Alaina Johns has found that even in pro-choice spaces, the rhetoric around abortion can be hard to separate from the facts. But we all need to sharpen these skills, especially as Pennsylvania legislators work to ban abortion here.

As an atheist and a divorced woman who supports gender justice, Alaina Johns definitely doesn’t belong in the church that raised her. But when the church’s more inclusive community members planned a Pride protest, she wanted to be there.

Another year, another attempt to gut city support for the arts in Philly. As one of our own artists wins a Pulitzer, a major budget cut seems like an especially bad plan. Alaina Johns considers.

As new rulings and lawsuits about mask mandates in Philly and throughout the country roll in this week, Alaina Johns notes what mask mandate arguments are really about: debating accessibility.

Editor Alaina Johns is taking a few weeks off to focus on treating her bipolar disorder, with the support of the BSR team. Here’s why it’s important to talk about this.

All eyes are on the Supreme Court this week, taking up cases including one that could overturn the constitutional right to an abortion. What does Philly think about that? Alaina Johns attended the rally.

After two long summers and many challenging writing sessions in between, Kyle V. Hiller contemplates how trauma-inspired work is no longer his cup of tea.

In a world that expects everyone to travel in pairs, going out alone is a refreshing and important way to reframe your relationship to yourself—and others. Alaina Johns wanders.

Most coverage of protests against the Walnut Street Theatre ignores a key fact: the building may be historic, but the theater company there started in the 1980s. Alaina Johns thinks that matters.

Alaina Johns is one of many Philadelphia professionals who got their start in the Walnut Street Theatre’s apprenticeship program, and the experience still influences her today.