Metropolis
Helen Gym Is Ready for Battle Over Roe, the Sixers and More
She started out as a journalist and then a teacher before becoming a community organizer and an activist. Now, City Councilmember Helen Gym is, perhaps, […]
What Gardening Taught Me About Myself — and America
I’m on my knees in a light rain, tugging at a maple seedling. There used to be a maple tree in the backyard of the […]
How COVID Warped Our Sense of Time
I’ve always had a good memory, at least in an autobiographical sense. In my little group of old-time friends, I’m the one everybody calls when […]
This Is Why Prescription Drugs Have Such Weird-Ass Names
Get out the party hats and cake, everybody, and get ready to boogie. It was 25 years ago this month that the Food and Drug […]
Kevin Bacon on Cheesesteaks, Playing Villains, and “Six Degrees”
From Friday the 13th and Footloose to JFK, A Few Good Men, and a plethora of new projects, Philly’s own Kevin Bacon has had a […]
WDAS Legend Patty Jackson on Faith, Lizzo, and Delivering “Auntie Advice”
The most listened-to radio station in Philadelphia is 105.3 WDAS-FM. And the best-known local personality at that station is its midday host, the one and […]
Hot Fat Summer: An Ode to Beach Bodies at Every Shape and Size
There’s a moment that’s always hard for me but has gotten easier over time, and that moment is standing on the beach or at the […]
Confessions of a Jaded Millennial
The first time I was eligible to cast a vote for president, I cast it for a Black man. It was 2012, and mine was […]
How One Philly Institute Is Demystifying the Serious Science of Smells
Flashback to 1968, and the dining room of our house in Glenside. I’m 12. It’s a Friday night, and my mom is Catholic, which means […]
Pierre Robert’s Long, Strange Trip: 40 Years on the Air in Philly
When Pierre Robert took a job at WMMR in 1981, he had no idea that he’d hit retirement age at the same station, playing some […]