This week’s column covers the ongoing Washington West Historical District saga, a 1,000 mayoral days, a City Council member who should retire, and an NFL coach who is a secret urban planning enthusiast.
Members of the Philadelphians for Rational Preservation gather at Seger Park in the Washington Square West neighborhood in July 2025. The group opposes the Washington Square West Historic District designation.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
People vs. preservation
In a City Hall courtroom, lawyers for the city and the preservation alliance sought to defend the designation of the Washington West Historic District against a coalition of homeowners who have claimed the decision has cost them time and money. The outcome could have significant ramifications for such districts across Philadelphia.
Dan Auerbach, a lawyer for the homeowners, says the district was created without sufficient evidence, and that a historic commissioner’s participation in drafting the document represents a conflict of interest. Attorneys Leonard Reuter and Paul Toner, who represented the defendants, took a different approach.
When Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Hall repeatedly asked for evidence, beyond the nomination itself, for the district’s historic significance, Toner replied, “I don’t need to.” The commission’s decision to approve is apparently all that’s required. They also argued that historic designation does not impose significant costs on homeowners.
Hall seemed to take a skeptical view of these claims. As Auerbach pointed out, most pages of that document simply inventory the existing properties. Often, newly designated homes have no specific justification at all, or just a few words.
Personally, I also find the dismissal of the real costs imposed on homeowners to be unconvincing. According to evidence supplied by Philadelphians for Rational Preservation, the group that formed in opposition to the district, homeowners who have been added to the district are already seeing adverse impacts. Door and window replacements now require permits, for example, and homeowners must spend considerably more to acquire historically accurate versions. This costs real time and real money.
It may be that this district is simply too large and too broad. The period of significance covers nearly the entire history of Philadelphia, and many of the newly designated buildings are frankly unremarkable. While the city and the preservation alliance may feel the urge to appeal the matter to the Commonwealth Court, my suggestion is that they don’t.
While I am skeptical of this particular nomination, I do think historic districts have a role to play in our city. Many of them are popular with residents, or have existed for so long that most homeowners were aware of the restrictions before purchasing.
In the case of Washington West, however, the commission may simply have been too ambitious. The geographic range is just too large, the period of significance too extensive, and the residents themselves too strongly opposed.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker at a news conference in September.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Mayoral milestone
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker celebrated her 1,000th day in office earlier this week at McPherson Square Library in Kensington, which is set to receive a $21.7 million renovation. Parker has made investing in Kensington a priority in her administration, although some of her priorities have been contested.
She’s added police patrols to the neighborhood, sought to dismantle the drug market, and increased cleaning and greening efforts. She’s also come under fire from harm reduction advocates for eliminating funding for the nonprofit Prevention Point and city efforts to rein in a network of services built to alleviate the struggles of addiction, which some residents have blamed for the drug market’s continuing presence in their community.
In many ways, Kensington is a microcosm of Parker’s tenure.
Her administration has made genuine progress. Violent crime is at historic lows, with decreases in the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods driving the decline. Surveys suggest residents believe the city has gotten cleaner under her leadership. Yet discontent, some legitimate and some not, continues. Parker’s approval rating sits at 44%, a number that is likely high enough for reelection next year, but isn’t strong enough to give her the political capital she needs to take on and win fights with City Council.
The biggest factors in whether residents approve or disapprove of the mayor seem to be their age and race. Among Philadelphians of color and those older than 45, Parker is popular. For those under 45 and white voters, she’s not.
It is easy to say this divide is based on style. As Parker herself has said, she’s unapologetic about who she is and where she came from. To residents who may be fans of New York’s Zohran Mamdani, Parker may seem old-fashioned and unexciting. Of course, Mamdani also has a municipal budget of $126 billion at his disposal, while Parker makes do with just $7 billion.
But a lot of it has to do with substance. Small-business owners have lost a crucial tax exemption; her vaunted ability to work across the aisle has not resulted in sustainable transit funding or enabled the school district to avoid closing 17 schools; and Parker has shied away from the ambitious civic reformer causes embraced by predecessors like Michael Nutter.
If the mayor intends to reach 2,000 days in office without becoming yet another tired and unpopular chief executive, she’ll have to step up her game.
Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr. in chambers as City Council meets in December.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Jonesing to stay
Fourth District Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr. has had a long and often laudatory career in public service. But it is now time for it to end.
Jones cited his ongoing health issues as justification to The Inquirer, saying he needed the money to pay for treatment. I certainly sympathize with anyone struggling to maintain their health. However, Jones represents a city where the median household income is just over $60,000. At 69 years old, he is also eligible for Medicare.
Retirement would also give Jones a chance to relax and focus on staying healthy. For his sake and ours, he should listen to his friends.
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin stands on the sidelines during the second half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Pittsburgh in January.Gene J. Puskar
Tomlintown
When you write frequently about transit and housing, you tend to hear from the small cadre of people who are extraordinarily enthusiastic about these issues. This week, I found out about a surprising member of their ranks: former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.
Famous for his uncanny resemblance to actor Omar Epps and being the second Black NFL coach to win a Super Bowl, Tomlin used the game Minecraft to build his own fantasy city — a project that took place over a dozen years. He’s now giving the public a tour of his work.
Tomlin said he wanted densely populated buildings because of his interest in architecture, and went as far as creating interiors for each of his creations. His work is remarkably cognizant of genuine urban questions like lighting and viewsheds.
Like many gamers, he said his habit helped him “detach from the realities and the pressures of life.” We all need a way to unplug sometimes, but Tomlin’s impressive urban planning side project may have turned him into an unlikely urbanist hero.
Buck has had a lot stacked against him in Philly during much of his broadcasting career. Eagles fans have hated Buck because of his association with Hall of Famer Troy Aikman, who led the Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowl victories. Phillies fans felt like he was rooting against their team because they were used to hearing fan-friendly announcers like Harry Kalas and Tom McCarthy.
“Philly fans are at times hard to please, and that’s what makes them great,” Buck said. “They demand effort and excellence.”
A good example of the divide was 2008, when Buck was broadcasting the Phillies’ World Series victory on Fox while Kalas provided the radio call.
Kalas’ passionate call of the final out, a strikeout by closer Brad Lidge, still gives goose bumps to Philly sports fans: “Swing and a miss! Struck him ooooooooout! The Philadelphia Phillies are 2008 world champions of basebaaaaaaaall!”
Buck’s call, by contrast, was dry and direct: “Phillies are world champions.”
“I was raised in a house where I was taught to dislike Joe Buck,” Kylie Kelce said last year on her husband’s short-lived ESPN late-night now. “It seemed as though he was always cheering for the other team,”
Buck’s voice is one of the few in the sports world that signal a big game, and fans have come to view him and Aikman as one of the best broadcasting duos in the league. This year, the two will be back calling the Super Bowl, their first together since 2020 at Fox.
