The Philly Blunt: The Podcast That Celebrates Philly

Chick Goodroe is a former burglar and influential member of Philly’s infamous K&A Gang. Now, a man who has done his time and moved on to more a more legal lifestyle, Chick joins The Philly Blunt—with K&A Gang author Allen Hornblum—Chick joined us to talk about his entrance into the world of burglary, some of his best and worst heists, and running in a world of fast cash, fast cars, and Playboy Playmates.The K&A Gang, also known as Philly’s Irish Mob, was a legendary group of predominately burglars from the 1950s through the 1970s. Chick Goodroe was one of its youngest members.Chick once spent two days hiding in the Wetlands after the police found a safe in his car during a check point, spent a decade on the run in Florida, tried to rob Don Ho’s apartment while on vacation in Hawaii, and even had a rabbi in Connecticut unknowingly introduce him to potential targets.  This is a fascinating interview and rare glimpse into the criminal world of another era, one in which he and his gang never used any weapons.Thanks to author and former Blunt guest Allen Hornblum for making this happen and sitting in with us. His book about the K&A Gang is available HERE.Thanks also to O’Neal’s Pub for hosting this fun interview. 

Gabby Ortiz stands five feet tall. She grew up near 2nd & Somerset in Philly. She was raised in a household of wrestling fans and now she is a champion professional wrestler.Gabby joins The Philly Blunt to talk about how her career began, life as a female in professional wrestling, and her future plans.A random conversation at Philly’s Terror Behind the Walls led Gabby to an audition at the legendary Monster Factory wrestling school. That began a professional wrestling journey which took her to Japan and then to a female championship title.We discuss her early days, the dark side of professional wrestling, the collaboration between wrestlers necessary to complete a successful match, and the body-image pressures female wrestlers deal with.Gabby is a charming personality who gave us a rare glimpse into the world of female professional wrestling often glamorized in popular series such as GLOW. We think this is an interview you’ll find entertaining and informative.

Conrad Benner is the person and energy behind Streets Dept. Streets Dept is a “Best of” Philly podcast as well as widely popular street-art blog. The blog is celebrating its 10th year in existence in 2021. Born and raised in Fishtown, Conrad has always had an interest in the arts. We talked about the early days of Streets Dept and his decision to leave a stable job in marketing and pursue his blog full-time.Conrad is the expert in Philly street art. He discusses Philly’s current art scene, the repurposing of classic Philly buildings, and how his blog has developed over the years. Conrad discusses the influence his parents have had on him as well as their support in his  coming out as a gay man. Conrad also has smart, progressive views on how this city can improve and he’s not shy about his disappointment in Mayor Jim Kenney. Will he eventually run for office in Philly? Benner is regularly listed as one of Philadelphia’s most influential people and it’s well-deserved recognition. We think you’ll enjoy this interview with one of Philly’s more interesting and passionate residents.LINKS:www/twitter/facebook/instagram

Allen Hornblum is an activist, writer, lecturer, and investigative journalist who has tackled some of Philadelphia’s more intense stories.As a worker in the Philly Prison systems, Allen noticed prisoners with bandages all over their skin. He inquired what was going on, which led him to uncover one of the more egregious experiments in Philadelphia history. Dermatologists at Penn conducted a variety of tests on unknowing prisoners at Holmesburg Prison. He later discovered the government was also involved in conducting experiments involving chemical warfare agents and other drugs. He wrote a book called Acres of Skin about the unethical experiments by one of the world’s leading dermatologists.Hornblum also did an exhaustive study and investigation into the K&A Gang out of Kensington. The K&A Gang was basically Philly’s Irish Mafia, which focused on house burglaries around the Philly suburbs. They eventually became involved in drug dealing and helped make Philadelphia the meth capital of the country. Hornblum talked in depth about both of these books and moments in Philadelphia history. It’s a fascinating discussion.Hornblum is a wild and intense guy who covers very serious Philly issues. You gotta hear these stories.LINKS:Allen Hornblum

Judy Ni is of Taiwanese decent. She started out in the corporate world, but decided to follow food obsession and enter the restaurant world. Starting at the bottom, Judy worked her way to the top at fine dining establishments in the New York City and Philadelphia area. After some years in Philly at Farm & Fisherman, Judy and her husband decided to go back to her family roots and open a casual Taiwanese restaurant in Philly. They call it Baology, it’s at 18th and JFK and it’s receiving rave reviews.Judy is also a driving force behind the non-profit Hospitality Together which seeks to create a supportive eco-system to help underserved young adults and training the next generation of Philly chefs at the same time.LINKS:Baology: www/Facebook/Twitter/Instagram

