Exclusive: Inside Zohran Mamdani's NYC Sports Equinox (feat. Adam Friedland)

Summary

Pablo Torre Finds Out: Inside Zohran Mamdani's NYC Sports Equinox

Podcast: Pablo Torre Finds Out (The Athletic)
Episode Air Date: June 2, 2026
Guests: NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Comedian Adam Friedland
Theme: How sports, politics, New York City, and optimism intersect during a rare, electric moment—Arsenal’s trophy chase and the Knicks’ NBA Finals return—under NYC’s first Democratic Socialist mayor.

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Episode Overview

This episode documents a day of extraordinary loyalty, joy, and unity in New York City. Host Pablo Torre visits Mayor Zohran Mamdani at Gracie Mansion during a uniquely vibrant moment for NYC sports: both the mayor’s beloved Arsenal and Knicks are on the brink of sporting glory. With Adam Friedland lending comic and philosophical flavor, the crew explores the power—and limits—of optimism and sports as social glue in the metropolis.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Life at Gracie Mansion: Mayor as Fan and Leader

Timestamps: 02:01–08:00

• Pablo and team arrive at Gracie Mansion, greeted by Mayor Mamdani (wearing his Arsenal kit under a suit jacket).
• The intersection of public duty and private fandom: Mamdani shares how being a true fan shapes his approach to governing.
• Personal routines for sanity and joy: [02:01–02:18] Pablo highlights the joy of “touching grass” in NYC, a rarity for locals.
• Early banter about hairlines, maintenance, and the stress of office: [05:53] “I’m on that Minoxidil.” – Zohran Mamdani

Anxiety and Hope: The Sports Equinox

Timestamps: 11:08–17:00

• The mood: hope, terror, anticipation before big matches (Champions League final; NBA Finals).
• Mamdani’s Arsenal fanaticism: football manager nerdom, connecting politics and sports simulation games.
• [13:05] Interviewer: “Did football manager prepare you for the job of being mayor of New York City?”
  Zoran Mamdani: “Yes. Football manager sims and rollercoaster tycoon was exactly the kind of training I needed.”
• The Cyclone roller coaster as a metaphor: being a fan in NYC is thrilling and dangerous, with states of both pride and peril.

Ground-Level Leadership & Civics as Lived Experience

Timestamps: 14:15–16:19

• Mamdani’s “outside” approach: regular city biking (2,440 CitiBike rides), daily walks—living among the people rather than behind tinted glass.
  • [14:38] Interviewer: “2,440 rides...3,124 miles...449 hours.”
    Mamdani: “Putting in work very slowly within the speed limit.”
• “You have to live like a New Yorker to understand what New Yorkers actually need to see from City Hall.” – Zohran Mamdani [14:52]

Sports as Urban Communion & Transformation

Timestamps: 15:04–19:59

• The Knicks in the Finals: New York morphs into a “small town,” with shared optimism.
• “It feels like the undercurrent emotion is that of joy and excitement.” – Mamdani [15:58]
• The city’s “pent up” energy and unity as underdogs: “You are as outside a mayor as I can remember in my lifetime.” – Interviewer [14:15]
• Eid fits and cultural fusion: Mamdani describes commissioning a custom Arsenal kurta, blending identities.

Sports, Surveillance, and Political Challenges

Timestamps: 19:59–22:22

• Broker peace at Madison Square Garden: Will the mayor reconcile Charles Oakley and James Dolan, given his stance on surveillance and inclusivity?
  • [20:33] Mamdani: “I will try because I think that this moment is for the whole city...make sure that every New Yorker can enjoy themselves...”
• Humorous proclamations: “June 2026 in the City of New York as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander No Flopping Month” and “Mikal Bridges Month.”
  • [21:13] Mamdani reads executive orders playfully issued by the show’s hosts and vows to “send them to legal.”
  • “Don’t flop in this city.” – Mamdani

Socialism, Arsenal, and Cynicism

Timestamps: 22:41–23:43

• The famous tweet: “Never thought I’d be more hopeful about socialism than Arsenal. And yet here we are.” – Mamdani, Nov 2020 ([22:46])
• Discusses the pain and hope of waiting for Arsenal’s glory; the parallel journeys of socialism and sporting heartbreak.

