Max & Murphy

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. — FAQ NYC and Max Politics are teaming up for a limited series, coming to you every Tuesday through November, featuring special guests who will help us dig into the latest in the mayor's race – and what's at stake for New Yorkers. City Hall Free For All is brought to you with generous support from Jamie Rubin and Vital City. This week's episode was hosted by Christina Greer, Katie Honan, Ben Max and Harry Siegel. Our Senior Producer is Giulia Hjort, and Noah Smith is our engineer. Our series consultants are Jess Hackel and Courtney Harrell. Music from Epidemic Sound.

First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro spoke with host Ben Max at a live event at New York Law School on the morning of September 30 to discuss Mayor Eric Adams' decision to drop his reelection bid, Adams' legacy, priorities Mastro has spearheaded, and much more. The event was hosted by NYLS' Center for New York City and State Law. (Ep 531)

FAQ NYC and Max Politics are teaming up for a limited series, coming to you every Tuesday through November, featuring special guests who will help us dig into the latest in the mayor's race – and what's at stake for New Yorkers. In our second episode, the hosts debrief about Mayor Eric Adams' decision to drop his re-election bid. New York Attorney General Letitia 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. City Hall Free For All is brought to you with generous support from Jamie Rubin and Vital City. This week's episode was hosted by Christina Greer, Katie Honan, Ben Max and Harry Siegel. Our Senior Producer is Giulia Hjort, and Noah Smith is our engineer. Our series consultants are Jess Hackel and Courtney Harrell. Music from Epidemic Sound.

FAQ NYC and Max Politics are teaming up for a limited series, coming at you every Tuesday through November, featuring special guests who will help us dig into the latest in the mayor's race – and what's at stake for New Yorkers. 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. City Hall Free For All is brought to you with generous support from Jamie Rubin, Vital City, the Charles H. Revson Foundation and P&T Knitwear. This week's episode was hosted by Harry Siegel, Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Ben Max. Our Senior Producer is Giulia Hjort, and Noah Smith is our engineer. Our series consultants are Jess Hackel and Courtney Harrell. Music from Epidemic Sound.

New York City Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos joined the show to discuss the start of the new school year, key education policy initiatives underway like an overhaul of reading instruction, the new statewide student cellphone ban, mayoral control of city schools, and more. (Ep 538)

Post-Labor Day and with under 2 months until Election Day (Nov. 4) the general election for Mayor of New York City is now in full swing, and four new polls out this week (Sept. 8-12) help shed light on the state of the race among Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo, Curtis Sliwa, and Eric Adams. Joining the show to discuss the polling, the state of the race, candidates' paths to victory, and what comes next are pollster Adam Carlson of Zenith Research and political analyst and professor JC Polanco. (Ep 527)

State Senator Jessica Ramos, a Queens Democrat, returned to the show to discuss her performance and endorsement of Andrew Cuomo in the mayoral primary, her 2026 bid for Senate reelection against a tough primary challenge, key issues facing her constituents, and more. (Ep 526)

Joe Borelli, Managing Director at Chartwell Strategy Group and former New York City Council Minority Leader, joined the show to discuss how President Trump is doing so far in his second term and the unfolding election for New York City Mayor. The Staten Island Republican spent over a dozen years in elected office, in the State Assembly then City Council, until earlier this year when he left government for the private sector. (Ep 525)

New York Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, a Democrat and former member of Congress, joined the show to discuss his decision to challenge Governor Kathy Hochul in the June 2026 primary, how their relationship fell apart, key issues facing New York and his platform to address them, and more. (Ep 524)

New York State Senator John Liu, a Queens Democrat, joined the show to discuss key challenges facing his constituents and New York, his support for Zohran Mamdani for mayor, Asian voters, and much more. (Ep 523)

Jonathan Rosen — CEO of Orchestra, co-founder of BerlinRosen, and a top political advisor to Brad Lander and Bill de Blasio — joined the show to discuss the changing communications and media landscape, Lander's unsuccessful bid for mayor, lessons from de Blasio's 2013 win and tenure, Zohran Mamdani's ascension, and more. (Ep 521)

Kevin Elkins, a senior advisor on former Governor Andrew Cuomo's Democratic primary campaign for mayor and the political director for the New York City carpenters union, joined the show to discuss the Cuomo campaign, the value of endorsements, labor politics, and much more. (Ep 520)

The 2025 New York City Charter Revision Commission just advanced five proposals to the general election ballot dealing with housing, land use, and elections. The chair of the commission, Richard Buery, and its executive director, Alec Shierenbeck, joined the show to discuss the proposals that aim to increase housing growth and voter participation, among other goals, as well as one major reform that the commission did not advance for voters to approve or disapprove. Voters will be able to vote "yes" or "no" on all five on their general election ballots this fall. (Ep 519)

