The Week in Philly from KYW Newsradio

New data on life expectancy in the United States is out, and the trend isn’t good. Since 2014, when life expectancy in the country reached its peak of 78.9 years, Americans have experienced the most dramatic decline in life expectancy - down 2.8 years to 76.1 years - in over a century. What are the causes behind this alarming dip? Which demographics are affected the most? Is there anything we can...

Just how strong was youth turnout in the 2022 midterm elections? About 27% of voters 18-30 years old hit the polls, marking the second-best showing for that age group in more than three decades. While the issues influencing the youth vote were clear, less obvious is whether or not the next election cycle will yield a similar dynamic. Ben Berger, Associate Professor of Political Science at Swarthmo...

We have seen significant public protests in China over the last couple weeks on a scale that’s almost unheard of in the country. These were sparked by China’s draconian measures to adhere to a “zero COVID” policy, but tension has been building in the country for years. We wanted to break down everything that built up to these protests and what they could mean for the Chinese Communist Party led by...

Is it the 2020s, or the 1920s? Given how fast and hard FTX fell in a manner reminiscent of the bank panics in the early 20th century, we had to do a double-take. But if you know your history, the comparison isn't a stretch. How did FTX, at one point perceived to be a cryptocurrency juggernaut, lose everything in a matter of days? What headwinds does the collapse signal for the rest of the industry...

In this year’s midterm elections, Republicans took control of the House of Representatives - but it will be a very slim margin. It doesn’t leave much room for absences, vacated seats, or disagreement if they want to get legislation passed. How could such a tight margin play out, especially with a Democratic president and Democrats still controlling the Senate? We talk with Dr. Benjamin Dworkin, Di...

Dyslexia has been studied for nearly 150 years, but to this day, we’re still trying to fully understand the disorder and how it impacts reading ability, learning, and mental health. Elizabeth Barker is the Accessibility Research Manager in the Collaborative for Student Growth at a non-profit called NWEA (the Northwest Evaluation Association). She joins us to explain the early signs of dyslexia, so...

The Supreme Court recently heard arguments in two cases challenging affirmative action policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. In both cases, the Students for Fair Admissions say that colleges shouldn’t consider race as a factor on applications in any way, while the schools say that race is just one of many factors they look at and that intentionally fostering a divers...

How many times have you either said or thought about saying, "Thank you for your service" to an American military veteran? Despite our best intentions, we might be missing the mark. According to Dr. Robert Kodosky, a professor at West Chester University with an expertise in military history, it's time for us to not only rethink how we talk to and communicate with our veterans, but also how we port...

Over the last 60 years, Earth has experienced an average 69% decline in the relative abundance of monitored wildlife populations. This is one of the key findings in the World Wildlife Fund's Living Planet Report 2022 . But despite calling the trend "pretty grim," WWF Chief Global Scientist Rebecca Shaw doesn't believe all the data is doom and gloom. With a key global climate summit set for Montrea...

For the past month, Brazil has been on edge. Would President Jair Bolsonaro accept the results of the general election? While he still has yet to formally concede, Bolsonaro has started to publicly acknowledge his defeat to challenger Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who won by a margin of two million votes. What effect did Bolsonaro's stalling have on Brazil, the largest democracy in South America, and...

The Phillies' magical run to the World Series has completely consumed Philadelphia. While the city anxiously waits to see whether its club can ultimately beat the Houston Astros, one thing is already clear: Philly's economy is going to come out a winner. Villanova University Professor of Economics Peter Zaleski projects just how much money the Phillies' postseason push is worth, and examines the f...

The Phillies are headed to the World Series for the first time since 2009! This success for the Phillies has had a dramatic effect on the city, as well. People whose opinions and beliefs are on opposite ends of the spectrum are united in their joy for the team. We wanted to talk about how sports successes like this can bring people together and how unique this phenomenon is. We caught up with Dr....

