Larry Platt

Philadelphia

Philly-based Editor and Author at The Philadelphia Citizen

Philly-based Editor & Author | @thephilacitizen | Latest of five books: "Life is Magic" coming soon

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Articles

Mayor Parker, Put that "One Philly" Rhetoric into Action

5 days ago | thephiladelphiacitizen.org | Larry Platt

May. 09, 2025 It was pushing midnight earlier this week when my phone rang. Luckily I was up late, watching the actual GOAT: Steph Curry. It was Michael Nutter on the caller ID. Along with former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, he and I have a blast hosting a regular podcast — How To Really Run a City — and he was calling about some scheduling issue. But, not just that. I hadn’t detected this level of anguish in the Mayor’s voice since he was managing crises in City Hall.
Why Did I Send the book Abundance to the Mayor and Council?

1 week ago | thephiladelphiacitizen.org | Larry Platt

This week, in heartfelt acknowledgment of our common project, I messengered over to Mayor Parker, City Council President Johnson, and all members of our legislative body — which, by the way, recently released a new, four-color, 45-page report titled “2024: An Incredible Year in Council” — the New York Times bestseller Abundance, by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson.
Some Eagles Go to the White House

2 weeks ago | thephiladelphiacitizen.org | Malcolm Burnley |Olivia Kram |Larry Platt

On April 28, 20 of 53 Eagles players visited the White House, along with their coaches. Thirty-three players did not attend, including Super Bowl LII MVP, Quarterback Jalen Hurts. But only one Eagle played golf with and few on Air Force One with President Trump.
Josh Shapiro, Moral Clarity, Antisemitism and "Jew Hate"

2 weeks ago | thephiladelphiacitizen.org | Larry Platt

First, let’s do a little kvelling, as the chosen people say — that’s Yiddish for the breathless expression of pride. Times of crisis on the public stage tend to reveal character, and how morally on point has our governor been since — and let this sink in — he and his family were the targets of assassination?
Larry Platt: For sale - your state legislature

3 weeks ago | broadandliberty.com | Larry Platt

Larry Platt: For sale — your state legislature A Decrease font size. A Reset font size. A Increase font size. The news is coming at you fast and furious of late, so there’s a lot that naturally slips by.
The Fix: For Sale — Your State Legislature

3 weeks ago | thephiladelphiacitizen.org | Larry Platt

The news is coming at you fast and furious of late, so there’s a lot that naturally slips by. For example: On the national stage, you might have missed that the Trump administration is planning a “big military parade” in D.C. on the president’s 79th birthday, to also mark the 250th anniversary of the United States Army. That’s right: Tanks in the streets honoring Dear Leader.
John Fry’s Call to Arms

1 month ago | thephiladelphiacitizen.org | Larry Platt

We’ve seen a lot more ghosts of Neville Chamberlain lately than, say, apparitions of Winston Churchill. These are stark moral times; appeasers on one side, warriors on the other. In the Academy, endowment-rich institutions like Columbia and Harvard universities have seemed to cower before MAGA-world targeting, as if you can deal-cut your way out of culture war.
Krasner Versus … Trump?

1 month ago | thephiladelphiacitizen.org | Larry Platt

The campaign for District Attorney is off to a rollicking start, with incumbent Larry Krasner and challenger Pat Dugan, longtime municipal court judge, going at it in multiple forums already. It’s gotten snippy, but there have also been moments of high-mindedness. As someone who paid close attention to the races for DA in 2017 and 2021, this one feels more like what a campaign should be: An argument. An exercise in the art of public persuasion.
Peter Wolf at The Free Library

1 month ago | thephiladelphiacitizen.org | Larry Platt

I say this having helped four boldface names pen their top-selling remembrances: Few rise to the vexing challenge of memoir writing — resisting the urge to make you, the memoirist, your narrative’s central character. See the conundrum? It’s yours, but it’s not about you. It is, rather, about something bigger, an idea or set of ideas that subtly nod to a way for the reader to see something new in the familiar.
Three Profiles in Integrity

2 months ago | thephiladelphiacitizen.org | Larry Platt

It’s a little dusty, but there’s this book on my shelf that won a Pulitzer Prize way back in 1957. It’s called Profiles in Courage, written (ghostwritten?) by a dashing soon-to-be President. A democracy, JFK asserted, depends upon “faith that the people will not condemn those whose devotion to principle leads them to unpopular courses, but will reward courage, respect honor and ultimately recognize right.”Ah, them were the days.