Podcasts about Philadelphians

1 - John Allante McAuley joins us in-studio again after speaking at City Council earlier. How did he feel about his less than warm reception from the crowd, as well as deterrents the council is using in order to silence him? What did he like about the SOTU the other night? Is the opposition engaging with Allante in discourse? Why does he need so many signatures in order to be on the ballot for the RNC here in Philadelphia? What bone does he have to pick with some of our local leaders? Why is campaigning with good ideas the prudent thing to do first, rather than raising money. How was Allante able to turn his life around, as he would like to give many formerly incarcerated Philadelphians a second chance? What key issues is Allante looking at next? 120 - With a new RFK Jr. advocate admitting her use of magic mushrooms, are we headed down a path of legalization for both weed and other drugs? Your calls. 135 - Your calls. 150 - Dom Giordano Presents: Progressive Women Gone Wild!

11 - Is there a central Jersey? How many Inquirer readers said yes? What do Dom and Kirk say? 1120 - Bill O' Reilly is back in the saddle, as he will host on NewsNation during primetime. Souderton lays out a good plan to address school walkouts. 1130 - Allante McAuley speaks at City Council and we take a live listen to his testimony. 1140 - Daniel Pearson, the same journalist who disparaged Wawa, is now going after Allante McAuley after his appearance in front of the city council today. Why is the establishment so afraid of him? 1150 - What on earth was this trucker thinking? 12 - Dom Time continues! Should Democrats have stood when Trump asked those in attendance to stand at the SOTU? 1220 - If Mikie Sherrill is well received in Jersey, why is she getting booed at the Devils game? Your calls. 1235 - The WEF CEO has resigned. No, not Schwab. Your calls. 1245 - Is this new New Jersey police hire a DEI hire? 1250 - Your calls. 1 - John Allante McAuley joins us in-studio again after speaking at City Council earlier. How did he feel about his less than warm reception from the crowd, as well as deterrents the council is using in order to silence him? What did he like about the SOTU the other night? Is the opposition engaging with Allante in discourse? Why does he need so many signatures in order to be on the ballot for the RNC here in Philadelphia? What bone does he have to pick with some of our local leaders? Why is campaigning with good ideas the prudent thing to do first, rather than raising money. How was Allante able to turn his life around, as he would like to give many formerly incarcerated Philadelphians a second chance? What key issues is Allante looking at next? 120 - With a new RFK Jr. advocate admitting her use of magic mushrooms, are we headed down a path of legalization for both weed and other drugs? Your calls. 135 - Your calls. 150 - Dom Giordano Presents: Progressive Women Gone Wild! 2 - How are Democrats responding to the “stand” line from Trump's SOTU? Why is this one ESPN Radio host upset at the hockey team appearing at the SOTU? 215 - Dom's Money Melody! 225 - Tucker Carlson and Dan Bongino are fighting online! Your calls. 235 - Max Smirnov of MMA Cleaning in Bergen County as NJ.com highlighted their work shoveling snow in this past blizzard as they made a killing shoveling driveways. What else does MMA Cleaning do as the seasons change? How do they find the time to run the business between that, soccer, and school? What is in the future for Max and the rest of the kids employed by the company? What can people do to publicize the business? 240 - Your calls. 250 - The Lightning Round!

The Citizen's Malcolm Burnley joins Philly Unpacked host, Jordana Rubenstein to discuss the realities of Mayor Parker's H.O.M.E. Initiative.  "Housing policy isn't just about units and budgets -- it's about whether Philadelphians can stay safe, healthy and rooted in their communities." You can watch the extended episode at PhillyCAM's YouTube page.

In this episode of Business for Good, local social media app Playdate encourages IRL gatherings by telling Philadelphians what events are happening in town — and encouraging them to invite their friends

Everyone's talking about AI these days, including Philadelphians. And now, more data centers are popping up across the country, thanks in part to the AI revolution. But some cities are stemming the tide, including Madison, Wisconsin, who recently passed a one-year moratorium on new data center construction. City Cast CEO David Plotz feels strongly that this was the wrong choice! He's sitting down with City Cast Madison podcast host Bianca Martin to weigh the pros and cons of data centers, and debate the economic, ethical, and ecological considerations at the heart of this debate. Plus, David and Bianca share must-know tips for making it in Madison and DC.  We also mentioned this City Cast Madison episode. Is there something your city is doing that we should be talking about? Email David now!  We're also on Instagram: @yourcitycouldbebetter Looking to advertise on Your City Could Be Better? Check out our options.

Last year, Philadelphians got $19 million back in government refunds. This year, take advantage of a free city program to get yours. Visit this story on the web, or call (215) 454-6483 for more information on Claim Your Money Philadelphia.

All eyes have been on the Twin Cities lately, including Philadelphians'. Operation Metro Surge is reportedly ending in Minnesota, with the withdrawal of immigration agents expected over the next week. Over the last two months, though, residents of the Twin Cities have organized a range of local collective action efforts including protests, mutual aid, and monitoring ICE — and they've done it quickly. In this inaugural episode of “Your City Could Be Better,” City Cast CEO David Plotz talks with City Cast Twin Cities podcast host Sean McPherson about how his community self-organized, why these networks have been so successful, and what other cities can take away from Minnesotans' response to Operation Metro Surge. Plus, we have a D.C. vs. Twin Cities face-off on local cultural norms. We also mentioned this episode of City Cast Twin Cities. Is there something your city is doing that we should be talking about? Email David now! We're also on Instagram: @yourcitycouldbebetter Looking to advertise on Your City Could Be Better? Check out our options.

With the retirement of Congressman Dwight Evans, Philly has an election this year for an open congressional seat, which doesn't come along very often. That's why there are at least 10 Democrats vying for the seat in the May primary. The third congressional district covers most of the city and is very blue, making the primary in three months the race to watch. But how are voters supposed to make sense of race with this many candidates? Our political contributor Lauren Vidas joins host Trenae Nuri to sort it all out.  Our newsletter has Philly news, politics & events in your inbox every weekday morning. Call or text us: 215-259-8170 Instagram: @citycastphilly Support our show and get great perks as a City Cast Philly Neighbor: membership.citycast.fm Advertise on the podcast or in the newsletter: citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: South by Southwest - Unlock a 10% discount on your Innovation Badge when you use code citycast10

It's the Friday News Roundup. How did the city do with the snow clean-up? And why were people visiting “Frozen Car” in Fishtown? We also recap The Tasties award ceremony and explain why the name of our Art Museum is once again changing (back) its name. Also, there's a chicken at the Philadelphia Zoo who knows who will win the Super Bowl on Sunday.  Our Friday news roundups are powered by great local journalism:  Philadelphians are frustrated with the city's snow storm cleanup. What does that mean for Mayor Cherelle Parker? A frozen car in Fishtown became a tourist attraction on Google Maps ‘It's the straw that broke my friggin' back': Dirty Franks goes 25-and-older after someone tried to get in with a fake Ben Franklin ID Meet Chick Pea, a Brahma chicken at the Philadelphia Zoo who's poised to predict this weekend's Super Bowl winner Museum reverses course, and it's the ‘Philadelphia Museum of Art' once again The Tasties winners Our newsletter has Philly news & events in your inbox every weekday morning. Call or text us: 215-259-8170 Instagram: @citycastphilly You can support this show and get great perks by becoming a City Cast Philly Neighbor at membership.citycast.fm. Advertise on the podcast or in the newsletter: citycast.fm/advertise

