Podcast Episodes

Why Does Progressive Megadonor Nick Hanauer Blame Blue Cities’ Woes on … Barack Obama?

Season 1 Episode 14

Seattle venture capitalist and Democratic megadonor Nick Hanauer doesn’t fit neatly into pre-fab boxes. He’s a wildly successful tech investor who denounces tech moguls as “narcissistic sociopaths.” …

Published on 3 months, 4 weeks ago

Why is San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan Breaking So Many Eggs?

Season 1 Episode 13

In a quest to reinvent municipal governance, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is breaking ranks and breaking a few eggs. A Harvard grad who made his bones in the disruption-centered world of Silicon Valley …

Published on 4 months, 2 weeks ago

NYT’s Peter Goodman on Tariffs, Trade Wars and the New Crony Capitalism

Season 1 Episode 12

This week, we take a close look at Trump's tariff-happy trade war and its impact on blue cities with New York Times global economics correspondent Peter Goodman, the author of Davos Man and How the W…

Published on 4 months, 3 weeks ago

Dan Savage: How Blue Cities Should Resist Trump 2.0

Season 1 Episode 11

Donald Trump is in full retribution mode and the anxiety – and anger – in blue cities is spiking. Sex advice columnist and friend o’ the podcast Dan Savage joins us to talk about how blue cities shou…

Published on 4 months, 4 weeks ago

The Inside Story on How Tech Billionaires Sparked San Francisco’s Moderate Backlash

Season 1 Episode 10

In recent years San Francisco, widely regarded as America’s most progressive city, has experienced a far-reaching anti-progressive backlash. In 2022, voters recalled three progressive school board me…

Published on 5 months ago

Mike Pesca: Is Blue City Media Up to the Challenge of Covering Trump 2.0?

Season 1 Episode 9

Former National Public Radio and Slate journalist Mike Pesca, host of the longest-running (and highly entertaining!) daily news podcast, "The Gist," joins us to talk about the tough challenges blue c…

Published on 5 months, 2 weeks ago

Has the American Labor Movement Lost Touch with the Urban Working Class?

Season 1 Episode 8

In this episode, we dive deep into some of the big questions every left-of-center political observer has been asking: what the hell went so wrong in the last election? Why did so many urban working c…

Published on 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Keith Humphreys: Why Drug Reform Failed In West Coast Blue Cities

Season 1 Episode 7

The wave of bold new decriminalization-centered approaches to drug policy reform that swept West Coast cities from San Francisco to Vancouver, B.C. starting around 2020 has failed, according to one t…

Published on 6 months ago

Why Does Rep. Adam Smith Believe Blue Cities Contributed to Trump’s Win?

Season 1 Episode 6

Democrat Adam Smith has spent the last several years engaged in a (perhaps quixotic?) crusade to save the Democratic Party from itself. The veteran congressman, who represents parts of Seattle and it…

Published on 6 months, 2 weeks ago

Freddie deBoer: Blue Cities Progressives Need to Get Real on Involuntary Commitment

Season 1 Episode 5

Freddie DeBoer knows a thing or two about mental illness. He’s been admitted into psychiatric hospitals five times; he was involuntarily committed in 2002. He has, as they say, lived experience. 

Fred…

Published on 6 months, 3 weeks ago