Longform
Before COVID, the Uptown Theater Had a Real Shot at Revival. Will the Show Still Go On?
If you find yourself in conversation with a North Philadelphian of a certain age, chances are you’ll hear a tale about a night at the […]
Inside YaFavTrashman’s Meteoric Rise From Mild-Mannered Sanitation Worker to Garbage Superhero
It’s a glorious Saturday morning in May, and Terrill Haigler, dressed in a gray knit cap, a black work jumpsuit emblazoned with a stylized cartoon […]
Why, 30 Years Later, the World Still Loves Boyz II Men
The music business was an entirely different monster when Boyz II Men dropped their first record back in 1991. It was a time of giant, […]
The Pandemic Forced Big Changes in the Philly Fitness World. Where Does It Go From Here?
On March 13th, I walked into Revel Ride with my spin shoes, my mask, and what felt like first-date jitters. Sure, I had Zoomed Revel’s […]
The Pandemic Exposed Our Broken Higher-Education System. It’s Also Given Us a Chance to Make Things Better
All it took to blow up the American system of higher education was a deadly pandemic. For years, admission to elite colleges and universities has […]
Help Me, Doctor! I’m a Philly Sports Fan
Back in May, as the Sixers were a few games away from snagging the best regular-season record in the Eastern Conference, sportswriter John Gonzalez took […]
Philly’s David Sylvester Has Hugged More Than Half a Million People, and He’s Not Quitting Anytime Soon
The high five I receive from David Hale Sylvester when I meet him for an interview in May is, honestly, breathtaking. The sound — a […]
Philly Houses Are Selling Faster — and for More Money — Than Ever. How Long Can That Last?
So, how out-of-control is the real estate market hereabouts right now? The following two tales might clue you in. The first comes from Cherise Wynne, […]
Jeff David Thinks the Fitler Club Is Key to Philadelphia’s Post-Pandemic Rebirth
Jeff David has a definitive list of the most influential trend-setting cities in America, and Philadelphia isn’t on it. There are what he calls the […]
The Pandemic Made Me Prepare For the Worst. But Nothing Prepared Me to Lose the Love of My Life
In the early days of the pandemic, when civil unrest was at its peak and no one knew when things would “go back to normal,” […]
The World’s a Twisted Place. Thank God We’ll Always Have Mister Softee
It’s an early spring afternoon in West Oak Lane, and I’m about to get ice-cream-man lessons from Morad Khalil, a Mister Softee franchisee who’s been […]
My Neighbors Can’t Believe I Left San Francisco for Philly. I Can’t Believe I Waited This Long
For the past six months, my phone has been blowing up. I’ve gotten at least a hundred text messages from friends and acquaintances who are […]
In Defense of the Ugly But Glorious Mom Swimsuit
One day in early May, exactly 22 days before the local community pool opened, my phone buzzed. It was a half-panicky text from my friend […]
Chef Anthony Andiario Isn’t Trying to “Get Back to Normal”
1. There are chefs everyone knows. There are chefs almost no one knows. There are chefs who came so close to stardom that they’re haunted […]
COVID Stole So Much, But It Couldn’t Take Away Music
When I was a kid growing up in the suburbs in the 1970s, my first encounters with a piano were fairly typical. Starting when I […]