The Week on WURD

WURD Radio
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  • UPDATED WEEKLY

The Week on WURD is a weekly podcast featuring a selection of the best interviews from WURD Radio. Tune in every week for thought-provoking interviews from notable names, top experts and fascinating personalities. Founded by Walter P. Lomax Jr., MD, WURD Radio is the only Black-owned and operated talk radio station in the state of Pennsylvania (and one of only four remaining in the country). WURD reaches deeply into the Black community through radio, events, digital and social media. It is considered the go-to media channel to engage, interact and connect with Philadelphia’s Black community.

  1. FEB 6

    Slavery Memorial Fight, Rebuilding the Middle Class, and ICE in Minnesota

    Attorney Michael Coard joined Evening WURDs after the National Park Service removed the President’s House slavery memorial in Philadelphia. Coard outlined a lawsuit against the federal government and emphasized the site’s historic significance as the first federal slavery memorial—warning that further dismantling could follow without public and legal pressure. University of Texas law professor Mechele Dickerson joined Solutions with Amadee Braxton to discuss her book The Middle-Class New Deal: Restoring Upward Mobility and the American Dream. She detailed how rising education and housing costs, “domestic outsourcing,” and gig work erode economic stability, and outlined proposals to rebuild upward mobility through schools-as-hubs, job benefits reform, and zoning changes. Civil rights attorney and past Minneapolis NAACP President Nekima Levy Armstrong joined Evening WURDs with Dr. James Peterson to share details of ICE abuses of Minnesotans, including Black U.S. citizens. She also discussed her participation in a church protest, for which she was arrested by federal agents the day after her interview on WURD.  Week on WURDListen on-demand: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠RSS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Download the WURD App: ⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Android⁠⁠⁠Get the latest from WURD: ⁠⁠⁠⁠wurdradio.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support independent Black media: ⁠⁠⁠⁠wurdradio.com/support Follow us: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@onwurd⁠⁠⁠⁠  Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@forwurd⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/onwurd

    1h 6m

  2. JAN 7

    Public Safety Beyond Policing, SNAP Cuts, and Political Power in Philly

    Jeff Jones, a national award–winning organizer and social impact strategist from Germantown, joined Evening WURDs to talk about reimagining public safety in Philadelphia beyond traditional policing. Drawing on more than two decades of grassroots work, he discussed community-centered approaches rooted in education, sustainability, and economic opportunity, arguing that long-term safety comes from investment rather than punishment. Zoe Reid, a reporter for WHYY, joined Wake Up With WURD to explain upcoming federal changes to SNAP benefits that could affect roughly 140,000 Pennsylvanians, including tens of thousands of Philadelphians. She walked through new work requirements, how exemptions function, and why older adults, people with disabilities, and those with unstable employment may face increased barriers — even if they technically still qualify for assistance. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner joined Evening WURDs for a wide-ranging conversation on crime, public safety, and political accountability. He pushed back on claims that Republican-led states are tougher on crime, pointing instead to structural factors like education and economic investment. Krasner also addressed the broader political climate, making clear that Philadelphia will not shy away from confronting authoritarian threats. Week on WURDListen on-demand: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠RSS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Download the WURD App: ⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Android⁠⁠⁠Get the latest from WURD: ⁠⁠⁠⁠wurdradio.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support independent Black media: ⁠⁠⁠⁠wurdradio.com/support Follow us: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@onwurd⁠⁠⁠⁠  Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@forwurd⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/onwurd

    45 min

  3. 12/26/2025

    The Year on WURD

    The Year on WURD is a one-hour recap of the conversations that shaped 2025 — featuring powerful interviews, timely analysis, and moments that helped listeners make sense of a challenging year. From national politics and democracy to local accountability, justice, business, culture, and community, this special brings together voices from across WURD Radio’s programming. These are the conversations that informed, challenged, and grounded us — and reminded us why independent Black media matters. If you want to go deeper, you can listen to the full, unedited interviews featured in this special at wurdradio.com/yearinreview. If after listening to the podcast, you realize the value of these conversations and of independent black media, consider making a contribution so we can keep doing this work. Go to wurdradio.com/support. Thank you for listening — and for supporting WURD Radio. Week on WURDListen on-demand: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠RSS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Download the WURD App: ⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Android⁠⁠⁠Get the latest from WURD: ⁠⁠⁠⁠wurdradio.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support independent Black media: ⁠⁠⁠⁠wurdradio.com/support Follow us: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@onwurd⁠⁠⁠⁠  Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@forwurd⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/onwurd

