Firewall with Bradley Tusk

For 48 hours in Vancouver, Bradley felt like he had the world eating out of his hands. What was going on? Let's just say it was a very good night for mobile voting. Plus, Bradley handicaps the Meta-FTC face-off, offers advice for staying grounded in these chaotic times, agrees with Hugo that paying federal taxes feels worse than ever this year and admits to getting into watching golf on TV fo...

"You're spending all this money," says mayoral candidate Michael Blake, "but you're not getting enough back." In the latest installment of The Race to Gracie Mansion, Firewall's co-production with City & State, the former NYS Assemblyman and DNC Vice Chair talks about helping New Yorkers make and keep more money, stopping Trump from meddling in city affairs, modernizing municipal services with...

As New Yorkers know, scaffolding has become a serious scourge on our streets. What began as a safety measure has now done the opposite and helped to breed crime. But thanks to a recent legislative effort by New York City Council Member Keith Powers, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, scaffolding regulations have been reformed for the better, and N...

The hot new book in policy circles, Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, defines a new liberal agenda for promoting growth of housing, green energy and transit. Bob Greenlee joins Bradley to debate how these nice-sounding, well-intentioned ideas might actually get off the ground. Plus, Bradley has a memo for Democrats — lock in on what tariffs are doing to the economy and voters will punish...

Jim Walden is next up on The Race to Gracie Mansion, Firewall and City & State's series on the 2025 New York City mayor's race. Walden, a litigator and ex-prosecutor, presents himself as an untainted centrist with an emphasis on competence, recruiting top talent and learning from data. He talks to Bradley and Tom about a revival of Broken Windows, getting serious about involuntary commitm...

The just-released World Happiness Report places the United States 24th globally. That's the bad news. The good news is that a big part of our problem is based on a fixable misperception that we have about each other. Bradley outlines a new regimen of building better vibes. Plus, he explains why Trump is shredding our system of checks and balances so easily (because it's actually reliant...

In this first installment of The Race to Gracie Mansion — a series of interviews with New York City mayoral hopefuls, co-produced by Firewall and City & State — Jessica Ramos, State Senator from Queens, lays out her vision for a more equitable, better-run city. She takes on police deployment, fair fares, Cuomo’s comeback, and why she'll never promise childhood friends a job in her adminis...

Bradley offers a framework for thinking about how government at all levels should approach AI in terms of regulating it, deploying it and dealing with its ramifications. It doesn't have to be like DOGE, he argues, but there are definitely things we can learn from Elon. "The point of government," he says, "is to serve the collective needs of the people, not to employ a workforce of people...

What makes the politics surrounding transportation so murky and insidious? Nicole Gelinas, author of  Movement: New York's Long War to Take Back Its Streets from the Car , a Gotham Book Prize nominee, talks to Bradley about the hidden forces keeping mass transit in check, how environmental regulations are used as a scapegoat and why Amazon deliveries are killing the streets. Pl...

In word, no — not when it comes to the government, anyway. Bradley reviews the careful balance you need to strike when working in areas outside your expertise. Plus, he mulls over whether getting Western Europe to bulk up its armed forces will make the world safer, how Chuck Schumer's self interest and the national interest coincided on his vote for the continuing resolution on the budge...

A new poll reveals what New Yorkers really think about the state of the city—and the results might surprise you. Kicking off the  Race to Gracie Mansion  series, Bradley and guest co-host Tom Allon ( City & State  Publisher) break down the largest study of NYC voters in years with the people behind it: John Della Volpe (Founder & CEO, SocialSphere) and Jamie Rubin (Board Cha...

The advice for how Columbia University should respond to Trump's slashing of funds is the same for anybody facing adversity — start by knowing your own values. Without that, argues Bradley, no strategy or tactics, however brilliant, are going to work. Plus he explains why "Trump is like the Terminator, he comes back stronger," weighs his own skills as a probabilistic thinker, and reveals why...

Columbia Business School professor Michael Morris, author of   Tribal: How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together , joins Bradley to break down the psychology behind how humans organize into groups, why we’re wired to trust and follow, and how these instincts shape everything we do, especially politics. "People aren’t just voting for policies," Morris says, "the...

