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- [00:00]
Kathy Hochul
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:04]
Sophia
This podcast is sponsored by PayPal. Okay friends, let's talk holiday shopping. From now through December 8th, you can get 20% cash back when you pay in four with PayPal. No fees, no interest. This limited time offer is perfect for the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals you've been eyeing. Save the offer in the app now. Whether you're shopping for the kids, your coworkers, or yourself, PayPal helps you make the most of your money. This holiday expires 12.8C paypal.com promoter subject to approval. Learn more at paypal.com payinfor PayPal Inc. NMLS 910457 Degree Advanced the world's number one antiperspirant provides up to 72 hours of protection against sweat and odor that comes with life. Degree is the wake up workout. Antiperspirant the dashing, darting, carpool, honking, get the kids off to school Antiperspirant the work from home and do the laundry grocery shop on your lunch hour, never take a break Antiperspirant so do what you need to do, work how you need to work. Sweat moves you forward. Degree is here to make sure it doesn't hold you back. Degree here for sweat hey, Ryan Reynolds.
- [01:15]
Kathy Hochul
Here wishing you a very happy half off holiday because right now Mint Mobile is offering you the gift of 50% off unlimited. To be clear, that's half price, not half the service. Mint is still premium Premium unlimited wireless for a great price. So that means a half day. Yeah. Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment.
- [01:38]
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- [01:45]
Sophia
The space hamster flew his hot air balloon all the way to the bottom of the ocean.
- [01:52]
Commercial/Ad Voice
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- [01:56]
Sophia
Nope.
- [01:56]
Commercial/Ad Voice
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- [02:16]
Kathy Hochul
At Walgreens, we know flu season can feel a little chaotic, so we're going to give you our flu info in.
- [02:23]
Sophia
A meditation keeping you calm. Just like a certified Walgreens pharmacist will do if you're a little needle nervous. So walk in or schedule an appointment and Walgreens will handle the rest.
- [02:38]
Kathy Hochul
That's the human kind of help. Walgreens vaccines subject to availability, state, age.
- [02:44]
Commercial/Ad Voice
And health related restrictions may apply.
- [02:46]
Sophia
Hey, everyone, it's Sophia. Welcome to Work in Progress. Welcome back to Work in Progress, friends. All eyes seem to be on New York right now. And I happen to be in New York and wanted to get to the bottom of that feeling. We know that what is unfolding here is going to reverberate far beyond state lines. And at the heart of this moment are our New York elected officials. And so who better to talk about this very moment with New York's very own governor, Kathy Hochul. She's navigating a pivotal juncture where city, state, and federal fault lines converge. We have a freshly elected mayor in New York City who's promising bold change. We've got ongoing federal pressure on state institutions as the White House is weaponizing New York's power. We've got battles over our very social fabric, right down to our food security safety nets and the integrity of our democratic processes. And all of that means that Governor Hochul is really facing intense scrutiny. Her leadership is being measured not just by what she does and all of the incredible things that she has done, but how she chooses to respond in every moment. It's an awful lot of pressure. And I want to ask her, not just as one of our incredible female governors here in America, but as a human, as a woman, how does she define her role in safeguarding democracy and delivering for the more than 20 million people in this state who count on her? It's a lot of pressure. I want to know how she does it and I want to know if she's okay. So let's dive in and talk about all things SNAP and state policy, smartphone banning for schools, and why someone would want to run for public office in the first place. Let's dive in with Governor Hochul. Governor, we're sitting in New York City together. I'm obviously very geeked. I feel like you can see me blushing. Thank you for your patience and your incredible decorum. Before we jump into all of the things happening as we begin to close 2025, many of them in this city, in your great state. I actually would love to go backwards with you.
- [05:29]
Kathy Hochul
Sure, let's do it.
- [05:30]
Sophia
Because so many people that I sit with have an incredible job or an incredible track record or promoting some incredible project. Yours is democracy, I think the most important project of all. And I think people forget that you, you have a story before you were a public figure, and I know you grew up in western New York. And I'm curious if you can paint a picture for me about not Governor Kathy Hochwel, but just Kathy as a kid at 9 or 10 years old, what was your life like? What was your community like? What was your family like? What was New York like?
- [06:08]
Kathy Hochul
Well, I appreciate that because a lot of people think that we sort of morphed into our jobs right now and we actually aren't real people.
- [06:14]
Sophia
Yeah, they think you were born in a pantsuit. That's right. That's right.
