Citizencast

Very few texts have been such a lighting rod for interpretation, counter-interpretation and misinterpretation as the American Constitution. This week, MSNBC host and Citizen board member sits down to discuss this polarizing document with professors and authors Akhil Reed Amar and Jeffrey Rosen. 

On this episode of Memo to Madam Mayor, Larry asks do you want to create a pathway to the middle class? Then forget student loans. Medical debt is where it’s at.

With George Santos in the news again, MSNBC host and Citizen board member Ali Velshi reviews his scandalous rise and how it represents one more lethal blow to shame in politics.

Benefits Data Trust’s CEO — an AI advisor to the president — on what we must remember when using machines to deliver human services

On this episode of Ideas We Should Steal, Mini on-street parks called parklets in cities like Chicago build community and help businesses thrive. So why doesn’t Philly have more?

On this edition of #velshibannedbookclub, MSNBC host and Citizen board member Ali Velshi invites to the show Marjane Satrapi, author of "Persepolis." This bestselling graphic novel explores revolution in Iran and comes to the conclusion that being brainwashed is a choice. Many Iranians, Satrapi observes, are now choosing freedom. 

Hip Hop culture officially turns 50 today. Here, a longtime fan and scholar commemorates the occasion with physics

In this episode of Citizen of the Week, Pastor Buddy offers local kids a safe haven and a path to hope through boxing and prayer. His annual “Rock the Block” party is on Saturday

On this episode of #velshibannedbookclub, MSNBC host and Citizen board member Ali Velshi chats with Benjamin Alire Saenz, author of "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe." This book is one of Time Magazine's 100 Best Young Adult Novels Of All Time and has landed on several banned book lists for its portrayal of LGBT+ issues in the Hispanic community. 

I spoke with Dena Driscoll, volunteer chair of Fifth Square Political Action Committee and a member of the Citizen's Generation Change Philly. I asked her if some of the more effective strategies from Oslo, Norway could be used to combat traffic deaths here in Philly. Her answers surprised me.

In the wake of Donald Trump's third indictment and his position as leading Republican nominee, MSNBC host and Citizen board member Ali Velshi begs the listeners to help him understand just what the hell is going on here.

A Meek Mill-inspired bipartisan bill in Harrisburg revisits state probation reform. The progressive ACLU prefers enduring, not solving, the problem.

In our next episode of How To Really Run a City, Mayor Michael Nutter asks, “You know about the handshake, right? You gotta get up in that web. You gotta own the handshake.” Mayor Kasim Reed agrees, saying that Nutter once also taught him an ancillary move: One hand on the shoulder while the other clasps the hand.  Get insider tips, like the anatomy of the mayoral handshake, from these former two-term mayors. They also compare notes on how to lead with swagger, and on the mentors who convinced them they really could lead their respective cities.  Your hosts then welcome current third-term D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser who shares what it takes to navigate the many obstacles to smart policy and governing in a city that is also (effectively) a county and state — and how she keeps focused on her goal of fueling economic prosperity without leaving anyone behind.

What a change a couple of years make. MSNBC host and Citizen board member Ali Velshi ponders the hypocrisy of the Republican Party's new approach to mail-in ballots. Once demonized as the reason for Trump's election loss, Republicans are now pinning their hopes on voting by mail.

To our presumptive Mayor-elect, Cherelle Parker: appointing a sanitation commissioner like NYC has done could help solve our trash problem

MSNBC host and Citizen board member Ali Velshi talks with Maulik Pancholy, whose book, "The Best At It," landed on banned book lists for examining the mental and sexual health of middle schoolers. 

Vivek Ramaswamy penned an op-ed on the dystopia in Kensington. It was full of laughable political pablum. But he was also kinda right.

A bipartisan bill in the state senate would legalize the sale and use of recreational marijuana. Here’s why PA should do it

Elaine Maimon reflects on what it would take for selective colleges and universities to diversify their campuses.

MSNBC host and Citizen board member Ali Velshi traces what the fossil fuel industries knew about climate change and when they knew it. Over the past forty years we've been living in a consolidated effort to recast the climate crisis as naturally occurring.