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Host Stephen Dubner has surprising conversations that explore the riddles of everyday life and the weird wrinkles of human nature-from cheating and crime to parenting and sports. Dubner talks with Nobel laureates and provocateurs, social scientists and entrepreneurs - and his Freakonomics co-author Steve Levitt.

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Our Body Politic’s weekly episodes feature in-depth conversations about the economy, health, politics, education, the environment, and the most prescient issues – because all issues are women’s issues.
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Our Body Politic

Our Body Politic’s weekly episodes feature in-depth conversations about the economy, health, politics, education, the environment, and the most prescient issues – because all issues are women’s issues.

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The Why Archive

Hosts of The Why, Shai Ben-Yaacov and Annette John-Hall. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
The Why
Community

400 stories: What The Why taught us about Philly

In their final show, hosts Shai Ben-Yaacov and Annette John-Hall look back on some of their favorite episodes of The Why — and unpack the stories that make Philly Philly.

Air Date: December 14, 2020

Listen 23:01
Protestors calling for equality, justice, and an end to police brutality. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
The Why
Courts & Law

Will Philly’s new police oversight commission be any better?

Philadelphia voters approved a new independent commission for people to file complaints against the police last month. The old one was criticized as ineffective.

Air Date: December 10, 2020

Listen 17:01
Police stop traffic on Broad Street
The Why
Courts & Law

A decade after lawsuit, Philly is still stopping and frisking

Ten years after it was sued for racial bias, the city still employs the controversial police tactic known as stop-and-frisk. Mayor Jim Kenney says he wants it to end. Will it?

Air Date: December 8, 2020

Listen 14:45
Alex is an emergency room nurse treating COVID-19 patients in the Greater Philadelphia Area. (Kyle Cassidy)
The Why
Arts & Entertainment

A camera, a mask and 2020’s most enduring image

Philadelphia photographer Kyle Cassidy captured images of essential workers for his series Between Us and Catastrophe.

Air Date: December 7, 2020

Listen 17:20
The interior of a restaurant, with stools overturned on tables
The Why
Politics & Policy

$1 billion in relief sat around while Pa. businesses struggled

Pa. lawmakers haggled for six months over how to spend $1 billion in CARES Act money while businesses struggled. In the end, Gov. Wolf sided with Republicans.

Air Date: December 3, 2020

Listen 15:49
Yolanda Biggers helps her daughter, Zyiah Satterwhite, 7, find her assignment.  After the coronavirus pandemic hit, Biggers gave up her shifts as a part-time nurse to focus all of her attention on Zyiah and her two older sisters as they adapted to virtual schooling. (Emma Lee/WHYY)
The Why
Community

The struggle is real for working women during the pandemic

Not only are women serving as caregivers for family members and monitors over their children's virtual learning, but they're also more likely to lose their jobs in 2020.

Air Date: December 1, 2020

Listen 12:23
Macy's department store in Center City, Philadelphia. (Emma Lee/WHYY)
The Why
Arts & Entertainment

Philly’s Wanamaker Organ has survived 2 pandemics

The Wanamaker Organ, still spreading holiday joy at Macy's in Philadelphia, has endured and entertained through the 1918 Spanish Flu and 2020 coronavirus pandemics.

Air Date: November 30, 2020

Listen 13:38
Gina Dukes, a Penn alumna and a Philadelphia school district teacher, speaks at a rally to demand UPenn make PILOT payments. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
The Why
Education

Penn’s $100 million pledge has a backstory

Activists have called for UPenn to support city schools for years. So why is Penn giving now — and what does it mean for the future?

Air Date: November 24, 2020

Listen 16:39
Democrat Sarah McBride is the first transgender person to be elected to Delaware's General Assembly. (Courtesy of Friends of Sarah McBride)
The Why
Politics & Policy

Delaware’s new class of LGBTQ representatives

The DE legislature will swear in 3 members of the LGBTQ community. Queer Delawareans say that representation is important for protecting increasingly-threatened rights.

Air Date: November 23, 2020

Listen 13:40
Faith Allen, 10, reads at her desk in Vogt access center gymnasium. (Emily Rizzo/WHYY)
The Why
Education
Broke in Philly

Not all remote learning is created equal

With COVID numbers rising, more schools are going all remote But what your child has access to depends on what you have time for and how much is in your wallet.

Air Date: November 19, 2020

Listen 16:37
President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the White House, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The Why
Courts & Law

Why Trump’s lawyers keep targeting Pa.

The Trump campaign has filed numerous lawsuits aiming to stop Pa. from certifying its votes. WHYY reporter Ryan Briggs explains the suits and where they are going.

Air Date: November 17, 2020

Listen 11:49
A restaurant on 16th Street in Center City uses the street for outdoor dining. (Emma Lee/WHYY)
The Why
Health

Inside Philly’s new COVID-19 restrictions

Coronavirus is surging in Philly, and asking people to distance isn't stopping the spread — so the city is entering a new phase of life in lockdown

Air Date: November 16, 2020

Listen 18:25
President-elect Joe Biden celebrates after delivering his victory speech Saturday, Nov. 07, 2020, at the Riverfront in Wilmington, Del. (Saquan Stimpson for WHYY)
The Why
Politics & Policy

What worked for Biden in Delaware might not in D.C.

Delaware's bipartisan political culture helped shaped Joe Biden's career. But it remains to be seen if that spirit of compromise will work in the White House.

Air Date: November 12, 2020

Listen 13:47
 Ed Forchion, a pro-marijuana activist known as NJ Weedman, in front of his store in Trenton. (AP Photo)
The Why
Politics & Policy

NJ voters legalized recreational marijuana — but the fight isn’t over

After years of back and forth, New Jersey voted to legalize recreational marijuana. So why do some cannabis activists say it isn’t enough?

Air Date: November 10, 2020

Listen 14:58
Community leaders and members of the clergy led a march Tuesday from the site where Walter Wallace Jr. was killed to the police precinct at 55th and Pine (Emma Lee/WHYY)
The Why
Community

The trauma caused by viral videos of police killing Black men

Watching videos of police killings, like the one of Walter Wallace Jr., can be traumatic, especially for Black and brown people. Should people share them anyway?

Air Date: November 9, 2020

Listen 15:04
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Top Stories

  • Courtney Bowles explains how the People's Paper Co-op invites people who recently had their criminal records expunged to turn their old records into pulp, which is then made into new paper on which to write their future lives. (Peter Crimmins/WHYY)
    Arts & Entertainment

    Philly project for art and criminal justice to receive international award

  • A view of a street and buildings.
    Urban Planning

    ​Delaware officials unveil multi-million-dollar plan to transform Dover

  • Maxayn Gooden smiles, posing for a photo in front of a mural.
    Gun Violence Prevention

    ‘Credible Messenger’ program manager works to alleviate the negative impact of gun crisis reporting

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