Sinopsis
The Philadelphia Citizen podcast offers spoken versions of articles, deeper dives into the political, social and cultural workings of our city, explainers on the issues of our day, interviews, conversations and solutions. Lots of solutions. All to help you become a better citizen of your city.
Episodios
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Ultimate Job Interview: DA | 2
17/04/2025 Duración: 30minOn this second part of Ultimate Job Interview, three panelists put tough questions to District Attorney hopeful Paul Dugan. Listen and prepare to vote in the May 20th primary.
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Ultimate Job Interview: DA | 1
16/04/2025 Duración: 27minOn this episode of our two-part Ultimate Job Interview, three panelists are assembled to put the tough questions to District Attorney hopeful Paul Dugan. Listen and prepare to vote in the May 20th primary.
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Mommy, the 100-year-old, pregnant tortoise
15/04/2025 Duración: 09minOur Citizen of the Week is a century-old Galápagos tortoise at the Philadelphia Zoo. She's a new mother and she's helping to save her species from extinction.
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Even with the tariff pause, prices went up
14/04/2025 Duración: 03minAli Velshi brings out "Betty" to once again demonstrate how tariff pause or no, everything in her life just got more expensive. Reach for that glass of wine. On second thought, don't.
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John Fry's call to arms
11/04/2025 Duración: 08minNew Temple President John Fry doubled down on Enlightenment values, modeling a new course for would-be leaders in this age of autocracy
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Where local matters
10/04/2025 Duración: 45minIn this episode of How To Really Run A City, our hosts bring Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti onto the show. Cognetti is demonstrating how cities are blazing a way forward amidst the daily chaos spilling out of Washington, D.C. “This is where local matters,” Cognetti says. “At the local level, we’re nimble, we’re able to try things that are harder at the state level, and definitely at the national level.” As cities go, so goes the nation!
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Will PA ever legalize weed?
09/04/2025 Duración: 08minCitizen writer Malcolm Burnley explores the burning question of whether or not legal use of recreational marijuana really is in our future.
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Winners write the history
08/04/2025 Duración: 08minLet’s ensure it's the American people who are the winners by preserving and teaching the stories that form our democracy
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There's no good or bad government, the power is the problem
07/04/2025 Duración: 11minJournalist Melissa Chan and cartoonist Badiucao created a highly accessible dystopian graphic novel that takes place in 2035. America has become proto-fascist and is at war with a techno-authoritarian regime in China. Chan and Badiucao join Ali Velshi for his latest installment of the Velshi Banned Book Club. "Serious topics about human rights and social issues needs to break into gamers, the geeks and the readers of comics," says Badiucao.
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U.S. Rep Brendan Boyle, the Eagles and Trump
04/04/2025 Duración: 08minU.S. Representative Brendan Boyle recently expressed his outrage over Trump inviting the Kansas City Chiefs to the White House. Lauren McCutcheon asked him why.
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Giving small and minority businesses a real chance
03/04/2025 Duración: 18minOn this episode of Evening WURDs, James Peterson is joined by Kenyatta James, executive director of the Economy League. They discuss how small and minority-owned businesses can get ahead in Philly and what "human-centered design" means.
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Literacy is never neutral
02/04/2025 Duración: 07minThere is a literary crisis in Philadelphia. Percival Everett’s National Book Award-winning novel James might just be the way forward.
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An ode to ... the Fashion District?
01/04/2025 Duración: 06minThe remade Gallery is constantly roasted for its lack of personality. But maybe that's just what makes our Fashion District a hidden gem. Maybe.
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The tragedy on the 57 Bus
31/03/2025 Duración: 11minIn 2013, a teenage boy lit the skirt of an agender teen asleep nearby on fire. They sustained major burns to their legs and the offending teen was charged as an adult -- over the wishes of the victim and their family. This true story is detailed in The 57 Bus by journalist Dashka Slater. With discrimination against trans persons becoming openly accepted in the U.S., Ali Velshi sits down with Slater in this episode of Velshi Banned Book Club.
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Krasner versus ... Trump?
28/03/2025 Duración: 08minDA Larry Krasner says he’s a “democracy advocate” and his real opponent is Donald Trump. Is there actually something to it?
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The "elusive wizard" of housing
27/03/2025 Duración: 51minIn our latest episode of How To Really Run A City, our hosts invite an “elusive wizard” onto the show. Bruce Katz is the Founding Director of the Nowak Metro Finance Lab at Drexel University, and an architect of the National Housing Crisis Task Force at Accelerator For America. “Bruce has forgotten more about cities than I’ll ever know,” Larry tells our mayors before referencing the Trump Administration’s gutting of federal agencies and funding. “Given your experience, Bruce, how scared should we be?” “This is a war on the poor,” Katz says. “This is a war on science. This is abandoning our allies and the dismantling of the federal government. We should be very scared.” That doesn’t mean there is no hope, though. “The U.S. has always shown the power of the local,” Katz tells the hosts. “We are really unlike any other place in the world. We have a long tradition of volunteerism, philanthropy and corporate engagement. It’s local. People are committed to place. This will be our salvation.” As cities go, so goes
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The steward of FDR park
26/03/2025 Duración: 05minIn this episode of Citizen of the Week, we highlight FDR Park volunteer coordinator Tara Anastasi. From reclaiming lakes from "phrags" to organizing an army of volunteers, Anastasi gets stuff done.
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Shark Tank ... for housing
25/03/2025 Duración: 06minThe Economy League’s latest pitch competition is looking for ideas on how to close the racial wealth gap, with $50,000 going to the winner
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The Red Scare and MAGA
24/03/2025 Duración: 07minDuring the red scare of the Cold War, American politicians discriminated against and began deporting Chinese-Americans. This included the scientist who would become the father of China's ballistic missile program. Ali Velshi explains why the overreactions to immigrant scares only ends up hurting the country.
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Why we can't go car-free
21/03/2025 Duración: 05minA Philadelphia urbanist and working parent tried to go car free. She learned how that's a hard thing to do, even in a 15-minute neighborhood.