PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — As the year comes to a close, the KYW Newsradio original podcast production team is looking back on all that’s been made in this tumultuous 2021.
From unsolved murders in Philadelphia to a one-on-one with Peter Jackson on the making of “The Beatles: Get Back,” Director of Podcasting Tom Rickert and producers Brian Seltzer and Sabrina Boyd-Surka break down their favorite episodes of The Rundown, In Depth, 1-on-1 and Gone Cold.
And in true podcast form, you can listen to the discussion of their top picks of the year in the player above. Meta, right?
It’s hard to pick only a few, but these podcast episodes are definitely worth going back and listening to.
‘You’re not a sucker for trying’: Temple professor shares lessons from viral pizza tweet
What makes a tweet go viral? A local professor would know. While studying on sabbatical at the University of Michigan, Mark Leuchter, who teaches religion at Temple University, thought it would be nice to hold an essay-writing seminar for undergrad students, with free pizza as the kicker. What happened next could only exist in a social media world. Bummed that no one showed up, Mark expressed his disappointment on Twitter by posting a photo of an empty room and four untouched boxes of plain pizza, along with a caption that included the closing sentence, “I’m so sad.” The tweet exploded. What does the lack of turnout at Leuchter’s event, and the subsequent response it created on social media, tell us about human behavior? And, is it possible for a viral tweet to have a happy ending?
Peter Jackson on making ‘The Beatles: Get Back’ and ‘the big Beatles event of our lifetime’
The Beatles were a band that truly changed everything when they came on the scene, and they’re a band that still inspires awe even today. They left a mark on society musically, socially and emotionally. “The Beatles: Get Back” is a new documentary series by Peter Jackson that takes a look at the Fab Four and the story behind one of their most iconic albums. KYW Newsradio’s Larry Kane has his own history with the Beatles, and he sat down with Peter Jackson to talk about this fascinating documentary series and these four special musicians.
The wild stories of the Eastern Professional Basketball League
Before the NBA G League, there was the Eastern Professional Basketball League. It was a northeast league stocked to the brim with great players like John Chaney, Stan Pawlak, Jim Boeheim and Hal Lear, with many of the teams calling eastern Pennsylvania home. The league featured larger-than-life characters on and off the court, and the stories from the Eastern League are absolutely wild. Syl Sobel and Jay Rosenstein interviewed players, coaches and personalities from the Eastern League to write “Boxed Out of the NBA: Remembering the Eastern Professional Basketball League.” They talk to KYW Newsradio’s Matt Leon in this 1-on-1.
Gone Cold: The Publicker Jane Doe episodes
The remains of a young woman were found on the property of the abandoned Publicker distillery in Bensalem in January 1988. For more than 30 years, she was known only as Publicker Jane Doe. Bensalem Police Detective Chris McMullin has spent much of his career trying to find out her name. And then, it happened. Through the efforts of the Bensalem Police Department and their law enforcement partners, the scientists at Bode Technology, and the incredible work of the DNA genealogy team led by Yolanda McClary, Publicker Jane Doe was identified as Lisa Todd.
In “Update: Naming Publicker Jane Doe,” KYW Newsradio’s crime and justice reporter Kristen Johanson learns how Todd’s remains were identified and what a name means for everyone who has been invested in the case.
In the bonus episode “How genealogy identified Publicker Jane Doe,” Johanson talks about a Gone Cold first: This case was the first time Gone Cold worked on a story and then witnessed a major update.
These episodes follow up on the Publicker Jane Doe case from 2020. (Highly recommend you listen to part 1 and part 2 first.)
Talkin’ trash! Ya Fav Trashman has a bold vision for Philadelphia
Philadelphia’s got a lot of trash problems. Terril Haigler wants to be part of the solution. The former city sanitation worker went viral during the pandemic by using social media to pull back the curtain on just how much Philadelphia struggles to take out its trash. Known best as Ya Fav Trashman, Haigler speaks with KYW Newsradio’s community impact reporter Racquel Williams about the importance of keeping our city clean, and an ambitious project he’s launching.
The 20th anniversary 9/11 episodes
When the country needed them, they dropped everything to get to the site of the collapsed World Trade Center towers and save lives. Brian McGuire is a retired New York City firefighter. Craig Murphy is Deputy Commissioner in the Philadelphia Fire Department and a former member of Pennsylvania Task Force One. Frankie Degrand is a retired Chief Gunner’s Mate in the United States Navy. They all had vital roles to play on Sept. 11, 2001, and their lives were forever changed that day. In “First responders look back on how 9/11 changed their lives,” KYW Newsradio anchor Michelle Durham shares their reflections on what they saw and how it still affects them 20 years later.
Twenty years have passed since Judi Reiss lost her 23-year old son, Josh, in the attacks on the World Trade Center. Despite her heartbreak, the Lower Makefield resident has persisted. In “After 9/11 loss, a mother turns to family, service to cope,” Reiss talks to KYW Newsradio’s Hadas Kuznits about finding strength and peace in Josh’s memory, all while keeping her family together and serving her community.
Tara and Michael Bane had bought a house in Lower Makefield and were building their lives together when he went into work at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, and never returned. Instead of crumbling or turning to anger, Tara channeled her grief into building the Garden of Reflection in Yardley and helping others through her art therapy practice. In “Finding hope, love, and life after a 9/11 loss,” Tara talked with KYW Newsradio’s Hadas Kuznits about the 20th anniversary of 9/11, remembering Michael, and how she learned to keep living after tragedy.
‘They thought they had this beat’: How John Dougherty and Bobby Henon got it wrong
Philadelphia IBEW 98 electrical workers union leader John Dougherty and City Councilmember Bobby Henon headed confidently into their federal corruption trial back in October. Six weeks later, the two allies could be looking at maximum sentences of 20 years in prison. KYW Newsradio City Hall bureau chief Pat Loeb, who followed the case from the start, explains how prosecutors managed to land guilty verdicts on multiple counts.