Closing moments with Adam Friedland: The Philosophy of Losing and Community

Timestamps: 29:51–35:43

• Adam Friedland offers sardonic, heartfelt soccer commentary, comparing Arsenal’s styles to socialism (Wenger) and pragmatism (Arteta/Stalin).
  • [31:00] “Arsenal has figured out how to be the best at set plays...We used to get pushed around by guys and then in this last iteration, we got a bunch of guys that are 6'4 and we figured out pragmatism.” – Friedland
• The ridiculous pain of penalty shootouts:
  • “It’s like playing rock, paper, scissors at the end of a...game. Arsenal are a reminder you’re gonna die one day. That’s what it is.” – Friedland [33:51]
• Friedland’s postgame speech to (fictional) Arsenal squad:
  • “We were a joke, boys. People loved to see us lose. No one can say shit to you guys now...You guys are so good at sports and I love you.”
• Final circle-back: Mamdani off to repeal “bedtime” so kids can watch the Knicks Finals; the city lives in hope.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [03:14] Mamdani’s victory speech: “We have held our breath for longer than we know...Now, we are breathing in the air of a city that has been reborn.”
• [13:05] On political training from gaming: “The combo of football manager sims and rollercoaster tycoon was exactly the kind of training I needed to go through.” – Mamdani
• [14:52] “You have to live like a New Yorker to understand what New Yorkers actually need to see from City Hall.” – Mamdani
• [15:58] “It feels like the undercurrent emotion is that of joy and excitement.” – Mamdani
• [21:13] “Now, therefore, I, Zahran Kwame Momdani, Mayor of the city of New York, do hereby proclaim June 2026 in the city of New York as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander No Flopping Month.” – Mamdani, reading mock-proclamation
• [22:46] “Never thought I’d be more hopeful about socialism than Arsenal. And yet here we are.” – Mamdani tweet (2020)
• [31:00] “Arsenal has figured out how to be the best at set plays…We used to get pushed around…and then in this last iteration, we got a bunch of guys that are 6'4 and we figured out pragmatism.” – Adam Friedland
• [33:51] “Arsenal are a reminder you’re gonna die one day.” – Adam Friedland

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Segment Timestamps (Highlights)

• 02:18: Arrival at Gracie Mansion; “the mansion” and the mood set.
• 03:06: Mamdani’s post-election context and background.
• 05:53: Personal, humorous aside about hairlines/stress and “minoxidil.”
• 11:08–12:30: Mamdani’s morning ritual and sports anticipation.
• 13:05: Connecting Mayor skills with Football Manager/Sim games.
• 14:38: CitiBike stats and “living outside” as a mayor.
• 15:47–16:19: Knicks as underdogs, small-town NYC magic, city unity.
• 19:59: Charles Oakley–James Dolan reconciliation, surveillance law.
• 21:13: Humorous mayoral proclamations about NBA Finals and Arsenal.
• 22:46: The socialism/Arsenal tweet.
• 23:31: “Congratulations to Tottenham…for staying in the league.”
• 28:38–29:18: Mamdani’s mock-executive order repealing kids’ bedtimes for Knicks Finals.
• 31:00–34:13: Friedland’s set-piece philosophy and “Arsenal as a metaphor for mortality.”
• 33:51: Friedland’s “We’re all gonna die one day” speech.

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Tone & Style

• Wry, knowledgeable, and self-aware—never shying from poking fun at the earnestness of both politics and fandom.
• Deep New York City authenticity, focusing on lived experience and the psyche of the city.
• Layered with pop culture, self-deprecating humor, and sincere belief in the importance of communal moments.

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Closing Reflection

The episode captures a rare civic and sports moment in NYC: a city exhaling after decades of frustration, briefly buoyed by hope, togetherness, and the idea that, for once, “joy” might not be fleeting. Underpinning the jubilance is the knowledge—shared openly by all guests—that sports, like politics and life, is often heartbreak punctuated by community and renewal. This joyful tension, and the attempt to govern with both realism and spirit, makes this one of the PTFO’s most engaging talkumentaries to date.

