Grading Mamdani

Grading Mamdani

From Lost Debate by The Branch

May 4, 2026 · 54 min

About this episode

Ravi Gupta and Bradley Tusk discuss New York City's budget crisis and the challenges facing Mayor Mamdani regarding education and urban leadership.

Ravi Gupta sits down with Bradley Tusk to break down New York City’s mounting budget crisis, a $6B deficit, and the tough choices facing Mayor Mamdani. They dig into the city’s $40B education system—why it spends more than anywhere else yet delivers mediocre results—and what real reform could look like. The conversation spans everything from union power and government inefficiency to housing, public safety, and the future of urban leadership. It’s a sharp, unfiltered look at whether Mamdani has the political courage to move beyond ideology and actually fix what’s broken. Bradley Tusk’s The Firewall Podcast ____________ Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 201-305-0084⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Ravi at @RaviMGupta Notes from this episode are also available on Substack: ⁠https://thelostdebate.substack.com/⁠ Read more from Ravi on Substack: ⁠https://realravigupta.substack.com⁠ Follow The Branch at @thebranchmedia Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lost-debate/id1591300785 Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/7xR9pch9DrQDiZfGB5oF0F⁠ Listen to Where the Schools Went…

People in this episode

Host: Ravi Gupta

Guest: Bradley Tusk

Topics covered

  • budget crisis
  • education reform
  • urban leadership
  • government inefficiency
  • union power
  • public safety

Keywords

  • New York City
  • budget crisis
  • education system
  • Mamdani
  • urban leadership
  • government inefficiency
  • union power

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Firewall Podcast, The Branch

Places: New York City

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