Radio Times

Guests: Domenic Vitiello, Darrell Clarke, Jim Kenney, Richard Alloway

The debate over Philadelphia’s status as a “sanctuary city” is taking place on the local, state, and national level.  President Trump has vowed to defund cities that defy his immigration policy, and the Pennsylvania Senate just approved a bill that would similarly defund Philly for its policy regarding undocumented immigrants. Threats of the potential to lose these revenue streams have caused some city officials to reconsider Mayor Kenney’s support for Philadelphia to remain a sanctuary city.  Today, we’ll talk about the political battle taking place at all levels of government, as well as the economic impact that undocumented immigrants have on Philadelphia with  DOMENIC VITIELLO, Associate Professor of City Planning and Urban Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. We’ll speak with State Senator RICHARD ALLOWAY about his support for a bill that denies funds to Pa. sanctuary cities, and during the hour, we’ll hear from Philadelphia Mayor JIM KENNEY, and from City Council President DARRELL CLARKE to get their takes on the pros and cons of Philadelphia’s sanctuary city status.

Guests: Sibryna Fulton, Tracy Martin, Diane Ackerman, Mohsin Hamid

Coming up on this week’s edition of Radio Times in Review: we’ll hear from author MOHSIN HAMID. He joined us a few years ago to discuss his writing process, and has just published a new novel called Exit West.  We’ll also listen to Marty’s conversation with writer and naturalist DIANE ACKERMAN, whose book The Zookeeper’s Wife has been adapted for the screen.  And, we’ll listen back to Marty’s interview with SYBRINA FULTON and TRACY MARTIN.  They are the parents of Trayvon Martin, whose murder five years ago sparked a nationwide conversation about racial profiling, gun laws, and self-defense. They have just published a book about their late son, and the aftermath of his death called Rest in Power.

Guest: Michael Lemonick

Lonnie Sue Johnson, a successful artist, a talented musician, and an amateur pilot, contracted encephalitis in 2007.  The disease wreaked havoc on her brain, particularly her hippocampus, and left her with severe amnesia. Johnson is unable to make new memories, has trouble remembering events that occurred a few minutes earlier, and has forgotten most of her past. She has, however, retained her artistic and musical skills and still plays the viola beautifully.  Science writer MICHAEL LEMONICK tells Johnson’s remarkable story in his new book The Perpetual Now: A Story of Amnesia, Memory, and Love, and uses her case to explore the science of memory and memory loss.

Guests: Theodore Ruger, Norman Ornstein

On Tuesday night, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments about President Trump’s immigration order after a Federal judge in Seattle suspended it last week. In the conference call that was nationally broadcast, the Justice Department argued that reinstating Trump’s directive was a matter of national security, while Washington state argued that the ban was illegal and unconstitutional because it discriminates against Muslims.  We’ll start out this hour examining the legal arguments on both sides of the debate with THEODORE RUGER, Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School.  Then, we turn to long-time observer of Congress, NORMAN ORNSTEIN to get an update on the Hill, including the silencing of Senator Elizabeth Warren, Congressional GOP’s evolving relationship with the White House, the slew of executive orders, the future of the ACA, Russia and more.  Ornstein is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

Guests: Erik Wemple, Kyle Pope, Ruby Cramer

The Trump administration has declared the media “the opposition party.”  His speeches, as well as the press conferences held by Press Secretary Spicer, are filled with falsehoods and unverifiable facts. Partisan news coverage has also put journalists and fact checkers in a new position in holding the government to account.  Today, we’ll talk about the media landscape, how reporters and writers should approach this Presidency, and how to regain trust with the public. We’ll talk with ERIK WEMPLE who writes about the media for The Washington Post, and with KYLE POPE, editor and publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review.  We’ll also spend some time with RUBY CRAMER of BuzzFeed, who will tell us about the “fake news” and conspiracy theories circulating among Democrats and the left-wing.

Guests: John Mooney, Paymon Rouhanifard

Governor Chris Christie had a setback last week when the New Jersey Supreme Court denied his request to reopen the state’s school funding formula.  The current funding is based on the Abbott v. Burke rulings which directs additional money to 31 disadvantaged school districts.  We start out the hour talking about the landmark Abbott v. Burke rulings and Christie’s effort to rewrite them with JOHN MOONEY, education reporter and founding editor of NJ Spotlight.  Then, high school graduation rates are up for the Camden schools but test scores are the lowest in the state.  Camden School District Superintendent PAYMON ROUHANIFARD comes in to talk about the progress and the continuing challenges facing the city schools.  We’ll also discuss the school funding and Rouhanifard’s reaction to President Trump’s immigration ban.

Guests: Jim Saksa, Yuval Weber, Daniel McCormack

President Trump has long praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, raising many eyebrows in in the government and among international policy experts alike.  His latest controversial comments regarding President Putin on Sunday’s interview with Bill O’Reilly further enhanced the narrative that Trump has an affinity for the Russian autocrat. On today’s show, we examine the leadership of Vladimir Putin, the nature of Trump’s fascination with him, and what the foreign policy implications are. We’ll talk with YUVAL WEBER, assistant professor at Harvard University’s Davis School for Russian and Eurasian Studies, and with DANIEL McCORMACK, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Christopher H. Browne Center for International Politics. But first, we’ll hear about the recent infrastructure problems plaguing SEPTA when we speak with PlanPhilly’s JIM SAKSA.

GUEST: ERIK WEIHENMAYER

In 2001, ERIK WEIHENMAYER became the only blind person in history to climb Mount Everest. After that remarkable accomplishment, he went on to scale the Seven Summits- the tallest peak on each of the seven continents, and race across the deserts and mountains of Morocco. In addition to his climbing feats, Weihenmayer has devoted his life to helping others with disabilities, including injured vets and blind children around the world. In this hour, Mary talks with Weihenmayer about his new book, “No Barriers: A Blind Man's Journey to Kayak the Grand Canyon”—a personal account of his latest adventure on the great river.

Image: http://www.touchthetop.com/

Guests: Emma Green, Charlie Gerow, Nir Eyal

At last week’s National Prayer Breakfast, President Trump said that he wanted to “get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment.” The amendment bars tax-exempt nonprofits, such as religious organizations, from participating in political campaigns or endorsing political candidates.  We start out this hour talking about what the Johnson Amendment is and what repelling would mean with the EMMA GREEN who covers politics and religion for The Atlantic.  Then, we turn to Republican political consultant and CEO of Quantum Communications, CHARLIE GEROW, for his take on Trump’s first few weeks in office and how it’s playing out with his supporters, the GOP and the Democrats. Finally, if you’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed by the pace of news in recent weeks, you are not alone. We’ll end our hour with some advice on how to cope with news fatigue from business consultant NIR EYAL, author of Hooked: How to Build Habit Forming Products.

GUEST: TOM MCALLISTER

They say opposites attract. For Hunter Cady, an awkward, unproductive man, he meets his opposite and yet perfect mate, Kaitlyn. Her smart, funny personality gives Hunter purpose. Then, suddenly Kaitlyn dies—rattling Hunter’s world. As a way to cope with his grief, Hunter decides to leave his Philadelphia home and head west, with no real plan in mind, taking Kaitlyn’s ashes with him. In this hour, Mary talks with TOM MCALLISTER, author of The Young Widower’s Handbook and assistant professor at Temple University teaching creative writing, about Hunter’s journey, the characters that he meets along the way and the power of love.