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The Chemistry of Tea, Lyla in the Loop, Morton Cranial Collection

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A Pennsylvania professor stirred up international debate after suggesting to pour salt in your hot beverage.

Penn Museum buried 19 Black Philadelphians whose skulls were part of the Morton Cranial Collection, which contained the bones of over a thousand skulls, many thought to be enslaved people, which were used in the development racist scientific theory. However, many advocacy groups and even some anthropologists are questioning how much work went into locating the descendants of the victims. We’ll talk with Rosa Cartagena, arts and culture reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, about the ongoing controversy and the museum’s response


Bryn Mawr chemistry professor Michelle Francl created an international stir when she suggested in her new book Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea, that adding a few granules of salt to tea made for the perfect cup. British tea drinkers were outraged at Francl’s suggestion. But she isn’t backing down. The scientist says salt removes some of the bitterness from the drink. Francl joins us tomorrow, with pots of tea in hand, to talk about the history, the varieties, and of course, the secret to a great brew.


The new PBS kids show Lyla in the Loop debuts next week. It follows Lyla, an imaginative Black 7-year-old who solves problems with the help of her fantastical blue sidekick, Stu. We talk with the creator Dave Peth and executive producer and head writer Fracaswell Hyman about their animated show

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