The Week in Philly from KYW Newsradio

Latest Episodes:

"This is how you keep doctors from going bankrupt." Surgeons use 'Lenox Hill' Netflix spotlight to speak out against proposed Medicare changes Sep 24, 2020

Show notes

Healthcare is a constant concern in America and even more so during the coronavirus pandemic. There's a lot of uncertainty around healthcare right now -- it's a pivotal election year, the fate of the Affordable Care Act is not clear, and now, doctors are speaking out against some changes proposed for Medicare in 2021 that deal with how doctors are compensated. Two of the doctors in the effort were spotlighted in the Netflix documentary "Lenox Hill." Dr. David Langer, Chair of Neurosurgery at Lenox Hill Hospital, and Dr. John Boockvar, Vice Chair of Neurosurgery and Director of the Lenox Hill Brain Tumor Center joins KYW In Depth to break down what changes to the Medicare system are being proposed, why they matter to doctors, and how the changes could impact patients.

Struggling with pandemic productivity guilt? Here are some tips for dealing with it Sep 24, 2020

Show notes

The coronavirus pandemic is causing many of us to slow down and take a harder look at what we do day to day. And the results? They're not always good. A lot of people feel like they can’t get a handle on their to-do lists, and there's that nagging feeling that you should be getting more done. Dr. Kelly McClure, Associate Professor and the Chair of Undergraduate Psychology at La Salle University joins KYW In Depth to break down what productivity guilt is, what causes it, and tips for dealing with it in a healthy way.

Harvard epidemiologist: U.S. needs to produce COVID-19 tests "the way we build jets and bombs" Sep 23, 2020

Show notes

Dr. Michael Mina is an epidemiologist at Harvard University. And he says we need to build a new way of testing if we want to get a handle on the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. His plan? Use the mighty power of the federal government and the wallet of the Department of Defense to produce virus tests on a macro scale. Dr. Michael Mina joins KYW In Depth to break down what's wrong with how we're using the current COVID-19 test, what the better option is, and how fast we could get a handle on the spread of the disease if we used the full power of the United States to act decisively against the virus.

Do high schools teach financial literacy adequately? Most parents say no. Sep 23, 2020

Show notes

A vast majority of parents surveyed by U.S. News & World Report say that high schools in America need to do a lot more to teach essential financial literacy skills to students. Why are we bad at teaching financial literacy in this country, and what can we do to reverse course? Beverly Harzog, personal finance and credit card expert for U.S. News & World Report joins KYW In Depth to talk about why financial literacy is so important and what the survey revealed about how we educate students and how we can do better.

Scientists in Philly were studying human resilience. Then came the coronavirus pandemic Sep 22, 2020

Show notes

Before the coronavirus pandemic, a group of scientists in Philadelphia were studying human resilience in the face of stress. Then March 2020 and COVID came, and with it came opportunities to collect field data and try to help people deal with their lives turning upside down. Dr. Ran Barzilay, M.D., Ph.D. is a physician scientist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and the lead author of the resiliency report. Dr. Barzilay joins KYW In Depth to break down what he and his colleagues found by studying stress and resiliency during a global pandemic.

You can participate in the survey at https://covid19resilience.org/ .

What if every car in the U.S. was electric? Sep 21, 2020

Show notes

How would the US change if every car on the road was electric? What would the country look like? It sounds like wishful thinking, but the American Lung Association wanted to play it out. So they put out the Road to Clean Air report. It focuses on a nationwide shift to electric cars, looking into the future a few decades -- and they found some really interesting benefits. Paul Billings, National Senior Vice President of Advocacy for the American Lung Association joins KYW In Depth to break down what they found, how realistic a future is where we've all traded in pumping fuel for plugging in, and what that transition might look like.

"Nearly half of America" is in serious financial pain from coronavirus, but it's much worse in minority communities Sep 21, 2020

Show notes

One of the common refrains of the coronavirus pandemic is that "we're all in this together." But new information is making it clear that we're not all being affected by the pandemic in the same ways. Minority communities are being hit much harder.

Dr. Robert J. Blendon is the Richard L. Menschel Professor Emeritus of Public Health and Professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He's also the co-director of a survey by NPR, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that looked at how coronavirus is affecting people financially. Dr. Blendon joins KYW In Depth to break down what they found out, and how bad the financial situation is for people who are most vulnerable right now in America.

Find out more about the study here: https://rwjf.ws/2FNFj9w

After decades of declines, do labor unions have the political power to influence the 2020 election? Sep 18, 2020

Show notes

Labor unions and politics have gone hand in hand in America for decades. But after decades of declining union power in the country, how is organized labor fitting into the 2020 election? Which side will unions take? And, is modern day organized labor powerful enough to even make a difference ? Dr. Laura Bucci, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Saint Joseph’s University joins KYW In Depth to talk about the history of unions and politics and what they mean in America today. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

A housing market that looked untouchable is showing some cracks Sep 18, 2020

Show notes

US housing starts took a tumble in August. 860,000 people filed for first time unemployment benefits last week. It's looking like there might not be another coronavirus relief bill before the election. David Fiorenza, Associate Professor of Practice at the Villanova School of Business joins KYW in Depth to break down the news of the week and explain what it means for the health of our economy. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Why finding phosphine on Venus has astronomers so excited Sep 17, 2020

Show notes

Most of the popular talk about life in outer space has centered on Mars. That is, until a few days ago, when astronomers reported an exciting discover on Venus. So, what did they find? Why is it a sign of life? What could life on Venus even look like? And why haven't we checked there until now? Dr. Eric Jensen, Professor of Astronomy at Swarthmore College joins KYW In Depth for a fascinating conversation about aliens, outer space, and why Venus is suddenly the hottest planet in the solar system. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.