This playlist is 72% vinyl friendly. Not bad. The SL-1300G in 2025. Technics keeping it simple with the design, if not with the spec trying to convince punters they need one. ‘Coreless Direct Drive Motor Achieving Stable Rotation The use of a coreless direct-drive motor with no iron core eliminates uneven rotation of the turntable known as cogging. Also, the twin-rotor construction reduces the bearing load while maintaining high torque and reduces minute vibrations during rotation. Furthermore, the SL-1300G's motor was redesigned to eliminate subtle vibrations that could affect sound quality. To improve rigidity, the same reinforcement pattern as the Reference Class SL-1000R/SP-10R was used for the coil mounting base‘. Any track marked * has been given either a tiny or a slightly larger 41 Rooms tweak/edit/chop and the occasional tune might sound a bit dodgy, quality-wise. On top of that, the switch between different decades and production values never helps in the mix here. NB: THIS PLAYLIST INCLUDES EXPLETIVES. Lyric of Playlist 148 For the reality… Courtesy of Crooked Man, Jarvis’ by a country mile, but… For the idyll…John Sebastian. 00.00 (Intro) THE FLAMINGOS – Stars (Edit) – Unreleased demo – 1983. Episode #1 for info. 00.41 NEW ORDER – Turn – Waiting For The Sirens’ Call, 2LP – London – 2005 With Barney’s lilting, slightly forlorn vocal, a little gem nearly lost on one of the band’s least successful albums. 05.02 LITTLE NEMO – A Day Out Of Time – Past And Future, LP – Domestica – 2013 Though the track originally surfaced in 1987 on the 500 run, cassette-only format of the (debut) album. Even back then it could have been seen as yet another ‘sound’ out of Europe that seemed to echo the UK alternative/new wave scene of a few years earlier. 08.48 KIM GORDON – Not Today – Play Me, LP – Matador – 2026 Get past the intro – where it very momentarily sounds (to my ears anyway) like the batteries ran out – and Kim Gordon drifts nicely across the wash of sound. 12.03 THE COMSAT ANGELS – The Eye Dance – Sleep No More, LP – Polydor – 1981 Judging by a known set list for late Nov ’81 and the fact the band were then promoting the recently released, above album, this track was likely in the set list for my Bedford Corn Exchange gig promotion earlier that month. Big smiles when I hear them… though I’ve sadly never heard a tape of the Bedford night. 15.40 BUNNYDRUMS – Holy Moly – Holy Moly, LP – Fundamental – 1984 The short-lived, mid ’80s Philadelphian band with a quirky mix of ‘new wave’ vocal and a belting soul vocal bv in the backdrop of a low slung, punk country’ish workout. Maybe it’s the ‘yippee-ki-yay’ and pseudo peddle steel guitar? The band have been here before – and will be again. 21.30 COSTUME – Once I Loved (Original Mix) – Download only – 2021 Claudia Placanica’s slightly disconcerting delivery is always the thing for me! 23.54 THE IRONSIDES – The Web – Changing Light, LP – Colemine – 2023 Cinematically soundtracking the ’70s like a good’un! The Streets of San Francisco and its like… which is apt… as that’s where The Ironsides are from. 28.57 BABY ROSE – Go – Through and Through, LP – Secretly Canadian – 2023 My fave 21st century track of the show, Jasmine Rose Wilson (to her mum and dad) with a quivering indie soul vocal – on this tune anyway – that Anonhi/Antony and the Johnsons could have penned and rolled out, albeit with a slightly different sound, no doubt. And that really is the sleeve, honest. I could be wrong but I reckon it’s a photographer’s dud that someone subsequently had a weird liking for. I struggle to actually look at it! 31.56 THE DRIFTERS – Like Sister and Brother – 7″ – Bell – 1973 I had this single in the mid ’70s but with the years since maybe ‘softening’ the senses, this made-to-measure ballad (with lead vocalist, Bill Fredericks sounding more like Johnny Mathis than I’d have remembered) sounds better now than it did back then but in the world we now live in there will be few if any songs written like this again. I had to run the idea past one of my teenage years mates but I reckon that, along with Jimmy Ruffin’s What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted (and others, no doubt), this was a last-dance-of-the-night/grab-a-girl-type tune at Bedford Rugby Club’s Saturday night ‘discos’. I’m making this actually sound like the ’40s but it was the era and I was in my late teens… and until I find my membership card, this’ll have to do. ‘Swing to Boomerang’ indeed. I don’t think they came back. 34.52 EYELESS IN GAZA – Flight Of Swallows – Back From The Rains, LP – Cherry Red – 1986 The intro to my 1984 Rorschach Testing article below sums up my thinking on Flight back then – and though the track was being played live at the time it was a couple of years before it surfaced on the above album. EIG article, Rorschach Testing, 1984 39.22 JONI MITCHELL – Eastern Rain – Archives – Volume 1: The Early Years 1963-1967, 5CD – Rhino – 2020 Truly a legend, such is the quality of the lady’s songwriting this beaut – from a Folklore Radio broadcast, of March 19, 1967 – never even made it to an official album and though it was covered by others and turned up in Joni live appearances of the time it took until the above retrospective to be released officially. And she’ll be back here quicker than you might be expecting. 43.13 SÓLEY – I Will Find You (Live, at the KEX Hostel in Reykjavik: 30.10.13) – Stream only – 2013 With a whole different tone to Liam Neeson’s ‘I Will Find You’ :), a production from the classy KEXP and a song only found on Sóley’s 5 track, 10″ EP, Don’t Ever Listen. This take however is a far more endearing version. 45.54 NORMA TANEGA – Walkin’ My Cat Named Dog – 7″ – Stateside – 1966 Was Norma ‘indie’ before there was such a thing? Sadly, she died in 2019 but search out a short Youtube interview and snippets piece (and the comments that followed) from a decade or so earlier. It was meant to be included in a proposed documentary that never then got going. 48.06 THE ELECTRIC FLAG – Look Into My Eyes – A Long Time Comin’, CD only – Columbia – 2003 From a handful of tracks that possibly didn’t make the cut for the initial 1968 release of the Chicago soul rock band’s second album, this is one of two that were first added to the above reissue. 50.52 LOVIN’ SPOONFUL – Summer In The City – 7″ – Kama Sutra – 1966 Maybe the best known tune on the show, with a forceful sounding John Sebastian and his/their ‘city’ being New York and its Greenwich Village hub back then. 53.13 THE FORTUNES – Here It Comes Again – 7″ – Decca – 1965 Innocent ’60s ‘pop’ with a classy arrangement, and another the likes of which will never be made again… and certainly not by anybody aiming for the charts. 56.09 THE MINDBENDERS – Groovy Kind Of Love – 7″ – Fontana – 1965 Wayne Fontana at the helm (and co-written by a pre-Sager Carol Bayer, I’ve just noted) I think this might have subconsciously stuck with me enough in its chart days (I was 8), to then make it to my record collection in the early ’70s. It felt then like a great many happily got rid of their records (certainly singles) after just a few years coz every second hand record shop had loads of chart stuff from just the 5-10 years prior. I was too young to have been buying the height of ’60s ‘pop’ during its time but picking it up a decade later was dead easy. Bet this cost me 10p or thereabouts. 58.05 SPUDDHA – Ton – Unreleased demo – 2014 ‘Recorded in a single take with a pair of £100 analog groove boxes (Korg Volcas) and there's no multi tracking, effects or post processing. One of the boxes is a three voice paraphonic synth and the other is an analogue drum machine. ‘At the time I was interested in making big, immersive music with an organic quality with sparse loops and a minimal setup. There's a lot of live tweaking and you will notice that the limitations of the synth mean that 1) only 3 notes can sound simultaneously and 2) the voices interrupt each other. Also presets couldn't be saved… if I didn't record what I was doing I couldn't move onto making something else without losing it all‘. – Spuddha. ‘Spud’ to me. 01.04.46 LONELADY – Hinterland – Hinterland, LP – Warp – 2015 Julie Lonelady groovin’ a tune and lyric that should have been here before now. c/w Julie ‘helping out’… 01.09.32 JONI MITCHELL – River (acapella) 01.13.30 ATRIC & FRIDA DARKO – Hide & Seek – Download only – 2023 ‘Always trying to combine genre fluid compositions, qualitative mixing and to take the whole process with a good sense of humor‘. – Them, via Bandcamp 01.17.26 A CERTAIN RATIO – Knife Slits Water (Peel session, June ’81) – Sextet, 2LP reissue – Factory Benelux – 2013 Yep, with Martha ‘Tilly’ Tilson’s oh-so-right vocal, the slightly epic Knife Slits Water. Very coincidentally, the day ACR recorded the above Peel session (according to the Keeping It Peel site) I saw them live supporting Cabaret Voltaire at Leicester Uni and the day the session was broadcast my diary says I had a long phone chat with Rob Gretton – no idea about what, other than re what New Order were up to at that point. 01.25.11 EARL16 – Changing World (Remix) – , LP – Merge Records – 2001 I caught this on a late night KISS FM radio show. His conscious sounds here taken up a few BPM. 01.30.05 COURTNEY BUCHANAN – R U Conscious (Album version) – 12″ – Conscious – 1993 And speaking of ‘conscious’… ‘Courtney has one of the most soulful, spiritual voices to come out of the UK. His music here combines jazzy acoustic sounds with delicate use of technology on a rhythmic, down-paced head nodder. I various mixes, the track’s ‘conscious’ lyrics and impressive vocals are a fine showcase for this British talent.‘ – Ralph Tee, Record Mirror (Music Week), 3.7.93 01.34.42 DELTA HOUSE OF FUNK – Lovers & Losers – 12″ EP – Go! Discs – 1996 Decided to playlist this before I remembered it was another of Ashley Beedle’s works. So, this is with a big nod to a top lad who’s been going through the health ringer in the last few years. 01.39.38 DRAX – Middle Earth – Drax Two, 12″EP – Trope – 1993 Clear vinyl gentle German techno. 01.44.51 CROOKED MAN – Cunts – Crooked Stile, 2LP – Viscous Charm – 2026 The reimagining here courtesy of Richard ‘Parrot’ Barratt. ‘Jarvis Cocker released Running The World in 2006The line ‘cunts are still running the world' is more relevant than ever… 20 years on and Crooked Man thought it needed to be said againHis razor-sharp reimagining is a call to arms with added electronic biteHe's skipped the niceties and titled it CUNTS.Out today on Vicious Charm today. The track is accompanied by an Agit-Prop video directed by British contemporary artist Dominic McGill, who, armed with a photocopier and a scalpel, has cut & pasted a perfect accompaniment to the song – breathless and furious. They are still running the world. It’s a work of “northern genius”, Jarvis’ words, not ours‘. – Bandcamp. 01.47.21 DESPERATE JOURNALIST – 7 – No Hero, LP – Fierce Panda – 2024 Driving indie rockers ever present on Simon Williams’ Fierce Panda label, with a nod to Jo Bevan’s confident vocals. 01.50.22 GANZHEIT – Motions – ‘Summer Of ’84’ demos cassette, unreleased – 1984 With a couple of this cassette’s tracks now playlisted on 41 Rooms, there are more to come from this lost Bedford-based band. Show 149 will be here March 1. Dec x The post Post Punk Plus Podcast Playlist 148 – Original upload 1.2.26 appeared first on 41Rooms.

