CitizenCast

Nashville, TN Mayor Freddie O'Connell was compelled to run for office on a simple principle. For too long, transit and infrastructure had been neglected by city officials. "I don't know of a greater transit evangelist among the mayor fraternity than Mayor O'Connell," said Larry Platt on this week's episode of How To Really Run A City. "My mom remembers a Nashville that still had streetcar lines," O'Connell told our podcast hosts, former Mayors Kasim Reed of Atlanta and Michael Nutter of Philly. "And then we ripped that all out. If you look at our old streetcar maps, we had a good transit system." Join us for a discussion during this year's Infrastructure Week centered on a blue city in a red state pulling every lever to reestablish customer-focused government and proper  infrastructure investment. But Mayor O'Connell isn't all work and no play down there in Nashville. He also moonlights as DJ Stay (he chose this nom de vinyl because "I want you to stay" in Nashville). "Our man says he's on the ones and twos," laughed Nutter, who knows a few things himself about spinning records. "I didn't have this on the bingo card for today," Reed said with a grin.  As cities go, so goes the nation!

On this episode of Citizen of the Week, we highlight the work of Karen Sandone whose husband was diagnosed with younger-onset Alzheimer's. This Doylestown woman chose to speak out and create a national community of support.

He's a 25-year-old councilmember, she's a 66-year-old (vocal) critic in this odd story of insults, conspiracies and illegal record disclosures.

Republicans may be winning the redistricting fight, but they may be overlooking a few important factors. Ali Velshi explains.

On Tuesday, voters can approve or reject two ballot measures in the primary election. We break them both down.

Staff writer Malcolm Burnley recently visited City Cast Philly to chat with host Trenae Nuri about his recent story Fix the Sidewalks! Listen in on the conversation and then check out City Cast Philly for yourself. 

On this episode of Ideas We Should Steal, Vienna and Maryland have invested in innovative, income diverse public housing to much acclaim. Could they work in Philly too?

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has changed dramatically since 2024, not just detaining and holding more people, but also making it harder for them to get help. Here, a Temple law professor lays out what you can do about it. Visit this story on the web for helpful links.

"This is the most urgent problem facing every one of us today, no matter where in the country we live." Ali Velshi explains.

Local debates around Gaza, school closings, and ICE all raise the same question: Does anyone care about actual governing, or has Philly fully entered the age of the political grandstand?

When Republican Stephen Goldsmith was Mayor of Indianapolis, IN, he ran his city by "devolving" decisions down to the grassroots level. He created partnerships with the movers and shakers of local areas – community-based organizations, small businesses, faith leaders — to decide together how best to spend money in their neighborhoods. "Government had neglected those neighborhoods," he told our podcast hosts, former Mayors Kasim Reed of Atlanta and Michael Nutter of Philly. "And no amount of expenditures would have been sufficient if we couldn't lift up the civic infrastructure of the neighborhoods themselves." This, said Goldsmith, who was a deputy mayor under Mike Bloomberg in New York and is now a professor of urban policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School, is the true power of mayors: the ability to convene and inspire a city to greatness. Despite the circus coming from Washington, D.C., Goldsmith told our hosts that he has great hope for cities. "This is the time to be mayor, because if you want to lead, you can really make a difference." Goldsmith also garnered some unexpected praise from our hosts. "I was struck by your book, Putting Faith in Neighborhoods: Making Cities Work through Grassroots Citizenship," Citizen Co-Founder Larry Platt told him. "I remember thinking it was a model for cities to follow." "This is exciting," Goldsmith replied, "You're one of five people who read that book. What sort of life do you live?" "We're working on it, Mayor Goldsmith," laughed Nutter and Reed. "We're trying to help him!" As cities go, so goes the nation!

There are only two options for generating more money to fund schools and city services, writes former City Councilmember Allan Domb. One way is clearly better than the other.

When the world is a lonely mess around you, sometimes you need to step out and build bridges. If you have a question for Kimberly, fill out this form and we'll do our best to feature it in an upcoming episode.

Spain's capital may be centuries older than Philadelphia, but the vibrant city offers a forward-thinking, growth mindset idea that our comparatively smaller (and younger) hometown should steal

In the wake of another scene of politically-motivated gun violence, the Trump administration points the finger unequivocally at the opposition party. Ali Velshi clarifies who is actually responsible for overt calls to violence.

On this episode of Big Rube's Philly, Reuben Harley takes deputy editor Lauren McCutcheon on a Gordon Parks-style journey through the streets of Philadelphia using his most iconic photographs of neighborhood life. To see the photographs behind the conversation, visit this story on the web. 

In the fourth installment of the Ultimate Job Interview, three candidates vying to represent the 3rd Congressional District (Center City, North and South Philly and a large area of West Philly) sit with 6abc's Matt O'Donnell and a panel of interviewers to answer some of the most pressing questions of the race as the May 19 primary draws closer. In order of appearance: (2:30) Dr. Ala Stanford (23:30) State Representative Chris Rabb (43:30) State Senator Sharif Street 

This Mother's Day, one West Philly woman wants to help the suffering of mothers and children through "grief weaving."

During this semiquincentennial season, Dr. James Peterson looks at the story of a woman enslaved at Stenton in 1776, which brings up more questions than answers. And that is as it should be.

Come November, the House and Senate may flip. Increasingly, the Supreme Court is being viewed as the last bastion of power. Ali Velshi explains.

Amid the ongoing conversation about free speech, democracy-loving Americans should be paying attention to — and exercising — their First Amendment right to … show up, together

When it feels like the world is without hope, how do we move forward each day? Kimberly McGlonn has some advice for you.  Do you have a question for Kimberly? Follow the link below to submit a question and we'll do our best to feature it in an upcoming episode. Fill out the form here

On this episode of Ideas We Should Steal, Denver just became the latest major city to launch a comprehensive plan for repairing and expanding its sidewalk networks. What is Philly waiting for?

Inspired by his own medical crisis, Al Dashiell is bringing registered nurses into his Center City barber shop to administer health care to his clients while they're in a familiar place. Chopped P.H.D. will hold its next screening this week, on Thursday, April 23rd, from noon until about 2 p.m. For more information, visit this story on the web.

Ronnie Polaneczky is a senior editor at Philadelphia magazine who recently wrote the article "Why Philly Needs an Ona Judge Day." She joins Dr. James Peterson on Evening WURDS, accompanied by Carl Singley who co-founded the Ona Judge Coalition, to talk about a major push to commemorate Judge with her own day.

... there's hope for other democracies that are backsliding into illiberalism. Ali Velshi explains.

In this episode of Philadelphia Promise, Christine Speer Lejeune, editor-in-chief of Philadelphia magazine, sits down with author, political thinker and all-around Renaissance man Richard Vague. In his new book, The Banker Who Made America, Vague shines a spotlight on Thomas Willing, a highly influential Philadelphian who leveraged the power of American banking to help the country win its independence. Join us for a fascinating conversation about a nearly forgotten but extremely important Founding Father. 

What if your primary care physician gave you a script for more time outdoors? Prescribe Outside, a program from CHOP, is doing just that. Writer Courtney DuChene visited just such a nature gathering with doctors, patients and a whole lot of kids.

On this episode of Gardening For Good, The Woodlands runs a volunteer-staffed program to restore flowers to cradle graves and build community in the process. For more information on volunteering, visit this story on the web.

On this episode, Dr. James Peterson argues that at the root of the shootings and violence and poverty cycles that plague our society sits literacy--quietly creating an architecture of inequality  

... starts with dehumanizing your enemies. Ali Velshi makes the case that Donald Trump's threats to destroy an entire country are much more than bluster.

In the final episode of this award-nominated essay, Tom McGrath asks what it would take to set Philly on the right path and protect the city from the whims of Washington D.C.

People aren't leaving cities. They're pulling into their own remote work spaces and eschewing the civic reasons they chose urban living in the first place.

The effects of Trump's cuts are broad and deep. In this essay, nominated for an NCRM award, Tom McGrath explains how Philadelphia got so hooked on federal assistance and what it means for our future.

