Radio Times

Guests: Ryan Goodman, Bob Dreyfuss

Last week, former National Security Advisor to President Trump, Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian government during the presidential transition last year. Then it was revealed that a White House lawyer had informed the President that Flynn had mislead the FBI before the guilty plea. Trump tweeted that he knew about Flynn’s deception, which legal experts say indicates “obstruction of justice.” These are all the latest turns in the Robert Mueller investigation that has already brought charges against three members of the Trump campaign. Today, we discuss the investigation and what it could mean for the Trump administration and the President himself. We’re joined by RYAN GOODMAN, professor of Law at NYU joins us along with BOB DREYFUSS, investigative journalist and contributing editor for The Nation.

Guest: Abigail Marsh

An heroic act by a stranger during car accident started ABIGAIL MARSH wondering what makes some people so compassionate that they’d risk their lives to help a total stranger. Marsh went on to become a social psychologist and a professor at Georgetown University.  She’s spent her career researching the human brain and people who are either extremely generous and altruistic, or cruel and psychopathic. In this hour of Radio Times, Marsh discusses her new book, The Fear Factor: How One Emotion Connects Altruists, Psychopaths, and Everyone In-Between.

Guests: Scott Black, Juli Berwald

If you’ve noticed that bugs aren’t splattering on your windshield like they used to, you are not imagining things. It’s a symptom of a vanishing insect population, the consequences of which could be dire. SCOTT BLACK, executive director of the Xerces Society joins us to tell us about the decline and how less bugs will affect our environment. Then, if you’ve never been in awe of jellyfish, science writer JULI BERWALD might convert you. These rubbery, slimy, sometimes venomous creatures are beautiful and remarkably complex, despite being 95% water. Berwald writes about the diversity of jellyfish, her adventures with them, and the impact climate change is having on their populations in her new book, Spineless: the Science of Jellyfish and the Art of Growing a Backbone.

Guests: Jonathan Olshefski, Christopher Rainey, PJ Rainey, David Rubin

Filmmaker JONATHAN OLSHEFSKI spent nearly a decade documenting the life of the Rainey family living in North Philadelphia. His new documentary, Quest, is an intimate portrait of this loving and tight-knit family who have created a safe and creative space in a tough neighborhood in a city struggling with poverty and violence. Today, we’re joined by Olshefski and CHRISTOPHER “QUEST” RAINEY, along with his daughter, PJ RAINEY to hear about how the film came to be and the message it sends. Then, the future of the popular Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, remains uncertain. Congress is fighting over how to pay for the program, which currently insures 8 million kids and 370,000 pregnant women. We’ll talk with DAVID RUBIN, a pediatrician and director of PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia about the impact of CHIP on kids’ lives and its future.

Guests: Thomas Childers, Arnie Bernstein

On Sunday, The New York Times published an article about a low-key Nazi in Ohio. The piece drew fierce criticism from many corners of the political spectrum for “normalizing” Nazism in America. But Nazis in America are nothing new. In fact, 20,000 Americans attended a Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden. Today on the show, we’re going to examine Nazism from a historical perspective – in Germany and in America. We’ll be joined by historian ARNIE BERNSTEIN, author of Swastika Nation: Fritz Kuhn and the Rise and Fall of the German American Bund. He’ll tell us about the American Nazi’s of the 1930’s and their leader. We’ll also be joined by historian THOMAS CHILDERS, author of the new book The Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany, which aims to debunk some of the long-standing myths about Hitler and the Nazi Party’s rise to power.

Guests: Cory Doctorow, Andy Kroll, Meg James

There are a lot of changes in the media these days. We’ll begin today’s show talking about the Trump administration’s threat to repeal net neutrality protections and what this would mean for the future of the internet. CORY DOCTOROW, co-editor of Boing Boing joins us to explain. Then, we’ll explore how the media landscape is shifting in the Trump era. The DOJ is blocking the sale of Time Warner to AT&T, just as Time Inc. was bought by the Koch Brothers-affiliated Meredith media group. Trump just lambasted the Time Warner-owned CNN again in recent days, suggesting that the network’s international coverage is biased against him. Finally, the Trump administration has repealed a law to prevent local media monopolies, allowing Sinclair Broadcasting group to buy local stations that broadcast syndicated pro-Trump commentaries on local news affiliates. ANDY KROLL of Mother Jones and MEG JAMES of the Los Angeles Times joins us to discuss all of this and what the fallout could look like for media companies and for news coverage.

Guests: Joseph B. Elliot, Nathaniel Popkin, Peter Woodall, Robert Blackson

Philadelphia is filled with unseen spaces and little-known history. In the new book, Philadelphia: Finding the Hidden City, JOSEPH E.B. ELLIOTT, NATHANIEL POPKIN, and PETER WOODALL show readers the photographs of urban life – from the Civil War through World War II. In this hour, Marty talks with the trio of authors about the multilayered history of Philadelphia and the stories behind the Wanamaker organ, faded picture of Father and Mother Divine and the now-abandoned Holmesburg Prison. Then we’ll hear about the Symphony for a Broken Orchestra, a new project in Philadelphia aimed at highlighting the underfunded city schools which cannot afford to repair their musical instruments. Temple Contemporary director ROBERT BLACKSON will tell us about the project and will bring in some of the broken instruments that will be used in the symphony.

Guests: Steven Johnson, Joseph Turow

In his book, Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World, STEVEN JOHNSON argues that fun and leisure have led to the innovations that have shaped our current age.  From medieval times to the 19th century, Johnson illustrates just how technological advancements in entertainment were instrumental in the direction the world has gone, and how paying attention to these areas will help predict our future. Then, JOSEPH TUROW details how brick-and-mortar stores are watching us when we shop in his new book, The Aisles Have Eyes.  The University of Pennsylvania professor outlines the measures that corporations go to track our buying habits and behaviors in stores like WalMart, Target, Macy’s and grocery stores.

Guests: Tony Campolo, Bart Campolo

At fifty years old, BART CAMPOLO told his prominent Evangelical priest father, TONY CAMPOLO, that he no longer believed in God. The announcement, understandably, caused tension within the Campolo family, altering the relationships they had with each other, and with their faith.  Tony was dismayed, and Bart felt guilty for disappointing the family he loved. But, through introspection and love, their bond endured and they have reached a sense of mutual admiration and understanding. They chronicled this experience and their thoughts on faith in their new book Why I Left, Why I Stayed, and they join Marty on the show today to tell us their story. [from the Radio Times archive]

Guest: Gabrielle Langholtz