Philly Who?
Telling the stories of the doers, thinkers, and performers of Philadelphia. From up-and-coming game-changers to well-known legends, you'll dive into their past, present, future, and how it all contributes to The City of Brotherly Love. Hosted by Kevin Chemidlin.
Start with These Episodes
Kevin Negandhi: The First Indian-American to Anchor ESPN's Sportscent…
Kevin Neghandi was watching a basketball game on TV when he was 15 years old. The announcers mentioned that one of the players wa…
Councilmember Kendra Brooks: The First Minority Party At-Large Victor…
After serving families with disabilities at Easterseals for 17 years, state budget cuts left Kendra Brooks without a job. While s…
Sharon Pinkenson: The Wardrobe Stylist Who Brought Hollywood to Philly
Over two decades ago, one wardrobe stylist had an ambitious dream to see her beloved hometown become the movie metropolis she alw…
Bruce Warren: How a Kitchen Chef Became Philly's Music Man
Bruce Warren is assistant general manager for programming of WXPN in Philadelphia and is Executive Producer of World Cafe distrib…
Madeline Bell: How an Overnight Pediatric Nurse Became CEO of CHOP
Madeline Bell is the President & CEO of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The Children’s Hospital-- more commonly known as…
Michael Nutter: The 98th Mayor of Philadelphia
Michael Nutter served as the 98th Mayor of Philadelphia from 2008 through 2015. Before that, he had been a Member of City Council…
Rakia Reynolds: Helping Serena Williams & Other Celebrities Share The…
Rakia Reynolds is the Founder & CEO of Skai Blue Media, a public relations agency that's worked with clients such as Serena Willi…
Connor Barwin: The NFL Linebacker Rejuvenating Philly Public Parks
Connor Barwin is an NFL Linebacker who has played for the Houston Texans, LA Rams, New York Giants, and Philadelphia Eagles. In 2…
Julian Brodsky: The Creation of Comcast
Julian Brodsky is the original CFO of Comcast, and a Philadelphia native. He and Daniel Aaron were the partners of Comcast Founde…
Sarah Schwab: The Story of GRITTY!
Sarah Schwab is the Senior Director of Marketing for the Philadelphia Flyers. As the Director of Marketing, Sarah oversees the te…
Mike Solomonov & Steve Cook: The Chefs Behind Zahav, Federal Donuts, …
Mike Solomonov and Steve Cook are the chefs behind Cooknsolo, a collection of restaurants including Zahav, Federal Donuts, The Ro…
Tony Luke, Jr. Part 2: The Rise and Fall of a Cheesesteak Empire
Tony Luke, Jr. is a cofounder of Tony Luke's, a cheesesteak franchise with multiple locations. He's also an actor, TV personality…
Rebecca Rhynhart: Navigating the Great Recession as Treasurer and Era…
In January 2018, Rebecca Rynhart was sworn in as the first woman City Controller in Philadelphia history. Before that, she served…
Jane Golden: Making Philly a Public Art Gallery through MuralArts
Jane is the Executive Director of Mural Arts Philadelphia, the nation’s largest public art program that employs over 300 artists …
Josh Kopelman: Founder of First Round Capital & Early Investor in Ube…
Josh Kopelman has been an active entrepreneur and investor in the Internet industry since its commercialization. In 1992, while h…
Governor Ed Rendell: Rescuing Philly from Bankruptcy as Mayor
Governor Ed Rendell is a lawyer, author, and politician. From 1992 until 2000, he served as the Mayor of Philadelphia. Shortly af…
Judy Wicks: Pioneering Farm-to-Table at White Dog Cafe
Judy Wicks is the founder of the White Dog Cafe, a restaurant in University City that she started in the first floor of her house…
William Tyrone Toms: Giving Resources to Every Creator at REC Philly
William Tyrone Toms is the Founder and Head of Strategy at REC Philly, a creative agency and incubator for local artists and crea…
Yasmine Mustafa: Undocumented Refugee Turned Social Entrepreneur & CEO
Yasmine Mustafa is a social entrepreneur fueled by a passion to leverage technology for good. She's the CEO of ROAR for Good, a c…
Todd Carmichael Part 1: Creating La Colombe & Almost Dying in Antarct…
Todd Carmichael (IG: @todd_carmichael) is the Cofounder and CEO of La Colombe Coffee Roasters. He and his cofounder JP Iberti sta…
Erica Atwood: Social Justice Thought Leader
Erica Atwood (@ericainphilly) is currently the CEO of First Degree Consulting, LLC. Erica has served as the interim executive dir…
Bon Ku, MD, MPP: The Designer of Health
Bon Ku, M.D. (@BonKu) is the Assistant Dean for Health and Design and an Associate Professor at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College…