On the day of a national anti-ICE general strike, host Esty Dinur is in conversation with writer Sophie Lewis about her book, Enemy Feminisms: TERFs, Policewomen, and Girlbosses Against Liberation.  Lewis reckons with the white supremacy of bourgeois feminism but refuses to “be evicted from the house of feminism” because she doesn't want to cede ground to TERFS, femonationalists, and other enemy feminisms. Meanwhile, Lewis wants to recover histories of anti-fascist, anti-colonial, insurgent, and undercommons feminism. Dinur points to women like Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi, Caroline Levitt, Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice, Hillary Clinton, and even Kamala Harris who have supported wars all over the world, and wonders, “are these the women I've fought for?” Lewis also discusses the right to pleasure within the gender liberation struggle, the mythology of feminist figures like Mary Wollstonecraft and May French Sheldon, “feminist misogyny,” and family liberation. Sophie Lewis is a self described ex-academic, writer, left activist and adoptive Philadelphian (transplanted from Europe). She is the author of several books, including Full Surrogacy Now, Abolish the Family, Enemy Feminisms, and the forthcoming essay collection FEMMEPHILIA. Sophie’s essays also appear everywhere from the New York Times to n+1 and the London Review of Books. She teaches short courses on social philosophy and theory online at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research, and you can find her newsletter at patreon.com/reproutopia or browse her archive at lasophielle.org/. Sophie is currently working on a book for Penguin, The Liberation of Children (2027). Featured image of the cover of Enemy Feminisms, available from Haymarket Books.  Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Refusing Eviction from the House of Feminism appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

This year marks the 250th anniversary of the nation, birthed right here in Philly. There are tons of festivals and block parties planned, along with sporting events like the FIFA World Cup, the NCAA tournament, and the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. But why should Philadelphians get excited about the 2026 hoopla, especially at a time that many of us see as a dark moment in our nation's history? Host Trenae Nuri sat down with Angela Val, president and CEO of Visit Philadelphia, to talk about the challenges, joys, and expectations when it comes to celebrating America, and us, in 2026. Get Philly news & events in your inbox with our newsletter: Hey Philly Call or text us: 215-259-8170 We're also on Instagram: @citycastphilly You can support this show and get great perks by becoming a City Cast Philly Neighbor at membership.citycast.fm. Advertise on the podcast or in the newsletter: citycast.fm/advertise

Poems from Philadelphian writers Joy Gorson, Beth Brown Preston, and Bill Buskirk.Support the show

After Renee Good was shot and killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis, Philadelphians held vigils while local law enforcement spoke out - with Sheriff Rochelle Bilal's response garnering national attention. There was a possible measles exposure in Philadelphia, as the United States is on track to lose its elimination status at the end of this month. Plus, some relief for SEPTA riders, and Delco officials are looking for help in a bizarre grave robbing case. Catch up on the week's news with Matt Leon and KYW's news team. 00:00 Intro 02:08 City officials' message for ICE 07:10 SEPTA trolley and Regional Rail service getting back to normal 12:15 The U.S. could lose its measles elimination status 18:30 Delco officials need help identifying stolen human remains 24:35 Gov. Murphy's final State of the State 30:36 The Eagles' big let down Listen to The Week in Philly with Matt Leon and our team of reporters on KYW Newsradio every Saturday at 5am and 3pm, and Sunday at 3pm. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Whether you're an out-of-towner or lifelong Philadelphian, you have probably visited South Street to see your favorite band at the TLA, grab a citywide, or eat a cheesesteak at Jim's. We're revisiting the second part of our series on this iconic street diving into what has drawn people to it for centuries: Entertainment. Host Trenae Nuri speaks with legendary Philly DJ Cosmo Baker, Philly Jazz Legacy Project consulting archivist Jack McCarthy, Bob & Barbara's owner Jack Prince, author David Bradley (whose book South Street is republishing next year), and Odunde CEO Bumi Fernandez-West.  This episode originally aired on Sept. 9th, 2025. You can find the whole series in the podcast feed.  What's your favorite South Street memory? Call or text us: 215-259-8170 Get Philly news & events in your inbox with our newsletter: Hey Philly We're also on Instagram: @citycastphilly You can support this show and get great perks by becoming a City Cast Philly Neighbor at membership.citycast.fm. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: PA Preferred Delaware River Waterfront Corporation Advertise on the podcast or in the newsletter: citycast.fm/advertise

With so much chaos in the world around, some Philadelphians find comfort in the darker side of the holiday season

Philly has a big 2026 with major events such as the FIFA World Cup, MLB All-Star Game, and celebrations for America's semiquincentennial. And big events mean more tourists coming through Philly, especially through our airport. But Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) was just ranked dead last for the fifth year in a row in customer satisfaction. Host Trenae Nuri chats with Siani Colon, our newsletter editor, about whether that ranking rings true to Philadelphians and what PHL is doing to fix itself up before a big year of tourism.  Your thoughts on PHL? Call or text us: 215-259-8170 Get Philly news & events in your inbox with our newsletter: Hey Philly We're also on Instagram: @citycastphilly You can support this show and get great perks by becoming a City Cast Philly Neighbor at membership.citycast.fm. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: Simply Eloped   Advertise on the podcast or in the newsletter: citycast.fm/advertise

“The Philadelphian church was not great, but it was good; it was not powerful, but it was faithful.” Does that describe the congregation to which you belong? Drawing from Christ's words to the church of Philadelphia in Revelation 3, Spurgeon identifies the word of praise which Christ offers, the word of prospect, and the word of promise. As ever, the preacher uses this congregation to hold up a mirror in which we may assess our own reflection. Can we receive such praise for our faithfulness in holding to the Word of God? Have we been faithful with what we have received, and so been granted a prospect of further usefulness? And, with all that, can we therefore rest upon the promise, that having kept God's word, we shall ourselves be kept from temptation? A typical blend of encouragement and challenge, all soaked in the savour of Christ, gives us an opportunity to examine ourselves, to aspire to greater faithfulness and holiness, and to take comfort in the goodness and mercy of our Redeemer. Read the sermon here: https://www.mediagratiae.org/resources/commendation-for-the-steadfast96g Check out the new From the Heart of Spurgeon Book! British: https://amzn.to/48rV1OR American: https://amzn.to/48oHjft Connect with the Reading Spurgeon Community on Twitter! https://twitter.com/ReadingSpurgeon Sign up to get the weekly readings emailed to you: https://www.mediagratiae.org/podcasts-1/from-the-heart-of-spurgeon. Check out other Media Gratiae podcasts at www.mediagratiae.org Download the Media Gratiae App: https://subsplash.com/mediagratiae/app

"The Philadelphian church was not great, but it was good; it was not powerful, but it was faithful." Does that describe the congregation to which you belong? Drawing from Christ's words to the church of Philadelphia in Revelation 3, Spurgeon identifies the word of praise which Christ offers, the word of prospect, and the word of promise. As ever, the preacher uses this congregation to hold up a mirror in which we may assess our own reflection. Can we receive such praise for our faithfulness in holding to the Word of God? Have we been faithful with what we have received, and so been granted a prospect of further usefulness? And, with all that, can we therefore rest upon the promise, that having kept God's word, we shall ourselves be kept from temptation? A typical blend of encouragement and challenge, all soaked in the savour of Christ, gives us an opportunity to examine ourselves, to aspire to greater faithfulness and holiness, and to take comfort in the goodness and mercy of our Redeemer.

Last week we saw a political fight erupt over Mayor Cherelle Parker's signature proposal — the H.O.M.E. initiative, a $2 billion plan to create and preserve 30,000 units of housing. In a 16-1 vote, City Council amended the first phase of the mayor's plan in order to lower the income thresholds for Philly renters and homeowners who would benefit from this, making more lower-income Philadelphians eligible for government aid to fix up their homes and make houses handicap accessible. But the mayor was not happy with Council changing her plan. She wants to prioritize Philadelphians with somewhat higher incomes in the first year of her housing initiative. On today's show host Trenae Nuri talks with Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who helped to lead the charge to change the mayor's plan, about why she thinks City Council's amendment was a victory for Philly. And then we get some analysis about what's really going on in City Hall from our politics contributor, Lauren Vidas.   Get Philly news & events in your inbox with our newsletter: Hey Philly Call or text us: 215-259-8170 We're also on Instagram: @citycastphilly You can support this show and get great perks by becoming a City Cast Philly Neighbor at membership.citycast.fm. If you enjoyed this interview with Janessa White, the Director & General Manager of Simply Eloped, learn more here.  Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: Fitler Club Aura Frames - Get $35 off the Carver Mat frame with Promo Code CITYCAST Advertise on the podcast or in the newsletter: citycast.fm/advertise

Biographical Bytes from Bala #051 Philadelphia has been the home of Mummers for centuries and you can still see their antics every New Year's Day. For the latter part of the 19th century, Philadelphia was also the place to see a minstrel show. The Carncross & Dixey company made both of its owners rich men and provided entertainment for thousands of Philadelphians for mere pennies. Frank Dumont literally wrote the book on how to perform a minstrel show. Although James A. Bland is not buried at Laurel Hill, his music is still beloved by millions of people around the world, and one of his songs has been adopted by the Mummers as their theme. 

The Author Events Series presents Tre Johnson in conversation with Reckon True Stories: Podcast hosts Kiese Laymon and Deesha Philyaw This event will be a live taping of the Reckon True Stories podcast. Black genius sits at the heart of the American story. In his probing essay collection, Black Genius, cultural critic Tre Johnson examines how Black American culture has, against all odds, been the lifeblood of American ingenuity. At times using his own personal and professional stories,  Johnson surveys Black cities, communities, and schools with an ever-watchful eye of what transpires around Black mobility. With a passion for complex storytelling and pulling from both pop culture and American history, Johnson weaves past and present making his case for the genius of innovation. As he examined his findings, Johnson couldn't help but wonder about the brilliance of the every day. Specifically, the creativity of the 90's graffiti-style airbrush tee, his aunties packed weekend bus trips to Atlantic city, and the razor-tongued, socially-sharp, profanity-laced monologues of comedian Dick Gregory. Again and again, he asks us to ponder-are these not obvious examples of genius? Chatty yet profound, Black Genius subverts expectations from the very first page with a blend of reportage, historical data, and pop culture as Johnson dives into his own family history seeking big answers to complex questions. Johnson's signature wit and curiosity turns history into an amusing sequence of events.  Tre Johnson was born in Trenton, NJ and now finds himself in Philadelphia, where he writes with a focus on race, culture and politics. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Vox, The New York Times, Slate, Vanity Fair, The Grio, and other outlets. He has appeared to provide media commentary on CNN Tonight with Don Lemon; CBS Morning Show; PBS NewsHour, NPR's Morning Edition, and other programs. In addition to writing, Tre is a career educator, beginning working both inside and outside in the classroom as a teacher and eventually as a leader in the sector.  Reckon True Stories is a celebration of new and classic nonfiction – the essays, journalism, and memoirs that inspire us, that change the world, and help us connect with each other. Join hosts and acclaimed authors Deesha Philyaw (The Secret Lives of Church Ladies) and Kiese Laymon (Heavy, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, Long Division) for in-depth discussions about the stories we tell and how they impact our culture. Because you love Author Events, please make a donation when you register for this event to ensure that this series continues to inspire Philadelphians. Books will be available for purchase at the library on event night! All tickets are non-refundable. (recorded 12/4/2025)

