The Week in Philly from KYW Newsradio

We have sufficiently slowed the spread of COVID-19, but there is still some risk of getting it, especially as we head into the holidays with more large gatherings. Luckily, we now have a number of effective treatments. Dr. Stephen Pagkalinawan, assistant professor at Drexel University’s College of Medicine, breaks down what those treatment options are, both for mild cases and for people at a highe...

It’s one thing to say mental health is important, but it’s another to actually take that first step towards getting help. Many people are still held back by stigma or just don’t know how to start that conversation. The Huntsman Mental Health Institute at the University of Utah partnered with the Ad Council to launch the “Love, Your Mind” campaign, offering resources and encouraging Black and Hispa...

Think young people want sex and romance in their TV shows or movies? Think again. At least that’s what a recent study from UCLA’s Center for Scholars & Storytellers found. More than half of adolescents ages 13-24 surveyed said they want to see an increase in themes about friendship and platonic relationships, while nearly 45% felt sex is an unnecessary part of TV and movie plots. Dr. Kathleen...

We can’t wait to find out who’s going to make the College Football Playoffs. And oh! College hoops season just started, too. But guess what? For as much as mid-fall should be peak season for college sports, legal tea leaves suggest otherwise. In fact, depending on how a couple key court cases shake out, the NCAA could be in for a world of trouble. University of Pennsylvania Adjunct Assistant Profe...

Imagine you're in the midst of a medical emergency. You know to call 911, but the voice on the other end either can’t understand you, you can’t understand them, or both. This obstacle presents problems for members of immigrant communities. Dr. Van Hellerslia, a clinical associate professor at the Temple University School of Pharmacy, is hoping her efforts can offer a blueprint for breaking down th...

It seems like as soon as one election ends, or even before, we’re looking ahead to the next one. Candidates announce that they’re running years in advance, and the media shares polls that could change drastically before any voting actually happens. Voters can start to feel burnt out, and people in office have to focus more on campaigning than actually governing - but candidates need time to get th...

It seems like every piece of good economic news - like the GDP increasing at an impressive annual rate of 4.9% in the third quarter of 2023 - is presented with a “but”. Then there's unemployment, interest rates, inflation…what should we really be paying attention to? Dr. Mark Stehr is the director of the School of Economics at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business. He sits down with us to...

Food or rent? Food or life-saving surgery? These are the seemingly impossible decisions that food bank patrons all over the country face every single day. Take the Chester County Food Bank, for instance. Just because it's located in the wealthiest suburb in Pennsylvania doesn't make it immune to serving people who find themselves in these types of dilemmas. In addition to making sure everyone who...

Raging wildfires. Massive flooding. Catastrophic tornadoes and earthquakes. 2023 has produced a litany of intense natural disasters - and costly ones, too. Here in the United States, storms have done the most damage, with 18 leaving at least a billion dollars worth of destruction in their wake. Should we expect this to be the new normal? Drs. Stephen Strader and Samantha Chapman, both from Villano...

Dr. Mandy Cohen was sworn in as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this summer and she is now tasked with leading an agency that took its share of heat over the last few years. She gets that most people have pandemic fatigue, and that access to health care is inadequate for certain segments of the population. Still, Cohen has hope that with the right resources, the U.S. can...

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when it came to information, one of the more interesting things was learning how wastewater could be tested and help gauge just how much of the virus was in a given community. While case counts and such don't make the headlines any more, the technology continues to grow and it is used to track much more than just COVID. Dr. Marlene Wolfe is an assistant...

School safety is at the top of every parent and educator’s mind these days, between mass shootings, gun violence in the streets, and threats against students in marginalized groups. How can we protect and prepare students for a possible attack without adding anxiety and trauma in the process? Dr. Roderick Sams is the Chief Development officer for CENTEGIX , a safety platform that helps school staf...

There seems to be a conspiracy theory for everything these days, especially with the way social media has grown. Why can it be so easy for people to believe them, even when there are facts that disprove the theories? Derek Arnold is an assistant instructor at Villanova University who teaches a course on conspiracy theories, taking an academic and critical approach to how they catch on. We talk wit...