- [06:17]
Kathy Hochul
I came to the pantsuits later in life. Me too. Yeah. Western New York, Buffalo is kind of a. Always was a gritty steel town. And my dad and grandfather and his brothers, they all worked at the steel plant. Making steel, it's difficult work. You know, dad would come home at the end of the day just kind of like all this soot on him because they were in the ovens, Coke ovens. And my parents, you know, before I was born, before I was born, they lived in a trailer park and they struggled. And then I came along. There was a little tiny apartment. And, you know, through time they progressed to bigger homes. We had bigger family. Irish Catholic family, six kids. I think my mom wanted even more. So we didn't have a lot of money. We really did. We used to buy our clothes at used clothing stores or you could lay them away. Like I'd always feel a little funny when my mom would take us shopping for like our Easter dress and all the other kids are getting in line with their parents at the checkout and we went over to the layaway counter because my mom didn't have the money right then to put in. We could take it home. We had to take it home months later or even we'd go to the day old bread store and my mom would fill up a freezer with day old bread and stale Twinkies and things like that. We thought that was the norm. I just want to say, as I look back, that was a struggle, but we were never hungry. We always had clothes to wear. And my parents instilled in us a really strong sense of. Of responsibility to others, even though they didn't have much. They were social justice Catholics. They took us marching in the anti war demonstrations. We were at the marches for civil rights when we were early young children. And my parents were trying to integrate a working class white neighborhood and took a lot of criticism from people for those efforts. And I saw my parents sort of on the. The front of civil rights and human rights movements. And that really left an impression on me. And I decided after visiting Washington as a child, I wanted to someday work in the Capitol. But the ambition of women back then was so limited. It was back in that era, like you're going to be a teacher, secretary or nurse.
- [08:33]
Sophia
How's your typing? You know those questions.
- [08:35]
Kathy Hochul
Yeah, it sucks. That's why I couldn't make it as a. Couldn't make it as a typist. You still see me trying to type it.
- [08:41]
Sophia
You just had to become the governor.
- [08:43]
Kathy Hochul
I love that for you. So there was another career path. I just wasn't good enough for that. But I wanted to be a staffer to top staffer to a senator someday. That was my highest ambition when I was 13 or 14, because I'd seen the Capitol. I knew about politics just from 8th grade social studies. I really loved social studies and never dreamed of public office. And that's what I found so limiting. When I look back that far, a little, you know, nine or ten year old. You asked about it. I was babysitting Everybody. I was 10 years old, watching all my younger siblings. I babysit.
- [09:17]
Sophia
Are you the oldest?
- [09:18]
Kathy Hochul
Oldest girl?
- [09:19]
Sophia
Oldest daughter.
- [09:19]
Kathy Hochul
Yeah, oldest daughter. And so I was always babysitting. Even in high school, I'd have a job after school to bring home money for the family. I worked at a pizzeria, so I never could do the cool kid stuff. I didn't go out for cheerleading. I wasn't in sports, I wasn't in clubs because I would leave almost every day after school to go to this pizzeria where I worked until 11 or 12 at night. And so I could help bring home some cash, which was good, but it kind of stunted my social life. So I was a little bit of a nerdy kid. I'd get home very late at night and have to do my homework and shared a bedroom in the attic with two brothers. And it wasn't winter. Time was cold and the summertime was hot. We didn't. But that's, you know, I'm close to those brothers, you know, you grew up in that kind of environment. That's. We had a lot of love. I'll just say that I grew up in a lot of love in the sense that no matter what we have, somebody else has less than us. And I still have that seared in my brain right now as governor. It's like I'm always aware I need to do more to help people that are struggling.
- [10:20]
Sophia
Well, it strikes me, you know, the story that you tell the steel mill, that was so central to your Family, the trailer park that they were in, what it was like to move up, but still be held back by circumstance. In certain ways, that's an everyman story. You know, I think about my grandfather who was in the Navy and afterwards made mannequins by hand in New Jersey at the Wolf, at the Wolf Form Company. And he bent these, you know, beautiful. Now they're in, like, all the chic stores, you know, the vintage linen mannequins with the metal toppers that say wolf on the neck. And he made those. He'd bend the steel by hand and stretch the linen by hand and be on this factory line. And I know my mom and her brother's stories. You know, I know about the housing project in the Bronx and about the eventual home in New Jersey that, you know, was the first house my grandfather ever bought and the house that he died in. And everywhere I've ever had the privilege to live, you know, whether it's here in New York or home in California or small town North Carolina or New Mexico or Texas or Canada. Canada. People's stories of where they come from, how they've struggled, how they've succeeded, what they've built, how they've dreamed, what they still dream of. Those are so central for me, to advocacy, to thinking about how we build a better world for all of us. And so much of what I believe in and why I'm so excited you're here is issues that you lead on, you know, whether it's better access to care for people, you know, more affordability, fighting for paid leave, you know, for women and their families and these things that seem so obvious but seem like such hard fights. I feel like it would be impossible for you to work as hard for all these people for as long as you have if you weren't always walking into rooms with those stories fresh in your mind. Right.
- [12:30]
Kathy Hochul
You've hit on something pretty profound that I can't leave those stories behind me when I'm out there fighting in Harlem or the Bronx, as I was last week, to have SNAP benefits restored. The embarrassment that already exists when you're a kid and you know your parents have to go use food stamps. My husband's family used food stamps when he was growing up. He had tough circumstances as well.
- [12:54]
Sophia
My partners did, too.
