The Week in Philly from KYW Newsradio

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Why the Supreme Court decided a 100-year-old gun law was unconstitutional Jun 24, 2022

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The Supreme Court issued a decision striking down a more than 100 year old New York state law dealing with who could get a permit to carry a gun in public. This has huge implications, not just in New York. What does the ruling mean? Why did the court just now decide to strike down the law, more than a century later? We asked these questions to Dr. Susan Liebell, Professor of Political Science at Saint Joseph's University.

Food bank: the need now rivals the height of the pandemic, and 'there's no end in sight' Jun 22, 2022

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Food banks are often the lifelines of our communities. They've seen and dealt with unprecedented need during the pandemic. And now, the pandemic is still going on but we're also seeing levels of inflation that we haven't seen in decades. So what kind of impact is that having on food banks? Fred Wasiak, President and CEO of the Food Bank of South Jersey says they hoped the need would level off and keep going down when we started learning to live with COVID, but the need they're seeing now is actually rivaling the height of the pandemic.

What could the bipartisan gun framework actually change? Jun 21, 2022

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A bipartisan group of US Senators says they have come together on framework for legislation that will help address the gun violence crisis in the US. This comes in the wake of that tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas... which came on the heels of the racially driven mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo... with both these tragedies occurring alongside what has become consistent shootings across the country, many of which don’t even make the news anymore. We wanted to talk about this legislative framework, and ask: what is in it, what should be in it, and will it become law? Our guest is Dr. Brian Wyant, Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology & Criminal Justice at La Salle University.

Biggest takeaways from the Jan 6 hearings so far Jun 20, 2022

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The House Select Committee investigating the January 6th, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol has held its first few public hearings. What have we learned? What is resonating with the American people, and what is not? Where do these hearings fit in US History? We asked these questions to Ben Berger, Associate Professor of Political Science at Swarthmore College and Executive Director of the Lang Center for Civic & Social Responsibility.

Economy update: Massive interest rate hike, inflation woes and recession concerns Jun 18, 2022

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The Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by a significant amount to try and tackle inflation. Recession concerns are rising. Retail sales went down a third of a percent. Homebuilding slumped in May. Put all these things together, what do they mean for the economy? What's important, and what's hype? We ask Philadelphia economist David Fiorenza.

Summer learning loss hits some students harder, but there are ways to help Jun 16, 2022

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Summer learning loss, where the long summer vacation leads to the loss of some academic skills and knowledge in students, is a real issue for just about every child, but it hits certain groups harder than others. We wanted to learn more about this learning loss and how districts, teachers and parents can try to address it, so we caught up with Lindsay Dworkin, Senior Vice President for Policy and Communications with NWEA, a not-for-profit organization that supports students and educators.

Americans rank most trusted brands: 'Do you trust this brand to do the right thing?' Jun 16, 2022

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Which brands do Americans trust the most? The global data intelligence company Morning Consult has released its Most Trusted Brands report, so we called Joanna Piacenza, Head of Industry Intelligence at Morning Consult to find out which brands are the most trusted in America, why, and how the list changed from last year.

Find out more here: https://morningconsult.com/

Robert Kerbeck’s real-life corporate spy espionage story Jun 14, 2022

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Robert Kerbeck spent much of his career lying to get information from one major company or Wall Street firm and selling it to another - all while trying to build a career as an actor. He recently wrote a memoir about his journey called “RUSE: Lying The American Dream From Hollywood To Wall Street”, which is in the process of being made into a TV series. We talk with Robert about his unexpected career change, how surprisingly easy it is to get people to give away valuable information, and how he reckoned with the questionable ethics of his job. Plus, he gives us a taste of how a “ruse” works and what it sounds like.

Got a bad lawyer? Tough luck, Supreme Court says Jun 13, 2022

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Two men in Arizona had trials, were found guilty in state court, appealed, ultimately lost again, and landed on death row. But after each of their cases underwent a post-conviction review, things got interesting and escalated all the way to federal court. Dr. Jules Epstein, Professor of Law and the Director of Advocacy Programs at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law, offers his take on a recent 6-3 decision by the Supreme Court rejecting the prisoners’ claims that they received improper counsel from their lawyers. He also explains how this decision could affect the rights of prisoners, and what the Supreme Court revealed through its ruling.

Pandemic economy update: should we talk about a recession? Jun 10, 2022

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Inflation continues to rise. When can we expect it to slow down? And what about the dreaded economic "r" word, recession? Could one be looming in the not-too-distant future? Philadelphia economist David Fiorenza is back to break down the biggest economic stories of the week and what they mean to you and me. Oh, and try not to choke on those year-to-year profit numbers for oil companies.