Sitting in a long Bar Mitzvah service, Bradley started wondering about the performative side of religion. If we believe in a God who is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, what does God need with all this endless praise? Kinda reminds you of someone else, doesn't it? Plus, Bradley unloads on the cruelty of Trump and Musk's proposed budget cuts and analyzes whether a big drop in popul...

Raj Goyle argues that Democrats don’t need a radical agenda to beat Trump—they just need to prove they can solve everyday problems. The founder of Phone Free New York joins Bradley to talk about the fight to ban phones in schools, how the legal system quietly robs every American, and why campaigns should be run like startups—fast, lean, and ruthless. This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 1...

A lot of what we do on our phones — maybe even most of it — is positive and productive, argues Bradley, but we need to clearly differentiate between good habits and mindless scrolling. He lays out the concept of "a screen time diet" that evaluates our digital consumption just like we do our nutritional intake. Plus, what brings Trump crashing back to earth, how a broken City Ha...

How does a venture capitalist find start-ups that are worth believing in? Bradley sits down with Pip Lawrence, co-founder of Delphi VC , for a wide-ranging discussion on his approach to investing, what attracts him to psychedelic therapy, how LA feels in the aftermath of the fires and why he's committed to the cause of Holocaust education. This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orc...

Get ready for big ideas flying all over the place in this episode. First, Bob Greenlee argues that Trump's pitch to expand the American empire — into Greenland, Gaza, Panama and Canada — goes hand in hand with his campaign to eradicate DEI. Taken together, they tell a heroic narrative meant to inspire and channel ambitions toward new visions of greatness. But is it a hustle or...

Bradley’s tech investing journey began with a services-for-equity model that evolved into a full-fledged venture firm. Nine years and three successful funds later, he explains why he's pivoting back to his original approach. Plus, he lays out a bold plan for Governor Hochul to achieve a once-in-a-lifetime subway overhaul by leveraging the special election for Elise Stefanik’s upstate congress...

Bradley shares his reaction to the bombshell breaking news that Trump’s Justice Department has ordered the US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan to drop the criminal charges against Mayor Eric Adams.  Bradley games out how this decision will or will not impact the 2025 mayoral race, discusses what could be next for Adams if he (likely) loses re-election, and why, paradoxically the Adams administr...

What are we getting right and wrong about America's youngest voters? Bradley talks to Melissa Deckman, author of ' The Politics of Gen Z: How the Youngest Voters Will Shape Our Democracy ', about the most diverse generation in American history coming of age in these turbulent, Trump-y times. This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only...

Do the names Fannie Lou Hamer or Barbara Jordan mean anything to you? Well, they should, and so should their achievements as trailblazing black women in politics. Dr. Christina Greer, Associate Professor of Political Science at Fordham University and co-host of the podcasts FAQ NYC and In The Thick , joins Bradley to discuss her new book about Hamer and Jordan, How to Build a Democracy , plus a ch...

Is there actually a mayor's race happening in New York City? Tusk Strategies CEO Chris Coffey joins Bradley to consider the shadow of Andrew Cuomo and how it hangs over the field. Plus, Governor Hochul's suddenly steep climb to reelection, deciding how to pick your battles with Trump, and DeepSeek's scrambling of the AI narrative. 00:05:15]  - DeepSeek AI discussion: Concerns about...

How is pragmatic problem-solving possible in today's fiery political climate? Bradley sits down with Mayor Randall Woodfin of Birmingham, Alabama, to discuss his new book,  Son of Birmingham , which blends politics, leadership, and his deep love of music and culture. Woodfin shares his thoughts on Outkast, Lauryn Hill and the decline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as how...

If you're prone to ruminating on negative thoughts, there is no single remedy. Bradley analyzes the practices that help him quiet his mind, the habits he avoids, and the aspects of his life that make the biggest difference. Plus, he updates his agnostic approach to Trump, explains why changing the laws on scaffolding is a big win for New Yorkers, and recommends a pair of novels and a pair of movie...