- [12:55]
Kathy Hochul
His father got very sick when he was young and couldn't bring home the paycheck. As a, you know, as a person who used to make cabinets at a factory. And so families suffer. But I also know that they. They need a champion. They need someone who has had that lived experience, but also with the heart full of gratitude to know that I broke out of those circumstances. My dad got an education, he could leave the trailer park. You get a better job. And eventually the houses got bigger and nicer. But not everybody has that same shot. And so when you take away food from families, and I remember back, my mom would try to stretch a can of Spam. That's disgusting. You open up a can of Spam with all this jelly crap on it. And like, I think they used to use it in the military. And they'd slice it up and she'd fry it and put it between stale bread and call it dinner sometimes. And we had a lot of pancakes for dinner because you could feed a family of eight with a lot of pancakes. I'm thinking about that when I'm thinking about how are families today when that pancake mix costs so much more than it did. Even my mom had to buy it.
- [13:56]
Sophia
Yes.
- [13:57]
Kathy Hochul
Like, they're struggling. So when people think about affordability as just a sort of a branding word, these are real people's lives. It's all about struggle. And they need to know that there's someone who will fight like hell for them, who will stand up to Donald Trump and the Republicans who unleashed this pain all across America just to score political points. And I believe they lost that war because it looks so cruel and so depraved to say the first time in American history when there's been a government shutdown that they didn't keep the nutrition programs flowing. They're sitting on $6 billion in reserves to do that. And they went to court to stop that from happening. That is a new low in our history. We turn our backs on hungry families and senior citizens. And so that just motivates me to get out there and call it out for what it is. Stand up for these people and know that their stories reside within me as well.
- [14:53]
Sophia
Yeah, I don't want to glaze over. You know how your career began serving in local positions and then going to Congress and then being the lieutenant governor and then the governor. But this is exactly the thing that has been the top of mind for me. It's is knowing how you carry your own story, your own family and all of your constituents, stories and families into rooms when you advocate the snap things making me crazy because not only, not only is there this really insidious idea, and we all know, you know, my lovely listeners at home care about being engaged and being educated on where we come from. We know what the myth of the Welfare queen is we know that it came from attacking black women, particularly in this country, that the largest beneficiaries of, quote, welfare SNAP benefits in America are white families. We also know that nobody who's getting these benefits is like living large on them. You're not abusing a system by having the difference between a starvation meal and a meal that actually will let you and your kids sleep through the night. The people abusing the system are the corporations that pay their workers so little. The gainfully employed Americans have to get food stamps to make up the difference. You know this, and I'm going to say this for the folks at home who might have missed the statistic, but when you look at the increase in CEO wages, C suite wages, and then you look at minimum wage stagnating, if minimum wage had kept up with CEO pay and also inflation, it wouldn't be $7.25 an hour, it would be $26 an hour. And then none of these people, all the Walmart and Amazon employees that are on SNAP, wouldn't need it. People need it because they're being paid unlivable wages by incredibly greedy and increasingly greedy corporations that are bragging about their earnings on their shareholder calls and then turning around and saying they can't afford to pay the people who've made them all billionaires in the first place. Makes me just a tad infuriated and pissed off.
- [17:02]
Kathy Hochul
And I'm pissed off as well. But let me just get you even more pissed off. It's not on just the nutrition programs where they have to use stamp benefits. So many of those workers at the big box stores and the Amazons and the Walmarts, they're only having them work 30 or 35 hours a week instead of 40 so they don't have to pay them full time healthcare. So guess who's paying for that? Many of them are on Medicaid paid for by state taxpayers.
- [17:29]
Sophia
Yes.
- [17:30]
Kathy Hochul
When it's supposed to be paid by the corporation that's benefiting from their sweat and their labor.
- [17:35]
Sophia
Yes.
- [17:35]
Kathy Hochul
And that to me is the next fight.
- [17:37]
Sophia
And so. Oh, I'm just so angry. But like in a good way. You know, sometimes I think people look at women who are politically engaged and are like, oh, you're so angry. I'm like, no, I'm sacredly angry. I'm angry like a mom is angry when her kid gets hurt. What are you talking about?
- [17:52]
Kathy Hochul
That's right. That's right.
- [17:52]
Sophia
And so when I think about this stuff and you know, the ins and outs and I think the More we can give those details to our audiences, to our constituencies, the more informed they can be when they have those dinner table conversations with their families or they walk into a voting booth. How do you when, to your earlier point, you see the federal government, for the first time in American history, go to court to fight for the right to starve its own citizens? I mean, the GOP is literally on the floor going, let us take away your health care or we'll starve you. This is barbaric. How do you, as a state leader, fight back? Because, yes, you've got the power of New York, but you're also not the president. So, like, how do you get on the chessboard with moves like this, with a Donald Trump and a Speaker Johnson? How do you defend your state?
