Longform
My Autistic Child Might Know More About What’s Important and How to Live Than I Do
My son Sam is on the autism spectrum, with Asperger’s. He now sees that as a gift, and Sam is becoming the focal point of […]
Life After Johnny Doc
John Dougherty was out on a leisurely walk. Destination: the James A. Byrne federal courthouse. It was the first week in October, and Johnny Doc, […]
The Icewomen Cometh: Why Dozens of Women from the Philly Area Are Taking Arctic Soaks in Winter
January 3rd could have been just another day in Philadelphia. Just another Monday. But thanks to a certain four-letter word that tends to send Philadelphians […]
Help! My Kids Are Developing Philadelphia Accents
Last summer, my two small children, my late husband’s mother and I took a road trip across Utah in a 25-foot rented RV. On the […]
Philadelphia Babies of the Pandemic: A Photo Essay
In November of 2020, my daughter and her husband took my two-year-old granddaughter to Africa for three weeks to visit relatives — in the midst […]
Now It Can Be Told: Karen Hepp Opens Up About Her Battle With Facebook
As best as Karen Hepp can remember, Steve Keeley was the first to see it. You know Steve Keeley: He’s the perpetually tanned, square-jawed Fox […]
Welcome to the Zoom Age of Personal Beauty
On a Tuesday morning in late fall, I found myself on the floor of my bedroom, kneading the hard part of my knuckles into the […]
How a Sugary Pandemic Project Turned Jethro Heiko Into Philly’s Maple Syrup Evangelist
A few years ago, Jethro Heiko’s relationship with maple syrup was pretty much the same as yours and mine. For me, that means there’s a […]
The Complicated Mystery That Is Danielle Outlaw
It’s a balmy fall afternoon in the middle of evening rush hour at Broad and Olney — one of the city’s busiest transit hubs — and I’m waiting for […]
I Cut Down My Meat Consumption Without Sacrificing Flavor or Satisfaction. Here’s How.
My fundamental belief about vegetarians (and vegans) is this: They are all better than me, and I will never become one. I love bacon and […]
Yowie’s Shannon Maldonado Is About to Make South Street Hip Again
Shannon Maldonado waves at the minimalist dark green cart in the corner of Yowie, the buzzy 250-square-foot shop and design studio she runs on 4th […]
Peek Inside Philadelphia’s Psychedelics Revolution
Like most working parents, Marissa has a lot to juggle — kids, her job as a nutritionist, her home outside of Philadelphia. And then there […]
What the Hell Is Bitcoin? A Useful Explainer for Beginners
In last month’s issue of Philly Mag, my good friend and colleague, Christy Lejeune, wrote about how the pandemic is the perfect opportunity to embrace […]
What If You Could Just Take a Year Off?
Nothing draws attention to the passage of time like doing the same thing every year, and nothing marks disruption like not being able to do […]
After Two Years of Pandemic Living, We All Really Need Hobbies
It was one of those cloudless, golden September days, and my husband and I decided to take our son and daughter to Valley Forge National […]