Politics & Government Election 2026: Understanding What’s At Stake With Election Day approaching on November 3, WURD is bringing you the conversations that matter as voters prepare to head to the polls. From local races to national debates, our election coverage examines the candidates, policies and decisions that will shape our communities. Explore our election coverage playlist for conversations about: Pennsylvania's push to open its primaries Voting rights and the courts Control of Congress and the stakes of the […]
News This Week on WURD: Sexual assault allegations at Cornell, microplastics in the Delaware River, Pennsylvania’s universal healthcare push Dr. Janet Rosenzweig, child sexual abuse prevention expert and author of The Sex-Wise Parent, joined Solomon Jones on Wake Up With WURD to discuss sexual assault allegations at Cornell University. Rosenzweig highlighted the heightened risk of campus sexual assault early in the academic year and urged parents, particularly fathers, to teach young people about consent, healthy sexuality and personal responsibility. Melinda Emerson, entrepreneur, bestselling author and small business expert known […]
Health & Wellness Attack on the Safety Net: What You Need to Know to Protect Your Benefits Changes are coming to health coverage in Pennsylvania—and thousands of families will have to navigate new requirements to keep the benefits they rely on. On October 8, WURD presented “Attack on the Safety Net: Protecting Your Health Benefits,” a special broadcast examining changes to Medicaid and other health programs resulting from the federal budget law known as H.R. 1. Sara Lomax and Dr. James Peterson broke down what’s changing, when […]
insert_link News This Week on WURD: Attack on America’s safety net, educational dilemmas for Black families, and Parker at 1,000 days Linn Washington Jr., Philadelphia Tribune columnist, former journalist and retired Temple University journalism professor, joined Solomon Jones on Wake Up With WURD to discuss the Trump administration’s third-country deportation policy and its mounting costs. Washington called the policy cruel and wasteful, while also pointing to Philadelphia’s low voter turnout as potentially decisive in statewide elections. Barth Beasley, singer-songwriter, pianist and actor, joined Tiffany Bacon on The Midday Break Room to […] todayOctober 2, 2026
insert_link Education Learning in a World We Didn’t Make: James Peterson on Nikole Hannah-Jones’s School Experience todayOctober 2, 2026
insert_link News This Week on WURD: Press fights back, Coltrane at 100, holding on to health benefits todaySeptember 25, 2026
insert_link News This Week on WURD: AI warnings, Birth Center Week, signs of human trafficking Dr. Elena McDonald and Dr. Delana Wardlaw, board-certified physicians known as the Twin Sister Docs, joined Solomon Jones on Wake Up With WURD to discuss Pennsylvania’s worsening measles outbreak. They stressed that unvaccinated people with underlying conditions face heightened risks of severe complications as the state’s outbreak approaches 700 cases and has now been linked to four deaths. Ben Hovland, senior fellow for democracy policy at the Center for American […] todaySeptember 19, 2026
Commentary Dr. James Peterson: The messiness of America’s drained-pool politics Perhaps Washington's Reflecting Pool should stay exactly as it is. Its mess reflects ours. By Dr. James Peterson The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has become an unironic reflection of the current administration. The Reflecting Pool is supposed to center the architecture of American democracy – the Washington Monument, the Lincoln […] todayAugust 27, 2026
insert_link Featured This Week on WURD: Cory Booker, Black History Archives, Space Equity & Global Security todayApril 3, 2026
insert_link 2 Featured This Week on WURD: Hair Equity, ICE Accountability, Transit Taxes & Global Security todayMarch 27, 2026 2
insert_link Featured This Week on WURD: Chávez allegations, DHS leadership, media threats, Target boycotts & Black womanhood todayMarch 20, 2026
News This Week on WURD: AI warnings, Birth Center Week, signs of human trafficking Dr. Elena McDonald and Dr. Delana Wardlaw, board-certified physicians known as the Twin Sister Docs, joined Solomon Jones on Wake Up With WURD to discuss Pennsylvania’s worsening measles outbreak. They stressed that unvaccinated people with underlying conditions face heightened risks of severe complications as the state’s outbreak approaches 700 cases and has now been linked to four deaths. Ben Hovland, senior fellow for democracy policy at the Center for American […] todaySeptember 19, 2026
This Week on WURD: Sexual assault allegations at Cornell, microplastics in the Delaware River, Pennsylvania’s universal healthcare push
This Week on WURD: Attack on America’s safety net, educational dilemmas for Black families, and Parker at 1,000 days
News This Week on WURD: Chris Rabb on democratic socialism, measles on the rise, and Philly’s data center fight Dr. Jason Johnson, professor of politics and journalism at Morgan State University and political analyst for MS NOW, joined Dr. James Peterson on Evening WURDs to discuss the National Association of Black Journalists conference and its “Thumbs Down” awards. Johnson backed NABJ’s criticism of The Washington Post, CBS News and […] todayAugust 22, 2026 2
insert_link Featured This Week on WURD: Cory Booker, Black History Archives, Space Equity & Global Security todayApril 3, 2026
insert_link 2 Featured This Week on WURD: Hair Equity, ICE Accountability, Transit Taxes & Global Security todayMarch 27, 2026 2
insert_link Featured This Week on WURD: Chávez allegations, DHS leadership, media threats, Target boycotts & Black womanhood todayMarch 20, 2026
insert_link Featured This Week on WURD: Vaccine Misinformation, Voting Rights, DEI Backlash & Middle East Conflict todayMarch 13, 2026
insert_link News This Week on WURD: Sexual assault allegations at Cornell, microplastics in the Delaware River, Pennsylvania’s universal healthcare push todayOctober 9, 2026
insert_link Health & Wellness Attack on the Safety Net: What You Need to Know to Protect Your Benefits todayOctober 9, 2026
News This Week on WURD: Attack on America’s safety net, educational dilemmas for Black families, and Parker at 1,000 days Linn Washington Jr., Philadelphia Tribune columnist, former journalist and retired Temple University journalism professor, joined Solomon Jones on Wake Up With WURD to discuss the Trump administration’s third-country deportation policy and its mounting costs. Washington called the policy cruel and wasteful, while also pointing to Philadelphia’s low voter turnout as […] todayOctober 2, 2026
Education Learning in a World We Didn’t Make: James Peterson on Nikole Hannah-Jones’s School Experience By Dr. James Peterson Nikole Hannah-Jones’s recent New York Times Magazine essay about the life-altering decisions Black parents make in educating our children is, for me, even more powerful than The 1619 Project. The 2019 landmark long-form journalism project was a definitive historical intervention, centering the experiences of enslaved Africans […] todayOctober 2, 2026
News This Week on WURD: Press fights back, Coltrane at 100, holding on to health benefits Deborah Roberts, co-anchor of 20/20 and ABC News senior national affairs correspondent, joined Solomon Jones on Wake Up With WURD as the program begins its 49th season. Roberts called President Trump’s mounting attacks on press freedom a concern for all Americans, urging journalists to demonstrate credibility and integrity amid political […] todaySeptember 25, 2026
News This Week on WURD: AI warnings, Birth Center Week, signs of human trafficking Dr. Elena McDonald and Dr. Delana Wardlaw, board-certified physicians known as the Twin Sister Docs, joined Solomon Jones on Wake Up With WURD to discuss Pennsylvania’s worsening measles outbreak. They stressed that unvaccinated people with underlying conditions face heightened risks of severe complications as the state’s outbreak approaches 700 cases […] todaySeptember 19, 2026
News WURD Radio at the 2026 CBC conference: Listen to the live coverage WURD Radio was live from Washington, D.C., Sept. 16-18 for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 55th Annual Legislative Conference, an annual gathering of elected officials, policy leaders, advocates, entrepreneurs, public servants and community leaders from across the country. Throughout the conference, conversations tackled some of the most urgent issues facing […] todaySeptember 19, 2026
News This Week on WURD: Black students shut out, Philly’s trash fight, measles cases surge Jamie Gauthier, Philadelphia City Councilmember, joined P.O.C. on EcoWURD to discuss the looming fight over Mayor Cherelle Parker’s proposed new ReWorld contract. With Council returning Sept. 17, Gauthier urged members to reject sending Philadelphia trash to Chester’s incinerator, calling the practice an environmental injustice disproportionately borne by Black communities. Linn […] todaySeptember 11, 2026
