Just over 10 years ago, Kay Wood, now the cohost of the biweekly sustainability radio program “Planet Philadelphia,” was sinking into depression. An accomplished painter for 30 years, she suffered a herniated disc that badly affected her dominant arm. Her husband encouraged her to find new creative avenues. She did that by creating two graphic novels — “The Big Belch” and “The Big Frack”— inspired by her love for environmental and social justice and her dissatisfaction with most environmental journalism. The graphic novels led to an invitation for Wood to host a program about her interests: global environmental concerns and how they affect everyday life in Philadelphia.
Ten years later, “Planet Philadelphia” is still going and still growing, tackling hard environmental issues plaguing our region and educating citizens on the solutions to these problems. “The first step is getting the word out so that everyday citizens know [the various issues] we’re up against,” says Wood. She feels it’s important to inform listeners about concerns such as fossil fuel dependence and how future generations will bear its impact.
Wood’s husband, Michael Silverstein, helped with the show until his death in 2016. This left her wondering how she could manage it on her own. That’s when she met recently retired Linda Rosenwein through a Quaker Friends meeting. Having grown up in a family of scientists, she, too, was interested in environmental issues and was looking for a way to get involved. Today, they are a team, with Wood the host and producer and Rosenwein the production assistant who oversees press releases, researches and books guests. They’ve interviewed guests such as climate change activist Jeremy Rios Griffin, local beekeeper Kathy May, U.S. Sen. Robert Casey Jr. and the World Bank’s former senior vice president Vinod Thomas.
“‘Planet Philadelphia’ is a prime example of what Community Radio represents,” says Tom Casetta, station manager of G-Town Radio. “They aren’t doing this for their ego or anyone’s profit, but for everyone. That authenticity is why ‘Planet Philadelphia’ succeeds.”
“People are passionate about this subject,” says Wood. “We’re not a ‘gotcha’ show. We’re about good, solid, quality reporting and want to tell the whole story as best we can. There’s a real desire for strong reporting on environmental issues beyond ‘doom and gloom,’ beyond ‘is climate change real or not?’”
“We focus on things people haven’t heard,” says Rosenwein. “We want it in-depth and we’ve worked hard to become experts. Topics are much more complicated than you’d think.”
Wood says the show has been a way for her and Rosenwein to learn too. “There are amazing things we’ve found out,” she says. “Who knew that microplankton is connected to everything on the planet?”
“It’s hard work, but I’ve never had a better working relationship,” says Rosenwein, mentioning the long hours she spends sound editing and the intimidation of being live on air. She adds that connecting local life with global issues is crucial and has made them better journalists. “We talk about things other people really want to know. Since we don’t know what we don’t know, we ask questions.”
Listen to “Planet Philadelphia” on the first and third Friday of the month at 4 PM on 92.9 FM WGGT-LP, streaming on gtownradio.com and on 89.1 FM WXVU on Thursday mornings at 9 AM. Visit planetphiladelphia.com to submit ideas for future episodes.