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Transcript

[Pablo Torre]

Welcome to Pablo Torre Finds Out I am Pablo Torre. And today we're gonna find out what this sound is.

[Zoran Mamdani]

I gotta call James Dolan. I'll be like, hey, we gotta broker this piece. By the way, nice to meet you.

[Pablo Torre]

Right after this ad.

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[Zoran Mamdani]

All?

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[Workday/JBL Ad Voice]

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[Pablo Torre]

So one thing to remember about Pablo Torre finds out is that we are unapologetically based in my hometown of New York City. Which also means that I did not have a yard growing up and that I love getting out of our studio to touch grass. Is this.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Is this the mansion?

[Adam Friedland]

Yes, it is.

[Pablo Torre]

But while previous adventures have taken us bird watching in Central park, not to mention our journey to Death Row in Texas, this was different.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Seeing the mayor.

[Pablo Torre]

This here is me walking towards the highly secure backyard of a 227-year-old house on 88th street in Manhattan with yellowish clapboard located right by the east river called Gracie Mansion, where the current resident just happens to be living a sports year while running a sports town. That justified a rare sensation these days, optimism.

[Adam Friedland]

CNN projects that Democratic socialist Zoran Mamdani,

[Interviewer/Co-host]

the Democratic candidate, will be elected the next mayor of New York, New York.

[Zoran Mamdani]

We have held our breath for longer than we know. We have held it in anticipation of defeat. Held it because the air has been knocked out of our lungs too many times to count. Held it because we cannot afford to exhale. Thanks to all of those who sacrificed so much, we are breathing in the air of a city that has been reborn.

[Pablo Torre]

Zoran Mamdani joined PTFO back before he won the election to become the new mayor of New York City last fall at age 34. Which was before his favorite soccer club, Arsenal, lifted their first Premier League trophy in more than two decades just last week. And before his favorite basketball team, the New York Knicks, made the NBA Finals for the first time in almost three, three decades. The day after that, it's over.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Believe it, Nick fans, for the first time in 27 years, the new York Knicks are going to the NBA Finals. The dream season continues.

[Pablo Torre]

But now it was a brisk Saturday in Manhattan. A bit of a sports equinox for the Gooner, as Arsenal supporters are known living at Gracie Mansion. Game 7 between the Thunder and the Spurs. The Knicks next opponent was looming that evening and. And the Champions League final against Europe's defending champs, Paris St Germain was less than an hour away. Which may help explain why the Mayor showed up for our quick but wide ranging visit with an Arsenal kit that was tucked underneath his suit jacket.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

What up?

[Zoran Mamdani]

What's going on, Justice? Welcome to my home.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Thanks for having us in your yard. Already? Already? Just gooning. Just straight gooning.

[Zoran Mamdani]

That's the term we use.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Is that not it?

[Zoran Mamdani]

No, no, we're gooners.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Gooners. Sorry, Goonering.

[Zoran Mamdani]

But it's not a verb for us. I may. I don't know.

[Pablo Torre]

I agree.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Not for me.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Him. Absolutely. Though it's a real yes and situation.

[Zoran Mamdani]

So, Mr. Mayor, we'll throw a mic

[Interviewer/Co-host]

on you real quick if that's okay.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Your hair looks great.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

I was gonna say.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Look at this.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

I need to mog the mayor. I've been blow drying my hair.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Have you?

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Yeah, I started actually. Yeah.

[Zoran Mamdani]

It's a lot of maintenance.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Right, I know. This is. I'm 40 and I'm like, hairline's looking great. Philippines, man, the Philippine DNA.

[Zoran Mamdani]

I'm on that Minoxidil.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Are you really?

[Zoran Mamdani]

Yeah.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Is that a sponsored ad read?

[Zoran Mamdani]

No, I'm just telling you the truth.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

When? Since when?

[Zoran Mamdani]

It's like six months ago.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Six months ago.

[Zoran Mamdani]

I just started to see. I was like, this is not so.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

That's the job. The job does that it was like

[Zoran Mamdani]

pre job, just mortality. I'm just like trying to push off turkey, like out of the term.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

How long will it be okay if

[Adam Friedland]

I just clip to your back pocket?