    59 min

  4. 12/17/2025

    Paramount vs. Netflix, Prison Justice, and the AI Divide Shaping Black Futures

    Film critic Tim Gordon joined Wake Up With WURD with Solomon Jones to unpack the shifting media landscape driven by a high-stakes bidding war between Paramount and Netflix over Warner Bros. Discovery. Gordon examined how growing media consolidation increases political influence, limits creative independence, and ultimately harms consumers and media integrity. Leigh Owens, education and advocacy director at the Pennsylvania Prison Society, joined Evening WURDs with Dr. James Peterson to address the humanitarian consequences of mass incarceration. Owens discussed the aging prison population, referenced the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, and underscored how incarceration separates families. He also highlighted the Society’s low-cost transportation program, which helps families maintain vital connections during the holiday season. Christopher “Flood the Drummer” Norris, chief strategy and program officer at StoryCorps, joined ecoWURD Magazine with P.O.C. to explore the expanding digital divide, particularly for older Philadelphians. Norris discussed the rapid advance of AI and the emerging industrial revolution, the risk of displacement for the Black working class, and the urgent need for equitable access to advanced AI tools. Week on WURDListen on-demand: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠RSS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Download the WURD App: ⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Android⁠⁠⁠Get the latest from WURD: ⁠⁠⁠⁠wurdradio.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support independent Black media: ⁠⁠⁠⁠wurdradio.com/support Follow us: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@onwurd⁠⁠⁠⁠  Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@forwurd⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/onwurd

    1h 7m

  5. 12/10/2025

    National Security Blind Spots, Diagnosing Whiteness, and a $5M Investment in Community Media

    Dr. Nola Haynes, national security and foreign policy expert, joined Wake Up With WURD with Solomon Jones to unpack several unfolding global crises. She raised concerns about the scarcity of information surrounding the shooting of two National Guard soldiers, examined the potential illegality of recent Venezuelan boat strikes, and assessed why peace negotiations in Ukraine continue to fail. Haynes urged closer scrutiny of U.S. foreign policy decisions that increasingly affect domestic safety and global stability.Author Dante King joined The Midday Break Room with Tiffany Bacon to explore the arguments in his new book, Diagnosing Whiteness & Anti-Blackness. King asserts that race is not a biological reality but a legal, political, and psychological invention designed to justify anti-Blackness. He explained how these constructs create a form of collective psychosis, shaping institutions and influencing the internalization of racial trauma within Black communities.URL Media co-founders Sara Lomax and S. Mitra Kalita joined Evening WURDs with Dr. James Peterson to discuss URL Media’s $5 million Knight Foundation grant, a major investment in the future of community media. Lomax and Kalita outlined how the funding will strengthen infrastructure, expand collaboration across the network’s trusted Black and Brown newsrooms, and position URL Media as one of the few national platforms intentionally built to support equitable, sustainable journalism. Listen on-demand: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠RSS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Download the WURD App: ⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Android⁠⁠⁠Get the latest from WURD: ⁠⁠⁠⁠wurdradio.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support independent Black media: ⁠⁠⁠⁠wurdradio.com/support Follow us: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@onwurd⁠⁠⁠⁠  Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@forwurd⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/onwurd

    1h 9m

  6. 12/03/2025

    Tracking Police Violence, Defending Immigrant Rights, and Securing Black Futures

    Dr. Terence Keel, UCLA professor of Human Biology and Society and author of The Coroner’s Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence, joined Wake Up With WURD with Solomon Jones to examine the country’s broken system for tracking deaths in police custody. He outlined how coroners and medical examiners often obscure or misclassify police-involved deaths — a crisis that hides the true scale of state violence and affects Black, Latino, Indigenous, and poor white communities nationwide. Minority Leader Kendra Brooks, Philadelphia City Councilmember At-Large, joined ecoWURD Magazine with P.O.C. to address the rise in ICE activity across city neighborhoods and the heightened fear facing immigrant families. Brooks also explained City Council’s newly passed resolution declaring that abortion rights are human rights, placing Philadelphia firmly among cities defending reproductive freedom amid escalating national rollbacks. Dr. Kayla Elliott, director of Workforce Policy at The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, joined Evening WURDs with Dr. James Peterson to break down the Joint Center’s work as America’s Black think tank. She discussed how federal workforce and education policy shape economic mobility for Black communities — from college affordability to job pipelines — and examined the destabilizing impact of the Trump administration’s policy changes at the U.S. Department of Education. Listen on-demand: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠RSS⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Download the WURD App: ⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Android⁠⁠⁠ Get the latest from WURD: ⁠⁠⁠⁠wurdradio.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠  Support independent Black media: ⁠⁠⁠⁠wurdradio.com/support  Follow us:  Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@onwurd⁠⁠⁠⁠  Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@forwurd⁠⁠⁠⁠  YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/onwurd

