FAQ NYC
FAQ NYC is a weekly podcast that explores the biggest questions facing New York City. Hosted by Christina Greer, Azi Paybarah, and Harry Siegel, it features in-depth discussions and analysis of local politics, culture, and urban life. The show is produced by Alex Brook Lynn. Each episode aims to unpack complex issues affecting the city and its residents.
Episodes
Episode 522: Mamdani’s Roughest Week Yet
Hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel discuss Mamdani’s response to the Marble Hill ICE shooting and how it seemed to show the limits of his relationship with Donald Trump and the rising pressure from his allies on the left to somehow push the feds out of the city and maybe Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch along with them.
Episode 521: New York's Leading Women Take on Cornell
Hosts Katie Honan, Christina Greer and Harry Siegel look at Gov. Kathy Hochul's decision to appoint Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor looking into the deeply disturbing gang rape accusations at Cornell, and the legal, political, journalistic and moral fallout from that story, and much more.
Episode 520: NYC’s Comptroller on the AI Storm Coming for Our Economy, and Its Silver Linings
New York City Comptroller Mark Levine makes his maiden voyage on the podcast — “I guess I’ve made the big time!” — to talk about the warnings he’s been sounding about artificial intelligence, his concerns about next year’s looming budget deficit and much more, including a hopeful last word:
“I love the fact that the people building these tools live in a diverse New York City and ride th
Episode 519: Terror, A Knickerbocker History
In the final episode of FAQ NYC’s special series, A Knickerbocker History of America, Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel sat down with Asad Dandia in front of a live audience at P&T Knitwear to dig into the history of terrorism in New York City.
For Dandia, the Brooklyn borough historian, that history includes a decade in which he went from being a CUNY student who learned
Episode 518: The United Nations — and Mamdani and Trump — Assemble
Hosts Christina Greer and Katie Honan discuss Mayor Mamdani and President Donald Trump’s relationship ahead of their meeting at Gracie Mansion, along with the latest in the Brooklyn Democratic Party’s court back and forth.
Plus, they discuss efforts to save an African burial ground from development and the mayor's management report.
Episode 517: 'Two Great Mayors in 400 Years'
Director Ric Burns and his writing and producing partner, James Sanders, sat down with Christina Greer, Harry Siegel and guest co-host Dave Colon to discuss their two new episodes of Gotham: A Documentary bringing their epic history into the 21st Century,
The filmmakers dig into the unprecedented wave of crises from 9/11 to the Great Recession to Hurricane Sandy to COVID and the George F
Episode 516: A Ginned-Up Scandal in a Solemn Week
Hosts Katie Honan, Christina Greer and Harry Siegel discuss the different ways New Yorkers marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, the attempts to manufacture outrage about Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s appearance at the commemoration ceremony, and Katie’s reporting from a pub right by Ground Zero on the anniversary this year.
Plus, the group gets into a new Legionnaires' out
Episode 515: 25 Years Later, a Mayor Finally Owns Up To 9/11’s Toxic Dust
More than three times as many people have now died of 9/11-related illnesses as were killed on that terrible day — and three-quarters of the New Yorkers here now weren't here then.
On the day Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a portal of documents showing city and federal officials had known since weeks after the attacks about the noxious air that people were breathing downtown, FAQ NYC hos
Episode 514: Riots: A Knickerbocker History
In the second episode of FAQ NYC’s new three-part special series, A Knickerbocker History of America, Katie Honan, Harry Siegel and guest cohost Asad Dandia, the Brooklyn borough historian, sat down in front of a live audience at P&T Knitwear to discuss just three of the city’s many, many “riots” — “a violent disturbance of the peace by a crowd” — and how the Harlem riot of 1934, the
Episode 513: The Brooklyn Dems Bring ‘Veep’ to Real Life
Katie Honan looks back on a wild scene as the Brooklyn Democratic Party bosses changed their rules in a closed door vote after losing an open election to try and hold onto power before she, Chrissy and Harry dig into the Mamdani administration’s 2K payroll problems, the unanswered question of how the city is going to pay for the new administration's $4 billion BQE repair, and much more.
