed under: business, school issues, sports, teens |

Hour 1 In a disturbing and graphic grand jury report (pdf), the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office has provided details of the child sex abuse case against former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky. The report alleges that while he was a defensive coach at Penn State and after his retirement in 1999,  Sandusky used the [...]

Filed under: Pennsylvania, crime, family issues, law enforcement, parenting, psychology, school issues, social issues, sports, teens |

Hour 2 Today's twentysomethings, particularly those armed with college degrees and facing high unemployment rates, are marrying later, committing  to careers later and perhaps even relying on their parents far longer than twentysomethings of previous generations. Many young people view their twenties as a time to explore their personal and professional options without serious obligations.  [...]

Filed under: author, culture, economy, family issues, parenting, social issues, teens |

HOUR 1 One of the motivating issues of the Occupy Wall Street Movement is college loan forgiveness, as an increasing number of young people are confronting a mountain of debt once they graduate. That outstanding student loan debt will amount to about $1 trillion this year, surpassing what Americans owe on their credit cards. Two-thirds [...]

Filed under: economy, family issues, politics, teens |

Hour 2 In the last decade the number of juvenile offenders in jail has dropped about 25 percent — welcome news since research and experience show that young people who serve time are more likely to become more dangerous criminals than those who are supervised in the community.  One of the more innovative and successful [...]

Filed under: Pennsylvania, criminal justice, family issues, parenting, social issues, teens |

Hour 1 In his first term in office as mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter has coped with a crippling recession the effects of which has rippled through the city and an already-troubled school system and has impacted a wide range of vital city services. Contentious talks over salaries and benefits for city employees continue and despite [...]

Filed under: Philadelphia, economy, politics, teens |

Hour 2 As our last look at how the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, changed our world, we look at their impact on those who were kids then, what some demographers have called “the 9/11 Generation.” This cohort was just gaining political and global consciousness as both spheres changed dramatically, and the generation’s responses [...]

Filed under: history, journalism, parenting, politics, school issues, teens |