The former President and current Vice President met for their first — and perhaps only (we’ll see) — debate of this election season last night, and watchers on both sides agreed that Kamala Harris had a good night, goading Donald Trump into an angry and sometimes rambling performance. Republicans still thought Trump won, of course, and often said that ABC’s moderators were biased. WHYY’s Carmen Russell-Sluchansky has all the reactions.

There were protests before the debate and watch parties across the region during and after, and WHYY covered it all. BP’s Nick Kariuki pitched in, attending a Young Republican watch party and talking with people on the street before the event, including supporters of Israel, RFK Jr., and city workers ticked at Mayor Parker.

If only, the thinking goes, audiences could experience the music, the pageantry, the excitement, the spectacle of opera, they would be patrons for life. And forget about whatever hoity-toity image opera might have.

That is why a big company like the cash-strapped Opera Philadelphia, and an also impoverished smaller company, Aurora Classical, have turned to the Philadelphia Fringe Festival to attract new audiences by experimenting with pricing and working to redefine the art form. Continue reading…

RECAP: What else happened?

$ = paywalled

• Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris for president after the debate, signing her online post “childless cat lady.” [NBC]