The Update with Brandon Julien

Brandon Julien
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New York is a city full of stories. On The Update with Brandon Julien, we just happen to have many of them. Wherever you may be or however you may listen to us, get caught up on everything that you need to know because anything can happen in New York.

  1. The Update (Year 5 Archives)- June 28th

    1d ago

    The Update (Year 5 Archives)- June 28th

    Hello everyone! We're going into #TheUpdate vault to play one of our many episodes throughout our many years of the show. For today's episode, we go into the world of Year 5 of The Update. When we first started this then-show at WKRB in 2017, the first year had a lot of things going on. Donald Trump's first year in office, mass shootings worldwide, and the Great American Solar Eclipse to name just a few. In Year 5, it was more of the same. There was the Russian war in Ukraine, more mass shootings in America, and the overturning of Roe V. Wade to name just a few that we'll mention. But also, after more than two years out on the road, we made our way to a new studio at UD Team in the summer of 2022. Oh, and one last thing- be on the lookout for some WKRB highlights as we looked back on five years of memories.

    59 min
  2. The Update (Year 5 Archives)- June 27th

    2d ago

    The Update (Year 5 Archives)- June 27th

    Hello everyone! We're going into #TheUpdate vault to play one of our many episodes throughout our many years of the show. For today's episode, we go into the world of Year 5 of The Update. When we first started this then-show at WKRB in 2017, the first year had a lot of things going on. Donald Trump's first year in office, mass shootings worldwide, and the Great American Solar Eclipse to name just a few. In Year 5, it was more of the same. There was the Russian war in Ukraine, more mass shootings in America, and the overturning of Roe V. Wade to name just a few that we'll mention. But also, after more than two years out on the road, we made our way to a new studio at UD Team in the summer of 2022. Oh, and one last thing- be on the lookout for some WKRB highlights as we looked back on five years of memories.

    1h 7m
  3. The Update- June 23rd

    5d ago

    The Update- June 23rd

    This edition of The Update Journal takes a hard left turn into nostalgia, broadcast law, and whatever Gen Z found in the back of the fashion closet with a “DO NOT OPEN UNTIL 2006” sticker on it. First, Code Lyoko might be coming back, which means my childhood just sat up in bed like, “Wait… are we doing this again?” A potential Season 5 sounds exciting, terrifying, and emotionally classified as a gray area, because yes, I loved the show — but some memories are delicate museum artifacts. You don’t just reboot them without asking the people who were emotionally raised by cartoon kids fighting evil inside a supercomputer. Then, in A Closer Look, we get into The FCC vs. WABC, where The View, equal time rules, and license renewal anxiety all walk into the same room and immediately ask for legal counsel. This is the kind of media story where one bad segment can turn into a paperwork tornado, and suddenly everybody is reading FCC guidelines like they’re trying to defuse a bomb with a commercial break coming up. And today’s honorable mention: Gen Z has revived a sexy fashion trend that was previously declared extinct, because apparently no trend ever truly dies. It just waits in a drawer, gains confidence, and comes back when someone under 25 says, “Actually, this is a vibe.” Somewhere, a millennial is staring at their old photos in horror, whispering, “We buried this for a reason.” In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Tuesday, Clive Davis, the record company lawyer who became one of the music industry’s most powerful figures, launching or resurrecting the careers of such superstars as Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana and Alicia Keys, has died, his family confirmed. He was 94. The Supreme Court reinstated a murder conviction in the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz. And in Minnesota, a federal judge has blocked an attempt by the Trump administration to subpoena Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and other state officials, accusing the Justice Department of using its investigatory powers to retaliate against state officials for not cooperating with federal efforts to crack down on illegal immigration.