Episode 512: Potholes, Promenades and Power in Mamdani's New York
Hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel dig into about the mayor’s new BQE plan, his many fights with the City Council, Hakeem Jeffries’ private sit-down with Hakeem Jeffries, Jessica Ramos’ double-dipping mess on her way out of the party, AOC’s very public family planning, and much more…
Episode 511: In With Flynn
Chrissy, Harry and Katie sort through a week of summer news in NYC before Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn joins Katie for an interview.
Episode 510: Blackouts: A Knickerbocker History
at were not plugged into walls.”
Things change when the lights go out, but while the blackout of 1965 was a moment that brought the city together the one in 1977 became a signal moment in the narrative of its decline. Nearly a half century later, it remains the largest mass-arrest event in New York City history — one that helped set the city on a long journey into ever more prosperity an
Episode 509: Big Brother in the Big Apple
FAQ NYC co-hosts Katie Honan and Harry Siegel dig into the state’s new effort to ferret out New Yorkers who want to live here but pay lower insurance and tax bills somewhere cheaper, a lawsuit pushing back on the NYPD's use of NYCHA's free wifi program to give officers unfettered live access to the housing authority's surveillance cameras, and much more., including a rare direct shot at
Episode 508: Mamdani’s Pied-a-Terre Pressure Play Is Paying Off
As the mayor's push to trumpet the collection of his new pied a terre tax and confront quiet money with loud politics got off to a bumpy start, he's standing his ground and playing for time to smooth things out.
Christina Greer, Harry Siegel and guest co-host Alex Brook Lynn dig into that and much more, including Mamdani's slow-walk on his police reform promises from the campaign trail,
Episode 507: ‘40,000 New Yorkers Lost Their Protections Today’
New York Immigration Coalition CEO Murad Awawdeh joins the podcast to discuss the Supreme Court green‑lighting the Trump administration’s move to end Temporary Protected Status, and how New York State and City are building new protections as federal policy hardens.
Plus, FAQ NYC hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss Mayor
Episode 506: The Tide Is Out and NY’s Old-Guard Dems Are Beached
Other than the extreme heat, smoky air, flash flooding and deaths from an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, it’s remained a lovely summer in New York City — including for night fishing..
FAQ NYC hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss all that and much more, including “shark” Zohran Mamdani’s aggressive early plans for his reelection bid, an older generation of Demo
Episode 505: Mamdani’s ‘Mapgate’ Is a Tempest in a Teapot
Mayor Mamdani this week blamed the previous administration for a map of immigrant enclaves that didn't include Little Italy, and said the city would include it next time.
Hosts Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss the mostly bad-faith criticism of the map, the eternal arguments about which New Yorkers are represented and which are neglected, how his administration set itself up to get at
Episode 504: A 78 Degree Meltdown About Mamdani
When Zohran Mamdani urged New Yorkers to set their air conditioners to 78 degrees, echoing what mayors before him have advised during heat waves for decades, his critics again lost their minds.
Hosts Katie Honan and Harry Siegel talk with Alex Brook Lynn, FAQ NYC's original producer calling in from Paris, about heat waves, sharks in the water, swimming in the Seine and much more.
Episode 503: A New Test of Mamdani’s Winning Streat
A sudden City Council push to hold up the budget due Tuesday if City Hall doesn’t increase funding for the wildly popular — and thus wildly expensive — CityFHEPS housing vouchers represents a big new test for Mayor Mamdani and his incredible winning streak.
Hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss all that and much more, and Straight Arrow News senior politics reporter
Episode 502: Election Night Extra: Mamdanimentum Is Real
Mayor Zohran Mamdani put a lot of his newly won political capitol on the line to try and shift the shape of the Democratic Party in New York City and beyond, and won big — proving that his theory of the case didn't end with his election.
An hour and a half after the polls closed, FAQ NYC taped a special episode along with Ben Max and with Katie Honan calling in from Claire Vadez’s exuber
Episode 501: A Knicks Win to Kick Off Summer
Is the Knicks win after more than 50 years a good omen for summer? Co-host Katie Honan talks with Rachel Holliday Smith, the managing editor of The City Reporter, about summer 2026. Then she speaks with Janet Fash, a longtime New York City lifeguard whose memoir "Lifeguard: A Love Story" comes out June 23.
Episode 500: Nothing but Knicks
Bex Max joins Christina Greer and Harry Siegel for a FAQ NYC-Max Politics crossover just after game four to put down politics for once and talk about the Knicks' incredible comeback and a city that’s dizzy with excitement and overdue for a celebration. .
