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CitizenCast

The Philadelphia Citizenthephiladelphiacitizen.org
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

Literal windows into the soul of America

Artist Sonya Clark has created a video installation called The Descendants of Monticello. It fills the historical Declaration House with unblinking windows into our shared history.

Sep 11, 20245 minSeason 1Ep. 1465

Expect Lace

On this episode of Big Rube's Philly, Reuben Harley chats with Shaw Lewis of Expect Lace, a lingerie shop in Manayunk. Shaw explains how, as a successful Black entrepreneur, she is helping lift women around her, and how she's making both women and men feel comfortable about buying intimates.

Sep 10, 20249 minSeason 1Ep. 1464

Project 2025 & schools

Besides hunting down instances of "woke agendas," MSNBC host and Citizen board member Ali Velshi explains the intense favoritism that would be shown to private religious schools under Project 2025. "Families who already pay for tuition [to private schools], get a break, while those who can't, are forced back into public schools where they are now receiving even fewer resources."

Sep 09, 20247 minSeason 1Ep. 1463

To the Americans who are "politically homeless"

On this special episode of How To Really Run A City , former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter and former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed catch up with the Republican mayor whose speech supporting Kamala Harris ignited the Democratic National Convention. Why'd he do it? To honor the ideals and memory of Senator John McCain. "There is no longer loyalty to principles," Mayor John Giles of Mesa, AZ, told us. "It's all loyalty to Donald Trump. It's been heartbreaking for not just me, but millions and millions of...

Sep 05, 202425 minSeason 1Ep. 1461

Project 2025 & extremist groups

Recently, Donald Trump met with Moms For Liberty, a group that some civil rights watchdogs have branded "extremists." MSNBC host and Citizen board member Ali Velshi lays out what Project 2025 says about "manufactured extremism" and details how the Department of Justice would be sent to dismantle "D.E.I." and other social justice movements.

Sep 02, 20247 minSeason 1Ep. 1458

Let's talk about Abbott Elementary

On this episode of Guest Commentary, a local public elementary school teacher of more than two decades shares what Philly-based Abbott Elementary misses — and what teachers really need

Aug 30, 20246 minSeason 1Ep. 1457

"They don't want to just ban books, they want to ban our children"

On this episode of #velshibannedbookclub, Kiese Laymon joins MSNBC host and Citizen board member Ali Velshi to discuss his banned book "Heavy." Because of its unflinching look at the messiness and weight of love, Laymon's book was banned in Mississippi (right alongside Toni Morrison's work).

Aug 29, 20249 minSeason 1Ep. 1456

What is an auditor general and why should you care?

On this episode of Your City (Commonwealth) Defined, the state’s chief fiscal watchdog is on the ballot in November. Whether it's rooting out grift and fraud, or moving the ball forward on progressive issues, this overlooked office is actually quite important.

Aug 28, 202411 minSeason 1Ep. 1455

Chubby's Fantastic Flavors

On this episode of Big Rube's Philly, Reuben Harley chats with Tyson Devore and Nikki Moore, the owners of Chubby's Fantastic Flavors. They talk real ice cream, opportunities for Black-owned businesses to thrive and how to really come together as a community.

Aug 27, 202411 minSeason 1Ep. 1454

Project 2025 & your bedroom

MSNBC host and Citizen board member Ali Velshi explains what Project 2025 defines as the only family unit that should be accepted by the U.S. government: a biblically-based, social science-reinforced definition of marriage and family. "How's that for limited government?" Velshi asks.

Aug 26, 20247 minSeason 1Ep. 1453

Ala Stanford has advice for Kamala Harris

Dr. Ala Stanford became a household name during Covid. In this interview with Courtney DuChene, she shares her thoughts about equity in medicine and her healthcare vision for a Harris presidency.

Aug 23, 202414 minSeason 1Ep. 1452

Reexamining biracial identity through Kamala Harris

On this week's Citizen WURD segment, Malcolm Burnley joined Evening WURDs host Dr. James Peterson to discuss his recent story, "Fear of a Biracial President," and how he came to embrace his own racial identity.

