Radio Times

Guests: Indira Lakshmanan, Dick Polman, Will Sommer

The news that pipe bombs were sent to prominent Democrats, including former President Obama and Hillary Clinton, as well as CNN headquarters, has many people wondering if the level of vitriol in our politics had reached a breaking point. Have all the insults, hostility, and hyper-partisanship sparked such a violent action? While President Trump first responded to the attack by calling for unity, he quickly reverted to calling out the media and blaming them for “the Anger,” tweeting “… Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!” Today we’ll talk about the heated rhetoric and the President’s role in it. We’ll also look at the use of fear-mongering in politics, how trust has been eroded, and how the right-wing media is reacting to the terror attacks. Our guests are DICK POLMAN, political columnist for WHYY, INDIRA LAKSHMANAN, executive editor of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, and WILL SOMMER who covers conservative media and the internet for The Daily Beast.

Guest: Ben Bradlee Jr.

In BEN BRADLEE Jr.’s new book, The Forgotten, the veteran journalist argues that it was Luzerne County, Pennsylvania that delivered President Trump his 2016 electoral victory. Through reporting on the county’s economic conditions and demographic changes, as well as Trump’s campaign rhetoric, Bradlee finds this key county in one of a handful of swing states encapsulates the driving forces behind Trumpism. Bradlee was also the supervisor of the Boston Globe’s Catholic church sex abuse investigative report depicted in the film, Spotlight. He joins Marty today in front of a live audience at the WHYY studios.

Guests: Julie Rovner, Sabrina Corlette

There’s some good news around the Affordable Care Act: premium prices are down on average by 1.5% for 2019, and there are more plan choices. In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, rates are dropping even more. With open enrollment starting on November 1st and health care playing a prominent role in midterm elections, we thought we’d check in on the state of Obamacare, including the costs and coverage. We’ll also discuss the continuing threats to the ACA, including the legal challenges to the pre-existing disease provision and the expansion of alternative short-term plans. And, we’ll see how healthcare is playing out in elections around the country. Guest host Mary Cummings-Jordan talks with JULIE ROVNER, chief Washington correspondent for Kaiser Health News, and SABRINA CORLETTE, senior research fellow at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute.

Guests: Naomi Baron, Stacey Steinberg

Hey! So… When someone texts you a lot of question marks, how does it make you feel??? How about when you get “ok.” as a response? Haha nice. Today we’re going to talk about the emotive grammar unique to text messages –  how the use of punctuation, slang, specific words, and emojis are all used to convey the feeling and context to each of our messages. We’ll be joined by American University professor of linguistics NAOMI BARON to pick apart the nuances of text messaging. Then, we’ll talk about the ethics and etiquette of sharing pictures of your children and grandchildren – also known as “sharenting” – with STACEY STEINBERG, law professor at The University of Florida and contributor to The Washington Post’s “On Parenting” column.

Guests: Diana Mutz, Joanne Freeman

If you think the rancor in Congress is bad now, back in the days leading up to the Civil War, legislators were throwing punches, overturning chairs, and brandishing weapons in Capitol Hill. The contentious politics of the time – particularly around the issue of slavery – led to more than just verbal barbs being thrown. Yale University historian JOANNE FREEMAN joins us to talk about the Congressional fisticuffs and her book, Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War. But first we look at incivility in our current politics with the Presidency of Donald Trump and Democrats beginning to respond in kind. Just last week, Hillary Clinton and Eric Holder made the case of tougher political tactics. University of Pennsylvania political scientist DIANA MUTZ weighs in on the impact of incivility on politics and our democracy.

Guests: Carol Kuniholm, Ari Berman

How democratic is our democracy? As the 2018 midterms approach, a number of efforts to restrict voting have people wondering how fair and free our elections really are. Georgia, Indiana, Wisconsin, and North Dakota are all imposing, or proposing, measures that would make the act of voting much more onerous on citizens – these include voter I.D. laws, closing poll places, purging voting rolls and limiting voting hours. Today Mother Jones’ ARI BERMAN joins us to tell us about these efforts and about steps that could be taken to make voting easier for Americans. But first, we’ll talk with CAROL KUNIHOLM from Fair Districts PA who will update us on the ongoing battle over redistricting in the state.

Guests: Anna Viden, David Fahrenthold

The likely murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has placed scrutiny on the U.S.’s ties to Saudi Arabia, as well as it’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, also known as MbS. Today on the show, we’ll get a history of the long relationship between the two countries – from Saudi’s founding in the 1930s, to the oil crisis in 1973, to the first Gulf War, to 9/11, and now. ANNA VIDEN, program coordinator for the Middle East Center at The University of Pennsylvania joins us. Then, Washington Post reporter DAVID FAHRENTHOLD will join us to talk about President Trump’s business dealings, and potential conflicts-of-interest, with Saudi Arabia and the Royal Family.

Guests: Anne Applebaum

The disappearance and alleged murder of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Turkey last week has many journalists and writers thinking about their safety, particularly those who write critically of authoritarian leaders. Today, Washington Post columnist, ANNE APPLEBAUM, will talk about the broader threat of modern international journalism –  the disappearances, jailing, and assassinations that have taken place at the hands of dictators around the world.

Guest: Imani Perry

Lorraine Hansberry was far ahead of her time as a playwright and social justice advocate. At just 29-years-old, she wrote Raisin in the Sun – the first Broadway play written by a black women. She was also an activist on racial and gender issues, so much so that she was under FBI surveillance. Although Hansberry was married to a man, she identified as a lesbian and joined one of the country’s first lesbian organizations. Still, many people don’t know much about Hansberry’s work or her life, which was cut short from cancer at the young age of thirty-four. Princeton University professor IMANI PERRY wants to change that, so she wrote the book, Looking for Lorraine: the Radiant Life of Lorraine Hansberry.

Guests: Marla Gold, Astra Czerny, Jim Hopper

Feeling exhausted and upset after the Kavanaugh/Ford testimony? Many people across the political spectrum felt emotionally spent and raw during the hearings and in the days since. But now we’re moved on to the next news story even though there’s still so much to discuss. This hour, we talk about why so many of us were so shaken by the Senate hearing, how to cope with it, and how to heal from trauma.  We start off our hour, discussing the science behind trauma and memory — what happens to our brains when we experience a traumatic event and we recover memories. Marty’s panel of guests are ASTRA CZERNY, assistant professor of Community and Trauma Counseling at Thomas Jefferson University, MARLA GOLD, professor of health management at Drexel University, and JIM HOPPER,  teaching associate in psychology at Harvard Medical School.