[Zoran Mamdani]

Yeah, for sure.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Till you show up in an airport in Turkey with a disguise on.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Damon, how are you doing otherwise?

[Interviewer/Co-host]

I'm good, I'm good.

[Zoran Mamdani]

You cold?

[Interviewer/Co-host]

I'm freezing.

[Zoran Mamdani]

I get you like a thermal.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

That would be deeply emasculating.

[Zoran Mamdani]

No one would see you wearing it. It would be under your T shirt.

[Pablo Torre]

Now they're capturing all this.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Okay,

[Pablo Torre]

You know what's become weirdly sacred to me lately? My morning walk around New York City. Before I look at my phone, before my social media is blowing up. I try to get outside, try to

[Interviewer/Co-host]

get some sunlight, clear my head, and

[Pablo Torre]

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[Interviewer/Co-host]

Plus it actually tastes good.

[Pablo Torre]

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[Interviewer/Co-host]

Are you in your yard very often?

[Zoran Mamdani]

This is my favorite place.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

When you're on the porch, what are you doing?

[Zoran Mamdani]

Making calls, having meetings, praying to God about the Champions League final.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

A mix we are talking on the brink of something. Yes, and I want to know before we get into all of the Knicks Arsenal stuff, just you woke up today feeling how.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Terrified? Excited? And I just watched the official video from the Arsenal Twitter account.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

The Tom Hiddleston oh my God, we are the Arsenal.

[Pablo Torre]

And this is what we do.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Weeping At a social media video is where Arsenal supporters are.

[Zoran Mamdani]

That's where we are. I just, quote, tweeted it. Didn't even tell the team. They're gonna find out.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

All caps just going rogue.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Come on. It's been 20 years.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

I need to clarify for people who don't know anything about soccer, football, the type of fan you are, You're a football manager.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Yes.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Enthusiast.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Yes.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Which is some, like, really sick.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Sick. Disgusting. I would spend hours watching Dots play against Dots in a virtual game.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

For those who don't know, this is a game where you don't actually control.

[Zoran Mamdani]

You're not control the players, you're the manager, and then you watch the players play. It's like playing Madden. If you didn't control anything except for who played.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

You were doing, like, balance sheets and infrastructure.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Yes, yes. Scouting, settling scores that I had from the real world.

[Pablo Torre]

Wait, hold on.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

How do you exact vengeance on the real world?

[Zoran Mamdani]

Just like the players that we would be rumored to sign every year, there's a guy named Sebastian Frye who's a goalkeeper. Every year. It was like a rumor, and I was like, I'm doing it myself. I'm signing him.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Did football manager prepare you for the job of being mayor of New York City?

[Zoran Mamdani]

Yes. You know, the combo of football manager sims and rollercoaster tycoon was exactly the kind of training I needed to go through.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

I just want to imagine the responsible roller coasters you were designing.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Yeah, they were incredible. They were like the Cyclone. Did you know the Cyclone was founded the year before sliced bread?

[Interviewer/Co-host]

The Cyclone and then sliced bread.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Yeah. This is. Kumail Nanjiani put me onto this. Not me specifically. I watched the show.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

But hold on, though, because the Cyclone in Coney island, people are like, this

[Zoran Mamdani]

is the oldest thing since sliced bread. And I think that's 1928, and the cyclone is 1927.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

I'm finding out so much already.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Have you been?

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Of course.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Incredible.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Born and raised in New York City, in Manhattan. The wooden roller coaster, though, is a good metaphor for what it's like to be an Arsenal and a Knicks fan.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Yes.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

You're like, we may die. This may break, we may fall off of this. And yet, currently, we're sort of like, going towards this glorious conclusion, and I wanna. Gosh, we're outside right now.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Yes.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

You are as outside a mayor as I can remember in my lifetime. Do you keep track of stats, like your steps, like biking?

