🎉 The first Friday of November is here already!

🌧️ Light rain likely through the early afternoon will give way to cloudy skies in the evening. High near 70, low 52.

Today’s newsletter is 1,053 words — a 4-minute read.

Comedian Elyssa Phillips is a New Yorker, but she grew up to be a Philadelphian.

• Except in one key way: Philly sports fans are "a different breed of human," she tells Axios. "They're like Neanderthals."

Why it matters: That joke may or may not land with Philadelphians still touchy about the Birds' lousy season — but Phillips hopes the rest of her material packs the punch of a bone-crunching Rocky haymaker.

Driving the news: Phillips is headlining a show Sunday at Claude's Comedy Club & Bar, which opened earlier this year as a welcome addition to South Philly's nightlife.

The big picture: Phillips got her start in theater but pivoted to stand-up after moving to the West Coast, where she's opened for comedy heavyweights like Jay Leno and Iliza Shlesinger.

• She's also appeared in a bunch of TV shows, including HBO's "Hacks" and "Silicon Valley," ABC's "Fresh Off the Boat" and Netflix's "Leanne."

Zoom in: Funny how life works out: Phillips met Claude's manager more than a decade ago while attending classes at the now-shuttered University of the Arts.

• After a long time away, the show gave her an excuse to return to Philly, where she discovered love, heartbreak and, above all, herself.

Flashback: Phillips once dated Derek Bodner, now the Sixers beat writer for PHLY Sports.

• They lived together in Hawthorne until breaking up after seven years.
• All these years later, Phillips is still single.

Reality check: This has the makings of the Philliest love story ever: Two former flames rekindling their romance in LOVE Park, decades after the city first brought them together.

• But then comes a gruff Philly rebuff that sounds like a preamble to Phillips' act, which dives into her adventures and misadventures as a single, middle-aged Jewish woman who's grown ambivalent about finding true love.

What they're saying: "I mean, I messaged him about the show," says Phillips, who prefers for you to guess her age.

• "We broke up 80 million years ago. … It's like Philly in your 20s. Where you grow up to be the person you're going to be. And we grew up to be the people that we grew up into — not two people that should be together."

If you go: Sunday. Doors open at 6:30pm; the show starts at 7pm. Tickets: $24.91.

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A planned pro-Palestinian bike ride on Sunday in Rittenhouse calling for a boycott of restaurants amid the war in Gaza is drawing intense backlash.

The big picture: The demonstration, announced on Instagram late last month, comes as the Israel-Hamas war has raged for years.

Driving the news: The boycott ride appears to be organized by activist group Philly Bike on Your Left and is targeting restaurants that include those under the CookNSolo brand — like Goldie and K'Far, which are co-owned by Israeli-American chef and restaurateur Michael Solomonov.

• The event aims to show solidarity with the Palestinian community.
• The group did not return requests for comment.

Friction point: The small, little-known group behind the ride has suddenly captured the attention of Mayor Cherelle Parker and Gov. Josh Shapiro.

• The Anti-Defamation League, in a statement condemning the event and calling on leaders to do the same, pointed out that it falls on the eve of the "Night of Broken Glass," or Kristallnacht.

Zoom in: Mayor Cherelle Parker said while "everyone has the right to peacefully protest and express their political views," police will maintain safety and order throughout the demonstration.

Plus: Shapiro spokesperson Rosie Lapowsky tells Axios in part that the "bike ride, masquerading as a protest to advance the cause of justice, is nothing more than blatant antisemitism designed to intimidate and drive Jewish businesses out of our communities."

Go deeper

🍽️ Eight Philly restaurants made OpenTable⁠'s 2026 list of the Top 100 eateries in the U.S., including new additions Her Place Supper Club and Friday Saturday Sunday.

• Worth noting: Stephen Starr's Parc restaurant was bumped from this year's list.

👀 Count U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle out of challenging Sen. John Fetterman in 2028. Boyle was one of several people rumored to seek the seat.

• But after Dems' massive win this week, Boyle said he would have a bigger impact staying in the U.S. House. (The Hill)

🏗️ ICYMI: Work is underway for the Philly Housing Authority's first-ever development in Center City — a $65 million mixed-income apartment project at the long-vacant site at 2012 Chestnut St.

• The 14-story building will stand only blocks away from Rittenhouse Square and include 121 apartments and ground-level commercial space.

Democrats' blue tsunami and massive Republican losses in Tuesday's midterm elections are all anyone can talk about this week, but dishing your political hot takes at work comes with pitfalls.

Driving the news: Axios Philadelphia chatted with Matt Levendusky, a political science and communication expert at Penn, who gave us his dos and don'ts for talking politics in the workplace — whether that's on Slack or around the water cooler.

☝️ Setting clear ground rules is essential.

• It's helpful to have guardrails around which topics can be discussed, tone and what's out of bounds.

👂 Understanding, not persuasion

• If you disagree with someone politically, focus on understanding their perspective rather than trying to convince them your side is correct.

🚶‍♂️Walk away

• If a conversation is getting heated, bow out of it.

🤔 Worth it?

• Consider whether discussing politics at work is really necessary, especially with people you probably don't know very well.
• Pro tip: It often isn't worth it.

🛑 1 big no-no

• You don't always have to offer your opinion.
• "Sometimes, it's totally fine not to comment and to just not engage, especially if you aren't in the headspace to do so constructively," Levendusky says.

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📚 Isaac is catching up on reading for fun this weekend. Send me any good book suggestions.

🎂 Mike is celebrating his son's 7th birthday this weekend!

• Quick plug: Our poll is still open that asks what readers want Pennsylvania Democrats to focus on now that the party controls Harrisburg. We'll run your responses next week.

Today's newsletter was edited by Jen Burkett.