The Why: Philly Explained

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 way? As we listened back to the podcast’s 400 episodes,  common themes emerged. Philadelphia is strangely unique; Philly has system flaws; Philly is a city full of interested, committed people, and Philly is just plain fun. So for this final episode of The Why, Ben-Yaacov and John-Hall look back on some of their favorite shows —  stories that revealed a little bit about why Philly is the way it is. 

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 to be fully adjudicated often took years. Now, Philadelphia voters have approved a new independent body to do the job. But there are very few details about how the Citizen Police Oversight Commission will work, and how it will be funded–leaving some wondering whether it will be any better than the body it’s replacing. Annette talks this over with WHYY Criminal Justice Reporter Aaron Moselle.

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 data? Longtime civil rights attorney David Rudovsky, who brought the suit a decade ago, says progress has been slow, but that he has some hope for improvement.

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, and more.  Cassidy interviewed these workers as well, asking them about the risks they’re taking and the sacrificing they’re making to keep us all safe. “Some of these people are fighting COVID because they heard the clarion call and they ran out to stand between us and this virus and fight it. And other people are fighting this virus because we left them out there,” he says. Why could pictures like these, highlighting essential workers, stay with us as the most enduring images of 2020?  Cassidy’s photographs are currently on display at an outdoor exhibit at the Science History Institute. 

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 wave of  COVID hit and some of those businesses were asked to adhere to restrictions yet again. But this time, no relief was forthcoming — even though some was available. Pennsylvania had $1 billion dollars of  CARES Act money sitting around for six months while the state's small business owners struggled and lawmakers haggled. Why didn't the remaining money go to direct aid? Keystone Crossroads reporters Miles Bryan and Katie Meyer walk us through why things shook out the way they did, and why politicians on both sides of the aisle are pointing the finger at the federal government.

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 workforce. That is, until the pandemic hit. Since March, women have been more likely than men to lose their jobs in 2020, and four times more likely to leave the workforce. Executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Women’s Engagement Jovida Hill explains why the pandemic is hitting women’s working lives the hardest, and what women she’s spoken to say they need. 

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 their holiday traditions online in their interactive Santaland experience. But department stores haven't always changed their celebrations for the sake of public health. In 1918, when the Spanish Flu was spreading, Wanamaker's — the store that later became Macy's in Center City Philadelphia — put on a parade where people stood shoulder to shoulder,  a sing-along organ concert inside the store. Department store historian Michael Lisicky explains what changed between 1918 and now, and how Macy's can keep the holiday spirit alive in a Christmas season like no other. 

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 schools each year.  Activist leaders on campus and across the city have called for a donation like this for a long time. They want Penn to pay payments in lieu of taxes, known as PILOTs, calling foul on the regulations that allow a nonprofit that owns $3.2 billion in city real estate to skip property taxes. Like the tax dollars contributed by other property owners in the city, their payments could towards public schools and infrastructure, these critics say. Emily Dowdall, policy director of Reinvestment Fund, says the university has instead chosen to invest in public amenities in its own backyard, like the Penn-funded elementary school in West Philadelphia where university employees and their neighbors in the area can now send their children. She explains why Penn is now turning its attention to the school district as a whole and the difference the donation could make.

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 across the state who said they saw this election as an especially important victory. They say that their hard-fought rights have slowly come under threat during the Trump administration, and they worry they could lose things like marriage equality with the appointment of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Zoë explains the progressive agendas of Delaware’s new representatives, and what they’ll be able to do to protect the rights of their LGBTQ constituents.

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 spending time with families across the economic spectrum who have been striving to help their kids get what they need out of remote learning. They say parents have been doing everything from creating learning pods lead by private tutors to utilizing city-provided programs housed in recreation centers — all evidence the pandemic is further exposing the opportunity gaps between rich and poor students that have long existed. 

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 lawsuits doesn't have merit. In addition, President-Elect Joe Biden won the state by 70,000 votes, and that 1% margin means those lawsuits won't win the commonwealth for Trump.  But Trump is forging ahead anyway. Ryan Briggs of WHYY’s PlanPhilly explains Trump’s legal challenges and why he’s suing.

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 capacity at restaurants as cases were rising, likely because they were concerned about the impact they could have on businesses already struggling during the pandemic. Instead, they previously pressed residents to take personal responsibility, repeatedly encouraging them to wear a mask, wash their hands, and stay six feet apart from others. WHYY health reporter Nina Feldman explains why Philadelphia is changing its course.

