Student protest amidst war in Gaza, former Obama White House social secretary Deesha Dyer, cocktail brothers

Protests over the war in Gaza have erupted at colleges and universities in our region. We talk with a student newspaper reporter about what activists on both sides are saying.

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The protests converged at the University of Pennsylvania on April 25, 2024, where students are attempting to occupy the campus grounds. (Cory Sharber/WHYY)

The protests converged at the University of Pennsylvania on April 25, 2024, where students are attempting to occupy the campus grounds. (Cory Sharber/WHYY)

Student protests over the war in Gaza have erupted at colleges and universities around the country and in our region. There are encampments at the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, Haverford College, Swarthmore College and Princeton, among others. We get the latest on the campus movements and hear from two student reporters about how the encampments are impacting their respective colleges. University of Pennsylvania’s Jared Mitovich, editor-in-chief of The Daily Pennsylvanian, and Melanie Zelle, managing editor for Swarthmore’s The Phoenix, joins us.


Organizing a household can be difficult at times. Now, imagine the house you are managing is the White House, and your employers are the Obamas. Former White House Social Secretary Deesha Dyer, a Philadelphia native, shares her journey from the Community College of Philadelphia to the Oval Office. She discusses how this experience helped her conquer imposter syndrome and offers advice to others facing similar feelings of self-doubt.


Bartending brothers Damián and Diego Langarica came from Spain, through Miami to Philadelphia. Damián, the older one, works at Irwin’s on the 8th floor of the Bok Building in South Philly. Diego, the younger one, tends bar at the pseudo-speakeasy The Franklin Mortgage on the weekend, as well as a.bar – both near Rittenhouse Square. They join us with their favorite cocktails and mocktails for the summer season.

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