Democratic Socialism’s Rise (feat. Reihan Salam)

Rafael Mangual, Tal Fortgang, Carolyn Gorman, and Renu Mukherjee discuss public safety in New York City, the Senate vote to strip funding from NPR, President Trump’s desire to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, and other big news stories from the week.

John Hirschauer joins Brian Anderson to discuss the recently passed legislation in New York that—pending Governor Kathy Hochul’s signature—would legalize Medical Aid in Dying. 

How is Trump reshaping campus conservatism amid his sweeping 2025 reforms? Rafael Mangual, John Ketcham, Neetu Arnold, and Jesse Arm dig into Harvard’s new conservative center—launched under pressure from Trump’s higher ed funding threats, DEI eliminations, and donor outrage—and ask whether it’s genuine reform or elite window dressing. They unpack the implications for academic freedom, accreditation, and the future of free speech, dissent, and intellectual diversity on campus.

As Zohran Mamdani’s rise reshapes New York politics, is democratic socialism becoming the Democratic Party’s new base? Host Charles Fain Lehman sits down with Reihan Salam, Judge Glock, and John Ketcham to dissect the political and cultural currents pushing the party left—from Instagram primaries and “free stuff” populism to the ideological split between AOC and the Ezra Klein crowd. Along the way, they dig into anti-institutionalism, social media as a news engine, and the strange allure of David Goggins.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk is testing a new frontier in politics. In this episode, Charles Fain Lehman, Jesse Arm, Rafael Mangual, and Daniel Di Martino explore Musk’s proposed America Party—what it means for the right, why it’s gaining traction across conservative media, and whether it’s more than X posturing. They also tackle the One Big Beautiful Bill—a trillion-dollar effort to rein in spending without touching Social Security or Medicare. Is it serious reform, or just another political stunt? Plus: July Fourth, national identity, and the conservative fight to reclaim America’s founding story.

Charles Fain Lehman, Neetu Arnold, Judge Glock, and Carolyn Gorman unpack Trump’s border pageantry at “Alligator Alcatraz,” exposing the left’s silence on illegal immigration. They break down the One Big Beautiful Bill, $1 trillion in spending cuts, tax policy in the balance, and a fight for fiscal sanity.

Join Charles Fain Lehman, Ilya Shapiro, John Ketcham, and Renu Mukherjee as they dissect the week’s seismic Supreme Court rulings—nationwide injunctions gutted, free speech battles won, and the ideological fault lines now splitting the bench wide open. They take on Trump’s bold executive swipe at TikTok, expose the social media platforms society could ditch, and throw down their picks for Mount Rushmore—where only true American grit belongs.

Zohran Mamdani’s surprise victory has electrified New York’s hard left, and raised serious questions about where the city is heading. In this episode, City Journal’s Rafael Mangual, Nicole Gelinas, Tal Fortgang, and Daniel Di Martino break down how Mamdani won, why moderates failed to unify, and what it means when a socialist backed by “Intifada” slogans becomes the Democratic nominee. They also take a detour to the Hamptons to ask: is it becoming the new Palm Beach?

What’s driving the New York City mayoral race, and how might ranked-choice voting, crime, and policy backlash shape the outcome? In this episode, City Journal’s Charles Fain Lehman is joined by John Ketcham, Renu Mukherjee, and Jesse Arm to break down the latest from the NYC mayoral primary. They also weigh in on the Supreme Court’s ruling in U.S. v. Skrmetti, what it means for free speech and state regulation, and how New Yorkers are navigating the heat and headlines. “Exhausted ballots will be a significant factor in this election,” notes Ketcham.

City Journal contributors Charles Fain Lehman, Tal Fortgang, Rafael Mangual, and Carolyn Gorman break down results from a new Manhattan Institute poll on New York City’s mayoral race. They also unpack the Israel–Iran conflict and the strange state of modern wedding culture.