A few radical ideas to make Philly government more open and transparent
Feeling alienated from your government at all levels? Larry Platt says maybe we should change our relationship to it.
Jan 15, 2021•8 min•Season 1Ep. 522
CitizenCast
The Philadelphia Citizen podcast offers spoken versions of articles, deeper dives into the political, social and cultural workings of our city, explainers on the issues of our day, interviews, conversations and solutions. Lots of solutions. All to help you become a better citizen of your city.
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Episodes
Reality Check: The music program that helps parents write deeply personal lullabies for their children
WURD host Charles Ellison talks with Jacinda Arellano, Program Coordinator at the Philadelphia Lullaby Project, about the six-week program that pairs babies and their caregivers with local professional musicians to create intimate lullabies
Jan 14, 2021•12 min•Season 1Ep. 521
How to Reform the City Charter
Our Drexel class tried to rewrite Philly’s constitution. Here are some of the best ways to change the relationship between the governed and the government.
Jan 13, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 520
A Trump-supporting PA Senator offered hope after the Capitol incursion
A day after thugs waving confederate flags breached the Capitol, Sen. Gene Yaw provides a glimpse of courage and decency
Jan 08, 2021•9 min•Season 1Ep. 519
Trump and GOP's electoral insurrection eerily recalls 'The Crucible'
Theater director David Bradley on how Trump’s post-election enablers have thrust us into a real-life version of Arthur Miller's seminal work.
Jan 07, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 518
How do we convince Philadelphians to get their Covid vaccine?
Getting skeptical Philadelphians to receive their Covid-19 vaccine will take trust-building—and ample creativity. These locals are on it.
Jan 04, 2021•9 min•Season 1Ep. 517
Reality Check: Boys' Latin figured out ways to boost classroom attendance. Here's how.
Kenneth Bourne of Boys' Latin chats with WURD host Charles Ellison about how we approach the problem of low attendance in Philly schools.
Jan 03, 2021•27 min•Season 1Ep. 516
Jim Kenney's Should-be New Year's Resolutions: Hope
After the worst year ever, Larry Platt offers three new year's resolutions for Mayor Jim Kenney. Hope springs eternal, right?
Jan 01, 2021•8 min•Season 1Ep. 515
Philly, I Miss Your Face
Philly high school teacher Maureen Boland pens an ode to something we miss most this year: faces and smelling and community in general
Dec 30, 2020•5 min•Season 1Ep. 514
This pandemic can make us better
Local civic leader Richard Phillips says the coronavirus pandemic can be an opportunity to reinvent Philadelphia.
Dec 28, 2020•6 min•Season 1Ep. 513
Suck it, 2020!
A compendium of the things we cared about in a super crappy year
Dec 25, 2020•8 min•Season 1Ep. 512
Can Bill Hite actually manage a $3.5 billion bureaucracy?
Philly Superintendent William Hite has taken some hits lately. Does he have what it takes to manage—and tame—a $3.5 billion bureaucracy? The evidence is...conflicting.
Dec 24, 2020•8 min•Season 1Ep. 511
Helping returning citizens find jobs. In the cannabis industry.
TerraVida Holistic Centers and the Urban League team up to secure rights--and jobs--for people with previous cannabis-related convictions.
Dec 22, 2020•8 min•Season 1Ep. 510
Josh Shapiro on his court brief that exposes the lie in Trump's election fight
Josh Shapiro and his take-no-prisoners Supreme Court brief helped expose the fraud that is Donald Trump’s claims of election rigging.
Dec 18, 2020•8 min•Season 1Ep. 509
What would it be like if Black lives did matter?
In the wake of a Black Lives Matter banner being vandalized in Center City, author and lecturer Lorene Cary reflects on the human capacity to see the sacredness in each other.
Dec 17, 2020•6 min•Season 1Ep. 508
One school figured out how to boost attendance during Covid-19. Here's how.
Boys’ Latin social worker Kenneth Bourne II explains how boosting attendance in school means changing how we approach the problem.
Dec 15, 2020•6 min•Season 1Ep. 507
Reality Check: Philadelphia Youth Basketball is there for kids—even in pandemic times
Kenny Holdsman, President of Philadelphia Youth Basketball, and Aaron Crump chat with WURD host Charles Ellison about how basketball leagues can keep kids off the streets.
Dec 13, 2020•21 min•Season 1Ep. 506
Rep. Martina White throws in with the delusional Trump crowd
She was the best hope for reform in Philly politics. But now Martina White has sided with the crazies who deny the results of the election.
Dec 11, 2020•7 min•Season 1Ep. 505
The Evolution of Bok
Six years in, the Bok has overcome neighborhood skeptics to become so much more than a mere space for Philadelphia's creative set.
Dec 10, 2020•8 min•Season 1Ep. 504
Proof that racism makes the pandemic worse for everyone
Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff uncovers the fact that the racism that underpins outcomes in the pandemic, also drives the spread of the pandemic.
Dec 08, 2020•6 min•Season 1Ep. 503
Trump's Age of Denial has come to Philadelphia
How Councilwoman Helen Gym and Mayor Jim Kenney are catching the allergy to reality.
Dec 04, 2020•9 min•Season 1Ep. 502
Philadelphia and the revival of classical music in China
"Beethoven in Beijing", a fascinating new documentary, recounts the Philadelphia Orchestra’s role in breaking through Mao's Cultural Revolution and bringing classical music to the People's Republic of China.
Dec 03, 2020•8 min•Season 1Ep. 501
In Virginia, a basketball league cut the gun violence rate. Can we do it here?
We catch up with Philadelphia Youth Basketball, a local youth organization that uses hoops to keep kids off the streets and away from guns.
Dec 01, 2020•7 min•Season 1Ep. 500
Reality Check: Students weave the anguish of 2020 into song
WURD host Charles Ellison chats with Ezechial Thurman, music technology teacher at Hill-Freedman World Academy, as well as David Bradley, producer at World Cafe Live about a new album by local students that has become one of the most poignant soundtracks of 2020.
Nov 29, 2020•21 min•Season 1Ep. 499
This holiday season Philly chefs serve those in need
With The People's Kitchen, local chefs are serving food to those in need, while fueling awareness and action around social justice.
Nov 26, 2020•6 min•Season 1Ep. 498
The key to boosting turnout for local elections
Author John Kromer writes that we can't depend on our committee people to boost election turnout. The power to do that lies in our hands.
Nov 25, 2020•7 min•Season 1Ep. 497
How do we get past our deep divisions? Philadelphia can guide us | Opinion
Thomas Koenig writes that the insights on government penned in the city centuries ago point a way forward for America.
Nov 24, 2020•6 min•Season 1Ep. 496
Is Joe Biden the new RFK?
The 2020 election results reveal the potential for a transformative new coalition—if Joe Biden can channel his inner RFK
Nov 20, 2020•9 min•Season 1Ep. 495
Want to make better decisions? These Penn scientists can help
Professor Katy Milkman is leading groundbreaking research to uncover why we make the decisions we do (about what we eat, when we exercise and even whether or not we'd take the Coronavirus vaccine) and then tells us how we can make better choices.
Nov 19, 2020•8 min•Season 1Ep. 494
A few ways you can help Philadelphians in need during Thanksgiving
Give back during Thanksgiving this year—deliver turkeys, assemble care packages, donate clothing and more. We'll show you how.
Nov 17, 2020•5 min•Season 1Ep. 493
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