It may sound like a sci-fi film, but NASA actually launched a spacecraft intended to crash into an asteroid earlier this month. Their DART mission - Double Asteroid Redirection Test - aimed to see if they could change the path of an object in space…and it worked. We asked Dr. Eric Jensen, Professor of Astronomy at Swarthmore College, to explain the goal of this mission, what happened, and what NAS...

Liz Truss made history - in the most ignominious possible way. After just six weeks as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, she submitted a shocking resignation, marking the briefest P.M. term in Britain's history. What went so wrong so fast? Where will the Conservative Party go from here to fill the leadership void? Immaculata University Associate Professor of Politics and Chair of the Departmen...

It was only a few weeks ago that President Biden praised negotiators from both railway companies and their unions for working overtime to work out an agreement that thwarted a strike. But guess what? One of the biggest unions in the country didn't approve the terms. Now, with a new November 19th deadline and the holiday shipping season looming, the threat of a service stoppage is back on. Saint Jo...

President Biden made big headlines by pardoning federal violations of simple cannabis possession, citing that “too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana." But will the decision really move the needle? Scott Burris, Professor of Law at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law, examines the ripple effects of Biden’s announcement, and dives into the implications of...

Many people were shocked when Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida arranged to have a group of asylum seekers sent from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard - but we've actually seen a move like this before. In the early 1960s, a group of Black people were sent from the South to progressive cities in the North based on false promises of job opportunities. These buses were dubbed the "Reverse Freedom Rides", in...

A new report from the non-profit research center Child Trends shows that from 1993 to 2019, child poverty rates in the US decreased by nearly 60%. But there is still a lot of work to do. Jennifer Ng’andu is the Program Managing Director for the public health philanthropic organization the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She joins the pod to talk about what was behind the significant drop in povert...

Protests are surging throughout Iran after a 22-year old woman, Mahsa Amini, was taken into custody and died. Why did she fall into the hands of the Guidance Patrol, which acts as Iran's moral police? For improperly wearing her head covering. On the surface, this event triggered a wave of unrest throughout Iran, but according to Temple University Professor of Political Science Dr. Sean Yom, the re...

Chronic heart disease. Arthritis. Diabetes. Physical disabilities. These are just some of the problems caused by obesity, which, in and of itself, is a growing problem in the United States. Just how much? Consider this troubling development: every state in America currently has an obesity rate that tops 25%. As recently as 20 years ago, not a single state had an obesity rate that high. Dara Lieber...

'Serial' is arguably the original true crime podcast. It recently came back into the news when Adnan Syed, the man convicted of murdering of Hae Min Lee in the podcast's first season, was released from prison with his conviction overturned. If this podcast really helped correct a wrongful conviction, then it made a major positive impact. But a lot of true crime stories don't have such a great outc...

Mental health care is in high demand right now, and there aren’t enough therapists to meet the need. A lot of people have turned to mental health apps - but is that really therapy? It's a start, but do these apps provide the level of help patients need? Plus, some people have concerns over privacy and therapist burnout when apps are involved. So we asked clinical psychologist Dr. Jaime Zuckerman t...

Inflation is proving pesky, and the Federal Reserve is having a tough time getting it under control. What's been the Fed's primary tactic to date? Raising interest rates, which happened again with another dramatic hike this past week. But Philadelphia economist David Fiorenza wonders whether the Fed should consider using other inflation-fighting tools in its arsenal as well. Plus, we try to make s...

Vladimir Putin bet against Ukraine's resilience. He also bet against the West's ability to stay united. Now, nearly seven months since Russia invaded Ukraine, Putin appears to be scrambling. How has Ukraine managed to gain momentum on the frontlines? Why has Volodymyr Zelenskyy proven to be such an effective leader? What impact has the United States had on the war? Could Putin actually be removed...

President Biden and Democrats in Congress have had some major legislative wins lately. The Inflation Reduction Act, the infrastructure bill, gun control legislation, and the American Rescue Plan -- they add up to more legislative wins than most presidents see in their first two years. But is it enough to keep Democrats in power in the midterm elections? We talk with Dr. David Barrett, Professor of...