He’s written over 130 songs about the video game Mega Man, which earned him a Guinness World Record, rapped a Comic-Con, taught middle-school kids, and recently wrote a memoir. He is Mega Ran and he’s our guest on this episode of The Philly Blunt.Mega Ran grew up in West Oak Lane and graduated from Martin Luther King High School. As a kid, he was into video games as well as music. He decided to combine his two loves and started making songs about his favorite video game, Mega Man. Soon after, he became powerful force in the world of Nerdcore Hip-Hop playing conventions around the world.We talk about how Mega Ran got started, what it’s like playing to a Comic-Con, and growing up in West Oak Lane. Mega Ran thinks that 6th, 7th, and 8th graders are the worst kids to teach. We ask him to expound about that. He also thinks nerds today have it much easier than being a nerd when he was growing up.Mega Ran recently wrote a memoir about his life, the struggles of being a young Black kid with nerdy interests, and his successes. We spend some time talking about the new book, Dream Master, and then hit him with The Blunt Round.LINKS:Mega Ran: www/FB/Instagram/Twitter/Twitch/Book

WALLIS, A 15-year-old from the Philly suburbs has released the perfect 2020 Christmas song called, Lonely Christmas. The song has gone viral with over 600K views in less than two weeks and on has garnered mentions on The Today Show’s website Ellen DeGeneres on social media and massive sharing. WALLIS joins us with her father on this episode of The Philly Blunt to discuss the song, the video, and handling her new found fame.

LINKS:WALLIS: Instagram

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. is squid crazy, owns the Squidmobile, determined to bridge the gap between scientists and the general public through Skype-A-Scientist, and a resident of Fishtown. She’s also our guest on this episode of The Philly Blunt.

McAnulty wasn’t your normal kid. She found joy in digging in the backyard and observing nature and animals. A National Geographic children’s video, which she rented from the library, featuring the color-changing cephalopod known as a cuttlefish changed her life. From that point on, she decided to study cuttlefish and cephalopods. After graduating high school, she earned a bachelor’s degree in marine biology from Boston University. Now, she’s got a Ph.D. in cellular and molecular biology and she drives the Squidmobile. She once took the Squidmobile on a cross-country Squids Across America Tour.

The Squidmobile is her Toyota Rav4. It is covered in squid drawings, facts, and a number you can text for squid facts. Yes, Sarah personally answers every text. 

Sarah is founder of the non-profit Skype-A-Scientist, which seeks to make science more accessible to children and people of color. When school is in session, Skype-A-Scientist pairs scientists from underrepresented groups (women and people of color) with classrooms of a similar background.

Sarah exudes passion and excitement for science and squids throughout this enjoyable interview. It’s fun and informative. You might even think twice before ordering that next order of calamari…nah, probably not.

LINKS:

Sarah McAnulty: Twitter/Instagram

Skype A Scientist

Jeffrey McNeill, or as he’s better known Thee Phantom, is a Philly native who is the leader of the Illharmonic Orchestra, where he combines the world of hip-hop and classical music.McNeill started on his journey at the age of eight when he mashed up the Beastie Boys with Beethoven. McNeill has traveled the world introducing hip-hop fans to classical music and vice versa.He played with a 50 person orchestra in Seattle. He sold out the Kimmel Center and  played Carnegie Hall.McNeill joins the Blunt for this episode to talk out his early experimental days, how people in the classical world weren’t always receptive to playing hip-hop, his business acumen, and his plans for the Illharmonic Orchestra.LINKSThee Phantom & The Illharmonic Orchestra: Facebook, www

Season 5 Episode 4 of Queer Eye in Philadelphia featured Tyreek Wanamaker from Philadelphia. Queer Eye is a fun, inspiring show and the episode with Tyreek may be the most inspirational. Tyreek is our guest on this episode.Tyreek overcame a variety of obstacles in his life including having a brother doing life in prison and being homeless much of his high school years. These days, Tyreek is active in his community. He is co-founder of the non-profit organization The Block Gives Back, which aims to “promote community involvement and engagement throughout Philadelphia by targeting issues within the community and devising a plan to recruit local volunteers, businesses, organizations and community leaders to help us in working toward a solution.” They do a weekly event called Feed the Block which creates food for those in need.He also works at The Mighty Writers were he helps kids master the art of communicating effectively through the written word.We caught up with Tyreek about his experiences on Queer Eye, how is life has changed since the show, the community work that he’s currently involved with, and his future plans, which may include running for a local office.Tyreek on Instagram