The Week in Philly from KYW Newsradio

Twenty years have passed since Judi Reiss lost her 23-year old Son, Josh, in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. Despite her heartbreak, the Lower Makefield resident has persisted on, and spoke with KYW Newsradio's Hadas Kuznits about finding strength and peace in Josh's memory, all while keeping her family together and serving her community.

Tara and Michael Bane had bought a house in Lower Makefield and were building their lives together when he went into work at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He never came back. Instead of crumbling or turning to anger, Tara channeled her grief into building the Garden of Reflection in Yardley and helping others through her art therapy practice, Blue Sky Therapy Center . Tara talked w...

Many employers are starting to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for their staff in hopes of keeping everyone safe. But how far does an employer's power reach? They have to make exemptions for medical conditions and religious beliefs - what does it take to prove you qualify for one of those exemptions? On this episode of In Depth, KYW Newsradio's Carol MacKenzie asks those questions to Scott Burris, a Tem...

In the Philadelphia School District, most of the students are Black or Brown -- yet few students see teachers that look like them at the front of the classroom. So why aren't there more Black teachers? Sharif El-Mekki, a former Philadelphia school teacher and principal and the Founder and CEO of the Center for Black Educator Development, and Mimi Woldeyohannes, the Center's Director of Strategic P...

If you haven't gotten a COVID-19 vaccine yet, would needing to show proof of vaccination to go see your favorite band convince you to get the shot? According to survey results from global intelligence company Morning Consult, concerts and movie theatres and live sports could actually move the needle on people getting vaccinated. Sarah Shevenock, entertainment reporter for Morning Consult joins the...

First time jobless claims released Thursday were low but the jobs report showed nearly half a million fewer jobs were created than expected. The culprit? All fingers are pointed to the delta variant. And as much of the Philadelphia area and parts of the east coast is recovering from the remnants of Ida and the tornadoes and flooding that resulted, it's never been more clear that we need an infrast...

The Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Committee has made an important decision in the midst of redistricting with regards to incarcerated people. Up until now in Pennsylvania, They have been counted as residing where they were incarcerated, but now when it comes to state legislative districts they will be counted as a resident of where they live when not incarcerated. We wanted to talk more...

A strict new abortion law has gone into effect in Texas. Opponents of the law say it could spell the beginning of the end for abortion access in the US. So what does the law mean? How will it be enforced? And why did the Supreme Court choose not to act at the last moment? Dr. Michael Moreland, Professor of Law at Villanova University’s Charles Widger School of Law is back on KYW Newsradio In Depth...

People who owe money on their student loans are getting another reprieve -- the Department of Education extended the freeze in loan payments and interest until January 31st. But the department called this a final extension and the Secretary of Education says these extra four months are here to give borrowers the time they need to prepare for the resumption of payments. US News surveyed about 1100...

We have heard an awful lot about people quitting their job in the midst of the pandemic and pivoting towards a new career. Maybe people are taking stock of things and just deciding it's time for something new. But for the most part, we’ve heard about this idea in the abstract and in statistics and discussions -- we wanted to talk to someone who has done it and find out the why, the how and how it...

A lot happened in the economy this past week -- jobless claims actually went up just a bit. We're getting ready for fall and back to school, but not enough people are talking about the role of childcare in the economic recovery. Fed chair Jerome Powell is cautioning against squeezing the economy. And what is the Supreme Court's eviction moratorium decision going to mean for the economic recovery a...

The food service and hospitality industry continue to be seriously affected by the worker shortage. The reasons behind this shortage are complex, but we were curious about how much the concept and the idea of the customer always being right could be working against the industries in this moment. Is it possible that some people who would usually make up part of this work force are tired of catering...

One of the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic was that the Philadelphia Flower Show this year was held in June. And it was outside at FDR Park, instead of its usual home in the Pennsylvania Convention Center. When the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society moved the flowers, they built sustainability into the framework of the new flower show. Sam Lemheney, Chief of Shows and Events for the Hortic...

The coronavirus pandemic has been the focus for just about everyone over the past year and a half. But the opioid epidemic hasn't gone anywhere. In fact, it's gotten worse. Dr. Priya Banerjee is a forensic pathologist and medical examiner who has a unique perspective on the opioid epidemic and how the devastating consequences have spread during COVID-19.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID19 vaccine has been given full approval by the FDA. What went into the decision? What kind of impact will this have on vaccination efforts? What does it mean for the approval process for other vaccines like Moderna or Johnson & Johnson? And when do people need to start thinking about booster shots? Dr. Neal Goldstein, Assistant Research Professor at Drexel University’s...

There's a lot to talk about in the economy this week. Jobless claims were even better than estimates and continuing claims hit a pandemic-era low -- pretty good news even as things feel a little uncertain during the Delta variant's rise in the United States. But even as jobless claims improve, this worker shortage is real and you can see the evidence in restaurant windows everywhere. One other big...

The collapse of Afghanistan and its takeover by the Taliban was sudden. It happened much faster than most people expected. But was it inevitable? Were there warning signs along the way? Is this the same Taliban of 20 years ago, or are there differences? And what is going to happen next? Dr. Dominic Tierney, Professor of Political Science at Swarthmore College joins KYW Newsradio in Depth for a fas...

When is it okay to actually ask someone if they have gotten the COVID vaccine? How should you handle it if the answer makes you uncomfortable? Does the appropriateness of the question depend on the situation and the person? Dr. Deborah Cai, Senior Associate Dean of the Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University is on the podcast to unpack what's going on behind the scenes of the...

What kind of things can America do to help people get healthier, for less money, with better access for everyone? It's a massive question that Trust for America's Health wanted to tackle. TFAH is a non-profit public health policy, research and advocacy organization that recently released a report that focused on role of social determinants in Americans’ health. Adam Lustig, Senior Policy Developme...

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people getting screened for cancer fell off a cliff. Even as things have opened up those numbers have not returned to close to the levels they had been at. As a result, a collaboration between the non-profits CancerCare and the Community Oncology Alliance is pushing people to make sure they go and get screened. We wanted to talk about the Time to Scr...

When the Upper Providence Little League team was just a group of seven-year-olds, they made a pact that five years later they were going to do something special. And in 2021, they've punched their ticket to Williamsport and the Little League World Series. On this episode of KYW Newsradio In Depth we get to catch up with the coach of the team and four parents of the players. Ben Ludwig coaches the...

What retail brands do you trust the most? Have any brands lost your trust over the past year and a half? The data intelligence company Morning Consult has released a new report about trust in retail brands and how people’s shopping habits have changed over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Joanna Piacenza, Head of Industry Intelligence at Morning Consult and the author of this report joins KYW...

The Philadelphia Community Corps deconstructs abandoned homes, blighted buildings, and other properties, saving valuable and sometimes irreplaceable building materials from the landfill. The property owner gets a tax deduction, and the PCC resells the salvaged materials to fund its other core mission -- a job training and career development program. It's an ambitious and innovative nonprofit worki...

There is a mysterious illness that's caused the deaths of thousands of songbirds in several states including Pennsylvania. And so far, biologists haven't been able to figure out why they're dying. So what do we know so far? And what should you do if you find one of the dead songbirds in your yard? Dr. Gregory George, Professor of Biology and Department Chair at Delaware Valley University is on the...

We are just a few weeks away from school starting. For a while, there was a lot of optimism that the school year would be relatively close to what had been considered normal prior to the pandemic. But with the delta variant running wild, the picture is not nearly as clear. So what should parents expect, what can they do, and what can schools do to continue to keep kids safe? Dr. Lee Beers, Preside...