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 gets buried in the sand. It usually occurs every two years and attracts the state's leading elected officials, though the coronavirus limited the celebration this year. Still, President-Elect Joe Biden is a fan of Return Day and seldom misses one.  How have Return Day and Delaware's unique brand of politics shaped Biden? And will he be able to carry Delaware's ideals to the White House? Our guest, Mark Eichmann, deputy managing editor of WHYY’s Delaware desk, explains this historic Delaware tradition.

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 to legalization, which included framing legalization as a social justice issue. He says some cannabis activists disagree with this framing and claim new regulatory structures exclude people of color who don't have big investors behind them.

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 was undeniably disturbing.  There are two schools of thought about whether videos of police killing Black men should be released. One says they should, because they raise awareness about police brutality and systemic racism, while another says no, because watching them could be traumatic, especially for Black and brown people. Guest Layla A. Jones of WHYY’s Billy Penn explains about the mental health effects of viral police videos and what people who are traumatized by them can do to help themselves heal.

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 Kennedy. But it’s a tight race. Van Drew has been a South Jersey politician for over two decades, but this is the first time he's run as a Republican. Last year, he did something that is rare in politics — he switched parties from Democrat to Republican and pledged his undying support for President Trump. Why did Van Drew flip to the Trump playbook? And what does his fight to keep his seat say about the political divide driving the 2020 presidential election? Our guest, WHYY New Jersey political reporter Joe Hernandez, breaks down a story that has received national attention.

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 year  — more than 3 million voters requested them —  and the fact that Pennsylvania is among a handful of states that won’t be able to start counting votes until Election Day, it’s highly unlikely the commonwealth will be able to process its ballots in one day.  Our guest, WHYY reporter Aaron Moselle, has been digging into ballot-counting operations in Philadelphia and the suburbs and explains why results will take longer in a battleground state that could decide this election.

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 voters across the state —  from proud Trumpers to folks ridin' with Biden, from the burbs to the city to rural Pa.  Today, we step aside and bring you the voices of people voting in what could be the most important swing state this election. 

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 earlier, the department announced a new program calling for a clinically trained behavioral health worker to help identify 911 calls that require a different kind of response. WHYY reporters Ximena Conde and Nina Feldman explain why that initiative wasn’t implemented in time, potentially costing Wallace his life.

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 police clashed with racial justice demonstrators in late May and early June. That policy was put to the test Monday night when violence erupted in response to the death of Walter Wallace, a Black man who was shot and killed by police in the city's Cobb's Creek neighborhood. Darryl C. Murphy of WHYY’s PlanPhilly and WHYY reporter Ximena Conde covered more than six hours of public hearings on the bill, and join us to explain why residents and some city council members pushed to make that ban law.

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 could be up for grabs.  WHYY political reporter Katie Meyer explains that while Democrats still face an uphill battle, their growing appeal in the suburbs could help them gain more seats in the Legislature.

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 gun laws and failing to take action on gun violence, without success. There were 391 homicides in the city that entire year. WHYY criminal justice reporter Aaron Moselle and Billy Penn's Layla A. Jones explain why attorneys hope a new legal strategy involving something called the “state-created danger” doctrine could help the city win this time.

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 affordable housing. Finally, after months of negotiations with the city and federal housing officials, the two sides have come to an agreement that will clear the encampments and provide permanent housing for residents. WHYY’s Susan Phillips explains how this historic deal was struck, and whether it could make a dent in Philadelphia’s affordable housing problem.

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 explains their cases have called attention to the fact Pennsylvania’s hate crimes law does not include protections for LGBTQ people, and why advocates — including Kendall Stevens, a Black trans woman who survived a brutal attack this year — say that needs to change.

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. He and his wife Dr. Patsy Baxter Rowe, a singer and musical scholar, discuss why his historic career illustrates that progress can be made to diversify the traditionally white world of classical music — and why that world still has a long way to go.

When Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Jonathan Tamari got a tip that Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey would be leaving politics after his current term, he was surprised. If he didn't run for reelection to the Senate, Toomey was widely expected to run for governor. Without him, Pennsylvania Republicans are scrambling. Toomey still has two years left on his term, but his announcement comes just weeks before the presidential election. Jonathan explains why the pick to fill Toomey’s shoes could depend on how Pennsylvania swings in 2020.

