Firewall with Bradley Tusk

Why do a small minority of selfish, fear-mongering people wield so much power over the rest of us? Bradley argues that most of us want essentially the same things: meaningful work, healthy families, a little fun, and some peace. The problem isn't human nature — it's broken systems that reward the loudest and most divisive voice. He also weighs in on whether Trump's instincts are well suited to the Middle East, why the AI companies fundamentally misread their political situation, and what makes Los Angeles his ideal "composite 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. Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter and follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube.

Does fixing America's $5 trillion healthcare crisis start with taking a single picture? Bradley sits down with Andrew Lacy, founder and CEO of Prenuvo, to explore how full-body MRI scans are shifting healthcare from reactive to proactive — and why that shift could be the most important change in medicine today. They discuss Lacy's 80/20 approach to personal longevity (sleep first, everything else follows), his vision of patient-driven healthcare spending and why AI promises to make world-class diagnostics accessible to everyone. Firewall listeners can go to prenuvo.com/firewall to get $300 off a scan from Prenuvo. 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. Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter and follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube.

But in taking a principled stand against the Pentagon and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, it will gain valuable trust with customers, argues Bradley, and that means winning the war. Plus: Jack Dorsey's 4,000-person layoff at Block is a sign of things to come as AI efficiency tools displace white-collar workers — and nobody has a real plan for what comes next; why the addiction claims being made in the lawsuit against Meta are "1,000 percent accurate" but that doesn't mean it's illegal; is Mayor Mamdani governing as a pragmatic big-city leader or showing his progressive stripes; a Chuck Klosterman theory about political movements that Bradley mostly finds fault with; and the case for cautious optimism about the Mets pitching staff. 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. Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter and follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube.

Early childhood education has quietly become one of the most successful — and bipartisan — reform movements in the country. Elliot Regenstein, author of Readiness: Preparing State Early Childhood Systems for a Brighter Future, sits down with Bradley to explain how it's working. They dig into why the system is more adaptable than K-12 or higher ed, which states are leading the way, and what the Trump administration's push to dismantle the Department of Education could mean for the most vulnerable kids. 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. Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter and follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube.

"We don't need purity," says Bradley. "We don't need saviors." The remaking of our institutions starts from the middle, he argues, which has a lot of untapped power against the extremes on both sides. Bradley contends that media, hollowed out by market forces, has ironically become the most adaptive of our broken institutions, while higher education has saddled a generation with $1.83 trillion in debt to prop up a system that puts the needs of administrators over students. And on religion, he sees the collapse in attendance not as a spiritual failing but as a rational response to institutions that serve the clergy over the congregation. 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. Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter and follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube.

Calling in from Istanbul, Bradley opens with impressions of a historically rich but complicated city — ancient cisterns, street cats, a shady taxi driver, and bomb-proof doors on a synagogue. Earlier, when he was in Madrid, Bradley took Abby to visit the Prado and the Thyssen, which got him thinking about the uncomfortable economics of museums: tens of billions in art, much of it in storage, underwriting tax breaks for wealthy donors while hungry people go unfed. How should we address these issues? The conversation turns to Marco Rubio's speech at the Munich Security Conference, which Bradley reads as an early audition for 2028, contrasting Rubio's smooth "I'm my own person" approach with Vance's unconvincing Trump imitation. On whether Americans are actually angry at Europe, he is skeptical — ordinary people on both sides seem to like each other fine, he says, and manufactured grievance is just what demagogues 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 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 are the biggest names in venture betting big on prediction markets? Aaron Miller, principal at Will Ventures, joins Bradley to talk about the evolution of platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket into a new kind of financial exchange and societal "source of truth." They dig into the states-versus-federal regulatory battle, the surge in American gambling behavior, and then turn to the messy restructuring of college sports. Do our old ideas about it make sense anymore? 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 TED Talk on Mobile Voting at https://go.ted.com/bradleytusk. Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter and follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube.

Everybody fails, doubts themselves and encounters unexpected obstacles on the path to whatever they're trying to achieve. But the choice to keep going in the face of difficulty, says Bradley, is what maximizes our own satisfaction and well being. He explains all this in the context of why the business community failed as a political force in New York City since Mayor Bloomberg left office. Plus, he talks about why the merging of philanthropy and commerce is often so fraught, questions Mayor Mamdani's decision not to force homeless people into shelter in the extreme-cold weather, and writes an ad for Pete Buttigieg that he contends is superior to Hugo's from last week. Discussed on today's episode: New York’s CEOs Are Gearing Up for a Battle With Mamdani, David Freedlander, New York Magazine (02/05/26) 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 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 an entire generation grows up with nothing but chaos, only to encounter an AI revolution that makes practically every career look iffy? Bradley talks to Rachel Janfaza, founder of The Up and Up, about why COVID didn't just disrupt Gen Z—it split them in two: the older group that remembers life before the pandemic and the younger ones who don't and who never learned how to have an unplanned conversation. She explains how Gen Z voters feel betrayed by Trump just one year into his second term, why they're demanding AI regulation, and what effect data centers, crypto and phone bans are having on their politics. 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 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 do you get when you ask five AI platforms to crunch some numbers and help solve an investment decision for you? A shocking array of basic errors, faulty assumptions and bizarre omissions, Bradley discovered, enough to make him seriously wonder where this revolution might be heading. Plus, he reevaluates his loathing of social media in light of Minneapolis and Greenland, debates the merits of his own particular form of networking and proposes an ad that could propel Rahm Emanuel to the top of the 2028 leaderboard. 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 TED Talk on Mobile Voting at https://go.ted.com/bradleytusk. Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter and follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube.

In the 1990s, we were promised that the internet was going to decentralize wealth and power. How did we end up with what feels like the exact opposite of that? Tim Wu, author of the new book, The Age of Extraction — an examination of how tech platforms extract value, shape attention, and concentrate power — joined Bradley earlier this month for a live discussion at P&T Knitwear, moderated by Nate Loewentheil, Managing Partner of Commonweal Ventures. "If you look through the history of democracy turning into dictatorship," says Wu, "a lot of it goes through the path of monopolization of key industries, the build-up of a huge amount of wealth and an anger among the people. When democracy cannot fix that or make the system seem fair, the strong man has a lot of appeal." 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 TED Talk on Mobile Voting at https://go.ted.com/bradleytusk. Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter and follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube.

Canada can never fix the asymmetry of its relationship with the US, but as Prime Minister Mark Carney showed last week in Davos, there’s much to be gained from playing to your strengths. Bradley assesses the strange predicament of the middle power in a zero-sum world. Plus: the real reason Kristi Noem has a cabinet post, why law school applications are surging and — here’s something nice — the 12 finalists for the 2026 Gotham Book Prize. 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 TED Talk on Mobile Voting at https://go.ted.com/bradleytusk. Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter and follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube.

Are AI workers easier to manage than humans? Bradley sits down with Evan Ratliff, creator of the award-winning podcast series, Shell Game, to talk about the real startup he launched with a staff of AI employees. They discuss the economic, psychological, and regulatory stakes of AI, plus the creepy comedy of working with bots. “Every time I went in to say, ‘Stop talking about this,’” Ratliff says, “it triggered them to talk about it more. They can create endless busy work—endless process—for no real value.” 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 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 you were conspiring to weaken America over the long haul, wouldn’t you start by corroding the institutions that make the U.S. economy uniquely powerful? Bradley walks through his “Manchurian Economy” thesis—tariffs, intimidation of speech and IP, politicizing the Fed and federal data, choking immigration and R&D, and the broader slide toward rule-of-law instability. The damage may outlast Trump and even accelerate in an AI-disrupted, demagogue-friendly future. Then Bradley pivots to New York City affordability, with a buffet of cost-cutting proposals for Mayor Mamdani—from inspecting buildings by drone to lifting the zoning constraints that make development so expensive. Finally, Hugo puts Bradley in the coach’s chair to help him come up with a new strategy for consuming media — sparring over Substack, print-only minimalism, aggregators, audio-only news, and whether the real solution for Hugo isn't merely to give up his old habits of an editor always hunting for new voices. Discussed on today's episode: How Mamdani can make NYC more affordable, Bradley Tusk, New York Daily News (January 19, 2026) 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 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 do you learn from three decades of working the late shift on sports radio? Steve Somers, the beloved Shmoozer on WFAN and author of a new memoir Me Here, You There, joined Bradley and his longtime producer Paul Rosenberg for a live conversation late last year at P&T Knitwear. "All through high school, all I tried to do was call in to The Fan and I could never get on," says Bradley (a fellow die-hard Mets fan like Steve), "so this is my first real chance." 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 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 will trigger the fiercest backlash to the AI boom? Rather than job losses or generative-AI weirdness, says Bradley, it'll be data centers and their insatiable appetite for electricity. When utility bills start climbing, voters everywhere will make their wrath felt. Which means new power sources are in hot demand. Can we develop them fast enough to head off a crisis? Plus: Bradley reflects on how “having nice things” (like the little gem of a bar he discovered in Miami) rests on thousands of trust-based transactions and presents a working theory on why Mayor Mamdani’s early flashes of progressive posturing could be more strategic than they look. 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.

Did you know that life expectancy in Brownsville is 11 years shorter than on the Upper East Side? Dr. Ashwin Vasan, former city health commissioner, joins Bradley to discuss the funding crisis, mounting inequities and stratospheric administrative costs of public healthcare. Vasan explains why real reform starts with rebuilding trust—through ethics rules, revamped incentives, transparency, and a less officious posture. "People don't like being made to feel dumb," he says. The coming era will be defined by a messy transition: fewer paper-pushers, more direct contracting and a political fight over who loses first. 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 more we chase it, the more it slips away. For the first episode of 2026, Bradley explores the hard choices that lead to contentment over the long run, resisting the dopamine loop of money and status in favor of purpose, perspective and love. 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.

...Well, not quite. But for this year-capping episode, Bradley came armed with a list of 50 big questions to discuss with his friend Alexander Kouts, the founder and CEO of Indigov, and because they had so much to talk about, the episode approaches Rogan-scale duration. Buckle up for this super-sized episode as Bradley and Alex take on abundance v. zero-sum thinking, the limits of capitalism, the purpose of religion, where higher education is heading (off a cliff, of course, but how high?), what roles AI can never take away from us and why humans are powerless in the presence of babies and dogs. Consider it the debut of a new annual tradition. Next year, we might invite Joe himself (or not). 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.

Daniel Wortel-London, author of The Menace of Prosperity: New York City and the Struggle for Economic Development, 1865–1981, joins Bradley to unpack a century of economic policy, arguing that elites have often undermined cities even as they claimed to save them—and that smarter, more inclusive development is still possible. The conversation ranges from subways and public housing to Zohran Mamdani’s prospects as mayor, asking whether technocratic competence, not ideology, is the real test for New York’s next era. Note that this episode was recorded shortly before Mamdani's election, and it was discussed as the likely outcome. 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.