[Zoran Mamdani]

Well, I have the Citi bike app, so that tells me where I am.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Can we invade your phone? Do you have I don't have my

[Zoran Mamdani]

phone with me, but if we grab it. Here you go, brother.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Oh, my God.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Read em and weep.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

2,440 rides is your city bike profile. 3,124 miles, 449 hours.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Putting in work very slowly within the speed limit.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

These are football manager style statistics.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Sm, baby. You have to live like a New Yorker to understand what New Yorkers actually need to see from City Hall. If you just live in your tinted window vehicle, you're gonna start to confuse your own needs for that of the city.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

My favorite thing in the world remains just walking through New York. Yeah, it's endless discovery. It's spontaneous. Stuff happens. And this month I think I've like been huffing the pheromones.

[Zoran Mamdani]

It's a very interesting way of saying it.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

You felt it?

[Zoran Mamdani]

Yes.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

This city is not just exciting.

[Zoran Mamdani]

I would say this city is alive. But you would say the city is horny.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

The city has been pent up. And in the New York Knicks specifically, there is this promise of, oh my God. This whole thing, like, it feels like a small town, which is amazing for a city like this. It also is like this situation where Goliath gets to be David, like an actual. Like, we're underdogs.

[Zoran Mamdani]

We are.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

We really are underdogs.

[Zoran Mamdani]

We are.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

So to walk around and to hear and feel what the city's like right now, even me, I'm surprised by how good it's felt.

[Zoran Mamdani]

It feels incredible. I mean, it feels, I think the way you described it is right in specifically, let me say which part of his description was right is the feeling of a small town. The feeling of when you see somebody, whether they're wearing a Knicks jersey or not, it's just, let's go Knicks. Feels like the undercurrent emotion is that of joy and excitement.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Yes.

[Zoran Mamdani]

And you're willing to give somebody the benefit of the doubt because everybody's just praying and it's just kept feeling like surely this is too good to be true. And we actually have spurs and OKC going to a game seven.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Shout out to Wemby's EID Fit.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Where did you get your Eidfit? Because it is unprecedented.

[Zoran Mamdani]

I think I saw a photo of Usman Dembele from psg. I don't know if it was real

[Interviewer/Co-host]

or AI PSG inspired this.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Well, you know, I just was like, if these guys are doing this, he had like a full, a full thau bond. I was like, let's make an arsenal kurta and There's a guy, part of the Brooklyn Invincibles, who designs kind of custom made jerseys. And we hit him up and we just said, is there any way you could make a kurta? And he hit up his tailor. And now my uncle's hitting me on WhatsApp asking how to order it. And I'm like, brother, this was a1of1.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

I do like the idea that sometimes you're just sending your staffers. Like I don't know if this is AI or not, but if it's real, I want one of these.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Make this.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

One of the things that I have been promised, or rather I've been reporting for years is via Mike Breen, who's the play by play voice, of course, of the Knicks calling game. I mean what he has said is that he has never triple banked. But the Knicks making the finals, that is what would deserve that moment.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Yeah.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

And so how many children will be born with Knicks players names if Mike Green triple bangs during the NBA finals?

[Zoran Mamdani]

A lot of Jalens, you know, some cats.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Some cats, some joshes, depending on Mitchell Robinson's pinky. Also some ogugwas. Yes, yes.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Shout outs.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

The noises that the city is making. It does bring me to the idea. I'm so good at segues.

[Zoran Mamdani]

You have a real way of words.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

The President Donald Trump has said now officially, I think I'll be going to

[Starbucks Ad Voice]

one of the games.

[Zoran Mamdani]

I was invited by numerous people and Jim.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

And for Knicks fans who are contemplating booing the President. You're very good at politics. What counsel would you offer them upon hearing that they may be considering such a thing?

[Zoran Mamdani]

I think one of the things I've learned is don't give advice to other Knicks fans. They will make their own decisions. I haven't given anybody advice of how to respond to me. And you know, some people are happy when they see me. Some people, some people, they're not feeling the vibe. That's what it's always gonna be. And so I think the thing we're most excited about is just having the finals here, man.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

So if you're both a fan and a mayor, I imagine that inside of you there are two wolves. And so you gotta be the guy who's like, that's right. Coming back, you can't wait for the party. But also you're kind of the dean on campus who's like, I gotta make sure these kids aren't fallen off of porches. So have you thought already about. I mean, you're the guy who managed New York City through a historic blizzard. Have you already begun to manage to examine how to do this. Well, the parade, a celebration, if it of course comes to that.