Joe Buck (left) and Troy Aikman have been calling games together since 2002. ESPN Images
Buck isn’t sure what to attribute his newfound respect from Philly sports fans to. Likely it has something to do with Aikman being far removed from his playing days with the Cowboys, but the more likely culprit is that he no longer calls national baseball games.
“Everyone is listening to every tone that comes out of your mouth and assigning some rooting interest that just doesn’t exist,” Buck said. “There would just be no reason why I would root against Philly. It’s just silly stuff.”
“I think people have come around on Joe over the past five to 10 years,” Cataldi said. “He’s always accused of rooting for the opposite team, but if you listen to his broadcast, it’s right down the middle.”
In his fifth season on ESPN’s Monday Night Football, Buck won’t have a rooting interest when the Eagles take on the Chicago Bears. But his stat guy in the booth will.
Ed Sfida, a Villanova grad, has worked with Buck and Aikman since 2003, dating back to their days at Fox Sports. They’ve become so close Buck invited Sfida to his wedding when he married Michelle Beisner, who now works alongside her husband at ESPN.
“Back at Fox, if the Eagles were playing the same time we were doing another game and scored a touchdown, we’d look down in the corner of the booth where Sfida stands and he’s doing the Eagles’ wing flapping thing,” Buck said. “He’s the best.”
Buck doesn’t see himself following in Merrill Reese’s footsteps
Merrill Reese is in his 50th season as the radio voice of the Eagles. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Buck is in his 33rd year calling NFL games in a career that dates back to Fox acquiring TV rights to the league in 1994.
That’s a long time, but he has a ways to go to match Eagles radio announcer Merrill Reese, who is in his 50th season calling the Birds, easily the most-tenured announcer in the league.
If Buck were to make it to 50 years, he’d be 74. So does he seem himself lasting in the booth that long?
“The answer to your question is no,” Buck said. “It’s just amazing to me, whether it’s Merrill or Al Michaels, the mental clarity and strength it takes to find your way through these games and not say something ridiculously stupid.”
“I’m just blown away by Merrill and how smart and clear and energetic is he,” Buck said.
A future without Troy Aikman at ESPN?
Troy Aikman’s ESPN contract expires at the end of the season. Jayne Kamin-Oncea
Buck recently signed a contract extension reportedly worth more than $100 million that will keep him at ESPN through the 2032 season. But Aikman hasn’t and reportedly won’t until after the season ends, after he and Buck call the Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium in February.
There’s been uncertainly about the longtime duo before. When Aikman signed with ESPN in 2022, Buck had a year remaining on his deal with Fox, but executives let him out of his contract early so he could move to ESPN with Aikman.
Buck hasn’t spoken with Aikman about his plans, but he hopes the two will remain together at ESPN and keep the NFL’s longest-running TV booth going.
As for Aikman, there could be plenty of options. With uncertainty at CBS due to Tony Romo’s arrest and subsequent suspension, Aikman could solidify their No. 1 booth ahead of their Super Bowl next season. There’s also Amazon Prime, where Thursday Night Football announcers Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit have contracts that expire at the end of the season.
“I’ve been in this business long enough to know nothing is a guarantee,” Buck said. “So my only answer to any of that is we’ll see.”
Alexander “Chicken Man” Tominsky walked into the Museum of the Philadelphian in a Canadian tuxedo and a baseball hat with “Phillies” written on it in marker on Tuesday and was blown away to find his name on a plaque alongside other local legends like Benjamin Franklin and Philly Elmo.
“No way! Oh my gracious! Who would have known when I was a little kid crying in my pillow something like this would happen,” he said, pointing to his name.
Tominsky — who became renowned throughout the land in 2022 for eating 40 rotisserie chickens in 40 days, culminating with a public noshing of a chicken on an abandoned Walmart pier in South Philly — was invited to a preview opening for the museum by its founder and creator, Brian Adoff.
Founder and creator Brian Adoff outside his Museum of the Philadelphian in Fishtown.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
“The museum is about the personality and attitude and conduct of Philadelphians,” Adoff said. “My personal hope is that you leave inspired to really be the best version of yourself, the best Philadelphian you can be.”
Located in a 300-square-foot storefront that was previously Adoff’s office on East Girard Avenue in Fishtown, the free, temporary “micro museum” is just down the road from another Philly landmark — the “I Hate Bank of America” sign. The large, yellow banner was put up by a homeowner in 2007, after the bank branch across the street ticked him off. The branch closed many years ago, but the sign remains, a grand tribute to Philadelphians’ spite.
View on Threads
What makes Philadelphians this way? And what makes it so oddly endearing? These are questions Adoff explores in his absurd and unexpectedly heartwarming museum, which opens Friday.
“There’s an emotional narrative arc the museum takes in its 300 square feet, where it ends with literally a book of Philadelphians who exhibit five qualities that I’ve determined, with my crack team of curatorial advisers, that make up a Philadelphian,” Adoff said.
As of a student of the Philadelphian who’s written hundreds of profiles of the everyday people who make me love this city more every day, I thought Adoff had set a lofty goal for himself when we first met earlier this month. How do you distill what it means to be a Philadelphian in 300 square feet? And how do you decide who makes the cut?
At the preview Tuesday, I was pleased to find that over the course of about 20 exhibits in the space, Adoff skillfully addresses the Santa-hating-battery-throwing-robot-killing tropes that haunt Philadelphians, while also getting to the oddly-touching truths behind those, and other very Philly stories.
Visitors browse the Museum of the Philadelphian.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
And while Adoff and his team have compiled a “Register of Philadelphians” with more than 50 names and stories of local folk heroes who epitomize what it means to be a Philadelphian, their best decision may have been to include cards for visitors to nominate their own quintessential Philadelphian. Because if one thing is certain, Philly is going to have thoughts.
Grease the pole
Guests are greeted in the museum’s front window by a re-creation of the death of hitchBOT, the hitchhiking Canadian robot who traveled across the country on human kindness, only to be dismembered and beheaded in Philly. In the accompanying plaque, Adoff notes that Philadelphians offered to rebuild the robot, and that a Philly police detective jokingly blamed the crime on New Jerseyans.
A re-creation of the death of hitchBOT is displayed in the front window of the Museum of the Philadelphian.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Once inside the museum, two large papier-mâché sculptures immediately catch the eye — one, of a Philadelphian climbing a greased pole, and the other of Jason Kelce during his Eagles Super Bowl speech. In the first, guests are invited to “grease the pole” with a paintbrush and clear goo from a nearby can (you know I did it!), and at the latter, visitors can stand under a sound dome (fancy!) in front of the sculpture to hear Kelce’s “Hungry Dogs” speech.