With nearly three months left to go, more people have been murdered in Philadelphia this year than in all of 2019 and 1,655 people have been shot. The violence is tearing families and communities apart — but many Philadelphians are also stepping forward with ideas to root out the epidemic. WHYY’s Community Contributors and Engagement Editor Chris Norris shares his takeaways from “Neighbors in the Crossfire,” his recent three-part TV series that explores the causes and possible solutions to the city’s gun violence crisis.

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 pandemic and President Trump sowing seeds of doubt over the integrity of the election. WHYY political reporter Katie Meyer walks us through a practical guide to ease the mind of a worried voter: how to properly fill out and send in a mail in ballot (make sure it isn’t naked!), what’s up with Philly’s satellite election offices, the security of in-person voting and more. — Check out WHYY’s full 2020 election coverage here — including handy guides on key voting deadlines, how to vote in person safely, how to be a poll worker and what you need to know about your voting rights.

The pandemic has thrown SEPTA into a budget crisis. Ridership and revenue are both way down and the agency is considering service cuts. But that didn't stop them from spending what experts say is an unusually large amount of money on overtime. One SEPTA police officer doubled his salary and made almost as much as the mayor of Philadelphia. Ryan Briggs with WHYY's PlanPhilly and Michaela Winberg with WHYY's Billy Penn uncovered this troubling pattern, which stands in stark relief next to SEPTA’s recent statement it can’t afford to pay additional death benefits to families of workers who died of COVID-19.

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 Pernell has jumped in feet first, signing up as a subject for a Phase III clinical vaccine trial at Rutgers University. She says it’s important for Black people like her to be included in clinical trials to ensure the results reflect the general population, and because Black Americans have been hit the hardest by the virus. But her decision to enroll was also personal: a tribute to her scientist father who died of COVID-19.

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 funeral directors, doctors and medical examiners to create an official death record. Sara Simon dug into the delays for Spotlight PA, along with WHYY’s Nina Feldman and Ryan Briggs. She explains that just when public officials were making tough decisions about how to allocate scarce resources, like COVID-19 tests and PPE, the state did not have an accurate count of how many people had actually died from the virus.

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 also released a new “exposure notification app” to let users know if they’ve been near someone who’s tested positive for the virus. New Jersey is piloting its app on college campuses. WHYY health and science reporter Alan Yu explains this could help reach people traditional contact tracing isn’t — but there’s a tradeoff: The privacy protections put in place to convince more people to download the app could make it much more difficult to know how effective it is.

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 by a narrow margin in 2016, thanks in part to a crucial number of Democratic voters sitting out the election. WHYY’s political reporter Katie Meyer explains that’s why this year, the question in Philly is not whether the Biden-Harris ticket will win the city, but by how much. One key group they have to convince? Black voters, some of whom feel the Democratic Party has taken their support for granted.

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 policing, and programs with names like Focused Deterrence and now, Group Violence Intervention — but nothing seems to be working. What are we missing? Guest John Solomon runs Endangered Kind, a nonprofit dedicated to stopping gun violence.  Solomon, 28, did time in prison for shooting someone and has also been the victim of violence. He says hearing the experiences of young Black men like himself would be a good place to start getting answers.

Latinos in Philadelphia make up 15% of the city's population — but only 6% of those who've gotten tested for COVID-19. In fact, they're getting tested at the lowest rate of any racial and ethnic group in the city, despite contracting the virus at high rates. When WHYY health reporter Nina Feldman spoke to Latino residents and community leaders, she learned there are several reasons why, including language barriers, anti-immigrant policies and sentiments, as well as limited job security and access to health insurance.

Antibody-rich plasma from people who’ve recovered from COVID-19 is one treatment being researched to help those still battling the virus. But an estimated 360,000 people willing to donate their plasma are not allowed to do so — despite the fact it could save roughly a million Americans. WHYY’s Zoe Read explains why a relic of the 1980s HIV epidemic still limits gay men from giving blood. She says Philly area politicians and LGBTQ advocates are pushing back.

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 town” — the kinds of workers organizing has been changing. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Juliana Reyes, who covers labor and unions, explains why millennials in particular are driving that shift, which started before the COVID-19 pandemic gave workers’ rights issues new urgency.

