CitizenCast

On the latest episode of our How To Really Run A City podcast with esteemed former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter, we are joined by two special guests. First, Mary Ellen Wiederwohl, President and CEO of Accelerator for America, the nation's preeminent city "do tank," and our dynamic new partner on this podcast. Second, Kansas City, Missouri Mayor Quinton Lucas, kno...

On this episode of Big Rube's Philly, Reuben Harley visits with Jamar Blackshear of Halal Fitness LLC to talk about his rise as a fitness star after paying his debt to society, about his pro bono work with kids, and of course, about his world-famous burpees.

With the 76 Place debate behind us, let's get down to actual neighborhood and city planning and make a decision about the Roundhouse. It has a lot of potential.

Third-party fact checkers were axed from Meta for being "biased and overly politically correct." Ali Velshi speaks with two of those fact-checkers about the real threats facing social media in this new era.

In this interview special, Elijah Wald, South Philly author of the book behind "A Complete Unknown" discusses what the film missed, compares Bob Dylan and Taylor Swift and makes thought-provoking points about today's pop antiheros. 

A lifelong Eagles fan asked the NFL to open the stadium for away games for years, but the plan to open the Linc to everyone for the Super Bowl is a fail

Meet our Youth Citizen of the Year, who at just 15, has given 79,000 pairs of socks to vulnerable Philadelphians through his 501(c)(3) Socks for the Streets.

... but remember diversity, equity and inclusion. Longtime university president Elaine Maimon mourns the attack on the ideas — and very words — that are so vital to our democracy.

Birthright citizenship is "an integral part of repudiating this nation's history of slavery," Ali Velshi explains. "To undermine [it], would be a return to some of our nation's darkest days." From slavery to the Chinese Exclusion Act of the nineteenth century, the 14th Amendment has been a remedy to our most discriminatory impulses. 

Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia made concessions radically affordable. Another miss by Mayor Parker and City Council in the run-up to 76 Place ...

"There's a writer for the Atlantic in 1894 who said, 'Every two years one party is obliterated, and then two years later, the other party is obliterated,' so I'm not saying this isn't the beginning of some grand realignment, but it might [simply] be the peak of a new cycle." Author Jon Grinspan put forward this observation in the second part of our opening panel at the 2024 Ideas We Should Steal F...

When it comes to deeply polarized politics in America, we've been here before. In this two-part event from our Ideas We Should Steal Festival 2024, Larry chats with MSNBC's Ali Velshi and author Jon Grinspan, who wrote "Age of Acrimony." Velshi and Grinspan explain that the solutions to our acrimonious future can be found in our past.

Citizen contributor and Evening WURDs host Dr. James Peterson starts a new segment called Evening Stories. On this episode, he and guest Ann Smith discuss the importance of "The Danger Of A Single Story," by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

This book is a "clear commentary on how society pushes women to their breaking point, pits them against one another, and then abandons them," Velshi says as he invites author Paula Hawkins onto the show to discuss the banning of her novel in Ron DeSantis's Florida.

On this year's final episode of How To Really Run A City, we thought listeners could use a good laugh. Larry Platt takes us through the year's funniest moments, from how former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed gets his gangsta lean on to former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter's "drugged up" call-in from his car. This year we had randy guests, mayors incognito and a dead tree in Wilmington, Delaware that just...

The seven principles of this weeklong celebration, which starts today, are good guides for how to live all year round. Citizen contributor and WURD host Dr. James Peterson reflects on the ideal that means the most to him.

On this collaboration with Evening WURDs, Dr. James Peterson chats with Julian Plotnick of 4 Day Philly who explains why we should actually be working less.

The Citizen is not abandoning X despite — actually, because of — the divisiveness and disinformation that abounds. Olivia Kram explains why.

"The FDIC has a perfect record of protecting insured bank deposits for over ninety years." Ali Velshi breaks down the role of the FDIC and explains why the Trump transition team asking if it can be eliminated is a really bad idea.

Can 5-term Congressman Brendan Boyle offer an object lesson in getting back to common purpose? Or is he the last of a dying breed? Larry chats with him to find out.

We are proud to introduce our annual group of all-stars who are making Philadelphia better — and inspiring us all to do the same.

A former Parks and Recreation Sustainability Manager argues the $11 million dollars being spent on a second trash day for parts of South Philly and Center City could be better spent.

Philadelphia's status as the nation's poorest big city is a major cause of its gunfire. In collaboration with The Trace, CitizenCast brings Mensah M. Dean's examination of race and gun violence to listeners as a three-part audio series. Part 3 unearths the stories of two Philadelphians who were trapped in the devastating cycle of poverty and violence, but found their way out.

The first Trump administration has a "history of attacking journalists, of calling for violence against journalists, of suing and surveilling journalists, and trying to legislate against [them]." Ali Velshi's guest host, Charles Coleman Jr. invites onto the show Nikole Hannah-Jones, Pulitzer-prize-winning author and founder of the Center for Journalism & Democracy at Howard University. They discus...

Last week's musings about corruption in City Hall raises a lot of questions, including: What's illegal, and what's just … kinda gross?