[Zoran Mamdani]

You know, we. We have to prepare for everything. And I think what we want to prepare for is a city where people can actually enjoy themselves and even just like looking at the Radio City Music hall watch party, than how people kind of pour out into the streets. People have been waiting to feel this. I mean, you look at all these Knicks fans videos of the years that we have lived through.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Yeah.

[Zoran Mamdani]

The starting fives over the years and now where we are. So we're planning for all the logistics. I'm not going to say things out loud to curse anything, but I will say that we're excited for Knicks fans to have the summer of our lives.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Yeah. One of those faces that you see in those highlight in those reels, those. Those archive vault tapes is Charles Oakley. And Charles Oakley is a protagonist who is not welcome at the Garden these days. Jim Dolan and him do not see eye to eye. We've reported with Wired magazine about the surveillance state at the Garden. You've said that you're looking into this, and you've said this in addition to co sponsoring a bill about biometric surveillance. Would you do the impossible and broker a peace between Charles Oakley and James Dolan?

[Zoran Mamdani]

You know I will. I can't make a promise now that I'm not sure if I can keep, but I will try because I think that this moment is for the whole city. And it's a moment where people are willing to look forward after a long time for us just being looking in the rearview mirror. And I think that what we want to do is make sure that every New Yorker can enjoy themselves, and that includes everybody you mentioned.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

I do have a specific political proposal

[Pablo Torre]

for you to consider.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

We have some documents. This is executive orders.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Did say the word pheromones in there.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

We might put that in post as well.

[Zoran Mamdani]

I'll just leave that alone.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

But if you wouldn't mind reading what we've proposed to you.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Proclamation. Whereas Oklahoma City Thunder guard shy Gilgis Alexander is clearly the most egregious flopper this side of James Harden. No disagreement thus far. Whereas no New Yorker shall approve of, nor engage in such thirsty behavior on the court of basketball, nor in the court of public opinion. Now, therefore, I, Zahran Kwame Momdani, Mayor of the city of New York, do hereby proclaim June 2026 in the city of New York as shy Gilgis Alexander, no Flopping Month. That's the first one. Whereas New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges is a playoff hero, whereas Ed Koch got the 59th Street Bridge named after him. So we might as well name every single one the Mikal Bridge during the finals. Therefore, I, Siran Kwameani, Mayor of the City of New York, do hereby proclaim June 2026 in the city of New York as Nicole Bridges. Bridges Month.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

I feel like we can get these signed.

[Zoran Mamdani]

You know, we gotta send these to the legal team, but I will tell ya, worthy of consideration. Don't flop in this city.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Worthy of consideration to the refs who are watching.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Don't let the flops happen anywhere. Come on.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

I have one more thing to show you on my phone, because our friend Adam Friedland, who is a psychopath.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Shout outs.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

I said, what should I ask the mayor? And you said, ask him about the tweet. And I said, what tweet? Because I am not of your culture. And he said, this tweet. Would you please read the tweet that you had said?

[Zoran Mamdani]

Never thought I'd be more hopeful about socialism than Arsenal. And yet here we are.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

That was November 22, 2020.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Yes, it was. Yes, it was. We've been through tough times, man.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

It's been a long six years almost.

[Zoran Mamdani]

It's been. It was 22 years waiting for a title. This is 20 years to even get to a Champions League final. It's, you know, we went from. From beauty to banter. That was what our team was. And now we're back. We both up now, baby.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

And so at the end here, I guess as my producer, Chris is wearing his own garb, the question he told me to ask you was, what do we think of Tottenham?

[Zoran Mamdani]

And you're first.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

He said, come on.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Congratulations to them for staying in the league. Big achievement. Big achievement. You can't get beat by Arsenal if you're not playing Arsenal, so.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Spoken like. Spoken like a mayor about to watch his favorite team do something, perhaps. Perhaps reach a final climactic release.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Pray to God that's no. No.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Cut him saying no. End it on my great joke. And C. And C. Thank you, Matt.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Thanks.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

That was awesome.

