The Why: Philly Explained

Hydroflouric acid is a toxic chemical used in local refineries, including Philadelphia Energy Solutions where part of the refinery exploded last month. StateImpact Pennsylvania reporter Susan Phillips explains why a release of HF would have been disastrous. Could public backlash push the refining industry to stop using it?

Penn economist Rafael Robb confessed in 2006 to bludgeoning of his wife, Ellen to death. He served only 10 years in prison before trying to go to Israel, while owing his daughter millions of dollars in damages. From conviction to parole, Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Maria Panaritis explains why Robb’s case has revealed cracks in Pennsylvania’s criminal justice system — and why that could be changing.

Hundreds of unclaimed dead are lying in morgues and unmarked graves in the Philly suburbs. Jo Ciavaglia, an investigative reporter for the Bucks County Courier Times, has been digging for answers about who they are, why no one is claiming their remains — and how some coroners are going above and beyond to help them find a final resting place.

Last summer, a cherished Philly mural honoring young victims of gun violence was on the verge of demolition. An outraged community help save it. As they get ready to dedicate the new “Stop the Violence” mural in Point Breeze today, we bring you an update of our episode from December. Murals Arts Executive Director Jane Golden explains why projects like these mean so much to what she calls the city’s “civic well-being.”

As the debate over the legacy of school busing programs continues on the presidential campaign trail, we look back at the history in New Castle County. Did the court-ordered program ultimately achieve racial integration and help close the achievement gap for black students there? University of Delaware law professor Leland Ware explains.

Bucks County resident Kim Stringer has been struggling with mental illness for a decade and has refused treatment. Her parents have turned to involuntary commitment as a last resort, but Pennsylvania law has worked against them. WITF’s Brett Sholtis explains why a recent change in state law meant to keep people like Kim from falling through the cracks doesn’t go far enough.

For years, Cheyney University has been on life support.Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Susan Snyder explains why now, America’s first historically black university could be turning a corner, with a creative financial plan and an infusion of state funds for its scholars program.

Lucy The Elephant — the 65-foot-tall wooden structure that stands as a venerable Margate landmark— turns 138 years old on Saturday. The oldest roadside attraction in the United States has withstood natural disasters and threats of demolition, but she’s still attracting thousands to the Jersey Shore every summer. WHYY’s Joe Hernandez explains why the pachyderm is still so beloved.

One of the many unanswered questions swirling around the impending closure of Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia is what will happen to the more than 550 doctors training there. The hospital’s own bankruptcy filings say it’s the largest orphaning of medical residents in U.S. history. WHYY’s Nina Feldman explains why residents at Hahnemann still don’t know where they’re going, and why some of them don’t have long to figure it out.

A class of toxic chemicals called PFAS were recently discovered in private water wells in Bucks County. This came as a surprise because the homes are 15 miles away from the former military air bases bases in Bucks and Montgomery counties that have been at the epicenter of PFAS water contamination in the region. WHYY’s Dana Bate explains why the problem is so difficult to address in Pennsylvania.