Three noteworthy LGBT authors died within three months of one another in 2025. I knew two of them; the more […]
About: Thom Nickels
Thom Nickels: Sell the mansions, but keep the beauty of the church
It was former Catholic Archbishop Chaput who made the brave but not entirely unexpected move in 2012 when he announced […]
Thom Nickels: The pretzel, the pain, and the prose — Pete Dexter’s Philadelphia years
For a writer, the ability to entertain readers doesn’t require a pronounced accent or a certain pose while smoking a […]
Thom Nickels: Philadelphia versus the rule of law
Immigration in the U.S. used to follow a regular pattern. For centuries, until about 1910, most immigrants hailed from Western […]
Thom Nickels: Traveling in Romania in the shadow of the past
I almost canceled my trip to Romania several times. I wasn’t sure why I was feeling fearful. The rash of […]
Thom Nickels: New hope from Rome?
After the disastrous Pope Francis papacy — his war on traditionalist Catholic communities and his globalist embrace of unchecked migration […]
Thom Nickels: Hollywood mourns a pope they never really understood
When Pope Francis was alive he fired off comments while traveling in the papal plane from Asia to Rome. Air […]
Thom Nickels: Public misbehavior shouldn’t be dismissed as ‘a Philly thing’
The phrase “it’s a Philly thing” reduces urban violence and misbehavior to a wink and a nod.
By Thom Nickels
Thom Nickels: 19th-century Philadelphia’s macabre, union-organizing novelist
Lippard makes Poe look like Mother Goose.
By Thom Nickels