- [18:51]
Kathy Hochul
A lot of it goes right to the courts. We won on SNAP benefits in two courts, right? And we were feeling good. I mean, I already, because this had gone on for so long and the snap benefits were literally running out and had been running out, I had to put $100 million into food banks around the state to fortify them. And I had to enlist my volunteer corps, my state civic engagement teams, hundreds of young people to come down and work at the food banks. I had to figure out a plan quickly to do this. But at the same time, we're in court and we won in court, which is so maddening that to take it all the way to the Supreme Court. And how the Supreme Court did not side with us, I will never know and let historians figure that one out. But this was a moment in our history when we turned our backs as a nation on struggling people. So I will use all the tools at my disposal. But part of it is also just doing the press conferences and calling out. So it's in the public's mind of who did this to them, and so they take that with them when they go vote the next time and who they decide who's on their side. A lot of people fell for Donald Trump talking about affordability in the election just one year ago, and then this week he says, I don't know why everybody talks about affordability. There's so many other things. Do they not view that as a blatant betrayal of the trust that the voters put in him? They just don't give a damn. And that's what's so troubling. So I'm out there using this. I was actually saw a social media post said our mayor elect, Sora Mandani was sitting with a veteran on Veterans Day and the veteran was saying. I'm also happy Kathy Hochul helped keep the SNAP benefits and put money out there for us because that means it's sinking into the psychology of who is fighting for them against those who are trying to hurt them. That's what has to happen for the electorate to start shifting their attitudes about who's the best fighter for them. It's always been the Democrats. There's always will be the Democrats. And we can't lose our way and let Republicans take what is our narrative that we are the ones who actually care about people and to lift them up and help struggling families and seniors and veterans. So we just and you're messaging here today and your storytelling and getting this is all part of the ecosystem that needs to exist from people who are different than the Republicans that are running everything in Washington. There's actually people who have a heart.
- [21:19]
Sophia
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- [21:26]
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- [21:54]
Sophia
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- [24:21]
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- [24:50]
Sophia
I'm so curious what your thoughts are because you've, you know, you. I hate to use the phrase game. It's not a game. This is really life or death. But like, as the adage goes, you've been in the game for a minute. You know what they say versus what they do. You know, we knew Donald Trump was saying he was going to lower the price of groceries, but we all read Project 2025 and knew that wasn't going to happen. We know they're trying to create a true mass poverty class and an oligarchy for them and their friends. But for some reason, the facts didn't get through. Even the fact that, you know, J.D. vance is allegedly invested in that company that's buying up bankrupt farms for pennies on the dollar and selling them to international firms. And now our farmers are going bankrupt and we're giving $40 billion to Argentina when it would only cost 36 billion to extend the Medicaid subsidies. I feel like I'm in the upside down. And so why do you think the truth of our message doesn't connect in the way their lies do or did, at least during the election? Like, in hindsight, what do you think we need to do differently? And how can I and everyone listening to this, how can we help?
- [26:06]
Kathy Hochul
A lot of fronts on this and I give it a great deal of thought about. First of all, people talk about messaging. They're better at messaging. Well, what does that mean? What does that mean? I've been saying that since I was a young staffer on Capitol Hill for Senator way back. Like, why is their messaging? Does it, why is theirs fit on a bumper sticker? And we feel like we have to explain a 20 point plan and walk people through as if we're professors as opposed to real people ourselves. And in one sense, it's viewed as condescending to people that you think you're no more than me and you're not down here in the trenches where I am. And that's part of our problem, just in our communication skills. Like, I love walking to a diner any day of the week. I do it in New York City constantly.
- [26:50]
Sophia
Me too.
- [26:51]
Kathy Hochul
I like to just walk people to tables like, hey, what's going on? Oh, you're a cute little kid or a senior citizen. Tell me about your family. And that seems more real to me. It's real. But to others, they want that relatability in their elected officials as opposed to someone who's speaking behind a podium and telling them how it has to be. So we just have to get out there with people and stop being on this, you know, in this ivory tower of being know it alls. That's, that's a real problem we have. The other part is they are so much better in the social media influencer space. They are just, they have been. We've got a lot of catch up to do. I've seen some studies on this where people, you know, Republicans have far more, you know, programs and sort of the echo chamber where they, you know, keep saying the same thing over and over. It gets out of there and it blasts out to the rest of the world. Ours may stay in this chamber where we're sitting here having these smart conversations and we have some really good answers. But how does it then blast out to regular people? And that's when someone figures that out. That'll be enormously helpful in the 2026 elections for our congressionals Ivor race, our Senate races. There's A lot on the line in 26, but also we have new leaders like Zoran Mandani, who figured out how to connect with people in a very human, funny way. You gotta keep it. You never, you can never give up your sense of humor in this business. You just can't. Because then you're less, you're not human. If you can't talk about this and just, you know, be a little more self deprecating about life, you know, we're just regular people who happen to have a different job title than most. I'll never change that perspective. And I think with the new energy that came here in New York City, what I said is, I don't need that for the 2026 elections for Congress in New York City. Probably gonna be a Democrat, I'm pretty sure. Can you go out to Long Island? Can you go up to the Hudson Valley? Can you help me over in Syracuse? How about the north country where Lee Stefanik is giving up her seat that she actually gave up a long time ago, just been sitting in it. And can we harness that energy all around the state?
- [28:57]
Sophia
Yes.
