Health & Science
90,000 Pennsylvanians have lost Medicaid coverage since the end of pandemic-era rule
According to data the state shares with the federal government, nearly 20% of Pennsylvanians who had to renew their Medical Assistance coverage have lost it.
3 years ago
Will climate change force the future of nuclear energy to look smaller and more mobile?
A new microreactor being developed at the Idaho National Laboratory will be small enough to put on a tractor trailer and nimble enough to send to a disaster site.
3 years ago
Listen 8:05A secret mission to dump radioactive cargo in Atlantic Ocean tells history of nuclear tests
Answer to decades-long mystery uncovered in the archive at the Science History Institute in Philadelphia.
3 years ago
Listen 16:09Where can the U.S. put 88,000 tons of nuclear waste?
While the U.S. struggles to build long-term storage for nuclear waste, other countries like Sweden, Finland, and Canada move forward with plans for geologic repositories.
3 years ago
Listen 10:511 year after Dobbs, Pa. clinicians say it’s time to revise the state’s physician-only abortion law
Pennsylvania law only allows physicians to perform abortions. Advanced practice clinicians say they want to be able to do the same.
3 years ago
Listen 3:56This fishing gear can help save whales. What will it take for fishermen to use it?
Fishing grounds are being closed, but new technology could help avoid that.
3 years ago
Pennsylvania’s health system is among the nation’s best, according to latest scorecard ranking
The Commonwealth Fund’s 2023 state scorecard also graded New Jersey and Delaware as having a “better-than-average” health system performance.
3 years ago
Philadelphia City Council paves way for $3 million funding bump for mobile crisis response services
Mobile crisis program supporters say additional funding will help to better staff professional teams and improve response times.
3 years ago
We unfold the never-before-told story of Earle and the classified operation that he was a part of, and explore the remnants of the atomic age and the waste it has left behind.
Air Date: June 23, 2023
Listen 49:28How clinics in the Philadelphia area are dealing with a national shortage of penicillin
This injectable form of penicillin is a critical treatment for infections like syphilis, and could be in short supply for the rest of the year.
3 years ago
Listen 1:38More than 1 million people are dropped from Medicaid as states start a post-pandemic purge of rolls
States were prohibited from removing people from Medicaid during the pandemic. But that ban was lifted in April.
3 years ago
Delaware lawmakers want state to assess offshore wind potential
The legislation would direct DNREC to evaluate the potential benefits and roadblocks of offshore wind.
3 years ago
Listen 1:15Delaware County partnering with Jefferson to offer free prostate cancer screening
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 21 at the Wellness Center in Yeadon, healthcare professionals will administer the free test. Health officials say early detection is key.
3 years ago
A deadly new street drug caught the U.S. off guard. Experts say it’ll happen again
Xylazine is being mixed into fentanyl across the U.S., but who's doing it and why is a mystery. The government still doesn't identify and track new drug threats.
3 years ago
Pennsylvania’s largest coal plant to shut down
Homer City Generating Station will shut down by July due to competition from cheap natural gas and pollution upgrade costs. The plant was a major air polluter in its heyday.
3 years ago
Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.