Trip Yang, founder and CEO of Trip Yang Strategies, and Sam Raskin, Senior Vice President at Slingshot Strategies, joined the show to discuss key takeaways from the 2025 Democratic primary for New York City mayor, won by Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, and what those takeaways may mean for the future of New York politics, including the general election for mayor. (Ep 518)

Description Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, a Queens Democrat who represents the 34th Assembly District (Astoria, Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Woodside), and Eli Valentín, a political analyst and columnist, joined the show to discuss Latino voters and the New York City mayoral race. With host Ben Max, they discussed Zohran Mamdani's surprisingly strong performance among Latino voters, key issues of importance in the race, Mamdani's record in the Assembly, the challenges he could face in implementing his agenda, and more. (Related reading: Valentín's post-primary column on the Latino vote: https://citylimits.org/latino-voters-and-the-political-earthquake-in-new-york/) Ep 516

The hosts of the FAQ NYC podcast - Christina Greer, Harry Siegel, and Katie Honan - joined host Ben Max for a big 2025 New York City mayoral primary election preview at New York Law School on May 29 in front of a live audience. They were joined by 2021 Democratic primary runner-up Kathryn Garcia for the first 30 minutes of the program, then the four hosts talked about the 2025 mayoral race and took a bunch of great questions and comments from some of the 150 New Yorkers in attendance. They talked state of the race, candidate strengths and weaknesses, ranked-choice voting, and much more. (Ep 502)

Michael Gianaris, the State Senate Deputy Leader and head of Senate Democrats' campaign efforts, joined the show to discuss his fellow Queens legislator — Zohran Mamdani — winning the Democratic primary for Mayor, Mamdani's record in the Legislature (including on issues where they partnered like public transit), and how Democrats should respond to Mamdani's success. (Ep 515)

Mara Gay — an opinion writer at The New York Times, a former member of The Times' Editorial Board, and a longtime New York journalist who has covered New York and national politics — joined the show to discuss Zohran Mamdani's victory in the Democratic primary for Mayor, the flaws in the Democratic establishment, the role of the Times, and what comes next. (Ep 314)

Susan Kang — a political science professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, member of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, and longtime New York political activist — joined the show to discuss the DSA, the Zohran Mamdani mayoral campaign, and the broader political landscape. (Ep 513)

Adrienne Adams, the City Council speaker running for mayor in the June 2025 Democratic primary, joined the show to discuss her campaign, cross-endorsements, ranked-choice voting, and more. (Ep 512)

Pollster Evan Roth Smith and analyst Michael Lange joined the show to discuss what the Democratic primary electorate in the race for Mayor will look like, including key variables at play along age, gender, racial, ethnic, borough, and other lines, what initial early voting data tells us, and other key factors at play in the race as it approaches primary day. Smith is a founding partner at the political consultancy Slingshot Strategies, where he leads its polling, and Lange is a writer, researcher, strategist, and political organizer, and writes at his substack, The Narrative Wars, where he goes in-depth on New York politics. They joined host Ben Max just a few days before primary day, June 24. (Ep 511)

Howard Wolfson and Amit Singh Bagga — two political strategists, former city government officials, and members of The New York Times' 'The Choice' opinion panel — joined the show to discuss their experience as part of the Times' mayoral race assessment, the state of the race with a week until primary day, their thoughts on individual candidates, and more. (Ep 510)

Brad Lander, the city comptroller running for mayor in the June 2025 Democratic primary, joined the show to discuss his mayoral campaign, cross-endorsement with Zohran Mamdani, and more. (Ep 509)

Harry Siegel — co-host of the FAQ NYC podcast, an editor at The City, and a columnist at The Daily News and Vital City — joined the show to analyze the second televised Democratic mayoral primary debate. Just after the debate among 7 "leading candidates" that aired on NY1 TV and WNYC radio, Siegel joined host Ben Max to discuss how the candidates performed, the most interesting moments, and how the debate fits into the state of the primary with under two weeks until primary day, June 24. (Ep 508)

L Joy Williams — president of the NAACP New York State Conference, a political strategist, and host of Sunday Civics — joined the show to discuss the future of the NAACP in New York, the priorities of Black New Yorkers, the role of Black voters in the 2025 New York City mayoral race, and more. (Ep 507)

Ana Maria Archila, co-director of the New York Working Families Party, joined the show to discuss the WFP's mayoral candidate rankings, the push to elect Zohran Mamdani as mayor, ranked-choice voting strategies, and more. (Ep 506)