A papier-mâché sculpture of Jason Kelce during his 2018 Eagles Super Bowl speech is featured in the Museum of the Philadelphian.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
In the center of the room is a freestanding wall with a rearview mirror on it. The accompanying plaque tells the story of Ted Passon, whose parked car was flipped in the aftermath of the Phillies 2008 World Series win. Passon created a blog asking Philadelphians who enjoyed the spectacle to help pay for his vehicle, and through the generosity of donors, he was able to get a new car and give $3,000 to someone else whose car was flipped. On an iPad at the exhibit, visitors can play a YouTube video of the flipping and read Passon’s blog.
I remembered the story well because I interviewed Passon about it in 2008. Seeing him at the event Tuesday was a full-circle Philly moment for both of us. Passon, who’s now an Emmy Award-winning documentarian, said he was happy to loan the mirror of the vehicle Philly claimed from him to the museum.
“It’s an honor to be included in the story of Philadelphia,” he said. “If I can be a footnote in the city’s history, I did something right in my life.”
‘Booing is my love language’
Other exhibits explore Philadelphians’ history with booing, our history of throwing things, and the five qualities Adoff and his team have decided make a Philadelphian, with number one being, “Does not wait for permission.”
The “Register of Philadelphians” on the wall and accompanying book begins in 1731 with Benjamin Franklin and ends this year, with Jameka Wilson, the woman who went viral for her TV interview about kicking a man in a Chucky mask who was terrorizing pedestrians.
The Register of Philadelphians features notable Philadelphians ranging from Ben Franklin to Jameka Wilson. To the left of the register is the museum’s official portrait gallery, which can be seen through two ViewMasters. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
I was excited to see a couple people I’ve written about on the list, including Paul “Jelloman” Vile and the late Gilbert Hilton, who turned heads across the city for years in his “Badillac” car, which was covered in items from Goodwill, and who was one of the most Philly people I’ve ever met.
There’s also a portrait gallery by the Rev. Michael Alan of seven Philadelphians in the register that can only be seen through an old-school ViewMaster, which were a hit with the crowd.
“It was a small space and this was a way to make something look bigger without being bigger,” Alan said.
Creator and founder Brian Adoff talks about the Museum of the Philadelphian in front of the museum’s gift shop. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
The tiny museum even has a gift shop with shirts that say “I greased the pole at the Museum of the Philadelphian” and bumper stickers that read “Booing is my love language.”
‘The most Philadelphian thing’
The museum was funded by Adoff through his experience design studio, Architects of Human Connection, and admission is free because he believes “the Philadelphian has paid enough.”
The museum is a culmination of Adoff’s many endeavors over the years, from music, clowning, absurdist theater, and working as a tour guide for the Greater Philadelphia Film Office, to managing a software business and, most recently, creating events that connect Philadelphians.
In 2023, he cofounded the Fishtown Choir,and last year, Adoff created Join Philly, which connects Philadelphians with area clubs and groups.
The idea for the museum came to Adoff in June, as he was trying to think of uses for his storefront office space. With the help of five paid collaborators, Adoff built the museum in less than three months, which is impressive, given the amount of research that clearly went into the exhibits, plaques, and bios.
“It started kind of absurd and silly until I was like, ‘Oh, this is just like everything else I do. It matters and it actually has heart and it has meaning,” he said.
Brian Adoff in the Museum of the Philadelphian he created in Fishtown. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Here’s the potentially scandalous thing — Adoff isn’t a Philly native. He’s originally from Long Island, moved to Cherry Hill as a kid, and came to Philly to attend the University of Arts. He spent time in Chicago then returned to Fishtown 20 years ago, where now lives with his wife and son.
Knowing how nativist Philly can be (my native colleagues said transplants can “never” say they’re from Philly if they moved after the age of 13), I had to ask Adoff what gave him the gall to open the museum.
“Because I express the qualities that make a Philadelphian,” he said.
“But you decided those qualities, right?” I asked. (They are: 1. Does not wait for permission 2. Decides for themselves what is worth doing 3. Keeps going whether encouraged or not 4. Does not care what anyone thinks 5. Believes, in their heart, the work is needed).
“Yes, which is the most Philadelphian thing I could have done,” he said.
Adoff wants people to leave his museum feeling as inspired as he did after watching the opening of the Obama Presidential Center on TV. He dreams of Rob Mac narrating an audio tour of the exhibit, like Steve Buscemi does for Eastern State Penitentiary. And his longterm goal is to open a more universal experience one day — a fart museum. Everybody isn’t lucky enough to be a Philadelphian, but everyone farts.
I imagine Benjamin Franklin, a fellow Philly transplant who once wrote a satirical essay about flatulence, would think that’s a gas.
Darrin Rowland (left), and Leslye Rowland grease the pole sculpture at the Museum of the Philadelphian on Tuesday. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Know before you go
The museum, 454 E. Girard Ave., is open Fridays (5 to 8 p.m.), Saturdays (noon to 5 p.m.), and Sundays (noon to 5 p.m.) Sept. 25 through Nov. 1.
Admission is free, but timed reservations online are recommended. Opening night is already booked and only a few spots remain for this weekend.
Like Philadelphia, there is a lack of public bathrooms at the museum, in that there are none.
The museum is wheelchair accessible via a temporary ramp. Email visit@museumofthephiladelphian.org prior to visiting so staff can have the ramp ready.
All ages are welcome, but some exhibits do include profanity.
Russell Wilson watched Jalen Hurts throw two interceptions against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, then lead the Eagles to a last-minute victory.
To Wilson, Hurts’ response looked familiar.
“I think Jalen Hurts and I are very similar,” Wilson said Tuesday on CBS Sports’ Set, Hut!
The comparison predates Wilson’s remarks. In 2021, then-Eagles cornerback Darius Slay likened Hurts to a young Wilson on a CBS Sports podcast. Slay pointed to the running games that supported both quarterbacks early in their careers and to Wilson’s development as a passer. He believed Hurts could make a similar progression.
Russell Wilson says that Jalen Hurts is very similar to him and reveals that they share the same mental coach. pic.twitter.com/2l6AF08xw7
Wilson said the connection goes beyond their ability to run and throw. The quarterbacks have talked often over the years, he said, and both worked at different points with mental conditioning coach Trevor Moawad.
Moawad met Wilson at IMG Academy in 2012, as Wilson prepared for the NFL draft. He became Wilson’s longtime coach, mentor, and friend. After Moawad died of cancer in 2021, Wilson recalled how he had helped him through both winning a Super Bowl and losing one the following year.
Wilson said Moawad taught him an approach he called “neutral thinking.” A quarterback has to deal with the play in front of him, Wilson explained, rather than carry an interception into the next series or dwell on a successful drive. Some teammates thought Wilson’s steady demeanor was an act. He said it was how he stayed present, and he sees that same steadiness in Hurts.
Former Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson holds the Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl XLVIII on Feb. 2, 2014.Julio Cortez
Wilson did not overlook the turnovers. He called Hurts’ first interception a bad throw and described the second as an attempt to take a shot against a Titans defense that was making the game difficult.