[Zoran Mamdani]

That's a good time. Dude, I got to call James Dolan out and be like, hey, we got a broker. This piece, by the way, nice to meet you.

[Pablo Torre]

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[Interviewer/Co-host]

This is Danielle Fishel, Ryder Strong and Will Friedle from Pod meets World. Let's talk Chewy.

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[Interviewer/Co-host]

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[Adam Friedland]

You know what else I love?

[Interviewer/Co-host]

They handle prescriptions, pet insurance, telehealth vet visits, and they're rolling out vet clinics across the country for life with pets.

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[Pablo Torre]

There was a lot more, in case you were wondering that. I wanted to ask the first Democratic Socialist mayor of New York City. But just like that, Zahran Mamdani was off to an Arsenal bar in Brooklyn, with our PTFO gunner producers following close behind and the club's first ever Champions League trophy at stake. So they watched Arsenal score in the first six minutes, go up one nil, only for a PSG penalty kick to tie it about an hour later, sending the game into extra time. And then, with the score still frozen at 11 1, one of the most unsatisfying rituals in sports began. The penalty shootout, which Arsenal lost. Finally, after sending their last kick clear over the bar, high and far enough, it would seem, to go from Budapest to Oklahoma City, where Victor Wembanyama's spurs ensured a rematch later that night of the last NBA Finals the Knicks had made back in 1999. And on this topic, I am not saying that we influenced the legislation Mayor Mamdani just announced yesterday, but he did do this.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Who's ready to watch the Knicks? Me. Who's ready to watch the Knicks win the championship?

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Me.

[Zoran Mamdani]

All right, here we go. Here is our mayor's order repealing kids, bedtimes for the Knicks finals run. Are we ready? Who here was alive in 1999? No, you were not. I lost. You were. Okay, we're gonna talk about that later. I don't know when I was born. All right, here we go. We're signing in.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Hi, Chips. I know.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Okay, my friends, executive order is signed.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

I didn't know that I was.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Bedtime is repealed. All of you can watch the finals. How do you feel?

[Pablo Torre]

Good. And yet all of that applause is not where I could end the show in good conscience. Because before we let you go here, there was one more call that I felt I needed to make to someone slightly older than those kids.

[Adam Friedland]

They're like, yeah, there are guys that are like, B too old. Ravenfords look incredible this year. How pathetic is that? How lame does that sound? Is that what I sound like to them? Oh, Sha McVey's offensive genius, a masterclass.

[Pablo Torre]

That is the aforementioned Gooner, socialist sympathizer and guy who has a really good fake British accent, Adam Friedland. And I think he should probably be the last voice that you hear on this episode, because in our ongoing Study of optimism. It demands that we contemplate what it means when you lose.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

It's a shootout.

[Adam Friedland]

It's the stupidest way to end the game.

[Zoran Mamdani]

I don't know.

[Adam Friedland]

This is arbitrary. Okay, listen. What we managed to do this year was extraordinary. We managed to win the League and nearly win a double with no attack. It's incredible. Arsenal has figured out how to be the best at set plays. You know what a set play is, Pablo?

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Yes, yes, I do.

[Adam Friedland]

Free kick or corner kick? Arsenal are the best at getting a guy. Like a 64 guy. We were always the team that was like, oh, sorry, they're too soft. They're too soft. We used to get pushed around by guys, and then in this last iteration, we got a bunch of guys that are 6 4, and we figured out pragmatism. And I'm not giving you anything useful right now, I'm sure, for your podcast, but Arson Wenger, in the period I watched, that was Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. That was the. That was the socialist ideal of the game.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

And this is exactly what people imagine.

[Pablo Torre]

A phone call with you about soccer would be like, by the way.

[Adam Friedland]

And then. And then Mikel Arteta is. Is Joseph Stalin. It is the socialist ideal becoming fascistic. Yeah. And set plays are his Leningrad or Stalingrad.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Sorry.