The Author Events Series presents Miriam Toews | A Truce That Is Not Peace In Conversation with Katy Waldman ''Why do you write?'' the organizer of a literary event in Mexico City asks Miriam Toews. Each attempted answer from Toews-all of them unsatisfactory to the organizer-surfaces new layers of grief, guilt, and futility connected to her sister's suicide. She has been keeping up, she realizes, a decades-old internal correspondence, filling a silence she barely understands. And we, her readers, come to see that the question is as impossible to answer as deciding whether to live life as a comedy or a tragedy. Marking the first time Toews has written her own life in nonfiction, A Truce That Is Not Peace explores the uneasy pact a writer makes with memory. Wildly inventive yet masterfully controlled; slyly casual yet momentous; wrenching and joyful; hilarious and humane-this is Miriam Toews at her dazzling best, remaking her world and inventing an astonishing new literary form to contain it. Miriam Toews is the author of the bestselling novels Women Talking, Fight Night, All My Puny Sorrows, Summer of My Amazing Luck, A Boy of Good Breeding, A Complicated Kindness, The Flying Troutmans, and Irma Voth, and two works of nonfiction, A Truce That is Not Peace and Swing Low: A Life. She is winner of the Governor General's Award for Fiction, the Libris Award for Fiction Book of the Year, the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, and the Writers' Trust Engel/Findley Award. She lives in Toronto. Katy Waldman is a staff writer at The New Yorker, for which she writes about books, culture, and more. Previously, she was a staff writer at Slate and the host of the ''Slate's Audio Book Club'' podcast. She won the National Book Critics Circle's Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing in 2019 and the American Society of Magazine Editors's award for journalists under thirty in 2018; her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, New York magazine, the Paris Review, and elsewhere. She lives with her husband and dog in Washington, D.C. Because you love Author Events, please make a donation when you register for this event to ensure that this series continues to inspire Philadelphians. Books will be available for purchase at the library on event night! All tickets are non-refundable. (recorded 9/3/2025)

The Author Events Series presents Russell Shorto and Molly Beer  | Angelica & Taking Manhattan In Conversation with Michelle Craig McDonald In this enthralling and revealing woman's-eye view of a revolutionary era, Molly Beer breathes vibrant new life into a period usually dominated by masculine themes and often dulled by familiarity. In telling Angelica's story, she illuminates how American women have always plied influence and networks for political ends, including the making of a new nation. Taking Manhattan tells the riveting story of the birth of New York City as a center of capitalism and pluralism, a foundation from which America would rise. It also shows how the paradox of New York's origins--boundless opportunity coupled with subjugation and displacement--reflects America's promise and failure to this day. Russell Shorto, whose work has been described as "astonishing" (New York Times) and "literary alchemy" (Chicago Tribune), has once again mined archival sources to offer a vibrant tale and a fresh and trenchant argument about American beginnings. Raised in Angelica Schuyler Church's namesake town of Angelica, New York, Molly Beer is an award-winning author of essays, longform journalism, and oral history. She teaches nonfiction writing at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Russell Shorto, author of the bestsellers Smalltime, Revolution Song, Amsterdam, and The Island at the Center of the World, is the director of the New Amsterdam Project at the New York Historical. He lives in Maryland. Michelle Craig McDonald is the Director of the Library & Museum at the American Philosophical Society, and has worked for nearly three decades as an educator and administrator. She earned her Ph.D. in History from the University of Michigan where she focused on business relationships and consumer behavior between North America and the Caribbean during the 18th and 19th centuries. She also holds an M.A. in Liberal Arts from St. John's College, Annapolis, an M.A. in Museum Studies from George Washington University, and a B.A. in History from the University of California, Los Angeles, and was the Harvard-Newcomen Postdoctoral Fellow in Business History at the Harvard Business School. McDonald is the author of Coffee Nation: How One Commodity Transformed the Early United States (UPenn Press, 2025), and co-author of Public Drinking in the Early Modern World: Voices from the Tavern (Pickering & Chatto/Routledge Press, 2011), and her research has been supported by the Fulbright Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, the Library Company of Philadelphia, and the Winterthur Library and Museum. Because you love Author Events, please make a donation when you register for this event to ensure that this series continues to inspire Philadelphians. Books will be available for purchase at the library on event night! After the program, attendees will be invited to continue the countdown to the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence in 2026 and meet Philadelphia's Revolutionary City Project partners, including colleagues from the American Philosophical Society and the Museum of the American Revolution. All tickets are non-refundable. (recorded 9/4/2025)

The Author Events Series presents Trymaine Lee | A Thousand Ways to Die : The True Cost of Violence on Black Life in America In Conversation with James Peterson and local gun violence prevention organizers: Chantay Love, EMIR: Every Murder Is Real, Pastor Carl Day, Culture Changing Christians Worship Center Tasnim Sulaiman, Black Men Heal A few years ago, Trymaine Lee, though fit and only 38, nearly died of a heart attack. When his then five-year-old daughter, Nola, asked her daddy why, he realized that to answer her honestly, he had to confront what almost killed him-the weight of being a Black man in America; of bearing witness, as a journalist, to relentless Black death; and of a family history scarred by enslavement, lynching, the Great Migration, the also-insidious racism of the North, and gun violence that stole the lives of two great-uncles, a grandfather, a stepbrother, and two cousins. In this powerful narrative, Lee weaves together three strands: the long and bloody history of African Americans and guns; his work as a chronicler of gun violence, tallying the costs and riches generated by both the legal and illegal gun industries; and his own life story. With unflinching honesty he takes readers on a journey, from almost being caught up in gun violence as a young man, to tracing the legacy of the Middle Passage in Ghana through his ancestors' footsteps, to confronting the challenges of representing his people in an overwhelmingly white and often hostile media world, and most importantly, to celebrating the enduring strength of his family and community. In A Thousand Ways to Die, Lee answers Nola and all who seek a more just America. He shares the hard truths and complexities of the Black experience, but he also celebrates the beauty and resilience that is Nola's legacy. Trymaine Lee is a Pulitzer Prize and Emmy Award-winning journalist and MSNBC contributor. He's the host of the ''Into America'' podcast where he covers the intersection of Blackness, power, and politics. A contributing author to the ''1619 Project'', he has reported for The New York Times, the Huffington Post, and the New Orleans Times-Picayune. A Thousand Ways to Die is his first book. James Peterson, Ph.D. is a writer, educator, and consultant. Dr. Peterson is the Host of ''Evening WURDS'' on WURD (900AM and 96.1FM) in Philadelphia, PA. He is the author of several books, including The Hip Hop Underground and African American Culture, Prison Industrial Complex for Beginners, and Hip-Hop Headphones: A Scholar's Critical Playlist. He is a columnist for The Philadelphia Citizen and has written for Fortune.com, Newsweek.com, The Guardian, The LA Times, Reuters, The Huffington Post, The Daily Beast, and The Grio.  Dr. Peterson is also a professional wordsmith who has ghostwritten and edited projects for a variety of individuals and corporate entities across a wide spectrum of professions. Because you love Author Events, please make a donation when you register for this event to ensure that this series continues to inspire Philadelphians. Books will be available for purchase at the library on event night! All tickets are non-refundable. (recorded 9/11/2025)

The Author Events Series presents Jonathan Karl | Retribution  In Conversation with Tamala Edwards In Retribution, Jonathan Karl's unparalleled access brings us behind closed doors deep inside the White House and presidential campaigns, revealing the extraordinary moments that ended one man's presidency and brought another back to power. This is a story of unprecedented political plot twists, showing what happened behind the scenes as political fortunes fell and rose again, and as a new team coalesced around President Trump with the goal of creating an entirely new world order. From President Biden's shocking withdrawal and Vice President Harris's historic run, to the multiple assassination attempts on President Trump, his election, and the changes he has brought to every corner of the country, this book reveals in surprising new detail how we got here, and what we can expect from American politics in the years to come. Jonathan Karl is the chief Washington correspondent for ABC News and co-anchor of This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Karl has covered every major beat in Washington, D.C., including the White House, Capitol Hill, the Pentagon, and the State Department. He has reported from the White House under four presidents and fourteen press secretaries. He is a former president of the White House Correspondents' Association. Front Row at the Trump Show, Betrayal, and Tired of Winning were instant New York Times bestsellers. Tamala Edwards joined 6abc in January of 2005. She is the weekday co-anchor of Action News Mornings from 4 a.m to 7 a.m. and is a regular co-host of Inside Story, conducting probing interviews with newsmakers like Governor Tom Corbett, Senator Bob Casey, Mayor Michael Nutter and others, as well as moderating many election debates. Prior to joining 6abc, Tamala Edwards was the anchor of ABC's World News Now, and World News This Morning. Because you love Author Events, please make a donation when you register for this event to ensure that this series continues to inspire Philadelphians. Books will be available for purchase at the library on event night! All tickets are non-refundable (recorded 12/2/2025)

The Author Events Series presents Keisha N. Blain | Without Fear: Black Women and the Making of Human Rights In Conversation with Timothy Welbeck Even before they were recognized as citizens of the United States, Black women understood that the fights for civil and human rights were inseparable. Over the course of two hundred years, they were at the forefront of national and international movements for social change, weaving connections between their own and others' freedom struggles around the world. Without Fear tells how, during American history, Black women made humans rights theirs: from worldwide travel and public advocacy in the global Black press to their work for the United Nations, they courageously and effectively moved human rights beyond an esoteric concept to an active, organizing principle. Acclaimed historian Keisha N. Blain tells the story of these women-from the well-known, like Ida B. Wells, Madam C. J. Walker, and Lena Horne, to those who are still less known, including Pearl Sherrod, Aretha McKinley, and Marguerite Cartwright. Blain captures human rights thinking and activism from the ground up with Black women at the center, working outside the traditional halls of power. By shouldering intersecting forms of oppression-including racism, sexism, and classism-Black women have long been in a unique position to fight for freedom and dignity. Without Fear is an account of their aspirations, strategies, and struggles to pioneer a human rights approach to combating systems of injustice. Keisha N. Blain is professor of Africana studies and history at Brown University. She is a Guggenheim, Carnegie, and New America Fellow, and author-most recently of the National Book Critics Circle Award finalist Until I Am Free. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island. Timothy Welbeck is the Director for the Center of Anti-Racism at Temple University. A Civil Rights Attorney by training, Timothy is a scholar of law, race, and cultural studies whose work has allowed him to contribute to various media outlets, such as the CNN, CBS, BBC Radio 4, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, NPR, The New York Times, and REVOLT TV. Timothy lives in the Philadelphia area with his wife and three children. Because you love Author Events, please make a donation when you register for this event to ensure that this series continues to inspire Philadelphians. Books will be available for purchase at the library on event night! All tickets are non-refundable. (recorded 10/27/2025)

