The Bigger Apple Podcast

Liena Zagare
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  • Politics
  • Updated Weekly

Each week, we'll tackle an urgent topic shaping life in New York, often joined by MI colleagues and outside experts who help us think beyond the headlines.

  1. 9h ago

    Why Small Classes Won't Save NYC Schools

    On this episode of The Bigger Apple, Nicole Gelinas and Liena Zagare talk with education policy expert and MI fellow Jennifer Weber about the history of school choice, the myth of the "small school" and "small class" as a fix-all, and some common-sense reforms that could help the city's budget and its students.

  2. May 18

    Deal or No Deal: Strikes, Budgets, and Unions

    This week, join us for a conversation about the Long Island Rail Road strike, the proposed state and city budgets, and the outsized influence of public- and private-sector unions with our colleague, New York's preeminent expert on public finance, E.J. McMahon.

  3. May 6

    A Former Top Planner on What's Wrong And Right With NYC Housing

    Nicole and Liena talk with Eric Kober, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and former director of housing, economic and infrastructure planning at the New York City Department of City Planning, about rent regulation, labor unions, property tax reform, 1961 zoning, and more.

  4. Apr 29

    Autonomous Vehicles and NYC

    Liena and Nicole talk to traffic guru Sam Schwartz and planner Kelly McGuinness about the good, bad and ugly about self-driving cars and dense, transit-centric cities.   Watch this podcast here.

  5. Apr 24

    Busy, Busy Mayor: Mamdani's war on too-expensive eggs and too-cheap luxury second homes

    In this episode we talk about Mamdani's plans for municipal grocery stores and whether green carts and farmers markets are already doing this work, the mayor's proposed Pied-à-terre tax, the state's war against insurance schemes, and more.

  6. Apr 10

    100 Days of Mayor Mamdani

    In this episode, Liena and Nicole unpack Mayor Mamdani's first 100 days, looking at his diluted promises of free childcare, fast and free buses, a rent freeze, and government groceries, as well as his ambition versus budgetary realities and how he's dealt with the day-to-day challenges of running the city.

  7. Apr 2

    Mamdani, Rikers, Canal Street and the Coming Summer Crime Spike: A Conversation with Rafael Mangual

    Rafael Mangual, Nick Ohnell Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and author of Criminal Injustice, joins Nicole and Liena to discuss the spate of daytime shootings hitting New York, the Raise the Age law and its role in rising juvenile crime, rising public disorder, Canal Street's counterfeit economy, and the legal and logistical chaos likely to unfold as the city's self-imposed 2027 Rikers Island closure deadline nears.

  8. Mar 20

    High Electric Bills, Expensive Pensions and Uncertain Property Taxes — What's next for New York's Taxpayer

    In this episode, we talk with Ken Girardin, our colleague at the Manhattan Institute who covers New York tax, pension, energy, and labor policy, about two very expensive problems facing New York: a legislative push to roll back the pension reforms of 2009 and 2012, which would send public employer costs skyrocketing again, and the 2019 Climate Act, which halted the private investment cycle and left New York increasingly dependent on aging infrastructure.

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Each week, we'll tackle an urgent topic shaping life in New York, often joined by MI colleagues and outside experts who help us think beyond the headlines.

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