Opinion
I Took a COVID-19 Vaccine Selfie. Then the Questions Came Pouring In.
On Saturday, I walked into Deliverance Church in North Philly and got my first of two injections of COVID-19 vaccine. A few days earlier, I […]
After Trump Insurrection, the Need for Newsroom Diversity Couldn’t Be More Obvious
It’s been a week and a day since a mob of domestic terrorists stormed the Capitol Building. Six people died as a result of the […]
I’m Bad at Journaling, but a Memory Jar Helps Me Stay Grounded
Welcome to Ritual, Be Well Philly’s column of essays about the low-tech, inefficient things we do that pleasurably slow us down. From taking the long […]
Philadelphia’s Homicide Rate Hit a Record High. Now Can We Get Serious About Defunding Police?
At the start of a new year in Philly, I’ve come to expect two initial headaches: the Mummers doing something stupid, and another disappointing annual […]
10 Philly Comforts We Hope to See Again in 2021
Now that 2020 is in the books, it’s time to start planning for a better 2021. Among the many hardships of 2020 was the way […]
2020 in Review: These Are the People and Things I’m Grateful For in a Challenging Year
While stocking up on last-minute groceries at Whole Foods this week, I got my privilege checked. As I was wrapping up a call, I began […]
5 Dining Resolutions for a Better, Healthier, More Delicious 2021
Around this time each year, we put together a list of dining resolutions. With age comes wisdom, ya know? We learn about predatory delivery apps […]
2020 in Review: 11 Winners (and No Losers) from Philly’s Strange Year
Now that 2020 is (mercifully) more or less behind us, it’s time to take a look back at the year that was. Around here, that […]
All the Little Things We Miss About Restaurants
It’s been so long since I’ve been seated inside a restaurant that I’m starting to forget what it was like. When indoor dining was an […]
Black Americans Don’t Trust the COVID Vaccine. It’s Up to Doctors to Change That
As the first COVID-19 vaccinations are being administered in America, a sense of relief has come over me. This feels like the beginning of the […]
2020 Even Ruined Snow Days. Great.
It’s the winter of 1964. I’m eight years old, in the second grade, living with my parents and three siblings in Glenside, a sleepy Montco […]
Let’s Talk About the Economic Reason “Defund the Police” May Be a Hard Sell in Philadelphia
Last summer, the term “Defund the police” took off following the extrajudicial police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many others. But like many […]
The Best Thing That Happened This Week: Patti LaBelle Gushes About Philly in the New York Times
Okay, so everybody’s been talking about Dolly Parton and Barack Obama. But there are three divas featured in the new issue of T, the New […]
I’m a Penn Alum — There’s Nothing Charitable About Their $100 Million Donation
It sounded too good to be true. And so it was. The University of Pennsylvania, an institution with a $14.9 billion endowment, announced before Thanksgiving […]
Another PA Republican Tests Positive for COVID, This Time Mid-Meeting with Trump
Nothing is ever surprising these days, so the news that a delegation of conspiracy-theorizing elected representatives from Pennsylvania descended on the White House to meet […]