The Author Events Series presents Larry Magid | The Philadelphia Music Book In Conversation with Sam Katz Montgomery Auditorium is now sold out, but tickets are still available for a live simulcast screening in a separate room at the Parkway Central Library. The Philadelphia Music Book: Sounds of a City is a 340 page coffee table book that contains 284 bios of musicians and music industry people from Philadelphia who have made a national or international impact in their work. Additionally, there are stories about the forerunners to modern music in the city, information about historic venues, and accounts of some major music events and festivals that took place in our area. It is a reflection of Philadelphia's great talents in many genres  including Rock & Roll, Folk, Americana, Jazz, the Blues, Classical, Musical Theatre, Hip Hop, EDM and music on the radio, television and movies among other topics. It's a must read for anyone interested in music or the history of Philadelphia. Larry Magid, along with his partners Allen, Jerry, and Herb Spivak, created the Electric Factory - first, the club, and then the concerts. Magid was just a kid himself then, but he quickly became the godfather of Philly's counterculture, a pied piper for a generation. Larry Magid may have helped turn pop music into a 20th-century art form, but, far from forgetting his West Philly roots, he revels in them. During his teen years, he learned how much music can stir a soul at the Uptown Theater's R & B shows, and - despite being seen as a tough businessman in the Wild West of the rock industry - he remains in it for the right reasons. Rocking the world, Magid knows, changes it.  Sam Katz is a lifelong Philadelphian who has experienced a diverse and unique career in public and project finance, venture capital, civic affairs, development, politics and documentary filmmaking. Sam had a nearly three-decade career in public and project finance including the financings for the Wells Fargo Center and Baltimore's Camden Yards.  He served as CEO for a major civic organization, launched and managed a regional venture capital fund and was a candidate for mayor of Philadelphia. Sam also serves as a consultant to Comcast-Spectacor and the Philadelphia Phillies and is the founder of the Histories Collaborative of Philadelphia. Sam is a graduate of Central High School, Johns Hopkins University and the New School for Social Research. Sam and Connie Katz have lived in West Mt. Airy for 40 years where they try hard to spoil their seven grandchildren. The Philadelphia Music Alliance was founded in June 1986 as a community-based, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of Philadelphia as one of the nation's oldest and most prolific music capitals.  Because you love Author Events, please make a donation when you register for this event to ensure that this series continues to inspire Philadelphians. Books will be available for purchase at the library on event night! All tickets are non-refundable. The views expressed by the authors and moderators are strictly their own and do not represent the opinions of the Free Library of Philadelphia or its employees. (recorded 11/20/2025)

The Author Events Series presents Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis | Injustice: How Politics and Fear Vanquished America's Justice Department In Conversation with Ankush Khardori Throughout his first administration, Trump did more than any other president to politicize the nation's top law enforcement agency, pressuring appointees to shield him, to target his enemies, and even to help him cling to power after his 2020 election defeat. The department, pressed into a defensive crouch, has never fully recovered. Injustice exposes not only the Trump administration's efforts to undermine the department at every turn but also how delays in investigating Trump's effort to overturn the will of voters under Attorney General Merrick Garland helped prevent the country from holding Trump accountable and enabled his return to power. With never-before-told accounts, Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis take readers inside as prosecutors convulsed over Trump's disdain for the rule of law, and FBI agents, the department's storied investigators, at times retreated in fear. They take you to the rooms where Special Counsel Jack Smith's team set off on an all-but-impossible race to investigate Trump for absconding with classified documents and waging an assault on democracy-and inside his prosecution's heroic and fateful choices that ultimately backfired. With a plethora of sources deeply embedded in the ranks of three presidencies, Leonnig and Davis reveal the daily war secretly waged for the soul of the department, how it has been shredded by propaganda and partisanship, and how-if the United States hopes to live on with its same form of government-Trump's war with the Justice Department will mark a turning point from which it will be hard to recover. Injustice is the jaw-dropping account of partisans and enablers undoing democracy, heroes still battling to preserve a nation governed by laws, and a call to action for those who believe in liberty and justice for all. Carol Leonnig, a five-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, is the author of three bestselling books and an investigative reporter who has worked at The Washington Post for the last twenty-five years. She won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for her reporting on security failures by the Secret Service. She also was part of Post teams awarded Pulitzers in 2024, 2022, 2018, and 2014. Leonnig, a contributor to MSNBC, is the author of Zero Fail and coauthor of A Very Stable Genius and I Alone Can Fix It. Aaron C. Davis is an investigative reporter for The Washington Post who has won the Pulitzer Prize twice and has been a finalist three times. He was a lead writer and reporter on the Post's investigative series into the January 6 attack, which won the George Polk Award, the Toner Prize, and, with other Post coverage, the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. In 2018, he was part of a Post team that won the Pulitzer for Investigative Reporting. Davis has reported from fourteen countries. He began at The Washington Post in 2008, after reporting for the Associated Press, The Mercury News, and Florida Today. Ankush Khardori is based in Washington, D.C. and a senior writer for Politico Magazine, where he writes a column and features about national legal issues. Because you love Author Events, please make a donation when you register for this event to ensure that this series continues to inspire Philadelphians. Books will be available for purchase at the library on event night! All tickets are non-refundable. (recorded 11/13/2025)

The Author Events Series presents Steven Pinker  | When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows . . . In Conversation with Annie Duke Common knowledge is necessary for coordination, for making arbitrary but complementary choices like driving on the right, using paper currency, and coalescing behind a political leader or movement. It's also necessary for social coordination: everything from rendezvousing at a time and place to speaking the same language to forming enduring relationships of friendship, romance, or authority. Humans have a sixth sense for common knowledge, and we create it with signals like laughter, tears, blushing, eye contact, and blunt speech. But people also go to great lengths to avoid common knowledge-to ensure that even if everyone knows something, they can't know that everyone else knows they know it. And so we get rituals like benign hypocrisy, veiled bribes and threats, sexual innuendo, and pretending not to see the elephant in the room. Pinker shows how the hidden logic of common knowledge can make sense of many of life's enigmas: financial bubbles and crashes, revolutions that come out of nowhere, the posturing and pretense of diplomacy, the eruption of social media shaming mobs and academic cancel culture, the awkwardness of a first date. Artists and humorists have long mined the intrigues of common knowledge, and Pinker liberally uses their novels, jokes, cartoons, films, and sitcom dialogues to illuminate social life's tragedies and comedies.  Consistently riveting in explaining the paradoxes of human behavior, When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows... invites us to understand the ways we try to get into each other's heads and the harmonies, hypocrisies, and outrages that result. Steven Pinker is the Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. He has won many prizes for his teaching, his research on language, cognition, and social relations, and his twelve books, including The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, The Better Angels of Our Nature, Enlightenment Now, and Rationality. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, and one of Time's ''100 Most Influential People in the World Today.'' Annie Duke is an author, speaker, and consultant in the decision-making space, as well as Special Partner focused on Decision Science at First Round Capital Partners, a seed stage venture fund. Annie's latest book, Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away, was released in 2022 from Portfolio, a Penguin Random House imprint. Her previous book, Thinking in Bets, is a national bestseller. As a former professional poker player, she has won more than $4 million in tournament poker. During her career, Annie won a World Series of Poker bracelet and is the only woman to have won the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions and the NBC National Poker Heads-Up Championship. She retired from the game in 2012. Prior to becoming a professional poker player, Annie was awarded a National Science Foundation Fellowship to study Cognitive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned her master's degree. In 2021 she returned to her alma mater as a Visiting Scholar, where she also teaches executive education. In 2023 Annie completed her PhD in Cognitive Psychology. Because you love Author Events, please make a donation when you register for this event to ensure that this series continues to inspire Philadelphians. Books will be available for purchase at the library on event night! All tickets are non-refundable. (recorded 9/25/2025)

