Firewall

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 giants—most likely Google—and deepen the country’s oligarchic tendencies.This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Be sure to watch Bradley’s new TED Talk on Mobile Voting at https://go.ted.com/bradleytusk.Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter and follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube.

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 an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Be sure to watch Bradley’s new TED Talk on Mobile Voting at https://go.ted.com/bradleytusk.Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter and follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube.

Jonathan Mahler’s The Gods of New York is 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 the clash 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 Brooklyn’s transformation, how the business elite grew complacent, where Mamdani will lead us, and who will write the next chapter about a wealthier but increasingly rudderless city.This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Be sure to watch Bradley’s new TED Talk on Mobile Voting at https://go.ted.com/bradleytusk.Subscribe to Bradley

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 laying the groundwork for a candidate like him. If the city's business and real-estate interests wish to have real political influence, 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 for capitalizing on a government shutdown, and gets Meaghan and Hugo to play a game about, yes, state recognition. This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Be sure to watch Bradley’s new TED Talk on Mobile Voting at https://go.ted.com/bradleytusk.Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter and follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + You

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 success of any mayoral administration — centrist or socialist — is based on getting the basics right, like safety, services, and jobs.This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Be sure to watch Bradley’s new TED Talk on Mobile Voting at https://go.ted.com/bradleytusk.Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter and follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube.

...or not to blow up the world, that is the question. Taking off from Kathryn Bigelow new movie A 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 P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Be sure to watch Bradley’s new TED Talk on Mobile Voting at https://go.ted.com/bradleytusk.Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter and follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube.

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 their 111 years on the Lower East Side. We’ll be hosting a live Firewall recording at 3PM where Bradley will interview Russ & Daughters’ fourth generation co-owners, Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper.  For more details and to RSVP, visit https://www.russanddaughtersday.com/This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Be sure to watch Bradley’s new T

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 consider the degradation of 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 soup kitchen. Discussed on today's episode:Indoor Ban Shuts Down Soup Kitchen at Downtown Manhattan Church, by Jonathan Custodio, The City, (09/15/25)Join Bradley on Sept. 20 at P&T Knitwear as we celebrate Russ & Daughters Day to mark the legendary shop's first-ever cookbook in their 111 years on the Lower East Side. We’ll be hosting a live Firewall recording at 3PM where Bradley will interview Russ & Daughters’ fourth generation co-owners, Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper. 

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's NY Art Book Fair at MoMA PS1: https://printedmatterartbookfairs.org/Join Bradley on Sept. 20 at P&T Knitwear as we celebrate Russ & Daughters Day to mark the legendary shop's first-ever cookbook in their 111 years on the Lower East Side. We’ll be hosting a live Firewall recording at 3PM where Bradley will interview Russ & Daughters’ fourth generation co-owners, Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper.  For more details and to RSVP, visit https://www.russanddaughtersday.com/This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email wi

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 commitment to 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 Time for Testing, by Bradley Tusk, Vital City, (09/04/25)Join Bradley on September 20 at P&T Knitwear as we celebrate Russ & Daughters Day to mark the legendary shop's first-ever cookbook in their 111 years on the Lower East Side. We’ll be hosting a live Firewall recording at 3PM where Bradley will interview Russ & Daughters’ fourth generation co-owners, Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper.  For more details and to RSVP, visit https://www.russanddaughtersday.com/This episode was taped at P&a

Here's one thing we know about the Democratic Party right now — they are practically in a death spiral and must do something heroic to have any shot at the White House in 2028. If they think they can go about picking a candidate the regular, super-boring way, they're toast. So Bradley has a plan to bring fun and genuine excitement into the process, based on, yes, Battle of the Network Stars. Plus, he delivers a sharp verdict on the question of whether business school is worth it, and analyzes what the slowing growth of millionaires in New York City means for the next mayor.Join Bradley on Sept. 20 at P&T Knitwear as we celebrate Russ & Daughters Day to mark the legendary shop's first-ever cookbook in their 111 years on the Lower East Side. We’ll be hosting a live Firewall recording at 3PM where Bradley will interview Russ & Daughters’ fourth generation co-owners, Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper.  For more details and to RSVP, visit https://www.russanddaughtersday.com/.This episod

What if you could eat at a place where the food was fresh and healthy, prices were geared to what customers could afford and the staff was treated equitably? Legendary food writer Mark Bittman joins Firewall to discuss the imminent launch of Community Kitchen, his nonprofit corrective to a food world gone awry.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Be sure to watch Bradley’s new TED Talk on Mobile Voting at https://go.ted.com/bradleytusk.Join Bradley at P&T Knitwear as we celebrate Russ & Daughters Day on September 20, to mark the legendary shop's first-ever cookbook in their 111 years on the Lower East Side. For more details and to RSVP, visit https://www.russanddaughtersday.com/.

