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PODCAST

Firewall with Bradley Tusk

Politics, technology and the pursuit of happiness. Twice a week, Bradley Tusk, New York-based political strategist and venture investor, covers the collision between new ideas and the real world. His operating thesis is that you can"t understand tech today without understanding politics, too. Recorded at P&T Knitwear, his bookstore / podcast studio, 180 Orchard Street, New York City.

news news commentary

All Episodes

40:09

Chuck Schumer Gets It Right

Firewall with Bradley Tusk ·

2025/11/11

We've grown numb to politicians gaming out everything. But when Senate Democrats chose to end the shutdown, says Bradley, they chose the concernsof real people over political opportunism, and Chuck Schumer deserves credit. Plus, Bradley rhapsodizes about what the decliningimpact of TV ads will do for politicsand credits Peter Thiel for properly diagnosing the disconnect between young people and capitalism.Bradley's Substack:I Have Never Liked Chuck Schumer More Than I Do Right NowCan Technology

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59:51

The Mamdani Mayoralty: A Six Part Mini-Magazine On...

Firewall with Bradley Tusk ·

2025/11/06

In this special non-guest Thursday episode, Bradley walks us through his first-ever magazine for Substack: six articles where he analyzes the future Mamdani administration and what comes next for New York City. From how to staff City Hall to how the future mayor should interact with the press (and vice versa), these articles are Bradley's top tips for smart leadership — despite the gulf that remains between his politics and those of the next mayor.I.A Letter, and Some Recommendations, to Zohran

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40:22

The Mamdani Breakdown

Firewall with Bradley Tusk ·

2025/11/05

So what happened last night? In this co-production with Firewall friend Jamie Rubin and his After Hours podcast, Bradley, Jamie, and Chris Coffey (Tusk Strategies CEO) analyze the historic win of NYC's next mayor, Zohran Mamdani. What does it mean for Gov. Hochul's re-election next year? Will NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch stay at the helm — despite major policy differences with Mamdani? And could the secret to affordability be the victorious ballot proposals to build more housing across the five

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01:11:02

LIVE FROM P&T: A Visit from an Actual God of New York

Firewall with Bradley Tusk ·

2025/11/01

In this bonus episode of Firewall, Rev. Al Sharpton, a major figure in Jonathan Mahler'sbookThe Gods of New York: Egotists, Idealists, Opportunists, and the Birth of the Modern City: 1986-1990, joined the author and Tusk Strategies CEO Chris Coffey earlier in October for a spirited conversation about New York in the 1980s and how it set the stage for the politics of today.This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an

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53:31

A Brand New Day for Jews

Firewall with Bradley Tusk ·

2025/11/01

Archie Gottesman traces her path from the comic genius behind Manhattan Mini Storage to JewBelong, where she’s trying to make Judaism feel human, welcoming, and actually usable (no Talmudic degree required). She and Bradley get blunt about fear-based conformity on the left, rising antisemitism since 2021, and how many Jews contort themselves to stay “in the club,” even when it means pretending to believe things they don’t. They spar, politely, over whether mainstream American Jews have drifted from

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46:24

The Show Must NOT Go On

Firewall with Bradley Tusk ·

2025/10/28

Not until Democrats finally stop performing politics, says Bradley, will they be able to beat Trump. Ina blistering set of takes, he adds: “No Kings”–style protests are worthy but don't challenge Trump; the government shutdown only breaks when Republican voters feel real pain; the NBA must apply zero tolerance and radical transparency to the gambling scandal (“kill it or lose the league”); underage online betting could be fixed overnight with biometric checks; confronting ICE on the street is a

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27:20

The Best Reason for New Yorkers to Vote This Year

Firewall with Bradley Tusk ·

2025/10/23

Five charter revisions on this year’s ballot could make the city more affordable and make affordable housing more plentiful. Bradley sits down with Alec Schierenbeck, executive director of the NYC Charter Revision Commission, to explain how these proposals could finally unclog New York’s housing pipeline. They dig into why city bureaucracy resists change, how AI could streamline zoning and public services, and why the next mayor’s success may hinge on these reforms. The episode ends with a call to

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50:15

How Much Would You Bet on This TV Show?

Firewall with Bradley Tusk ·

2025/10/21

It was right in the middle of aTranscranial Magnetic Stimulation session that Bradley had a brainstorm — an idea for a TV drama built around a conniving New York politico who hatches a plan to manipulate prediction markets. He titled it THE PREDICTORS, and in this Firewall episode, the audience (you) gets to play the part of a streaming executive as Bradley pitches us the show.RSVP to join Bradley this Thursday evening 10/23 at P&T Knitwear for a live event with Rev. Al Sharpton in conversation

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39:06

LIVE FROM P&T: Growing Up Russ & Daughters

Firewall with Bradley Tusk ·

2025/10/16

What goes together better than smoked fish and good books? Russ & Daughters, beloved for its lox, herring, bagels and babka, is not only one of the truly great and iconic New York food institutions, it's also a neighbor of P&T Knitwear, Bradley's bookstore on the Lower East Side. To mark thepublication of their fabulous new cookbook,Russ & Daughters: 100 Years of Appetizing, owners (and cousins)Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper sat down withBradley in September for a live event at

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01:11:06

Is Chicago About to Catch Fire?

