THIS WEEK'S EPISODE:

Episode #1037: Freer Than Ever
First Broadcast: 11/10/25
The winner of this year's mayoral election in New York City, which had the city's highest voter turnout in a mayoral election since 1969, is Democrat and Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, who will be sworn in as the city's 111th Mayor on January 1, 2026. He won not only by getting the most votes, but also by getting a clear majority (over 50%), so there's no question that his platform is the one New York City wants right now. In his acceptance speech, Mamdani gave a shout-out to Eugene V. Debs, essentially bid Andrew Cuomo good riddance, reiterated his support for immigrants, and told Donald Trump "to get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us," (which drew more than one comparison to similar speeches from Spider-Man movies). Naturally, right-wingers had a meltdown as a result, with former mayor Rudy Giuliani posting on social media a grisly photo of his likeness superimposed over the exploding Twin Towers on 9/11 with the caption "NEW YORK, YOU FORGOT"--about what, who can say? But I'm sure his meaning was either racist, Islamophobic, or both. The New York Post probably wins for the most over-the-top reaction of the night, decorating their front page with an image of a person, presumably from a Soviet propaganda poster, holding a hammer & sickle above their head, but with Mamdani's head placed where that person's head was, with the headline "THE RED APPLE" next to him, with the "R" in "RED" turned backwards to resemble a letter in the Cyrillic alphabet ("Я"), for extra communist emphasis, I suppose. If I were Mamdani, I'd frame that, because it'll probably be the nicest thing the Post says about him for the next four years, at least. New York wasn't the only place where Democrats did well this year, as Democrats and their proposals had victories across the country, not the least of which are new incoming Democratic governors in New Jersey and Virginia, a Democrat becoming the first muslim woman to hold statewide office anywhere in the U.S., and a proposition in California that could create seats for five more Democrats in Congress in 2027. Altogether, it appears to be solid rebuke of the racist, fascist, and economically suicidal policies of the Trump adminstration and the Republicans who back them up, so you'd think Trump might be a little more apologetic and conciliatory towards the incoming mayor whom he called "a proven and self-professed JEW HATER" (which sounds libelous to me), instead of pretending that remark was never made and warning "he should be very nice to me," as if a substantial amount of the city doesn't have Mamdani's back. Maybe a "blue wave" in next year's midterm elections will be the final wake-up call Trump gets before Democrats begin the huge project of fixing the damage that Trump and his ilk have done so far, but that's a story for another day. In the meantime, the transition to the Mamdani cabinet begins, and I can't wait for all the people who threatened to leave the city if Mamdani wins to make good on their promises! I could use a larger apartment!

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So, what is Free New York anyway? The simple answer is that it's a this neat little public access TV show on Manhattan Neighborhood Network which I co-produce with the tremendous help of my camerawoman/editor/everything else, Kim. The complicated answer is that it's a project of mine to broadcast opinions and events which don't always appear within "the mainstream media" (like The New York Times, the major networks, local radio, etc.), and so far I think it's been working.

If you think I'm doing a good job--or not--and you feel like sending me snail mail, the address is:

Free New York
P.O. Box 20945
Tompkins Square Station
New York, NY 10009

You can also email me at fny@freenewyork.net, which should get to me a lot faster than the snail mail.

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last updated November 9, 2025
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