Radio Times

Guests: Jonathan Landay, Jason Rezaian, Trita Parsi

Iran has come under fire by the Trump administration in recent days. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held a conference on Sunday likening Iran’s leaders to the mafia and was followed by a threatening tweet from President Trump. The Trump team has amped up anti-Iran sentiment since taking office, and has withdrawn from the Iran nuclear deal. Today, we’ll talk about the state of US-Iran relations, how the governments are reacting to their respective actions and statements, and what these escalated tensions could indicate about the future. Joining us is JONATHAN LANDAY, national security reporter for Reuters, JASON REZAIAN, who writes for the Global Opinions column and former Tehran Bureau Chief at The Washington Post who spent 544 days in an Iranian prison and TRITA PARSI, founder and president of the National Iranian American Council.

Guest: Paul Atchley, Catherine McDonald, Russ Martin

Why can’t we just hang up and drive? Most motorists have probably been guilty of talking or texting while driving at some point—maybe in traffic jam or at a red light, but some people make a regular habit of it, even though the dangers are well known. Distracted driving is blamed for 3500 deaths and 390,000 injuries a year. So how can we get drivers to keep their eyes on the road and off their phones? Guests PAUL ATCHLEY, psychology professor at University of Southern Florida, CATHERINE MCDONALD, assistant professor of nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, and RUSS MARTIN, director of government relations at the Governors Highway Safety Association talk about the allure of our phones, the latest research on distraction and if new aps, car tech or laws are making any dent in the problem.

Guests: Elizabeth Nash, Amelia Bonow, Gillian Frank

Abortion access in America might be undergoing some changes soon. With Justice Kennedy’s recent retirement announcement, many have speculated that Roe v. Wade is in danger of being overturned. But, despite Roe, there are many places in the country with laws on the books that create poor abortion access, making the service impossible for some women. On today’s show, we take a look the state of abortion around the U.S. today. ELIZABETH NASH, Senior State Issues Manager at the Guttmacher Institute, will break down abortion access state by state and explain some of the restrictions in place that limit access and force clinic closure. Despite these restrictions, the Guttmacher Institute reports that nearly one in four women in America have had an abortion by age 45. AMELIA BONOW, co-founder of #ShoutYourAbortion, joins us for a conversation about the stigma and silence surrounding a common procedure. Then,  a story from before Roe was passed: GILLIAN FRANK, who teaches in the American Studies program at University of Virginia, tells us about the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion, a major network of clergy who helped women obtain safe abortions before 1973.

Guest: Randi Hutter Epstein

We blame a lot on our hormones – weight gain, sex drive, sleep loss, mood swings, illness and more. And justly so, as science writer RANDI HUTTER EPSTEIN details in her new book, Aroused: The History of Hormones and How They Control Just About Everything. This hour, Epstein walks us through the fascinating history of endocrinology, the early and sometimes bizarre experiments around chemicals like leptin, oxytocin, estrogen, and testosterone, the medical advances that changed the lives of countless patients, and the missteps along the way.

Guests: Teresa Lundy, Natalie Midiri, Nina Ahmad

Last month, a Democratic Socialist, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stunned the Democratic Party by defeating her district’s long-time incumbent in the primary election for U.S. Congress. And in Pennsylvania, four Democratic Socialist-endorsed candidates for State House won their respective primaries as well. So does this constitute a socialist wave taking over the Democratic Party, or mere mid-term anomalies? Today we discuss the influence of socialist policies on the left of the political spectrum, if they are good for the Democratic Party, and if they can govern. We’re joined by Philadelphia-based democratic strategist, TERESA LUNDY, a leader on the National Political Committee of the Democratic Socialists of America NATALIE MIDIRI, and by former Deputy Mayor to Jim Kenney and former candidate for Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor, NINA AHMAD.

