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 news: Why is this happening? Why is this person doing this or this thing a certain

Will Philly’s new police oversight commission be any better?

Dec 10th, 2020 10s

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 little power, and the process for a single complaint

A decade after lawsuit, Philly is still stopping and frisking

Dec 8th, 2020 15m 12s

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 we learned from this lawsuit? And why is it important that we keep tracking this d

A camera, a mask and 2020’s most enduring image

Dec 7th, 2020 5m 29s

Since March, Philadelphia area photographer Kyle Cassidy has taken pictures of essential workers as a part of a series called “Between Us and Catastrophe:” healthcare workers, Instacart shoppers, members of city government, sanitation workers,

$1 billion in relief sat around while Pa. businesses struggled

Dec 3rd, 2020 16m 19s

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 relief from the federal government.Then a second wa

The struggle is real for working women during the pandemic

Dec 1st, 2020 12m 22s

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 of jobs in the country. It was a sign of the future and of the changing American

Philly’s Wanamaker Organ has survived 2 pandemics

Nov 30th, 2020 13m 37s

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 Wanamaker Organ. This year, because of the pandemic, Macy’s is putting most of th

Penn’s $100 million pledge has a backstory

Nov 24th, 2020

Christmas came early this year for the Philadelphia School District. The University of Pennsylvania pledged $100 million to go toward fixing unsafe school buildings. Over the next decade, the Ivy League institution will send $10 million to city

Delaware’s new class of LGBTQ representatives

Nov 23rd, 2020 14m 10s

Delaware has never sworn an openly gay person into its General Assembly. That will change this January, when three members of the LGBTQ community join the legislature, making history for the state.WHYY reporter Zoë Read spoke to queer people a

Not all remote learning is created equal

Nov 19th, 2020 17m 6s

As more schools decide to stay remote during the pandemic, education advocates worry about the effects of virtual learning, especially on socialization and early literacy. Keystone Crossroads reporters Miles Bryan and Emily Rizzo have been spen

Why Trump’s lawyers keep targeting Pa.

Nov 17th, 2020 12m 18s

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 at a hearing in Western Pennsylvania.But legal experts say Trump’s barrage of la

Inside Philly’s new COVID-19 restrictions

Nov 16th, 2020 18m 55s

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 taking these measures, and even increased indoor c

What worked for Biden in Delaware might not in D.C.

Nov 12th, 2020 13m 46s

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-century ritual that includes a carriage ride, a town crier, and a hatchet that literally g

NJ voters legalized recreational marijuana — but the fight isn’t over

Nov 10th, 2020 15m 28s

Last week, New Jersey voted overwhelmingly on a constitutional amendment to make recreational marijuana legal, a law that has been 10 years in the making. Philadelphia Inquirer cannabis reporter Sam Wood walks us through the Garden State’s path

The trauma caused by viral videos of police killing Black men

Nov 9th, 2020 15m 33s

A cell phone video of the killing of West Philadelphia resident Walter Wallace Jr. was viewed more than a 1 million times. Then, on Nov. 4th, the Philadelphia Police Department released the official body camera footage of the shooting, which w

Van Drew race speaks to U.S. political divide

Nov 5th, 2020 15m 29s

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.S. Representative Jeff Van Drew leads challenger Amy Kenn

Why Pa. didn’t have results on Election Day

Nov 3rd, 2020 15m 6s

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 the votes weren’t counted by then.But with record numbers of mail-in ballots this

Pa. voters speak

Nov 2nd, 2020 21m 33s

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 in person on Tuesday, masks on. WHYY and Keystone Crossroads have been talking to

911 program could have helped spare Walter Wallace’s life

Oct 29th, 2020 18m 1s

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, and Wallace was shot and killed by two officers. Only three weeks earl

Philly could ban using tear gas, rubber bullets on protesters

Oct 27th, 2020

On Thursday, Philadelphia City Council is expected to pass a ban police officers’ use of tear gas, rubber bullets and other “less lethal munitions” against protesters. The city’s police department already put a moratorium on these tactics after

The chances of flipping the Pa. legislature blue

Oct 26th, 2020 15m 17s

Republicans have dominated state politics in Harrisburg for decades. For Democrats, gaining control of the General Assembly has been something of a holy grail — elusive, but they’re inching closer. And this year, there’s a chance both chambers

Philly’s new legal strategy to bypass the state and enact gun laws

Oct 22nd, 2020 17m 45s

Philadelphia is suing state of Pennsylvania so it can enact stronger gun control laws, as at least 391 people have been murdered in the city so far this year. Philly has tried this before — in 2007, the city sued the state for preempting local

A historic deal on affordable housing in Philly

Oct 20th, 2020 15m 42s

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 Parkway, on Ridge Avenue and squatted in empty houses across Philadelphia to demand a

New push to boost LGBTQ protections in Pa.

Oct 19th, 2020 17m 3s

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 last six months — two of them were murdered. Michaela Winberg with WHYY’s Billy Penn

Philly Orchestra’s first Black player’s final curtain call

Oct 15th, 2020 17m 22s

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 American to play with the orchestra, retired in August after more than 50 years.