How to Really Run a City powered by Accelerator for America

Governing Like a Startup

Matt Mahan, the wildly popular mayor of San Jose, California, was recently reelected with a whopping 87 percent of the vote. How do you get to what Citizen Co-founder Lar

How To Really Run A City Goes to College

What does it take to be a full participant in your city's civic life? To bring the full weight of your work and personal experience to city planning or policy? To lead a

"We Need Deciders"

"The problems we have as a country don't go away because the federal government leaves the stage," says Mary Ellen Wiederwohl, CEO of Accelerator for America, on the late

A Masterclass in Politics and Fearlessness

In a very special episode of the podcast, our hosts soak up the wisdom of renowned 92-year-old former California Speaker of the House and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown

The U.S. Cities Building Wealth

A recent report by Harvard University's Opportunity Insights revealed a sorry statistic for Philadelphia: We are last in the nation for economic mobility. In other words,

The Key Word in "Progressive" is Progress

Milwaukee, WI Mayor Cavalier Johnson won reelection in 2024 with 80 percent of the vote. "Those are Vladimir Putin levels," joked Citizen Co-Founder Larry Platt. "The d

Are You Ready for Freddie?

Nashville, TN Mayor Freddie O'Connell was compelled to run for office on a simple principle. For too long, transit and infrastructure had been neglected by city officials

Unpacking a Mayor's Superpower

When Republican Stephen Goldsmith was Mayor of Indianapolis, IN, he ran his city by "devolving" decisions down to the grassroots level. He created partnerships with the m

The Sweet Smell of $1 Million For Cities

One of our favorite sayings here at How to Really Run a City is that there are really three political parties in the U.S.: Democrats, Republicans and Mayors — and only on

Breaking Through Media Tribalism

Michael Smerconish is a Sirius XM and CNN host, a prolific political commentator, a nationally recognized author — and leader of the fight for a political center in the U

The Cities Doing Transportation Right

On this episode, our hosts, former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Citizen Co-founder Larry Platt, invite onto the show a guest wel

Mayors Confronting ICE — and Ice

Citizen Co-founder Larry Platt convened podcast co-hosts former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter for a special episode about recent c

The Mayor Dude with the Skater Attitude

On this episode, our hosts, former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Citizen Co-founder Larry Platt, invite onto the show a new frien

"Spare Me Your Bullsh*t"

As mayor of Baltimore and then governor of Maryland, Martin O'Malley used transparency and statistics to drive his city and state forward into the Information Age. And th

Leading a City … With Jokes

This special episode was recorded live at The Philadelphia Citizen's eighth annual Ideas We Should Steal Festival presented by Comcast NBCUniversal. Our hosts, former Phi

A Job, A Hospital, A Park — All Within 15 Minutes

"I don't care if you live in urban America or rural America, everyone wants the same thing," Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said on the latest episode of How To Really Run A

A Political Asshole No More

On this episode of How To Really Run A City, innovation in cities takes a backseat to a more pressing question: How do we find our way back to recognizing the humanity in

Detroit Is Back, Baby!

When Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan took office in 2013, his city had just filed for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.  Today, business is booming, crime has

One City's Answer to Tribalism

When Denver, Colorado Mayor Mike Johnston isn't sparring with congressional Republicans over immigration (and being threatened with jail time), he's pushing his city to e

Reformers are the Future of Cities

"Just keep doing the next right thing, even though it's hard." This mantra has become a political north star for Scranton mayor and recurring How To Really Run A City g