The Author Events Series presents Jaquira Diaz | This Is the Only Kingdom In Conversation with Airea D. Matthews When Maricarmen meets Rey el Cantante, beloved small-time Robin Hood and local musician on the rise, she begins to envision a life beyond the tight-knit community of el Caserío, Puerto Rico - beyond cleaning houses, beyond waiting tables, beyond the constant tug of war between the street hustlers and los camarones. But breaking free proves more difficult than she imagined, and she soon finds herself struggling to make a home for herself, for Rey, his young brother Tito, and eventually, their daughter Nena. Until one fateful day changes everything. Fifteen years later, Maricarmen and Nena find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation as the community that once rallied to support Rey turns against them. Now Nena, a teenager haunted by loss and betrayal and exploring her sexual identity, must learn to fight for herself and her family in a world not always welcoming. For lovers of the Neapolitan novels, This is the Only Kingdom is an immersive and moving portrait of a family - and a community - torn apart by generational grief, and a powerful love letter to mothers, daughters, and the barrios that make them. Born in Puerto Rico, Jaquira Díaz was raised between Humacao, Fajardo, and Miami Beach. She is the author of Ordinary Girls: A Memoir, winner of a Whiting Award, a Florida Book Awards Gold Medal, a Lambda Literary Awards finalist, an American Booksellers Association Indies Introduce Selection, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection, an Indie Next Pick, a Library Reads pick, and finalist for the B&N Discover Prize. The recipient of the Jeanne Córdova Prize for Lesbian/Queer Nonfiction, the Alonzo Davis Fellowship from VCCA, two Pushcart Prizes, an Elizabeth George Foundation grant, and fellowships from MacDowell, the Kenyon Review, Bread Loaf, Sewanee, the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, and the Black Mountain Institute at UNLV, Díaz has written for The Atlantic, The Guardian, Time Magazine, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, and The Fader, and her stories, poems, and essays have been anthologized in The Best American Essays, The Breakbeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNext, Best American Experimental Writing, and The Pushcart Prize anthology. In 2022, she held the Mina Hohenberg Darden Chair in Creative Writing at Old Dominion University's MFA program and a Pabst Endowed Chair for Master Writers at the Atlantic Center for the Arts. She lives in New York and teaches at Columbia University. Airea D. Matthews received a BA in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, as well as an MFA from the Helen Zell Writers' Program and an MPA from the Gerald Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. She is the author of Bread and Circus (Scribner Books, 2023), winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Poetry, the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award, and was a finalist for the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award. Her poetry collection, Simulacra (Yale University Press, 2017), was selected by Carl Phillips as the winner of the 2016 Yale Series of Younger Poets. Because you love Author Events, please make a donation when you register for this event to ensure that this series continues to inspire Philadelphians. Books will be available for purchase at the library on event night! All tickets are non-refundable. (recorded 10/30/2025)

The Author Events Series presents Ray Didinger | The Eagles Encyclopedia : Champions II In Conversation with Merrill Reese Community Spotlight Partner: FanDuel Group Montgomery Auditorium is now sold out, but tickets are still available for a live simulcast screening in a separate room at the Parkway Central Library. Standby seating will be available in the overflow room for guests who wish to wait for an opportunity to be seated in the main auditorium, if space permits. These standby seats will be available on a first come, first served basis. Auditorium seats are not guaranteed. Fly Eagles Fly! They did it again. The Eagles routed the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX to claim their second NFL championship in the Jeffrey Lurie era. Hall of Fame sportswriter Ray Didinger has done it again, too, revising and updating his best-selling The Eagles Encyclopedia: Champions Edition to celebrate the latest victory. Quarterback Jalen Hurts described the city's love for the Eagles as "a Philly thing," and no one understands that better than Didinger, who has followed the team since the 1950s. In Champions II, he brings that history up to date by writing about the Tush Push, Saquon Barkley's reverse hurdle, and other milestones of the season leading up to the team's second Super Bowl triumph. This new edition includes: * More than 50 new photographs plus a 16-page color insert. * Tributes to the team's newest Hall of Fame inductees: Eric Allen, Dick Vermeil and Harold Carmichael. * Dozens of new player, coach and front-office profiles. * An expanded chapter on the Eagles-Cowboys rivalry. * An updated statistics and records section. The Eagles Encyclopedia: Champions II is a must have for any E-A-G-L-E-S fan who wants to relive the Big Game and all the drama that led up to it. Ray Didinger was a sports columnist for the Philadelphia Bulletin and Philadelphia Daily News. He was named Pennsylvania Sportswriter of the Year five times. He won six Emmy Awards as a writer and producer for NFL Films. He has authored or coauthored a dozen books and was the first print journalist inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. He was a talk show host on 94WIP Sports Radio and football analyst for NBC Sports Philadelphia. In 1995, he won the Bill Nunn Award for his long and distinguished reporting on professional football and his name was added to the Writers Honor Roll at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Merrill Reese has been the Eagles' radio play-by-play announcer for 48 consecutive seasons. A Philadelphia native, Reese was a named sports director at Temple University's station, WRTI, and after graduation he began his professional radio career at WPAZ in Pottstown, PA, calling high school football games. In 1990, Reese voiced ESPN's award-winning series ''NFL Dream Season.'' Reese has received numerous awards and recognition, including Pennsylvania Sportscaster of the Year, and being inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. In 2024 he received the Pro Football Hall of Fame's coveted Pete Rozelle Radio and Television Award for broadcasting the team's triumph in Super Bowl LIX. Because you love Author Events, please make a donation when you register for this event to ensure that this series continues to inspire Philadelphians. Books will be available for purchase at the library on event night! All tickets are non-refundable. (recorded 11/4/2025)

The Author Events Series presents Karine Jean-Pierre | Independent : A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines In Conversation with Tamala Edwards Montgomery Auditorium is now sold out, but tickets are still available for a live simulcast screening in a separate room at the Parkway Central Library. Standby seating will be available in the overflow room for guests who wish to wait for an opportunity to be seated in the main auditorium, if space permits. These standby seats will be available on a first come, first served basis. Auditorium seats are not guaranteed. In a country obsessed with blind loyalty to a two-party democratic system, Karine Jean-Pierre, former White House press secretary to the Biden-Harris administration, shares why Americans must step beyond party lines to embrace life as Independents. Jean-Pierre didn't come to her decision to be an Independent lightly. She has served two American presidents, Obama and Biden. In 2020, she joined Biden's campaign as a senior adviser, becoming Harris's chief of staff and then, two years later, White House press secretary. She takes us through the three weeks that led to Biden's abandoning his bid for a second term and the betrayal by the Democratic Party that led to his decision. In an urgent, timely analysis, Independent urges all Americans to vote their values and maintain individuality within party lines. She presents clear arguments and provocative evidence as an insider about the importance of dismantling the torrent of disinformation and misinformation that has been rampant in recent elections and provides passionate insight for moving forward. In a hard-hitting yet hopeful critique, Jean-Pierre defines what it means to be part of the growing percentage of our fractured electorate that is Independent, why it can be worthwhile to carve a political space more loyal to personal beliefs than a party affiliation, and what questions you need to ask yourself to determine where you fit politically. As a history maker, veteran public servant, political analyst and independent thinker, she urges Americans to think outside of the blue-and-red box as we consider what's next to save our democracy. Karine Jean-Pierre was the White House Press Secretary and Special Advisor to former President Joe Biden. She has worked in senior communications and political offices in both the Biden and Obama Administrations. Prior to her time in the White House, Jean-Pierre was the Chief Public Affairs Officer for MoveOn.org. She is a graduate of Columbia University. Tamala Edwards joined 6abc in January of 2005. She is the weekday co-anchor of Action News Mornings from 4 a.m to 7 a.m. and is a regular co-host of Inside Story, conducting probing interviews with newsmakers like Governor Tom Corbett, Senator Bob Casey, Mayor Michael Nutter and others, as well as moderating many election debates. Prior to joining 6abc, Tamala Edwards was the anchor of ABC's World News Now, and World News This Morning. Because you love Author Events, please make a donation when you register for this event to ensure that this series continues to inspire Philadelphians. Books will be available for purchase at the library on event night! All tickets are non-refundable. (recorded 10/22/2025)

The Author Events Series presents Harmonia Rosales | Chronicles of Ori: An African Epic  In Conversation with Imani Roach In Chronicles of Ori, her debut book, Harmonia Rosales retells the African myths she has long treasured, crafting an enthralling epic that spans the birth of the universe to the modern world of colonialism and resistance. She writes of the powerful, temperamental deities called the Orishas; of the founding of Yorubaland by the shrewd leader Oduduwa; of the young heroine Eve, born in a time of violence and despair, who would help her people regain their past splendor; and of shimmering serpents and monstrous shadows who stalk the lands of mortals. At the center of these linked tales is the bond, sometimes fraying, between the Orishas and the humans who worship them. It was the Orishas who made humans, and who gave them their most precious resource: their Oris, or destinies. Vividly brought to life by Rosales's artwork, Chronicles of Ori will enlighten and delight readers for years to come. Harmonia Rosales is an American artist from Chicago whose work depicts and honors African myths and the diaspora. She lives in Los Angeles, California. Imani Roach is the inaugural director of the Brind Center for African and African Diasporic Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. There she is planning the first permanent gallery devoted to the arts of Africa and its diaspora in the PMA's 150-year history, set to open Fall, 2026. In this role she also works with colleagues across the institution on educational, curatorial and conservation initiatives that center Black art. She was previously Assistant Curator for the Arts of Africa at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York during the renovation and reinstallation of the Michael C. Rockefeller wing's African collection. A scholar of African Modernism and a proud Philadelphia resident since 2012, she has designed and led courses on the arts of Africa at Haverford College, the University of Pennsylvania, University of the Arts, Moore College of Art and Design and elsewhere. She has also worked in the arts journalism space, both as a senior editor at Guernica Magazine and as the first Managing editor of Artblog. Beyond her career as an art historian, she is also a regularly gigging vocalist and a new mom.  Because you love Author Events, please make a donation when you register for this event to ensure that this series continues to inspire Philadelphians. Books will be available for purchase at the library on event night! All tickets are non-refundable. (recorded 10/21/2025)

The Author Events Series presents The Aeneid: Translating the Classics with Emily Wilson, Scott McGill, and Susannah Wright Crafted during the reign of Augustus Caesar at the outset of the Roman Empire, Virgil's Aeneid is a tale of thrilling adventure, extreme adversity, doomed romance, fateful battles, and profound loss. Through its stirring account of human struggle, meddling gods, and conflicting destinies, the poem brings to life the triumphs and trials that led to one of the most powerful societies the world has ever known. Unlike its Homeric predecessors, which arose from a long oral tradition, the Aeneid was composed by a singular poetic genius, and it has ever since been celebrated as one of the greatest literary achievements of antiquity. This exciting new edition of the Aeneid, the first collaborative translation of the poem in English, is rendered in unrhymed iambic pentameter, the English meter that corresponds best, in its history and cultural standing, to Virgil's dactylic hexameter. Scott McGill and Susannah Wright achieve an ideal middle ground between readability and elevation, engaging modern readers with fresh, contemporary language in a heart-pounding, propulsive rhythm, while also preserving the epic dignity of the original. The result is a brisk, eminently approachable translation that captures Virgil's sensitive balance between celebrating the Roman Empire and dramatizing its human costs, for victors and vanquished alike. This Aeneid is a poem in English every bit as complex, inviting, and affecting as the Latin original. With a rich and informative introduction from Emily Wilson, maps drawn especially for this volume, a pronunciation glossary, genealogies, extensive notes, and helpful summaries of each book, this gorgeous edition of Rome's founding poem will capture the imaginations and stir the souls of a new generation of readers. Emily Wilson is a professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She has been named a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome in Renaissance and early modern studies, a MacArthur Fellow, and a Guggenheim Fellow. In addition to Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, she has also published translations of Sophocles, Euripides, and Seneca. She lives in Philadelphia. Scott McGill is Deedee McMurtry Professor in Humanities at Rice University. He lives in Houston, Texas. Susannah Wright is an assistant professor of classical studies and Roman history at Rice University. She lives in Houston, Texas. Because you love Author Events, please make a donation when you register for this event to ensure that this series continues to inspire Philadelphians. Books will be available for purchase at the library on event night! All tickets are non-refundable. (recorded 10/14/2025)

