Bridging Philly

"Loneliness is more than just a bad feeling," according to a recent op ed by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy. Our guests, Drs. Hallie A. Lightdale and Matthew Hurford, describe the mental and physical risks heightened by social disconnection, including heart disease, dementia and stroke. Joining them is writer and poet, Athena Dixon, who explains what inspired her to write The Loneliness Files. Then, we meet longtime civil rights advocate Rue Landau, Philadelphia’s first LGBTQ City Council nominee.

Recent research shows life expectancy improves when African Americans live near Black doctors, and Temple University primary care physicians, Dr. Delana Wardlaw and Dr. Menachem Leasy, explain why they're not surprised by this data, as they see it every day in their practices. Then, Oshun Family Center’s founder, Saleemah McNeil describes how her holistic approach to birthing as a reproductive psychotherapist, certified lactation consultant and birth doula, can reduce the rising number of Black maternal and fetal death rates.

Navigating the mental health care system is a challenge for the most sophisticated of patients, but what about people looking to see a therapist for the first time? Where do you start? Do you go to someone who matches your demographic? Is tele-health private? Host Racquel Williams asks these questions and more with our panel of therapists. Then, Shara Dae Howard introduces us to the poets and musicians who are inspired by the historic Germantown Awbury Arboretum.

We pickup with the second half of host Racquel Williams’ interview with Philadelphia-born book authors Richard Dilworth and Brett Mandel, who share their ideas of solutions to make city government more transparent. Then, Shara Dae Howard talks to voters in the city’s varied neighborhoods, and finds growing gun violence to be the biggest problem they want their next mayor to fix.

Philadelphia-born book authors, Richard Dilworth and Brett Mandel, talk to host Racquel Williams about corruption in Philadelphia. Then, Shara Dae Howard remembers Harry Belafonte's civil rights activism through his collaborations with Paul Robeson and Marian Anderson.

The Philadelphia area has an expanding 378 miles of recreational trails, connecting nine counties along rivers and trees that are used by individuals and families for exercise, commuting and socializing. Iresha Picot tells host Racquel Williams how she has been introducing women to the trails for self-care and community with her cycling club, Black Girl Joy Bike Rides. Also, Shara Dae Howard walks the grocery aisles of Bebashi’s FoodFirst Pantry, which is helping to feed families in need since pandemic-era assistance has been terminated.

Grant money from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office is helping to transform guns into garden tools in Kensington. Host Racquel Williams speaks with Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and RAWTools Philly's Shane Claiborne about how the non-profit organization is using the anti-violence prevention funds redistributed from civil asset forfeiture. Then, Shara Dae Howard sits with Janice Sykes-Ross, Executive Director of the West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and Paul Robeson House and Museum to celebrate the singer, actor, lawyer, athlete and scholar’s 125th birthday at the residence he called home.

Sister Mary Scullion and Candice Player of Project HOME tell host Racquel Williams that if everyone had a safe place to call home, equal and livable wages, and quality health care, they could break the cycle of poverty and homelessness. For 35 years, the non-profit has been working towards creating access to affordable transitional and permanent housing programs in Philadelphia’s most challenged neighborhoods. Then, Shara Dae Howard talks to the curators of the exhibition, Rising Sun: Artists in An Uncertain America. It's a new collaboration between the African American Museum and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts featuring 20 artists who explore the question, "Is the sun rising or setting on the experiment of American democracy?"

Meet Leth Oun, who was among the thousands of Cambodian refugees who found a home in South Philly in the 1980s. He is a survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime, which eliminated a quarter of the country’s population. He talks to host Racquel Williams about writing his new memoir, A Refugee’s American Dream: From the Killing Fields to the Secret Service with his co-author Joe Samuel Starnes.

According to our guest, Dr. Carmen Guerra, the number of people under the age of 50 diagnosed with colorectal cancer is growing, and researchers don’t know why. But they do know the age to begin getting screened for this type of cancer is 45. By the time most people feel symptoms it’s often too late for successful treatment for survival. The University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine's physician is joined by Patti Hollenback, a nurse who lost her husband to colorectal cancer, and who has become an oncology nurse navigator at Crozier Health System. Then, alto saxophonist and composer, Immanuel Wilkins, describes his journey from Upper Darby to Juilliard and beyond, guided by Philadelphia jazz legacies, including Sun Ra.