The current chief chaplain at Harvard University is an atheist who’s never seen the inside of a foxhole. Greg Epstein, […]
About: Thom Nickels
Thom Nickels: Psychic to (Philadelphia) stars
In my 2014 book, Legendary Locals of Center City Philadelphia, I included the story of a talented clairvoyant, Arlene Ostapowicz […]
Thom Nickels: When the sacred met the profane in Russia
When the sassy members of Pussy Riot entered Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral back in 2012, it was not to […]
President’s House is politics over architecture — and everything else
While the history of slavery should never be forgotten, it should not be interwoven in the “design message” of the President’s House.
By Thom Nickels
Marines grapple with history and judgment in new play
“The Pearly Gates” for many represents the Gates of Heaven or the gates of the afterlife. The term is used […]
Listening to Justice Barrett
Seven days after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, I headed over to the Constitution Center to hear Supreme Court Justice […]
Ghost Town — How covid changed Philadelphia forever
Where did Covid come from? A good deal of evidence suggests it came from a biological lab in China, then […]
Life, death, and poetry on the Frankford El
Not all that long ago I boarded the Market-Frankford El at Front and Girard with the intention of taking it […]
Questions at the font — journalists visit the Mormon Temple
Several years ago, I participated in a press tour of Philadelphia’s new Mormon temple. On the way to the event, […]
Gregory Tony’s rise — How a 1993 Philly homicide disappeared from the record
From the late 1980s to the mid-1990s Philadelphia saw a long succession of sensational murder cases and trials. Gary Heidnik’s […]