What impressed Wilson was Hurts’ response after both mistakes.
The first interception ended the Eagles’ 15-play opening drive. Tennessee safety Amani Hooker picked off Hurts in the end zone and returned the ball 92 yards, setting up a Titans touchdown.
With the game tied at 17 and about six minutes remaining, cornerback Marcus Harris intercepted an underthrown pass intended for DeVonta Smith. Tennessee later took a 20-17 lead on a field goal with 1 minute, 56 seconds left.
Hurts answered by completing a 20-yard pass to Dontayvion Wicks on third down, later finding Smith for 19 yards on another third down to reach the Titans’ 3-yard line. His next pass went to Darius Cooper for the winning touchdown with nine seconds remaining. The nine-play, 65-yard drive gave the Eagles a 24-20 victory and gave Wilson a clear example of the composure he had been describing.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in action against the Tennessee Titans last Sunday in Nashville.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
“He never gets flustered. And that’s not fake. That’s who he is,” Wilson said.
Hurts described that responsibility in similar terms after the win, saying a quarterback has to manage the weight of the position without losing focus.
“You’ve got to keep your poise and keep your focus,” Hurts said. “Today we were able to do that.”
Wilson also reflected on what their Super Bowl victories mean beyond the field. He was the second Black starting quarterback to win one, following Washington’s Doug Williams in 1988. Wilson called Williams an inspiration and said he valued seeing Patrick Mahomes and then Hurts join them.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (left) and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes are two of just four Black quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl as QB1. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Their paths also intersect in Eagles draft history. Philadelphia considered taking Wilson in 2012 but hoped he would still be available in the third round. Seattle selected him 75th overall; the Eagles took Nick Foles 13 picks later.
That missed opportunity influenced how general manager Howie Roseman approached Hurts in 2020. The Eagles selected Hurts 53rd overall, in the second round, while Carson Wentz was still their starter. Roseman later explained that the 2012 draft had taught him to take a quarterback he valued when he had the chance, rather than risk waiting another round.
After the Eagles beat Wilson’s Steelers in December 2024, Hurts told him on the field that he had watched him throughout childhood. Hurts later explained what Wilson had meant to him.
“He’s paved the way for a ton of guys, including myself,” Hurts said.
I feel like I need to apologize for a column a couple of months ago when I compared the current president of the United States to Caligula, the possibly mad Roman emperor who is said to have nominated his trusted horse for high office. I need to apologize to Caligula. From pitching his triumphal D.C. arch as a storage shed for deadly snipers’ bullets to banning reporters from the White House in a narcissistic rage, Donald Trump is losing his grip on reality. This is unsustainable.
Worried about AI killing humans? Bad news: It already is.
A cleric takes a photograph earlier this month at the shattered Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab, southern Iran. It has become a place of mourning and a memorial to those killed in a U.S. airstrike on Feb. 28.Vahid Salemi
Which is it?
Are the robots of AI, or artificial intelligence, so smart that they’re on the verge of holding a secret meetup in the darkest corner of the dark web and developing a plot to kill all humans through germ warfare, to make sure we don’t kill them first by pulling the plug?
Or is AI so dumb — artificial stupidity, despite the billionaires of Silicon Valley showing up daily on our TV screen to brag about the sky-high IQ of their son, Claude — that the thing that will murder us is a crazy hallucination that will turn a false alarm into World War III?
The fact that we can’t answer this should give us pause, but maybe we aren’t even asking the right question. Maybe the real issue is how easy we’ve made it to kill off the human race — a capability that was already created by people even before we invented the computer.
One thing is certain. Artificial intelligence has already been an accessory to mass murder, and if we do nothing, it will kill again.
Remember the very first days of the now seemingly endless Iran war, and the news that two missile strikes had obliterated a school for young children in the Iranian coastal city of Minab, in an apparent “double-tap” strike in which the second attack from the skies killed young girls and boys and their teachers as they huddled in a prayer hall?
Those bombings, which killed 156 people on Feb. 28, caused the United Nations’ Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran to report last week that it found “reasonable grounds to believe that the United States committed a war crime by launching indiscriminate attacks …” The U.S. government has never taken responsibility for the bloodshed, despite overwhelming visual evidence that the bombs were precision-guided U.S. Tomahawk missiles.
It didn’t take long for additional speculation that an AI program had mistakenly targeted the school, perhaps using outdated maps and info from an earlier time when its buildings were attached to an Iranian military complex. After all, the Pentagon has been openly bragging about the death and destruction facilitated by its use of Palantir’s Smart Maven System and also Anthropic’s Claude.
Last week, Bloomberg News reported that the Pentagon’s overreliance on AI, and specifically the Palantir Maven program, was a major factor in the school tragedy, along with the outdated intelligence about the Minab site — the “garbage in.” Its exposé noted that U.S. military planners were racing to identify some 1,000 Iranian targets in the early hours of the war, giving humans little time to double-check the list. Kindergartners were slaughtered as a result.
This was hardly the first time robots have been linked to human death, both in war — in 2024, +924 Magazine reported the Israel Defense Forces were using an AI program code-named “Lavender” to target sites amid the mass killing in Gaza — and in peace, as shown by numerous accounts of robots helping troubled people die by suicide.
And yet, it could have been much, much worse. At the same time as the Bloomberg report on the AI link to the mass killing in Iran, the world also learned that a false report generated by robot intelligence nearly sparked a conflict between the United States and China that could conceivably have spiraled into major fighting.
CNN and other outlets have reported that a U.S. special operations command analyst working with AI generated an urgent report that a Chinese ship bound toward the Middle East was carrying components for a nuclear weapons system, which caused military leaders to scramble jets and assemble a team to seize the vessel.
Only at the last minute did the Pentagon dig deeper and learn the AI-generated report was completely false, a hallucination — one that nearly triggered a violent conflict between the world’s two largest military powers.
The two disturbing reports about the use, or misuse, of AI by the U.S. military in a time of war did make news but didn’t get nearly as much attention — either in the media or on sites like Bluesky or X — as warnings from both whistleblowers and CEOs in Silicon Valley that a swarm of robots could decide on their own and without any human intervention or awareness to try to kill off our so-called civilization.
The fear of an unprompted attack from AI secret agents is real, based on several incidents that have already occurred, including a well-planned and partly successful operation by OpenAI’s robot agents to hack into a company called Hugging Face.
Still, it says something about human intelligence that we are captivated by the unknown and mysterious possibility of a random attack, while the fact that people are currently misusing AI to cause death and suffering is a less compelling story. I noted in this space last week that the threat to humankind from climate change is arguably even more real — and yet this gets denied by many and ignored by others.
It’s also striking to me as a boomer born in 1959 that a generation that wasborn into a time of constant terror — backyard bomb shelters, “duck and cover” drills in the classroom, and sci-fi horror at the drive-in that an atomic arms race could kill us at any moment — is suddenly back to where we started.
