Christopher Wink

PhillyABCs: my first kids book

After reading a particular regional children’s board book one too many times, I decided my home of Philadelphia deserved better.

I’m a journalist who spends my days obsessed with how places develop identity and share that with people to live, work and thrive. I’m also the father of two young kids in the city’s Fishtown neighborhood. I also happen to have a close friend who is a talented illustrator and a new mother herself (Hi Sara Scholl!).

I wanted to create a simple board book that would keep young kids engaged, amuse grown-ups and actually contribute something to a region’s identity. I was working on the alphabet with my pre-schooler, who responded best to fun environments where she could tie visuals to sounds and letters.

As dead-simple as it is, the ABCs framework had been used for just a couple states and cities around the world, along with some industries and hobbies. I made a list of kids publishers that seemed to produce a similar vibe, did hours of research of contacts and processes at those firms. Then I led outreach.

On Sept. 28, 2025, my first kids book launches, and can be pre-ordered at PhillyABCs.com.

Below I share some other background, lessons and insights for later.

On moral relativism

(This was originally a social video, and below is my script)

Most people totally misuse the phrase “product of their time.” Here’s the fix.

There’s a classic trap in moral relativism debates. We say, “Well, people back then didn’t know any better.” But here’s the key idea from moral realism in philosophy: something can be true, even if most people at the time don’t recognize it.

A vision for Philadelphia 250 years in the future

I’m deeply proud and honored to have helped develop a vision statement for Philadelphia for the next 250 years. An earlier version was shared last summer here. I shared this new version more widely for one last round of resident feedback in an Inquirer op-ed here.

The statement, a place to give feedback and information on the process can be found at PH.LY.

Below is the vision statement as it stands now.

This is what a robotics ecosystem looks like

A robotics ecosystem connects education to workforce training to entrepreneurship and industry. Many parts and components fit in, overlap and even compete but contribute to a shared goal.

While out there, I filed a story on driverless freight company Aurora, and on a new mural series.

That’s what I got to in a panel discussion I led on the main stage of the Pittsburgh Robotics Discovery Day last Thursday. Below watch video of the panel.

We didn’t remove gatekeepers; we replaced them with algorithms.

I joined CURRENTLY, the slick video interview series from the creative agency [Electric Kite], hosted by principal Kevin Renton, to talk about local journalism, entrepreneurship and how we build healthier information ecosystems. (I wrote more about it on Technical.ly here)

Themes we hit: why geography still matters online; why “friction” is a feature of community; how luck shapes entrepreneurial outcomes; and why journalism is a strategy you attach to sustainable business models.

Below the full video, and a few points I want to stand out.

Storytelling isn’t just an output of stuff you do, it’s an input into why you do it

In my practice, storytelling has a definition and a strategy. Helpfully the research is clearer too: gathering people’s lived experiences, sharing them and then collecting the feedback to share back — on and on — gets you closer to the truth. That definition: Storytelling is a process that uses character and plot to share ways to navigate a complex world.

Audience isn’t a business model

[Originally a social post]

Audience isn’t a business model.

This is one of those things that people get so wrong about media. I’m seeing it all over again with the current obsession with influencers and creators. I just saw a very well-intentioned chart for ‘news creators’ that had a row for “business model” and the options were “profit” or “non for profit.”

Those aren’t business models!?!?

My storytelling keynote to Tech Hubs leaders in Montana

Meaningful commercialized science and intentional local economic coalition building does not correlate to high-quality storytelling about it. Economic development leaders should take storytelling seriously.

The kind folks at Montana’s Headwaters Tech Hub gave me the chance to address their summit of Montana ecosystem members and other tech hub leaders from around the country. I gave a storytelling presentation informed by this research — and led with the impressive tale of how Jeanette Rankin became the country’s first female Senator.

Of Boys and Men

A very small number of men dominate the most powerful and wealthiest positions, and are among the most aggressive humans alive.

But though this tiny number accounts for many disparities, and men have not taken enough domestic imbalances, their trend lines are worrying. Boys and men are going the wrong direction fast.

That’s from the 2024 book by Richard V. Reeves: “Of Boys and Men Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It.” It’s one of a growing collection of research and literature.

As Reeves writes: “We have an education system favoring girls and a labor market favoring men. Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

Below I share my notes for future reference.

The Committee to Protect Journalists reports Israeli forces have killed nearly 200 journalists

Four Al Jazeera journalists — and three others — were killed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza this month. We need to talk about that.

I usually only share reporting I’ve done, or topics where I have real expertise. International politics isn’t my beat, so I don’t pretend to have unique insight there. But this is different.