    1h 56m
  4. The Update- June 22nd

    5d ago

    The Update- June 22nd

    On this edition of The Update Journal, we begin by honoring the true soldiers of the school year — the ones who never get a prep period, never get a lunch break, and somehow are always expected to perform miracles five minutes before dismissal. Today, we salute the main office printer, a machine that has survived permission slips, attendance sheets, event flyers, missing homework packets, last-minute schedules, and at least twelve people saying, “Can you print this real quick?” like that phrase has ever meant anything quick in the history of education. Then, our summertime watchlist continues with Interview With the Vampire, Episode 2: “He Had a Way About Him… And Apparently a Casino Budget.” Louis continues getting pulled deeper into Lestat’s spell because, as he puts it, Lestat “had a way about him.” And apparently that “way” includes emotional manipulation, vampire mess, and the kind of financial flexibility where buying someone a casino is treated like picking up a birthday card from CVS. Louis is trying to understand his new life, his new urges, and the growing distance from his family, while Lestat is out here handling conflict like, “Have you considered real estate?” And finally, we talk about the last week of school — also known as organized chaos with bulletin boards. The kids can smell summer vacation. The adults can smell burnout. The building is running on half-empty coffee cups, lost permission slips, hallway announcements, and the collective prayer that nobody does anything wild before the final bell. It is the one week where everyone is physically present, mentally on a beach, and emotionally one printer jam away from a full collapse. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Monday, A 51-year-old Connecticut man fell to his death from an upper deck of Madison Square Garden during a concert on Saturday night, police said. Four people — including two teens — were shot and wounded in a wild shootout that erupted at a Big Apple park Saturday night, cops said. And in Chicago, a spate of shootings in Chicago has led to at least seven deaths and 38 injuries since Friday evening, police say, prompting President Trump to renew his call for a military intervention in the nation’s third-largest city.

    2h 12m
  5. The Update- June 18th

    Jun 21

    The Update- June 18th

    In today’s edition of The Update Journal, we investigate whether the Knicks won a championship through defense, chemistry, clutch shot-making… or by accidentally turning the playoffs into a monastery with sneakers. If the rumors are true, New York may have borrowed from the Dodgers’ apparent “no distractions, no problems” championship blueprint — which raises the terrifying possibility that abstinence has better postseason analytics than half the league’s coaching staffs. Then, the vampire schedule starts biting back. Watching Interview With the Vampire one episode a week sounded responsible, mature, and emotionally safe — until The Vampire Lestat entries started piling up like unpaid bills with fangs. Now there’s a sleepaway camp deadline, limited free time, questionable Wi-Fi, and the deeply unwise possibility of watching Claudia-related vampire trauma in the middle of the woods at night. Nothing says “summer programming strategy” like risking nightmares between bug spray and bunk inspections. And in The Last Word, we close with a reminder that being yourself matters — even when it’s uncomfortable, even when people don’t get it, and even when the world would rather you shrink, hide, or explain yourself in MLA format. Be yourself anyway. Loudly, honestly, and with just enough attitude to make the room adjust. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Thursday, a teenage tourist was killed when a carriage horse he was riding in got startled and bolted in Central Park after the operator got out to take a photo of the passengers, cops and sources said. The tragedy is sure to reignite the long-standing push by activists and some lawmakers to ban horse carriages in the Big Apple. After decades waiting for justice, relatives of women murdered by New York’s Gilgo Beach serial killer laid into him before he was sentenced to life in prison. He told them: “I am responsible” for the crimes. And Tropical Storm Arthur formed off the Texas coast as the first tropical storm of the season in the Atlantic basin, threatening a wide swath of the Gulf Coast with potentially dangerous flooding even as it was expected to quickly weaken.