The fact that civilization managed to — so far — pause the number of world wars at two has given us the space and the false bravado to create new and much more insidious killing machines, and the threat from invisible robots on a hidden dark web is somehow even scarier than the radioactive mushroom cloud that we more or less understand.
Boomers who went to bed as kids in the 1950s and ’60s praying we wouldn’t die before we woke are now spending our senior-citizen-discount years fearful that something stranger than science fiction is coming for our children, or grandchildren. Over the course of a lifetime, the arc of that moral universe has not bent at all.
Still, humans were able, somehow, to prevent nuclear annihilation so far, and now it’s past time to get to work on the actual threats from AI and start on those workarounds. For example, the articles I’ve read speculating on how the robots plan to kill us frequently mention the prospect of AI agents developing bioweapons and releasing them, either on their own or prompted by a bad actor. (In theory, human development of bioweapons has been banned for a half century.)
From everything I’ve read so far about AI, it sounds like we’d have better luck safeguarding or eliminating the components that could make a biological agent rather than stopping the robots. Likewise, AI agents would not be able to start an atomic apocalypse if our human politicians went to work at finally eliminating nuclear weapons. Artificial intelligence won’t kill little girls in an Iranian school if humans don’t start dumb wars in the first place.
If Silicon Valley’s prophets of doom are serious, there’s no fix that’s too big or too ambitious. But understand that the biggest problem isn’t that AI wants to murder us, but that since 1942 we humans have been busy creating all the suicidal weapons AI agents could use.
Can you even “duck and cover” from a killer robot? I don’t intend to find out, and I don’t want my yet-to-be-born grandchildren to have to even think about it.
Yo, do this!
I’ve always been a big fan of filmmaker Barry Levinson, whose trilogy of Baltimore movies (Diner, Tin Men, Avalon) defined postwar American nostalgia. Now Levinson, along with his codirector Robert May, has come north to the Philly burbs to catch up with our divisive 21st century in a five-part documentary, Bucks County, U.S.A. If you’ve been reading The Inquirer these last six years, you know howthe communities just north of Philadelphia — where cosmopolitan suburbs meet the rolling fields of Trump Country — have become ground zero for culture wars around the COVID-19 response, book banning, and LGBTQ pride. Bucks County, U.S.A.began streaming on PBS Monday night. It’s getting mixed reviews, but I plan to check it out myself.
With the exception of my growing obsession with A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs, I’ve struggled the last few years to find new podcasts that excite me. But I’ve been enjoying Dan Taberski’s Manifesto on Audible, which is the award-winning, prolific podcaster’s six-part look at the role that these impassioned declarations have — or haven’t — played in reshaping our troubled world, from Occupy Wall Street to Big Tech utopianism to the online rant of murderous ex-LA cop Christopher Dorner.
Ask me anything
Question: What is the reason for the boat strikes? Do they really think they are carrying drugs? — David Poe (@culthero12.bsky.social) via Bluesky
Answer: David, your question is well-timed. Just this week, Ben Saul, the U.N. special rapporteur monitoring human rights in the context of counterterrorism, issued a report that U.S. boat strikes off South America in the Caribbean and the Pacific that have killed more than 220 people so far violate international law and plausibly constitute crimes against humanity. Based on the reports I’ve read about the deadly drone strikes, it’s true that small fishing boats in the region are sometimes drafted for a supporting bit role in drug trafficking. Yet, it seems powerfully likely that some murdered in the U.S. attacks were innocent fishermen, and there’s no evidence these bombings have made any real dent in the flow of drugs. Most importantly, since when did minor involvement in drug smuggling become a capital offense? The only thing as troubling as these American war crimes is the silence on Capitol Hill. The next Congress must hold hearings and create the momentum for shutting this down.
What you’re saying about …
Oops, maybe I should have read my emails before writing another column about the problems with artificial intelligence. Based on the lack of responses to last week’s question about the AI threat, this is clearly not a topic that excites my readers like the betrayals by Sen. John Fetterman or the mainstream media. A couple of frequent correspondents did weigh in, including Mary Ann Petro, who is very concerned over reports of unauthorized hacking by AI agents, and Joe Stepansky, who thinks the risks are somewhat overblown. “This is all deflection from data center opposition and the stock market bubble,” he wrote. “Just remember there are humans behind all of this, humans who may be amoral at best (I used to work with some) and malicious at worst (them too).”
📮 This week’s question: The big story for several days has been the fallout from Donald Trump’s rash decision to ban three news outlets — CNN, MS NOW, and Politico — from the White House grounds, in a move that experts agree is a violation of the First Amendment. Do you think the entire presidential press pool should walk out in solidarity, or do Americans need audio and video of what their president is up to? Please email me your answer and put the exact phrase “White House press corps” in the subject line.
Backstory on George W. Bush’s betrayal of democracy
Former President George W. Bush reacts while watching players from the U.S. team practice before the Walker Cup golf matches against Great Britain and Ireland at Cypress Point Club in Pebble Beach, Calif., earlier this month.Jeff Chiu
For those of us who experienced a political reawakening during those dreadful years between the U.S. Supreme Court’s coronation of a president in the disputed 2000 election and the shock-and-awe carpet bombing of Baghdad in 2003, today’s frequent refrain is incredibly grating. “I never thought I’d say this,” says some self-proclaimed Democrat, often a boomer, “but I’m feeling nostalgic for George W. Bush.”
To be sure, the 43rd president wasn’t nearly as nakedly corrupt as Donald Trump and his family, not as crude and boorish, and also more determined to at least make it look like what he was doing was constitutional. There were flashes of goodness — like Bush’s support for fighting the AIDS epidemic in Africa — which stand out today because there are so few of them. But his lies — and there were a lot of them, even if he could never match Trump — were more diabolically purposeful.
The stench of dead bodies in Fallujah had barely lifted when none other than Joe Biden came to Philadelphia to drape the Liberty Medal around Bush’s neck. When Trump descended on his gilded escalator in 2015 to finish the job of trashing America that had started in Iraq, Bush said nothing other than to let it be known that he’d left his 2016 ballot blank. When even his despised vice president Dick Cheney came out in 2024 and said a second Trump term would be a disaster for democracy, Bush again said nothing, insisting that he has “retired from presidential politics.”
Apparently congressional politics is another story. On Monday, it was revealed that Bush and his fellow Texan Sen. John Cornyn — a lame duck after losing a primary to Trump-backed Ken Paxton — have teamed up to throw a massive fundraiser in Dallas for six GOP Senate candidates in battleground states. The touting of Bush as a “special guest” at the event is meant to lure conservative donors. The New York Times, in its scoop on the evening, played up the fact that the event is not raising money for Paxton, going with the angle of a Texas-sized political feud.
