CitizenCast

This special episode of How To Really Run a City was recorded live at The Philadelphia Citizen's eighth annual Ideas We Should Steal Festival presented by Comcast NBCUniversal. Our hosts were joined on stage by a return guest, five-term Rochester Hills, Michigan Mayor Bryan Barnett, a Republican.

Barnett is a consummate showman, as evidenced by his increasingly elaborate State of the City addresses (full-scale musical productions). Here, Barnett and the hosts discuss the importance of leading a city with joy and finesse, and how the Democratic party is fumbling the ball — in messaging and in the recent government shutdown. As Mayor Barnett points out, there really is no Republican or Democrat way to fill a pothole. You just fill the pothole.

"The moment you put your foot on the sidewalk," Nutter responded, "people are looking to see how's the mayor doing? Is the city upbeat? Is it grumpy? There's a public impact to this job."

Join us as we dive back into Rochester Hills with Mayor Barnett and explore how to really run a city with style and good humor.

As cities go, so goes the nation!

It's hard to serve others these days. That's why the United Way's Bill Golderer, along with former Big Brothers CEO Marcus Allen, is giving thanks this week to Philly's nonprofit leaders.

"This is, in a sentence, the authoritarian mindset," Ali Velshi says, addressing inflammatory statements made by Trump that critical members of Congress should be arrested, tried, and even executed.

The Citizen bought storied Philadelphia magazine. Here's why.

... and the world. There's been a lot of talk about why Michelin would be bad for Philly's food scene. But it's not the existential threat you think it is.

The Philly fave band will be back at Johnny Brenda's in December for a three-night-only fundraiser to benefit Philly schools. "It seems like a no-brainer to support educating our youth," says frontman Adam Granduciel.

Visit this story on the web for ticket information.

New York's Mayor-elect proved that affordability is a top priority for voters. Can American cities make rents lower and also build more housing?

"Housing isn't unaffordable because of low supply and high demand, it's unaffordable by design." Ali Velshi breaks down the real causes of the housing crisis.

On this episode of CitizenCast, we're bringing you an episode of The Signal, a podcast about insight, solutions and sanity produced by The Bucks County Beacon. The Citizen's own Malcolm Burnley joins host Cyril Mychalejko to discuss the Blue Wave that washed away so many Republican officeholders in Bucks County on Election Day, and what this may signal for the midterms in 2026.

A local politician lays out the reasons why it might be the right time to reconsider an old argument