CitizenCast

In our latest episode of How To Really Run A City, our hosts invite an "elusive wizard" onto the show. Bruce Katz is the Founding Director of the Nowak Metro Finance Lab at Drexel University, and an architect of the National Housing Crisis Task Force at Accelerator For America. "Bruce has forgotten more about cities than I'll ever know," Larry tells our mayors before referencing the Trump Administ...

In this episode of Citizen of the Week, we highlight FDR Park volunteer coordinator Tara Anastasi. From reclaiming lakes from "phrags" to organizing an army of volunteers, Anastasi gets stuff done. 

The Economy League's latest pitch competition is looking for ideas on how to close the racial wealth gap, with $50,000 going to the winner

During the red scare of the Cold War, American politicians discriminated against and began deporting Chinese-Americans. This included the scientist who would become the father of China's ballistic missile program. Ali Velshi explains why the overreactions to immigrant scares only ends up hurting the country. 

A Philadelphia urbanist and working parent tried to go car free. She learned how that's a hard thing to do, even in a 15-minute neighborhood.

On this episode of Big Rube's Philly, Rube visits with Candace Johnson, the Philly creator of TOUCHY/FEELY, the card game of intimate connection.

... with Dr. James Peterson of Evening WURDs. This week, Larry Platt calls into the show to discuss his recent Citizen article and throw around ideas for a set of truly progressive tax reforms Philly could enact.

Inspired by his own journey as a father, a Temple University police officer has become a vital support for hundreds of students in North Philadelphia

MSNBC host and Citizen board member Ali Velshi focuses on a recent arrest in Louisiana for abortion and connects it to other rights directly threatened: contraception, consensual gay sexual relationships, and same-sex marriage.

Congressmembers Chrissy Houlahan, Brendan Boyle and Brian Fitzpatrick all recently exhibited something voters rarely reward: Integrity

A new nonprofit called Live Work Philadelphia thinks that by diversifying our middle-income earners, we can create a path to prosperity for all Philadelphians. Hear Malcolm's conversation with executive director Javier Suarez.

Michelle Angela Ortiz doubles down on Our Market — a public art project honoring the diverse stories of the S. 9th Street Market. The sense of community Ortiz's art inspires is helping residents and businesses stand against the twin threats of gentrification and anti-immigrant sentiment.

Louis King, the CEO of OIC of America, ran a successful program to open high-paying construction jobs to more people in Minnesota. Now, he's doing the same in Pennsylvania.

Larry recently sat down with teacher and author Kimberly McGlonn to talk about her upbringing, her struggles against racial injustice and about her new book, Build It Boldly: How Daring Business Leaders Can Gain Influence and Create Impact. McGlonn's message was an inspirational clarion call to the citizen leaders in our midst. 

The Philadelphia Tax Reform Commission just released a new report. What are they proposing? Is this plan something even a progressive could get behind?

Mical Jeanlys-White, creator of the app WealthMore, is the latest Citizen guest on Evening WURDs. Dr. James Peterson explores the reasoning behind the app and how it helps people build their financial futures.

Main Line OB-GYN Karen Tang has almost 700,000 followers for her science-based and hilarious TikToks and IG posts on reproductive health. Roxanne sat down with Tang to discuss her social media rise and what it means.

David Dylan Thomas explores what would happen if enslaved people in Washington Square rose from the dead in the upcoming zombie film, White Meat

Governor Josh Shapiro introduced Superbowl MVP Jalen Hurts to receive his 2025 Citizen of the Year award. Hear what Shapiro and Hurts had to say.

Jeff Bezos may own the Washington Post, but attacks on Enlightenment values know no borders. This is how we can stand against media surrender.

Years of acrimony and conflict in our national politics has unfortunately trickled down to cities, where disdain for civil servants — and each other — has had a chilling effect on the work needed to get things done. So what can we do about it? On this episode of How To Really Run A City , former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter sat down with Diane Kalen-Sukra, a form...

Atlanta, Georgia recently turned 40 giant steel boxes into temporary studio apartments. Could this be a solution to our affordability crisis?

Leon King, former commissioner of the Philadelphia prison system, is seeking a seat on the Court of Common Pleas — for a fifth time. Empathy is what he's campaigning on. Hear this special audio edition with a reading by Malcolm Burnley.

Volodymyr Vakulenko hid his journal beneath a tree in his yard. The pages detailed the Russian invasion of his home country, Ukraine. Vakulenko was afraid he would not live to see the manuscript published -- a fear that tragically came true. On this week's Velshi Banned Book Club, Ali Velshi speaks with Ukrainian author and journalist Yaruslov Trofimov, who wrote No Country For Love, which explore...

While DOGE slashes and burns the federal government, what's the way forward for local Democrats? Larry Platt suggests let's make government really work efficiently.