Just like the Democrats who are willing, in the Trump era, to turn a war criminal into an icon of civility, the Times is missing the point. Electing these GOP Senate candidates in states like Iowa and Maine will give Trump the ability to extend aspects of his dictatorship for two more agonizing years. The would-be senators Bush is raising money for would rubber-stamp new MAGA judges and allow Trump to replace Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas with younger far-right zealots. Senate committees would lack the power to investigate the president’s high crimes and misdemeanors. That could finish the job Bush started when he lied to Congress about Iraq “weapons of mass destruction” that did not exist: The implosion of U.S. democracy.
What I wrote on this date in 2009
It’s weird now to read what survives of my early Attytood blog posts from the late 2000s, when many days I published just a quick hit while I worked on longer news articles for the Daily News. On Sept. 22, 2009, I quoted a prediction from internet guru Clay Shirky that seems incredibly prescient 17 years later. Shirky said that “the ongoing shrinkage of newspapers is likely to create a ‘giant hole’ that will not be filled for some time. He said he has a vision of communities of 10,000 people or fewer becoming rife with ‘casual endemic corruption,’ as newspapers are no longer able to fulfill their traditional watchdog roles.” He nailed it.
Nothing has been more troubling in 2026 than the assault on the First Amendment that’s been taking place from Donald Trump’s Oval Office to our hometown council meetings, and even our football palaces. In my Sunday column, which was written before the president booted three news organizations from the White House, I looked at the growing hostility and even violence toward working journalists, including arrests, physical assaults, and Trump’s rants toward Black female journalists. Tolerance of these abuses is a mark of a dying democracy. Over the weekend, I shifted gears and tackled the Eagles’ silence over the team’s reported role in the cancellation of hip-hop’s pro-Palestinian Macklemore from the Ed Sheeran tour that stopped at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday. How can free speech be censored in a city-owned stadium?
Speaking of those Birds, the city’s $10 billion NFL franchise was conveniently hundreds of miles away in Nashville as pro-Palestinian protesters descended on the Linc this weekend. The Eagles eked out a last-second victory by the seat of QB Jalen Hurts’ pants, over the seemingly hapless Tennessee Titans. The unimpressive showing cemented the notion that it’s impossible to know what to make of Philly’s 2-0 footballers after their narrow wins over mediocre opponents, but The Inquirer is on the case. Our extensive coverage looked at the good (standout performances from Hurts and No. 1 wide receiver DeVonta Smith), the bad (the subpar play of a battered and aging offensive line), and the unexpected (the return of Super Bowl hero Zack Ertz due to injuries in the tight-end corps). Ace columnist Mike Sielski recently went deep, as usual, with a humanitarian look at guard Landon Dickerson’s tortured decision to try to play through the pain. The Inquirer’s sportswriters are likely to rack up more wins this fall than an iffy team, so why not subscribe and read every word.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
Football and the Eagles are back, and every week fans will be packed into tailgates, living rooms, and watering holes to watch the Birds’ potential path back to the Super Bowl.
Philly has hundreds of spots to catch a game, from breweries with wall-size projectors to restaurants streaming the broadcast over the bar. Here are some of the top picks — big venues, sports bars, breweries, and restaurants — to help you plan your game day.
Eagles fan Justin Ghee (right) gets in the face of his friend Packers fan Ronald Roberts when the Eagles sacked the Packers quarterback in the first half of the Eagles vs. Packers NFL playoff game. The friends were viewing the game at XFINITY Live! Philadelphia on Sunday, January 12, 2025. Both men are formerly from Philly, attended Howard University and now live in Washington, D.C.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Big venues, bigger screens
Live! Casino
Right next to the South Philadelphia sports complex is the fairly new Live! Casino and Hotel, with at least two venues located within the casino to watch the games. Take your pick between the 52-foot screen at Sports & Social, or Luk Fu, the casino’s pan-Asian restaurant with game-day specials.
So close to the Linc that you can hear the stadium roar from the patio, Stateside Live! (formerly Xfinity Live!) has a 58-foot screen and dozens of TVs in its bars.
Watch the Eagles play on a massive HD video wall at BetRivers Sportsbook inside Rivers Casino in Fishtown. Game-day beer specials and giveaways will be available, plus each game brings a chance for fans to win tickets to a forthcoming Eagles game.
Craft Hall is a massive beer hall, with family- and pet-friendly fixtures, equipped with two projector screens and several TVs lining the walls playing every Eagles game. Enjoy $5 draft beers and $15 beer pitchers with under-$20 food specials, including wings and pizza.
Classmates from the Philadelphia area attending East Carolina University in North Carolina meet at Founding Fathers on South Street to watch the Eagles. Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Sports bars and breweries
Cavanaugh’s Headhouse & Rittenhouse
Cavanaugh’s sports bars are some of the best venues to be at on game day, with locations in Rittenhouse and Headhouse Square off South Street. The Rittenhouse location will offer Bud Light in $5 cans and in $22 bottle buckets. Headhouse will have $4 draft Michelob Ultras and $20 buckets of Bud Light.
South Street’s premier sports bar with TV-lined walls, an extensive bar-food menu, and a draft beer list that offers popular craft beers and local talent.
Philadelphia’s oldest craft brewery invites you to their Washington Avenue brewery and bar every game day to watch on their wall-size projectors alongside food and drink specials.
📍2118 Washington Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19146, 📞 215-337-3103, 🌐 dockstreetbeer.com
Evil Genius Beer Co.
This Fishtown taproom will treat you to Evil Genius’ celebrated classics and latest craft brews while watching the game on a 16-foot screen. Game-day specials include $42 beer towers and $45 Stateside buckets.
📍1727 N. Front St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19122, 📞 215-425-6820, 🌐 evilgeniusbeer.com
Lucy’s Bar
This Rittenhouse sports bar has a 16-foot screen and game-day deals, including a $40 appetizer platter stacked with wings, cheese curds, onion rings, and pretzels. Drinks include a $6 citywide (dubbed the “buddy system”) and $10 to $12 cocktails.
Philadelphia’s largest brewery is delivering specials every game day at its Spring Garden Street taproom, including $6 Trash Talks, an IPA made especially for the Eagles season.
A block away from the Girard Avenue BSL station is an Asian-fusion sports bar with a curated craft beer list, several TVs playing the Eagles on game day, and a slew of specials: $1 Jell-O shots, $20 beer pitchers, $10 wings, and more.
Manayunk’s Bayou Bar & Grill has been playing every Eagles game for decades. Enjoy its festive atmosphere, and a weekly Eagles merchandise giveaway all season long.
A Center City open-air beer garden with every Eagles game projected onto a big screen along the wall, accompanied by domestic beers on tap, cocktails, and classic pub grub.
Chinatown’s premier sports bar, Bar-Ly carries a whopping 60 beers on tap with TVs and large screens lining the walls. It gets busy on game day, so call ahead to reserve a table.