Episode 499: A New Blue and Orange Era in NYC
The New York Knickerbockers will come into Madison Square Garden Monday night for the first NBA finals game at Madison Square Garden this millennium having last lost a basketball game 46 days ago. That’s roughly four times as long as peak Lin-sanity and full four Scaramuccis.
Hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel talk about the city’s blue and orange tinged euphoria, the o
Episode 498: ‘Everybody Got Pepper-Sprayed’
Gwynne Hogan joins FAQ NYC to discuss The City Reporter’s big investigation of months of street arrests in and around New York City,and her coverage of the violent scenes playing out now outside of where many of those immigrants are detained at Newark’s Delaney Hall:
Plus, hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel dig into the news from another jam-packed summer week in New Yo
Episode 497: The Knicks Are on Fire and the Mecca of Basketball Isn’t Going Anywhere
Hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel discuss the suddenly unstoppable Knicks, the indefatigable mayor’s efforts to tap into the city’s surge of sports energy, a rainy start to what could be a long, hot summer, and much more.
Episode 496: Listen: Who's Finding Who At the Top of the Heap?
Hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel join guest Jeff Coltin to look ahead to summer in the city, consider the state of political goss in this town, the strangest Congressional race playing out in Manhattan and much more.
Episode 495: Albany’s Supersized ‘Big Ugly’ Is Ridiculously Late
Will New York State ever pass the budget that was due more than a month ago? And how is New York City supposed to work out its own budget, which it’s legally required to balance and pass by the end of June, without knowing how much money the state is providing?
Hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel dig into that and much more, including a grim projection about New York City
Episode 494: Don’t Bet Against Mamdani
Zohran Mamdani’s first political endorsement since becoming mayor predictably didn’t pan out, but Lindsey Boylan wasn’t the candidate he’s betting his political capital on.
The FAQ NYC hosts discuss all that and much more, including why bringing casinos to New York is such a terrible idea, what’s so good about bodega cats and bad about restaurant dogs, and much more.
Episode 493: All the Budgets Are Blending Together
Which came first, the state budget or the city’s spending plan?
As the Mamdani administration pushes for new taxes and more money from Albany the FAQ NYC hosts discuss all that and much more, including how sports and politics are getting mushed together first between the NBA Playoffs and the coming “Trump Station,” and between the World Cup and a looming “weekend of hell” and the Mamdan
Episode 492: The Wheels on the Spin Go Round and Round
The former president with a supposedly funny name who was smeared as an African-born socialist made a surprise appearance at a Bronx pre-school that opened up on a Saturday so the tots could hang out with him and New York City’s actually African-born socialist mayor with a supposedly funny name at a very sweet and tightly stage-managed event open only to invited press.
The FAQ NYC hosts
Episode 491: FAQ Live: 100 Days of Mamdani
FAQ NYC hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel visited the Greene Space in Soho on Thursday night for a sold-out live recording, hosted by ABNY, talking about Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first 100 days.
“I would give him a B,” said Chrissy. “I'm a harsh grader, so I think that's a solid grade. We're seeing someone grow in real time. We are out of the campaign phase and deeply
Episode 490: Can Mamdani Cash In His Massive Mandate?
The new mayor captured City Hall with historic support, and polling shows he’s only become more popular since then. But now the question is if he can deliver – despite the resistance of the City Council and Gov. Kathy Hochul to let him cash in on the “tax the rich” revenue he promised to deliver.
The FAQ NYC hosts discuss all that and much more, including City Hall’s new racial equity p
Episode 489: A Full Plate for a Young New Mayor
Zohran Mamdani has been Hizzoner for just 88 days, and he’s already navigating the “poisoned chalice” of a big budget deficit he inherited while the credit agencies that could make it much more expensive for the city to borrow money are taking an increasingly dim view of its finances on his watch.
Hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel discuss all that and much more, including the mayor’
Episode 488: The Readymade Art-Bomb Who Exploded in NYC
An epic art show at the Lexington Avenue Armory made a young Marcel Duchamp, who was back in France, one of America’s first modern celebrities even before he first arrived in New York City for what became decades of painting, conceiving, chess-playing and love-making — though not always in that order. John Strausbaugh, the author of Duchamp Takes New York, joins the LIT NYC podcast for a
Episode 487: Mamdani's New York Is Starting to Take Shape
The new administration is cutting off the private legal support Eric Adams extended on the city’s behalf to himself and his police officer pals, and rolling out a new Office of Public Safety that’s a far cry from the ambitious Department he’s promised.