Guests: David Rothkopf, Rudra Sil

President Trump met behind closed doors with Russian president Vladimir Putin on Monday and reiterated his call for a better relationship with Russia whom he called a competitor. They were both asked at a press conference about allegations of meddling in the 2018 election and Robert Mueller’s indictment of 12 Russians on Friday. President Trump said he wasn’t sure who to believe; his own intelligence agencies or Putin, saying there were two sides of the story. That has angered a lot of people, including Republicans. Former CIA director John Brennan called it treasonous. This happened after a frosty NATO meeting with US allies last week and a weekend of anti-Trump protests in England and Scotland. Today on the show, we’ll discuss U.S. – Russia relations in the Trump era, the president’s performance at the summit in Helsinki, election meddling and more. Our guests for the hour are DAVID ROTHKOPF, CEO of the Rothkopf Group and host of Deep State Radio, as well as RUDRA SIL, professor of political science at The University of Pennsylvania.

Guests: Lauren Duncan, Mary Frances Berry

What makes an activist? What fuels their passion and drives them to challenge the status quo, to protest, to believe they can make a difference?  Today we start our hour off discussing the psychology of activism with LAUREN DUNCAN, a professor of psychology at Smith College. Then, a conversation with long time civil rights activist and University of Pennsylvania historian, MARY FRANCES BERRY. Berry was a Vietnam War protester, co-founder of the Free South Africa movement and was appointed to the US Commission on Civil Rights by President Carter. In her new book, History Teaches Us to Resist, Berry looks at progressive resistance movements in our nation’s past and how they have led to important political change even under conservative administrations.

Guest: Jon Meacham

Presidential historian JON MEACHAM joins Marty for the hour. In his new book, The Soul of America, Meacham argues that the intensely divisive political culture of the current moment is nothing new, and that hyper-partisanship is a strain that runs through American history. The book argues that the United States has seen darker times than these, but that uniting behind common principles of decency and compassion is not without its struggles. Drawing on the period from abolitionist movement to the civil-rights movement, Meacham seeks to illustrate how some of our nation’s most lauded achievements came as the result of the internal battle for justice.

Guests: Kathleen Brown, Erica Armstrong Dunbar, Kenyatta Johnson

In 2016, several major universities founded in the colonial-era opened up about historic connections to slavery. At the time, the University of Pennsylvania released a statement saying it had examined its own past and “found no direct university involvement with slavery or the slave trade.” But this year a group of faculty and students called the Penn Slavery Project released research that 75 of the school’s early trustees, including over 20 of the founding trustees, held slaves or had ties to the slave trade. This hour, we’ll look into the history of slavery at Penn and in Philadelphia and discuss how to best address that history today. We’ll be joined by University of Pennsylvania history and gender studies professor KATHLEEN BROWN, who leads the Penn Slavery Project, and by Rutgers history professor ERICA ARMSTRONG DUNBAR.

We’ll also hear from Philadelphia Councilman KENYATTA JOHNSON about the effort to rename Taney Street. The street, which runs partially through Johnson’s district, is named after former Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, who is known for writing the majority opinion of the Dred Scott case.

Guests: Juliana Reyes, Maria Sacchetti, Ronit Stahl

Last week, protesters called “Occupy I.C.E.” set up an encampment in front of the I.C.E. office in Philadelphia. Their demonstration came to an abrupt end when police raided the encampment, citing and arresting some of the protesters. We begin today’s show with Inquirer and Daily News reporter JULIANA REYES, who was there. She’ll also discuss the Mayor’s reaction to the protests, and the tumult, as well as what the protest movement has been up to since the incident. Then, we’ll talk with Washington Post immigration reporter MARIA SACCHETTI, about the reunification process for children separated from their parents at the border and the Trump administration’s handling of the situation. Finally, there’s an AP story claiming that immigrants in the Army are being discharged without explanation. We’ll talk about how the military has provided a path to citizenship for both documented and undocumented immigrants with the University of Pennsylvania’s RONIT STAHL.