Scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory had a eureka moment. They discovered something that helps explain the varied symptoms of COVID-19, and why ventilators don't always help the sickest patients. And it may send the search for treatments in a whole new direction. Dr. Dan Jacobson, Chief Scientist for Computational Systems Biology at Oak Ridge National Laboratory joins KYW In Depth to break down what they found and what it means. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

There's a lot of talk in Pennsylvania politics about legalizing recreational marijuana as a way to help close the budget gap. In an earlier podcast, we talked about what that could mean for criminal justice reform in the commonwealth. Today, we're tackling what it would mean for Pennsylvania's pocketbook. How would it work? How much money would legal weed bring in? What would stores look like? What can PA learn from other states that have been down this road before? Dr. Kevin Fandl, Associate Professor of Legal Studies at the Fox School of Business at Temple University joins KYW In Depth to talk about the economic impact of legalizing of recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Kids are going back to school, but for most students that includes at least some amount of at-home or virtual learning as the pandemic continues. And if a young child is learning from home, that means a parent or somebody has to be home to help them. In a lot of families, this puts a tremendous amount of strain on the status quo, and sometimes one of the parents even has to quit their job to take care of the kids at home. In most cases, it's the mother who ends up dropping out of the workforce. Dr. Karen Aronian, principal of Aronian Education Design LLC and education policy fellow with Columbia University joins KYW In Depth to break down the ripple effects the coronavirus pandemic is having on working families and the effects a workforce exodus like this will generate long after 2020 is over. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

We are less than 2 months away from the Presidential Election and that means we are getting a constant stream of polls. National, state, likely voters vs registered voters -- the amount of information is pretty staggering. But, the polls and pollsters got criticized pretty soundly after the 2016 election when Donald Trump surprised many people to win the presidency. Can we trust the 2020 polls after what happened in 2016? What actually did happen with the polls, and how do we know it won't happen again? And how does the pandemic change what polls can tell us about the race? Dr. Paul Brewer, Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Delaware and Research Director for the University of Delaware's Center for Political Communication joins KYW In Depth to answer our questions about what the polls are saying about election 2020. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

19 years ago, Philadelphia Police Sergeant Greg Masi was sent to New York City. America had been attacked, two planes had just flown into the Twin Towers, and Philadelphia wanted to help New York. At Ground Zero, Sgt. Masi found thousands of people working together to rescue survivors, and to recover victims. He experienced sights and smells he'll never be able to forget. And he says that even though many of the 9/11 first responders who are still with us are fighting illnesses and cancers from the work they did 19 years ago, if he was asked to do it all over again, he'd go immediately. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Another week of wild headlines in the economy to talk about. Tech stocks are on fire, until they aren't. Are massive unemployment numbers the new normal in America? And proof that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in the US, there's a new COVID-19 store in the King of Prussia Mall. David Fiorenza, Associate Professor of Practice at the Villanova School of Business joins KYW in Depth to break down the news of the week and explain what it means for the health of our economy. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit, people with office jobs started working from home, trading their desk for the couch or the kitchen table. Then, a lot of workers in their new DIY offices started noticing back and neck problems that weren't there before. So what can you do? Dr. Rahul Shah, board certified Orthopedic Spine & Neck Surgeon with Premier Orthopaedic Associates in South Jersey joins KYW In Depth to break down why our posture is all messed up, what we're doing wrong, and the key things we need to be doing to relieve back and neck pain and keep it from getting worse. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

So how is the world of college athletics dealing with the realities of the coronavirus pandemic? Schools have started classes across the country with mixed success, how has that affected the landscape? Dr. Karen Weaver, Member of the Graduate Faculty at the University of Pennsylvania joins KYW In Depth to talk about the challenges athletic departments are facing right now, how the experiment of bringing back sports during the pandemic is going, and what could be in store for college sports in the winter. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

We all dream of retirement, but for most people that dream doesn't become a reality until their mid-60s or so. But with the pandemic and everything else that's happening right now, a lot of people are thinking about what they need to do to achieve financial independence sooner rather than later. Jeff Bush, Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer of Informed Family Financial Services joins KYW In Depth to talk about what he's seeing, the questions he's getting about early retirement, and the questions you should ask if you want financial independence early. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Public health has moved to the forefront of public consciousness since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. It's probably safe to say that public health isn't something too many of us thought about on a daily basis before mid-March, but a new poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies for the de Beaumont Foundation shows that the American public is now recognizing the importance of strong public health departments. Dr. Brian Castrucci, President & CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation joins KYW In Depth to talk about what the poll revealed and what it means. Read about the poll's findings here: https://www.debeaumont.org/news/2020/poll-more-voters-recognize-value-of-local-health-departments/ See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Technology companies have gotten big. Facebook, Twitter -- some of the most recognizable names in corporate America. But they've also been surrounded by their share of controversy, and there have been many calls for government regulation for places like Facebook and Twitter. So what does that mean? Is it realistic? And, to what extent are these companies already regulated? Brett Frischmann, The Charles Widger Endowed University Professor in Law, Business and Economics at Villanova University joins KYW In Depth to talk about the arguments surrounding regulation of this enormous section of American enterprise, what could be coming as the discussions heat up, and what the term 'big tech' even means. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Last week's new unemployment hit a pandemic-adjusted low, but the formula used to measure it changed too. After months of big tech powering stock gains, why the sputter on Wall Street? And why do you keep seeing headlines about the all-powerful American Dollar not being as big as it used to be? David Fiorenza, Associate Professor of Practice at the Villanova School of Business joins KYW in Depth to break down the news of the week and explain what it means for the health of our economy.     Clip 1 See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

There seems to be momentum building for legalizing recreational marijuana right now in several states, including Pennsylvania. Most of the arguments are economic: states are broke and allowing people to legally buy and sell cannabis products would be a new source of tax revenue. But if we go down that road, there are going to be significant implications for criminal justice reform flashpoints as well -- like the over-policing of minority communities and the statistical overrepresentation of people of color involved in marijuana arrests. Jules Epstein, Professor of Law and Director of Advocacy Programs at Temple University's Beasley School of Law joins KYW In Depth to break down the criminal justice side of the marijuana legalization debate. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Six months into the coronavirus pandemic, how have agriculture and farming and the essential supply chains we rely on for food held up? John M. Urbanchuk, Assistant Professor and Chairman of the Agribusiness Department at Delaware Valley University in Doylestown, PA joins KYW In Depth to talk about how food production was hit by the pandemic, how the recovery process is going, the biggest challenges to the industry right now, and why some farmers opted to leave some of their fields unplanted this year instead of putting down corn or soybeans. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Tourism has taken a massive hit during the coronavirus pandemic, and that means tough times for airlines. Just how bad is it right now, and how bad can it get? Dr. Benjamin Altschuler, Assistant Professor of Travel and Tourism at Temple University joins KYW In Depth to talk about how coronavirus has steamrolled the airline industry, the massive job losses that have happened already and what's on the horizon for an industry that's really kind of teetering on the brink right now. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

The economy is difficult to read these days. Millions of people are out of work and there is economic uncertainty everywhere, but the stock market keep rolling right along, setting highs and making big gains. So, how good of an indicator is the stock market actually? Does it really paint a good picture of how the economy is doing? And how can it be doing so well when so many Americans are struggling? Scott Deacle, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Business and Economics at Ursinus College joins KYW In Depth to break down why the stock market can do well when unemployment is so high, how we should be viewing the market as an economic indicator, and why the Dow Jones is not a very useful index. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused a lot of people to deal with economic pain and uncertainty like they never have before. We've heard a lot of talk about unemployment benefits, but there are other kinds of benefits that are available for people who just need a little help during tough times. And there are people who can help you navigate the process of finding out what benefits you might qualify for, and what you need to do to apply. That's what Benefits Data Trust does for people in Pennsylvania. Trooper Sanders, CEO of Benefits Data Trust joins KYW In Depth to talk about the need right now in the Philadelphia area and the things you can do right now if you need some help.  Learn more about Benefits Data Trust at their website: https://bdtrust.org/ The BenePhilly Hotline: 833-373-5868 See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Staffing polling places on election day has always been a challenge, but right now during the coronavirus pandemic, people are even more leery of spending an entire day volunteering to be around a line of people coming and going to the polls. On top of that, a lot of the volunteers that work the polls in the US are older, which means they're at higher risk for severe illness from the virus. So what is it going to look like for people who go to vote in person in November? And with so many people voting with absentee ballots, could we see a shift in how we vote all together? Dr. Stephen Pettigrew is the Director of Data Sciences for the Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a senior analyst for the NBC News Decision Desk and Analytics Lab. He joins KYW In Depth to talk about the future of voting in the United States and what's in store for us come November. Read Dr. Pettigrew's research here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3630334 See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

This is going to be a school year like we've never seen before. Just about all students will be learning at home at least part of the time, which means technology will be more important than ever. But having that technology available is easier said than done. Larry Lieberman, CEO of Mouse.org joins KYW In Depth to talk about digital divides in American homes, and tips for parents, teachers, and students to excel during a very strange and trying school year. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Another week of new jobless numbers over a million. It seems like that used to be a big number, but now it's the new normal. The Dow Jones announced a shakeup this week -- what does that mean for the storied index? And is there a light at the end of the tunnel, in the form of existing home sales? David Fiorenza, Associate Professor of Practice at the Villanova School of Business joins KYW in Depth to break down the news of the week and explain what it means for the health of our economy. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Shifts in the labor force are painful during normal times. Right now, the workforce is changing rapidly without the kind of heads up that we normally get. This pandemic happened very quickly, and half the economy essentially shut off to try to contain it. For workers in some industries, it seems like there's not a lot of hope on the horizon. So, how exactly has COVID-19 accelerated changes in the workforce? Where are we heading? And for people watching their jobs disappear, is there a solution out there? Dr. Doug Webber, Associate Professor in the Economics Department at Temple University joins KYW In Depth to talk about the rapid changes in the labor market and what's happened in the past during similar circumstances. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

When you're tracking the health of an economy, there are a lot of indicators to look at. One of the key ones is consumer sentiment. But what exactly does that mean? How is it tracked? Why is it important, and what is it telling us about the economy? Dr. Benjamin Liebman, professor of economics at Saint Joseph's University joins KYW In Depth to talk about what you should know about consumer sentiment and consumer confidence, and how they impact the world around you. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, 28 million Americans didn't have health insurance -- but it's a lot more than that now. A former acting CDC director is warning that this is just one of the problems the coronavirus pandemic has revealed about American healthcare, and the longer COVID-19 spreads, the worse those problems will get.  Dr. Richard Besser, President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former acting director of the CDC joins KYW IN Depth to talk about the country's response to COVID-19, where we're heading, and the state of health insurance in the United States during the coronavirus pandemic.  >>> See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

The coronavirus pandemic has been challenging for all students, but especially for students with special educational needs. We wanted to find out the extent of what families are going through right now, and what parents need to know to help make the upcoming school year just a little bit easier. Margie Wakelin, Staff Attorney in the Education Law Center's Philadelphia office joins KYW In Depth to break down the hurdles that have emerged in the spring, what we've learned from them for the upcoming school year, and what families can do to help their children stay on track. The Education Law Center: https://www.elc-pa.org/ See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

We're almost six months in to this pandemic and there are still tens of millions of people unemployed. Many people have been able to scrape by with unemployment assistance, but a big chunk of that, the extra $600 from the federal government, is gone now. And still others weren't able to get any assistance at all. As moratoriums on evictions around the country are expiring, KYW In Depth's Paul Kurtz talked with a few people who are having trouble making their rent or their mortgage to find out how bad the situation is, and if they have hope for the future. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.