Radio Times

Guests: Eleanor Klibanoff, Jessica Tirpak, Carolyn Bonkoski, Lynette Villano, Tom LoBianco

We begin today’s show by following up with Donald Trump voters in advance of his inauguration on Friday.  First, we’ll listen to a piece from Keystone Crossroads a statewide public media initiative, heard on WHYY.  Their occasional series “I Voted Trump,” reported by ELEANOR KLIBANOFF.  We’ll then talk to three women who supported Trump throughout his campaign, JESSICA TIRPAK, best known for dressing her child as Trump at one of his rallies, as well as delegates CAROLYN BONKOSKI and LYNETTE VILLANO from Pennsylvania’s 17th congressional district. Then, we'll talk with CNN's TOM LoBIANCO about the role Mike Pence has been playing in President-elect Trump's transition effort.

Guests: Rosemary Feal, Ellen Bialystok, David Harrison

Americans are losing their foreign language fluency.  Fewer of us speak a second language with any proficiency.  This hour we’ll discuss why language requirements in schools have been declining and why learning a different language matters with ROSEMARY FEAL, executive director of the Modern Language Association of America.  Then we’ll talk with a York University’s ELLEN BIALYSTOK about the neurological benefits of being a bilingual or multilingual speaker.  We wrap up the hour talking with linguist DAVID HARRISON, a professor at Swarthmore College, who is trying to preserve the world’s endangered languages.

Guests: Veronica Chambers, Jodi Kantor

The First Lady leaves the White House with higher approval ratings than her husband. Michelle Obama is well known for her rousing, passionate speeches, her Let’s Move campaign to combat childhood obesity, her White house garden and her all-American fashion style.  She did it all with grace while raising two daughters and standing right by President Obama’s side. In this hour of Marty’s guest discuss Mrs. Obama’s legacy. We’ll be joined by VERONICA CHAMBERS, editor of “The Meaning of Michelle” and JODI KANTOR, New York Times correspondent and author of “The Obamas.”

Guests: Dan Diamond, James Carpetta, Mollyann Brodie

As promised since the Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010, Republicans have vowed to abolish it.  In this hour of Radio Times, we’ll talk about the future of the Affordable Care Act -- efforts to repeal and reform it and what Americans say they want from the health care law.  We’ll start off talking about congressional efforts to “repeal and delay” the Affordable Care Act with DAN DIAMOND, who covers health care policy for Politico and writes "Pulse."  Then we’ll hear from JAMES CAPRETTA of the American Enterprise Institute about how the Democrats and Republicans might find common ground on the law.  And finally, MOLLYANN BRODIE from the Kaiser Family Foundation explains the findings of recent polls exploring what Americans’ want from their health insurance and their health care.

Guests: Emma Donoghue, Saleem Haddad, Nicole Dennis-Benn

Coming up on this week’s edition of Radio Times in Review; we’ll hear from three novelists about their life and their work. First, we’ll hear from EMMA DONOGHUE. She’s the author of the bestselling book, Room, and she joined us to discuss her newest novel, The Wonder. We’ll also listen to Marty’s conversation with SALEEM HADDAD, author of Guapa. The novel’s protagonist is a gay man living in the Middle East. And, we’ll hear Mary Cummings-Jordan’s interview with NICOLE DENNIS-BENN, author of Here Comes the Sun. The novel is an examination of her native Jamaica and of colorism – that is racism between different skin tones within the black community.

Guests: Mark Zandi, Philliip Swagel

President Obama leaves office with an economy mostly recovered from the 2008 recession.  The unemployment rate is at a nine-year low, housing prices are high, average hourly wages are rising, the value of dollar and the stock market are soaring, and US growth is at 3%.  But some people worry about the increasing deficit and rising inflation.  So what will President-elect Trump do with the economy?  He ran on job creation and growth, has promised to renegotiate trade deals, stripe away regulations, and to lower taxes.  This hour, we’ll talk with two economists about how Trump’s policies might affect the economy and look back at Obama’s economic legacy.   Marty’s guests are MARK ZANDI, chief economist of Mood’s Analytics and PHILLIP SWAGEL, professor at the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy.

Guests: Adam Rawnsley, Erik Wemple

Tuesday night’s leak of unverified information regarding Donald Trump’s further ties to Russia is the latest in a long political season of political leaks. Many journalistic outlets denounced Buzzfeed’s decision to release the unsubstantiated claims, and Trump’s team was quick to do the same.  Today, we’ll talk with national security journalist ADAM RAWNSLEY about the dossier and Trump’s increasing animus towards the intelligence community.  Then, ERIK WEMPLE, media reporter for The Washington Post questions BuzzFeed’s decision to publish the dossier, and discusses the ethical issues journalist’s face around leaks and confidential sources.

Guests: IMANI PERRY, MICHAEL D'ANTONIO, JAMES PETERSON

On Tuesday evening, President Barack Obama gave a farewell speech in Chicago that called on the next generation of leaders to step up and get involved in making the country a better place. In this hour, Marty’s guests react to the speech and examine the high and lows of the past eight years under the Obama administration. We’ll be joined by IMANI PERRY, professor of African American studies at Princeton University, MICHAEL D'ANTONIO, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author of "A Consequential President” And rounding out our trio of guests is JAMES PETERSON, Director of Africana studies and associate professor of English at Lehigh University. Go to our Twitter and Facebook pages to rate Obama’s legacy.

Guests: Shane Harris, Matthew Rojansky and Kathryn Stoner

The Friday release of a report by U.S. intelligence agencies found that Russian President Vladimir Putin directly ordered a campaign to influence the outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election in favor of President-elect Donald Trump. The agencies, however, did not find that there was any direct tampering with voting machines. In this hour of Radio Times we’ll get a detailed look at the allegations from SHANE HARRIS, senior writer for the Wall Street Journal. Then we’ll turn to MATTHEW ROJANKSY of the Woodrow Wilson Center and Stanford University professor KATHRYN STONER for a conversation about U.S.-Russia relations, Putin’s motivations for cyberattacks and the way forward in the new Trump administration.

Guests: Lisa Christian and Michelle Carlstrom

It's not always easy to forgive -- whether it’s a friend’s broken promise, a love affair gone awry, or a more serious life event like the murder of a loved one. In this hour we’ll talk about why and how people forgive, the challenges of doing so, and whether it’s beneficial for our health. We’ll be joined by LISA CHRISTIAN, Director of community services at the Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia, who provides counseling and therapy to family members of murder victims and to witnesses of murders. And we’ll talk with MICHELLE CARLSTROM, a licensed mental health professional and a certified grief recovery specialist at Johns Hopkins Medicine, to talk about the role that forgiveness can play in our health and well-being.