The Week in Philly from KYW Newsradio

The Phillie Phanatic has held down the job as the Phillies mascot for more than 40 years. But now a feud between the design firm behind the mascot and the Phillies organization means that suddenly, the future of the Phanatic could be a question mark. This week on the podcast, KYW Newsradio's Paul Kurtz breaks down what makes the Phanatic unique in the universe of baseball mascots, and Peter Wakiya...

Years ago, Nick Renn, a South Jersey funeral director, began giving tours of funeral homes to high school classes learning about grief. Nearly a decade later, he continues to give tours and teaches students about his profession. But one thing that has changed since the tours began is the effects from the opioid epidemic. He says now about 30% of the average business for many funeral homes in the a...

On Monday, Iowans in Philadelphia got the chance to participate in their state's caucus from a thousand miles away. A room in a University of Pennsylvania residence hall transformed into Philadelphia's first ever Iowa caucus satellite location, where fourteen Iowa Democrats tried to convince each other to upgrade their presidential preference -- while a lot of curious Philadelphians watched. This...

In 1945, Ernie Gross came one hour away from being murdered in the Dachau death camp. Don Greenbaum was an American soldier sent to liberate him. 75 years later, they're among the last surviving people who are able to tell the story of what they did and what they saw. KYW In Depth is a KYW Newsradio Original Podcast. You can subscribe to the podcast on the Radio.com app, or wherever you listen to...

The Mariner East Pipeline system goes across 17 counties of Pennsylvania, carrying natural gas liquids past neighborhoods and schools. Some residents of Delaware and Chester Counties say issues like water contamination have been happening ever since construction started. This week on the podcast, KYW In-Depth producer Charlotte Reese went to talk to people in Thornbury Township, Delaware County wh...

Prohibition went into effect in America 100 years ago, and the City of Brotherly Love tested the ban on alcohol to its limits. Philadelphia responded to the 18th Amendment with thousands of speakeasies, bathtubs full of gin, a wave of organized crime, and public officials who looked the other way. This week on KYW In Depth, the Beer and Booze Broz take over the podcast to tell uncorked stories of...

Philadelphia's Mummers parade is in the national spotlight again for all the wrong reasons after two Mummers wore blackface on New Year's Day. The racist display was quickly and roundly criticized by Philadelphia officials and Mummer representatives alike, but some Philadelphians say the parade is now more trouble than it's worth. This week on KYW In Depth, we take a look at the roots of the parad...

One of the most devastating things a person can go through is the death of a loved one, especially if it's because of an act of violence. When someone is murdered in Philadelphia, families often don't know where to turn. The people at the Anti Violence Partnership of Philadelphia are there to help navigate the court system, connect grieving families with counseling, or even just provide emotional...

This week, Philadelphia's major broadcast, print, and digital media outlets came together in an unprecedented show of unity after certain reporters, including KYW Newsradio's own Kristen Johanson, were excluded from a press conference at the Philadelphia District Attorney's office. This week's episode is the story behind that incident. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf granted clemency this year to 8 people serving life sentences. One of those people is David Sheppard. He's 54 years old, and in 1992 he was one of four people convicted of the robbery and murder of Thomas Brannan, a pharmacy owner in Overbrook. Sheppard served 27 years in prison before he was given his freedom. But after an email from the Lieutenant Governor accusing...

Navigating the criminal justice system can be long and painful for families of murder victims. It sometimes takes more than a year for a murder case to wind its way through court in Philadelphia. Rusten Johnson, whose daughter Kierra was murdered in 2017, has experienced this first hand. He’s sat through more than three dozen court listings, waiting for justice for his daughter. See omnystudio.com...

In the next couple of weeks, you're going to see some changes coming to this podcast feed -- starting with the name and how often new episodes will be released. Scroll Down is becoming KYW In Depth. Every Friday, starting on December 6th, we'll take one of the local news stories that KYW's reporters are covering on the radio, and we'll dig into it on the podcast, talking about why it matters and h...

Port Richmond is a Philadelphia neighborhood known for its great polish food, the best pound cake in Pennsylvania, and a working class, blue collar vibe. But for the better part of the past couple years, the neighborhood has been turned upside down. Two different infrastructure projects have claimed the trolley, the ramp from I-95, and the main road through the business district. Today on the podc...

The Spotted Lanternfly has invaded Pennsylvania, and it's kicking bark and taking names. So far its only natural predators are humans who enjoy squishing bugs, and we're losing. But there might be some hope for the humans -- a secret weapon named Rachel Bergey. She's 14, she's an inventor, and she's on a mission to save the trees and kill the lanternflies. Jim Melwert (@JMelwert) joins the podcast...

On Wednesday, August 14th six police officers were shot in North Philadelphia. KYW Newsradio covered the harrowing standoff that night and into the morning. It was an intense, scary, and completely affecting 8 hours of radio. Today on the podcast, we wanted to bring you that night. Or at least what it sounded like on the radio -- in a much shorter amount of time than the 8 hours it took to play ou...

This is part two of a story we started last year about a remarkable woman named Carol Orzel. Carol was 59 years old when she died from a very rare bone disease. Her last wish was for her body to be donated to the Mütter Museum -- so scientists could study her skeleton and learn more about the disease that killed her. KYW reporter Mark Abrams (@MAbramsKYW1060) is back on the podcast today to tell u...

Part one of the story of Carol Orzel originally aired in August of 2017. We're re-airing the episode today because part two is up next! Carol Orzel had a very rare bone disease. It's called Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, or FOP. It's a condition she shared with only about 800 or 900 people around the world. And when Carol died, she had a request: she wanted her skeleton to be displayed in...

When Bucks County Recorder of Deeds Robin Robinson discovered the county's oldest deeds weren't in her office, she threw herself into a search and rescue operation that took her from an old, musty Doylestown warehouse to a laboratory in Vermont. Today on the podcast, Jim Melwert (@JMelwert) has the story of a rediscovered treasure trove of history. Scroll Down is hosted and produced by Tom Rickert...

Jawuan Jones is not your typical barber. He finds a spot in the city -- anywhere, really, from a sidewalk in Center City to Love Park -- sets up a chair and a generator, and hangs up a sign that reads "Free Haircuts for Homeless." Then the line starts, and Jawuan gets to work. Today on the podcast, KYW Newsradio reporter Cherri Gregg (@CherriGregg) takes a trip to Jawuan's office, the median at th...

This week, a court in South Sudan convicted and sentenced Peter Biar Ajak. Here's a quick update with what we know. If you don't know about Peter's story, listen to Episode 40: Free Peter Biar and Episode 48: Part 2 . Tim Jimenez is back on the podcast today for the update. Follow Tim on Twitter @timjradio and follow the podcast at @ScrollDownPod .Scroll Down is hosted and produced by Tom Rickert...

During World War II, a lot of working age American men were drafted or joined the armed forces. They left a lot of jobs back home that needed to be filled to power the war effort. In many cases, the jobs were taken by women, who became known as Rosies (as in Rosie the Riveter). Now, 75 years after D-Day, there's a movement underway to find the Rosies who are still with us. Scroll Down producer and...

Maddie Gebert is great at lacrosse. She's a junior at Temple University, a star on the women's lacrosse team, and one of the best players in the American Athletic Conference. And she's doing all this while living with epilepsy. Matt Leon (@MattLeon1060) is back on Scroll Down to talk about Maddie's story. Check out his article on Maddie at kywnewsradio.com.  Scroll Down is hosted and produced by T...

Store owners in Suburban Station have a problem. Crime, drug use, and homelessness is up, they tell KYW Newsradio, and business is down. Way down. And they think it started when a homeless outreach center in the station expanded its services. Today on the podcast, Justin Udo takes their concerns to the city, SEPTA police, and the Hub of Hope, three different organizations with a lot invested in Su...

Operation Stone Wall started as an investigation into a cocaine ring in South Jersey. One year later, New Jersey's attorney general says four people in that ring became the very first to be charged under a new law criminalizing ghost gun trafficking. This week on Scroll Down, Steve Tawa and Kristen Johanson tell us about ghost guns, how Operation Stone Wall developed, and what's next for New Jerse...

Listen to the first part of this story in episode 40, anywhere you get your podcasts, or on kywnewsradio.com Peter Biar Ajak has been in a notorious prison in South Sudan for the last 7 months. Friends of the jailed peace activist and political prisoner say his situation has gotten worse since we talked to them last, back in September of 2018. Follow the effort to free Peter on Twitter: @FreePeter...