Pennsylvania

Russell Shorto's grandfather was a mob leader in the industrial town of Johnstown, Pa. He spoke to Fresh Air in 2021 about the havoc that resulted from his grandfather's business dealings.

In Jennifer Haigh's new novel Heat & Light she examines what happens when fracking comes to a small Pennsylvania town. Maureen Corrigan describes the book as Haigh's "most ambitious - and compelling - novel yet."

Thirty-three states now have voter ID laws requiring identification for voting. Some new laws requiring photo ID are being challenged in court or reviewed by the Justice Department. One supporter says these laws will prevent fraud. A critic says the claims are overblown.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews two new murder mysteries: the London-set "Original Sin," by P.D. James and "Cranks and Shadows" by K.C. Constantine, which takes place in post-industrial Pennsylvania.

Geographer Wilbur Zelinsky. Zelinsky is one of five editors who compiled "The Atlas of Pennsylvania," a massive, and beautiful, book of maps depicting hundreds of different facts about one state...everything from where the most dairy cows are, to what the favorite baseball teams are in different counties, to where you can still find Bald Eagles. Zelinsky is a professor of geology at Penn State University.

Poet Dan Hoffman joins the show to discuss his poem "Brotherly Love," a long poem about William Penn and his vision for the United States. The poem focuses on Penn's treaty with the Native Americans in the area that would become Pennsylvania. Hoffman is the former Poet Laureate of the U. S. and currently works at the University of Pennsylvania.

Republican Arlen Specter was recently elected as an U. S. senator for the state of Pennsylvania. His political career began when he moved to Philadelphia in the 1950s. He has been the District Attorney of Philadelphia and the Assistant Counsel to the Warren Commission. He joins the show to discuss his plans for the state in the next six years and to answer user calls.