The Jawncast from KYW Newsradio

Figuring out college is hard enough as it is. Add being housing insecure or homeless to the mix, and the challenge seems almost unimaginable. But for some college students in the Philadelphia area, this obstacle was their reality - until they found help. The Jawncast’s Brian Seltzer talks to a group of local students about their experiences with housing insecurity and homelessness, and explores how this problem can be addressed.

For more information about connecting college students experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness with DePaul USA, click here. The organization also has an upcoming gala to support its efforts.

Other links referenced in this episode:

The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice 

And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @TheJawncast.

Kennett Square and a few other nearby towns grow 60% of the country’s mushrooms, and they’re very proud of that fact. The town hosts a mushroom festival every year. There’s even a play going up at People's Light in Malvern about mushroom workers. How did the center of America’s mushroom industry get to be in Philadelphia’s backyard? Sabrina Boyd-Surka takes a deep dive into the world of fungi farmers - where immigrants make up the bulk of the workers, and that can be a benefit to the community as well as a challenge.

For more info on mushroom farms, check out:
Mother Earth Mushrooms
American Mushroom Institute

Follow us on Twitter: @TheJawncast.

Do ghosts exist? It’s a question that’s been asked over and over again throughout modern history. But as impossible as it is to pin down an answer, that doesn’t stop people like John Levy from trying. When he’s on the clock, John is a Philadelphia police officer. In his spare time, he’s a paranormal investigator. Brian Seltzer, John McDevitt, and Holli Stephens join John on a spooky season ghost hunt at a national historic landmark in Horsham, PA that's supposedly...haunted. What do they find? How does the adventure shape their beliefs in the afterlife? Listen to find out.

Links referenced in episode:
Olde City Paranormal
Graeme Park

And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @TheJawncast.

One of the biggest complaints in Philadelphia is that there’s a ton of trash on the streets. But it’s not all complete junk. The Philadelphia Dumpster Divers are a group of found-object artists who are giving that trash new life. This week, Sabrina Boyd-Surka attends a Dumpster Divers junk exchange and finds out why these people are so into trash - and she discovers that dumpster diving does more good than you might think.

Learn more about the artists:

• Neil Benson
• Joel Spivak
• Simone Spicer
• Alden Cole

Follow us on Twitter: @TheJawncast.

Find a color more Philly than green. C’mon. We dare you.

Think about it:

The Eagles. The Phillie Phanatic. Our street signs. All the parks. The Schuylkill River!

From how it’s worn to how different shades are made and where to find them, Brian Seltzer takes you on a colorful journey that explores how green is a defining part of Philadelphia’s identity and heritage.

To learn more about where Philly's park system ranks compared to other American cities, click here.

Follow us on Twitter: @TheJawncast.

Check out what we've got in the works. 

Follow us on Twitter: @TheJawncast.

These days, we might take it for granted that we live in a city with state of the art healthcare. But there was a time when we didn't even have hospitals in America. This week, Sabrina Boyd-Surka visits the first chartered hospital in the nation: Pennsylvania Hospital, established in Philadelphia in 1751. We hear what health care looked like in the 18th and 19th centuries - from a surgical amphitheater where the public could observe surgeries before anesthesia existed, to mental health care when most people thought mental illness was supernatural.

Learn more about Pennsylvania Hospital or book a tour here.
Follow us on Twitter: @TheJawncast.

Theme restaurants. Big-box retail. Grandiose indoor urban entertainment centers. These were catchy commercial real estate trends of the mid- to late-1990s, and The Walt Disney Company wanted in.

Philadelphia, meanwhile, was on the cusp of a major economic renaissance following years of financial woes. Ed Rendell, then the city’s mayor, ushered in this turnaround, and he wanted Disney. 

What did the city and Disney see in each other? And why, less than two years after forming their partnership, was Philadelphia left with a big hole in the ground? 

The Jawncast's Brian Seltzer explores the legend of DisneyQuest Philadelphia and the DisneyQuest Hole. 

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Imagine being a teenager in high school and sharing a house with the biggest basketball star on the planet. This was the life Dave Richman lived for a few months in 1965. That winter, Dave’s father, 76ers founder and owner Ike Richman, pulled off a stunning trade to bring Wilt Chamberlain back to Philadelphia to play for the recently-formed Sixers. A lot of people know the story of Chamberlain’s impact on the then-fledgling team, but some of the stories that happened behind the scenes are just as fascinating. Hear Dave Richman, former 76er and Chamberlain teammate Wali Jones, and 94.1 WIP’s Howard Eskin share memories of the Big Dipper with The Jawncast’s Brian Seltzer and KYW Newsradio’s Dave Uram a few days before what would have been Chamberlain’s 86th birthday.

Check out Richman’s book and podcast, and Jones’ podcast as well! Follow us on Twitter: @TheJawncast.

If you’ve never lived in a neighborhood that was lit up by neon sign after neon sign, welcome to Len Davidson’s Philadelphia. Len grew up in a different era in Northeast Philly, when soda fountains and pharmacy counters were the norm. He’s trying to preserve a piece of that time at the Neon Museum of Philadelphia, where he’s collected over a hundred signs from businesses that have mostly died out - much like neon itself.

This week, Sabrina Boyd-Surka visits the Neon Museum to find out what makes Len so interested in these signs and why he thinks their stories need to live on for future generations.

Take a look inside the museum with photos and videos by Holli Stephens here.
Follow us on Twitter: @TheJawncast