Podcasts by The Why: Philly Explained

400 stories: What The Why taught us about Philly from 2020-12-14T20:30:47

Shai Ben-Yaacov and Annette John-Hall, the hosts of The Why, have spent the past two years asking the questions many people have in their minds after reading the ...

Will Philly’s new police oversight commission be any better? from 2020-12-10T20:30:45

Philadelphia has had a Police Advisory Commission for decades. In theory, it was responsible for handling complaints from citizens about police misconduct. In practice, the commission wielded li...

A decade after lawsuit, Philly is still stopping and frisking from 2020-12-08T20:30:52

We look back on the 10th anniversary of the Philadelphia lawsuit that released decade’s worth of data showing the racial disparities of stop-and-frisk. What have ...

A camera, a mask and 2020’s most enduring image from 2020-12-07T20:30:38

Since March, Philadelphia area photographer Kyle Cassidy has taken pictures of essential workers as a part of a series called “Listen

$1 billion in relief sat around while Pa. businesses struggled from 2020-12-03T20:46:19

Last spring, small business owners in industries like food service and entertainment say they were able to limp through COVID-19 restrictions thanks to help from the CARES Act, which provided re...

The struggle is real for working women during the pandemic from 2020-12-01T20:30:23

In January, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a milestone: For only the second time in history, and the first during a non-recession, women held the majority...

Philly’s Wanamaker Organ has survived 2 pandemics from 2020-11-30T20:30:13

For many in the Philadelphia area, the holidays mean taking a trip to Macy’s in Center City to see its famous light show and listen to the symphonic sounds of the...

Penn’s $100 million pledge has a backstory from 2020-11-24T20:30:10

Christmas came early this year for the Philadelphia School District. The University of Pennsylvania pledged Listen

Delaware’s new class of LGBTQ representatives from 2020-11-23T20:30:57

Delaware has never sworn an openly gay person into its General Assembly. That will change this January, when three members of the LGBTQ community Listen

Not all remote learning is created equal from 2020-11-19T20:30:21

As more schools decide to stay remote during the pandemic, education advocates worry about the effects of virtual learning, especially on socialization and early ...

Why Trump’s lawyers keep targeting Pa. from 2020-11-17T20:30:04

A full two weeks after the election, the Trump campaign is still challenging the Pennsylvania vote. Today, a federal judge will listen to the campaign’s arguments...

Inside Philly’s new COVID-19 restrictions from 2020-11-16T20:30:12

As COVID cases soar, Philadelphia is unrolling a new round of restrictions: no more indoor dining at restaurants, and gyms and movie theaters must close. City officials initially tried to avoid ...

What worked for Biden in Delaware might not in D.C. from 2020-11-12T20:30:28

Delaware politicians are known for their civility and a spirit of compromise. It traces back to one of the state’s oldest traditions: Return Day, an 18th-ce...

NJ voters legalized recreational marijuana — but the fight isn’t over from 2020-11-10T20:30:01

Last week, N...

The trauma caused by viral videos of police killing Black men from 2020-11-09T20:30:07

A cell phone video of the killing of  West Philadelphia resident Walter Wallace Jr. was viewed more than a 1 million times....

Van Drew race speaks to U.S. political divide from 2020-11-05T20:30:23

All across the United States,  election officials are counting votes — not just for the presidential race, but for Congressional races, too.

In New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District, U....

Why Pa. didn’t have results on Election Day from 2020-11-03T20:49:56

Over the weekend, President Trump said he wanted to see election results by the end of Election Day and suggested that Democrats may try to steal the election if ...

Pa. voters speak from 2020-11-02T20:30:47

Tomorrow is Election Day. More than 2.4 million early ballots have already been collected in Pennsylvania. Millions more people are expected to head to the polls ...

911 program could have helped spare Walter Wallace’s life from 2020-10-29T19:30:18

Walter Wallace Jr.’s family says they called for an ambulance on Monday afternoon because the 27-year-old was in the midst of a mental health crisis. Police arrived instead,Listen

Philly could ban using tear gas, rubber bullets on protesters from 2020-10-27T19:30:15

On Thursday, Philadelphia City Council is expected to pass a ban police officers’ use of tear gas, rubber bullets and other “less lethal munitionsR...

The chances of flipping the Pa. legislature blue from 2020-10-26T19:30:48

Republicans have dominated state politics in Harrisburg for decades. For Democrats, gaining control of the General Assembly...

Philly’s new legal strategy to bypass the state and enact gun laws from 2020-10-22T19:30:38

Philadelphia is suing state of Pennsylvani...

A historic deal on affordable housing in Philly from 2020-10-20T19:30:56

It was a movement born out of the George Floyd protests for racial justice: Hundreds of people who had experienced homelessness camped out on the Ben Franklin Par...

New push to boost LGBTQ protections in Pa. from 2020-10-19T19:30:43

Violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people has been on the rise for years. Here in Philly, three Black trans women have been attacked in the la...

Philly Orchestra’s first Black player’s final curtain call from 2020-10-15T19:30:28

When the Philadelphia Orchestra paused live performances in March, violinist Booker Rowe didn’t expect it would be his final curtain call. Rowe, the first African...

