Mystic Waves

Hey Friends,

I'm announcing my podcast here today. As I once proudly proclaimed here, I've always identified as someone who does not have a podcast. But that is not the case anymore. More on that soon.

But first, The News.

Making Waves

The Mamdani Tsunami has made landfall. Zohran Mamdani has won the New York City mayoral election. He won by a landslide, receiving more votes than all candidates combined, beating Andrew Cuomo by 9%, flanked by other high-margin Democrat wins in other parts of the country.

New Yorkers everywhere are celebrating, and the streets are soaked in champagne and urine, as people of all walks of life, from the businessmen to the homeless men, celebrate, each in their own way.

Zohran came with a hot logo and big ideas, both of which make him look like a genie – and some say he would have to be for his policies' wishes to come true. But branding is everything, so I can't hold it against him. To take a closer look at his branding, let's start with the mood board his team put together for inspiration.

According to my sources, he loved it. Now here's a look at what the branding team came up with.

Mamdani is the youngest in a century to take the NYC Mayor's office and perhaps the first ever to embrace socialist ideas and get elected. In anticipation of his new policies, many supporters preemptively quit their jobs.

Zohran ran on a platform that highlighted policies serving the public good, including policies like freezing rent, expanding a free bus service program, and establishing publicly owned grocery stores. He also, according to one source, insists he'll improve infrastructure for Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, who have previously complained that traffic prevented them from bringing big enough gifts to some low-income homes.

Some people are uncomfortable about publicly controlled groceries, but defenders of Zohran's policies project confidence, saying, "Just imagine going to the BMV, only with food!" When asked about some of the selections that common people will have access to, one very reliable source tells me New Yorkers who may have been struggling will be able to eat "cake."

The topic of free buses has also drawn criticism, but according to a survey, riders rate the policy quite favorably, saying they actually prefer not to pay for buses.

While I jest, I think Zohran's candidacy brings both an inspiring vision and valid plans alongside unwinnable battles. Zohran says he wanted to build 200,000 affordable housing units, while freezing the recently rising rents – a perfect combination to discourage landlords from improving properties, or building more. He won't be the first to pull it off, though. Former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio did just that, building some 200,000 housing units while freezing rents intermittently. The problem he faced then, that remains today, is that 200,000 is nowhere near enough to solve the problem. He will also need to create an environment where landlords and developers can and want to develop properties – few, if any, will do it, if there's no money in it. Like always, good policy is on a bell curve.

Along with a couple of friends, I talked about this on my new podcast, which I've published mostly under the radar. I'm ready to come out of the closet and share it here.

Truthache

The Podcast in the Room.

We release new episodes weekly, except when we don't.

Truthache is about the elephant in the room. It's what we're all thinking, but afraid to talk about. Join me, Michael, and Aaron for the conversation we should all be having. We'll talk about culture and current events, including some politics. It's the conversations we all wish we could have with our friends, without agreeing, but also without judgment. Our guests give us expertise and perspective. Our wives give us permission to record every Friday.

We've already released several episodes, and some are even good. You can find it everywhere. Here's our latest episode.

Hot Takes

News I couldn't let you miss.

• The Trump Administration is cutting flights by 10% at 40 major airports as the government shutdown continues. In fact, before the announcement, some say that this flight in Louisville was cut by well over 10%.

• The Supreme Court, on Thursday, allowed the Trump administration to remove a gender marker from passports, prompting some people to ask, "After 200,000 years of confusion, how will we ever know whether someone is a man or woman?"
• A Federal Judge ordered SNAP benefits to be paid in full after the Trump administration withheld payments. In related news, in an Oval Office event, Trump announced a deal for lower costs on the weight loss drug Ozempic, just one more example of how Trump is using hunger as a strategy.
• Nancy Pelosi announced her retirement from politics after her term concluded. When asked what she'll do afterward, she said, "Depends^®."

That's it for this week.

Remember: At The Lorem Ipsum, we've frozen our prices for the last four years, and just like on New York City buses, most people don't even pay anyway.

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Have a great weekend!