Longform
The Ugly Philly-Centric Feud at the Center of America’s 250th Birthday Celebration
Independence Hall. A glorious spring day. Enthused parents and less-enthused teenagers march around, gazing up at the bronze statue of Commodore John Barry, his outstretched […]
Main Line Mystery: Dallyn Pavey’s 40-Year Search for Her Vanished Dad
Dallyn Pavey’s basement in Wayne is more interesting than most. First, there are the gold and platinum records hanging on the walls. Some were earned […]
The Philadelphia Folk Festival Is Hanging On By a String
Pinch me. There was Judy Collins, love of my seriously folked-up teenage life, sitting alone under a willow tree on the Wilson Farm at the […]
Post-COVID, Does Center City Have a Future?
If you ever find yourself awake at three o’clock in the morning and would like some company as you fret about whatever it is you’re […]
Michael Forman — the Philly Power Player You’ve Never Heard of — Is About to Make Some Noise
“My dominant character trait is I’m really, really impatient,” Michael Forman says. It’s a Tuesday evening in February, and Forman, CEO of Philly financial firm […]
Wilmington Is Becoming the It City Next Door
The bar is three or even four people deep, making it tough to get through the door. Inside, millennials and boomers alike are sipping fancy […]
Telemedicine Revolutionized Healthcare. But Its Future Is Uncertain
Last year, at age 28, Tori Muchnik found a lump on her right breast. After an ultrasound indicated it was normal, she went back to […]
Will the Real Estate Boom Change Philadelphia’s Status as a City of Homeowners?
Up on North 16th Street in Ogontz, a few blocks from Broad and Olney, someone bought a newly renovated rowhouse in early March, about a […]
The Totally Accidental Success Story of Delco Steaks
It was The Beard’s first night playing in Philly: Wednesday, March 2, 2022. With 15 minutes to go before tip-off, bands of rabid fans were […]
Paul Martino’s Audacious Plan to Disrupt the Republican Party
I start with a problem — a problem we all share in one way or another. I told a friend I was working on a […]
Trouble Telling Left from Right? You’re Not Alone.
My husband and I are in the car, and he’s driving. I’m giving directions. “Make a left up there,” I tell him, pointing. “Just past […]
Inside the Plan to Bring New Energy to the PECO Power Station on the Waterfront
They’re keeping the smokestacks. The eight 167-foot-high chimneys of the former PECO Delaware Generating Station haven’t barfed out noxious exhaust from coal that’s burning to […]
Benjamin Franklin: 45 Things You Never Knew About Philly’s Own Founding Father
This month on WHYY TV 12, PBS.org and the PBS Video app, historical documentarian extraordinaire Ken Burns debuts a new two-part, four-hour production, Ben Franklin, […]
My So-Called (Semi-Sober) Life
There wasn’t one catastrophic event that led me to reevaluate my relationship with alcohol. Rather, smaller, not-so-great moments began stringing themselves together like pearls on […]
The Surprising Truth — and Fascinating Science — Behind Smiles
My daughter Marcy was in high school when her course of orthodontia went seriously awry, resulting in the loss of two of her front teeth. […]