Firewall with Bradley Tusk ·

2025/10/14

Bradley gets a Windy City on-the-ground report from friendand colleague Bob Greenlee, which leads to a bleak read on national politics: even if Democrats gain in 2026, the realities ofexecutive power and a thin bench mean that little changes. Bradley then unveils a major milestone for mobile voting—Free & Fair’s open-source, rigorously engineered cryptographic protocol, arguing that transparency invites tougher verification and faster improvement. They then pivot to city governance trade-offs in

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45:40

We've Seen This Terrible Movie Before

Firewall with Bradley Tusk ·

2025/10/09

Matt Stoller, author of the Substack newsletter BIG, joins Bradley to dig into how the rise of AI mirrors the early internet—when regulators failed to check the dominance of Google, Facebook, and others. Stoller argues that America’s political elites, especially under Obama, confused “freedom from restriction” with “freedom from mastery,” enabling corporate monopolies to become de facto rulers of public life. Without decisive policy intervention, he warns, AI will consolidate under the same few tech

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44:41

Should You Do Your Own Thing?

Firewall with Bradley Tusk ·

2025/10/07

The upside of being your own boss is pretty clear, says Bradley, it's your tolerance for the downside that really is the deciding factor. He offers an 8-point checklist that starts with the warning, "You own all the risk — always." Plus, he discusses how much the AI investment boom is driven by narratives rather than economics and what to do about the broken state of polling.This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us

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42:31

Has New York Lost Its Gods?

Firewall with Bradley Tusk ·

2025/10/02

Jonathan Mahler’sThe Gods of New Yorkis a brilliant chronicle of the late 1980s, when a rotating cast of outrageous characters—Trump, Koch, Sharpton, among others— hogged the headlines. Bradley talks to Mahler about theclash of epic egos, as well as shifting social conditions. How exactly did homelessness and untreated mental illness go from an emergency that pricked the conscience of New Yorkers to a normalized, if regrettable, fact of urban life?Fast-forwarding to the present, they parse

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43:45

The Mayor's Endgame

Firewall with Bradley Tusk ·

2025/09/30

Not much will change with Eric Adams' withdrawal from the New York City mayor's race, but it is a good moment to reflect on how we reached this point. Zohran Mamdani is going to be the next mayor because progressives spent years layingthe groundwork for a candidate like him. If the city's business and real-estate interests wish to have real politicalinfluence, they need to put in the same kind of sweat equity. Plus, Bradley ponders the "art" of Trump's TikTok deal, assesses the Democrats' prospects

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46:36

The Second Tour of Duty

Firewall with Bradley Tusk ·

2025/09/25

Randy Mastro, who served as Chief of Staff and Deputy Mayor for Operations under Mayor Giuliani, talks to Bradley about his return to City Hall this year as the First Deputy Mayor to bolster an Adams administration shaken by key departures but also looking to run through the tape. He explains how social media and hyper-partisanship have made the task of governing harder, goes into detail on how he is helping to address thorny stalemates like horse carriages in Central Park, and argues that the

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38:57

To Blow Up the World ...

Firewall with Bradley Tusk ·

2025/09/23

...or not to blow up the world, that is the question. Taking off from Kathryn Bigelow new movieA House of Dynamite,Bradley goes down the list of the last 10 American presidents and decides how each one would respond to an incoming nuclear attack from an unknown source. Plus, he writes a speech that Bibi Netanyahu could give but never will, and explores the outpouring this year of great books about New York City. The 2026 Gotham Book Prize is going to be a very tough call.This episode was taped at

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16:50

A Whole New Way to Get Around

Firewall with Bradley Tusk ·

2025/09/18

When Danny Kim was nearly crushed by the 4,000-pound chassis of a truck he was working on,he had an epiphany. What if he could make an entirely new kind of car that combined the efficiency of a motorcycle with the safety of a regular car? Lit Motors was born. Bradley talks to Danny about his vision for a two-wheel vehicle with the soul of a spaceship.Join Bradley this Saturday, Sept. 20 at P&T Knitwear as we celebrate Russ & Daughters Day to mark the legendary shop's first-ever cookbook in

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46:14

See Where We Are

Firewall with Bradley Tusk ·

2025/09/16

The killing of Charlie Kirk has kicked the forces of political polarization into high gear. But it’s worth taking a step back, says Bradley, to considerthe degradationof everyday life that gives rise to such tragedies and think about what each one of us can do to ease the chaos.More locally, Bradley also discusses the data that proves that the ban on forced brokers fees is working, the race to replace Congressman Jerry Nadler, and the very un-Christian move by a local church to kick out a longtime

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33:43

How to Invest in Your Own Taste

Firewall with Bradley Tusk ·

2025/09/11

Jenny Montgomery is a New Yorker on a mission — scouring galleries for art she loves and can afford to buy. Bradley talks to her about the city's art scene, where to see great work right now, and how to think about starting your own collection. Get rich quick? Forget about it. But live a richer cultural life? That's well within your reach.Discussed on today's episode:Printed Matter'sNY Art Book Fair at MoMA PS1: https://printedmatterartbookfairs.org/Join Bradley on Sept. 20 at P&T Knitwear as we

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50:36

The De-Euphemizing of DC

Firewall with Bradley Tusk ·

2025/09/09

Now that Trump has decided to restore the throwback name of the Department of Defense (now the Department of War), maybe it's time we started calling all federal agencies according to what they really do — so Bradley plays an epic name game. Plus, he assesses the looming real-world conditions that will test Zohran Mamdani's commitmentto his progressive agenda, throws a flag on football's talking heads, and divulges his personal Emmy picks.Discussed on today's episode:Zohran Mamdani’s Year One: A

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470 results

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