Kevin McCarthy dared a tired and fed up faction of Republicans to try and oust him. In the end, they succeeded, setting in motion a historic tailspin of events that left the third-most powerful role in the United States government vacant, and the House of Representatives in a state of chaos. Now what? Where do House Republicans go from here? How long will it take to find a replacement? Who will it...

We’re starting to see some sentences in the January 6th investigation, and former President Trump is facing multiple trials - but will the consequences be enough to discourage similar things in the future? We’ve talked in the past with Dr. Ben Berger, Associate Professor of Political Science at Swarthmore College and Executive Director of the Lang Center for Civic & Social Responsibility, abou...

There’s not much people in the United States seem to agree on these days. That every American child deserves a quality education is probably one of the few exceptions. Where things get dicey, though, is how to pursue this goal. The role that school vouchers should or shouldn’t play in the solution falls right at the center of the debate. What are vouchers? Why have they become such a politicized,...

In Pennsylvania, we all know what to do when we see a spotted lantern fly. Kill it, immediately, with no hesitation. But, according to a recent Penn State study , hardwood trees such as maple, willow and birch may be less vulnerable to the flies than first thought. What changed? Are we totally in the clear? And, is this just the beginning? We dissect the study with Dr. Christopher Tipping, the cha...

Emergency childcare funding passed early into the pandemic as part of the American Rescue Plan included funds to help improve worker’s compensation and cover expenses like rent and costs of personal protective equipment. But the funding is set to expire on September 30 and is set to close down 70,000 childcare programs and cause 3.2 million children to lose care. Why is this funding essential? How...

In August, a federal jury handed out its first death sentence since 2019. But will the killer who carried out the mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue ultimately face execution? Views on the death penalty have evolved over time, and Robert Dunham has some data that shows why. The Director of the Death Penalty Policy Project, Special Counsel at Phillips Black, and Adjunct Professor of Death Pena...

It’s easy to get caught up in always reaching for more. No matter how much money you make or how many accomplishments you achieve, it can feel like it’s never enough. Financial wellness expert Manisha Thakor felt that way, until she hit a crisis point, where she had to re-evaluate her relationship with work and money and how that was hurting other aspects of her life. She joins us to discuss what...

Increasing costs. The pandemic. Crazy parents. American youth sports is facing some serious hurdles, and the numbers bear it out. Millions of kids still play, but participation has dipped. Dr. Amy Giddings, chair of Sport & Recreation Management at Temple University and a former collegiate scholarship athlete, even finds herself questioning how much youth sports, in their current environment,...

We’ve all felt lonely, it’s a human emotion. But after the pandemic, Americans reported an increased feeling of loneliness . With quarantine and more people isolating themselves, it makes sense, but does that make it a bad thing? What role does social media play in feeling lonely? And, what can we do to remedy it? Dr. Jaime Zuckerman is a licensed clinical psychologist from Delaware Valley. She ta...

The United States and China have a complicated history dating back to 1949. But, relations shifted when President Richard Nixon visited China for the first time in 1972. A year later, the Philadelphia Orchestra toured China and was the first American orchestra to do so. The trip was more than just about music, it was diplomacy. Jennifer Lin is the author and filmmaker of “Beethoven in Beijing”. Sh...

In the U.S. about 6.7 million people have Alzheimer’s, making it the seventh leading cause of death in the country. It’s also the most common cause of dementia among older adults. In July, the FDA approved a new drug that helps slow down the rate of memory loss. Dr. Sanjeev Vaishnavi is an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and the Clinic...

Clinical trials are how we find new medicines or ensure treatments work for a wide range of people. But what happens when the people doing the clinical trials are all the same? Jim Murphy is the CEO of Greenphire , a King of Prussia-based company dedicated to bettering clinical trials. He tells us what goes into them, how to improve them, and why it’s crucial to have a diverse range of people part...