    1h 52m
  6. The Update- June 17th

    Jun 21

    The Update- June 17th

    In today’s edition of The Update Journal, we look back at the 2025–26 NBA season and ask the important question: what did we actually learn? And the answer is… several things, most of which I had to confirm with the internet because I do not watch basketball with enough authority to lie confidently on air. Still, between chaos, comebacks, questionable shot selection, and New York somehow ending up on top, the season gave us plenty to unpack. Then, Disney’s recommendation algorithm apparently looked at people who liked American Dragon: Jake Long, Amphibia, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Big Hero 6: The Series, and The Mighty Ducks and said, “Congratulations, you’ll love Dragon Striker.” And I just want to know who approved that math. Because that is not a recommendation — that is a hostage note assembled from my childhood favorites. And finally, Brandon’s Take gets serious for a second — but only after the jokes — as we talk about why New York does Pride differently, why that matters, and why supporting the people you love should not be treated like extra credit. In this city, Pride is not just a parade. It is loud, crowded, emotional, slightly delayed by train traffic, and absolutely necessary. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Wednesday, Five women suffered burns after two goons on a moped allegedly hurled sulfuric acid at them in a sickening drive-by attack in Jersey City, officials said. Police are searching for a sicko who allegedly raped a young woman in a Harlem subway station while they were out on a date Sunday evening, authorities and sources said. And in Washington, law enforcement officials disrupted a planned attack targeting the UFC cage-fighting show staged at the White House this past weekend, according to court papers unsealed that say plotters who harbored fringe conspiracy theories spoke of flying explosives-laden drones and shooting panicked crowd members as they fled.

    1h 39m
  7. The Update (First Day Of Summer 2026 & Year 5 Archives)- June 21st

    Jun 21

    The Update (First Day Of Summer 2026 & Year 5 Archives)- June 21st

    Hello everyone! We're going into #TheUpdate vault to play one of our many episodes throughout our many years of the show. For today's episode, we go into the world of Year 5 of The Update. When we first started this then-show at WKRB in 2017, the first year had a lot of things going on. Donald Trump's first year in office, mass shootings worldwide, and the Great American Solar Eclipse to name just a few. In Year 5, it was more of the same. There was the Russian war in Ukraine, more mass shootings in America, and the overturning of Roe V. Wade to name just a few that we'll mention. But also, after more than two years out on the road, we made our way to a new studio at UD Team in the summer of 2022. Oh, and one last thing- be on the lookout for some WKRB highlights as we looked back on five years of memories.

    1h 2m
  8. The Update- June 16th

    Jun 21

    The Update- June 16th

    In today’s edition of The Update Journal, we begin with a betrayal on wheels: being trapped on a packed M10 bus, shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers, backpacks, tote bags, and someone’s speakerphone conversation, while another M10 — practically empty and living in luxury — rolls right past like it has diplomatic immunity. That’s not public transportation. That’s emotional damage with a route number. Then, AccuWeather said the severe thunderstorm was coming, the sky started changing colors like it was buffering evil, and suddenly a simple errand turned into a citywide survival challenge. One minute, you’re trying to look for Pride Month supplies at Michaels. The next, you’re speed-walking like the opening scene of a disaster movie, checking the radar every twelve seconds, and realizing your umbrella would be more useful as a surrender flag. And today’s Honorable Mention goes to the $2 bill, which has officially hit production zero — possibly because collectors keep hoarding them like rare trading cards with Founding Fathers on them. The $2 bill didn’t disappear. It got mysterious, dramatic, and way too confident for something most cashiers still look at like you printed it during lunch. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Tuesday, they’re testing Knicks fans’ patience. Thousands of Big Apple teens will miss out on the Knicks historic ticker-tape parade down the Canyon of Heroes — because they’ll be stuck in class taking Regents exams. New York and New Jersey are barreling toward more travel chaos for today’s World Cup game at MetLife Stadium as up to 30,000 train tickets remain unsold — but Mayor Mamdani is brushing off the looming disaster. And out in the American West, a B-52 bomber crashed shortly after takeoff at a U.S. Air Force base in Southern California’s Mojave Desert and burst into flames, killing all eight people aboard, military officials said.

    1h 36m
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New York is a city full of stories. On The Update with Brandon Julien, we just happen to have many of them. Wherever you may be or however you may listen to us, get caught up on everything that you need to know because anything can happen in New York.

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