The FAQ NYC hosts discuss all that and much more, including Zohran Mamdani’s pretty weak — not to mention all-male — list of his all tim
Episode 486: The Mecca of Basketball Is Back
Can former Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s fortune help his former staffer, Micah Lasher, prevail in the wide open race for a rare open NYC Congressional seat, and mark an inglorious end to the Kennedy dynasty in the process? Does America’s attack on Iran make a Mayor Mamdani ally the favorite in his primary challenge to a Congressional incumbent? And how far into March Madness can the Blackbirds
Episode 485: The Vital Records of Mr. George Rex, ‘The Last Slave’
NYC Department of Records Associate Commissioner Kenneth Cobb and Research Associate Marcia Kirk visited Lit NYC to explain how the Municipal Archives came across the death ledger for the town of Newtown, Queens where George Rex, who froze to death in 1885 at the age of 89, had his occupation recorded as “The Last Slave,” what the Municipal Archives has found since then about his life, de
Episode 484: An Explosive Scene at Gracie Mansion
A police-punching Jan. 6 rioter and far-right agitator pardoned by Donald Trump showed up outside Gracie Mansion this weekend with a couple dozen supporters for a “stop the Islamic takeover of New York City” clashed with about 150 counter-protesters there to “run the Nazis out. ” And that was before two alleged ISIS sympathizers drove in from out of state to throw bombs that smoked but d
Episode 483: Reviving the Missing Link in Queens
Geographer, cartographer and urban explorer Andrew Lynch, the chief operating officer of QueensLink, joins Lit NYC to discuss the group’s vision to transform the borough for the better by extending the M train from Queens Boulevard to the Rockaways on a railway that’s abandoned for 60 years while surrounding that with new parks and trails, how he got involved in this crusade, and much mor
Episode 482: The Local Politics of America’s War in Iran
The FAQ NYC hosts discuss the messaging from Zohran Mamdani about America’s new war, the mayor’s meeting with the president days earlier and much more.
Plus, New York Working Families Party Director Jasmine Gripper joins the pod to talk about its agenda, “how the left ecosystem in New York is evolving in a beautiful way” and the split between the WFP and Mamdani’s Democratic Socialists
Episode 481: The Other Guy Was No Joke
Joe Flaherty was a dock worker and high school dropout on the wrong side of 30 when he found an unexpected writer’s life beginning as a columnist for the Village Voice. A couple years later, he was running the 51st State campaign of Norman Mailer and Jimmy Breslin as two of the city’s most famous writers made their bid to run it on a 51st State platform built around the idea of giving New
Episode 480: “Curb Your Dog. Don't Let Your Dog Curb You.”
One more storm, many more mountains of snow for winter-weary New Yorkers to slog through and a second chance for Zohran Mamdani to show he's up to his endless blizzard of a job.
FAQ NYC hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel dig into all that and more, including Mamdani's dubious threat to raise property taxes in the city if Albany doesn't hike taxes on the rich and what that shows about
Episode 479: Free Buses Won’t Make NYC More Affordable. New Trains Would.
Eric Goldwyn, an author of the new A Better Billion report from the Marron Institute of Urban Management at New York University, joins Lit NYC to explain its modest proposal to remap the city with 12 new projects, 64 new subways stations and 41 new miles of rail — all for about the same cost as making buses free.
Episode 478: A ‘False Choice’ Between Cops and Community Workers
Brian Stettin, who spent the Adams years as the senior advisor on the severely mentally ill for the office of the mayor before the Mamdani administration eliminated that position, joins the podcast for a wide-ranging exit interview. Plus, the hosts discuss Mamdani’s mounting early missteps, the bad-faith critics pouncing on them, and much more.
Episode 477: A Vision Zero for Homelessness in NYC
Coalition for the Homeless Executive Director Dave Giffen joins the pod to discuss the Mamdani administration’s efforts to bring unhoused people in from the vicious cold. Giffen talks about why he's seen the same problems repeat again and again under seven different mayors, and what it would take to actually change that dynamic and help put his group out of business.
Episode 476: A New Mayor Navigates a Frigid City
Just a month into this new era, Zohran Mamdani is trying to get his feet under him as the ground remains icy and precarious. The FAQ NYC hosts discuss that and much more, including a deluge of fake news about the new mayor online and the last governor's new talk show.
Episode 475: Mayor Mamdani Weathers His First Storm
The new mayor appeared to clear the bar with the city’s response to the first big snow on his watch. Meanwhile, his predecessor’s people were in the news again as Adams’ former chief of staff is reportedly the subject of a federal grand jury while his favorite deputy mayor for public safety is taking a new job working for ICE in Long Island.
Hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry
Episode 474: ‘The Last Confederate Widow’ of 1960s Cruising
Arthur Tress, whose newly published photographs of gay men in Central Park’s Ramble in 1968 and 1969 are the earliest shots of outdoor cruising in a natural setting, joins Harry Siegel and Alex Krales on Lit NYC to discuss his work in a New York City where homosexuality was still a taboo and a crime, why he’s publishing it now, and much more.
This episode was engineered by Noah Smith, a
Episode 473: Ex-Mayor Quit Race But Can’t Quit the Crypto Hustle
Eric Adams said we'd miss him when he's gone as mayor, but he's still popping up — hawking an NYC cryptocoin in Times Square and taking potshots at his replacement when he isn't jet-setting or lashing out at an airport heckler.
The hosts discuss that and much more, including Zohran Mamdani's push after winning his own race to elect more socialists and the Democrats who aren't happy abou
Episode 472: Welcome to the Big Leagues, Team Mamdani
Not even two weeks into the big job, Zohran Mamdani and his team are up and running — yet still struggling to get their footing.
Hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel dig into that and much more, including the new mayor's responses to pro-Hamas chants in Queens, and to two fatal police shootings in the same day.
This episode was engineered by Noah Smith.
Episode 471: The Resurrection of a Brooklyn Icon
An iconic restaurant in Fulton Mall became an Arby's, before it was revived amid the pandemic.
St. John Frizell, one of the stewards of Gage and Tollner joins Lit NYC hosts Amy Sohn and Harry Siegel to talk about the craft of the cocktail, the business of Brooklyn, the nature of the great good place, and much more.
This episode was produced by Amy and Harry, and engineered by Noah Sm
Episode 470: The Mayor Mamdani Interview: ‘Is It Right To Hope?’
Way back in March of 2025, when Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani was at one percent in the Democratic primary polls, he promised THE CITY's FAQ NYC his very first sit-down interview as mayor.
On Thursday afternoon, Mayor Mamdani made good on that promise, sitting down with hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel for a wide-ranging conversation that covered the ICE murder in Minneapolis and
Episode 469: Mamdani’s Promise and Jumaane’s Potential
Back when he was a longshot Democratic candidate, Zohran Mamdani said on this podcast that it would be his first interview as mayor — we're still here and with lots of questions to ask.
Hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel discuss that and much more, including his inspiring inauguration and how longtime Public Advocate Jumaane Williams is already finding his voice and stride as
Episode 468: A Precarious Transition Begins ‘A New Era’
As the mayor elect races to get ready for a big show and the big job, Eric Adams has been awfully busy in his final few days in office. Christina Greer and Harry Siegel discuss all that and much more — including then longshot Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani's public promise way back when to give our podcast his first interview as mayor.
This episode was engineered by Noah Smith.
Episode 467: One Simple Secret for Pleasantly Populated Public Spaces
In 1980, a movie narrated by a sociologist once described as Jimmy Stewart’s urban planner cousin, and full of surveillance footage of the city's public spaces, delivered perhaps the richest and wisest look ever made at how New Yorkers use the city's public spaces.
Municipal Art Society president Keri Butler joins LIT NYC hosts Harry Siegel and Amy Sohn to discuss William H. Whyte's br
Episode 466: A Plan To Pay for Parks
Zohran Mamdani has promised to have 1 percent of the city budget go to the Parks Department — but so did Eric Adams, who never came close to delivering. Three experts and advocates discuss all that and more with host Katie Honan.