    1h 8m

  7. 11/20/2025

    State Budget Wins, DEI Losses, and Investing in Community: Joanna McClinton, Jordan Harris, Tayyib Smith, and Crystal Jacobs Shipman

    Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton and State Representative Jordan Harris, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, joined Wake Up With WURD with Solomon Jones to break down the newly passed $50.1 billion state budget after months of delays. They highlighted major victories — including historic school funding increases, a new tax credit for working families, and restored resources for domestic violence and rape crisis organizations. They also addressed the growing controversy over DEI rollbacks in Philadelphia, calling the moment a critical test for equity and governance across the Commonwealth. Tayyib Smith, curator of the art exhibition “The Source of Self-Regard,” and featured artist Al-baseer Holly joined Amadee Braxton on Solutions to explore the exhibit’s themes, inspired by Toni Morrison’s writings on dignity and self-worth. They discussed Holly’s artistic journey, the political and emotional roots of his visual language, and why cultivating a deep sense of self-regard is essential in resisting becoming “ignorant cogs” in larger systems. Crystal Jacobs Shipman, Philadelphia’s Sanitation Commissioner, and Faruq Scott, Sanitation Operations Administrator, joined ecoWURD Magazine with P.O.C. to outline major upgrades in the city’s waste infrastructure. They detailed the revamped Northwest Transfer Station, the expansion of the Big Belly smart trash system, and a new citywide enforcement strategy aimed at reducing illegal dumping — a longstanding environmental justice issue in Philadelphia. Listen on-demand: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠RSS⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Download the WURD App: ⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Android⁠⁠⁠ Get the latest from WURD: ⁠⁠⁠⁠wurdradio.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠  Support independent Black media: ⁠⁠⁠⁠wurdradio.com/support  Follow us:  Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@onwurd⁠⁠⁠⁠  Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@forwurd⁠⁠⁠⁠  YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/onwurd

    1h 18m

  8. 11/12/2025

    Elections, Empowerment, and Expression: Mustafa Rashed, S. Mitra Kalita, and Kevin Powell on Politics and Progress

    Mustafa Rashed, president and CEO of Bellevue Strategies, joined Wake Up With WURD with Solomon Jones to break down the results of Tuesday’s elections across the country. Rashed highlighted key Democratic victories, examined what effective political messaging looks like in 2025, and warned of the Supreme Court’s growing threat to Black voting rights. S. Mitra Kalita, veteran journalist and co-founder and CEO of URL Media, joined Evening WURDs with Dr. James Peterson to unpack the New York City mayoral race, where voters decisively supported Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani. Kalita explored the social and political forces behind his win and discussed how immigrants and nontraditional Democrats are reshaping urban politics nationwide. Kevin Powell, acclaimed author, activist, and Grammy-nominated poet, appeared on Evening WURDs to discuss his debut documentary, When We Free The World. The film offers a raw, reflective look at Black masculinity, trauma, and mental health, urging honest and inclusive dialogue among Black men as a path toward healing and liberation. Listen on-demand: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠RSS⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Download the WURD App: ⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Android⁠⁠⁠ Get the latest from WURD: ⁠⁠⁠⁠wurdradio.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠  Support independent Black media: ⁠⁠⁠⁠wurdradio.com/support  Follow us:  Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@onwurd⁠⁠⁠⁠  Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@forwurd⁠⁠⁠⁠  YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/onwurd

    58 min
See All (36)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

The Week on WURD is a weekly podcast featuring a selection of the best interviews from WURD Radio. Tune in every week for thought-provoking interviews from notable names, top experts and fascinating personalities. Founded by Walter P. Lomax Jr., MD, WURD Radio is the only Black-owned and operated talk radio station in the state of Pennsylvania (and one of only four remaining in the country). WURD reaches deeply into the Black community through radio, events, digital and social media. It is considered the go-to media channel to engage, interact and connect with Philadelphia’s Black community.

Information

  • Creator
    WURD Radio
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    36
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © WURD Radio
  • Show Website
    The Week on WURD