Podcast Summary: The Daily Show: Ears Edition

Episode: TDS Time Machine | New York City Mayors
Date: October 26, 2025
Host: Jon Stewart and The Daily Show News Team

Episode Overview

This special "Time Machine" installment of The Daily Show dives into the unique challenges, policy battlegrounds, and quirks of recent New York City mayors through a series of interviews. Jon Stewart and the team revisit conversations with Rudolph Giuliani, Michael Bloomberg, Bill de Blasio, and feature a contemporary deep-dive interview with current mayor Eric Adams. With Stewart’s signature humor and probing questions, the episode explores themes of political leadership, public safety, social justice, and the ever-evolving character of New York City.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rudolph Giuliani: Campaigns and the Law (01:17–09:20)

• Presidential Politics & Party Rivalries
  • Giuliani discusses his support for the Bush administration and reflects on being mentioned as a potential VP pick:

    “I'm a big supporter of Vice President Cheney. He's a good friend of mine, and I'm a big supporter of his. Yes. I've known him for 25 years.” (03:23)

  • Stewart and Giuliani joke about the theatrical nature of political attack strategies and surrogacy on the campaign trail.
• Personal Reflections & Public Life
  • Giuliani talks candidly about the duality of public personas (via Cheney) and handling public criticism:

    “Some of the ways I was depicted when I was the mayor used to... I used to cry when I saw myself on television. I said, this can't be true.” (04:00)

• On Running Clean Campaigns
  • Both Giuliani and Stewart share hope for a policy-based, less personal campaign—a rare bipartisan note of respect:

    “Both men are good human beings... Who have totally different philosophies and that's the way the campaign should be run.” (05:16, Giuliani)

• Gay Marriage and the Rule of Law
  • Giuliani weighs in on the New Paltz mayor solemnizing gay marriages and emphasizes rule of law above personal beliefs:

    “The law in New York is clear. Marriage is a man and a woman. And you've got to follow that. Unless you can get the state legislature to change the law.” (07:17)

• White-Collar Crime & Legal Media Frenzy
  • The conversation touches on parallels between real-life trials and media dramatization, with Giuliani reflecting on his love for courtroom drama:

    “I love being a trial lawyer. There probably was no more pure drama than waiting for a jury.” (09:06)

2. Michael Bloomberg: Bagel Taxes & Religious Freedom (10:03–17:38)

• The ‘Sliced Bagel Tax’ Controversy
  • Stewart lampoons the state’s tax on sliced bagels with Bloomberg joining in at the absurdity:

    “New York State has passed an 8 cent tax. If you get a bagel regular with a schmear. But if you get it sliced, they add nine cents.” (11:11, Stewart)

  • Bloomberg acknowledges legislative eccentricities, but jokes:

    “This is one of the causes I'm gonna work on for the next three and a half years.” (11:44)

• Defending Religious Freedom (Park51 Mosque Debate)
  • Bloomberg’s impassioned defense of the right to build an Islamic center near Ground Zero:

    “It says you have a right to say what you want to say, which means pray to whomever you want, whenever you want, wherever you want. And it's just not the government's business to tell you what to say.” (12:10)

  • He frames the controversy as election-season hype, pointing to deeper principles of constitutional rights:

    “This whole issue, I think, will go away right after the next election. This is plain and simple, people trying to stir up things.” (13:54)

• The Politics of Principle vs. Emotion
  • Bloomberg stresses authenticity in leadership:

    “I think the public wants people that... say what they believe. They want people to be genuine even if they don't agree with them.” (15:50)

• Equity in Scrutiny
  • On investigations into the mosque’s funding:

    “We would not ask that if somebody was trying to build a temple or a church, plain and simple.” (16:24)

3. Bill de Blasio: Progressive Reform & Pizza Etiquette (18:36–27:33)

• Pizza with a Fork: A NYC Taboo
  • Stewart teases de Blasio for being caught eating pizza with cutlery and insists on a “proper” New York-style slice—an extended bit emblematic of his playful, local tone (19:53–21:39).
• Ending Stop and Frisk
  • De Blasio lays out his rationale for ending the controversial police practice:

    “You can't break the law to enforce the law. It's as simple as that.” (22:18)

  • He gives a striking stat:

    “In its heyday, we had almost 700,000 stops in a single year. Almost 90% of them were innocent people in every way, shape, or form.” (22:30)

• Progressive Initiatives and Income Inequality
  • He champions new taxes on the wealthy to fund universal pre-K:

    “Would be transcendent in terms of our school system, would totally allow us to prepare our kids properly.” (24:01)

  • Stewart defends ‘paying it forward’ as a civic responsibility.
• Combating the Fear of Progressive Chaos
  • De Blasio refutes the claim that progressive governance leads to disorder:

    “Progressives can run governments effectively. Progressives can be fiscally responsible. Progressives can focus on public safety. But we're going to do it in a way that respects people's rights.” (26:36)

