Radio Times

Guests: James Pawelski, Suzann Pileggi Pawelski

Love is in the air. Around Valentine’s Day, it can be hard to ignore the topic of love and romance – the cards, the flowers, the chocolates and candlelit dinners.  Whether or not you are into that kind of thing, it’s almost impossible not to think about our love life and take stock of each of our romantic relationships. This hour, we thought we would talk with a husband and wife team who are experts on creating lasting, loving relationships. They are University of Pennsylvania psychologist JAMES PAWELSKI, and writer SUZANN PILEGGI PAWELSKI.  They have written a book about ways to create everlasting love, Happy Together: Using the Science of Positive Psychology to Build Love that Lasts.

Guest: Robert Costa

White House staff secretary Rob Porter resigned after allegations of domestic abuse by his two ex-wives. Washington Post national politics reporter ROBERT COSTA joins us to talk about how the White House handled the situation and about Chief of Staff John Kelly and President Trump’s defense of the scandalized aide.  

Congress passed a  large-scale budget deal on Friday morning that raised the government’s spending limit by $300 billion for the next two years. ELIZA COLLINS, congressional reporter for USA Today joins us to explain what’s in the budget, how it was passed, and what effects it will have.

With all this boost in spending, and the GOP tax bill, we’ll close today’s show with NEIL IRWIN, senior economics correspondent for The New York Times who will explain the role deficits play in the economy.

Guests: Tom Goldman, Jeré Longman, Nick Paumgarten

The Olympics kicked off today with the opening ceremonies in PyeongChang. For the next three weeks athletes will compete in dozens of events on ice rinks and mountain slopes. This hour, we are going to get you up to speed on the Winter Games, including which athletes and events to watch. Marty’s guests are TOM GOLDMAN, NPR sports correspondent, and JERÉ LONGMAN, sports reporter for the New York Times, who both join us from South Korea where they are covering the games. Then, NICK PAUMGARTEN, staff writer for The New Yorker, tells us about gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin, who’s considered the world’s best female Alpine ski racer.

GUESTS: MIKE SIELSKI, ROBERT MAYS, BOBBY ALLYN, TOM MACDONALD, JASON LANTER

Today, an estimated two million people will attend the parade for the 2018 Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles. The route begins from the Lincoln Financial Field stadium to the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum. Philadelphia-area schools and colleges are closed, SEPTA and PATCO are running on a modified schedule with limited services and the forecast will be cold and sunny. What more can Eagles fans ask for? We’ll talk with BOBBY ALLYN and TOM MACDONALD, WHYY reporters about the parade festivities. Obviously, police will have a large presence for this crowd to prevent rowdy behavior. JASON LANTER, psychology professor at Kutztown University, joins us to talk about celebratory fan violence. But first, we’ll be joined by MIKE SIELSKI, Philadelphia Inquirer sports columnist who was at the Super Bowl and ROBERT MAYS, staff writer of The Ringer to discuss the championship game, and reactions from fans in Minnesota and in Philadelphia.

Guests: Mark Zandi, Frank Plantan

 All eyes will be on the Korean Peninsula beginning Friday, as the Olympic Games kick off in Pyeongchang, South Korea. North and South Korea are acting more diplomatically in advance of the games, but much of the world is nervous about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Trump’s heightened militaristic rhetoric. But the modern crisis of the Korea has been a long time in the making. Today on the show,  co-director of the University of Pennsylvania’s International Relations Program, FRANK PLANTAN, Jr., joins us for an hour of Korean history to give us insight into the historical roots of this consequential conflict. But first, the Dow Jones industrial average suffered its biggest one day point drop on Monday, and the markets continued to fluctuate Tuesday. We’ll talk with Moody’s Analytics chief economist MARK ZANDI about what’s behind the recent volatility and if it’s anything to worry about.

Guests: Chris Potter, John Baer, Ryan Grim, T.J. Rooney

With many crucial elections taking place in Pennsylvania this year, we’re going to talk about what the Democratic Party’s ideas and tactics will be for the 2018 election season. First, we’ll  talk with CHRIS POTTER of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about the upcoming special election in  Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District, in which a moderate Democrat stands a chance to win a traditionally Republican seat. Then, with so many elections underway in the state, we’ll find out what the Party’s tactics and positions will be following the 2016 election in which voters heavily favored Republicans nationally and locally. Democratic strategist T.J. ROONEY and Philadelphia Daily News columnist, JOHN BAER will join us to discuss they are seeing in the Party. We’ll also be joined by RYAN GRIM of The Intercept, who recently reported on how the Democratic establishment still controls whom the party will back in the primaries.

The Nunes memo was released on Friday, after a heated partisan debate. Republicans say the memo proves abuses by the FBI including unlawful surveillance of a Trump campaign advisor starting in 2016. The Democrats argue that the memo was carefully crafted by Republicans using cherry-picked facts in an effort to discredit the Mueller investigation.  This hour, we’ll discuss the memo and the fallout from its release with QUINTA JURECIC, deputy managing editor at Lawfare, CLAIRE FINKELSTEIN, who teaches national security law at  University of Pennsylvania Law School and CLINT WATTS, senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and former FBI agent. We start things off with BYRON TAU, who’s been following all of this for The Wall Street Journal.

Guests: Mike Sielski, Jim Kenney, Jake Tapper, Ed Rendell

The Eagles are going to the Super Bowl! We begin by getting a preview of what to look for on Sunday with Philadelphia Inquirer sports columnist MIKE SIELSKI, who will be joining us from Minneapolis. Then, we’re going to pump ourselves up for the big game by speaking with Eagles fans today, including CNN’s JAKE TAPPPER, Philadelphia Mayor JIM KENNEY, and former Governor ED RENDELL. And, we we’ll hear from our listeners to get their feelings about the underdog NFC champs’ chance at bringing the Lombardi trophy to Philadelphia.