Plus, Katie and Harry Siegel talk about all the latest developments from another wild week, and with just over a week to go before a new adminsitration takes p
Episode 465: Kishkes, Knishes and a Lost New York City
“In my quest to be more American than Americans, I wanted to know more than American music [and in 1972] I was staying with a great fiddle player and banjo player in North Carolina named Tommy Jarrell and he was puzzled, because a lot of the people who had come from up north to study with him were Jews and Italians — people for whom this was not their continuity. Tommy was a very inquisit
Episode 464: ‘It’s Hard To Dig a Hole in New York City’
The FAQ NYC hosts discuss terror fears here, a slow transition and a marathon listening session for Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani, a time capsule for outgoing Mayor Eric Adams, and much more — including a man dressed as a hamburger with some serious small business concerns.
Episode 463: A New Home for a New Mayor Vowing to End Homeless Sweeps
Amid the silly season of transition speculation, New Yorkers are waiting to see how Zohran Mamdani, a brilliant messenger, handles the levers of power and who else he's bringing inside of City Hall to help him run the huge machine.
While those staffing decisions are playing out, slowly and behind closed doors, the outgoing administration is taking some swipes at Mamdani, including about
Episode 462: A Vision for NYC’s Deliveristas and a Battery-Powered Future
“I bought myself an electric bike to take my kids to the beach and started charging it outside after seeing stats on how many battery fires there were. I looked at other countries that are doing battery-swap networks and I said, ‘We should do this in New York… My plan, if I can be this ambitious, is to build a city-wide battery-swap network everybody can use."
Ineffable and inimita
Episode 461: Will Zohran Mamdani Be NYC’s 111th Mayor? Maybe Not.
It turns out that the count of our mayors has been off by one, dating back to when the city had a population of just 2,500 — meaning the mayor-elect will be New York’s 112th mayor, though still the 111th person to serve.
FAQ NYC hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss that breaking 17th Century news, as reported by Eliabeth Kim at Gothamist, and much more, including
Episode 460: City Council Speaker Is the Next Race Up
Are theater kids Zohran Mamdani and Donald Trump having a bromance now, and did Jessica Tisch help bring them together? Is anyone not running for Congress? The FAQ NYC hosts discuss all that and much more before having an in-depth conversation with Crystal Hudson, the Brooklyn City Councilmember who’s one of the leading candidates to be the body’s next speaker in the first of a series of
Episode 459: New York's Winter of Discontent — and New Hopes
Is anyone in this town not running for Congress? Is it time for Democrats to finally usher an older generation out of Washington, and is there a way to build a party whose representatives are better distributed in terms of age, identity and geographic distribution? Is it time to finally feel hopeful about New York City's future? All that and more gets mulled over by hosts Christina Greer
Episode 458: Fear, Trash and Love in a Drop Dead New York City
Michael Rohatyn and Peter Yost, the creators of the acclaimed new documentary about Gotham’s close brush with bankruptcy in 1975, Drop Dead City, discuss the film, the city that was, how its near collapse led to the city of today, and how Michael’s father Felix helped pulled it back from the brink with Big MAC, or the Municipal Assistance Corporation.
Episode 457: Transition Intrigues and Somos Speaker Speculation
With the mayor's race decided and 2026 election moves just beginning, the FAQ NYC hosts talk about the Council Speaker's race that drew lots of attention at Somos, where Gov. Kathy Hochul got hit with another chant of "tax the rich!"
There are only 51 votes that count in a closed-door campaign where the narrative question is whether the Council wants to speed up, or slow down, a Mayor M
City Hall Free For All: The Mamdani Transition Begins & Patrick Gaspard on Political Power
In our final episode of City Hall Free For All, we talk about the future of New York City under Mayor Elect Zohran Mamdani and who he will surround himself with to help him accomplish his vision. We’re also joined by Patrick Gaspard, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, former key Obama aide and now key advisor to Mamdani, to talk about this historic moment.
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FAQ NYC and M
Episode 455: The Kismet and the Anxiety of Street Photography
Ben Fractenberg, visuals editor for THE CITY, joins LIT NYC hosts Harry Siegel and Amy Sohn for a wide-ranging conversation about street photography, photo journalism and much more.The interview comes just before the opening reception for Ben’s solo show, In Tension, this Friday evening from 6-9 at Gallery 198, at 198 24th St. in Brooklyn, with his work then on display there through Novem
City Hall Free For All: It’s Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani
The Election Night results are in: Zohran Mamdani will be New York City’s 111th Mayor. Our hosts react to Mamdani’s big win over Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa, with over 1 million votes out of more than 2 million cast, and discuss his rousing, defiant victory speech and what comes next.
