City Journal Audio – "City Journal Podcast Highlights"

Date: December 23, 2025 | Host: Manhattan Institute

Episode Overview

This episode serves as a lively best-of roundup, featuring highlights from recent City Journal podcasts. The panel discusses a range of contemporary cultural and political controversies—including the backlash to a Sydney Sweeney/American Eagle ad campaign, shifting metrics of success among Gen Z, the impact (or lack thereof) of celebrity influencers like Taylor Swift, voter dynamics in recent U.S. elections, gendered political realignments, the challenge of urban crime and mental health policy, and the rise of democratic socialism as seen in New York City politics.

The tone is sharp, humorous, and irreverent, with the commentators drawing on both data and personal anecdotes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Sydney Sweeney / American Eagle Ad Backlash ([00:08]–[02:41])

Topic:

Sydney Sweeney’s appearance in an American Eagle “Canadian tuxedo” ad campaign sparked an unexpected social media backlash in 2025, including accusations of “white supremacist dog whistles” and eugenicism, due to puns on “jeans/genes.”

Insights:

• Online Reaction:
  Social media critics claimed the campaign reinforced problematic standards; Ted Cruz jokingly remarked that “Democrats or the radical left are now coming out against hot women.”

  • Memorable quote, A:

    “There’s a series of puns about jeans, G-E-N-E-S and jeans. And this serve a surprisingly 2025 backlash… reinforcing Ted Cruz… had an apt one liner about this. Democrats or the radical left are now coming out against hot women.” (A, [00:08])

• Panel Reactions:
  The group largely laughs off the outrage, highlighting the brand’s refusal to apologize—contrasting with typical corporate reactions in 2020.

  • Notable: American Eagle’s stock price soared, and internal polls showed 70% of customers liked the ad.

• Comment on Corporate Trends:
  Brands are less likely in 2025 to capitulate to “woke” backlash than in previous years, reflecting a shift in both public sentiment and marketing strategy.

  • Quote, B:

    “In 2020, I would have expected American Eagle to issue, you know, a groveling apology … but that doesn’t seem to be the case. They’re sort of, you know, standing their ground.” ([02:47])

2. Gen Z and Changing Definitions of Success ([02:47]–[07:44])

Topic:

Polls reveal diverging views among Gen Z on what constitutes personal success, with notable gender and political splits.

• Gen Z Trump-voting men prioritize "having children" (34%).
• Kamala Harris-voting women cite "a fulfilling job/career" (51%).
• Trump-voting women surprisingly rank "financial independence" (40%) as their top metric of success.

Insights:

• Interpretation of “Success”:
  Panelists suggest “success” as a word is often conflated with professional achievement, not broader life goals—possibly skewing the poll responses.

• Gender Dynamics:
  Men may perceive starting a family as a greater challenge than women, due to societal expectations of courtship and proposal; for women, career independence is seen as a higher hurdle.

  • Quote, A:

    “If you’re a man and you want kids, you need to have a woman to find. And if you’re a woman and you want financial independence... you gotta find a man who’s earning money. Men and women need each other and maybe... we lost that wisdom along the way.” ([06:13])

• Consensus:
  Despite political leanings, “girl boss” values (career, financial independence) remain prominent for Gen Z women, revealing cultural continuities across the spectrum.

3. Celebrity Influence—Taylor Swift’s Engagement ([07:45]–[11:38])

Topic:

Will Taylor Swift’s high-profile engagement produce a “marriage and baby boom” among fans?

Panel Consensus:

• Skepticism:
  The panel roundly rejects the notion that Swift's personal life will materially shift cultural behaviors towards marriage or childbearing.

  • Quote, C (Ralph):

    “If you are looking to people like Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift for cues about how to live your life, let me suggest to you that you have a problem. There are likely much better standards against which you can measure yourself in your immediate life…” ([08:21])

  • Quote, A:

    “If anything... it could actually like set a standard that, you know, she got engaged at 35. Like, maybe for them it’s like, oh, then I can wait. Like Taylor Swift.” ([09:50])

• Celebrity as Role Models:
  The culture of idolizing celebrities as models for major life decisions is critiqued. The hosts stress looking to family and community, not the famous.

4. Voter Shifts and Urban Political Realignment ([11:38]–[14:15])

Topic:

Shifts in Hispanic and Asian American voting—particularly in New York—towards the right are remarked upon, amidst dissatisfaction with Democratic leadership around crime, affirmative action, and so-called “toxic compassion.”

Insights:

• Asian & Hispanic Shift:
  Notably, some Asian voting groups in NYC shifted “by 30 points to the right” due to crime and education concerns.

• Panelist Experiences:
  Ex-Democrats describe a sense of being “mugged by the reality of 2020, particularly on the crime issue.”

  • Quote, C:

    “I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with former New York Democrats… who were just completely mugged by the reality of 2020, particularly on the crime issue.” ([13:34])

• Demographics and Gender:
  Gen Z voters are more conservative overall, but especially men; a “political gender gap” is highlighted as widening within younger generations.

5. Gender Divide in Politics and Urban Alienation ([14:06]–[18:31])

Topic:

An expanding gender gap in political attitudes and behaviors: Gen Z men are described as more conservative, estranged by the “rules-obsessed, therapeutic” ethos of the modern left, while Gen Z women remain more aligned with Democratic ideals.

Panel Insights:

• Cultural Friction:
  Democratic spaces are increasingly described as “run by women”, alienating argumentative (often male) personalities.

  • Quote, A:

    “A lot of young men aren’t necessarily turned off by policies associated with the Democratic Party so much as, like, an overall vibe. The left feels very anxious, rules obsessed, overly therapeutic.” ([14:52])

• Class & Crime Perceptions:
  The panel argues that well-off liberals often espouse “luxury beliefs” (e.g. defunding police) while insulating themselves from urban disorder—contrasted with those who lack that privilege.

• Personal Anecdotes:
  Real-life stories of disorder on public transit underscore how far policy and lived experience can diverge.

6. Mental Health Policy Nuance ([18:31]–[19:41])

Topic:

America’s mental health system is critiqued for its inability to distinguish between serious mental illness, addiction, and everyday stress.

• Key Point:
  One-size-fits-all policy approaches are inadequate; “process really matters.”

7. The Rise of Socialism in New York City and the DSA ([19:41]–[31:57])

Topic:

Panelists analyze Assemblyman Zoran Mamdani’s victory in the NYC mayoral Democratic primary, the influence of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), and the evolving meaning and power of “socialism” in American politics.

Insights:

A. The Mamdani Upset ([19:41]–[24:30])

• Reasons for Victory:
  Mamdani’s campaign was well-organized and took advantage of early/mail-in voting; the opposition, especially Andrew Cuomo, was lackluster.

  • Quote, A:

    “If you want to win a campaign… launch and run a competent campaign… He had a very simple message; all his opponents had very muddled, confused, and sometimes self-contradictory messages.” ([20:23])

• Not a Socialist Wave:
  Cautions against reading the win as a citywide socialist mandate, given low voter turnout.

• NYC as a Political Outlier:
  NYC is a magnet for people “too left wing” for the rest of America, resulting in a unique political ecosystem.

B. DSA’s Growing Influence ([28:18]–[31:57])

• From Fringe to Mainstream:
  Since the “Bernie revolution” (2016), the DSA’s base has become dramatically younger and more energized, attracting people from protest movements and those pursuing electoral power.

• Internal Debates:
  The DSA houses both those focused on electoral politics and an “organizing” wing focused on direct action and protest; the electoral wing is currently ascendant, evidenced by recent local wins.

• Outlook:
  While far from taking over the Democratic Party, the panel believes DSA policies are increasingly being incorporated into the party platform:

  • Quote, A:

    “They are very cognizant of the fact that you need internal power within the system and external… How do you deal with… governing the capitalist state? …There’s gonna be a lot of finger pointing.” ([31:57])

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On celebrity culture:
  “If you are looking to people like Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift for cues about how to live your life, let me suggest to you that you have a problem.” (C, [08:21])

• On corporate wokeness in 2025:
  “In 2020, I would have expected American Eagle to issue… a groveling apology… but that doesn’t seem to be the case.” (B, [02:47])

• On NYC politics:
  “One way to understand the New York City electorate is that literally the people who were too left wing for the politics of Colorado or Ohio or Iowa actually collect in New York City.” (A, [24:30])

• On DSA transformation:
  “An important thing to go back to is back to the Bernie revolution... The age lowers... you have this youth wing now, and the DSA is internally a little bit divided…” (A, [29:18])

Important Segment Timestamps

• Sydney Sweeney Ad Backlash: [00:08]–[02:41]
• Gen Z and Success: [02:47]–[07:44]
• Taylor Swift and Demographic Trends: [07:45]–[11:38]
• Urban Voter Shifts: [11:38]–[14:15]
• Gender Divide in Modern Politics: [14:06]–[18:31]
• Urban Crime & Mental Health: [18:31]–[19:41]
• NYC Mayoral Primary, DSA, and Socialism: [19:41]–[31:57]

Conclusion

This highlight reel of City Journal’s 2025 conversations presents a sharp portrait of American urban and generational transformation. It tracks the decline of performative corporate wokeness, exposes rifts in political parties along both gender and ideological lines, dissects the mythology of celebrity influence, and explores socialism’s return to the mainstream. The panel’s irreverent banter and data-driven debates make for a richly engaging and intellectually stimulating listen.