The Author Events Series presents Muhammad Abdul-Hadi | We the Pizza: Slangin' Pies and Savin' Lives In Conversation with Janice Johnson Dias, PhD Before the conversation begins, Author Event ticket holders are invited to a special tasting of Down North's signature pies at a reception sponsored by the Urban League. This pre-event sampling offers guests a chance to savor the flavors and spirit behind We the Pizza. Pizza samples available while supplies last. First come first serve.  We the Pizza tells the Down North story about how the restaurant fulfills its mission to educate and support the formerly incarcerated while serving dope food. A testament to survival and second chances, this cookbook offers recipes for the tender, crispy-edged, square-cut, sauce-on-top pies that are Down North's signature dish; a whole chapter is devoted to vegetarian and vegan pizzas like No Better Love made with four cheeses and the arrabbiata-inspired Norf Sauce, while the meat and seafood pizza chapter features their most popular Roc the Mic pepperoni pie as well as the smoky berbere-brisket Tales of a Hustler and Say Yes, topped with jerk turkey sausage, roasted butternut squash, kale, ricotta, and lemon-honey drizzle.  The 65 recipes for pizzas along with classic and creative wings, fries, lemonades, and shakes are paired with cinematic photography of the pizzas in their natural setting and out in the wilds of Philadelphia, with lots of journalistic-style photography of the Down North crew making dough and slinging pies. At the same time, We the Pizza provides detailed historical information about incarceration in the United States along with empowering stories from Down North's formerly incarcerated staff. And with exclusive pizza recipes from renowned chef-supporters like Marc Vetri and Marcus Samuelsson, We the Pizza celebrates ingeniously delicious pizza, as well as the power people have to rise above their circumstances-if simply given the chance. Muhammad Abdul-Hadi is the founder and owner of Down North Pizza, the mission-driven restaurant in North Philadelphia that exclusively hires formerly incarcerated individuals. Down North Pizza is the culmination of Abdul-Hadi's thirteen-year vision and is a concept that has long been ingrained in him; through Down North and the Down North Foundation, he is able to impact to the economic realities of underserved communities through excellent food and uplifiting endeavors. Abdul-Hadi has won the James Beard Foundation's leadership award, and he and the Down North team have been featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post, Bon Appetit Magazine, the Today Show, Eater, First We Feast, and more. Dr. Janice Johnson Dias is an educator, strategist, and changemaker with a Ph.D. in Sociology from Temple University, specializing in urban and political sociology. She is a tenured associate professor of sociology and a graduate faculty member of criminal justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. As president of the GrassROOTS Community Foundation, an international public health and social action training organization she co-founded in 2011, Dr. Johnson Dias leads efforts to empower communities and promote equity. Because you love Author Events, please make a donation when you register for this event to ensure that this series continues to inspire Philadelphians. Books will be available for purchase at the library on event night! All tickets are non-refundable. (recorded 10/8/2025)

The Author Events Series presents Jill Lepore  | We the People : A History of the U.S. Constitution Meelya Gordon Memorial Lecture Standby seating will be available in the overflow room for guests who wish to wait for an opportunity to be seated in the main auditorium, if space permits. These standby seats will be available on a first come, first served basis. Auditorium seats are not guaranteed. In Conversation with Kate Shaw Published on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding-the anniversary, too, of the first state constitutions-We the People offers a wholly new history of the Constitution. ''One of the Constitution's founding purposes was to prevent change,'' Lepore writes. ''Another was to allow for change without violence.'' Relying on the extraordinary database she has assembled at the Amendments Project, Lepore recounts centuries of attempts, mostly by ordinary Americans, to realize the promise of the Constitution. Yet nearly all those efforts have failed. Although nearly twelve thousand amendments have been introduced in Congress since 1789, and thousands more have been proposed outside its doors, only twenty-seven have ever been ratified. More troubling, the Constitution has not been meaningfully amended since 1971. Without recourse to amendment, she argues, the risk of political violence rises. So does the risk of constitutional change by presidential or judicial fiat. Challenging both the Supreme Court's monopoly on constitutional interpretation and the flawed theory of ''originalism,'' Lepore contends in this ''gripping and unfamiliar story of our own past'' that the philosophy of amendment is foundational to American constitutionalism. The framers never intended for the Constitution to be preserved, like a butterfly, under glass, Lepore argues, but expected that future generations would be forever tinkering with it, hoping to mend America by amending its Constitution through an orderly deliberative and democratic process. Lepore's remarkable history seeks, too, to rekindle a sense of constitutional possibility. Congressman Jamie Raskin writes that Lepore ''has thrown us a lifeline, a way of seeing the Constitution neither as an authoritarian straitjacket nor a foolproof magic amulet but as the arena of fierce, logical, passionate, and often deadly struggle for a more perfect union.'' At a time when the Constitution's vulnerability is all too evident, and the risk of political violence all too real, We the People, with its shimmering prose and pioneering research, hints at the prospects for a better constitutional future, an amended America. Jill Lepore is the David Woods Kemper '41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and professor of law at Harvard Law School. She is also a staff writer at The New Yorker. Her many books include the international bestseller These Truths: A History of the United States. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Because you love Author Events, please make a donation when you register for this event to ensure that this series continues to inspire Philadelphians. Books will be available for purchase at the library on event night! All tickets are non-refundable. (recorded 9/24/2025)

The Author Events Series presents Nicholas Boggs | Baldwin: A Love Story In Conversation with Rachel L. Swarns Baldwin: A Love Story, the first major biography of James Baldwin in three decades, reveals how profoundly the writer's personal relationships shaped his life and work. Drawing on newly uncovered archival material and original research and interviews, this spellbinding book tells the overlapping stories of Baldwin's most sustaining intimate and artistic relationships: with his mentor, the Black American painter Beauford Delaney; with his lover and muse, the Swiss painter Lucien Happersberger; and with his collaborators, the famed Turkish actor Engin Cezzar and the iconoclastic French artist Yoran Cazac, whose long-overlooked significance as Baldwin's last great love is explored in these pages for the first time. Nicholas Boggs shows how Baldwin drew on all the complex forces within these relationships-geographical, cultural, political, artistic, and erotic- and alchemized them into novels, essays, and plays that speak truth to power and had an indelible impact on the civil rights movement and on Black and queer literary history. Richly immersive, Baldwin: A Love Story follows the writer's creative journey between Harlem, Paris, Switzerland, the southern United States, Istanbul, Africa, the South of France, and beyond. In so doing, it magnifies our understanding of the public and private lives of one of the major literary figures of the twentieth century, whose contributions only continue to grow in influence. Nicholas Boggs was an undergraduate when he discovered James Baldwin's out-of-print children's book, Little Man, Little Man: A Story of Childhood, in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. After he tracked down its illustrator, the French artist Yoran Cazac, he went on to coedit an acclaimed new edition of the book in 2018. His writing has also been anthologized in The Cambridge Companion to James Baldwin, James Baldwin Now, and Speculative Light: The Arts of Beauford Delaney and James Baldwin. He is the recipient of a 2023 Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Leon Levy Center for Biography, the Beinecke Library and Gilder Lehrman Center at Yale, the Schomburg Center Scholars-in-Residence Program, and the National Humanities Center, as well as residencies at Yaddo and MacDowell. He received his BA in English from Yale, his MFA in creative writing from American University, and his PhD in English from Columbia. Born and raised in Washington, DC, he lives in Brooklyn, New York. Rachel L. Swarns is a journalist, author and associate professor of journalism at New York University, who writes about race and history as a contributing writer for The New York Times. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Society of American Historians and her work has been recognized and supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Ford Foundation, the Leon Levy Center for Biography, the Biographers International Organization and others. Her latest book, The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church, was published by Random House. Because you love Author Events, please make a donation when you register for this event to ensure that this series continues to inspire Philadelphians. Books will be available for purchase at the library on event night! All tickets are non-refundable. (recorded 9/30/2025)

Philadelphians have a history of banding together and organizing when faced by powerful and monied development that has threatened their displacement. From professional sports venues to ever-expanding “eds and meds,” all across Philadelphia, working-class communities of color have pushed back, sometimes winning, sometimes losing, sometimes ending up somewhere in between. In this panel discussion, we'll hear from neighborhood leaders who share their stories and lessons learned for others when these projects arise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Philadelphians have a history of banding together and organizing when faced by powerful and monied development that has threatened their displacement. From professional sports venues to ever-expanding “eds and meds,” all across Philadelphia, working-class communities of color have pushed back, sometimes winning, sometimes losing, sometimes ending up somewhere in between. In this panel discussion, we'll hear from neighborhood leaders who share their stories and lessons learned for others when these projects arise.

On this episode of Citizen of the Week, a 33-year-old Philadelphian has spent the last decade connecting with his fellow humans. So far, he's met 7,000 people for one-on-one conversations. Doing so helped him uncover the true crisis of our era.

Hunter Brody joins the show to tell the guys the latest on Matvei Michkov and the Flyers. Brodes also introduces introduces a new feature to Flyers in 50 as he awards the Grinder of the Week! And the guys discuss whether Philadelphians are ready to buy back in on the Flyers.