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FAQ NYC and Max Politics are teaming up for a limited series, coming to you every Tuesday through No
Episode 453: A Native New Yorker’s Postcard From Paris
Alex Brook Lynn, FAQ NYC's original executive producer, rejoins the podcast to talk with Harry Siegel about New York City's election, and how and why Paris — which has all the same big urban issues — has taken a different approach to providing things like affordable housing for working class people, childcare, and more.
City Hall Free For All: An Affordability Election & A Housing Agenda for the Next Mayor
In episode six, we’re focusing on affordability, housing and the related ballot proposals. We’re joined by housing experts Jamie Rubin (Chief Investment Officer of Aligned Climate Capital & Chairman of the Board of NYCHA) and Alicia Glen (Founder and Managing Principle of M Squared & former Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development), who share their thoughts on what the ne
Episode 451: Live from the Past, and Looking to the Future
Ric Burns, director of the epic New York: A Documentary Film, joined the FAQ NYC hosts on Thursday evening for beer and cider at Schneider’s Saloon inside the Tenement Museum to talk about 21st century scandals and hopes in the space where German immigrants huddled to do just that in the 19th Century.
City Hall Free For All: The Race Hits Its Homestretch & Bratton Sounds Alarm About a Mayor Mamdani
In episode five, we debrief the first mayoral debate and preview the second one as Andrew Cuomo struggles to gain ground against frontrunner Zohran Mamdani with wild card Curtis Sliwa also in the mix. Plus, two-time former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton joins to explain why he wouldn't advise Jessica Tisch, or anyone else, to run the NYPD on Mamdani's watch. Remember: early voting begins
Episode 449: The Weird, Wacky World of Drew Friedman’s Drawings
The legendary illustrator talks with LIT NYC hosts Amy Sohn and Harry Siegel about what he wants to illustrate now that he no longer needs to take assignments, how New York City shaped his work, why he thinks being called "the Vermeer of the Borscht Belt" is a misnomer, and much more.
City Hall Free For All: Tish James Indicted & Alexa Avilés on Immigration Politics
In our fourth episode, we discuss the federal indictment of New York Attorney General Tish James, how the mayoral candidates are reacting, and how the next mayor could influence President Trump’s approach to the city. Then, DSA-backed City Council Member Alexa Avilés of Brooklyn, chair of the Council immigration committee, joins us to talk about Trump’s immigration crackdown, her hopes fo
City Hall Free For All: An $18B Transit Cut & Sam Schwartz on Breaking Through Gridlock
In episode three, we talk about the massive infrastructure cuts trickling down from the federal government – one of the many developments that have us holding our breath for what’s to come in our city. We’re also joined by ‘Gridlock’ Sam Schwartz, who gives us the lowdown on the past, present and future of transit in New York.
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FAQ NYC and Max Politics are teaming up for a limited serie
City Hall Free For All: Eric Adams Drops Out & Tish James on Her Legal Battles with Donald Trump
In our second episode, the hosts debrief about Mayor Eric Adams’ decision to drop his re-election bid. New York Attorney General Tish James also joins us to talk about the cases she and Donald Trump have brought against one another, and her support of Mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani.
FAQ NYC and Max Politics are teaming up for a limited series, coming to you every Tuesday through No
Episode 445: ‘The Power of the Tabloids’
"The tabs were this incredibly paradoxical force in New York during these years. On the one hand, they were totally polarizing, turning the world into into heroes and villains, good guys and bad guys — like comic books for adults. On the other hand, everyone is reading the Post and the News and Newsday, and they were unifying all of New York around these storylines."
Jonathan Mahler
City Hall Free For All: A Crowded Mayoral Race & Jumaane Williams on Democratic Defiance
In our debut episode, Public Advocate Jumanne Williams joins us to talk about his arrest outside of 26 Federal Plaza, what the mayor and other elected officials can and should be doing in response to President Trump's threats, and why Williams thinks it's time for New York Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs to step down.
FAQ NYC and Max Politics are teaming up for a limited series, com
Episode 443: The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage That Made an American Icon
Laurie Gwen Shapiro, the author of "The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage that Made an American Icon," joins Harry Siegel and Amy Sohn to dig into what they don't tell you in the children's books about the life and death of the world's most famous female flier.
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