Aug 22, 202420 minSeason 1Ep. 1451

Does City Council answer residents, like, literally?

What happened when our Gen Z Mystery Shopper reached out to each member of City Council to ask what they are doing about climate change? Let's just say it didn't go well.

Aug 21, 20245 minSeason 1Ep. 1450

Fear of a biracial president

With the Democratic National Convention this week, Malcolm Burnley explains how Kamala Harris will have to talk about race in order to communicate with and connect multiracial Americans to a biracial president

Aug 20, 20249 minEp. 1449

Abortion is a life-saving medical treatment

The treatment for sepsis in the uterus is abortion. The treatment for ectopic pregnancy is abortion. The treatment for miscarriage that won't be expelled is abortion. MSNBC host and Citizen board member Ali Velshi explains why abortion bans pose life-threatening risks to "anyone with a uterus."

Aug 19, 20246 minSeason 1Ep. 1448

There are still hostages in Gaza

Philanthropist and Hostage Release Advocate, Liz Hirsh Naftali, shares with Larry her heartbreaking family hostage story of Oct 7 and how it forever changed the trajectory of her life and work.

Aug 16, 202420 minSeason 1Ep. 1447

What if a bullet cost $5000?

U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey never expected to find herself paired policy-wise with a world famous standup comedian. Yet, that’s exactly what happened when she and Chris Rock — an unlikely policy wonk — came up with the same solution for curbing gun violence in America: Making bullets prohibitively expensive. Elsewhere in this episode of How To Really Run A City, our mayors mull over “ultimate retail politics,” and enlighten the audience on the vital role of a call time manager....

Aug 15, 202441 minSeason 1Ep. 1446

Banned Book Club | All The Light We Cannot See

How does a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about resistance to Nazism in World War II Europe end up on banned book lists in Cambria County, PA? Ali Velshi convenes his #velshibannedbookclub to put that question to the book's author, Anthony Doerr.

Aug 14, 202411 minSeason 1Ep. 1445

The People Left Behind | They are still with us. In a way.

On the flagship episode of The People Left Behind, a new Citizen podcast about the survivors and co-victims of gun violence, audio documentarian Julien Suaudeau introduces us to Laura Madeleine, who transformed her brush with gun violence into the Soul Shots Portrait Project. This new podcast explores what happens to those left behind when the police tape comes down and the news cameras file away.

Aug 13, 202417 minSeason 1Ep. 1444

Project 2025 & Schedule F

What is Donald Trump's "Schedule F," and how does he intend to use it to make federal employees loyal only to him? MSNBC host and Citizen board member Ali Velshi explains.

Aug 12, 20245 minSeason 1Ep. 1443

Why Walz helps Harris win PA

A Pennsylvania history professor on how Minnesota coach-turned-governor Tim Walz could be the key to making America nice again

Aug 09, 20247 minSeason 1Ep. 1442

Why Shapiro was passed over for VP

Progressives targeted Josh Shapiro in the VP sweepstakes. What does that mean for Pennsylvania and what does that say about the Democratic Party?

Aug 08, 20247 minSeason 1Ep. 1441

Beware backpack charity

In this episode of Guest Commentary, a North Philly high school teacher implores charitable donors to choose quality over quantity when donating school supplies

Aug 07, 20245 minSeason 1Ep. 1440

Philly needs a shademaking movement

Philadelphia is getting hotter. We need to start planning for it now with shademaking and green spaces to make warm weather bearable.

Aug 06, 20247 minSeason 1Ep. 1439

Project 2025 & the Justice Department

"What could go wrong," asks Citizen board member and MSNBC host Ali Velshi, "when a criminal is put in charge of the Justice Department?" Velshi returns to the pages of the highly conservative Project 2025 to show how reform centered around revenge poses a dire threat to our system of checks and balances.

Aug 05, 20245 minSeason 1Ep. 1438

The criticism against childless people is asinine

James Baldwin said, "Love each other and raise our children." In time for what would have been Baldwin's 100th birthday, writer and WURD radio host James Peterson reflects on the power of Baldwin's legacy and focuses on the asinine ideology of using children as political talking points.

Aug 01, 202413 minSeason 1Ep. 1436
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