- [28:58]
Kathy Hochul
And also not have our people just go around to other states that seem more fun to go to. I know this always happens around election. Stay in your own state. I lead the Democratic Party. I want it to be a deep bench. We train the young people who are going to be running the next time, but also giving them political experience, help on campaigns, work in an office, do what I did when I was growing up where I was cutting my teeth in politics. The youngest and the only girl in a room in high school. But I was surrounded by smart older guys, like college age guys and college graduates who were all running the campaigns for governor and for president and for senator. I was sitting there absorbing it all, and I loved it. And I've never lost that love because that's how you elect people who will be out there fighting for others. And so I think we can harness the energy that we just saw this past election here in New York City and spread it all over.
- [29:54]
Sophia
Well, I sure hope so. It's a little frustrating. I feel like our balloon was really getting inflated. You know, we had so many great wins that we needed to push back against this authoritarian regime. And then the Democrats caved. And it really feels like it takes the wind out of our sails. Why? Why do you think? After 45 days of holding the line, eight people defected. Like, what's the deal? And I don't want to be such a cynic to believe, you know, some of the Things I've seen online, which are like. Well, a bunch of them. Their biggest donors are the airlines and they threatened the airports and now they're caving. It's gotta be.
- [30:36]
Kathy Hochul
No, no, no.
- [30:37]
Sophia
There's gotta be a bigger picture. Right. Can you help us understand?
- [30:40]
Kathy Hochul
I can't speak to why eight people, nine people, whatever the number was defected. But you look at their states, their battleground states, they have to worry about both sides because. And I will tell you, I'm one Democrat. It's fun and easy to be a purist. Like, it's gotta. This is. This is. I believe in all these things. And if you don't believe in every one of them, then I'm not with you. And we do that to ourselves. We have.
- [31:04]
Sophia
Well, we eat our own.
- [31:05]
Kathy Hochul
Too often. We are the circular firing squad among other Democrats. And guess what? That's how Republicans win. Because they don't do that. They're more disciplined than that. So I would say if we could find the common ground, that, hey, we're Democrats and they're Republicans, let's stick together. So I don't want to go second guess what the politics are in their home state. But some of them, some Democrats in some parts of our country, they may have to do things that we might as purists, say is wrong. But if it's not them, it's gonna be Republicans sitting in that seat.
- [31:38]
Sophia
Yeah.
- [31:38]
Kathy Hochul
And that's. When you're in the city, you don't realize that Republicans are what New York state is now, a purple state.
- [31:43]
Sophia
Yeah.
- [31:44]
Kathy Hochul
That is hard for me to accept as someone who's been involved in politics my whole life. But the reality is we've lost a lot of ground and Republicans are enrolling people. Why aren't we doing more to enroll Democrats to believe in us? And we have to give them the story, the narrative to tell. So on that issue, I don't have an answer on why they did what they did. But all I know is that Republicans, when they put this up for a vote, if they really are on extending the healthcare premiums, because right now someone paying $2,000 a month for health insurance has just been told it's now 4,000, not a year, a month. And how is that sustainable? So Republicans are letting that happen. And I'm telling you, as much as I want that to not happen, to the extent it's going to, and is that gets weaponized against every one of them. So there is also a way to turn this bad dynamic into something that can at least change the narrative in the election next year. And in 2027, which seems like an eternity away, we have Democrats, at least in the House of Representatives, so we can have a firewall to stop what they're doing to the American people, right?
- [32:54]
Sophia
And now for our sponsors. This podcast is sponsored by PayPal. Okay, friends, let's talk holiday shopping. From now through December 8th, you can get 20% cash back when you pay in four with PayPal. No fees, no interest. This limited time offer is perfect for the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals you've been eyeing. Save the offer in the app now. Whether you're shopping for the kids, your co workers, or yourself, PayPal helps you make the most of your money this holiday. Expires 12 8c paypal.com promoterms subject to approval. Learn more at paypal.com payinfor paypal inc.nmls910457 okay whip smarties, Let me tell you a brand I adore. Adore me. Whether you're looking for more comfort, more cleavage, or both, Adormi has you covered. Adormi offers tons of sizes with new, thoughtfully designed bras, panties, lingerie, shapewear, sleepwear and swimwear to choose from each month. You can elevate your underwear drawer with high quality sets that won't break the bank. Also, it's so nice to find a silhouette for every occasion with expertly fit bras and shapewear that defy gravity and bold lingerie styles that are just as comfortable as they are sexy. Let me tell you what I'm a fan of the silhouette for every occasion idea, guys. Because sometimes you want something beautiful, colorful, satiny, and sometimes you need something that goes full incognito nude, simple T shirt bra. You know what I'm talking about. Whether it's bows or lace or whether it's sleek, undetectable fit and support, Adormi has you covered. And with styles starting as low as $24.95, you can feel confident even if you're on a budget. Head to adore me.com now to shop styles from comfortable to sexy in over 67 sizes. Degree Advanced the world's number one antiperspirant provides up to 72 hours of protection, sweat and odor that comes with life. Degree is the wake up workout Antiperspirant the dashing, darting, carpool, honking, get the kids off to school. Antiperspirant the work from home and do the laundry grocery shop on your lunch hour, never take a break. Antiperspirant. So do what you need to do, work how you need to work. Sweat moves you forward degree is here to make sure it doesn't hold you back degree here for sweat. Then the space hamster flew his hot air balloon all the way to the bottom of the ocean.
- [35:24]
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- [35:39]
Sophia
An what did he pack for lunch?
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- [35:47]
Kathy Hochul
At Walgreens, we know flu season can feel a little chaotic, so we're going to give you our flu info in.
- [35:55]
Sophia
A meditation keeping you calm, just like a certified Walgreens pharmacist will do if you're a little needle nervous. So walk in or schedule an appointment and Walgreens will handle the rest.
- [36:10]
Kathy Hochul
That's the human kind of help. Walgreens vaccines subject to availability, state, age.
- [36:16]
Commercial/Ad Voice
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- [36:23]
Sophia
It's hard to stomach that we're in a position where we've got leadership that is so focused on making money for itself. And I mean, in the case of the White House, billions of dollars. The Trump family's making billions at the expense of everyone else. You know, and I think for me, you know, my dad's from Canada. He moved here in the 70s to go to college and became a citizen when I was 13. So when people say do it the right way, I'm like, you don't know what that means. Because my dad was like a, you know, doing great middle class white guy from Canada and it was still hard. And I think a lot about my exposure to another place and to family and another place and the fact that here in America we spend more per capita on healthcare than any other peer nation and we don't have. We're the only ones with a for profit healthcare system. Instead of healthcare being seen as a public good, healthcare as a human right. And it makes me feel crazy because not only are we talking about, but to your point, this Republican Party that chooses the abject suffering of people that aren't in the billionaire class, but also profits from it. And it's like we haven't voted all these people out yet, but here we are and we're still in the fight. And I know for me and clearly for you and for so many people we spend our time with, we're not going to give it up. We're not giving up the fight. We're not going anywhere. Why do you think then that there has been so much of a, of a fear or a freakout around our mayor elect here in New York. You know, Mamdani's talking about fixing some of the wealth inequity, shoring up the kinds of programs that would allow for access that, you know, not to like live in a rom com. But I remember how New York felt to me as a kid in the 90s. I'm like, I miss that New York. What if it could come back a little bit? Like, what if more people got to live here and experience this place in this great diversity that we used to have more of. Do you think maybe some of the rhetoric about him coming from the right is really just cause they're scared that we're poking holes in the fact that trickle down economics doesn't work and a billionaire oligarchy isn't what we want in America?
- [38:59]
Kathy Hochul
I think it's simpler than that. I think they're always looking for an enemy. They're always looking for someone to demonize, someone to get people to turn on, you know, the other. And that has been the secret of their success from the President on down. Damn. And so he hits the profile like, oh my gosh, he's born from some another country and he practices a religion that I don't practice their thinking he has different beliefs. But what he touched was a nerve that was so real and so visceral to people. It's like you said, I'm just not getting ahead. And he articulated that sense. Now we've been talking about affordability for a number of years, but really focused on it last January and whether it's every child in the state of New York now gets free breakfast and lunch in schools. So it's an affordability issue. It puts about $3,200 back in a family's pocket. If you have two kids, that's huge plus time. The people come up to me on the streets of New York who say, thank God I don't have to pack the lunches and make the breakfast anymore. So I'm a mom, you know, that's like something that was criticized wildly by the Republicans. What do you mean you're giving free stuff to kids? Because I don't think little kids should have their tummies growling in a classroom because they were too embarrassed to show that they were getting subsidized. Lunches had to go in a different line or people know it's them and so they skip their lunches. This is real. They skip their lunches because they don't want to be stigmatized. I can't live in a state that has that we're feeding our kids or the money that we did with the middle class tax cut, the biggest tax rate cut so the middle class knows we haven't forgotten them to. And for moms with kids or parents with kids under the age of 1, $1,000 check to help you cover the diapers, the formula, the little outfits they keep out growing all the time. So I've added up, it's about $5,000. And plus the inflation rebate, which a lot of people just got $400 in their pockets. I had a guy come to me on the street. He goes, my God, someone stole my laptop. I could buy a new one with the money you just sent me. That made a difference to him.
- [41:08]
Sophia
It's a big deal.
- [41:08]
Kathy Hochul
So that's how I'm making a difference, by putting money back in people's pockets and focusing on prioritizing families and their needs and even something that didn't cost money. But banning cell phones in schools, like I'm telling you, why did we even go a decade saying it's okay for children to be sitting there watching TikTok dance videos instead of listening to the math teacher crazy and then being surprised that the outcomes aren't. Well, why aren't they showing better results on tests? Because we let them have this toy, this distraction that is also can be pretty detrimental to their mental health. And that's why we're seeing a real increase in young, particularly teenage girls having mental health challenges. So we're ending that in New York and every other state ought to do the same thing. Yeah, never again.
- [41:53]
Sophia
That's a huge win.
- [41:54]
Kathy Hochul
And the kids are making friends again.
- [41:56]
Sophia
I know they're talking to each other. Who knew?
- [41:59]
Kathy Hochul
They're bringing cards and games to lunch together. So I love the stories. And we just did this in September, and I'm gonna say this is one of the most nonpartisan, you know, initiatives we ever launched. Didn't cost us any money, and it's had a profound effect on families and individuals. And those are the wins we should be talking about, because anybody could have done it before me. Nobody wanted to stand up to all the entrenched interests that told me no.
- [42:28]
Sophia
Which is so crazy. And, you know, when you think about it, there's, you know, this was the year of Jonathan haidtz, the anxious generation. Phenomenal book to explain some of this, I think about how anxious my own phone makes me. And I'm an adult. You know, I grew up without a cell Phone like this. And then in high school had like, you know, a little Nokia, you know, T9. You're like one or two. Three.
- [42:51]
Kathy Hochul
T. Got it.
- [42:53]
Sophia
And. And to think about what these kids are facing. And then to go a layer deeper, another book I read, which if you haven't read, I will send to you because it's fabulous. Tiny. It's called how to break up with your phone. And it actually talks about all the research that went into designing smartphones, and it's the same research they use to design slot machines. They're made to be addictive.
- [43:12]
Kathy Hochul
Oh, no. Absolutely. Absolutely.
- [43:14]
Sophia
And it's wild, right? And so when I think about wins like this, whether it's fiscal policy or social policy, you're talking about prioritizing people's wellness, about ensuring community. You know, when I. When I hear you talk about even those $400 checks that just went out, the average American is one $400 unexpected medical bill away from bankruptcy. It doesn't have to be like that. And, you know, we've got leadership in Washington that wants billionaires to be able to write off private jets, but doesn't think teachers should be able to write off construction paper. It's like, what are we talking about? So when you think about these things, you know, even the way you talk about Mamdani's election and how the point is to bring more voices from our party to the table, to find solutions for everybody, how do you take what a lot of folks in the city view as a win and what, you know, some of your more rural voters might be a little afraid of because of what you said, the messaging about the other. Oh, you're supposed to be scared. You really. You kind of get to be like the mom of our state. You know, you get to talk to the kids and be like, settle down, everybody. How do you talk to folks about it?
- [44:34]
Kathy Hochul
I say that all the time. And there was, you know, I feel like I've been the therapist in chief for a lot of people. Oh, my God, you know, I'm leaving now. I'm selling my penthouse because I'm not going to make the investment. I said, everybody, just calm down, calm down. We're going to be fine. I will work with him to help him be successful, because no one who's smart is ever going to root against New York City. Want our mayors to be successful. And so we speak regularly, Very friendly relationship. And I don't need to have this epic power struggle that my predecessors and others would have between the governor and the mayor of New York because it's like, it's a clash of titan egos. Like, who gets more credit? Who did the press conference first on the same topic, where I'm like, let's do a press conference together. We're both fighting crime in the subways. We're both dealing with the homelessness crisis. We're both focusing on building more housing. Why aren't we doing this together? And I'll give money to help support the mayor's initiatives. I did that under Eric Adams, the city of yes, to build more housing. It was dead until I came up with money to get it over the finish line. And so we can do those things. So everybody should just dial it all back, I think, to the rural. Anywhere else. It's not just rural areas. There's a lot of people in New York City who are very anxious. Let him have a chance to prove he can govern. And surround himself with talented people who know what to do. Also know it's a four year term and possibly longer. Everything can't possibly happen in the first six months. Even the first year. You start planting the seeds to my cell phone policy. I had to spend a year going around the state persuading people that this was a good idea. And then we got it done. My housing policy, I started the first year, didn't win. Second year, came back at it. So I just want everybody to think about the fact that there's so many other issues that a mayor has to worry about, too. He's got to focus on public safety, number one. If he keeps Jessica Tisch, I think that'll calm a lot of people down. And he said he would. Let's keep working on homelessness in the subways and the streets. Let's make sure the garbage gets picked up so they can't blame you for that. Let's get rid of the rats, keep killing rats. Get rid of the scaffolding. I walk around the city. I don't see the sun for 10 blocks. I walk every day. So there's just the nuts and bolts of governing the city. If he can demonstrate that he's doing all that and people aren't like, oh, my life really hasn't changed. I guess I'm gonna be okay. Time will bear that out. And also his major initiatives, we're having conversations about them. What's in the realm of possibility, how we get to. Yes, exciting. What timeframe? And so, no, we're gonna be like, I feel like we're gonna be fine.
- [47:17]
Sophia
Everybody, I'm excited and I think particularly the grit of New York and the way this place stands as this beacon for the country, but also at current stands up against the administration, whether it's Letitia James refusing to back down and, I mean, this ridiculously bogus charge despite what was in her mortgage contract. Like, what are we doing, Donald Trump, to even you, you're about to go into a battle with Elise Stefanik, who I just think has betrayed people left, right and center. And I'm excited to see you take her on. You count me in for any campaign events you've got.
- [47:52]
Kathy Hochul
Thank you.
- [47:53]
Sophia
As you think about these things ahead, you know, the progress you want to make here in the city and around the state and the fights that are coming and also the wins, you know, SNAP and cell phones and so much more. For people who live here in New York, when you look toward 2026, what feels like your work in progress?
- [48:13]
Kathy Hochul
My work in progress is truly childcare. That is something that I had to leave a job I loved on Capitol Hill because there was no childcare I could afford when I was a young mom. And my kids have grown up. They still struggle with that as well.
- [48:29]
Sophia
Yeah.
- [48:30]
Kathy Hochul
And so that to me, I just sat down with some business leaders today. I said, this used to be a problem for a family. It was viewed as like, well, you chose to have kids. You figure it out. I said, this is a problem for society, but also for our economy. If we don't have everyone functioning at high levels and be able to go to the jobs that are helping make you profitable, you should be concerned about that. Mr. Mrs. Business person. Like, this should be a solution we all want to have, because every likely woman but every parent who wants to work can work, then we are more productive as a society. So let's just continue what I've been talking about for years. And I've already invested $7 billion in child care since I've been governed. And part of it was opening up new spaces, training people, getting the infrastructure in place, because you can't promise everybody childcare and then not have a place for them to go or an instructor there to take care of them. So that's the ground building I've been doing for years. I've said I want to get to universal childcare, and this is a big priority for the mayor elect. But we also just step back and say, okay, what else is missing? If we promise something and someone calls, I'm ready for my universal child. Because they, oh, we still have to open up 20 more buildings and have hundreds of more slots to be able to do that. I don't want to pull the rug out from people. We have to have a realistic path to get there.
- [50:00]
Sophia
Yeah. And that kind of infrastructure takes time. But it's thrilling to watch you continue to invest in it. Especially in a time in our society where everyone wants the quickest turnover, the quickest win, the quickest own. On social media, you are doing the building so that we can look back in 5, 10, 15 years and say, look what we did.
- [50:23]
Kathy Hochul
I wanna get it done tomorrow. Just so you know. Of course I'm impatient.
- [50:26]
Sophia
Oh, of course.
- [50:27]
Kathy Hochul
But we lost a lot of ground with the pandemic. A lot of childcare centers literally closed up, which is why so many parents were staying home. We have people that are finding that they can make more money because minimum wage in our fast food stores is $20 an hour. Yes. And they make less if they're working at a daycare center or childcare facility. There has to be a resetting of those values, so to speak. So I just want everybody to know we'll get there. But the system isn't ready right now. But we need to have the grace to be able to work together to figure out what's missing to get us to that place.
- [51:06]
Sophia
You're building the plane as you fly it.
- [51:07]
Kathy Hochul
It's impressive, but it's good. It's a priority.
- [51:09]
Sophia
It makes me think of something, something that Kamala Harris said. And I think back to the wonderful event you all did with all the female governors at the dnc. It was so special. I was so thrilled to be in the room. And her pushback on this idea that universal childcare is somehow a socialist policy. She was like, no, no. It's capitalism with a good roi. Cause parents who have childcare go and make more money and then their companies make more money. It actually is a relatively low cost investment when you look at it against what it creates in profit. And so I love that. That is, I love that. That's your bone you're never going to put down because we need it.
- [51:52]
Kathy Hochul
No. I tell CEOs one of your big problems is retention. You train someone, they're great, they're awesome, they're producing and then they want to have a family. If you don't support them during that time again, the time from when, before they hit, if it's 3 year old pre k or 4 year old pre k, it's just a few years. If you help them through that, you know, have a childcare center on site. And that's what we're doing with this big micron company that we brought. It's the largest private sector investment in American history. Building semiconductors in Syracuse.
- [52:27]
Sophia
Casual.
- [52:28]
Kathy Hochul
They had to build a childcare center as a condition of getting our money.
- [52:32]
Sophia
Yes.
- [52:32]
Kathy Hochul
So the bigger guys have the space, build a childcare center. Smaller ones can have consortiums. I think while we're working on our piece of it, let the private sector realize you should do this, too. It's in your interest. And that employee will stay with you for life. If you get them through those early years, that's it. So we can help solve some problems.
- [52:52]
Sophia
And it's how you build community and a great economy. Thank you so much, Governor. I know you've got to run. I see everybody starting to look at their watches. I just so appreciate you being here today. And yeah, you tell us where to be for this next election. We're ready.
- [53:07]
Kathy Hochul
I appreciate it very much. Thank you for having your voice help lead the fight.
- [53:12]
Sophia
Thank you. This podcast is sponsored by PayPal. Okay, friends, let's talk holiday shopping. From now through December 8th, you can get 20% cash back when you pay in four with PayPal. No fees, no interest. This limited time offer is perfect for the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals you've been eyeing. Save the offer in the app now. Whether you're shopping for the kids, your co workers, or yourself, PayPal helps you make the most of your money. This holiday expires 12.8C paypal.com promoterms subject to approval. Learn more at paypal.com payinfor paypal inc. Nmls910457 Shh. You won't believe what my new friend just told me about dinosaurs.
- [54:10]
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- [54:49]
Sophia
Ah, there.
- [54:52]
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- [55:02]
Kathy Hochul
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Sophia
First order with promo code iHeart.
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Kathy Hochul
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