Scott Stringer, a former New York City Comptroller and Democratic candidate for Mayor in the June 2025 primary, joined the show to discuss his campaign for Mayor and the state of the race with just over two weeks until primary day, June 24. (Ep 505)

Bob Hardt of Spectrum News NY1 joined the show to analyze the first of two official televised debates in the Democratic primary for mayor. Hardt, the New York political director for Spectrum News, and host Ben Max talked right after the 9 qualifying Democratic candidates left the stage in the Wednesday June 4 2025 debate that was hosted by NBC, Telemundo, Politico, and other partners. (Ep 504)

A debate among the three Democratic candidates for Manhattan Borough President: Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Keith Powers, and Calvin Sun. The debate was hosted on June 3 — exactly three weeks to primary day — at New York Law School by its Center for New York City and State Law, and moderated by Max Politics host Ben Max, who is also the Center's program director. (Ep 503)

Kathy Wylde, the longtime President and CEO of business group The Partnership for New York City, joined the show to discuss how New York City is doing, challenges around city and federal governance, the 2025 race to be the next Mayor, her recent retirement announcement (effective June 2026), and more. (Ep 501)

Political strategists Tyrone Stevens and Jon Paul Lupo joined the show to discuss the state of the race for Mayor of New York City with one month until primary day, which is June 24. With host Ben Max, they assess the Democratic primary for mayor, variables that could shift the race down the home stretch, potential strategies to help candidates break out, and more. Both guests have extensive experience in New York City government, politics, and campaigns, including on major mayoral campaigns in the 2021 Democratic primary. (Ep 500)

In part two of our miniseries on Andrew Cuomo's record as Governor of New York, we examine his policy record over his ten-and-a-half-year tenure (January 2011-August 2021). Jon Campbell, a longtime state politics reporter now with WNYC/Gothamist, joined the show to recount and examine Cuomo's policy record over the course of his nearly three terms as the state's chief executive and put it into the context of Cuomo's 2025 bid to become Mayor of New York City. This is the second in a series of Max Politics episodes that will examine Cuomo's record as Governor and bid to become Mayor — the first episode focused on Cuomo's leadership and governance style. Cuomo has been invited to appear on the show himself but has yet to accept the invitation. Stay tuned for other episodes in this series and additional conversations on the 2025 NYC elections. (Ep 499)

Longtime journalists Bill Hammond and Nick Reisman joined the show to discuss Andrew Cuomo's record as Governor of New York, with a focus on Cuomo's leadership style. Cuomo, leading the polls in the 2025 Democratic primary for Mayor of New York City, was Governor from January 2011 to August 2021. Hammond - formerly of the New York Daily News and now at the Empire Center - and Reisman, formerly of Capitol Tonight/State of Politics and now at Politico New York - have both covered Cuomo for many years and, in this discussion, help host Ben Max recap Cuomo's decade in power. This is the first in a series of Max Politics episodes that will examine Cuomo's record as Governor and bid to become Mayor. Cuomo has been invited to appear on the show himself but has yet to accept the invitation. Stay tuned for other episodes in this series. (Ep 498)

Join Max Politics and FAQ NYC for a live double-podcast, primary election preview event on Thursday May 29, 5:30-7:30pm, at New York Law School! Hosts Ben Max, Christina Greer, Katie Honan, and Harry Siegel will provide the latest analysis of the race to be the next Mayor of New York City and highlight other key races to watch ahead of June's primaries. There will be special guests and plenty of audience participation, refreshments and more. Join us! RSVP at this link: https://nyls.wufoo.com/forms/qxmjtbs0nexll7/

New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber spoke with host Ben Max at a live event at New York Law School for Law Day, May 1, hosted by NYLS' Center for New York City and State Law. Strauber spoke about the important role DOI plays in ensuring ethical and effective government, DOI's role in the indictment of Mayor Eric Adams and her take on the dismissal of those charges, and much more. (Ep 497) url: nyc-doi-jocelyn-strauber-corruption

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards joined the show to discuss his 2025 State of the Borough address and agenda, major issues and opportunities facing Queens and the city, and the unfolding mayoral race. (Ep 496)

Political strategists Rebecca Katz and Jason Ortiz joined the show to discuss the state of the mayoral race and much more with two months to go until primary day, which is June 24, 2025. Katz, a co-founder of Fight agency, and Ortiz, a co-founder of Moonshot Strategies, are both veteran political strategists in New York and beyond. They joined the show to analyze the Democratic primary field for mayor, the city's political mood, lessons from past mayoral races that apply in 2025, and much more. (Ep 495)

Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, a Democrat, joined the show to discuss his 2025 State of the Borough address and agenda, major issues facing Brooklyn and the city, and the 2025 city elections. (Ep 494)

Six of the Democratic candidates for Mayor of New York City participated in a candidate forum on the evening of April 8, 2025 at New York Law School. The event featured candidates Adrienne Adams, Michael Blake, Brad Lander, Zohran Mamdani, Zellnor Myrie, and Scott Stringer, all vying for the Democratic nomination in June's primary election. The forum was moderated by Max Politics host Ben Max, who runs NYLS' Center for New York City and State Law, which co-hosted the forum with New Yorkers for Parks and its large Fair Play for Parks coalition. (Ep 493)

The once-a-decade Census population count is immensely important to determine federal funding to states and cities, representation in the federal government, electoral college votes, and more. We just passed the halfway mark between the 2020 and 2030 Census counts, and New York leaders are starting to sound the alarm about the need for good planning to execute a complete count of all New York residents. Assemblymember Landon Dais, a Bronx Democrat, and Census expert Jeff Wice, a professor at New York Law School where he runs the NY Elections, Census, and Redistricting Institute, joined the show to discuss why the Census is important and steps New York can take at the state and city levels to get moving on 2030 Census planning. (Ep 492)

Ryder Kessler and Catherine Vaughan, co-founders of Abundance New York, joined the show to discuss the "abundance" wave washing over the national political discourse (in part inspired by the new book Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson), what their vision for abundance in New York is, how to achieve it, NIMBYism vs YIMBYism, and much more. Their group is a relatively new nonprofit group (501c4) creating a new political community and working to influence politics and policy to increase the supply of housing, transit, public space, and clean energy. (Ep 491)

With just 3 months to primary day in New York City's 2025 elections, Dr. Basil Smikle Jr. joined the show to discuss the state of the mayoral race, the candidate field, the mood of the city electorate, and more. Smikle is a longtime political strategist, former executive director of the New York State Democratic Party, and currently a professor at Columbia University, where he runs the nonprofit management master's program. (Ep 490)

Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, a Democrat, joined the show to discuss the state of the Bronx, her policy agenda, key issues facing the borough and the city, her reelection bid, and more. (Ep 489)

Two of the leading Democratic candidates for New York City Comptroller - City Council Finance Chair Justin Brannan and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine - in this year's election joined New York Law School (NYLS) and Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) for a debate in front of a live audience at NYLS. The debate was moderated by Max Politics host Ben Max, who is also the program director at NYLS' Center for New York City and State Law, and CBC President Andrew Rein. The candidates are competing, along with others, in the Democratic primary set for June in the race to become the city's next chief fiscal and accountability officer. (In order to qualify for the March 18 debate, candidates had to raise $125,000 by February 15.) - Ep 488

Michael Mulgrew, President of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), joined the show to discuss current concerns and priorities for the city's teachers, major education issues being debated at the city and state levels, the UFT's endorsement process for the 2025 mayoral race, and more. (Ep 487)

NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams joined the show to discuss the state of city government leadership, the unfolding race for mayor, his reelection bid, and more. (Ep 486)

Sally Goldenberg, a veteran New York journalist and senior New York editor at Politico, joined the show to discuss the state of the race for Mayor of New York City with four months until primary day. With just four months until primary day — June 24, 2025 — both former Governor Andrew Cuomo and current City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams are considering soon entering the already-crowded Democratic primary field, which includes Mayor Eric Adams, eyeing a second term, and a number of other candidates.(Ep 485)

Teresa Gonzalez and Yvette Buckner, co-chairs of New Majority NYC, joined the show to discuss the group's efforts to elect and reelect women to the New York City Council. Through the 2021 elections, the Council saw its first-ever women majority, in part thanks to New Majority NYC's efforts. The organization is now starting to roll out endorsements in the 2025 elections, with primaries set for June. (Ep 484)

Mark Treyger — CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and a former New York City Council member — joined the show to discuss combating increased anti-Semitism, Jewish community relations, Jewish voters in the 2025 NYC elections, and more. (Ep 483)

New York Working Families Party Co-Chairs Jasmine Gripper and Ana Maria Archila returned to the show to discuss how the progressive group is approaching the 2025 New York City mayoral race, lessons learned from 2021, ranked-choice voting, and more. (Ep 482)

With just 5 months until primary day 2025 in New York City, political strategist Neal Kwatra - founder and CEO of Metropolitan Strategies - joined the show to discuss the city's political mood, important dynamics at play in the developing race for mayor, the field of candidates, and more. (Ep 481)