City Journal Audio | "A Fatal Ride: Violence on Public Transit"

Episode Date: September 9, 2025
Host: Manhattan Institute
Guests: Charles Fain Lehman (Senior Editor, City Journal), Raina Mukherjee (MI Fellow)
Main Theme: Investigating the causes, political failures, and policy implications behind recent violence on American public transit, set against the backdrop of a high-profile murder in Charlotte, NC.

Episode Overview

This episode scrutinizes the escalating concerns over violence and disorder on public transit systems across major American cities. Starting with the recent fatal stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Irina Zyrutska on Charlotte's light rail, the conversation explores systemic failures in policing, mental health, and city governance. The panel lays bare the connections between high-visibility transit crimes, dwindling ridership, and the social contract at the heart of urban life, with a critical eye toward the policies and ideologies that permit such breakdowns.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Charlotte Rail Stabbing and Public Reaction (00:38–02:34)

• Story Recap:
  Guest Charles Lehman recounts the August 22nd Charlotte transit murder, emphasizing the background of the perpetrator (a known, mentally ill ex-con with 14 prior arrests), the tragic circumstances of the victim (a Ukrainian refugee who escaped war for safety), and the larger significance for public perception of transit safety.
• Quote:
  “There's something sort of shocking and sad about fleeing a war-torn country for safety in the United States only to be brutally murdered on a train.” — Charles Lehman (01:21)
• Public Anxiety:
  The shock stems from both the randomness and the perceived vulnerability in transit, echoing fears stoked by similar violent incidents caught on video (referenced: Daniel Penny case in NYC).

2. Transit Ridership and the Feedback Loop of Disorder (02:34–05:31)

• Contextual Data:
  Lehman discusses transit ridership’s sustained post-pandemic decline—still roughly 20% below pre-2020 nationwide—as partially linked to heightened disorder and fear of crime.
• Feedback Loop:
  “The less people use them, the more they are subject to the whims of the antisocial, and the more they're subject to the whims of the antisocial, the less people will use them. A vicious feedback loop.” — Charles Lehman (04:07)
• Civic Consequence:
  This erosion of “shared public space” undermines the democratic function of transit as a public service.

3. Policy Failures: Policing, Low-Level Crime, and Enforcement (05:31–07:22)

• Lax Enforcement:
  The Charlotte suspect’s easy rerun to the system (ticketless, at-large despite warrants) highlights the collapse of basic enforcement.
• Importance of Policing Minor Offenses:
  “When you deal with the little stuff, it doesn't turn into big stuff. And we learned this, we learned this in the 90s... We have lots of evidence that it's true, and we just keep forgetting it.” — Charles Lehman (06:57)
• Broken Windows Principle:
  Enforcing fare-evasion, minor disorder, etc., is positioned not as “harshness” but as necessary for preventing major crimes and restoring social norms on transit.

4. Suburbanization and Urban Flight (07:22–08:49)

• Impact on Urban Life:
  While cities offer economic/social capital, the perceived unpredictability and danger of transit are pushing residents to suburbs, at a cost to urban vibrancy and opportunity.
• Quote:
  “It's at this margins of public versus private life where people will choose the suburb, their cars, checking out publicly available spaces if they don't trust that those spaces are safe.” — Charles Lehman (08:34)

5. The "Abundance Movement," Urban Policy, and Public Safety (08:49–11:26)

• Ideological Crossroads:
  The "abundance left" calls for density and public services. Lehman and Mukherjee argue this vision is incompatible with policies that neglect basic safety:
  • “You have to choose... You can't have urban density, abundance, transit policy and also choose policies that allow knife-wielding maniacs to run around on your transit system.” — Keri Sharapoulos (08:38)
  • “If you want abundance... then you also need an abundance of safety, you need an abundance of order.” — Charles Lehman (10:39)
• Institutional Investment:
  Expanding public services must include robust support for police, mental health, and even prisons where warranted.

6. Social Contract Breakdown (11:26–13:26)

• De-legitimization of Law:
  Mukherjee points to progressive city governments undermining the social contract via decriminalizing or deprioritizing enforcement—often under the rhetoric of root-cause solutions.
• Case-in-Point:
  D.C. legislation redefining “juvenile” status, limiting effective crime control, and similar changes nationwide.

7. The "Root Causes" Debate & Institutional Capacity (13:26–18:50)

• Limits of Root Cause Rhetoric:
  The panel challenges leaders' repeated claim “We will never arrest our way out of homelessness and mental health,” making the case that enforcement is necessary for immediate public safety—even if it doesn’t solve upstream causes.
  • “You can’t arrest your way out of poverty... but you don’t need to, in order to deal with the social externalities of serious mental illness or propensity to violence.” — Charles Lehman (14:31)
• Mental Health System Failures:
  Lehman details the IMD (Institutions for Mental Disease) exclusion in Medicaid, which prevents states from building the mental health infrastructure needed to treat or involuntarily commit the seriously ill (17:08–18:50).
  • “Today it is very hard to be put into an institution unless you literally kill somebody. It's harder to get into an institution in the state of New York...than it is to get into Harvard.” — Charles Lehman (18:25)

8. Media Coverage, Viral Videos, and the Policy Conversation (18:50–21:33)

• Information Gaps:
  The Charlotte murder received no national press until security footage went viral on X (formerly Twitter), prompting broader discussion.
• Ethical Tensions:
  Mukherjee recognizes the trauma to victims’ families but argues viral videos expose underreported realities and can catalyze necessary reform.
  • “If mainstream media outlets are not...even describing these incidents, then...X in and of itself is a major public resource in that regard.” — Raina Mukherjee (21:20)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the core dilemma of urban transit policy:
  “You can't have both. ...You can't have urban density, abundance, transit policy and also choose policies that allow knife-wielding maniacs to run around on your transit system.” — Keri Sharapoulos (08:38)
• On enforcement and the social contract:
  “You need sort of an enforcement of the social contract. And that hasn't been happening in Charlotte, New York City, D.C., et cetera.” — Raina Mukherjee (13:20)
• On the failure of mental health infrastructure:
  “It’s harder to get into an institution in the state of New York... than it is to get into Harvard.” — Charles Lehman (18:25)
• On the role of viral media:
  “[There’s] a knowledge gap between what I learn and see and watch on X and just, you know, close friends and family members and what they're able to see...If mainstream media outlets are not...even describing these incidents, then...X in and of itself is a major public resource in that regard.” — Raina Mukherjee (21:20)

Important Timestamps

• 00:38: Introduction of the Charlotte stabbing story, public reaction
• 01:12: Charles Lehman contextualizes the crime, draws links to larger trends
• 03:08: What makes transit violence so universally disturbing and newsworthy
• 05:31: Discussion of enforcement failures and policy responsibility
• 07:22: How safety concerns contribute to suburbanization/urban decline
• 08:49: The abundance movement: density vs. safety contradictions
• 11:39: The social contract’s erosion in progressive cities
• 13:26: The insufficiency of “root cause” frameworks and need for practical enforcement
• 16:38: The IMD Exclusion and the capacity crisis in mental health care
• 18:50: Media silence, social media virality, and why these videos matter

Conclusion

This episode delivers an unflinching assessment of the failures that allow violence to persist on public transit, spotlighting the interplay of criminal justice, mental health policy, media coverage, and civic trust. The panel’s clear message: reclaiming urban abundance and density requires a parallel investment in order, effective law enforcement, and public accountability. The tragic Charlotte stabbing is cast not as an isolated aberration but as a warning signal of political avoidance and system breakdowns that, without correction, threaten the fabric of city life.

Listeners interested in more on these topics are encouraged to seek out City Journal’s writing on transit safety, urban governance, and criminal justice reform.