These are strange economic times, but in the midst of surging inflation and recession fears, Americans are still spending money. D. Meghan Pierce helps us understand why.

Raise your hand if you know someone who was radicalized online during COVID-19. A lot of people have gone down an online video rabbit hole and emerged with some pretty wild beliefs and worldviews. Some situations strain families. Other times, the outcomes can be a lot worse.

Kids in the US have had a couple of rough years at school because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout it all, there has been a lot of concern for how much learning for kids was interrupted, and the impact that has. So is this something we can measure?

Political leaders take trips to other countries and areas all the time, and usually they don’t draw a lot of attention. But that was not the case with a recent trip that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi made. The Speaker traveled to Taiwan on a recent trip through Asia, and that did not sit well with China, which responded with fiery rhetoric and alarming military drills. So what’s the big deal? Why did this strike such a nerve? We asked Dr. Edward Wang, Professor of History and Coordinator of Asian Studies at Rowan University.

A few months ago we asked Sigal Atzmon to come on the podcast to talk about her concern that the US would emerge from the pandemic weaker than other countries. A lot has happened since then.

What does the death of Ayman al-Zawahiri mean for Al-Qaeda? Is the world any safer today than it was a week ago? What does the terror landscape even look like now?

The most optimistic economists wouldn't have believed these jobs numbers. Are we finally back to pre-pandemic employment figures?

In the new, post-Roe world, Academy of Medical Surgical Nurses CEO Terri Brinkley discusses a rapidly-changing landscape for nurses and health care practitioners.

Public health has been front and center the last few years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite its importance, it still doesn't get the respect it deserves and funding is a consistent problem.

What would 76 Place look like? How would it change Center City? How would it impact the neighborhood?

What do you need to know about the new Omicron subvariant? At this stage of the pandemic, should you be worried at all, especially if you are already vaccinated, boosted, and generally doing what the public health officials and doctors say you should be doing?

GDP estimates are in and it looks like we could be headed towards the textbook definition of a recession, albeit a very strange one. Have we seen anything like this before, a recession when the labor market and jobs numbers are this hot?

The tragic school shooting in Uvalde was made more enraging when more and more information come out about how many law enforcement agencies and officers were on site -- and yet no one acted. Police have a responsibility to act in a situation like that, right?

A new case of polio was reported in Rockland County, New York. Should we be worried about yet another infectious disease spreading, particularly one that is almost eradicated?

Already, astronomers and scientists have gotten a tremendous amount of new information to analyze. What could we learn next about the universe?

For three days, Luke Brown was in the most severe pain he’s ever experienced. He had contracted monkeypox, which is now a global health emergency. He tried everything to help ease the pain, and nothing worked. He eventually found out about a drug called TPOXX, normally used to treat smallpox, that can also be effective against monkeypox symptoms.

Gas prices keep going down pretty consistently, how low could they go? How much do gas prices impact how Americans feel about inflation? And how many more tools does the Fed have to cool down the economy? Philadelphia economist David Fiorenza is back on the podcast to break down the most important economic stories of the week and why they should matter to you.

23 million American households got a dog or cat in the pandemic, but life looks a little different now. How are they doing?

What did the court decide in Vega v. Tekoh, and why is it important? We asked David Rudovsky, Senior Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

In North Carolina, the state Supreme Court threw out an electoral map it says was so partisan, it violated the state's constitution. North Carolina Republican lawmakers say it shouldn't matter if the map breaks state law or not, because the courts shouldn't have any oversight of the legislature when it comes to electoral matters. And now the Supreme Court wants to weigh in.

A recent Supreme Court ruling caught our attention because of what it could mean for the 'wall of separation' between church and state in America.

What would it take to make your home fit for aging in place, and what can home care services offer? If you haven’t thought about the kind of care you or your older loved ones will want, you need to start.

Alcohol disorders spiked during the pandemic, and the long-term health implications are concerning. Eric Gremminger, who has battled substance abuse himself, believes he has solutions to get people the help they need.

'They DoorDashed from a ghost kitchen endorsed by a YouTube influencer.' If you don't understand that sentence, you need to learn about Gen-Z.

Preventive medicine means a lot of things, like getting vaccine shots and going to your doctor regularly. It's incredibly important, and that has been crystalized by the COVID-19 pandemic in a couple of key ways. We asked Dr. M. Tonette Krousel-Wood, President of the American College of Preventive Medicine to come on the podcast to talk about the challenges the pandemic brought to the field of preventive medicine and what we've learned over the last two very tough years.