Having a safe place to live has never been more important than during the COVID-19 pandemic. But as the economic fallout forced millions of people out of work, many of them struggled to pay their rent. Now, the state's moratorium on evictions has expired. The CDC has stepped in with its own federal moratorium and renters in Philly recently got a temporary reprieve, but neither offers a longterm solution. Ryan Briggs of WHYY’s PlanPhilly explains why as many as 100,000 households in the city are still at risk of eviction.

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 happened to a Bucks County woman named Kim Stringer. WITF health reporter Brett Sholtis digs into what happened to Kim to explain why a Pennsylvania law meant to fix the problem hasn’t made a difference yet.

The pandemic and the George Floyd protests that followed brought to a boil long-simmering issues of inequity in the Philadelphia restaurant industry. Now, as COVID-19 has cut into restaurants' razor-thin profit margins, workers are demanding change. Alex Tewfik, food editor for Philadelphia Magazine, who also worked in the industry for a decade, explains how some restaurants are now rethinking their business models and culture — and what it could mean for diners.

Avante Reynolds was a new mom with a growing YouTube following when she was killed in a hit and run on Cobbs Creek Parkway in West Philly a few weeks ago. But the driver is not the only one responsible for her death. Michaela Winberg, reporter for WHYY’s Billy Penn, dug deep into the long history of racist policies that have led communities of color to live near dangerous roadways like the Cobbs Creek Parkway and their calls for change to be ignored.

Here’s one good thing that’s popped up in Philly during the pandemic: community fridges full of free food to help people who have been struggling to make ends meet. It turns out the fridges are an example of something called “mutual aid,” which is a tradition in Philadelphia stretching back more than a century. WHYY’s Emily Scott digs into that history and explains how the tradition has shifted in response to different crises over the decades from helping free Black people after the Revolutionary War to COVID-19.

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. Our guide is Janice Sykes-Ross, the mansion’s director, who tells the story of how the site became a significant stop on the Underground Railroad and a critical refuge for enslaved Black people who sought freedom in Philadelphia.

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 reopened, people in industries that rely on interacting in person — many of whom have spent decades building their careers — don't know when their jobs will re-materialize. Keystone Crossroads’ Laura Benshoff spoke to workers about why that wait can be particularly painful, thanks to dwindling unemployment benefits, and the kind of damage longterm unemployment can cause a career.

Philadelphia is hurting. Not only is the city fighting a global pandemic, but it's also battling an escalating and deadly epidemic of gun violence. The number of people shot in Philadelphia continues to rise to historic levels, and many in that number are children. On top of it all, it's largely affecting Black people who are at a greater risk for getting COVID-19. WHYY criminal justice reporter Aaron Moselle, explains how these two public health crises may be related, what the city is doing about it and how families are coping.

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 debilitating symptoms weeks and months after they were infected. A University of Pennsylvania clinic is trying to figure out why they are still suffering and how to treat them. WHYY health reporter Nina Feldman talked to several “long haulers” in the region about their experiences which range from physical problems to mental health concerns.

Ranem Atia works as a contact tracer and case investigator for the Philadelphia Department of Health, playing a critical role for understanding where and how fast COVID-19 is spreading and ultimately, for saving lives. It’s not an easy job. To do this work effectively, Ranem and her fellow contact tracers need to be be good detectives, social workers and telemarketers. She takes us behind the scenes to explain how she breaks the news when someone tests positive and how she builds trust with the people she follows through their quarantines.

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 (whose alumni include former Saturday Night Live cast member Tina Fey,) was determined the show would go on. Children’s Theater Director Dan Matarazzo and Founder and Executive Director Harry Dietzler tell the story of how Summer Stage was able to overcome early jitters, Zoom latency and power outages to pull it off.

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 easy. Miles Bryan of WHYY's Keystone Crossroads explains how hard it's been for businesses to enforce the mask rules, and what experts say the state could do to help them. Then, Michaela Winberg with WHYY's Billy Penn tells us what happened when SEPTA changed its strategy for how to handle this.

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris is both the first Black woman and the first Asian American woman in history to join a major party presidential ticket. Murali Balaji is a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania whose family comes from the same part of India Harris’ does. With both parties actively courting South Asian American voters, Balaji argues Harris’ presence on the Democratic ticket could have a big impact in a critical swing state like Pennsylvania.