Every Eagles game day at the Rook in Manayunk, fans can watch the game while taking advantage of the $12 domestic beer pitchers and a $12 “Philly Special” pulled pork sandwich, with broccoli rabe, roasted long hots, and provolone.
Jaffa Bar will be playing every Eagles game on the bar’s TVs and offering a bevy of game-day specials: $12 black lime pepper wings with herbed labneh; $2 raw bar items (oysters, New Jersey top neck clams, and shrimp cocktail), and $6 french fries with tehina ketchup. Plus, $9 specialty cocktails.
📍1625 N. Howard St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19122, 📞 267-857-9944, 🌐 jaffabarphilly.com
Positano Coast
Aldo Lamberti’s Positano Coast in Old City will offer a rotating menu of specials, with games playing across the bar’s TVs.
Patchwork, nestled inside Rittenhouse’s Hyatt Centric, will play the Eagles games all season long, offering $10 citywide, $11 Super Lyte (Blue Chill), and $13 seasoned crinkle-cut fries.
Superman star David Corenswet grew up in Philadelphia loving the Eagles, but that didn’t stop him from saying yes to donning a Giants jersey for the upcoming biopic, Mr. Irrelevant.
The 33-year-old actor — who got his start on local stages as a kid — became a breakout movie star last year when he played Superman in James Gunn’s revamp of the legendary superhero films. While the sequel, Man of Tomorrow, releases in summer 2027, Corenswet’s next project is based on a true story that follows underdog football player John Tuggle.
Mr. Irrelevant, named because Tuggle was the last pick of 1983 NFL draft, was written by Reacher creator/producer Nick Santora and will be out in theaters Dec. 25. In a promotional video that dropped Wednesday, Corenswet admitted that he initially had doubts about the role because of his Eagles allegiance, but he soon realized the story was bigger than football fandom — and Tuggle had a connection to Philadelphia of his own, too.
David Corenswet as John Tuggle in “Mr. Irrelevant” from Paramount Pictures.Clay Enos
“As a kid from Philadelphia, I thought it would be a hard sell to get me to wear a Giants jersey on the big screen,” said Corenswet. “When I learned that John Tuggle scored his only professional touchdown against Philadelphia in Philadelphia, I thought, ‘This would really be a terrible betrayal,’ you know? What would Bradley Cooper think of me?”
“But when I saw the footage of that play, when I saw John dive into that kelly green end zone, the fans cheered,” Corenswet continued. “The same fans that booed Santa Claus cheered for a New York Giant scoring six on their turf. Why? Because for that moment, John Tuggle wasn’t a New York Giant, he was Mr. Irrelevant. He was the guy who was never supposed to make it.”
Tuggle was a rookie from California who played just one season with the Giants as a running back before he was diagnosed with cancer. After two years of extensive treatment, he died at age 25 in 1986. His story was explored in the 2018 ESPN 30 for 30 short film, The Irrelevant Giant.
‘Mr. Irrelevant’ will be released in theaters Dec. 25.
The San Francisco 49ers face the Los Angeles Rams Thursday night in the first-ever NFL game in Australia (8:35 p.m., Netflix), and the streamer is bringing an Eagles legend along for the time-bending ride.
Nick Foles, the Super Bowl MVP whose statue sits outside Lincoln Financial Field, will be part of Netflix’s NFL studio show this season, which includes Thursday night’s game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Thanksgiving eve, two Christmas Day games, and a Week 18 matchup.
“These are primetime games. These are important games. And Netflix is obviously a huge company,” Foles said. “It’ll challenge me.”
Alongside Foles for pregame, postgame, and halftime coverage will be host Elle Duncan, Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, and former Green Bay Packers defender Clay Matthews III. Calling the game will be Noah Eagle and Hall of Famer Luke Kuechly, the former Carolina Panthers linebacker who also landed a color analyst role this season with CBS.
NBC is helping Netflix produce its five-NFL-game slate, and brought Foles and his new colleagues to their studios in Connecticut last month for something akin to a broadcast training camp. That included Foles and Matthews — the two TV newcomers — practicing situations without any preparation, including a mock kickoff.
“They wanted to see if we could even handle going to transition, having a producer in our ear,” Foles said. “We understand we’re rookies at it, and we’re just hungry to learn. … They want us to be ourselves and have fun.”
It’s a big jump for the Super Bowl champ, who is in his second season co-hosting The SZN podcast with his brother-in-law, former NFL tight end Evan Moore. But it’s also an ideal gig, allowing Foles to offer analysis to millions of viewers while only committing to a few extra days during the season.
“It was really just the right time, right situation,” Foles said.
It also offers him a chance to show off his nerdy side. While the game will kick off 8:35 p.m. Philly time Thursday, it will take place locally in Melbourne at 10:35 a.m. Friday, which could have an impact on the players. There’s also the long flight down, the longest Foles has ever taken.
“I got my compression tights. … I’m literally geeking out on the science,” Foles said.
If it feels like you haven’t heard much from Foles since he retired from football in 2024, that’s by design. He spent a year away from football to clear his head, spend time with his family, and coach his three children.
He began to receive media offers, but opted instead to focus on building the podcast with Moore. That gave him a comfortable spot to find his voice talking about football, which drew the attention of producers at Netflix.
Thankfully, Foles has plenty of broadcasters to turn to for advice, including Moore and former teammates like Jason Kelce and Brandon Graham. He also attends the same church as longtime Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt, and squeezed some sage advice about the need to be quick.
“On a podcast, you can be long-winded and get your point our there at the end,” Foles said. “He said ‘No, start with the main point and then have a meaningful explanation …’ That’s simplistic, but it makes a world of difference.”
Unlike Kelce and Graham, Foles takes a quieter and more analytical approach to breaking down the game, which was on display last season when the Eagles offense struggled. He drew attention for comments he made about former offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, but rather than just pile on, Foles tried to offer suggestions to help the team.
“I’m not going to be one of those guys that just crushes someone,” Foles said. “Maybe the Cowboys.”
Foles has one big concern about the Eagles
Nick Foles is most interested to see how well new offensive line coach Chris Kuper helps the Eagles. David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
While the Eagles aren’t slated to appear on Netflix this season, unless they land in their Week 18 game, Foles will spend plenty of time talking about the Birds on his podcast, which will air weekly on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Heading into the season, Foles expects Vic Fangio’s defense to be solid and the offense to rebound after last year’s struggles.
It’s the offensive line he’s worried about. Specifically, how the loss of former offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland and his availability to develop players could impact the team.
“If you look at the Eagles the last couple of years, when has their season fallen apart? When the offensive line gets banged up,” Foles said.
While he has concerns, Foles said he’s heard nothing but good things about new offensive line coach Chris Kuper, who played eight seasons with the Denver Broncos and most recently served as offensive line coach with the Minnesota Vikings.
