Radio Times

Guests: Dacher Keltner, Jeff Shesol

When President Trump was reciting ‘Scout’s Law’ a the recent Boy Scout Jamboree, he paused when he got to the second of the nine virtues; loyalty. If there’s one thing that President Trump looks for in his staff, it’s loyalty. He infamously asked former F.B.I. Director, James Comey, for loyalty, which Comey deflected. But what does it actually mean to be loyal? Today on the show, we’re going to talk about loyalty in relationships, in politics, and at the workplace. We’ll talk with DACHER KELTNER, a psychology professor at Berkeley, who has looked at the varying reasons people are, or are not loyal, to others. And, we’ll talk with former Bill Clinton speechwriter and historian JEFF SHESOL, about past Presidents' approach to garnering the loyalty of their staff and their constituents.

Guests: Sheri Swokowski, Heath Fogg Davis, Sean McFate

 We’ll begin today’s show discussing President Trump’s announcement that the military will no longer allow transgender people to serve in the military in any capacity. We’re joined by SHERI SWOKOWSKI, a trans veteran who served as an Army colonel, and by HEATH FOGG DAVIS, professor of political science at Temple University and author of the book Beyond Trans: Does Gender Matter? Then, we’ll talk about one of the options facing the Trump administration when it comes to resolving the war in Afghanistan; outsourcing the mission to military contractors. SEAN McFATE, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and former military contractor and Army paratrooper, joins us about the risks in relying on mercenaries in overseas wars and conflicts.

Guests: Robert Costa, Domenico Montanaro, Claire Finkelstein

Donald Trump has continued to criticize his Attorney General Jeff Sessions this week saying he was “disappointed” in Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation.  Trump continued attacking the AG in tweets on Wednesday, as well.  Meanwhile, Jared Kushner testified behind closed doors to lawmakers earlier in the week but meetings with Paul Manafort and Donald Trump Jr. were postponed.  To get the latest on the Russia probe and the future of Jeff Sessions, we turn to ROBERT COSTA, national political reporter for the Washington Post, and DOMENICO MONTANARO, lead editor for politics and digital audience for NPR. Then, President Trump asserted via tweet the “all agree the U.S. President has the complete power to pardon”. We’ll talk with CLAIRE FINKELSTEIN, professor of Law and Philosophy and Director of the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the University of Pennsylvania about the validity of this statement and other constitutional issues.

Guests: Rasheedah Phillips and Coren Wise

Imagine you’re living in a home with no heat. You’ve asked your landlord to fix the problem, she ignores you for months, but still asks for rent. You try file a complaint to the Department of Licenses and Inspections, and they assess that your rental is unfit for human habitation. Can you simply just move? No, because you are on a fixed income. With the L& I violations in hand, you withhold rent putting it in escrow. Still, your landlord decides to evict your family by the end of the week. Imagine being a landlord with a tenant who doesn’t pay the rent and violates the terms of the rental agreement. In this hour, Marty talks with RASHEEDAH PHILLIPS, managing attorney of the landlord-tenant housing unit at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia about the legal rights tenants have in these disputes. Also joining the discussion is COREN WISE, managing attorney at Coren Wise Attorneys at Law, who represents landlords in these type of cases.

Guests: Zeke Emanuel, Jonathan Cohn

President Trump is getting increasingly frustrated with his party’s inability to fulfill one of his main campaign promises; to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Trump has continually called the plan a disaster and as the healthcare stalemate drags on, he says he’d like to ‘let Obamacare fail.” But Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is not giving up on a repeal, and today, they will continue the process of trying to overturn Obama’s signature legislation. Today, we’re going to talk about the plans that the GOP have put forth, why they haven’t passed, the efforts to simply repeal the ACA, and what ‘letting Obamacare fail’ would mean for the future of healthcare in America. We’ll be joined by the University of Pennsylvania’s ZEKE EMANUEL, one of the architects of the Affordable Care Act who has met with Trump during the repeal process. We’ll also talk with Huffington Post reporter JONATHAN COHN, who writes about healthcare policy.

Guests: Maurice Schweitzer, Dan Ariely, Maria Konnikova

We all lie. It’s a skill we develop when we are just toddlers. But some people are bigger liars than others. In this hour, we’ll probe the liar’s mind. We’ll look at lies in politics, business, and our daily lives. And, we’ll ask why deception is universal and what effect it has on the deceiver and the deceived. Marty will talk with MAURICE SCHWEITZER, professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, DAN ARIELY, professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University, and MARIA KONNIKOVA, writer for the New Yorker and the author of The Confidence Game.

Guest: Tracy K. Smith

TRACY K. SMITH wrote her first poem when she was in the 5th grade, inspired by Emily Dickinson. 30 years and three published volumes later, she has been named the new poet laureate by the Library of Congress. Marty will spend the hour with Smith discussing poetry, the writing process, and what it means to be a “literary evangelist.” We’ll also hear her life story, which she wrote about in her memoir, Ordinary Light. Smith is also the director of Princeton University’s Program in Creative Writing.

There are about 15,000 Liberian immigrants living in Philadelphia, many of whom fled the country after the Liberian civil wars. Four Liberian women in Philadelphia decided to form a singing group, the Liberian Women’s Chorus for Change, to address the challenges of immigrant life. All the women were famous soloists, former superstar recording artists, and performers in Liberia. In this hour, Marty speaks with FATU GAYFLOR, artistic director of the Liberian Women's Chorus for Change and TONI SHAPIRO-PHIM of the Philadelphia Folklore Project about their new music that addresses domestic violence and other concerns of the local Liberian immigrant community.

Guests: Savannah Zayas, Kevin McCorry, Maura Bernt, Sydney Coffin

High school is already stressful and confusing enough. Add a being a new parent into the mix, and a troubled home life, and the task of graduating becomes gargantuan. Most who find themselves in this situation give up on school and try to find any job that would simply make ends meet. But today, we’re going to hear the story of SAVANNAH ZAYAS, a mother who overcame hardship and poverty by earning her diploma as a teen mother. Keystone Crossroads reporter KEVIN McCORRY’s new podcast, ‘Schooled,’ uses Zayas’ story as a lens to discuss the American public school system and joins us for the hour as well. Also joining us will be MAURA BERNT is the director of Youth Programs at Providence, a North Philadelphia nonprofit where Savannah worked, and SYDNEY COFFIN, Savannah’s English teacher.

Image: Jessica Kourkounis

Guests: Matea Gold, Sam Kean

SAM KEAN’s new book says we’re all inhaling history with each breath that we take. In Caesar’s Last Breath, he discusses the now-standard calculation used in chemistry and physics classes that can determine the probability of inhaling a particle of the final exhalation of Caesar. From there, Kean explores all of the gasses of the periodic table, as well as the scientists who have studied them. Kean joins Marty this hour for a discussion of science, history, and air. But first, we’ll talk with The Washington Post’s MATEA GOLD about the disconnect between President Trump’s views on outsourcing job and his daughter Ivanka’s use overseas labor for her fashion line.