4. Eric Adams: Policing, Education, and Affordability (28:42–44:25)

• Opening Tone & On Giuliani’s False Report
  • Adams humorously notes the dangers of being “assaulted” by a handshake, riffing on a recent Giuliani incident:

    “You don't realize it, but you just assaulted me with that handshake.” (29:12)

  • Critiques Giuliani for false crime reporting:

    “He falsely reported a crime, and the district attorney should take that seriously. That person that he falsely reported spent 24 hours in jail. That's not acceptable.” (29:50)

• Fighting Segregation in NYC Schools
  • Adams shares his personal struggles with dyslexia and his efforts to address systemic educational inequity:

    “Our school system is dysfunctional... 65% of black and brown children never reach proficiency in our New York City school system. And we've normalized that.” (31:07)

  • Implements universal dyslexia screening—including in Rikers Island.
• Policing and Crime: Seeking Balance
  • Adams balances lived experience—having been abused by police—with commitment to ending abusive policing:

    “We can't go back to the days when every black and brown child that walked the streets was treated unfairly. And so we have to have that balance... intervention and prevention.” (32:50)

  • Cites successes:

    “We took 3,000 guns off our street. Shootings dropped by 30%. Homicide dropped by 13%.” (32:50)

• Police Funding and Accountability
  • Tackles why police budgets always grow:

    “The prerequisite to prosperity is public safety and justice. They go together... But let's not kid ourselves. We have been producing an inferior product all across the city. We spend $38 billion a year on education. Yes, 65% of black and brown children never reach education. They've been playing us.” (34:59)

• Fare Jumping and Public Order
  • On cracking down—even on small crimes:

    “We cannot send a message that any and everything goes in our city... We're not going to criminalize poor, but we're not going to allow someone to say that their economic status is going to allow them to disrespect what it is to live in a city like New York.” (37:33)

• Affordable Housing and NIMBYism
  • Adams outlines the challenges in building affordable housing, including community resistance:

    “You have some people who are advocating for affordable housing, and I say, okay, great, we're going to build it on your block. Whoa, not on my block...” (40:08)

  • Explains the need to balance the interests of rich and poor for citywide sustainability:

    “52% of our taxes are paid by 2% of New Yorkers... I want them to pay their taxes, I want them to volunteer, I want them to contribute to my museums, to my nonprofits.” (41:32)

• Tangible Policy Initiatives
  • Adams highlights real programs making a difference:
    • Lowered childcare costs, expanded seats, streamlined earned income tax credits, college fund initiatives, and crisis management teams (41:32–43:05).
• A Humble Self-Assessment
  • When asked to grade his mayorship:

    “I'm incomplete. I'm incomplete as a mayor. I'm incomplete as a man. I'm incomplete as a father. I'm incomplete... I get up every morning, I meditate, I exercise, I pray, I say the pledge of allegiance, and I get myself ready every day.” (43:28)

  • Emphasizes the ongoing nature of public service.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Marriage is a man and a woman. And you've got to follow that. Unless you can get the state legislature to change the law.”
  — Rudolph Giuliani (07:17)

• “It says you have a right to say what you want to say, which means pray to whomever you want... And it's just not the government's business to tell you what to say.”
  — Michael Bloomberg (12:10)

• “You can't break the law to enforce the law. It's as simple as that.”
  — Bill de Blasio (22:18)

• “Our school system is dysfunctional... 65% of black and brown children never reach proficiency in our New York City school system. And we've normalized that.”
  — Eric Adams (31:07)

• “The prerequisite to prosperity is public safety and justice. They go together... We could be safe and we could have justice.”
  — Eric Adams (34:59)

• “I'm incomplete as a mayor. I'm incomplete as a man... I get up every morning, I meditate, I exercise, I pray, I say the pledge of allegiance, and I get myself ready every day.”
  — Eric Adams (43:28)

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• Giuliani on Presidential Campaigns & Policy: 01:17–09:20
• Bloomberg on Bagel Tax, Religious Freedom: 10:03–17:38
• De Blasio on Stop and Frisk, Income Inequality: 18:36–27:33
• Eric Adams on Education, Police Reform, Affordability: 28:42–44:25

Tone and Style

Stewart’s inquisitive, comedic approach sets a conversational, sometimes irreverent tone throughout. Each mayor’s segment combines personal anecdotes, evidence-based policy discussion, and New York–centric humor—balancing gravity on issues like racial equity and public safety with playful jabs (e.g., eating pizza with a fork, the “sliced bagel tax,” and pledge-of-allegiance routines). The interviews invite candidness and reveal both the humanity and political calculations behind some of New York’s most consequential leaders.

This episode offers a rich oral history and a revealing snapshot of how four very different personalities have tried—and struggled—to lead the ever-complex city of New York.