The Why: Philly Explained

The idea of a “universal basic income” or giving people monthly cash payments gained traction on the 2020 campaign trail. Now, Philadelphia wants to try it as a way to lift some low-income renters out of poverty. Could it work? Here’s a look at what Philly leaders are proposing and how a basic income experiment is playing out in Stockton, California.

Guests: Jake Blumgart, WHYY’s PlanPhilly and Amy Castro Baker, University of Pennsylvania professor

Philadelphia holds the most special elections in the state. That’s when politicians leave before their term expires and voters elect someone to replace them. But in Pennsylvania, party big-wigs choose candidates through a shadowy process that leaves voters out. Why don’t voters get to choose who’s on the ballot?

Guest: Cynthia Fernandez, Spotlight PA

Just two days after a federal judge cleared the way for it to open, plans to open the country’s first supervised injection site in Philadelphia fell apart. Here’s why that plan to help deal with the city’s opioid crisis is facing more resistance than ever before.

Guests: Nina Feldman, WHYY and Michaela Winberg, WHYY’s Billy Penn

The Republican National Committee has sent out political mailers to residents in several Pennsylvania counties labeled “the 2020 Congressional District Census.” Here’s why census advocates and some lawmakers are worried the forms will sow confusion and cost the state money as the 2020 census ramps up.

Guest: Ximena Conde, WHYY

News that one of Philly’s most (in)famous pieces of graffiti — the words “Boner 4ever” tagged on an abandoned building at the corner of Broad and Erie — could be disappearing has caused a stir. Here’s the story behind the tag and why some are quick to call for preservation and others? Not so much.

Guest: Layla A. Jones, WHYY’s Billy Penn

The NAACP is suing Pennsylvania on behalf of three formerly incarcerated men from Philadelphia to stop “prison gerrymandering,” or counting people in state prisons as residents of the areas where they are incarcerated instead of where they lived. The practice has helped shift political power from urban to more rural parts of the state.

Guests: Jonathan Lai, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Aaron Moselle, WHYY

In 2014, municipalities across the state began decriminalizing marijuana. Since then, marijuana arrests have increased in Pennsylvania. Why have arrests increased and how are these laws enforced?

Guest: Sam Wood, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Last year, the oldest oil refinery in the country — Philadelphia Energy Solutions — shut down and declared bankruptcy. Now, it looks like the plant might be shut down for good.

What do you do with a heavily polluted piece of land bigger than Center City?

Guest: Catalina Jaramillo

They’re better reflections of the nation as a whole, but their late primary elections give voters in Pennsylvania and New Jersey way less influence in the 2020 presidential race. We’ll examine how this impacts Pennsylvania’s role as a swing state, and take a look at that time in 2008 NJ did move its primary up … only to move it back again.

Guest: Jonathan Tamari, The Philadelphia Inquirer

In the 1990s, Philadelphia created a program to sell blighted properties for only $1, but it hasn’t quite worked out as the city intended. Here’s why a city program meant to revitalize neighborhoods and create community benefits ended up lining the pockets of people and organizations without much oversight.

Guest: Claudia Vargas, The Philadelphia Inquirer