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The new play Slip/Shot opens tonight in Philadelphia. The play is set in 1962, at Florida State University in Tallahassee, and centers on the case of a 17-year-old African-American boy. The boy is unarmed, walking home from his girlfriend's late at night, when he is shot and killed by a white security guard. The local sheriff declines to press charges, and the security guard walks free. The story of Slip/Shot directly parallels the Trayvon Martin case, but playwright Jacqueline Goldfinger started working on the play months before the world had ever heard of Trayvon or George Zimmerman. And while Slip/Shot is set in the midst of the civil rights movement, its themes easily resonate today.

Philadelphia’s Dr. Dog is poised to release a brand new record of folk-inspired psychedelic rock, called “Be The Void.” The band joins us live in studio with a preview.

He has been described as "the world's most famous death-row inmate," but that description is no longer true. On Wednesday, prosecutors in Philadelphia said they were dropping the state's efforts to execute former Black Panther and journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal. His sentence will be converted to life in prison, without parole. District Attorney Seth Williams said it was "time to put the case to rest" for the city of Philadelphia. It was 30 years ago this week that Mumia Abu-Jamal, former journalist, was arrested for shooting a police officer Daniel Faulkner.

Hurricane Irene left neighborhoods, towns and cities flooded along the eastern seaboard. Philadelphia was one of the worst hit in terms of floods, with bodies of water like the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers climbing to ten feet or more above normal levels. States like New Jersey and Vermont are also experiencing Irene-triggered floods.

The Vatican is expected to announce the retirement of the Roman Catholic leader of Philadelphia this morning. Cardinal Justin Rigali is 76, and his retirement has been expected following accusations that his archdiocese covered up a long-running sex abuse scandal. David O'Reilly, regional reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer, reports on how Philadelphia Catholics are reacting to Rigali's resignation.

Researchers have been studying whether New Yorkers have been fleeing the Big Apple for Philadelphia in search of a cheaper, more accessible urban dream.

The "City of Brotherly Love" is making no friends in the blogosphere these days. Bloggers in Philadelphia have been receiving letters from the city asking them to pay $300 for a business privilege license. This has bloggers fuming, as most of them never even come close to making a profit. Sean Barry, has earned only $11 in the two years he's been running his blog, Circle of Fits, and thinks it's ridiculous he has to pay $300 for something he sees as his hobby, not a job.

The biggest piece of bad news of the last 4 months seems to be getting less bad: the Deepwater Horizon oil well is plugged, and the spill is disappearing from the surface of the Gulf fast.  As the catastrophe fades the photographer Zoe Strauss is doing her part to keep our focus on the disaster – and how it continues to affect people who live on the Gulf.

When it comes to meeting federal clean water standards, New York and other older cities like Boston and Albany are decades behind. One reason is all the human waste that’s discharged every time a storm overwhelms the capacity of 19th century combined sewer systems, which collect rain and sewage in the same pipes. Now New York is looking to another old East Coast city, Philadelphia, for new ideas.

Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Stephan Salisbury tells the story of Mohamed Ghorab, an imam in Philadelphia who was arrested and detained by federal agents and eventually deported and separated from his family.

At least four times in the last year, Philadelphia has been taken over by flash mobs made up of massive numbers of teenagers who congregate in one place at the same time. The gatherings are usually coordinated through text messaging, Twitter, or other electronic means. It sounds innocent, (and indeed, most flash mobs are utterly benign) but lately, the gatherings in Philadelphia have taken a violent turn, resulting in injuries and damage to properties and businesses.

Adolfo Carrión Digs Potatoes in urban Philadelphia garden (Andrea Bernstein)

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Last July, Adolfo Carrión, Jr. paid a visit to an urban garden in Philadelphia. In casual khaki slacks and rolled-up shirt sleeves he was digging up potatoes, throwing the long stems into a wooden wheelbarrow, to be turned into compost. The potatoes, he offered, would be good for “home fries.”

Carrión is now the director of the brand-new White House Office of Urban Affairs, part of a campaign promise President Barack Obama made to re-focus attention on urban America.

A small crowd was gathered around Carrión in the garden--the Mayor of Philadelphia, a Deputy Secretary from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, a host of neighborhood activists and a few teenagers. Two of the teens, Amber and Shardae, were standing a bit off to the side, knee-high in collard greens.

The high school students were part of the “Teens for Good” program. The program hires local teens, gives them summer jobs, and sells the produce the raise at a neighborhood farmers market. Amber and Shardae were joking about sneaking a few of the ping pong ball-sized raspberries. But for Amber this was serious.

Last July, Adolfo Carrión, Jr. paid a visit to an urban garden in Philadelphia. In casual khaki slacks and rolled-up shirt sleeves he was digging up potatoes, throwing the long stems into a wooden wheelbarrow, to be turned into compost. The potatoes, he offered, would be good for “home fries.”

Carrión is now the director of the brand-new White House Office of Urban Affairs, part of a campaign promise President Barack Obama made to re-focus attention on urban America.

A small crowd was gathered around Carrión in the garden--the Mayor of Philadelphia, a Deputy Secretary from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, a host of neighborhood activists and a few teenagers. Two of the teens, Amber and Shardae, were standing a bit off to the side, knee-high in collard greens.

The high school students were part of the “Teens for Good” program. The program hires local teens, gives them summer jobs, and sells the produce the raise at a neighborhood farmers market. Amber and Shardae were joking about sneaking a few of the ping pong ball-sized raspberries. But for Amber this was serious.

As economists declare the country to be officially heading out of recession, many are looking around them and still seeing severe economic troubles. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter joins us; he says American cities are in serious trouble, can expect little help from cash-strapped state governments, and need direct action from Washington. (click through for a full interview transcript)

New York and Philadelphia are about to face off in baseball’s World Series. But behind the sports madness, the two cities have a historic rivalry that dates back to colonial times — when they both fought to be the U.S. capital city. Michael Zuckerman, professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania, explains.