Firewall with Bradley Tusk

What does Zohran Mamdani’s upset victory look like now that the memes have faded? Drawing on the months of reporting he did for The New Yorker, Staff Writer Eric Lach walks through how Mamdani’s campaign rewrote the playbook on field organizing, social media, and “politics you can see” in the streets — rather than the "politics you can't see" in back rooms. He and Bradley pull apart why the city’s political and business class so badly misread the race and what that portends for upcoming fights involving Kathy Hochul, congressional primaries, and Chuck Schumer’s future. They also game out the big unknown: how Mamdani can govern through steep budget cuts, policing dilemmas and an impatient electorate without losing the authenticity that got him elected.

Bradley makes 12 bold predictions about next year, focusing on the tidal wave of AI regulation hitting state legislatures, why electricity prices will soar and put incumbents in a major bind, the inevitable mishandling of mental-health chatbots, how all the politicians rushing to copy Mamdani's short-form videos are going to create one hell of a blooper reel, and much more. Plus, a strong recommendation for Season 2 of Landman and guest Cory Epstein reveals the one movie he auditioned for during his very short-lived stint as a child actor.

In venture these days, it pays to be small and scrappy or huge and swimming in fees. Anywhere in between is a hard slog. Bradley walks through the changing VC landscape, using his own fund history as Exhibit A, and going into detail on his return to an “equity for services” model. Plus, why AOC should run for President rather than the US Senate, how AI could be utilized to revolutionize classrooms, and a fresh theory on why we can't resist TV villains.

What does it take to unseat a 20-year incumbent? Raj Goyle — fresh off his successful campaign to ban smartphones in New York schools — returns to Firewall to discuss why and how he’s running for state comptroller. First step: Convincing voters that the often overlooked position has untapped power to make real progress on affordability.