The Week in Philly from KYW Newsradio

Latest Episodes:

Why is Montana banning TikTok, and will it work? May 25, 2023

Show notes

The app TikTok is wildly popular, and in some circles, wildly controversial. The state of Montana recently passed legislation that would ban the app in the state. What is it about TikTok that would lead to a state take a drastic action like this? How legitimate are the concerns? Is it even possible to enforce, and what could a move like this lead to? For this conversation, we caught up with Dr. Hilde Van den Bulck, who is a professor and head of the communication department in the College of Arts and Sciences at Drexel University.

Unraveling the mysteries of sleep May 23, 2023

Show notes

As far as we’ve come in medical and scientific research, sleep seems to be an area that we just can’t pin down. We might understand the stages of sleep and what REM sleep is - kind of - but there are still a lot of unanswered questions, or questions that we hear a variety of answers to. How much sleep do you really need? Do sleep aids like melatonin really help? What happens in our brains when we dream? Why does it seem to be harder to sleep as we get older? Why do we need sleep in the first place? We pose all those questions and more to Dr. Philip Gehrman, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, who specializes in Behavioral Sleep Medicine.

With pandemic era SNAP benefits ending, how are food banks coping? May 18, 2023

Show notes

During the pandemic, households enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, received at least a $95 per month increase to their usual benefits. In March 2023, benefits were cut back, but many of the people who receive those benefits haven’t recovered from the financial loss. They’ve had to turn to food banks, which are now struggling to meet the increased need. How have food banks had to adapt? And, what have they learned from years of high demand? Fred Waisak is the President and CEO of the Food Bank of South Jersey. He tells us about the impact of ending these increased benefits and how his and many other food banks are coping.

Can we reimagine high school math curriculums? May 16, 2023

Show notes

We have all heard conversations of “why didn’t they teach us this in school?” or “why did I take calculus if I’ve never had to use it?” Now with a wide scope of possible career opportunities, it might not make sense for all students to take the same classes in high school. Why does this happen, and how could we update the math curriculum? Do we have the teaching capacity to make these changes? Dr. Ted Coe is the Vice President of Academic Advocacy for Mathematics at NWEA. He joins us to discuss how we can reimagine math curriculums and what it would mean for students post-high school.

Norms in politics have gone unchecked - do we need more rules? May 11, 2023

Show notes

There are many precedents in politics that aren’t necessarily based on law but on norms, like the fact that there isn’t an age restriction for politicians and that Supreme Court justices serve for life. What are some of the other norms in politics that we’ve accepted to be true? Do politicians have too much power when these norms aren’t regulated? Dr. Ben Berger is an associate professor of political science at Swarthmore College. He explains how a lack of shame has affected our current political environment, and tells us the rules he thinks could give politicians an equal opportunity.

The “existential crisis” behind the writers strike May 09, 2023

Show notes

TV and movie writers represented by the Writers Guild of America went on strike last week. We’ve seen several writers strikes before, but producer and director Andrew Susskind says that with the growth of streaming, this time is different. Susskind teaches producing, directing, writing, and editing at Drexel University's Westphal College of Media Arts and Design. He joins us to explain the motives of this strike that go beyond pay, looking at the structure of how writers are hired for streaming shows, the threat of AI, and more. He also gives us his predictions for how long this could last and what effects TV viewers could notice on their favorite shows.

“Our youth are really, really struggling”: Is talking about mental health enough? May 04, 2023

Show notes

Worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a 25 percent increase in anxiety and depression, especially in young people and women, according to the World Health Organization. What affects our mental health? Why are young people struggling? And what can be done to help them? Schroeder Stribling is the president and CEO of Mental Health America, a community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness. Their website offers a mental health screening tool, which in 2022, reached 6.3 million Americans. She explains the organization’s findings and tells us the importance of opening up the mental health conversation.

What's behind the violence in Sudan? May 02, 2023

Show notes

We are seeing a serious situation in Sudan where violence has erupted between two factions of the military. Hundreds of civilians have been killed and there is significant concern about this leading to a humanitarian catastrophe. To learn more about what is happening, we caught up with Dr. Kelly Duke-Bryant, an Associate Professor of History at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ, who teaches a variety of courses on Africa. We asked her about the roots of this situation, learned why it isn’t a civil war, and also discussed why this conflict seems to be getting significantly more news coverage compared to other conflicts we have seen recently in Africa.

We’re back in the office - so how much has work changed? Apr 27, 2023

Show notes

When the pandemic disrupted the workforce, showing that lots of jobs can be done remotely and making workers rethink the values they want from their jobs, many people thought it would change the way we work forever. In 2023, a lot of those workers are back in the office and feeling high levels of burnout. So how much really changed? Morning Consult puts out an annual report on the state of workers. We invited Amy He, their Industry Analyst Team Lead, to explain what this year’s results reveal about how work has or hasn’t shifted over the past year, how satisfied different types of workers are, and what workers really want from their jobs now.

Is AI taking over? How artificial intelligence is being used in the workplace Apr 25, 2023

Show notes

Artificial intelligence is showing up everywhere. It’s the customer service chat box on websites. It’s the facial recognition feature in security cameras and phones. It’s even in filters on social media, and now, the workplace. But, 38 percent of Americans are cautious about how much AI is present in our everyday lives. Should we be worried about the expansion of AI? And, will increasing its usage affect job security? James Barlow is the founder of Triumph Technology Solutions, a Philadelphia-based data company. He tells us about how companies are using artificial intelligence and what investing in this technology means for workers.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

The Week in Philly from KYW Newsradio

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected