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| |  | Walking by a mural like this, you might miss its story. On a walking tour, you may learn about this mural by David Guinn — “Garden of Delight.” (Asha Prihar/City Cast Philly) |
| Walking is making a comeback. It's not that people haven't been walking, but across the country city-dwellers are specifically choosing to walk around their neighborhoods to learn about where they live. | | You've seen Philly from your car, from SEPTA, and maybe from your bike along the river, but what about taking a long walk? Groups like Walk Around Philadelphia organize "adventures close to home," and even we, your humble City Cast Philly, have guides to Philly for art, beer, history, and ghosts that can inspire walking tours. | - Philly is The Country's Most Walkable City. It's true! For the fourth year in a row, we've been ranked the number one walkable city in the U.S. We talked about why on the podcast — the perfect thing to listen to as you walk around the block 🍃. [USA Today, City Cast Philly]
- Beer History Tours. Philly's history is deeply intertwined with beers and brewing — how do you think Brewerytown got its name? One way to learn more is through brewery tours, whether they are individual brewery tours to see different processes and taste profiles, or multi-brewery adventures to see the industry in context.
- Street Art Walking Tours. Even though we have some of the country's best museums, you don't have to buy a ticket to see some of Philly's best art. There are group-led mural tours, self-led audio tours, and neighborhood deep-dives. These walking art tours — including one led by Street Dept’s Conrad Benner, our guest on today’s show — are the way to go.
- Philly History Tours. You've almost certainly gone to see the Liberty Bell, but Philadelphia's freedom history doesn't end there. Abolitionists fought against slavery in Philly for decades, and museums now celebrate their accomplishments and help us remember what many of our ancestors had to endure. These slavery and abolition tours take you through neighborhoods and museums dedicated to telling those stories.
- The City of Phantomly Love. If you're the kind of person who listens to City Cast Philly on long, winding, night-time walks, you may be intrigued by a tour that connects our city with other realms. This ghost tour of Philly has been going on for more than 30 years. We sat down with the author of "Haunted History of Philadelphia" to talk about ghosts, ghouls, and even a "witchy Betsy Ross."
| | One more walking idea: The new self-guided Path to Democracy tour follows American history through Old City, kind of like Boston's Freedom Trail. We talked all about it on the podcast today. | | |
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| What Philly's Talking About |
|  | Abandoned cars are an eyesore and a nuisance. (simonlong / Getty Images) |
| 3,100+ Abandoned Cars Removed | They are unsightly, sometimes dangerous, and Philadelphians don't like them. The city has received more than 8,000 complaints about abandoned cars this year through 311 — the second biggest complaint behind garbage collection. Philly Police continue to investigate and remove cars, but wait times are unpredictable. [Axios] | | Without a SEPTA bus driver, who responds to you yelling, ‘back door!’? | Now that Waymo’s autonomous cars are almost here, could self-driving SEPTA buses be far behind? That's the thinking behind a new bill proposed by State Rep. Ben Waxman. The bill would require any autonomous vehicle weighing more than 10,000 pounds to have a human driver on board. Currently there aren't plans for buses that drive themselves, but "things are moving quickly," says Waxman. "This could be a real thing that happens." [WHYY] | | Freedom Fuel Offers Gas Discounts. How? | It's still unclear how the Trump-promoted Freedom Fuel stations can offer gas prices sometimes 30 cents lower than competitors, but a former Baltimore Ravens assistant coach might have something to do with it. The mysterious company, supported by the White House on X, has 29 locations in the Philly region — but one may close due to a failed inspection. [The Inquirer, X] | | Philly's Pharmacies Fight Back | Even as the public complains about their treatment at chain locations, and even though community businesses offer a human touch, neighborhood pharmacies are struggling. Much of it is because of middlemen — pharmacy benefit managers — who negotiate drug prices and affect profit margins. A quarter of the state's pharmacies have closed since 2020. [Philly Mag] |
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In unfortunate news, our friends at Triple Bottom Brewing report that they were robbed. Maybe stop by sometime this week to help them out. | | And thank you to our newest neighbors! Steven A., Alexandra B., Theresa H., and Tobias H. If you want to become a neighbor, to get perks like members-only podcast listening, access to special events, and a weekly members email, join us. |
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