One of the 2025 Erinda Sheno Memorial Prize winners, a junior at the Academy at Palumbo makes a beautiful argument for a multi-lingual, multicultural city and nation. Our differences don't just make us stronger — they're also worth fighting for.

Trump's cuts are hitting Philly hard. In this story, nominated for an NCRM award, Tom McGrath explains why the city is uniquely vulnerable to the president's economic rampage ... and how Philadelphia can (maybe) fortify itself for the future.

On this episode of Guest Commentary, Philadelphia is last in economic mobility among the 50 largest U.S. metros and stagnant in job creation. A chamber of commerce chair and a former U.S. ambassador, unite to say there's a better way.

"Trump's off-the-cuff musings of the war perplexes even his own advisors," Ali Velshi reports. Even our allies are being left confused. As French President Emmanuel Macron declared, "When you want to be serious, you don't say everyday the opposite of what you said the day before."

The CHOP physician and voice of the pro-vaccine, pro-health science movement stands in stark opposition to RFK Jr. Hear his story and why he was chosen as the 2026 Citizen of the Year.

Developed by Penn Engineering grads, Sonura is a high-tech beanie that protects preemies' ears by blocking out the loud sounds of an intensive care nursery and supporting parent-baby connections.

Recently nominated for a National Magazine Award, this story by Sandy Hingston suggests that despite political name-calling, social media meltdowns and public life feeling more hostile than ever, quiet acts of kindness might just reveal a growing civility--one small moment at a time.

After publishing his story, Don't Look Now ... But Philly is Safe, Larry Platt joined Dr. James Peterson on Evening WURDs to discuss one of the biggest crime turnarounds in modern history

Ali Velshi explains that the war in Iran has gone on long enough ... 4 weeks ... that Donald Trump has just lost interest

Budget cuts. School closures. Structural deficit. Scant academic progress. Spin from District headquarters. Larry Platt asks: Is Superintendent Watlington up to being a transformational leader?

For the past six years, Bloomberg Philanthropies has held the  Mayors Challenge, a competition that awards cities $1 million prizes to spur innovative solutions to ingrained urban problems. This week's guests are Challenge leader Aparna Ramanan and Challenge grantee, Lafayette, LA Mayor Monique Blanco Boulet. Join former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Citizen Co-Founder Larry Platt for an eye-opening conversation about what it takes to innovate in a city. (Lafayette's problem might sound familiarly stinky to Philadelphians: old, failing, sewers.) Blanco Boulet believes true innovation must start with a change of mindset. "Critical thinking is just not natural in government. If I don't know where we're having flood issues, I could just choose anywhere [to put the money]. That happens. That's not abnormal for government in the absence of real decision-making." Join us for an episode about cities tackling entrenched problems and the public-private partnerships like Bloomberg Philanthropies that support them.  When it comes to facing these intractable issues, as Nutter said, "You have to deal with the consequences of not." As cities go, so goes the nation!

Kimberly McGlonn is back, this time answering a listener question about moving on. Sometimes it's a job, a city, a relationship, or a dream, but how does a person know when it's time to go? If you have a question for Kimberly, go here to ask and we'll do our best to feature it in an upcoming episode.

On this episode of Guest Commentary, a former City Council and School Reform Commission member weighs in on what a $300 million budget deficit says about School District leadership

Right out of the pages of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Republicans in Ohio proposed a bill that would "allow the government to track every pregnancy, beginning to end." Ali Velshi explains.

If you have unwanted rodent visitors, there are two docs from Drexel who are asking Philadelphians to put them in the freezer. For science. They even have a few pointers for catching the elusive pests.

On this episode of The Citizen Recommends, Roxanne Patel Shepelavy asks why pay Silicon Valley tech companies for your ride when locally-owned taxi cabs are faster, cost less and put money back into Philadelphia's economy?

Pups are everywhere these days, thanks to indulgent owners and business proprietors. Guess what else is everywhere -- sidewalks, street corners, soles of shoes?