This two-part Schooled podcast by WHYY News highlights aspects of the Philadelphia School District that serve as an inspiration for a hit television show. The reporting took place in 2024 and 2025. Philadelphia native Quinta Brunson created the hit TV series, “Abbott Elementary,” as modeled upon real-life experiences students face learning in the Philly school system. The sitcom shines a light on the challenges that the school district faces — teacher shortages, limited resources, furniture and supplies – among the real-life issues incorporated into the show’s storylines.

This episode explores how robust arts programming and library support positively affect student lives.

This two-part Schooled podcast by WHYY News highlights aspects of the Philadelphia School District that serve as an inspiration for a hit television show. The reporting took place in 2024 and 2025. Philadelphia native Quinta Brunson created the hit TV series, “Abbott Elementary,” as modeled upon real-life experiences students face learning in the Philly school system. The sitcom shines a light on the challenges that the school district faces — teacher shortages, limited resources, furniture and supplies – among the real-life issues incorporated into the show’s storylines.

This episode focuses on the making of “Abbott Elementary,” its impact, Quinta’s ties to Philadelphia, and educators’ reactions to seeing their world enacted on the small screen.

Neuroscientist Abigail Marsh on extraordinary altruism—people who risk their lives to help strangers—and its opposite: psychopathy, little or no capacity for empathy.

By 2030, seniors will make up a fifth of the entire US population. How can policy makers not just adapt to, but capitalize on the changing demographics?

Tuesday, Mikie Sherrill was sworn in as New Jersey’s new governor. We talk about her priorities and the legacy she inherits from her predecessor, Phil Murphy.

President Donald Trump has shaken the international order in recent weeks — from Venezuela to Iran to Greenland

King audited classes at Penn, preached in Philadelphia churches and built relationships with influential Black clergy and institutions. Can we claim the reverend one of ours?

Salman Rushdie knows more about death than most of us. Decades ago, he lived in hiding after a death threat was issued by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini following the publication of his novel The Satanic Verses.

After losing her son, commencement became healing. “That day, I saw all my children graduate,” Dr. Alycia Marshall, president of the Community College of Philadelphia, said.

Can struggle, effort and inconvenience lead to a happier, more fulfilling life? And in a world where technology seems unavoidable, is it even possible to fight the current?