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 Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and Citizen Media Group President and CEO Larry Platt were joined on stage by a return guest, five-term Rochester Hills, Michigan Mayor Bryan Barnett, a Republican.

Barnett is a consummate showman, as evidenced by his increasingly elaborate State of the City addresses (full-scale musical productions). Here, Barnett and the hosts discuss the importance of leading a city with joy and finesse, and how the Democratic party is fumbling the ball — in messaging and in the recent government shutdown. As Mayor Barnett points out, there really is no Republican or Democrat way to fill a pothole. You just fill the pothole.

"The moment you put your foot on the sidewalk," Nutter responded, "people are looking to see how's the mayor doing? Is the city upbeat? Is it grumpy? There's a public impact to this job."

Join us as we dive back into Rochester Hills with Mayor Barnett and explore how to really run a city with style and good humor.

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As cities go, so goes the nation!

"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 City. "They want a job they can get to in 15 minutes, they want a hospital or pharmacy within 15 minutes, they want a park or a grocery store or bars or restaurants, all within 15 minutes."

Bibb went on to explain to our hosts, former Philly mayor Michael Nutter and former Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed, how he is turning his Ohio city into a convenient, accessible, bona fide 15-minute city — and what is needed to sustain that work.

"People really want walkability," Bibb said. "They want safety and thriving neighborhoods and overall thriving cities. But we as mayors can't do this by ourselves. We need a federal government that's actually working. It has to be working with our governors and mayors."

Bibb, a charismatic 38-year-old (and cousin to the first Black primetime newscaster in Ohio), will almost certainly be reelected next week, and both Reed and Nutter quickly picked up on his "get sh*t done" vibe.

"A mayor is a reflection of their city," Reed said, "how it feels and how it will be there [for its people]."

"Absolutely," Nutter said.

Join us for an episode about a mayor who is laser-focused on making the lives of his constituents better in ways that anyone taking a stroll to the park can feel.

Remember to subscribe to the podcast to keep up on all the latest episodes. Watch and follow new episodes on YouTube.

As cities go, so goes the nation!

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 one another?

Our guest: Joe Walsh, a former Representative from Illinois. He was a self-described Tea Party arsonist, right-wing radio provocateur and mentor to Turning Point USA's Charlie Kirk. All of that changed when Donald Trump rode down an escalator and completely captured the Republican Party.

"It was never this way with Reagan, with Bush, with old-man Bush, this is something completely different," Walsh told our hosts, former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter and Citizen Co-founder Larry Platt. (Former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed was unable to attend.)

Walsh's public split from his party made him a target of MAGA loyalists, who to this day threaten him and his family. Still, he's not backing down. "I helped to divide this country," Walsh said. "People like me helped put us on this road. I have to live with that."

As a newly-minted Democrat, Walsh tours the country connecting with people from across the political spectrum. "Do you leave these conversations hopeful or less hopeful?" Platt asked.

"I'm right down the middle," Walsh said. "Half the folk out there are ready for a national divorce. They tell me, 'Joe, I want it to be peaceful, but we just can't coexist anymore.'"

Listen to this episode now for a passionate conversation about a return to civility and the true stakes of our national debate with a public figure who describes himself as a former "political asshole" trying to make amends. And for more from Walsh, join us at The Citizen's 8th annual Ideas We Should Steal Festival, presented by Comcast NBCUniversal, where he will talk with former foe-turned-friend Fred Guttenberg, a gun rights activist who lost his daughter in the Parkland school shooting.

Remember to subscribe to the podcast to keep up on all the latest episodes. Watch and follow new episodes on YouTube.

As cities go, so goes the nation!

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 fallen to a 60-year low and it's no understatement to say that Detroit is back.

Mayor Duggan, now running for governor of his state as an Independent, joins former Mayors Michael Nutter and Kasim Reed, along with Citizen Co-founder Larry Platt on this episode of How To Really Run A City to roll up their sleeves and lift the hood of Detroit's success.

"The last time a [Detroit] City Council member was elected mayor was 1947," Mayor Duggan told our hosts. "For the last 75 years, the city was going so badly that nobody wanted to vote for anyone who had been associated with it. My successor, who won the primary in a landslide, is president of City Council. It shows how much politics has changed. People are proud of their city government now."

"You decided to run as a White man for mayor of Detroit," Reed said. "What were the mechanics of that decision?"

