Longform
How the Pandemic Brought Campbell’s Soup Back From the Brink
Campbell’s Soup was in hot water. The venerable company, born just across the river from Philadelphia in the city of Camden, was due to celebrate […]
My Dog Is My Life, and One Day, He’ll Be Gone
One day, my dog Joey will be gone. Not today, not tomorrow, but the day is coming — and coming sooner than I’d like. I […]
For Years, People Said There Were No Lenape Left in Pennsylvania. This Group Begs to Differ.
It’s a muggy mid-September Sunday, and kayakers and vacationing families are taking in the calm waters of Mauch Chunk Lake, a small reservoir in the […]
Becoming Bok: From Decommissioned School to South Philly’s Center of Creative Cool
From the outside, the Bok Building looks like an old trade school. From the inside — well, it still looks like an old trade school, […]
How Co-Writing a Book About an Interracial Friendship Helped Strengthen Our Own
In the new novel I co-wrote with Christine Pride, We Are Not Like Them, two lifelong friends — one white, one Black — see their […]
Who Deserves a Statue — And Who Never Did? Philly’s Monument Lab May Have Answers
Just last August, a 34-year-old West Philadelphia painter named Joy Taney went door-to-door in Philadelphia’s Fairmount neighborhood and made an unusual request. She wanted people […]
Philly’s Housing Encampments of 2020 Led to a Nationally Celebrated Deal. Then It All Began to Unravel
Edwin Jones spent many of his days riding the El as it hummed over Philadelphia and his nights sleeping in 30th Street Station. Jones, who […]
Todd Carmichael Is Stepping Down as La Colombe’s CEO to Reinvent the Way You Drink Water
What happens when the man who founded La Colombe and forever changed how Philadelphians drink coffee decides he needs a change? He sets out to […]
What’s Going to Happen to All the Crap I’ve Accumulated When I Die?
Not too long ago, we had guests over to the house — a rare event anymore, even as we all slowly reenter the World of […]
Look Out, Philly. Lisa DePaulo Is Back
My first night back in town, I went to the Starbucks next door — why is there always a Starbucks next door? — and a […]
From Hospitals to Restaurants, Philly Employers Can’t Find Enough Workers
Stephen Starr is so desperate for workers, he’s considering turning to child labor. That, anyway, is the premise of a series of recent tongue-in-cheek videos […]
Before COVID, the Uptown Theater Had a Real Shot at Revival. Will the Show Still Go On?
If you find yourself in conversation with a North Philadelphian of a certain age, chances are you’ll hear a tale about a night at the […]
Inside YaFavTrashman’s Meteoric Rise From Mild-Mannered Sanitation Worker to Garbage Superhero
It’s a glorious Saturday morning in May, and Terrill Haigler, dressed in a gray knit cap, a black work jumpsuit emblazoned with a stylized cartoon […]
Why, 30 Years Later, the World Still Loves Boyz II Men
The music business was an entirely different monster when Boyz II Men dropped their first record back in 1991. It was a time of giant, […]
The Pandemic Forced Big Changes in the Philly Fitness World. Where Does It Go From Here?
On March 13th, I walked into Revel Ride with my spin shoes, my mask, and what felt like first-date jitters. Sure, I had Zoomed Revel’s […]