The Week in Philly from KYW Newsradio

Latest Episodes:

All signs point to an extraordinary post-pandemic economic recovery, and it's starting now Apr 30, 2021

Show notes

Unemployment keeps heading in the right direction. The GDP numbers show a consumer fueled economy going gangbusters. Spending and savings are both up. The economy is opening up in a big way and all signs are pointing to an absolutely extraordinary post-pandemic economic recovery. 13 months of weekly economic updates, and I don't think the show notes have ever been this positive LET'S GO! David Fiorenza, Associate Professor of Practice at Villanova School of Business joins KYW Newsradio In Depth to talk about what happened this week in the economy and what it means for all of us in our daily lives.

100 days to judge a President Apr 29, 2021

Show notes

We have hit the 100th day of Joe Biden’s presidency. It has become part of the political fabric to examine a presidency after 100 days -- but why? Where did this sort of arbitrary benchmark come from? And as long as we're here, what have we learned 100 days into the Presidency of Joe Biden? Dr. Ben Berger, Associate Professor of Political Science at Swarthmore College and Executive Director of the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility joins KYW Newsradio In Depth to talk about why the first 100 days matter so much and how Biden's stack up to the rest.

Inside America's fascination with celebrity politicians Apr 28, 2021

Show notes

Americans enjoy celebrity politicians. You can look at several examples from history -- Ronald Reagan went from Hollywood to the Governor's Mansion, to the White House. Donald Trump became a household name with a reality TV show before he moved to Washington DC. And now, polls suggest we could see a President The Rock inauguration sometime in the not so distant future. So why are Americans drawn to celebrity politicians? And what makes celebrities want to have a career in politics? Dr. Hilde Van den Bulck, Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication at Drexel University joins KYW Newsradio In Depth to talk about celebrities, politics, and what happens when they meet.

The cicadas are coming, 17 years in the making Apr 27, 2021

Show notes

An enormous number of cicadas are waking up very soon after spending the last 17 years developing. It's going to be awesome, and probably very noisy. Dr. Christopher Tipping, Professor of Biology at Delaware Valley University joins KYW Newsradio In Depth to talk about what it's going to look like and what people should know before they emerge.

Bracing for the next public health emergency (because there will be one) Apr 26, 2021

Show notes

So what have we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and how can these lessons be put to good use to prevent the next public health crisis? "We have short memories," cautions Dr. Stephanie Zaza, President of the American College of Preventive Medicine, so we need to start the hard work now while the experience of the last year is fresh in our minds. Dr. Zaza joins KYW Newsradio In Depth to break down the US response to the pandemic, the biggest opportunities to make improvements in our public health infrastructure, and how we can prepare for the next pandemic on the macro and micro level alike.

Pandemic economy check in: Help wanted! Apr 23, 2021

Show notes

It finally looks like we're making solid strides in the right direction on the unemployment from. And on top of that, the help wanted signs are everywhere, especially at minimum wage jobs. What's goin on?

A huge amount of people say they're concerned about inflation, so why aren't economists all that worried?

The US has a real chance to invest in its infrastructure, and it looks like a capital gains tax increase is part of the way we'll pay for it. So what does that mean for you?

David Fiorenza, Associate Professor of Practice at Villanova School of Business joins KYW Newsradio In Depth to talk about what happened this week in the economy and what it means for all of us in our daily lives.

Mutter Museum manager on how history will remember the COVID-19 pandemic Apr 23, 2021

Show notes

We will one day, hopefully sooner rather than later, be in a place where COVID-19 is in the rearview mirror. When we get there, how are we going to look back on this pandemic and this mass trauma event that the whole world just went through together? There's no way to tell with 100% accuracy. But maybe we can learn something by going back in history to the global flu pandemic of 1918. How familiar was the average person with that pandemic before COVID-19? Why didn’t the 1918 pandemic get more room in our history books? And could COVID-19 be remembered - or not remembered - in the same way? Nancy Hill, Museum Manager of the Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia joins KYW Newsradio In Depth to talk about the 1918 pandemic's impact on Philadelphia, the US, the world, and why despite its devastation, history seems to have forgotten to record a lot of the details of what everyday people were going through -- and whether there are any similarities or differences to what we're going through now, more than a hundred years later.

Check out the Mütter Museum's exhibit about the 1918 flu pandemic "Spit Spreads Death:" https://bit.ly/3gzH5uT

The pervasive greenness of the infrastructure plan Apr 22, 2021

Show notes

The Biden Administration is throwing its weight behind getting an infrastructure bill through Congress. The president has put forth a more than $2 trillion proposal, the American Jobs Plan. It's ambitious in many ways -- and one of the really interesting core tenets of the bill is the way it addresses environmental issues and climate change on macro and micro levels alike. Dr. Samantha Chapman, Professor of Biology at Villanova University and Co-Director of the Center for Bio-Diversity and Ecosystem Stewardship joins KYW Newsradio In Depth to break down why environmental stewardship is key to the bill and what it will mean for the United States.

The perfect storm housing boom: 'We have never seen demand anywhere near this level.' Apr 22, 2021

Show notes

If you're in the market for a house, get ready to enjoy the ride! The housing market has been on fire and it seems like it's just getting crazier. 'For sale' signs are turning to 'sold' signs in record timing, houses are being sold way above listing prices, and all this is going on in the middle of the pandemic. So what's going on? How long will this last? And should we be concerned about what happens after the boom? Ira Brownstein, founder and president of MortgageCountry joins the podcast to talk about some of the wildest things he's seen in the market in the last year, why it's behaving the way it is, and tips for people who want to buy or want to sell in 2021.

How genetic surveillance can fight COVID-19 variants Apr 20, 2021

Show notes

Right now the main focus in our fight against COVID-19 are the variants that are popping up around the United States and around the world. And when you talk about variants there's another phrase that gets thrown around too, 'genetic surveillance.' It's a critical tool for tracking and responding to virus variants, so we wanted to learn more about it and how it works. Dr. Zachary Klase, Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology & Physiology at the Drexel College of Medicine joins KYW Newsradio in Depth to break down what genetic surveillance is and how the US can start doing it better.