Fran Dunphy: NCAA Men’s Basketball Coach, Big 5 Legend
Fran Dunphy has been the Head Coach of Temple University's Men's Basketball team since 2006. Before that, he served as the head c…
Chill Moody: HipHop Artist, Philly Music Ambassador, The Reason We Ha…
Chill Moody (@chillmoody) is a HipHop artist, entrepreneur, and activist. Born and raised in West Philadelphia, he started by mak…
Episodes
![[2019] Tony Luke, Jr.: The Rise and Fall of a Cheesesteak Empire](https://podpage.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fimages.megaphone.fm%2FmYm6lET_bUQ8mir_LsrmQE7TmmYVJr33-hw6DWgOUyY%2Fplain%2Fs3%3A%2F%2Fmegaphone-prod%2Fpodcasts%2F368be63a-75c0-11ea-af86-c3bcb7e5b354%2Fimage%2Fsocialmediathumbnail.jpeg?auto=format&h=720&w=600&s=1429209daaf32cb921227255b9b60aac "[2019] Tony Luke, Jr.: The Rise and Fall of a Cheesesteak Empire")
[2019] Tony Luke, Jr.: The Rise and Fall of a Cheesesteak Empire
July 27, 2021
Tony Luke, Jr. is a cofounder of Tony Luke's, a cheesesteak franchise with multiple locations. He's also an actor, TV personality, musician, and an anti-addiction-stigma activist.
[2019] Sharon Pinkenson: The Wardrobe Stylist Who Brought Hollywood to Philly
July 20, 2021
When this episode was recorded Sharon Pinkenson was the Executive Director of the Greater Philadelphia Film Office. Since the 90s, the office has generated more than five billion dollars for the city of Philadelphia, and has put Philly on big and small screens across the world.
[2018] Jesse Ito: 30 Under 30 Sushi Chef of Royal Izakaya & Sushi
July 13, 2021
When this episode was released, Jesse Ito was the Co-owner and Chef of Royal Izakaya & Sushi, a restaurant combo in Queen Village. His 10-seat omakase sushi bar has received 4 bells from Philly.com and he's made Zagat's 30 under 30 list.
[2019] Michelle Angela Ortiz: Telling the Stories of Immigrants through Art
July 6, 2021
Michelle Angela Ortiz is a visual artist, skilled muralist, and community arts educator who uses her art as a vehicle to represent people and communities whose histories are often lost or co-opted.
[2019] Michael Nutter: The 98th Mayor of Philadelphia
June 29, 2021
Michael Nutter served as the 98th Mayor of Philadelphia from 2008 through 2015. Before that, he had been a Member of City Council since 1992.
[2018] Judy Wicks: Pioneering Farm-to-Table at White Dog Cafe
June 22, 2021
Judy Wicks is the founder of the White Dog Cafe, a restaurant in University City that she started in the first floor of her house in 1983. What started as a muffin shop quickly grew into a renowned 200-seat restaurant that was among the first to feature farm-to-table local food.
{2018} Todd Carmichael: La Colombe Cofounder & Reality TV Star
June 15, 2021
Todd Carmichael (IG: @todd_carmichael) is the co-founder and CEO of La Colombe Coffee Roasters.
[2018] Alex Scott: The Girl Who Fought Cancer With Lemonade
June 8, 2021
As told by her mother, Liz Scott, who is the Co-Executive Director of Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.
[2018] William Tyrone Toms: Giving Resources to Every Creator at REC Philly
June 1, 2021
William Tyrone Toms is the Founder and Head of Strategy at REC Philly, a creative agency and incubator for local artists and creative entrepreneurs. In this episode, you’ll hear how Will and his cofounder, Dave Silver, would make a name for themselves throwing concerts as Broad Street Music Group. …
[2018] Bon Ku, MD, MPP: The Designer of Health
May 27, 2021
Bon Ku is the founder and director of JeffDESIGN, the first Medical School program to center around Design Thinking. Hear how Bon & JeffDESIGN are revolutionizing how the medical community attacks Philly's health crises.
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About the Hosts
Kevin Chemidlin
Host & Creator
Kevin Chemidlin had the idea for "Philly Who?" on a cold December morning in 2017, as he was riding the Market-Frankford line to his 9-to-5 as a software developer. He had never created a podcast before; he hadn't even ever interviewed anyone before. But, his passion for Philly was overflowing, and he wanted to share the stories of Philly's most interesting people.
6 months later in May of 2018, "Philly Who?" was launched, and Kevin's life was forever changed. The show’s near-instant success led Kevin to leave his software career and launch Cue9 Creative, a podcast production company, as well as "Grow The Show," an accelerator program that helps other independent podcasters grow and thrive.
