Radio Times

Guests: Stephen Farrell, Michael Koplow, Elizabeth Dias

Violence erupted in Gaza this week; nearly 60 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces. Palestinians were protesting the U.S. Embassy move to Jerusalem and the embassy’s opening ceremonies on Monday, a day that also marked the 70th anniversary of Israel’s founding. We start this hour with an update on what’s been happening on the Israel-Gaza border with Reuters Israel and Palestinian Territories bureau chief, STEPHEN FARRELL. Then, we’ll discuss that decision to move the U.S. Embassy, and how it will affect future peace negotiations and the already-tumultuous region with MICHAEL KOPLOW, policy director for the Israel Policy Forum.  And, we’ll end the hour with a conversation about the Evangelical movement’s role in all of this. New York Times religion and politics reporter ELIZABETH DIAS talks about why President Trump courts Evangelical voters and the two controversial pastors who spoke at the embassy opening.

Guests: Dave Davies, Chris Borick, Chris Potter

2018 is a particularly fascinating year for primary elections for a variety of reasons, particularly in Pennsylvania. The results will determine the direction each party will move towards leading into this Fall’s general election – both on the local and national stage. Today, we’ll talk about the results of the primaries for U.S. Congress, State House, Governor and more. Our guests will discuss what the results indicate about the state’s voters, the implications for the respective political parties, and look toward to the general election. Our guests are WHYY’s DAVE DAVIES, WESA’s CHRIS POTTER, and Muhlenberg professor of political science, CHRIS BORICK.

Guest: Alex Wagner

Until the age of 12, ALEX WAGNER always thought of herself as all-American. But when a stranger asked her father if she was adopted, she started to more deeply consider her identity. She is the daughter of a Burmese mother and a white American father and she recently set out on a world-wide journey to explore her lineage, her family history and the degree to which one’s ancestry can shape an individual. She writes about her experiences in her new memoir, Futureface: A Family Mystery, an Epic Quest, and the Secret to Belonging. Wagner, who is a CBS News correspondent, co-host of Showtime’s The Circus and contributing editor at The Atlantic, joins us to talk about what she learned about herself, her family and our culture’s obsession with identity.

Guests: Susan Higginbothem, Tony Lapp, Azucena Ugarte

The disturbing abuse allegations by four women against New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is yet another reminder of the prevalence and problem of domestic violence. The revelations, first reported in The New Yorker, were particularly surprising since Schneiderman portrayed himself as a #MeToo crusader. According to the CDC, more than 10 million women and men, from every background and income level, experience intimate partner violence (IPV) every year.  This hour, we talk about what IPV looks like, the myths that surround it, and the lasting damage it does to victims. SUSAN HIGGINBOTHAM, executive director of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, TONY LAPP, co-director of Menergy, and AZUCENA UGARTE, Domestic violence strategies director for the city of Philadelphia join us.

Guests: Amrit Singh, Robert Turner

Gina Haspel’s nomination to lead the C.I.A. has revived the public debate about the use of waterboarding and torture as a means of obtaining information from detainees. On Wednesday, the Senate Intelligence Committee held a hearing in which Haspel was questioned about her involvement in “enhanced interrogation” tactics, the destruction video tapes of these interrogations, and her personal moral compass. The vote to confirm Haspel is likely to occur next week, and the likelihood that she will become the next leader of the C.I.A. is difficult to predict. Today, we’ll discuss Haspel, waterboarding, torture, and the C.I.A. with University of Virginia law professor, ROBERT TURNER,  who was the senior White House attorney overseeing the legality of Intelligence Community activities from 1981 to 1984, and by AMRIT SINGH, Senior Legal Officer for National Security Counterterrorism at the Open Society Justice Initiative.

Guest; Harris Steinberg, Paul Steinke, Leo Addimando

Philadelphia has a lot of old buildings–68% of them were built before 1945–but only two percent of them have a historic designation. That’s half the average of most large cities. So why aren’t we preserving more of our city’s historical structures? And how do we meet the needs of a crowded, modern city while maintaining its historic character? This hour, we look at the tension between preservation and development in Philadelphia and discuss how the Mayor’s task force on historic preservation is tackling the problem. We’ll also talk about how, and who, should decide which buildings are worthy of saving. Marty’s guests are HARRIS STEINBERG, chair of the Mayor’s task force and executive director of the Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation, PAUL STEINKE, executive director of the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, and LEO ADDIMANDO, managing partner and co-founder of Alterra Property Group.

Guests: Danica Coto, Catalina Jaramillo, Syra Ortiz-Blanes

Seven months after Hurricane Maria, power is still not entirely restored in Puerto Rico, and recovery efforts are not moving as quickly as many have hoped. Associated Press reporter DANICA COTO joins us from San Juan. After the hurricane, more than 900 Puerto Rican families relocated to Philadelphia. PlanPhilly reporter CATALINA JARAMILLO breaks down the struggles they’ve faced getting federal aid, and what the city of Philadelphia and local non-profits have been doing to help. We’ll also hear from freelance reporter SYRA ORTIZ-BLANES, whose recent series for The Philadelphia Citizen, Las Voces de Maria/The Voices of Maria, profiles Puerto Ricans living in Philadelphia after the storm.

Guests: Ain Gordon, Lance Wahlert

At the 1972 American Psychiatric Association (APA) Annual Conference, Philadelphia Psychiatrist John Fryer gave a speech while wearing a mask, using voice modifier, under the pseudonym “Dr. Anonymous.” He told the APA that he was a gay psychiatrist, and that homosexuality should be removed as a mental illness from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Playwright AIN GORDON, who studied Dr. Fryer at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, wrote a play about Fryer called 217 Boxes of Dr. Henry Anonymous. He joins us along with University of Pennsylvania Professor LANCE WAHLERT, who will break down psychiatry’s treatment of queerness since Dr. Anonymous, including modern day conversion therapy and DSM terminology.

Guests: Jeffrey Hall, Andrea Bonoir

How many hours does it take to make a BFF?  A new study by Professor JEFFREY HALL found that it takes about 200 hours to make a close friend. For someone to move from an acquaintance to casual friend takes about 50 hours. Still that’s a lot of time—time many people don’t seem to have these days. Making friends as an adult is hard. Work, family, and many other commitments often take priority. Today were talking about making and keeping friends. What does a good friendship look like? Is social media helping or hurting our relationships? And how do our friendships contribute to our health and happiness? Marty talks with Hall, a professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas, and ANDREA BONOIR, psychologist and columnist for The Washington Post.

Guests: Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, Dick Polman

When Rudy Giuliani appeared on FOX News Wednesday night, he managed to muddy some of the ongoing legal battles that face President Trump. Giuliani, now part of Trump’s legal team, made statements that run counter to the arguments that have been made by Trump regarding both the Stormy Daniels suit and the Mueller investigation. Beyond this, Trump has been degrading his own Justice Department, with the Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein coming forward to defend his work. Today, we’ll be discussing these stories, as well as the raid on the offices of Trump’s doctor and the revelation that the feds had tapped Trump attorney Michael Cohen’s phone prior to their raid on his home. Associate professor of Law at Stetson University, CIARA TORRES-SPELLISCY, joins us along with WHYY political columnist, DICK POLMAN.