While all of you were enjoying a Firewall-free week, Bradley was undergoing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, a therapy designed to mitigate obsessive-compulsive disorder. "They put this thing over your head, and effectively, every two seconds, you get 30 pulses or shocks," he says. "They call them pulses because shock sounds bad. If you are a listener and you really do suffer from OCD or depression, this is a tool that I had not been aware of before that I'm very glad I tried." Plus, Bradley dissects the incentives for peace in Ukraine, explains why Democrats still haven't found a message to counter Trump, and floats a plan to make life better for baseball fans.Discussed on today's episode:How to Be a Good Intelligence AnalystThis episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Be sure to watch Bradley’s TED Talk on Mobile Voting at https://go.ted.com/bradley

Two friends decided to turn their shared passion for tennis and food into — well, they don’t know what it could become, but for now it’s a Substack called The Play Boys. Bradley talks to Dave Allee and Paul Tedesco about the best and worst public courts in New York City, why breakfast is more central to their project than lunch or dinner, the surprisingly diverse tennis culture in different boroughs, and their favorite part of watching the US Open. Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Be sure to watch Bradley’s new TED Talk on Mobile Voting at https://go.ted.com/bradleytusk.Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter and follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube.

If Zohran Mamdani stands any chance of succeeding on his social agenda, he'll need a strong economy. Bradley hand-picks the policies and ideas that the likely next mayor of New York City should embrace to drive innovation, attract investment, and create jobs. Growth, he argues, will do the most good for the most New Yorkers. Plus, Bradley reflects on turning 52 — sharing lessons about reshuffling priorities, creating new habits and reining in his workaholic tendencies.This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Be sure to watch Bradley’s new TED Talk on Mobile Voting at https://go.ted.com/bradleytusk.Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter and follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube.

What happens when a drugged-out visionary, a few brilliant businessmen and a generation of alt-rock misfits hit the road together? Tom Beaujour — co-author of Lollapalooza: The Uncensored Story of Alternative Rock's Wildest Festival — joins Bradley to tell the inside story of America’s most chaotic traveling circus. From onstage shotgun blasts to backstage basketball beefs, it's a love letter to a weirder, sweatier, more combustible time in pop culture.This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Be sure to watch Bradley’s new TED Talk on Mobile Voting at https://go.ted.com/bradleytusk.Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter and follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube.

Though he went to law school himself, Bradley used to tell people it was a waste of time and money for anyone who wasn't dead set on practicing law. Now, with the age of AI upon us, he thinks it could be the best way for young people to develop their critical thinking skills. Plus, he torches Trump’s latest moves as a coordinated assault on America’s economic foundations, quizzes Cory on the campaign to institute age verification for Citi Bike e-bikes, and concedes that the second part of the Billy Joel documentary didn't live up to the first part.Discussed on today's episode:Bad For The Jews, by Bradley Tusk (07/29/25)NYC pol wants to force Citi Bike to install system to ban kids from riding e-bikes, by Carl Campanile, The New York Post, (07/28/25)This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Be sure to watch Bradley’s new TED Talk on Mobile Voting at https:

Bradley talks with Eric Soufer, partner at Tusk Strategies and head of their advanced technology & crypto practice, about the dramatic shift in the regulatory and political climate surrounding digital assets. They unpack the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts, explain why stablecoins are going mainstream, and assess how the crypto lobby pulled off one of the most effective policy campaigns in recent memory. Plus, the future of prediction markets, the limits of Israeli politics, and why the Yankees' problems can be chalked up to its own version of the Deep State.This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Be sure to watch Bradley’s new TED Talk on Mobile Voting at https://go.ted.com/bradleytusk.Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter and follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube.

As an American Jew raised in a household of Holocaust survivors, Bradley has always been unwavering in his support for Israel. But what once felt morally clear — Israel's strength as a shield against persecution — has given way to uncertainty, as the war in Gaza grinds on without a discernible ethical purpose. To preserve Judaism's core values, Bradley argues, Jews must reassert the moral standards that have sustained them for millennia.This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Be sure to watch Bradley’s new TED Talk on Mobile Voting at https://go.ted.com/bradleytusk.Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter and follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube.

Why and how did progressives give up on actually building a better society? Marc Dunkelman, author of Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress — and How to Bring It Back, joins Bradley to discuss the central problem in American governance — not bad intentions, but a broken architecture of decision making. Power is now so diffused that virtually anyone can block progress, even on widely supported initiatives. “We’ve put the establishment in a cage," says Dunkelman. "And now we’ve put the bureaucrats in a cage. And there’s no one left with the power to say, 'This is the thing we’re going to do.'"This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Be sure to watch Bradley’s new TED Talk on Mobile Voting at https://go.ted.com/bradleytuskSubscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter and follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube.