Episode 404: ‘Sometimes People Just Get Beaten to Death’

FAQ NYC

#Society #New York City #FAQ NYC #News #News and Entertainment #Entertainment

42:14

Episode Description: Jessica B. Harris may have been born and raised in New York City, but she has Tennessee roots through her father and has spent much of her life split between homes in the Northeast and the South – specifically New Orleans. For more than fifty years, she has been a college professor, a writer, and a lecturer, and her many books have earned her a reputation as an authority on food of the African Diaspora, as well as a lifetime achievement award from the James Beard Foundation. A few years back, Netflix adapted her book, High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America , into a 4 part docuseries. And I’m very proud to say that she’s a longtime contributor to Southern Living with a regular column called The Welcome Table. This episode was recorded in the Southern Living Birmingham studios, and Sid and Jessica talked about her mother’s signature mac and cheese, the cast-iron skillet she’d be sure to save if ever her house were on fire, and her dear friend, the late New Orleans chef Leah Chase. For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam Biscuits & Jam is produced by : Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer/Producer Jeremiah McVay - Producer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices…

about a year ago 46:28

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Journalist Elon Green, the author of The Man Nobody Killed: Life, Death, and Art in Michael Stewart's New York, the first book-length account of a crime that captivated the city and that no one was held responsible for as Mayor Ed Koch flatly called police brutality “a phony issue” rejoins the podcast to discusses all that, and much more, with Rachel Holiday Smith and Harry Siegel.

434 episodes

Episode 404: ‘Sometimes People Just Get Beaten to Death’

FAQ NYC

80 subscribers

published about a year ago

MP3•Episode home

434 episodes

#Society #New York City #FAQ NYC #News #News and Entertainment #Entertainment

All episodes

1
Episode 423: ‘A Little Bit of Amnesia’ in Ramos Endorsing Cuomo 36:27

17 hours ago36:27

36:27

Mayoral candidate and State Senator Jessica Ramos joined FAQ NYC in March to lament that ”there is, I think, a little bit of amnesia happening. I do think the press could do a better job of highlighting the myriad of ways in which Andrew Cuomo has created the mess that he now claims he is somehow going to fix. But I can't forget, right?" Now, Ramos is endorsing Cuomo, and hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss her surprise turn and much more ahead of Thursday's Democratic mayoral debate, where Katie will be one of the moderators.…

1
Episode 422: Is Cuomo Choking?` 31:58

8 days ago31:58

31:58

Polling shows that the mayor’s race is still the governor's to lose — but his lead keeps shrinking and he might well lose it in the home stretch. Cuomo’s limited public appearances haven't exactly inspired confidence, let alone the sort of energy that's evident in Zohran Mamdani's ubiquitous volunteers. Hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss that and much more, including why Zellnor Myrie's appeal never took off and Machiavelli's advice concerning "cruelty and clemency": "It is impossible for the new prince to avoid the imputation of cruelty, owing to new states being full of dangers… Nevertheless he ought to be slow to believe and to act, nor should he himself show fear, but proceed in a temperate manner with prudence and humanity, so that too much confidence may not make him incautious and too much distrust render him intolerable. "Upon this a question arises: whether it be better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? It may be answered that one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with. Because this is to be asserted in general of men, that they are ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous, and as long as you succeed they are yours entirely; they will offer you their blood, property, life and children, as is said above, when the need is far distant; but when it approaches they turn against you."…

1
Episode 421: Kathryn Garcia Says 2025 ‘Is Much More Topsy-Turvy” 1:52:19

10 days ago1:52:19

1:52:19

FAQ NYC teamed up with Max Politics for a live podcast event on Thursday, with special guest Kathryn Garcia reflecting on her 2021 mayoral race where she came just 7,000 votes short of upsetting Eric Adams , what's different this time around and the difference between politics and policy: "I hope that despite what's happening at the Federal level, people still will choose public service because it actually does matter to people in their day to day lives. Being a politician is not the same as being a bureaucrat, and I am very proudly a bureaucrat, but folks should try both and. In New York City, where you have these opportunities, you shouldn't be afraid to give it a shot. I'm very happy that I did It. It was an incredible experience, somewhat like building a startup, and I would encourage people who might not think that they have it in them to join government as a bureaucrat or actually run for office to do it — and though I did not choose to do it a second time, I've heard that you get better." Then hosts Ben Max, Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel dig into the homestretch of this year's primary race, while hearing thoughts and answering questions from an audience of engaged and insightful New Yorkers.…

1
Episode 420: ‘How Do I Get a Squirrel?’ 39:29

14 days ago39:29

39:29

“It's hard to be a human in New York but it's downright dangerous to be a baby squirrel,” says Kyra Tippens-Richan, who spends her work days performing autopsies on animals and her off-hours caring for squirrels. She shares her story, and then Ben Max stops by to run down the competitive races down-ballot ahead of the FAQ NYC-Max Politics live podcast coming Thursday that's all about the mayoral contest along with special guest Kathryn Garcia.…

1
Episode 419: Cuomo's Still Coasting 32:03

22 days ago32:03

32:03

Time's running awfully short for Zohran Mamdani to turn momentum into position, Adrienne Adams to ignite or anyone else to catch up with Andrew Cuomo, who's happy to stay out of the fray, keep unscripted interactions with voters let along other candidates to a minimum and other otherwise trust, like Eric Adams did four years ago, that even Democratic primary voters are more conservative than most of the party's candidates. Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss all that and much more, including Albany's arrogance, The Wizard of Oz and The Wiz, and how the hipster burnt his tongue.…

1
Episode 418: Are the Moderates Riding 'The Silent Wave’? 30:48

29 days ago30:48

30:48

While New York City mayor went to DC to kiss the ring, Newark’s mayor got himself arrested trying to visit a newly opened ICE lock-up in his city. Meantime, Andrew Cuomo was docked $600,000 by the Campaign Finance Board on Monday for illegally coordinating with his own super PAC — but still seems to be on track for a victory in the Democratic primary that often decides the city's mayor unless something changes in the race's closing days. Hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss all that and much more, including Albany's latest quarter-trillion-dollar big ugly and another occupation attempt at Columbia the day before the NYPD came down hard on less radical protesters the next day on Brooklyn College students.…

1
Episode 417: Mamdani Momentum Hits Cuomo Cliff 49:24

5 weeks ago49:24

49:24

Mamdani momentum is monumental, but Cuomo remains a steep cliff to climb with time running short. Co-hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss that and much more, including Kathy Hochul’s premature “budget deal” proclamation, Eric Adams’ “best budget ever” proposal, and Donald Trump’s brutal federal spending plan that neither New York leader seems to be taking into account. Plus, Maya Kaufman of Politico New York breaks down the landslide loss for longtime 1199 boss George Gresham in that union’s election, and what that could mean for New York politics and the future of organized labor.…

1
Episode 416: A Different Path to Public Safety 46:49

6 weeks ago46:49

46:49

With not even 60 days to the Democratic primary, the field is running out of time to catch up with Andrew Cuomo while the governor — as the mayoral candidate’s team still refers to him —tries to run out the clock while keeping the public and the press at arm’s length. Co-hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel discuss all that and much more, plus Harry talks with Dana Rachlin of We Build the Block and the Brownsville Safety Alliance about a very different approach to public safety — one that centers community instead of the criminal justice system and why she’s she’s still optimistic about that difficult, daily work.…

1
Episode 415: Is Randy Running the Show While Eric Runs for Reelection? 26:32

7 weeks ago26:32

26:32

While Eric Adams, no longer facing the prospect of a prison sentence, is rocking too-tight tees and trying to find the right tone to convince New Yorkers to give him a second term, new First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro is taking a very public, aggressive approach. FAQ NYC co-hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss that and much more, including the Trump administration bearing down on New York, Katie’s experience covering Pope Francis’s visit to the city a decade ago, and much more.…

1
Episode 414: Does Cuomo Want a Wedding or a Marriage? 29:42

8 weeks ago29:42

29:42

As the former governor racks up more big endorsements for his mayoral run while putting out reportedly AI-assisted policy plans and mostly avoiding the press, co-host Christina Greer asks if the frontrunner in the polls wants a marriage with New York City or just a wedding. It remains to be seen, though, how his lead holds up as the election heats up and the “dwarves” — as one Cuomo aide has described them — running against him combine their matching funds to try and convince Democrats not to rank him at all in June’s primary. Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss that, Katie’s Inner Circle performance, Hizzoner sporting an “In God We Trust” t-shirt as he tries to reset his struggling reelection campaign, and much more.…

1
Episode 413: Brad Lander Says NYC Can Do Better Than ‘A Bully Who’s Also a Chicken’ 58:54

8 weeks ago58:54

58:54

“I'm running to bring a safer, more affordable and better run city,” says city Comptroller Brad Lander, offering himself as the candidate with both a vision and “a track record of making government work for people.” In the latest installment of the pod’s series of sitdown interviews with the Democratic mayoral contenders, Lander talked about how he’d accomplish his “number one commitment I am making in this campaign to end street homelessness for people with serious mental illness,” his ambitious plan to get 500,000 new homes built in the next 10 years including “the next generation of Mitchell-Llama” for working class New Yorkers, and much more.…

1
Episode 412: Adrienne Adams Says ‘I’m the Change the City Needs’ 48:10

9 weeks ago48:10

48:10

“We are so tired of the trauma, we are so tired of the drama, we are tired of the scandal,” said City Council Speaker and mayoral candidate Adrienne Adams. “When I saw four deputy mayors resign at the same time and it appeared to be because our mayor decided to cozy up to the chaotic Donald Trump — I saw the brains walk out of the computer and I saw the crumbling of the infrastructure of New York City and I could not sit back and do nothing about it.” Speaker Adams also discussed why she’s “more optimistic than last year this time” negotiating a budget with Mayor Eric Adams (no relation) while running against him, the difference between growing up in Hollis, Queens compared to Andrew Cuomo’s upbringing in affluent Holliswood, Queens, her plan to provide a guaranteed minimum income to more than 21,000 homeless children and young adults, and much more with hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel.…

1
Episode 411: A High-Stakes Casino Contest 37:11

10 weeks ago37:11

37:11

What's the difference between a parking lot, a park and a casino? Just a few words scribbled on some paper if Mets owner Steve Cohen gets his way, and it looks like he might now with a well compensated assist from State Senator John Liu that's also a kick in the shins of his legislative colleague and mayoral candidate Jessica Ramos. Co-host Katie Honan explains it all, and then Christina Greer and Harry Siegel go deep on the mayor's race, political science and why no one should be allowed to review a book if they haven't written one.…

1
Episode 410: Andrew Cuomo Muscles Into Adrienne Adams’ Turf 34:10

11 weeks ago34:10

34:10

After eight Black elected officials from Southeast Queens put out a joint statement saying they were endorsing Andrew Cuomo for mayor, three of them said that, actually, they’re not doing that (and, in one case, won’t be ranking Cuomo at all). Guest Jeff Coltin of Politico New York, who broke that story over the weekend, talks with hosts Christina Greer and Katie Honan about how the powerful and controversial ex-governor is making things weird for elected officials and voters alike — and why the Democratic ranked choice primary might present particular challenges for him amid a wave of "Cuomo killed grandma" attacks from his campaign rivals.…

1
Episode 409: A Plan to Make Subways Feel Safe Again 46:40

12 weeks ago46:40

46:40

Vital City founder Liz Glazer talks about her group's ambitious new memo on What To Do (and Not To Do) About Subway Safety — and why the answer isn't gun detection technology, surging officers into the system or more fare-evasion enforcement. Plus, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel gab about the mayoral fund-raising numbers and the state of the race — including Adrienne Adams not yet qualifying for matching funds, Eric Adams' invisible campaign and tired St. Patrick's Day "joke,", and what's wrong with Andrew Cuomo's effort to run an Albany-style campaign in New York City.…

FAQ NYC

1
Episode 408: Jessica Ramos Says NYC Can Do Better Than Another ‘Megalomaniac Mayor’ 1:02:48

12 weeks ago1:02:48

1:02:48

Ramos also delved into her position as “a labor Democrat… in a lane of my own,” her “plan to call for a mental health emergency on day one of my mayoralty,” the city’s “new Gilded Age” and the battle for a casino license here (“Andrew Carnegie, who wasn’t as rich as Steve Cohen is today, by the way he built 2,500 public libraries”), and much more In the latest episode of the pod’s series of sitdown interviews with the Democratic mayoral candidates.…

FAQ NYC

1
Episode 407: ‘The Great Wound’ of a Self-Exiled Brooklyn Basketball Legend 50:29

13 weeks ago50:29

50:29

In 1951, Frankie King of James Madison High was a Brooklyn legend, the youngest basketball player ever to make first-team all city before he withdrew from public life while remaining in and of the city — writing pornography for the mob to pay the rent, ambitious novels in his own voice and then a million-book-selling “cozy cat” series under the pen name Alice Nestleton. Writer Jay Neugeboren and his son, illustrator Eli Neugeboren, join LIT NYC host Harry Siegel to talk about their graphic novel, the graphic novel “Whatever Happened to Frankie King.,” how his family story connects with their own and much more in the latest episode of LIT NYC.…

FAQ NYC

1
Episode 406: Running Hard or Hardly Running? 31:28

13 weeks ago31:28

31:28

While Andrew Cuomo tops the early polls, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams is officially running for mayor and Mayor Eric Adams seems to be going through the motions. As New Yorkers try to make sense of the dizzying election shaping up here amid an unprecedented second Trump presidency that seems to be taking direct aim at the city and in its institutions, hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss all that and much more, including the “pro-Queens energy” that Katie saw at Speaker Adams’ “energetic and positive launch” this weekend and the conspicuous absence of endorsements for Mayor Adams.…

FAQ NYC

1
Episode 405: 'Inshallah Mayor’ Zohran Mamdani Says It's All About Making NYC More Affordable 35:21

14 weeks ago35:21

35:21

"Democrats in general tend to show up to gun fights with bar graphs," Queens Assemblymember and mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani said as he sat down with the FAQ NYC crewto make his case. That boils down, he explained, to driving down the cost of living for New Yorkers and "less lecturing, more listening." In a wide-ranging interview — the latest in the pod’s series with the Democratic candidates — the Democratic Socialist with surging support discussed why "absolutely there's space to have my campaign staff unionized," why he's aiming his fire at the "disgraced former governor and the disgraced current mayor" in the race, how hawking mix CDs helped prepare him for politics, and much more.…

FAQ NYC

1
Episode 404: ‘Sometimes People Just Get Beaten to Death’ 46:28

14 weeks ago46:28

46:28

There’s a direct line from the Transit Police beating Michael Stewart to death in front of horrified art students to Eric Adams being elected mayor — one that intersects with Madonna, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Spike Lee and Tucker Carlson. Journalist Elon Green, the author of The Man Nobody Killed: Life, Death, and Art in Michael Stewart's New York, the first book-length account of a crime that captivated the city and that no one was held responsible for as Mayor Ed Koch flatly called police brutality “a phony issue” rejoins the podcast to discusses all that, and much more, with Rachel Holiday Smith and Harry Siegel.…

FAQ NYC

1
Episode 403: Cometh the Hour, Cuomo the Man? 54:41

14 weeks ago54:41

54:41

Sally Goldernberg, senior New York editor for Politico, talks with hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel about Andrew Cuomo (finally) entering the mayor's race this weekend with a sometimes grim, nearly 18-minute video announcement about how only he can save a city in crisis, followed by a closed-off and carefully choreographed campaign event. They dig into why running in the city, which the former governor hadn't lived in for decades, presents different challenges than running statewide — starting with a ranked-choice primary that could boil the election down to Everyone Else vs. Andrew as he runs for the first time in a place where voters expect to see their candidates not only on their screens but in their neighborhoods, and much more.…

FAQ NYC

1
Episode 402: Whitney Tilson Says NYC ‘Needs To Make Crime Illegal Again’ 49:28

15 weeks ago49:28

49:28

Looking at the "different flavors of career politicians" running in the Democratic mayoral primary, "I didn't see anyone who could be independent of the machine that runs this city," said former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson. So he entered the race himself "to try and bring my party back to the center." In a wide-ranging sit-down interview with FAQ NYC hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel — the latest in the pod’s series of interviews with the candidates — Tilson explained why "it needs to be against the law for anyone to sleep in our public spaces," laid out his plans for a more efficient and accountable government, and argued that "our school system has a structural, systemic problem."…

FAQ NYC

1
Episode 401: Two Adamses, Two Tis(c)hes and Much Too Much Tumult 31:19

15 weeks ago31:19

31:19

It felt like a year's worth of news happened in the week two weeks since the FAQ NYC hosts last convened, with another few years worth about to drop. They dig into the confusion and concern at City Hall and through the government, the increasingly angry mayor, the still far-from-settled field in the mayoral race, and much more…

FAQ NYC

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Episode 400: Michael Blake Has ‘A Very Different Vision of What Can Be for NYC’ 54:54

16 weeks ago54:54

54:54

"You simply can't trust Eric Adams nor those that are closest to him," former assemblymember and Mayoral candidate Michael Blake said as he sat down with FAQ NYC hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel on Tuesday. "And when you have four deputy mayors who have quit on him after Eric Adams quit on New Yorkers on MLK Day, it's a clear indication that it's time for us to quit on him and move on. And so where do we go from here? I'm laying out a very different vision of what can be for New York City." In a wide-ranging interview — part of a series with each of the mayoral candidates — Blake dug into his idea of a guaranteed livable income, his plans to significantly increase public-school spending and slash the NYPD's overtime bill, his case for why he's the right candidate to meet this moment in New York City, and much more.…

FAQ NYC

1
Episode 399: Time-Tunneling Into a Different Brooklyn with Jonathan Lethem 54:02

16 weeks ago54:02

54:02

The author joins Harry Siegel and guest host Brian Berger of Straus News for a deep dive into his latest book, the excellent and almost undefinable Brooklyn Crime Novel. Lethem digs into his reasons on re-reexamining the Brooklyn he wrote about 20 years earlier in The Fortress of Solitude, but doing so this time with the tools of a journalist including long interviews conducted amid the dislocation and isolation of the COVID lockdown, and much more:…

FAQ NYC

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Episode 398: NYC Was in a Different Place on Monday Morning 40:33

17 weeks ago40:33

40:33

When Katie Honan called in to discuss the latest New York City news Monday morning with co-hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel, she did so while posted outside of the David Dinkins Municipal Building where Mayor Eric Adams had convened his top commissioners and officials. Katie hopped off the call mid-way through the episode to get back to reporting, and then broke then news that Hizzoner had told his team to trust him and refrain from criticizing Trump or interfering with ICE. Hours later, the memo dropped with Trump’s Justice Department suspending the mayor’s criminal trial on corruption charges that had been scheduled to begin in May. Here’s an instant-vintage glimpse back at what the state of the city seemed like on Monday morning.…

FAQ NYC

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Episode 397: Zellnor Myrie Says ‘We Cannot Cower in This Moment’ 49:49

18 weeks ago49:49

49:49

“I've always represented a community that knew we could hold two things together at the same time: that we want to hold officers accountable when they step over the line but also that we need them as part of our public safety ecosystem,” state Senator and mayoral candidate Zellnor Myrie said in a wide-ranging interview. “I've never been a defund-the-police Democrat, because my community has never been a defund-the-police community. We have always asked for police officers, but my mom doesn't want her son getting pepper sprayed. She wants to feel safe, and that is what this plan is about.”…

FAQ NYC

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Episode 396: The Mayor Who Cried Wolf? 36:12

19 weeks ago36:12

36:12

When Deputy Mayor for Communications Fabien Levy put out the news Sunday night that Mayor Eric Adams wasn't feeling well and was clearing his public schedule, it came just a week after City Hall's late-night news that he'd cancelled his Martin Luther King Jr. Days plans and was driving to D.C. to attend Donald Trump's inauguration. Sally Goldenberg, the senior New York Editor at Politico, joins hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel to talk about the embattled mayor's surprising news and much more, including why Andrew Cuomo remains the non-candidate to beat, why socialist Zohran Mamdani's early surge isn't likely to continue without significant pushback, and much more from another jam-packed week in New York City.…

FAQ NYC

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Episode 395: Scott Stringer Says ‘The Greatest City in the World Is Broken Now’ 51:50

20 weeks ago51:50

51:50

“I think this election is about who can put the city back together, and I don't think people are going to buy the woe-is-me Eric Adams story,” Stringer said in a sitdown interview. “Maybe Trump will buy it, but I don't think voters are going to buy it.” In a wide-ranging conversation —the first in a series with all of the declared candidates — the former comptroller who lost to Adams in the 2021 primary explained what he’s been doing since then as “a New Yorker without portfolio,” laid out his view of a city in crisis (“we have a crime issue, and it’s real”), and pitched himself as the right person to connect with voters and to turn things around…

FAQ NYC

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Episode 394: Adams is Sinking and Cuomo Is Looming 27:49

21 weeks ago27:49