Before being diagnosed with alpha-gal syndrome, many of us often felt dismissed, bouncing from doctor to doctor and frequently hearing "it's all in your head" from specialists. Dr. Spiritos offers a refreshing alternative: he truly listens to his patients and recognizes connections across different body systems. Tune in to this episode to hear Dr. Spiritos discuss his holistic approach, his growing practice, and his informative and engaging social media presence!Dr. Zachary Spiritos is a Philadelphian turned North Carolinian, having made his way south for college and ultimately putting down roots after meeting his wife. He graduated cum laude from Davidson College before starting his medical training.Dr. Spiritos is a neurogasteroenterologist and co-founder of EverBetter Medicine who treats a wide range of gastrointestinal and liver disorders, with specialty interests in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), functional abdominal pain, motility disorders, and dysautonomia. This also includes postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS). He is also well-versed in gastrointestinal complications associated with hypermobility syndromes, including Ehlers-Danlos (EDS). Passionate about patient education and a holistic approach to GI health, he integrates nutrition, lifestyle modifications, and gut-brain therapies into his practice.Outside of medicine, Dr. Spiritos and his wife stay busy with their two young kids. He enjoys hiking with his family, playing basketball, and exercising whenever he gets the chance.To learn more about EverBetter Medicine and to schedule an appointment with Dr. Spiritos visit:https://everbettermedicine.health/Follow Dr. Spiritos on social media @drzacspiritos

12 - Dom echoes the words of Scott Jenings to kick off Friday. We need to be about affordability as candidates, but what else is Dom pleading for Republicans to do? 1210 - Side - someone you would make an honorary Philadelphian? 1220 - Why do we have to move heaven and earth to get people to vote for non-Trump candidates? 1240 - Are WPHT hosts to blame for election losses? Former NJ State Senator Dick LaRossa phones in to give his analysis on why Jack lost the governor's race. 1250 - Your calls to wrap up.

Our Philly accent is having a moment. A Northeast Philly native who does Philly ASMR videos on TikTok is going viral. And the Philly/Delco accent is almost like a character in itself on the hit HBO show “Task.” So we're revisiting host Trenae Nuri's hilarious conversation from earlier this year with comedian Lauren S. Daniels, a Philly native who does online skits about Philly and impersonations of Philadelphians.  Get Philly news & events in your inbox with our newsletter: Hey Philly Call or text us: 215-259-8170 We're also on Instagram: @citycastphilly You can support this show and get great perks by becoming a City Cast Philly Neighbor at membership.citycast.fm. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:  Fitler Club Advertise on the podcast or in the newsletter: citycast.fm/advertise

Sean 'SK' Kinsey returns for his second appearance on The Truth in This Art!A Philadelphian visual artist known for blending a fine art sensibility with a street art aesthetic, Kinsey shares his thoughts on the power of art to reflect identity, honor community roots, and connect cultures in Philadelphia, the city that has shaped much of his work.In this episode, Kinsey discusses how his North and Uptown Philadelphia upbringing influences his art, the lessons he carries from his creative practice, and the role that painting and urban art play in honoring untold stories. He also reflects on the joys and challenges of being an artist, cultivating consistency without burnout, embracing creative independence beyond labels, and his ongoing efforts to inspire and uplift the next generation.This conversation explores the connection between art and culture in Philadelphia, focusing on resilience, representation, and the ways that urban art—bridging fine and street traditions—serves as a powerful expression of truth and community.Topics Covered:Kinsey's reflections on his work since his first appearancePhiladelphia's influence on Kinsey's approach to urban and visual artHonoring community stories and identity through painting and urban artThe role of art and creative consistency in inspiring younger generations

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 2: 4:00pm- Judge Pat Dugan—Republican candidate for District Attorney of Philadelphia—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss DA Larry Krasner's office dropping kidnapping and assault charges against a repeat offender. Keon King is now being charged in the disappearance of Miss USA hopeful Kada Scott, whose remains were discovered last week. Rich notes that this crime was entirely preventable. When will Philadelphians finally have enough of Krasner's soft on crime policies? 4:30pm- Rep. Byron Donalds—United States Congressman representing Florida's 19th Congressional District & Florida Gubernatorial Candidate—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss his upcoming visit to New Jersey to campaign alongside Jack Ciattarelli. Rep. Donalds debunks the myth that Mikie Sherrill is a moderate, noting that she once tried to ban gas powered vehicles! “I served with her. I know how she votes. She is a radical.”

The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (10/21/2025): 3:05pm- Hollywood actor, and New Jerseyan, Kelsey Grammer has voiced a brand-new commercial on behalf of Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli. 3:10pm- Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is facing backlash after his office dropped kidnapping and assault charges against a repeat offender. Keon King is now being charged in the disappearance of Miss USA hopeful Kada Scott, whose remains were discovered last week. Rich notes that this crime was entirely preventable. When will Philadelphians finally have enough of Krasner's soft on crime policies? 3:30pm- Joe Gruters—Chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC)—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss New Jersey's November 4th gubernatorial election. Chairman Gruters explains that the RNC is prioritizing election integrity throughout the state. 4:00pm- Judge Pat Dugan—Republican candidate for District Attorney of Philadelphia—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss DA Larry Krasner's office dropping kidnapping and assault charges against a repeat offender. Keon King is now being charged in the disappearance of Miss USA hopeful Kada Scott, whose remains were discovered last week. Rich notes that this crime was entirely preventable. When will Philadelphians finally have enough of Krasner's soft on crime policies? 4:30pm- Rep. Byron Donalds—United States Congressman representing Florida's 19th Congressional District & Florida Gubernatorial Candidate—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss his upcoming visit to New Jersey to campaign alongside Jack Ciattarelli. Rep. Donalds debunks the myth that Mikie Sherrill is a moderate, noting that she once tried to ban gas powered vehicles! “I served with her. I know how she votes. She is a radical.” 5:00pm- Frank Scales and Ian McGinnis—Founders of Surge Philly—join The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner's soft on crime policies and the catastrophic impact those policies have had on city residents. PLUS, Frank and Ian interviewed several people attending last weekend's “No Kings” protests. Unsurprisingly, many of the attendees had no idea what they were even protesting! 6:05pm- In the coming days, former President Barack Obama, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are all expected to campaign in New Jersey on behalf of Mikie Sherrill. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is vocally supporting Jack Ciattarelli's campaign in interviews and on social media—and Congressman Byron Donalds will be campaigning on his behalf in NJ tomorrow. 6:20pm- Will Curtis Sliwa drop out of the New York City mayoral race as part of an effort to consolidate support behind Andrew Cuomo—potentially upending Zohran Mamdani's campaign? It seems unlikely. Plus, did Rich get a hug from Brett Baier? Nope! 6:30pm- While in Israel, Vice President JD Vance told reporters, “we are one week into President Trump's historic peace plan in the Middle East and things are going, frankly, better than I expected.” He also reemphasized that there will not be American boots on the ground in Gaza. 6:40pm- During a luncheon at the White House Rose Garden, President Donald Trump hilariously referred to Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought as “Darth Vader.”

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 1: 3:05pm- Hollywood actor, and New Jerseyan, Kelsey Grammer has voiced a brand-new commercial on behalf of Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli. 3:10pm- Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is facing backlash after his office dropped kidnapping and assault charges against a repeat offender. Keon King is now being charged in the disappearance of Miss USA hopeful Kada Scott, whose remains were discovered last week. Rich notes that this crime was entirely preventable. When will Philadelphians finally have enough of Krasner's soft on crime policies? 3:30pm- Joe Gruters—Chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC)—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss New Jersey's November 4th gubernatorial election. Chairman Gruters explains that the RNC is prioritizing election integrity throughout the state.

While you're stuck trying to find the RIGHT way to start your comic, someone else is starting a comic THEIR way. That's because the only RIGHT way to start a comic is the WRONG way. Confused? We'll explain. Also—storytelling without conflict? Kishōtenketsu is a story structure that highlights contrast rather than conflict. But first, Dave's Los Angeles may have the most "perfect days" in the United States, but Brad argues that Philadelphians truly appreciate their sunny weather more when it occurs.SummaryIn this episode of ComicLab, hosts Brad Guigar and Dave Kellett explore the challenges of starting a comic, emphasizing that there is no right way to create comics and that experimentation is essential. The hosts provide practical advice on overcoming creative blocks, the importance of consistency in practice, and the necessity of starting, even if it means doing it imperfectly. In this episode, the hosts explore the creative process, discussing the fear of starting projects and the importance of embracing imperfection. They share insights from their recent social media challenge, reflecting on productivity and the benefits of reducing screen time. The conversation shifts to the discovery of non-conflict storytelling techniques, particularly the Japanese writing style Kishōtenketsu, which emphasizes character development over traditional conflict. Finally, they discuss updates to the Patreon app, highlighting user experiences and the implications of its new features.Today's ShowHow to get startedKishōtenketsu / YonkomaPatreon Quips and the new app layoutTakeawaysThe perfect weather map reveals surprising data about ideal climates.Appreciation for perfect days can differ based on location.Creativity often requires overcoming distractions in daily life.Starting a creative project can be daunting but is essential.There is no 'right' way to create comics; experimentation is key.The importance of frequency in creative practice cannot be overstated.Every artist has a unique process that evolves over time.Mistakes and failures are part of the creative journey.Setting small, achievable goals can lead to significant progress.The fear of imperfection can hinder creativity, but starting is crucial. The fear of starting often holds creators back.Embracing the wrong way is part of the creative process.Social media challenges can lead to increased productivity.Reading before bed can improve mental well-being.Non-conflict storytelling can be just as impactful.Kishōtenketsu offers a fresh perspective on storytelling.Personal growth is a continuous journey, even in adulthood.Patreon updates aim to enhance user experience and discoverability.Understanding new app features is crucial for creators.Community engagement on platforms like Patreon is vital. You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon$2 — Early access to episodes$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.