Citizen Must-Reads

Arguing With Trump, American Poisons and an American Pope …

… and other picks from our staff to help you navigate the news this week

By The Philadelphia Citizen Staff

Is this Really Government “Efficiency”?

Trump and DOGE supposedly want to make public institutions more efficient. So why, a longtime university president wonders, are they targeting a local higher ed consortium that brings in money and impacts thousands?

By Elaine Maimon

Will Trump’s Budget Cuts Mean More Shootings?

Despite helping to slow bloodshed, several local gun violence prevention community groups are losing federal funding

By Mensah M. Dean

The Pedestal We Put Them On

Shut up and dribble? Responsibility as role models? How to interpret the Eagles who went — and didn’t go — to the White House.

By Malcolm Burnley, Olivia Kram and Larry Platt

Jalen Hurts Just Showed Us Leadership Isn’t Optional

In his Substack, Love, Art & War, former Super Bowl-winning Eagle and activist Malcolm Jenkins says when the stakes are highest, leadership isn’t a speech or a slogan: It’s a choice

By Malcolm Jenkins
Listen

Ali Velshi Banned Book Club and the Threat to Our Nation’s Libraries

The MSNBC host and Citizen board member invites Jon Yaged, CEO of Macmillan Publishers, to discuss the vital role of IMLS

By Ali Velshi
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Ali Velshi — Do We Now Live in a Surveillance State?

The MSNBC host and Citizen board member talks with Caitlin Dickerson and Petra Molnar about the growing surveillance state and how big-donor tech companies are threatening due process

By Ali Velshi
Guest Commentary

Ronald v. Donald on Black Educators

The divergence between these two GOP presidents highlights how far half of the body politic has moved in just under four decades

By Sharif El-Mekki

Hail to the Champions of University Values

The presidents of Temple and Princeton are setting an example for what leaders must do in today’s political climate, according to a longtime university president

By Elaine Maimon
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Ali Velshi Explains How Even With The Tariff Pause, Prices Went Up

The MSNBC host and Citizen board member reintroduces our hypothetical American "Betty" to hash out the damage that tariffs are causing our economy, despite the "pause"

By Ali Velshi