asian: Philadelphia Metropolis

Philadelphia 2012

On the week of Mayor Nutter's inauguration, Metropolis takes an in-depth look at Nutter's leadership and the prospects for this second term. In Part Two, we examine the larger trends that define the state of the city in 2011. Read on about the good, the bad and the ugly forces at work in Philadelphia. (Comments)

Diary of a Teenage Eater

By Ada Kulesza» Everyone talks about what poor teenagers eat. At Metropolis, we decided to take it a step further: We asked them what they eat. For two weeks, two 18-year-olds texted details of their daily intake to reporter Ada Kulesza. The results are illuminating and surprising. So, sit down with a piece of chocolate cake, a Coke, a half-dozen cookies and a bag of Doritos and read: Diary of A Teenage Eater. (Comments)

Desperate for Work

Best of VoxPop» The ad on Craigslist was for a High Roller Host in Atlantic City. Having worked a seemingly endless string of dead-end jobs, I was drawn to the flashy job title "High Roller Host" -- that and the extremely lucrative salary offered. I applied on my lunch break and before the end of the workday that day, a man named Steven with a slight speech impediment, which I later discovered to be an accent, called to conduct a phone interview. Afterward, he asked if I could come to Atlantic City for an interview right away. Surprised at my luck, I told him I could. That was the beginning of the madness. (Comments)

Race and Roommates

By Nita Jalivay» When I was a grad student at Temple, I studied a story, one whose details never left me. In this story, a young black man, Oxford-educated, was living in London and was in need of a new dwelling to call home. He scoured the classifieds until he found a place, desirable for its location and his budget. The man called the owner, a kindly British lady, and after confirming the room's availability, scheduled a time to see it. Then reality struck. The young man, in all his Oxford brilliance, failed to consider one detail that has far-reaching implications and consequences. He forgot he was black. He was highly educated and cultured, and therefore didn't carry his race (that (Comments)

My Asian-American Life

By O.K. Pham» "I don't think of you as Vietnamese anymore-- just as my wife." My husband Shaun stated as he leaned back in his chair, after a thoughtful sip of his Saison. We were savoring a backyard lunch together on one of those perfect Saturday afternoons in late June. I stared at him across the table where a dwindling platter of steamed corn and grilled London broil sat.The kids had already run off after devouring their lunch, treating us to the luxury of an uninterrupted conversation. My gaze fell from my husband's red hair to his grayish blue eyes, before finding the smile that had been the prelude to our many dialogues. (Comments)