Toomey, Trump and the future of Pa.’s Republicans from 2020-10-13T19:30:50

When Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Jonathan Tamari got a tip that Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey would beListen

Rooting out Philly’s gun violence epidemic from 2020-10-12T19:30

With nearly three months left to go, more people have been murdered in Philadelphia this year Listen

Voting anxiety? Here’s what you need to know from 2020-10-08T19:30:46

Less than a month away from Election Day, there’s a lot of anxiety hanging over voters’ heads: an unprecedented number of people voting by mail,  the coronavirus ...

SEPTA’s rampant overtime spending from 2020-10-06T19:30:12

The pandemic has thrown SEPTA into a budget crisis. Ridership and revenue are both way down and the agency is considering s...

Enrolling in COVID-19 vaccine trial as a Black doctor from 2020-10-05T19:30:55

While surveys have found many Americans — particularly Black Americans — are wary of getting a COVID-19 vaccine if one were to become available soon, New Jersey public health doctor Chris Pernel...

How Pennsylvania fumbled COVID-19 death counts from 2020-10-01T19:30:04

During the deadliest months of the pandemic so far, Pennsylvania’s new electronic death reporting system was not ready for prime time. The state still relied on faxes — yes, faxes — from f...

The new COVID-19 app: the promises and the tradeoffs from 2020-09-29T19:30:38

As we wait for scientists to produce a COVID-19 vaccine, contract tracing is one of the most reliable ways to stop the spread. Now, Pennsylvania and Delaware have...

Why the Biden-Harris ticket needs Black Philadelphians from 2020-09-28T19:30:18

Pennsylvania is going to be one of the most important states — if not THE most important state — in determining the outcome of this year’s presidential election. President Trump won Pennsylvania...

Want answers to Philly gun violence? Ask someone who’s lived it from 2020-09-24T19:30:12

More than 1,500 people have been shot in Philadelphia this year, many of them children. Over the past 20 years, the city has tried all kinds of approaches to stop gun violence — broken windows p...

Philly Latinos are under-tested for COVID-19 from 2020-09-22T19:30:26

Latinos in Philadelphia make up 15% of the city’s population — but only 6% of those who’ve gotten tested for COVID-19. In f...

HIV-era policy still limits gay men from giving blood during COVID from 2020-09-21T19:30:37

Antibody-rich plasma from people who’ve recovered from COVID-19 is Listen

Philly’s changing union labor scene from 2020-09-17T19:30:54

Union membership is at a historic low in the U.S. while public support for unions is on the rise. And in Philadelphia — long known as a blue-collar “labor t...

Philly’s looming eviction crisis from 2020-09-15T21:00:02

Having a safe place to live has never been more important than during the COVID-19 pandemic. But as the economic fallout fo...

Incarcerated instead of in treatment from 2020-09-14T19:35:41

Nationwide, 20% of people in jails have a mental health condition — which means there are a lot of people like Kim, who end up incarcerated instead of in treatment. That’s exactly what hap...

COVID forced a reckoning in Philly’s restaurant scene from 2020-09-10T19:30:48

The pandemic and the George Floyd protests that followed brought to a boil long-simmering issues of inequity in the Philadelphia restaurant industry. Listen

Racism and deadly traffic on Cobbs Creek Parkway from 2020-09-08T19:30:03

Avante Reynolds was a new mom with a growing YouTube following when she was killed in a hit and run on Cobbs Creek Parkway ...

Community fridges a fresh form of a long Philly tradition from 2020-09-03T19:30:12

Here’s one good thing that’s popped up in Philly during the pandemic: community f...

The Underground Railroad stop in Philly’s Fairmount Park from 2020-09-01T19:30:58

In the final installment of our series Why Didn’t I Go There?, The Why co-host Shai Ben-Yaacov and his 10-year-old son Gil take a virtual tour of Belmont Mansion in Fairmount Park...

The long road back for the longterm unemployed from 2020-08-31T19:30:01

Pennsylvania has one of the country’s highest unemployment rates during the pandemic. And while things have gotten a little better as some businesses have r...

Philly battles two public health crises from 2020-08-27T19:30:51

Philadelphia is hurting. Not only is the city fighting a global pandemic, but it’s also battling an escalating and deadly e...

COVID-19‘long haulers’face uncertain future from 2020-08-25T19:30:22

When the pandemic started, most doctors seemed to think that COVID was an illness that typically lasted about two weeks. Now, we know a lot of people are still experiencing sometimes debilitatin...

Detective, social worker, telemarketer: Contact tracers wear many hats from 2020-08-24T19:30:36

Ranem Atia works as a contact tracer and case investigator for the Philadelphia Department...

How the virtual show went on at Upper Darby Summer Stage from 2020-08-20T19:30:22

The COVID-19 pandemic threatened to make the Upper Darby Summer Stage go dark. But one of the oldest and most popular theater camps in the region...

Enforcing mask-wearing in Pa.? The struggle is real from 2020-08-18T19:30:10

Pennsylvania requires everyone to wear masks when they leave the house — but the state has left business owners, transit agencies and individuals to enforce the rule, which isn’t always ea...

Kamala Harris could help Dems court Philly’s large Indian American community from 2020-08-17T19:30:51

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris is both the first Black woman and the first Asi...