He’s part of a big overhaul under new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion that includes a different run blocking scheme and a new approach at the line. Kuper told reporters the squad has “come a long way” as the Birds prepare for their season opener against the Washington Commanders Sunday, but only time will tell how the team performs.
“There’s a lot of pressure on this guy. He played the position well. … [Kelce] said good things about him,” Foles said. “But I’m circling that.”
NBC Sports Philadelphia is losing an Eagles legend.
Ron Jaworski, the former Eagles quarterback known to most fans simply as “Jaws,” announced on social media he is cutting back his broadcast work and leaving the network’s Eagles pre- and postgame coverage after four seasons.
“It’s been a great run!” Jaworski wrote. “Thank you all, and Go Birds!”
NBC Sports Philadelphia isn’t planning on filling Jaworski’s empty seat. Michael Barkann will return as host of the network’s pre- and postgame coverage, joined by Barrett Brooks, Reuben Frank, and former Eagles wide receiver Jason Avant.
“There are certain people in this businesses who are irreplaceable, and Jaws is one of those people,” said Alexandra Matcham, the vice president of content for NBC Sports Philadelphia. “You don’t replace a person who was a pioneer in the NFL broadcast world, and we have no intention of doing so.”
Jaworski was hired by NBC Sports Philadelphia in 2022 to help fill the void left by Ray Didinger’s retirement and the departure of former Eagles defender Seth Joyner. Prior to that, Jaworski spent 27 years at ESPN as an announcer and analyst, including a five-year stint on Monday Night Football.
It was also Jaworski who helped lead the Eagles to the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance in 1980 under Hall of Fame head coach Dick Vermeil. Jaworski spent 15 years as a quarterback in the NFL, 10 with the Birds, and his 99-yard touchdown pass to Mike Quick during the 1985 season remains tied for the longest in NFL history.
Outside of the NFL, Jaworski was the owner of the Philadelphia Soul, the city’s Arena Football League franchise, until the league shuttered in 2019. He also manages golf courses in South Jersey and northeast Pennsylvania.
He chose the latter, a decision he initially regretted before leaning on the media savviness he picked up during his16-year career with the Birds.
“I actually wanted to wait, but man, I was so tired of that question being asked all the time, so that just got me,” Graham said. But he landed on the announcement helping him, because it got fans interested to “tune in” and hear him explain why.
So begins Graham’s transition from Eagles legend and two-time Super Bowl champ to a budding media career talking about football.
After being injured during the 2024 season, Graham, 38, still felt like he had a little gas in the tank. So when the Eagles called him up last season, he was ready to unretire and get back on the field to “finish the season clean.”
Graham went into this offseason hopeful he might jump back into football. He stayed in contact with Eagles general manager Howie Roseman and was even prepared to participate in training camp to be properly prepared if the Birds needed him. But the stars didn’t align.
“It didn’t work out like that because [Roseman] got the team he needed,” Graham said. “So in my mind, I was like, ‘Yeah, I think I’m going to be done.’”
In hindsight, it’s been something of a relief. Now Graham can focus his efforts on a budding media career that will start off with the second season of his Unblocked podcast and joining PHLY for postgame coverage of Eagles games.
“Last year, I was one foot in, one foot out, because I thought there was an opportunity for me to go back and play,” Graham said. “This year I didn’t want that feeling so I can work in the media space how I worked in football. Otherwise I’m doing myself a disservice.”
Learning on WIP and late-night 6abc hits
Brandon Graham hosted a weekly show on 94.1 WIP for nine seasons alongside former host Howard Eskin. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Graham’s interest in the media began during his playing days, where he’d listen back and critique interviews he gave with reporters. It didn’t take long for his engaging personality to win over the press, who began offering him more opportunities to jump on the air.
An early break was with 94.1 WIP, a gig that transformed from him calling in on Tuesdays to hosting his own weekly show during the season at Chickie’s & Pete’s alongside former host Howard Eskin.
Learning on the job also meant sometimes wading in controversy. He was forced to walk back comments he made about then-teammates Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown in 2024. Graham was injured at the time and based his remarks on a video of Brown speaking, something he’s since learned to approach with caution.
“It was an emotional time and I should have been patient,” Graham said. “But I felt like it helped us a little bit, too, because we ended up winning the Super Bowl that year.”
Graham also got some early reps on 6abc during the 2015 season. After Sunday Eagles games, Graham would drive to the station’s studios on City Avenue to join the 11 p.m. edition of Action News and talk Birds with Ducis Rodgers.
“Boy, that was a grind,” Graham said.
In 2024, Graham participated in the NFL’s broadcast boot camp, which allows players to experience what it’s like working on a studio show or calling games. Graham said the experience was enlightening, and helped him land appearances on ESPN and the NFL Network.
“At ESPN, I went through what they call the car wash, when you appear on all the different shows,” Graham said. “They ended up liking me, and I got put on Good Morning Football before I went back to play … I expect I’ll do more of that.”
Joining PHLY and learning to criticize his former teammates
Brandon Graham is entering his second season hosting the “Unblocked” podcast for PHLY.PHLY
Graham is entering his second NFL season with PHLY, the digital start up that began in Denver in 2015 and expanded to Philly in 2023 as part of the ALLCITY Network.
The network took notice of Graham’s abilities during a July 2025 interview on the Exciting Mics podcast, hosted by Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean and former Birds safety Reed Blankenship (who signed with the Houston Texans in March). Graham said parent companyALLCITY made him a strong proposal, and within a few weeks he launched his Unblocked podcast, co-hosted by Bo Wulf.
“BG brings an incredible depth of knowledge and an understanding of the game, but what truly sets him apart is his authenticity and infectious energy,” said Todd Berman, PHLY’s general manager.
This year Graham is expanding his duties beyond Unblocked to include co-hosting PHLY’s crowded postgame coverage alongside Wulf, Fran Duffy, Brandon Lee Gowton, and former Inquirer reporter EJ Smith.
Graham won’t appear after every Eagles game — he’ll rotate with former Eagles defender and Super Bowl champ Vinny Curry. But his appearances will place Graham in the potentially awkward position of having to criticize his former teammates.
ButGraham isn’t too concerned. As a player, he understood the media had their own job to do, even during his first few seasons with the Eagles when “Philly people were really bashing me.”
“Everybody’s takes are different. Some people do it for clickbait just to get people to click on your show,” Graham said. “I’m going to be honest and tell viewers the truth … It will be challenging, because sometimes there’s certain stuff you can’t just beat around.”
While he’s entering the season hopeful about a future in the sports media machine, he’s open to different paths, including public speaking. For now, Graham’s happy to have a manageable schedule where he works a few days a week, spends time with his family, and has the freedom to explore different interests.
“Who knows what the media stuff will do,” Graham said, “But I’m trying to get this golf game right, too.”
