Online Romance Scams, Peanut Allergy Patches, Hittin’ Season Podcast

Billions of dollars have been lost to romantic scams online - and A.I. is making things worse. Plus, WHYY's Hittin' Season and progress in child food allergies.

Listen 49:59

Online romance scams are on the rise, and advances in artificial intelligence are making it harder to detect fakers. Last year, victims of catfishing and other romantic schemes on the web lost over $1 billion. How are these traps so successful, and what does it tell us about loneliness, technology and being safe online? Temple University criminology professor Aunshul Rege joins us. Email studio2@whyy.org or call 888-477-9499 with your questions and stories.


Peanut allergies are a problem for tons of kids, and for some, a reaction could lead to a trip to the emergency room. New research shows that a “peanut patch” may be effective for helping toddlers increase their peanut tolerance. Our guest is Dr. Terri Brown-Whitehorn, attending physician at the Division of Allergy and Immunology at CHOP and a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania.


The popular Phillies baseball podcast Hittin’ Season has joined the WHYY family. We’ll talk about it with John Stolnis.

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal