Podcast
Firewall with Bradley Tusk
Hosted by Firewall · EN
Politics, technology and the pursuit of happiness. Twice a week, Bradley Tusk, New York-based political strategist and venture investor, covers the collision between new ideas and the real world. His operating thesis is that you can't understand tech today without understanding politics, too. Recorded at P&T Knitwear, his bookstore / podcast studio, 180 Orchard Street, New York City.
80episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Case for Grace
Yesterday00:46:24Summary readyWhat if the secret to happiness is as simple as learning to extend a little more grace? Bradley argues that every unnecessary judgment — of your own behavior, of other people's choices, of all the ways the world fails to meet your standards — creates small negative emotions that accumulate into a dark psychic cloud. Showing grace dispels that cloud. Plus, Bradley sketches out the highly unlikely but increasingly plausible sequence of events that topples the Trump administration and also explains how he fell in love with Stockholm on a recent trip abroad.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.
SummaryLIVE FROM P&T: The Astonishing Depolarizing Power of Dogs
6d ago00:17:48Summary readyIn this special taping in front of a live audience on the Lower East Side, Bradley hosts his niece Ellie Gottheimer, daughter of Rep. Josh Gottheimer, and Larra Mullin, daughter of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, to discuss their new children's book Shmoo & Ozzie Go to Washington, which imparts an important message about bipartisanship and democracy — through the story of two dogs. 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.
SummaryThe Riddle of Knowing What You Don't Know
1w ago00:43:35Summary readyFresh from celebrating his mother's 80th birthday in Paris, Bradley reflects on what makes the city so breathtakingly beautiful while also declaring it mightily overrated as a food city. Then he tackles one of the trickiest conundrums in business and life. Drawing lessons from business, politics and parenting, he argues that while not knowing what you don't know is obviously dangerous, knowing what you don't know and deferring to the wrong experts can often be just as costly.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.
SummaryMicah Wins!
2w ago00:32:59Summary readyBefore he decided to run for Congress, Micah Lasher was a proud member of the Matzoh Ballers political consultant text chain. For the duration of the campaign, he had to disconnect. But now he's back with the Ballers — and headed to Congress. He joins Bradley to discuss how he won what may well be the most expensive congressional primary in American history, with $50 million spent across all sides. They talk about why OpenAI's decision to pour money into defeating his opponent Alex Bores backfired spectacularly, how the sophisticated voters of CD-12 recoiled at the avalanche of outside spending and what he can get done as a freshman member of Congress with virtually no power. Micah's top three legislative priorities: housing, childcare and a first-job guarantee for young people as part of a national service program. Plus, he intends to support Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker, should Democrats take back the House. "If you think the Democrats in the House are going to follow the example of the Republicans and weaken the speaker such that moving together with unity becomes very hard," Micah says, "that's going to be to our great detriment."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.
SummaryAnxiety Defines Our Politics
2w ago00:41:46Summary readyWhy do voters keep rewarding candidates with no realistic plan for fixing anything? Bradley argues that the far left's triumph in last week's New York primaries wasn't really about Israel or AI or the 1% — it was about tapping into anxiety rather than offering workable solutions. Then he turns his attention to Zohran Mamdani, who is riding a wave of historic approval ratings as he hits the six-month mark of his mayoralty. Bradley sees his early tenure as "a tale of two mayors," one as a successful politician, the other as a failing leader. "If you confuse his governing with Instagram likes," Bradley says, "that's a serious misunderstanding of the job." He closes with his ten favorite books of the first half of 2026, including a Stanford scandal exposed by a student journalist and a comedic novel imagining Trump running for a third term against a wrestler-mystic.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.
Summary"A Tough Night for the Normies"
3w ago00:28:12Summary readyIsrael dominated the heart and minds of voters in New York this week. Chris Coffey, CEO of Tusk Strategies, joins Bradley to break down a "brutal" primary night for establishment Democrats. They dig into why calling the far left anti-semitic keeps backfiring as an electoral strategy, how long Mamdani's vibes-based popularity will survive contact with reality, and where the pattern of electing extreme candidates leads. If voters keep rewarding rhetoric over results, Bradley says bluntly, "this country's not going to survive."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.
SummaryThe Democrats Now Have All They Need
3w ago00:47:48Summary readyWhat's the putdown that Donald Trump loves to dish but can't take? Loser. Bradley lays out a two-prong strategy for Democrats, hitting the broader GOP on the Iran war as a self-inflicted disaster while attacking Trump mercilessly as the architect of one of America's most humiliating defeats in history. Plus, a breakdown of why Mayor Mamdani keeps choosing ideology over the real interests of New Yorkers, the secrets to saving time and what New York City neighborhood should be your next dining destination.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.
SummaryThe Improbability of Adam Ottavino
4w ago00:56:12Summary readyWhat does it take for the son of an actor from Park Slope to make it all the way to the major leagues? Adam Ottavino — who pitched for both the Mets and Yankees over a 15 year career — joins Bradley to talk about growing up in Brooklyn, the terror of retirement and why he thinks the sport is headed for a labor showdown that the players might not be ready for. Plus, a little about the Knicks, because what else are people talking about?Be sure to follow Adam on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@adamottavinozeroThis 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.
SummaryTogetherness
4w ago00:47:30Summary readyWhat is the best reason to be a sports fan? For Bradley, it's all about sharing the experience with friends and loved ones. That's what makes the Knicks' first NBA championship in more than 50 years so deeply satisfying. "If the one thing in life that matters most is having relationships with unconditional love and support," he says, "sports helps make that happen for so many of us." Plus, why the smartest move for the forgotten Nets is to pack up and head west, what made his first-ever soccer game — the World Cup match between Brazil and Morocco at the World Cup — genuinely memorable despite not quite understanding the rules, and a recommendation for Rasputin Swims the Potomac, Ben Fountain's rollicking political satire.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.
SummaryFear Is Not Going to Save Us From AI
Jun 1100:50:36Summary readyBut a concrete economic plan for extreme job losses just might. Daniel Schreiber, CEO of Lemonade and founder of the MOSAIC AI Policy Institute, joins Bradley to make a surprisingly hopeful case. The enormous wealth generated by AI can be captured and redistributed in a way that leaves almost everyone better off, he argues, without raising taxes, punishing innovation, or trusting politicians with a slush fund. "Poverty should end in the era of abundance," says Schreiber. "It should simply end."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.
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