CitizenCast

For the second time in three years, the School District of Philadelphia was defrauded out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. What's really going on?

While Washington implodes and other cities resist, Riverside, CA Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson is moving ahead with an ambitious tech agenda — and battling youth homelessness in her city. “I feel positive about the direction California is taking,” says Riverside, CA Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson, our guest this week on How To Really Run A City. In the wake of reduced support from Washington, D.C., she optimistically declares, “We'll find our way forward. We'll keep fighting.” In this episode, former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed joins guest host Scranton, PA Mayor Paige Cognetti, fresh off a stunning primary win.  “I think a local leader's superpower is empathy,” Reed says. “You have to feel what they feel.” “You can't ever lose that feeling of being a constituent yourself,” Lock Dawson concurred.  Join us for a special episode about being a woman in office, mirroring the best qualities of your citizens and building a vibrant, growing city despite the politics in Washington.  As cities go, so goes the nation!

Grammy award-winning Philadelphia guitarist Randy Bowland shaped Hollywood's next breakout star in his iconic Sinners role

A memorial that's part shiva, part reunion, part performance and part open house

What can you do to preserve democracy? Ali Velshi draws on the history of resistance and civil disobedience to demonstrate the small things anyone can do to resist the backslide into authoritarianism. 

On this episode of Citizen WURDs, James Peterson sits down with Jennifer Boisseau and Theresa Byrd, the Hair Nerds, who use their hairstylist skills to restore dignity and bring joy to patients at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia 

Immigrant small businesses help power Philadelphia. But tariffs — and deportations — could devastate many of them

The fallout from SEPTA's budget deficit will impact the entire state. On this episode of Guest Commentary, the CEO of Brandywine Realty Trust wants every Pennsylvanian to see that SETPTA doesn't just survive, it thrives.

Join us for part two of the fascinating conversation between Ambassador David Cohen, now back from Canada, and Citizen co-founder Larry Platt. They talk about real diplomacy on the world stage and why diversity is so important for our city, state and nation. 

In a post-Roe world, Ali Velshi explains, choices around pregnancy in America can now be criminalized and life-threatening. 

Political reform is bubbling up in other cities. Here? Maybe not so much. An election post-mortem

Philly punk rocker Ron Gallo once avoided social media. Now he's made it the stage for his most unseriously serious music yet, attracting both worldwide fans and MAGA haters

Just what does an ambassador do, anyway? Back from Canada, join legendary civic force David Cohen and Citizen co-founder Larry Platt for a candid conversation about the embattled art of diplomacy, the power of diversity, and the state of our city. The first of a monthly live podcast recording series.

It's time for Democrats to lead on education again. The CEO of an education reform group has an idea for just how to do that.

... gets dark very quickly. "When the federal government prioritizes profit over people," Ali Velshi says, "middle-class families suffer first."

The U.S. Senator has come under fire by his own staffers and media alike, despite Republican Senator Dave McCormick's call to lay off. What's really going on?

“Traditional license plate readers were developed in the 1950s and 60s,” says Garrett Langley of Flock Safety. “But you can go into Flock and say I'm looking for a black Sedan with after-market tires and a dent on the left corner, and we will find that car.” On this episode of How To Really Run A City, our hosts chat with Langley about his innovative and cost-saving approach to public safety, which made national headlines last year by promptly apprehending a would-be Trump assassin and an Atlanta mass shooter. After being the victim of a robbery in his own neighborhood, Langley reimagined vehicle surveillance and built a company that operates alongside thousands of law enforcement agencies across the country. “I love citizen entrepreneurs who are in the civic problem-solving business,” Larry Platt told former mayors Kasim Reed and Michael Nutter. “That's who this guy is.” Join us for a deep dive into an idea that keeps cities safer while avoiding the typical pitfalls of street surveillance.  As cities go, so goes the nation!

Forty years after the City bombed a house, killed 11 MOVE members and destroyed a neighborhood, Philadelphia still has not reckoned with what it says about us

A nonprofit that recruits volunteers to repair homes is strengthening the physical, social and economic infrastructure of Philly's neighborhoods.

The austerity mindset Donald Trump is asking of the American people is not the result of a wartime economy or a natural disaster. "No," says Ali Velshi, "we're not buying the idea that Americans need to give up the things that keep our lives running, just because you lit the house on fire."

Jew hate in a Center City bar. A cop shot during a brawl outside Overbrook High. An assassination attempt on our Governor. Maybe it's time for a rally that reminds us to refocus on shared values and seeing ourselves in one another?

This week the Citizen screened a powerful documentary featuring witnesses of the MOVE bombing, one of the darkest moments of Philadelphia's racial history.

Sinners, Ryan Coogler's latest film in theaters now, is a tribute to Black people, their music, and their American experience. Dr. James Peterson argues this is more than a film -- it's a crossroads at its own cultural crossroads.

As a candidate, Donald Trump constantly distanced himself from from the hyper-conservative agenda of Project 2025. As the President, has he changed his tune and embraced it? Ali Velshi explains.

As this budget season reminds us, Democrats had better stop celebrating what they spend — and instead focus on what they actually build and deliver for real people. It was for this reason that I purchased copies of Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson and sent them to our city's leaders.

Join us for a rare behind-the-scenes look into the Citizen's newsroom and a friendly debate about athletes and what political responsibilities they may have.