[Adam Friedland]

Or whatever. Set plays are us throwing 2 million bodies at Hitler in the. In the Russian winter to win the war. You know what I sound like? I sound like a guy that's like, you know, Belichick's favorite part of the game is special teams. You know, and if you're really. If you're watching this match. I'm watching a chess match, you know, you know, less than me.

[Pablo Torre]

One of the things that I talk to the mayor about.

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, cool.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Congrats.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Congratulations.

[Zoran Mamdani]

It was.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

It was just this notion of, like,

[Pablo Torre]

wow, optimism is palpable. And so I want to imagine, Adam, that Arteta has invited you into the dressing room post game to address the troops. And you have one minute to give

[Interviewer/Co-host]

your summary of what this actually all

[Pablo Torre]

meant and what we've learned here.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

And you would say to them, to those lads, what?

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, my God, you guys are. We've come so far. We're like a real team. We were a joke, boys. We were an absolute joke. We were. People love to see us lose. No one can say shit to you guys now. It's amazing. It's amazing.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

We're.

[Adam Friedland]

We're strong now. We'll get a couple guys that know how to score goals, and we're probably going to beat everyone, 5 nil next year. But you guys managed to do this this year. It's. It's. It's ridiculous. It's insane. You guys are so good at sports. I just want to say to you guys, you're so good at sports and I love you. You did awesome for what we had. How did you do it? Gabrielle missed a penalty. Should we have put a defender in as fifth penalty taker? I don't know. He's a senior member of the team. It's such a stupid way to end a game.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

I agree.

[Adam Friedland]

It's like playing rock paper, scissors at the end of a. Like, you know, Arsenal are a reminder you're gonna die one day. That's what it is. It's. You know, it felt like nature returned to. I'm not. I'm half kidding.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

The big.

[Adam Friedland]

The big.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

The big climax of your. Of your postgame speech is laugh. Lads, lads.

[Pablo Torre]

Just a reminder.

[Adam Friedland]

We're all gonna die one day. Yeah. And if we were Manchester City, we would be guys that don't think about dying and we would be. I think society calls them. We would be guys that like, you know, like cheat. Cheat on our wives. And I know that all of you guys are. Have never cheated and. You guys are good people because. No, it's. It is it. I just felt incredible at the end of that game because it's like it. I've never seen us at this level. Were. Was Zoron sad?

[Pablo Torre]

This is the next question I have for you is that he's immediately moving on to the NBA finals.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

And so as a. As.

[Pablo Torre]

As an actual NBA nerd, do you have a parting thought for the mayor as he navigates Nick spurs for the NBA title?

[Adam Friedland]

It is a very similar thing, kind of. Well, how did he do it? He balanced the budget and he got the Knicks to the finals. How do you do? And the. Arsenal won the league. What's. What is with him? He's. He's kind of cooking.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

There's that.

[Adam Friedland]

You read him the tweet, right? I sent you the tweet.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Oh, we read the tweet.

[Adam Friedland]

Those are the two lamest things to like Arsenal and socialism. We suck.

[Pablo Torre]

This has been Pablo Torre finds out a Meadowlark Media production and I'll talk to you next time.

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[Adam Friedland]

Acast powers the world's Best Podcasts Here's a show that we recommend.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

I'm Lara Marie Shane Halls.

[Pablo Torre]

And I'm Terry o', Donnell and together

[Adam Friedland]

we are the hosts of Sexy Unique Podcast, a podcast for geniuses about reality

[Interviewer/Co-host]

tv, pop culture and every once in a while, a tangent about 9 11.

[Pablo Torre]

I mean, it really affected all of us.

[Adam Friedland]

On Sexy Unique Podcast, we insist on

[Interviewer/Co-host]

discussing the creme de la creme of reality television.

[Zoran Mamdani]

From the current season of Vanderpump Rules

[Pablo Torre]

to tried and true classics like early seasons of Real Housewives of New Jersey

[Zoran Mamdani]

to underrated gems like VH1's Rock of

[Pablo Torre]

Love and even Gallery Girls, we're talking

[Zoran Mamdani]

about all of it.

[Adam Friedland]

So what are you waiting for? Listen to Sexy Unique Podcasts now on itunes, Spotify, and wherever podcast matter. ACAST helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.com.