Philadelphia Magazine

Opinion

City Life

You Can’t See Everything: Reflections on Election Day in America, 2026

 Listen to the audio edition here: In the wee hours of Election Day, a Romanian TV reporter was setting up a tripod outside of the […]

City Life

Allan Domb: The Six Pillars of a Successful City

   Listen to the audio edition here: If you ask 10 people what makes a city great, you’ll probably get 10 different answers — from […]

Shane Gillis SNL saturday night live
City Life

Dear Shane Gillis: Please Stop Hosting SNL

     Listen to the audio edition here: This past Saturday, former Philly comedian Shane Gillis made his third attempt at hosting Saturday Night Live […]

philly sports family
City Life

Philly Sports Is My Blended Family’s Love Language

On a September night in 2023, the 13-year-old in my house had a question: “Is this the Super Bowl?” My son and I were doing […]

Be Well Philly

My Son Died of Sickle Cell Disease. The World Still Doesn’t Understand It

     Listen to the audio edition here: My son Hannibal lived with sickle cell disease for 37 years, until his death on September 7, […]

City Life

Crack Down on Flock Cameras. Expand Speed Cameras

     Listen to the audio edition here: Data centers may think they’ve been taking a lot of heat lately. If that’s true, Flock cameras […]

City Life

Dear AT Frenchies, You Had Us at “Geaux Birds!”

Mes chers AT Frenchies, I grew up speaking French at home, but not writing it — my spelling remains atrocious. So when I found your […]

City Life

A Center City Kid Remembers the Academy of Natural Sciences Museum

     Listen to the audio edition here: Somewhere in my storage unit, in a hoard of 20th-century remnants — like my “portable” computer that […]

City Life

The America We Were on 9/11

Twenty-five years later, a former U.S. rep and Army vet remembers that terrible day — and looks for the lessons in American courage and solidarity […]

City Life

An Open Letter to Larry Krasner

Our Trump-like DA indicted himself last week in the court of public opinion by coming up short on public virtue. Here, an offer to help. […]

City Life

The Great Analog Rebellion

Back in May, a friend asked if I wanted to see Bruce Springsteen the following night at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The Boss was closing out […]

City Life

Police Are Not the Answer at Devil’s Pool

Summer is leaving us yet again in Philadelphia, and what parting gifts it has bestowed this year. Cool mornings, warm afternoons, balmy breezes in the […]

Restaurants

Which Closed Philly Restaurant Do You Miss the Most? Here Are Our Critic’s Picks

     Listen to the audio edition here: We spend a lot of time talking here about the newest restaurants, the hottest menus, the most […]

City Life

Econ 101 Tells Us How to Make Philly Better

A few weeks ago I was in a meeting discussing possible incentives to spur more development in Philadelphia. Some smart ideas were put forward, but […]

City Life

Share the Trail. Seriously.

     Listen to the audio edition here: It’s 8 a.m. on a sunny day, and I’m pedaling my way to work. I’m on my […]