Donald Trump's tariff policies pose an economic threat to Rochester Hills, Michigan — and Republican Mayor Bryan Barnett has not been shy about speaking out. “More robots are made in my city than in any other city in North America,” Barnett told Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter, along with Citizen Co-founder Larry Platt, in the latest episode of How To Really Run A City. “Our two biggest trading partners — and it's not even close — are Canada and Mexico.” Barnett has held onto the mayoral office for an astounding 18 years — in no small part because of his unique style of “governtainment,” as well as the realization that cities are firmly in the business of customer service. “Our competition isn't who you think: It's Amazon,” Barnett says. “If you can get something delivered to your house from across the world in 24 hours, but it takes four or five visits to city hall to get a dog license, people say this just doesn't make any sense." Join us for a conversation about getting shit done, all while entertaining your city along the way.  As cities go, so goes the nation!

Citizen writer Malcolm Burnley sat down with the author of a new nonfiction book about his epic attempt to learn the identity of Bitcoin's fabled inventor, one of the world's richest people

Trees provide documented health benefits and even reduce crime, but two years into the City's first-ever Tree Plan, our leafy coverage has remained pretty much static. Why is that, and what happens next?

"I don't remember Trump campaigning on the promise to cut local library funding, but there were warnings," says Ali Velshi on this episode of the Banned Book Club. He brings onto the show Jon Yaged, CEO of Macmillan Publishers to discuss the effects of book banning and the slashing of federal funding to the little-known federal agency, the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

After the assassination attempt, Governor Shapiro's principled call for moral clarity might be better served by retiring the phrase “antisemitism" and calling it what it is: Jew Hate.

Iconic fashion designer and renowned chef Big Rube invites Jim Buck of Made By Buck down to his kitchen at Pitchers Pub in Manayunk. Buck tells Rube his story of pulling himself up by his literal bootstraps.

On this week's episode of Citizen WURDs, James Peterson is joined by Dr. Kevana Nixon, whose mission is to "eradicate the stigma of mental health in the Black community."

Layoffs, vacant labs and NIH cuts are diminishing the once-booming biotech sector that promised an economic windfall in the region. Is it time to write off biotech?

Private companies are increasingly profiting from state-sponsored surveillance aimed at immigrants. Ali Velshi brings the practice into the light and asks what this all means since "the true mark of any society is how it treats its most vulnerable."

The latest push for a ban on egregious gifts to legislators is the 38th attempt at a gift ban in the last 25 years ...

On this second part of Ultimate Job Interview, three panelists put tough questions to District Attorney hopeful Paul Dugan. Listen and prepare to vote in the May 20th primary.

On this episode of our two-part Ultimate Job Interview, three panelists are assembled to put the tough questions to District Attorney hopeful Paul Dugan. Listen and prepare to vote in the May 20th primary.

Our Citizen of the Week is a century-old Galápagos tortoise at the Philadelphia Zoo. She's a new mother and she's helping to save her species from extinction.

Ali Velshi brings out "Betty" to once again demonstrate how tariff pause or no, everything in her life just got more expensive. Reach for that glass of wine. On second thought, don't.

New Temple President John Fry doubled down on Enlightenment values, modeling a new course for would-be leaders in this age of autocracy

In this episode of How To Really Run A City, our hosts bring Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti onto the show. Cognetti is demonstrating how cities are blazing a way forward amidst the daily chaos spilling out of Washington, D.C. “This is where local matters,” Cognetti says. “At the local level, we're nimble, we're able to try things that are harder at the state level, and definitely at the national level.” As cities go, so goes the nation!  

Citizen writer Malcolm Burnley explores the burning question of whether or not legal use of recreational marijuana really is in our future.

Let's ensure it's the American people who are the winners by preserving and teaching the stories that form our democracy

Journalist Melissa Chan and cartoonist Badiucao created a highly accessible dystopian graphic novel that takes place in 2035. America has become proto-fascist and is at war with a techno-authoritarian regime in China. Chan and Badiucao join Ali Velshi for his latest installment of the Velshi Banned Book Club. "Serious topics about human rights and social issues needs to break into gamers, the geeks and the readers of comics," says Badiucao.

U.S. Representative Brendan Boyle recently expressed his outrage over Trump inviting the Kansas City Chiefs to the White House. Lauren McCutcheon asked him why. 

On this episode of Evening WURDs, James Peterson is joined by Kenyatta James, executive director of the Economy League. They discuss how small and minority-owned businesses can get ahead in Philly and what "human-centered design" means. 

There is a literary crisis in Philadelphia. Percival Everett's National Book Award-winning novel James might just be the way forward. 

The remade Gallery is constantly roasted for its lack of personality. But maybe that's just what makes our Fashion District a hidden gem. Maybe.

In 2013, a teenage boy lit the skirt of an agender teen asleep nearby on fire. They sustained major burns to their legs and the offending teen was charged as an adult -- over the wishes of the victim and their family. This true story is detailed in The 57 Bus by journalist Dashka Slater. With discrimination against trans persons becoming openly accepted in the U.S., Ali Velshi sits down with Slater in this episode of Velshi Banned Book Club.

DA Larry Krasner says he's a “democracy advocate” and his real opponent is Donald Trump. Is there actually something to it?