"Sometimes I was the only White person in the room for six blocks around," Duggan responded. "But I listened to very powerful stories. And it's a funny thing, when you sit in people's homes and break bread with them, what divides us fades to the background. The average Detroiter isn't interested in us vs. them, they just want a better quality of life."

Join us for a powerful conversation about turning an entire city around, despite the challenges and barriers that had entrenched decades of decline. Remember to subscribe to the podcast to keep up on all the latest episodes. Watch and follow new episodes on YouTube.

As cities go, so goes the nation!

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 eliminate homelessness, continuing his crusade for high-quality, affordable education and inspiring Denverites to give five hours of volunteer service each month.

"I love the Give5 Mile High program," said Citizen co-founder Larry Platt. "It's kind of the answer to Trumpism, right? All of us coming together in common purpose?"

On this episode of How To Really Run A City, former Mayor Michael Nutter and former Mayor Kasim Reed, with Platt, join Mayor Johnston to dissect the initiatives that are making Denver a prosperous and communitarian city for all its citizens.

"What I try to do is bind people," Johnston says. "I bind together people that are broken. I bind together people who have been pulled apart from each other. I feel like this is the work mayors are called to do."

"And that's why we do this podcast," Reed says. "It is so important for people who care about this country to hear stories like yours."

Join us for an energizing conversation about everyday citizens rising to meet the expectations of their city and charting a path out of the tribalism that grips the nation. Remember to subscribe to the podcast to keep up on all the latest episodes. Watch and follow new episodes on YouTube.

As cities go, so goes the nation!

"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 guest (and sometimes host), Paige Cognetti. She knows that what drives a city forward is everyone doing their parts at all levels.

"It's the colleges and universities," former Mayor Michael Nutter interjects. "It's the corporate communities. It's the committee people. It's the block captains. Cities are living, breathing entities."

Cognetti and Nutter recently joined Citizen co-founder Larry Platt for a special live taping of the podcast at Philadelphia's OpportUNITY Summit hosted by United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. It was a rousing conversation that included a lot of teasing of Nutter by Cognetti, but also included some high-minded reminders that the future of cities depends on practical local government reformers.

"What can all of us do to move the [political] needle back to sanity?" Platt asked.

"Tell the stories that reflect your reality," Cognetti said.

"Vote," Nutter immediately answered. "Put down the phone, go to the voting booth and do your thing. Then you can get back to TikTok. Better yet, make a video about how you voted!"

Join us for an uplifting live conversation about civic duty and the motivations of true city changemakers. Remember to subscribe to the podcast to keep up on all the latest episodes. Watch and follow new episodes on YouTube.

As cities go, so goes the nation!

The AI revolution is upon us, and it will certainly have an impact on local governance.

"Let's have an open conversation about its use," says this week's podcast guest, Rochelle Haynes, Managing Director of Bloomberg Philanthropies' What Works Cities initiative at Results for America.

Haynes, who previously served as Chief of Staff at New York City's Department of Homeless Services, saw firsthand what happens when policy and politics clash.

"A lot of fears out there are about losing jobs," she continued. "But we need to show people that this is about making your job more effective. The human touch is still needed. AI is just the tool to [streamline] the data and priorities for cities."

Join us for an episode about what local leaders are doing to take advantage of the coming technology and, as Mayor Reed says, "really move the needle" on focused, effective governing.

Remember to subscribe to the podcast to keep up on all the latest episodes. You can even watch the conversation play out on YouTube.

As cities go, so goes the nation!

While Washington implodes and other cities resist, Riverside, CA Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson is moving ahead with an ambitious tech agenda — and battling youth homelessness in her city.

"I feel positive about the direction California is taking," says Riverside, CA Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson, our guest this week on How To Really Run A City. In the wake of reduced support from Washington, D.C., she optimistically declares, "We'll find our way forward. We'll keep fighting."

In this episode, former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed joins guest host Scranton, PA Mayor Paige Cognetti, fresh off a stunning primary win.

"I think a local leader's superpower is empathy," Reed says. "You have to feel what they feel."

"You can't ever lose that feeling of being a constituent yourself," Lock Dawson concurred.

Join us for a special episode about being a woman in office, mirroring the best qualities of your citizens and building a vibrant, growing city despite the politics in Washington. Remember to subscribe to the podcast to keep up on all the latest episodes. You can even watch the conversation play out on YouTube.

As cities go, so goes the nation!